Open Access Subvention Fund Articles

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Prediction of equilibrium moisture content and swelling of thermally modified hardwoods by Artificial Neural Networks
Masoumi, Abasali; Bond, Brian H. (North Carolina State University, 2024)
In this study artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed for predicting the effects of wood species, density, modifying time, and temperature on the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) and swelling of six different thermally modified hardwood species, as previously published by the authors. Lumber of Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), red oak (Quercus borealis), white ash (Fraxinus americana), red maple (Acer rubrum), hickory (Carya glabra), and black cherry (Prunus serotina) were selected. Treatment type, species, temperature, time, and density were used as inputs for the models. Using Keras and Pytorch libraries in Python, different feed forward and back propagation multilayer ANN models were created and tested. The best prediction models, determined based on the errors in training iterations, were selected and used for testing. Based on the performance analysis, the prediction ANN models were accurate, reliable, and effective tools in terms of time and cost-effectiveness, for predicting the EMC and swelling characteristics of thermally modified wood. The multiple-input model was more accurate than the single-input model and it provided a prediction with R² of 0.9975, 0.92, and MAPE of 1.36, 7.77 for EMC and swelling.
The Challenges of EEG in Coma: The Potential of Recent Discoveries
Hbibi, Bechir; Mili, Lamine M. (IntechOpen, 2025)
The utilization of electroencephalography (EEG) has profoundly enriched our comprehension and monitoring of patients, especially those in intensive care units (ICUs), over the past decades. EEG, a method of recording electrical brain signals, is employed to explore a variety of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, dementia, and brain injuries that may affect unconscious patients. In recent years, EEG has also been used to monitor sedation levels, examine the quality of patients’ sleep, and track patient recovery during periods of coma. Groundbreaking findings, derived from EEG recordings in intensive care using various techniques and methodologies, have unveiled new avenues to aid these patients and improve physicians’ understanding of their condition and needs. Innovations such as the examination of sleep quality, the assessment of pain and stress, and the classification of vigilance states represent some of the promising advancements in ICUs, all of which are based on EEG. Recent discoveries stemming from EEG signal analysis have indicated numerous potential enhancements in improving comfort, fostering a better understanding of the situation, and reducing the administration of drugs for ICU patients. In this chapter, we will discuss some new EEG findings for intensive care unit patients and the possible applications that could be revealed based on other investigations on human subjects outside the ICU.
Urban spatial structure and air quality in the United States: Evidence from a longitudinal approach
Abdollahpour, Seyed Sajjad; Qi, Meng; Le, Huyen T.K.; Hankey, Steve (Elsevier, 2024-07-03)
Previous studies on the relationship between urban form and air quality: (1) report mixed results among specific aspects of urban spatial structure (e.g., urban expansion, form, or shape) and (2) use primarily cross-sectional approaches with a single year of data. This study takes advantage of a multi-decade, longitudinal approach to investigate the impact of urban spatial structure on population-weighted concentrations of PM₂.₅ and NO₂. Based on fixed-effect regression models for 481 urban areas in the United States spanning from 1990 to 2015, we found significant associations between various aspects of urban spatial structure and air quality after controlling for meteorological and socio-economic factors. Our results show that population density, compact urban form, circularity, and green space are associated with lower concentrations. Conversely, higher rates of urban expansion, industrial area, and polycentricity are associated with higher concentrations. For large cities (total population: 180,262,404), we found that increasing key factors from each urban spatial structure category (i.e., greenness, population density, compactness, circularity) by a modest 10% results in 10,387 (12,376) fewer deaths for PM₂.₅ (NO₂). We recommend that policymakers adopt comprehensive strategies to increase population density, compactness, and green spaces while slowing urban expansion to reduce the health burden of air quality in US cities.
