Helicobacter pylori does not migrate from the antrum to the corpus in response to omeprazole

BACKGROUND: Omeprazole is known to have an effect on Helicobacter pylori in vivo. One opinion is that H. pylori "migrates" from the antrum to the corpus in response to omeprazole therapy. METHODS: To determine whether H. pylori migrates in response to omeprazole, we assessed the presence of H. pylori in the antrum and corpus in duodenal ulcer patients receiving omeprazole for 4 wk. Culture and histological examination of antral biopsies (Genta stain) were performed before patients received omeprazole, at the end of therapy, and 4-6 wk later. The end points were presence or absence of H. pylori and the number of H. pylori colonies per biopsy. RESULTS: Seventy-two patients had H. pylori in both the antrum and corpus at entry and 4-6 wk after ending therapy. Three general patterns were prevalent at the end of omeprazole therapy: antrum- and corpus-positive (54%), antrum-negative and corpus-positive (24%), both antrum- and corpus-negative (21%), and one patient had antrum-positive with corpus-negative (1%). Evaluation of the number of colonies per biopsy in those who remained H. pylori-positive in both the antrum and corpus throughout showed that the number of H. pylori decreased in both the antrum and corpus during therapy (507 +/- 60 vs. 225 +/- 51, p < 0.01 and 415 +/- 58 vs. 290 +/- 46 0.1) for antrum and corpus, respectively, and tended to return to pre-therapy levels 4-6 wk later. The number of H. pylori in the corpus also decreased in the antrum-negative and corpus-positive group during therapy with omeprazole (433 +/- 87 vs. 185 +/- 61, p < 0.05). In most of the patients studied, the number of H. pylori in the corpus was less posttreatment than it was pretreatment. The decrease in H. pylori load was also reflected in the development of false-negative urea breath tests. CONCLUSIONS: Omeprazole is detrimental to H. pylori in both the antrum and the corpus; migration from the antrum to the corpus in response to omeprazole is a myth.     

Adaptive locks: Combining transactions and locks for efficient concurrency

Transactional memory is being advanced as an alternative to traditional lock-based synchronization for concurrent programming. Transactional memory simplifies the programming model and maximizes concurrency. At the same time, transactions can suffer from interference that causes them to often abort, from heavy overheads for memory accesses, and from expressiveness limitations (e.g., for I/O operations). In this paper we propose an adaptive locking technique that dynamically observes whether a critical section would be best executed transactionally or while holding a mutex lock. The critical new elements of our approach include the adaptivity logic and cost–benefit analysis, a low-overhead implementation of statistics collection and adaptive locking in a full C compiler, and an exposition of the effects on the programming model. In experiments with both micro and macrobenchmarks we found adaptive locks to consistently match or outperform the better of the two component mechanisms (mutexes or transactions). Compared to either mechanism alone, adaptive locks often provide 3-to-10x speedups. Additionally, adaptive locks simplify the programming model by reducing the need for fine-grained locking: with adaptive locks, the programmer can specify coarse-grained locking annotations and often achieve fine-grained locking performance due to the transactional memory mechanisms.     

Low Voltage Electrowetting-on-Dielectric Platform using Multi-Layer Insulators

A low voltage, two-level-metal, and multi-layer insulator electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWD) platform is presented. Dispensing 300pl droplets from 140nl closed on-chip reservoirs was accomplished with as little as 11.4V solely through EWD forces, and the actuation threshold voltage was 7.2V with a 1Hz voltage switching rate between electrodes. EWD devices were fabricated with a multilayer insulator consisting of 135nm sputtered tantalum pentoxide (Ta(2)O(5)) and 180nm parylene C coated with 70nm of CYTOP. Furthermore, the minimum actuation threshold voltage followed a previously published scaling model for the threshold voltage, V(T), which is proportional to (t/ε(r))(1/2), where t and ε(r) are the insulator thickness and dielectric constant respectively. Device threshold voltages are compared for several insulator thicknesses (200nm, 500nm, and 1μm), different dielectric materials (parylene C and tantalum pentoxide), and homogeneous versus heterogeneous compositions. Additionally, we used a two-level-metal fabrication process, which enables the fabrication of smaller and denser electrodes with high interconnect routing flexibility. We also have achieved low dispensing and actuation voltages for scaled devices with 30pl droplets.     

