Inhibition of Autonomic Storm by Epidural Anesthesia Does Not Influence Cardiac Inflammatory Response After Brain Death in Rats

Background. After brain death (BD) donors usually experience cardiac dysfunction, which is responsible for a considerable number of unused organs. Causes of this cardiac dysfunction are not fully understood. Some authors argue that autonomic storm with severe hemodynamic instability leads to inflammatory activation and myocardial dysfunction. Objectives. To investigate the hypothesis that thoracic epidural anesthesia blocks autonomic storm and improves graft condition by reducing the inflammatory response. Methods. Twenty-eight male Wistar rats (250-350 g) allocated to four groups received saline or bupivacaine via an epidural catheter at various times in relation to brain-death induction. Brain death was induced by a sudden increase in intracranial pressure by rapid inflation of a ballon catheter in the extradural space. Blood gases, electrolytes, and lactate analyses were performed at time zero, and 3 and 6 hours. Blood leukocytes were counted at 0 and 6 hours. After 6 hours of BD, we performed euthanasia to measure vascular adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, Bcl-2 and caspase-3 on cardiac tissue. Results. Thoracic epidural anesthesia was effective to block the autonomic storm with a significant difference in mean arterial pressure between the untreated (saline) and the bupivacaine group before BD (P < .05). However, no significant difference was observed for the expressions of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 (P > .05). Conclusion. Autonomic storm did not seem to be responsible for the inflammatory changes associated with BD; thoracic epidural anesthesia did not modify the expression of inflammatory mediators although it effectively blocked the autonomic storm.

Quartz OSL sensitivity as a proxy for storm activity on the southern Brazilian coast during the Late Holocene

Natural cycles of irradiation during burial and bleaching due to solar exposure during transport increase the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) sensitivity of quartz sand grains. The relationship between the OSL sensitivity and sediment transport allows to discriminate quartz sand grains with different depositional histories. In this paper, we evaluate the variation of OSL sensitivity in quartz grains deposited during the progradation of the Ilha Comprida barrier on the southern Brazilian, coast. Changes in sand sensitivity recorded by barrier growth since 6 ka ago are controlled by the variation in the proportion of low versus high sensitivity quartz grains. Low sensitivity grains with short sedimentary history are supplied by the Ribeira de Iguape River and reach the barrier through southward alongshore currents during fair weather conditions. Storm conditions shift the alongshore currents to northeast and permit the transport of high sensitivity grains with long sedimentary history from distal southern coastal sectors to the barrier. Therefore, the input of distal sediments for the Ilha Comprida barrier depends on the frequency and intensity of storms. Thus, the OSL sensitivity can be used as proxy for storm activity. The variation of OSL sensitivity through time indicates that the Ilha Comprida barrier changed from a relatively stable to an unstable storm pattern around 2 ka ago. Periods with increased storm activity peaked around AD 500, AD 1500 and AD 1850, approximately on the boundaries of the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

LH surge in response to the treatment with GnRH analog or estradiol in ovariectomized buffaloes with or without progesterone pre-exposition

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the LH surge after EB (estradiol benzoate) or GnRH administration with or without P4 (progesterone) pre-exposure in ovariectomized (OVX) buffalo cows. Females were randomly assigned to receive an intravaginal P4 device (D0–D9). They were then given EB 24 h or GnRH 36 h post-P4 device removal (factorial 2×2, n=6 per group). Blood collection for LH measurement began 36 h after the P4 device removal and continued at 3 h intervals. The area under the LH curve (AUC; 30.2 ng2 and 13.41 ng2; P=0.007) and the area of the LH peak (AP; 19.0 ng2 and 8.9 ng2; P=0.009) were greater for EB than GnRH. We did not observe an effect of P4 pre-exposure on the AUC and AP. Furthermore, there was no interaction between P4 pre-exposure and EB or GnRH treatment on the AUC and AP. However, there was an interaction (P<0.01) between P4 pre-exposure and the type of inducer (EB or GnRH) to release a preovulatory-like LH surge at the beginning (BP), final (FP) and time (TP) of the LH peak. The P4 pre-exposure anticipated the BP (2.5 and 7.4 h), TP (6.0 and 12.0 h) and FP (11.5 and 17.1 h) when EB was used to induce a preovulatory-like LH surge (P<0.01). However, there was no effect of P4 pre-exposure on BP (0.4 and 0.4 h), TP (3.0 and 3.0 h) and FP (5.9 and 6.1 h) with GnRH treatment. There was also no effect of the pre-exposure to P4, type of inducer or interaction on the amplitude of the LH peak. We concluded that EB therefore led to greater LH release than GnRH, and pre-exposure to P4 before EB administration anticipated the preovulatory-like LH surge in buffalo cows.