Evolution at Spike protein position 519 in SARS-CoV-2 facilitated adaptation to humans
Cereghino, C.; Michalak, K.; DiGiuseppe, S.; Yu, D.; Faraji, A.; Sharp, A.K.; Brown, Anne M.; Kang, L.; Weger-Lucarelli, James; Michalak, P. (Springer Nature, 2024)
As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its fourth year, the pursuit of identifying a progenitor virus to SARSCoV- 2 and understanding the mechanism of its emergence persists, albeit against the backdrop of intensified efforts to monitor the ongoing evolution of the virus and the influx of new mutations. Surprisingly, few residues hypothesized to be essential forSARS-CoV-2 emergence and adaptation to humans have been validated experimentally, despite the importance that these mutations could contribute to the development of effective antivirals. To remedy this,we searched for genomic regions in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that show evidence of past selection around residues unique to SARSCoV- 2 compared with closely related coronaviruses. In doing so, we identified a residue at position 519 in Spike within the receptor binding domain that holds a static histidine in human-derived SARSCoV- 2 sequences but an asparagine in SARS-related coronaviruses from bats and pangolins. In experimental validation, the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein mutant carrying the putatively ancestral H519N substitution showed reduced replication in human lung cells, suggesting that the histidine residue contributes to viral fitness in the human host. Structural analyses revealed a potential role of Spike residue 519 in mediating conformational transitions necessary for Spike prior to binding with ACE2. Pseudotyped viruses bearing the putatively ancestral N519 also demonstrated significantly reduced infectivity in cells expressing the human ACE2 receptor compared to H519. ELISA data corroborated that H519 enhances Spike binding affinity to the human ACE2 receptor compared to the putatively ancestral N519. Collectively, these findings suggest that the evolutionary transition at position 519 of the Spike protein played a critical role inSARS-CoV-2 emergence and adaptation to the human host. Additionally, this residue presents as a potential drug target for designing small molecule inhibitors tailored to this site.
The silicon service spectrum: warmth and competence explain people’s preferences for AI assistants
Hernandez, Ivan; Chekili, Amal (Frontiers Media, 2024-07-30)
Introduction: The past year has seen the rise of many variants of large language model chatbots that all attempt to carry out verbal tasks requested by users. These chatbots perform various collaborative tasks, such as brainstorming, question and answering, summarization, and holding other forms of conversations, embedding themwithin our daily society. As these AI assistants become increasingly integrated into societal structures, understanding people’s perceptions toward them offers insights into how to better facilitate that integration, and how different our current understanding of human-human interactions parallels human-AI interactions. This project explores people’s preferences toward responses generated by various chatbots. Methods: Leveraging a comprehensive dataset composed of thousands of pairwise comparisons of responses from 17 popular chatbots, we applied multidimensional scaling (MDS) and property fitting (PROFIT) methodologies to uncover the dimensionality of why some models are similarly or dissimilarly preferred on average by people. Results: In line with previous research on universal dimensions of social cognition, interactions with chatbots are predominantly perceived along two dimensions: warmth and competence. Also similar to social cognition applied to humans, the dimensions displayed a curvilinear trend where the highest levels of default warmth are found in models with moderate levels of competence. Models at extremely high and extremely low levels of competence tended to have lower levels of default warmth. Discussion: This research advances our understanding of the interface between technology and social psychology. As chatbots and AI become increasingly prevalent within societal interactions, we see that many of the same principles found in perceptions between humans can also apply to AI.