Benchmarking stereo-derived DSMs to lidar by land cover and slope for resource development in northern Ontario,Canada

Topographic and elevation data are essential in the development of supporting infrastructure around mining sites. The de facto standard for acquiring elevation data is through light detection and ranging (lidar). The high labour and monetary cost of acquiring lidar has fostered more cost-effective approaches for creating elevation models that use stereo photogrammetry. To assess the accuracy of stereo-photogrammetry-derived elevation models and their potential application, we benchmark satellite (Worldview-2) and aircraft (South Central Ontario Orthoimagery Project; SCOOP) stereo-derived digital surface models (DSMs) against a lidar-derived DSM. Our results show that both stereo-derived DSMs have strong monotonic correlations with lidar across a range of land-cover types and slopes. The overall vertical accuracy of Worldview-2 and SCOOP DSMs are similar and do not meet the United States National Digital Elevation Program (NDEP) standards. However, accuracy assessment across land-cover types and slope categories show that specific land cover types (i.e. grass, row crops/pasture, sparse vegetation and marsh) on gently sloping terrain compare well to lidar data and meet NDEP accuracy standards. We situate the presented research in the context of northern resource development and discuss opportunities to improve the vertical accuracy of stereo-derived DSMs, for example, through unmanned aerial systems.     

Dynamic behaviour of a magnetically actuated floating liquid marble

This paper reports the dynamic behaviour of a magnetically actuated floating liquid marble by analysing the oscillation of the marble. A liquid marble is a liquid droplet coated with hydrophobic powder. Magnetite particles inside the marble make it magnetic. The marble floats on a carrier liquid that contains aqueous glycerol of various concentrations. A permanent magnet located under the carrier liquid drives the floating marble with the initial velocity. Stopping the magnet abruptly causes the marble to oscillate around its final position for a few seconds. The oscillation was recorded and analysed using customised image processing and evaluation software. The damped harmonic motion model was then applied to the data and tested. Subsequently, critical parameters of the system such as the initial displacement, friction correction factor, the apparent frequency and the spring constant were determined and discussed. The simple experimental set-up and convenient theoretical approach allow us to characterise the marble motion under the influence of a magnet with good accuracy.     

Dynamic diamond anvil cell (dDAC): a novel device for studying the dynamic-pressure properties of materials

We have developed a unique device, a dynamic diamond anvil cell (dDAC), which repetitively applies a time-dependent load/pressure profile to a sample. This capability allows studies of the kinetics of phase transitions and metastable phases at compression (strain) rates of up to 500 GPa/s (approximately 0.16 s(-1) for a metal). Our approach adapts electromechanical piezoelectric actuators to a conventional diamond anvil cell design, which enables precise specification and control of a time-dependent applied load/pressure. Existing DAC instrumentation and experimental techniques are easily adapted to the dDAC to measure the properties of a sample under the varying load/pressure conditions. This capability addresses the sparsely studied regime of dynamic phenomena between static research (diamond anvil cells and large volume presses) and dynamic shock-driven experiments (gas guns, explosive, and laser shock). We present an overview of a variety of experimental measurements that can be made with this device.     

Simultaneous nonlinear absorption and index effects in the propagation of intense TEA CO2 laser pulses through CDF3

Changes in the beam profile of the CO2 laser 10R(26) line, caused by transmission through, and absorption by, CDF3 were studied using an array of pyroelectric detectors. During the propagation of the laser beam through CDF3, nonlinear absorption and self-defocusing of the beam have both been determined from measurements of the effect on the exit beam of fluence, radiant energy, CDF3 pressure, transmission cell length, and distance from the exit of the cell to the detector array.     

Creep of CaO/MgO refractories

The creep properties of a standard doloma brick (containing 40% MgO) and a magnesia-enriched doloma product (containing 60% MgO) have been compared with the behaviour of CaO-MgO samples having compositions and microstructures similar to those of the pellet raw materials used for manufacture of the fired doloma refractories. The creep strength is shown to be improved not only by magnesia enrichment but also by reducing the impurity levels, particularly the Fe₂O₃ content.