Implementazione di una infrastruttura basata su Kafka e Storm per il Mobile Cloud computing

Lo scopo dell'elaborato di tesi è l'analisi, progettazione e sviluppo di un prototipo di una infrastruttura cloud in grado di gestire un grande flusso di eventi generati da dispositivi mobili. Questi utilizzano informazioni come la posizione assunta e il valore dei sensori locali di cui possono essere equipaggiati al fine di realizzare il proprio funzionamento. Le informazioni così ottenute vengono trasmesse in modo da ottenere una rete di device in grado di acquisire autonomamente informazioni sull'ambiente ed auto-organizzarsi. La costruzione di tale struttura si colloca in un più ampio ambito di ricerca che punta a integrare metodi per la comunicazione ravvicinata con il cloud al fine di permettere la comunicazione tra dispositivi vicini in qualsiasi situazione che si potrebbe presentare in una situazione reale. A definire le specifiche della infrastruttura e quindi a impersonare il ruolo di committente è stato il relatore, Prof. Mirko Viroli, mentre lo sviluppo è stato portato avanti da me e dal correlatore, Ing. Pietro Brunetti. Visti gli studi precedenti riguardanti il cloud computing nell'area dei sistemi complessi distribuiti, Brunetti ha dato il maggiore contributo nella fase di analisi del problema e di progettazione mentre la parte riguardante la effettiva gestione degli eventi, le computazioni in cloud e lo storage dei dati è stata maggiormente affrontata da me. In particolare mi sono occupato dello studio e della implementazione del backend computazionale, basato sulla tecnologia Apache Storm, della componente di storage dei dati, basata su Neo4j, e della costruzione di un pannello di visualizzazione basato su AJAX e Linkurious. A questo va aggiunto lo studio su Apache Kafka, utilizzato come tecnologia per realizzare la comunicazione asincrona ad alte performance tra le componenti. Si è reso necessario costruire un simulatore al fine di condurre i test per verificare il funzionamento della infrastruttura prototipale e per saggiarne l'effettiva scalabilità, considerato il potenziale numero di dispositivi da sostenere che può andare dalle decine alle migliaia. La sfida più importante riguarda la gestione della vicinanza tra dispositivi e la possibilità di scalare la computazione su più macchine. Per questo motivo è stato necessario far uso di tecnologie per l'esecuzione delle operazioni di memorizzazione, calcolo e trasmissione dei dati in grado di essere eseguite su un cluster e garantire una accettabile fault-tolerancy. Da questo punto di vista i lavori che hanno portato alla costruzione della infrastruttura sono risultati essere un'ottima occasione per prendere familiarità con tecnologie prima sconosciute. Quasi tutte le tecnologie utilizzate fanno parte dell'ecosistema Apache e, come esposto all'interno della tesi, stanno ricevendo una grande attenzione da importanti realtà proprio in questo periodo, specialmente Apache Storm e Kafka. Il software prodotto per la costruzione della infrastruttura è completamente sviluppato in Java a cui si aggiunge la componente web di visualizzazione sviluppata in Javascript.

Online Stream Processing di Big Data su Apache Storm per Applicazioni di Instant Coupon

Big data è il termine usato per descrivere una raccolta di dati così estesa in termini di volume,velocità e varietà da richiedere tecnologie e metodi analitici specifici per l'estrazione di valori significativi. Molti sistemi sono sempre più costituiti e caratterizzati da enormi moli di dati da gestire,originati da sorgenti altamente eterogenee e con formati altamente differenziati,oltre a qualità dei dati estremamente eterogenei. Un altro requisito in questi sistemi potrebbe essere il fattore temporale: sempre più sistemi hanno bisogno di ricevere dati significativi dai Big Data il prima possibile,e sempre più spesso l’input da gestire è rappresentato da uno stream di informazioni continuo. In questo campo si inseriscono delle soluzioni specifiche per questi casi chiamati Online Stream Processing. L’obiettivo di questa tesi è di proporre un prototipo funzionante che elabori dati di Instant Coupon provenienti da diverse fonti con diversi formati e protocolli di informazioni e trasmissione e che memorizzi i dati elaborati in maniera efficiente per avere delle risposte in tempo reale. Le fonti di informazione possono essere di due tipologie: XMPP e Eddystone. Il sistema una volta ricevute le informazioni in ingresso, estrapola ed elabora codeste fino ad avere dati significativi che possono essere utilizzati da terze parti. Lo storage di questi dati è fatto su Apache Cassandra. Il problema più grosso che si è dovuto risolvere riguarda il fatto che Apache Storm non prevede il ribilanciamento delle risorse in maniera automatica, in questo caso specifico però la distribuzione dei clienti durante la giornata è molto varia e ricca di picchi. Il sistema interno di ribilanciamento sfrutta tecnologie innovative come le metriche e sulla base del throughput e della latenza esecutiva decide se aumentare/diminuire il numero di risorse o semplicemente non fare niente se le statistiche sono all’interno dei valori di soglia voluti.