Unregulated drinking water contaminants and adverse birth outcomes in Virginia
Young, Holly A.; Kolivras, Korine N.; Krometis, Leigh-Anne H.; Marcillo, Cristina E.; Gohlke, Julia M. (PLOS, 2024-05-01)
Through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR), the Environmental Protection Agency monitors selected unregulated drinking water contaminants of potential concern. While contaminants listed in the UCMR are monitored, they do not have associated health-based standards, so no action is required following detection. Given evolving understanding of incidence and the lack of numeric standards, previous examinations of health implications of drinking water generally only assess impacts of regulated contaminants. Little research has examined associations between unregulated contaminants and fetal health. This study individually assesses whether drinking water contaminants monitored under UCMR 2 and, with a separate analysis, UCMR 3, which occurred during the monitoring years 2008–2010 and 2013–2015 respectively, are associated with fetal health outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW), term-low birth weight (tLBW), and preterm birth (PTB) in Virginia. Singleton births (n = 435,449) that occurred in Virginia during UCMR 2 and UCMR 3 were assigned to corresponding estimated water service areas (n = 435,449). Contaminant occurrence data were acquired from the National Contaminant Occurrence Database, with exposure defined at the estimated service area level to limit exposure misclassification. Logistic regression models for each birth outcome assessed potential associations with unregulated drinking water contaminants. Within UCMR 2, N-Nitrosodimethylamine was positively associated with PTB (OR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.14, P = 0.01). Molybdenum (OR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.87, 0.97, P = 0.0) and vanadium (OR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.92, 1.00, P = 0.04), monitored under UCMR 3, were negatively associated with LBW. Molybdenum was also negatively associated (OR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.99, P = 0.03) with tLBW, though chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22) was positively associated (OR 1.18; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.37, P = 0.03) with tLBW. These findings indicate that unregulated drinking water contaminants may pose risks to fetal health and demonstrate the potential to link existing health data with monitoring data when considering drinking water regulatory determinations at the national scale.
Effect of processing parameters and thermal history on microstructure evolution and functional properties in laser powder bed fusion of 316L
Deshmukh, Kaustubh; Riensche, Alex; Bevans, Ben; Lane, Ryan J.; Snyder, Kyle; Halliday, Harold (Scott); Williams, Christopher B.; Mirzaeifar, Reza; Rao, Prahalada (Elsevier, 2024-07-03)
In this paper, we explain and quantify the causal effect of processing parameters and part-scale thermal history on the evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties in the laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of Stainless Steel 316L components. While previous works have correlated the processing parameters to flaw formation, microstructures evolved, and properties, a missing link is the understanding of the effect of thermal history. Accordingly, tensile test coupons were manufactured under varying processing conditions, and their microstructure-related attributes, e.g., grain morphology, size and texture; porosity; and microhardness were characterized. Additionally, the yield and tensile strengths of the samples were measured using digital image correlation. An experimentally validated computational model was used to predict the thermal history of each sample. The temperature gradients and sub-surface cooling rates ascertained from the model predictions were correlated with the experimentally characterized microstructure and mechanical properties. By elucidating the fundamental process-thermal-structure–property relationship, this work establishes the foundation for future physics-based prediction of microstructure and functional properties in laser powder bed fusion.
Regulation of the expression of αS₁ and αS₂ casein genes in bovine mammary epithelial cells by STAT5A
Wang, A.; Pokhrel, Binod; Perez Hernandez, Gabriela; Jiang, Hongliang (Elsevier, 2024)
Cow milk is rich in protein. Major cow milk proteins include αS₁ casein (CSN1S1), αS₂ casein (CSN1S2), β casein (CSN2), κ casein (CSN3), lactalbumin α (LALBA), and β-LG. These milk proteins are produced through gene expression in the mammary epithelial cells. Little is known about the molecular mechanism that mediates the expression of milk protein genes in cows. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the expression of milk protein genes in cows is mediated by STAT5A, a transcription factor that is induced to bind and activate the transcription of target genes by extracellular signals such as prolactin. To circumvent the need for prolactin-responsive bovine mammary epithelial cells, we generated a plasmid that expresses a constitutively active bovine STAT5A variant, bSTAT5ACA. Transfection of the bovine mammary epithelial cell line MAC-T cells with the bSTAT5ACA expression plasmid caused a more than 100,000-fold and 600-fold increase in the expression of CSN1S1 and CSN1S2 mRNAs, respectively, compared with transfection of the wild-type bovine STAT5A (bSTAT5A) expression plasmid. Transfection of bSTAT5ACA, however, had no significant effect on the expression of CSN2, CSN3, LALBA, or LGB mRNA in MAC-T cells. Transfection of bSTAT5ACA caused a more than 260-fold and 120-fold increase in the expression of a luciferase reporter gene linked to the bovine CSN1S1 and CSN1S2 promoters in MAC-T cells, respectively, compared with that of bSTAT5A. The bovine CSN1S1 and CSN1S2 promoters each contain a putative STAT5 binding site, and gel-shift and super-shift assays confirmed bSTAT5ACA binding to both sites. These results together suggest that STAT5A plays a major role in regulating the expression of CSN1S1 and CSN1S2 genes in the bovine mammary epithelial cells and that STAT5A regulates the expression of these genes at least in part by binding to the STAT5 binding sites in their promoter regions. These results also suggest that STAT5A does not play a major role in regulating the expression of other major milk protein genes.
