Distributed restoration in an ATM test bed network

Network resilience is a crucial area of concern for telecommunications network operators who aim to provide high availability services supported by a broadband platform based on ATM technology. This paper describes the development of an ATM test bed network which incorporates resilience by executing distributed restoration in the event of failures. Since the work originated from collaborative research between BT Laboratories and Alcatel Telecom of Belgium, the paper highlights challenges faced in developing a restorable network, both by a network operator, and a switch manufacturer.     

Review of Child sexual abuse: Critical perspectives on prevention, intervention, and treatment.

Reviews the book, Child sexual abuse: Critical perspectives on prevention, intervention, and treatment edited by Christopher R. Bagley and Ray J. Thomlison (1991). This book is a compilation of a series of literature reviews originally commissioned by Health and Welfare Canada in 1987 and completed in 1988. The individual papers included in this edited version represent a cross section of Canadian academicians, clinicians, and case workers who are integrally involved in the policies and practices regarding child sexual abuse in Canada. The work provides a comprehensive perspective on prevention at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The list of authors is impressive in terms of their expertise and experience. At a time when numerous books on child sexual abuse are appearing on the market, it is nice to see a book that has some unusual aspects. Aside from its distinctly Canadian perspective, the book addresses several important, yet frequently ignored, topics. The book provides an up-to-date review of several core issues: conceptualization of the problem, prevention strategies, impact of sexual abuse, investigative interviewing, treatment outcome studies, and treatment issues for child molesters. The more unique topics include a review of the strategies used to evaluate prevention programs, prevalence rates among a number of special populations, the role of medical practitioners in preventing and intervening in child sexual abuse, and sexual abuse and exploitation among disabled individuals. Overall, I can recommend this book for clinicians and researchers in Canada and elsewhere who are interested in child sexual abuse. This compilation of literature reviews highlights the leading role that Canadian social service agencies have taken in developing programs for sexually abused children and their families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Holographic correction of large telescope primaries by proximal, off-axis beacons

Compact telescope configurations incorporating a holographic correction of large, low-quality primary collectors are demonstrated. Aberration correction is demonstrated with an off-axis laser beacon located close to the primary. This arrangement results in a compact telescope with minimum obscuration. The reduction of additional off-axis aberrations introduced by the method is also demonstrated.     

Issues in the Reconstruction of Gene Order Evolution

As genomes evolve over hundreds of millions years, the chromosomes become rearranged, with segments of some chromosomes inverted, while other chromosomes reciprocally exchange chunks from their ends. These rearrangements lead to the scrambling of the elements of one genome with respect to another descended from a common ancestor. Multidisciplinary work undertakes to mathematically model these processes and to develop statistical analyses and mathematical algorithms to understand the scrambling in the chromo...     

Do ‘green’ buildings have better indoor environments? New evidence

A post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of 12 green and 12 conventional office buildings across Canada and the northern United States was conducted. Occupants (N = 2545) completed an online questionnaire related to environmental satisfaction, job satisfaction and organizational commitment, health and well-being, environmental attitudes, and commuting. In each building on-site physical measurements at a sample of workstations (N= 974) were taken, including: thermal conditions, air quality, acoustics, lighting, workstation size, ceiling height, window access and shading, and surface finishes. Green buildings exhibited superior performance compared with similar conventional buildings. Better outcomes included: environmental satisfaction, satisfaction with thermal conditions, satisfaction with the view to the outside, aesthetic appearance, less disturbance from heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) noise, workplace image, night-time sleep quality, mood, physical symptoms, and reduced number of airborne particulates. A variety of physical features led to improved occupant outcomes across all buildings, including: conditions associated with speech privacy, lower background noise levels, higher light levels, greater access to windows, conditions associated with thermal comfort, and fewer airborne particulates. Green building rating systems might benefit from further attention in several areas, including: credits related to acoustic performance, a greater focus on reducing airborne particulates, enhanced support for the interdisciplinary design process and development of POE protocols.