Geophysical Analysis of Seasonal Montandon Gravel Ridge Water Table Fluctuation and Moisture Gradient Variation due to Storm Events

The purpose of this research project is to continue exploring the Montandon Long-Term Hydrologic Research Site(LTHR) by using multiple geophysical methods to obtain more accurate and precise information regarding subsurface hydrologic properties of a local gravel ridge,which are important to both the health of surrounding ecosystems and local agriculture. Through using non-invasive geophysical methods such as seismic refraction, Direct Current resistivity and ground penetrating radar (GPR) instead of invasive methods such as boreholedrilling which displace sediment and may alter water flow, data collection is less likely to bias the data itself. In addition to imaging the gravel ridge subsurface, another important researchpurpose is to observe how both water table elevation and the moisture gradient (moisture content of the unsaturated zone) change over a seasonal time period and directly after storm events. The combination of three types of data collection allows the strengths of each method combine together and provide a relatively strongly supported conclusions compared to previous research. Precipitation and geophysical data suggest that an overall increase in precipitation during the summer months causes a sharp decrease in subsurface resistivity within the unsaturated zone. GPR velocity data indicate significant immediate increase in moisture content within the shallow vadose zone (< 1m), suggesting that rain water was infiltrating into the shallow subsurface. Furthermore, the combination of resistivity and GPR results suggest that the decreased resistivity within the shallow layers is due to increased ion content within groundwater. This is unexpected as rainwater is assumed to have a DC resistivity value of 3.33*105 ohm-m. These results may suggest that ions within the sediment must beincorporated into the infiltrating water.

The Clearing Storm: A Re-Assessment of the Climate for Collaboration between Academic and Student Affairs

There is increasing recognition among those in higher education that it is no longer adequate to train students in a specific field or industry. Instead, the push is more towards producing well-rounded students. In order to do so, all of a university’s resources must come together and the climate on campus must be one that supportscollaboration. This report is a re-examination of the climate for collaboration on the campus of a private liberal arts university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is a follow up to a similar investigation conducted on the same campus by Victor Arcelus(2008) five years earlier. In the interim, the university had re-configured its organizational structure, combining separate academic and student affairs divisions into a single unit overseen by the Provost. Additionally, the university had experienced turnover in several key leadership positions, including those of the President and the chief academic and student affairs officers. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to gauge the immediate impact of these changes on conditions for collaboration, which when present, advance student learning and development. Through interviews with six men and women, information was collected on the perceived climate for collaboration between academic and student affairs personnel.Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that, depending on the position of the interviewee within the university, conditions on campus were seen as either improved or largely unchanged as a result of the transition in leadership and the structural merger of the two divisions.

Cold surge episodes over southeastern Brazil - a potential vorticity perspective

Most intense cold surges and associated frost events in southern and southeastern Brazil are characterized by a large amplitude trough over South America extending toward tropical latitudes and a ridge to the west of it over the Pacific Ocean. In this study, potential vorticity (PV) streamers serve to examine the flow condition leading to cold surges. Case studies suggest that several PV anomalies are related to cold surge episodes: (1) the potential vorticity unit (2-PVU) isoline upstream of South America becomes progressively more distorted prior and during the cold surge episode, indicating a flow situation which is conducive for Rossby wave breaking and hence a flow which strongly deviates from zonality; (2) the initial stage of a cold surge episode is characterized by a northward bulging of high-PV air to the east of the Andes, resulting in a PV streamer whose northern end reaches Uruguay and southeastern Brazil; the strong PV gradient on its western flank constitutes a flow configuration that induces and maintains the transport of sub-Antarctic air toward the subtropics; (3) a distinct negative PV anomaly, a blocking, originates over the eastern South Pacific, upstream of the South America sector. A composite analysis of 27 cold surges is performed for stratospheric PV streamer frequency on several isentropic surfaces. It reveals that equatorward wave breaking over South America and the western South Atlantic represents an important potential component of the dynamics of intense cold surges. The indications are most pronounced around the isentropic levels of 320 K and immediately before the day with largest temperature drops over subtropical Brazil.

Seismic stratigraphy of the Blue Hole (Lighthouse Reef, Belize), a late Holocene climate and storm archive

Five seismic units may be identified in the similar to 8 m thick Holocene sediment package at the bottom of the Blue Hole, a 120 m deep sinkhole located in the atoll lagoon of Lighthouse Reef, Belize. These units may be correlated with the succession of an existing 5.85-m-long sediment core that reaches back to 1385 kyrs BP. The identification of seismic units is based on the fact that uniform, fine-grained background sediments show weak reflections while alternating background and coarser-grained event (storm) beds exhibit strong reflections in the seismic profiles. The main source of sediments is the marginal atoll reef and adjacent lagoon area to the east and north. Northeasterly winds and storms transport sediment into the Blue Hole, as seen in the eastward increase in sediment thickness, i.e., the eastward shallowing of the Blue Hole. Previous assumptions of much thicker Holocene sediment packages in the Blue Hole could not be confirmed. So far, close to 6-m-long cores were retrieved from the Blue Hole but the base of the sedimentary succession remains to be recovered. The nature of the basal sediments is unknown but mid-Holocene and possibly older, Pleistocene sinkhole deposits can be expected. The number of event beds identified in the Blue Hole (n = 37) during a 1.385 kyr-long period and the number of cyclones listed in historical databases suggest that only strong hurricanes (categories 4 and 5) left event beds in the Blue Hole sedimentary succession. Storm beds are numerous during 13-0.9 kyrs BP and 0.8-0.5 kyrs BP.