Model-Free Cyber-Resilient Coordinated Inverter Control in a Microgrid
Beikbabaei, Milad; Larsen, Caroline; Mehrizi-Sani, Ali (IEEE, 2024-09-20)
The increasing number of inverter-based resources (IBR) in the grid introduces new challenges due to the fast transient response and low inertia of IBRs. Set point automatic adjustment with correction enabled (SPAACE)–based techniques smoothen the transient response of an IBR already installed in a grid by modifying its set point without accessing its internal parameters in a model-free approach. Coordinated SPAACE (CSPAACE) further enhances SPAACE performance by incorporating communication links to exchange tracking error values between IBRs; however, this creates openings for cyberattacks. This work adds a detection and mitigation algorithm for both denial of service (DoS) and false data injection (FDI) attacks on the communication channels. Long short-term memory (LSTM) detects anomalies in the inputs received from other inverters, and bidirectional LSTM (BiLSTM) mitigates the adverse effect of attacks on the voltage and frequency stability of a microgrid. A hybrid co-simulation platform is developed using a computer running PSCAD/EMTDC software, a network switch, and two Raspberry Pi computers, where the cyberattacks are conducted on the network switch using one of the Pis. The testbed is used to study the effectiveness of the proposed detection and mitigation method under DoS and FDI attacks and various grid transients.
Recovery quality index as a tool for monitoring the mined land reclamation
Quintiliano Alves, Maísa; Rodrigues de Assis, Igor; Lima Neves, Júlio César; Zeidan Oliveira, Fernanda; de Abreu Anunciaçāo, Amanda; Silva Moreira, Sandro Lúcio; Stewart, Ryan Daniel (Elsevier, 2024-02-10)
Many ecosystems are being severely degraded, leading the United Nations to deem 2021–2030 as the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. To be successful, this effort requires robust monitoring tools to assess land reclamation practices. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of recovery efforts in mined areas by developing a Recovery Quality Index (RQI) based on soil and vegetation indicators. Using the heavily mined Iron Quadrangle region of Brazil as an example, four undisturbed reference areas were selected: Atlantic Forest; ferruginous rupestrian grassland with dense vegetation; ferruginous rupestrian grassland with sparse vegetation; and quartzite rupestrian grassland. Four areas directly or indirectly affected by mining were selected, including an environmental compensation area set aside 5 years prior to the study, two sterile piles that had undergone recovery for 15 and 20 years, and a cave area with 15 years of recovery. Two vegetation parameters and 34 soil attributes were used in a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to select indicators and scores. Vegetative parameters had the lowest RQI weights. Soil physical indicators tended to be the most important. RQI values were lowest when Atlantic Forest was used as the reference, showing that the forest was a unique ecosystem, and the cave site had lower RQI scores than the other restored sites, indicating the high degree of disturbance that occurred in that low-lying area. The oldest sterile pile tended to have higher RQI values than the newest and similar values to the less disturbed compensation areas. The recovery quality index values were similar in all areas, with 5 to 20 years in the recovery process, showing that the rehabilitation process is slow in this environment.