Il a été mené une évaluation après occupation (POE) de 12 immeubles de bureaux verts et 12 immeubles de bureaux classiques répartis à travers le Canada et le nord des Etats-Unis. Les occupants (N?=?2545) ont rempli un questionnaire en ligne portant sur la satisfaction environnementale, la satisfaction au travail et l'implication organisationnelle, la santé et le bien-être, les attitudes environnementales, et les trajets réguliers. Dans chaque immeuble, des mesures physiques in situ sur un échantillon de postes de travail (N?=?974) ont été effectuées, comprenant : les conditions thermiques, la qualité de l'air, l'acoustique, l'éclairage, la taille des postes de travail, la hauteur de plafond, l'accès aux fenêtres et leur occultation, et les finitions de surface. Les bâtiments verts ont affiché des performances supérieures par rapport aux bâtiments classiques similaires. De meilleurs résultats ont été obtenus concernant la satisfaction environnementale, la satisfaction à l'égard des conditions thermiques, la satisfaction à l'égard de la vue sur l'extérieur, l'aspect esthétique, la diminution des perturbations liées aux bruits provenant du chauffage, de la ventilation et de la climatisation (CVC), l'image du lieu de travail, la qualité du sommeil nocturne, l'humeur, les symptômes physiques, et la réduction du nombre de particules en suspension dans l'air. Différentes caractéristiques physiques ont conduit à une amélioration des résultats pour les occupants dans tous les immeubles, concernant notamment les conditions liées à la confidentialité des conversations, les niveaux inférieurs de bruit de fond, les niveaux de luminosité plus élevés, l'accès accru aux fenêtres, les conditions associées au confort thermique, et le nombre moindre de particules en suspension dans l'air. Les systèmes de notation des bâtiments verts pourraient bénéficier d'une plus grande attention apportée à plusieurs domaines, s'agissant en particulier des crédits relatifs aux performances acoustiques, d'un accent accru sur la réduction des particules en suspension dans l'air, d'un soutien renforcé en faveur du processus de conception interdisciplinaire et du développement de protocoles POE.

Mots clés: performances des bâtiments, bilan environnemental, bâtiments verts, environnement intérieur, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), satisfaction des occupants, évaluation après occupation     

Identifying Candidate Protein Markers of Acute Kidney Injury in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

One-quarter of patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) experience acute kidney injury (AKI)—an abrupt reduction or loss of kidney function associated with increased long-term mortality. There is a critical need to identify early and real-time markers of AKI in ADHF; however, to date, no protein biomarkers have exhibited sufficient diagnostic or prognostic performance for widespread clinical uptake. We aimed to identify novel protein biomarkers of AKI associated with ADHF by quantifying changes in protein abundance in the kidneys that occur during ADHF development and recovery in an ovine model. Relative quantitative protein profiling was performed using sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra–mass spectrometry (SWATH–MS) in kidney cortices from control sheep (n = 5), sheep with established rapid-pacing-induced ADHF (n = 8), and sheep after ~4 weeks recovery from ADHF (n = 7). Of the 790 proteins quantified, we identified 17 candidate kidney injury markers in ADHF, 1 potential kidney marker of ADHF recovery, and 2 potential markers of long-term renal impairment (differential abundance between groups of 1.2–2.6-fold, adjusted p < 0.05). Among these 20 candidate protein markers of kidney injury were 6 candidates supported by existing evidence and 14 novel candidates not previously implicated in AKI. Proteins of differential abundance were enriched in pro-inflammatory signalling pathways: glycoprotein VI (activated during ADHF development; adjusted p < 0.01) and acute phase response (repressed during recovery from ADHF; adjusted p < 0.01). New biomarkers for the early detection of AKI in ADHF may help us to evaluate effective treatment strategies to prevent mortality and improve outcomes for patients.