LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Alpha
built 642 days ago
Alpha-1 antitrypsin is an anti-inflammatory protein that protects the tissue of the body. One of its most important roles is to shield the delicate tissues of the lungs by binding to neutrophil elastase, an enzyme released by certain white blood cells that digests bacteria and other foreign substances in the lungs. When a person with deficient levels of AAT inhales irritants or contracts a lung infection, the neutrophil elastase released to protect the lungs is uncontrolled and can injure healthy lung tissue. Repeated injury to the normal structure of the lungs can eventually result in emphysema, a condition affecting 54 percent of diagnosed AAT deficient patients, according to a recent registry. Identifying patients with AAT deficiency can be problematic.... Because AAT deficiency typically involves such common symptoms as shortness of breath on exertion, wheezing, and coughing, the condition is often misdiagnosed as another chronic lung condition.
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To get an idea of the performance of Alpha-based systems, here are some SPEC performance numbers (SPEC92, SPEC95). Note that the SPEC results report the measured performance of a whole computer system (CPU, bus, memory, compiler optimizer), not just the CPU. Also note that the benchmark and scale changed from 1992 to 1995. However, the idea here is to give a rough idea of the Alpha architecture performance compared with Intel-based offerings at the same time. Perhaps the most obvious trend is that while Intel could always get reasonably close to Alpha in integer performance, in floating point performance the difference was considerable.
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Alpha Bay has relocated Joseph Milner, a senior product manager, to the Boise office. In addition to his product management role, Milner will lead the company's recruitment and expansion efforts in the Boise area, and help bring the corporate vision and culture to the Boise office. As part of the expansion in Boise, Alpha Bay will be hiring experienced Java engineers, product managers, and business analysts.
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Alpha Equity has developed a very impressive six-year track record in international, real estate and domestic "short-extension" strategies, which can be found in the funds' prospectus. This long-term experience will be a great benefit for investors, as Alpha Equity will be able to apply six years of implementation experience to three new funds.
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Prolastin(R), Alpha-1 Proteinase Inhibitor (Human), as the first alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) augmentation therapy, has been available for nearly two decades. Throughout this time, Bayer BP has been a leading corporate citizen, providing millions of dollars for programs that provide support to patients and professionals in the global alpha-1 community. Bayer BP's research and development programs continue to focus on new products, technologies, and clinical endpoints that advance care and increase the scientific body of knowledge for treatment of alpha-1 deficiency. As a leader in pathogen safety research and applications of comprehensive safety and quality management programs during manufacturing, Bayer BP is committed to providing the greatest possible safety for patients who receive Prolastin(R).
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The Alpha series was sold, along with most parts of DEC, to Compaq in 1998. Compaq, already an Intel customer, decided to phase out Alpha in favor of the forthcoming Intel IA-64 "Itanium" architecture, and sold all Alpha intellectual property to Intel in 2001, effectively "killing" the product. Hewlett-Packard purchased Compaq later that same year, continuing development of the existing product line until 2004, and promising to continue selling Alpha-based systems, largely to the existing customer base, until October 2006 (later extended to April 2007).[2]
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