Extent of Myometrial Resection With Various Surgical Methods for Endometrial Polypectomy Procedures
Evans-Hoeker, Emily; Millner, Adrienne; Lee, Grace; Perry, Ryan; Perry, Ryan; Kar, Ayesha; Swaroop, Meyha; Locklear, Tonja; Newman, Brian; Casey, James (Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc., 2024-09)
OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the frequency and extent of myometrial resection differs among surgical methods commonly used for endometrial polypectomy. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of pathology samples from polypectomy procedures performed on patients 18–50 years of age. Samples were reevaluated by a blinded pathologist to assess the following primary outcome measures: presence and percentage of myometrium on the pathology sample, prevalence of isolated myometrium, and depth of myometrial resection. Data were evaluated using Fisher exact test and Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by multiple comparisons analysis. To maintain a familywise error rate of 5% across all four primary analyses, the Bonferroni correction method was applied. RESULTS: Of 458 pathology samples, 21.8% were obtained using hysteroscopic morcellators, 11.1% were obtained with hysteroscopic scissors, and 67.0% were obtained with hysteroscopy with dilation and curettage (D&C). Hysteroscopic morcellation demonstrated a higher prevalence of myometrium (58.0% vs 9.8% and 15.3%, for hysteroscopic scissors and hysteroscopy with D&C, respectively; P,.001), a larger percentage of pathology samples with more than 25% myometrium (26.0% vs 4.0% and 0.6%, respectively; P,.001), and a higher prevalence of isolated myometrium compared with hysteroscopy with D&C (11.0% vs 0.7%; P,.001). CONCLUSION: The presence and proportion of myometrium in polypectomy samples obtained using hysteroscopic morcellators was significantly higher compared with hysteroscopic scissors and hysteroscopy with D&C.
Motor vehicle traffic fatalities by race and ethnicity (2010 – 2021)
Chavez Orellana, Jacqueline; Witcher, Christina; Perez, Miguel (Elsevier, 2024-07-08)
Motor vehicle traffic fatalities (MVTFs) are a public health issue that substantially affects the growing Black or African American, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) population. To further understand the racial discrepancies that exist in MVTFs, data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and U.S. Census were utilized to explore factors such as rurality, urbanicity, restraint use, and alcohol-impairment. Calculations considered yearly driver and occupant fatality rates per 100,000 population for each race and ethnicity from 2010 through 2021. A Poisson regression model was used to quantify the relationship between the MVTF rates and the factors of interest. Results demonstrated that the American Indian or Alaska Native population was statistically the most overrepresented group in fatality rates across all factors explored. Additionally, the American Indian or Alaska Native population and Black or African American populations were the only groups to have statistically significant increases in fatality rates in recent years when accounting for factors such as unrestrained vehicle driver/occupants and alcohol-impaired fatality rate. In contrast, the Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander population has consistently experienced one of the largest statistically significant reductions in driver and occupant fatality rates over time. Further analysis is necessary to develop and implement countermeasures that may reduce the increasing fatality rates of the most vulnerable populations while continuing to decrease rates for others as well. Despite limitations of FARS and population data, these results provide a pathway to reducing MVTFs and associated racial inequities that exist in the nation, particularly as the BIPOC population continues to grow.
Impossibility of adversarial self-testing and secure sampling
Bansal, Akshay; Singh Arora, Atul; Van Himbeeck, Thomas; Sikora, Jamie (American Physical Society, 2024-08-21)
Self-testing is the task where spatially separated Alice and Bob cooperate to deduce the inner workings of untrusted quantum devices by interacting with them in a classical manner. We examine the task above where Alice and Bob do not trust each other which we call adversarial self-testing.We show that adversarial self-testing implies secure sampling—a simpler task that we introduce where distrustful Alice and Bob wish to sample from a joint probability distribution with the guarantee that an honest party’s marginal is not biased. By extending impossibility results in two-party quantum cryptography, we give a simple proof that both of these tasks are impossible in all but trivial settings.
