Viral dynamics of primary viremia and antiretroviral therapy in simian immunodeficiency virus infection

Mathematical modeling of viral replication dynamics, based on sequential measurements of levels of virion-associated RNA in plasma during antiretroviral treatment, has led to fundamental new insights into human immunodeficiency virus type 1 pathogenesis. We took advantage of the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected macaque model to perform detailed measurements and mathematical modeling during primary infection and during treatment of established infection with the antiretroviral drug (R)-9-(2-phosphonylmethoxypropyl)adenine (PMPA). The calculated clearance half-life for productively infected cells during resolution of the peak viremia of primary infection was on the order of 1 day, with slightly shorter clearance half-lives calculated during PMPA treatment. Viral reproduction rates upon discontinuation of PMPA treatment after 2 weeks were approximately twofold greater than those obtained just prior to initiation of treatment in the same animals, likely reflecting accumulation of susceptible target cells during treatment. The basic reproductive ratio (R0) for the spread of SIV infection in vivo, which represents the number of productively infected cells derived from each productively infected cell at the beginning of infection, was also estimated. This parameter quantifies the extent to which antiviral therapy or vaccination must limit the initial spread of virus to prevent establishment of chronic disseminated infection. The results thus provide an important guide for efforts to develop vaccines against SIV and, by extension, human immunodeficiency virus.     

An Information Security Strategy for Networkable Devices

Networkable Windows-based operating system devices present information security challenges to both vendors and users of such devices. This article highlights some of those threats and offers measures to improve the link between a firm's business strategy, its operational activities, and its information security strategy.     

Resource contention in shared-memory multiprocessors: A parameterized performance degradation model

A standard metric conventionally employed to compare the performance of different multiprocessor systems is speedup. Although providing a measure of the improvement in execution speed achievable on a system, this metric does not yield any insight into the factors responsible for limiting the potential improvement in speed. This paper studies the performance degradation in shared-memory multiprocessors as a result of contention for shared-memory resources. A replicate workload framework with a flexible mechanism for workload specification is proposed for measuring performance. Two normalized performance metrics—efficiency and overhead factor—are introduced to quantify the factors limiting performance and facilitate comparison across architectures. Finally, the proposed model is employed to measure and compare the performance of three contemporary shared-memory systems, with special emphasis on the newly released BBN Butterfly-II (TC2000), currently undergoing Beta test.     

Chronic hypertrophic gastropathy in a child resembling adult Menetrier''s disease

N-(phosphonacetyl)-disodium L-aspartic acid (PALA) demonstrates a synergistic antitumor effect when combined with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) in in vitro studies. In a Phase II trial, 23 eligible patients with unresectable or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach were treated with weekly i.v. bolus PALA (250 mg/M2) followed 24 hours later by a 24-hour infusion of 5-FU (2600 mg/M2) for an initial period of 8 weeks. No objective responses were noted. PALA and 5-FU is inactive against gastric adenocarcinoma at the doses and schedule used in this trial.     

The Year 2015 Fusion Power Conversations

Assuming significant technical success in the ITER project by the year 2015, it is likely that governments will want to develop a more comprehensive plan for DT tokamak fusion power commercialization. To provide a glimpse into many of the related issues, we construct conversations between the director of the U.S. fusion program and three specialists key to commercial fusion success: an environment and safety regulator, an environmentalist, and an electric generation investor. The insights from these imagined conversations will hopefully be of value as tokamak fusion power proponents plan beyond ITER.     

Evolution of an instinct under long-term divergent selection for geotaxis in domesticated populations of Drosophila melanogaster..

Describes long-term divergent selection for geotaxis in lines of the fruit fly. After 26 yrs (600+ generations) of intermittent selection, the initial experimental procedure showed that the mean geotactic scores remained stable on relaxed selection, a result suggesting that evolutionary changes had occurred in these lines. Because the stability was not due to genetic fixation (homozygosity) of the lines, it is concluded that it was due to either (a) close linkage of genes associated with geotaxis (which would not result in enduring change) or (b) the development of new coadapted gene complexes utilizing genes associated with extreme geotaxis expression (which should result in enduring change). Better evidence for the latter hypothesis was obtained, during the 2nd experimental procedure, from the low- than the high-geotaxis line. The notions of coadaptation and genetic homeostasis are considered, as well as the prospective use of the geotaxis lines to study such concepts experimentally. The geotactic behavior expressed in each line is defined as instinctive: It increases reproductive success and is characteristic of a population. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)