Efficacy of a strategy for implementing a guideline for the control of cardiovascular risk in a primary healthcare setting: the SIRVA2 study a controlled, blinded community intervention trial randomised by clusters

This work describes the methodology used to assess a strategy for implementing clinical practice guidelines (CPG) for cardiovascular risk control in a health area of Madrid

Functional Characterization of Muscle Fibres from Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Case-Control Study

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disabling condition characterized by unexplained chronic fatigue that impairs normal activities. Although immunological and psychological aspects are present, symptoms related to skeletal muscles, such as muscle soreness, fatigability and increased lactate accumulation, are prominent in CFS patients. In this case-control study, the phenotype of the same biopsy samples was analyzed by determining i) fibre-type proportion using myosin isoforms as fibre type molecular marker and gel electrophoresis as a tool to separate and quantify myosin isoforms, and ii) contractile properties of manually dissected, chemically made permeable and calcium-activated single muscle fibres. The results showed that fibre-type proportion was significantly altered in CSF samples, which showed a shift from the slow- to the fast-twitch phenotype. Cross sectional area, force, maximum shortening velocity and calcium sensitivity were not significantly changed in single muscle fibres from CSF samples. Thus, the contractile properties of muscle fibres were preserved but their proportion was changed, with an increase in the more fatigue-prone, energetically expensive fast fibre type. Taken together, these results support the view that muscle tissue is directly involved in the pathogenesis of CSF and it might contribute to the early onset of fatigue typical of the skeletal muscles of CFS patients

Jonson\u27s Acoustic-Oriented Dramaturgy in the First Folio Playtexts of \u3ci\u3eEpicoene\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eThe Alchemist\u3c/i\u3e

One significant yet understudied aspect of the First Folio printings of Epicoene and The Alchemist is that their marginal stage directions highlight the importance of Jonson\u27s acoustic-oriented dramaturgy to both plays. In light of Jonson\u27s recurrent associations between exposure to noise pollution and the threat of plague, this essay reads Jonson\u27s acoustic-oriented dramaturgy in i\u3eEpicoene and The Alchemist as a direct engagement with the contemporary plague-time performance settings of both plays. Moreover, when considered alongside the numerous site-specific engagements of both printed playtexts, what becomes clear is that Jonson\u27s acoustic-oriented dramaturgy assumes an important satirical dimension directed at these plays’ earliest London audiences. First, in part through his acoustic manipulation of the indoor performance environments of the Whitefriars and Blackfriars theaters, Jonson satirically critiques the fantasies of social exclusivity embodied by Morose and Lovewit. Equally importantly, by drawing dramaturgical inspiration from the ambivalent experience of playgoing during an ongoing plague outbreak, Jonson also critiques the fantasies of social exclusivity evident among his plague-time comedies’ well-to-do London audiences

Open Cirrus^TM Cloud Computing Testbed: Federated Data Centers for Open Source Systems and Services Research

There are a number of important and useful testbeds, such as PlanetLab, EmuLab, IBM/Google cluster, and Amazon EC2/S3, that enable researchers to study different aspects of distributed computing. However, no single testbed supports research spanning systems, applications, services, open-source development, and datacenters. Towards this end, we have developed Open Cirrus, a cloud computing testbed for the research community that federates heterogeneous distributed data centers. Open Cirrus offers a cloud stack consisting of physical and virtual machines, and global services, such as sign-on, monitoring, storage, and job submission. By developing the testbed and making it available to the research community, we hope to help spur innovation in cloud computing and catalyze the development of an open source stack for the cloud