Sub-surface thermal measurement in additive manufacturing via machine learning-enabled high-resolution fiber optic sensing
Wang, Rongxuan; Wang, Ruixuan; Dou, Chaoran; Yang, Shuo; Gnanasambandam, Raghav; Wang, Anbo; Kong, Zhenyu (James) (Springer Nature, 2024-08-31)
Microstructures of additively manufactured metal parts are crucial since they determine the mechanical properties. The evolution of the microstructures during layer-wise printing is complex due to continuous re-melting and reheating effects. The current approach to studying this phenomenon relies on time-consuming numerical models such as finite element analysis due to the lack of effective sub-surface temperature measurement techniques. Attributed to the miniature footprint, chirped-fiber Bragg grating, a unique type of fiber optical sensor, has great potential to achieve this goal. However, using the traditional demodulationmethods, its spatial resolution is limited to the millimeter level. In addition, embedding it during laser additive manufacturing is challenging since the sensor is fragile. This paper implements a machine learning-assisted approach to demodulate the optical signal to thermal distribution and significantly improve spatial resolution to 28.8 μm from the original millimeter level. A sensor embedding technique is also developed to minimize damage to the sensor and part while ensuring close contact. The case study demonstrates the excellent performance of the proposed sensor in measuring sharp thermal gradients and fast cooling rates during the laser powder bed fusion. The developed sensor has a promising potential to study the fundamental physics of metal additive manufacturing processes.
Diabetes Performance Improvement Program With Continuous Glucose Monitoring, Pharmacist Intervention, and Team Management
Behnke, Andrew; Christopher G. Parkin (Elmer Press, 2024-10-31)
The growing prevalence of diabetes in the USA continues to be a significant public health concern. A significant proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have elevated glucose levels, as evidenced by a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level > 9.0%. Persistent hyperglycemia results in the development of chronic macrovascular and microvascular complications. Previous strategies to assist this high-risk population in achieving optimal glycemic control have not been as successful as desired. As the demand for healthcare providers and services continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, the USA is facing a national deficit in physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Conversely, the number of pharmacists is projected to increase at a rate of 3% annually over the next three decades. Studies have demonstrated that pharmacist involvement in diabetes patient management has resulted in improvements in HbA1c, lowering of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels, and achievement of blood pressure targets. This suggests the potential for pharmacists to play a key role in narrowing the gap. We implemented a Diabetes Performance Improvement Program (DPIP) that facilitates a comprehensive lifestyle intervention designed to improve diabetes management and outcomes. The DPIP care team comprises endocrinologists, certified diabetes educators, pharmacists, and supporting staff. The intervention includes utilizing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) supported by diabetes self-management training (DSMT) and medical nutrition therapy (MNT) delivered by a certified diabetes education specialist (CDES) and registered dietitian (RD). This article reviews the evidence supporting the use of an interdisciplinary team-based approach to diabetes care, describes the DPIP components, and provides guidance for implementing the program in clinic-community settings.
Verify the effectiveness of various inclusions of butyrate on male broilers raised on used litter without antibiotics
Fritzlen, Cooper J.; Maurer, John J.; Wong, Eric A.; Persia, Michael E. (Elsevier, 2024-12)
An experiment was conducted to verify the effectiveness of butyrate (BA) in diets of broiler chickens raised without antibiotics and exposed to used litter. Dietary treatments included: negative control (NC), a nonsupplemented diet on fresh shavings; positive control (PC), the same nonsupplemented diet on used litter; 500 BA, similar diet with 500 ppm BA on used litter; 1,000 BA, similar diet with 1,000 ppm BA on used litter; 500/250 BA, similar diet with 500 ppm BA from 0 to 8 d and 250 ppm BA from 8 to 42 d on used litter; 1,000/250 BA, similar diet with 1,000 ppm BA from 0 to 8 d and 250 ppm BA from 8 to 42 d on used litter. From 0 to 8 d, the PC resulted in a 6.8 g decrease in BW gain (BWG) compared to NC, but this response was lost from 0 to 25 d or 0 to 42 d. There were no differences in mortality corrected, FCR (FCRm) between PC and NC. All BA treatments increased BWG in comparison to PC from 0 to 8 d, with no differences from NC. Butyrate improved 0 to 8 d FCRm compared to both PC and NC (P ≤ 0.05), but these responses were lost over time (P > 0.05). Butyrate increased apparent ileal digestibility of energy and DM (P > 0.05). Butyrate had no effect on oocyst shedding compared to PC (P > 0.05). Butyrate was able to ameliorate the negative performance effects with reused litter over the 8-d starter period and was able to increase ileal digestibility of energy and DM.
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on outpatient psychiatric population well-being and symptomology utilizing COVID-19 Events Checklist (CEC) and Measurement Based Care
Jones, Sydney B.; Ko, Hayoung; Gatto, Alyssa J.; Kablinger, Anita S.; Sharp, Hunter D.; Cooper, Lee D.; Tenzer, Martha M.; O’Brien, Virginia C.; McNamara, Robert S. (2024-11-21)
Background: This study examines the impact of SARS-CoV-2 (i.e., coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19) using data from a measurement-based care (MBC) system utilized in an outpatient psychiatric clinic providing telemedicine care. A novel Patient Rated Outcome Measure (PROM), the COVID-19 Events Checklist (CEC) was administered in a hospital system based ambulatory clinic beginning April 2020 to track COVID-19-19’s impact on patients’ mental, emotional, and health-related behaviors during the pandemic. The study (1) provides descriptive CEC data, and (2) compares CEC results with PROMs evaluating anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7; GAD-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9), and psychological distress (Brief Adjustment Scale-6; BASE-6). Methods: This retrospective observational study included patient intake data collected from April 2020 to March 2021. Patient (N = 842) reports on the CEC’s five domain questions were aggregated to calculate average reports of COVID-19 related impacts at intake over the initial 12 months of the pandemic. Trends in COVID-19 related impacts were examined, and non-aggregated scores on the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and BASE-6 were compared to primary dichotomous (yes/no) CEC survey questions via Wilcoxon rank- sum testing. Results: Results capture the relationship between COVID-19 exposure, COVID-19- related sequelae and behaviors, and psychological symptom severity. Specifically, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests indicate that social determinants of health (SDOH), negative mental health impacts, and positive coping skill use were significantly associated with psychological symptomatology including overall psychological functioning via the BASE-6, anxiety via the GAD-7, and depressive symptoms via the PHQ-9. Results regarding SDOH were as follows: BASE-6 (w = 44,005, p < 0.001), GAD-7 (w = 44,116, p < 0.001), and PHQ-9 (w = 43,299, p < 0.001). Regarding negative mental health outcomes, the results were: BASE-6 (w = 38,374, p < 0.001), GAD-7 (w = 39,511, p < 0.001), and PHQ-9 (w = 40,154, p < 0.001). As the initial year of the pandemic elapsed, incoming patients demonstrated increased rates of suspected or confirmed exposure to COVID-19, (+2.29%, t = 3.19, p = 0.01), reported fewer negative impacts of COVID-19 on SDOH (−3.53%, t= −2.45, p = 0.034), and less engagement in positive coping strategies (−1.47%, t = −3.14, p = 0.010). Conclusions: Psychosocial factors related to COVID-19 are discussed, as well as opportunities for further research on the relationship between psychological symptomatology and the impact of COVID-19 on health-related behaviors.
Cannabis pollen dispersal across the United States
Nimmala, Manu; Ross, Shane D.; Foroutan, Hosein (Nature Portfolio, 2024-09-04)
For the recently legalized US hemp industry (Cannabis sativa), cross-pollination between neighboring fields has become a significant challenge, leading to contaminated seeds, reduced oil yields, and in some cases, mandated crop destruction. As a step towards assessing hemp cross-pollination risk, this study characterizes the seasonal and spatial patterns in windborne hemp pollen dispersal spanning the conterminous United States (CONUS). By leveraging meteorological data obtained through mesoscale model simulations, we have driven Lagrangian Stochastic models to simulate wind-borne hemp pollen dispersion across CONUS on a county-by-county basis for five months from July to November, encompassing the potential flowering season for industrial hemp. Our findings reveal that pollen deposition rates escalate from summer to autumn due to the reduction in convective activity during daytime and the increase in wind shear at night as the season progresses. We find diurnal variations in pollen dispersion: nighttime conditions favor deposition in proximity to the source, while daytime conditions facilitate broader dispersal albeit with reduced deposition rates. These shifting weather patterns give rise to specific regions of CONUS more vulnerable to hemp cross-pollination.
The Reduced-Order Modeling Approach for a Double-Damper Concept: A Comparison with a Single Damper for Comfort Analysis
Hamedi, Behzad; Shrikanthan, Sudarshan; Taheri, Saied (MDPI, 2024-07-01)
This paper explores the modeling and simulation of an innovative double-damper suspension system, evaluating its effectiveness through different test scenarios. The double damper integrates two individual dampers into a unified assembly. The modeling process involves representing the damper as two distinct dampers and a body block, accounting for the additional degree of freedom introduced by combining the two dampers. Simulink/MATLAB is employed for modeling the pressure, discharge, and force equations of the damper. A simplified quarter-car model is designed to conduct simulations for different road profiles, evaluating the efficacy of this double-damper model. The reduced-order modeling approach, suitable for complex systems like dampers, is utilized. Dedicated mathematical models are utilized to examine both single- and double-damper configurations, with the resulting non-linear equations solved using Newton’s iterative method. The equations derived for the single damper provide the basis for modeling the double-damper system. In this model, two separate dampers, each possessing similar properties, are simulated and considered to be rigidly linked at their connection point. Consequently, it is assumed that a portion of the force and velocity experienced by the lower damper is transmitted to the upper damper, and vice versa. Simulation results demonstrate that the innovative double-damper design outperforms a single passive damper in attenuating the oscillations of both the sprung and unsprung masses. Moreover, this innovative concept offers increased adaptability to balance between ride comfort and road holding, a feature previously limited to passive suspension systems.
Investigation of High Frequency Irreversible Electroporation for Canine Spontaneous Primary Lung Tumor Ablation
Hay, Alayna N.; Aycock, Kenneth N.; Lorenzo, Melvin F.; David, Kailee; Coutermarsh-Ott, Sheryl; Salameh, Zaid; Campelo, Sabrina N.; Arroyo, Julio P.; Ciepluch, Brittany; Daniel, Gregory; Davalos, Rafael V.; Tuohy, Joanne (MDPI, 2024-09-07)
In this study, the feasibility of treating canine primary lung tumors with high-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) was investigated as a novel lung cancer treatment option. H-FIRE is a minimally invasive tissue ablation modality that delivers bipolar pulsed electric fields to targeted cells, generating nanopores in cell membranes and rendering targeted cells nonviable. In the current study, canine patients (n = 5) with primary lung tumors underwent H-FIRE treatment with an applied voltage of 2250 V using a 2-5-2 µs H-FIRE waveform to achieve partial tumor ablation prior to the surgical resection of the primary tumor. Surgically resected tumor samples were evaluated histologically for tumor ablation, and with immunohistochemical (IHC) staining to identify cell death (activated caspase-3) and macrophages (IBA-1, CD206, and iNOS). Changes in immunity and inflammatory gene signatures were also evaluated in tumor samples. H-FIRE ablation was evident by the microscopic observation of discrete foci of acute hemorrhage and necrosis, and in a subset of tumors (n = 2), we observed a greater intensity of cleaved caspase-3 staining in tumor cells within treated tumor regions compared to adjacent untreated tumor tissue. At the study evaluation timepoint of 2 h post H-FIRE, we observed differential gene expression changes in the genes IDO1, IL6, TNF, CD209, and FOXP3 in treated tumor regions relative to paired untreated tumor regions. Additionally, we preliminarily evaluated the technical feasibility of delivering H-FIRE percutaneously under CT guidance to canine lung tumor patients (n = 2). Overall, H-FIRE treatment was well tolerated with no adverse clinical events, and our results suggest H-FIRE potentially altered the tumor immune microenvironment.

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