Bed Area Research Articles

Gasification of woody biomass in a novel indirectly heated bubbling fluidized bed steam reformer

Within this work, a novel 50 kWth indirectly heated bubbling fluidized bed steam reformer (IHBFBSR) is presented, along with its commissioning experiments. In the IHBFBSR, heat is provided through two radiant tube natural gas burners in the bed and the freeboard area. The aim of this innovative design is sufficient heat provision for biomass steam reforming and cracking reactions and heat loss reduction, thus allowing the possibility of scaling-up to an industrial level. Experiments were performed with two woody biomass feedstocks and two bed material particle sizes under different operating conditions (steam to biomass ratio, lambda, temperature), in order to identify the setup's main characteristics. Product gas composition and quality, as well as the cold gas efficiency of the IHBFBSR were in reasonable agreement to similar systems, however carbon conversion prediction needs further improvement. H2 production and tar removal are favoured by small bed material particle sizes as well as by char accumulation in the bed area. Furthermore, air injection above the bed led to improved H2/CO ratios and lower tar yields compared to when air is used as a fluidization agent. Overall, it was shown that the IHBFBSR technology constitutes a promising development in the field of biomass allothermal gasification.

Foraging habitat selection by breeding Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) from a declining coastal colony in the United Kingdom

Individual foraging specialisms among generalist species can have important consequences for demographic rates. We investigated the habitat preferences of breeding Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) at South Walney, a declining coastal colony in the UK, comparing results to a previous assessment made three decades before, when the breeding population was higher, which indicated substantial use of terrestrial, intertidal and anthropogenic resources. We used a two-stage Resource Selection Function (RSF) analysis to assess the habitat selection of 21 Herring Gulls fitted with GPS tags over three breeding seasons (2014–16). By generating pseudo-absences within the minimum convex polygon surrounding individual level GPS fixes, we first used logistic regression models to relate presence/absence for each individual to habitat. Selection for mussel bed areas was also modelled specifically as a function of phase of tide, time of day, period within the breeding season, year as well as individual covariates of mass, sex and hatching success. Second, individual RSF coefficients were extracted from the logistic regression models and used as response variables in linear models.Herring Gulls significantly selected for mussel beds and other coastal habitats (75% of all fixes away from the colony occurring in these habitats). Selection for mussel bed sites was significantly greater during the first half of the breeding season, March–May, compared with June–August, while there was also significant positive selection for this habitat between −3 and −2 m tide height (ordnance datum).There has been an apparent reduction in the range of food resources utilised by Herring Gulls at South Walney in recent years with a greater propensity for intertidal specialists within the tracked sample and, in particular, little use was made of urban and landfill areas. Therefore, better understanding of the intertidal resources available and considered management will be beneficial to balance the needs of conservation and commercial and social interests of the nearby shellfisheries.

Spatial interpolation of red bed soil moisture in Nanxiong basin, South China

Soil moisture is an important indicator for monitoring land degradation and plays an important role in soil biogeochemistry. Mapping the spatial distribution of soil moisture provides fundamental information for soil management and agricultural production. In this study, 225 sampling points in the study area, Nanxiong basin, were investigated to map the spatial distribution of soil moisture in the typical ecological degradation red beds area. Four interpolation methods including inverse distance weighting (IDW), ordinary kriging (OK), radial basis function (RBF) and empirical bayesian kriging (EBF) were used to estimate the continuous soil moisture distribution. The results showed that the soil moisture of the study area ranged from 8.12% to 32.82% with an average of 18.42% and a median of 18.20%. The annual average temperature and soil bulk density had significantly negative correlations with soil moisture, of-0.53 and − 0.31, respectively. The regional soil moisture had a moderate variation with the variation coefficient of 21.66% and strong spatial dependence with the nugget-to-sill ratios of 32.23%. The IDW method obtained a more accurate estimation on the spatial variability of soil moisture in the Nanxiong basin. The spatial distribution of soil moisture in the study area was drawn by different interpolation methods. The results show that the red bed degradation in the eastern part of the Nanxiong basin is more severe than in other areas, in which the geomorphic characteristics of red bed desert have appeared with the lowest soil moisture in this study. In addition, the spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture is also pertinent to human disturbance and land use. The results of spatial soil moisture distribution are of great significance for monitoring land degradation and agricultural drought in the red bed area.

Field test of in-situ conversion of coal

ABSTRACT This work studies the in-situ conversion technology of solid fossil fuels to liquid and gaseous products. The investigated approach consists of the pyrolysis of solid fuel within the temperature range of 500–700°C. Heating occurs due to the flow of current through the electrothermal breakdown channel. The electrical contact with the coal is implemented via electrodes located in the wells. These wells also function as extraction channels. The paper describes the process of testing the use of technology in an area of an open coal bed at the Bogatyr coal mine (Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan). The interelectrode distance in the experiment was 1 meter. The results have demonstrated the feasibility of this method and have provided data for extrapolating the parameters of a larger interelectrode distance. The values of energy consumption, dynamics of bed resistance, and the number of products obtained are provided in this paper.

Distribution, Temporal Change, and Conservation Status of Tropical Seagrass Beds in Southeast Asia: 2000–2020

Although Southeast Asia is a hotspot of global seagrass diversity, there are considerable information gaps in the distribution of seagrass beds. Broad-scale seagrass distribution has not been updated in the global seagrass database by UNEP-WCMC since 2000, although studies on seagrasses have been undertaken intensively in each region. Here we analyze the recent distribution of tropical seagrass beds, their temporal changes, causes of decline and conservation status in Southeast Asia (plus southern mainland China, Taiwan and Ryukyu Island of Japan) using data collected after 2000. Based on the 195 literature published since 2000, we identified 1,259 point data and 1,461 polygon data showing the distribution of seagrass beds. A large discrepancy was found in the seagrass bed distribution between our updated data and the UNEP-WCMC database, mostly due to inaccurate and low resolution location information in the latter. Temporal changes in seagrass bed area analyzed for 68 sites in nine countries/regions demonstrated that more than 60% of seagrass beds declined at an average rate of 10.9% year–1, whereas 20% of beds increased at an average rate of 8.1% year–1, leading to an overall average decline of 4.7% year–1. Various types of human-induced threats were reported as causes for the decline, including coastal development, fisheries/aquaculture, and natural factors such as typhoons and tsunamis. The percentage of seagrass beds covered with existing marine protected areas (MPAs) varied greatly among countries/regions, from less than 1% in Brunei Darussalam and Singapore to 100% in southern Japan. However, the degree of conservation regulation was not sufficient even in regions with higher MPA coverage. The percentage of seagrass beds within EBSAs (Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area determined by the Convention of Biological Diversity) was higher than that within MPAs because EBSAs cover a greater area than MPAs. Therefore, designating EBSAs as legally effective MPAs can greatly improve the conservation status of seagrass beds in Southeast Asia.

Methane decomposition kinetics on unfunctionalized alumina surfaces

The pyrolytic conversion of methane for the production of hydrogen and carbon was investigated over nonporous α-Al2O3 surfaces in the range of 900–1300 °C. Two devices were used: i) a single particle reactor to determine the carbon deposition rate at various temperatures and ii) a fixed bed in which both methane conversion and carbon deposition were measured.It was observed that at 1000 °C and below, the selectivity towards carbon (and hydrogen) was initially low over fresh α-Al2O3 (e.g. 38% at 250 s reaction time), increasing to 100% over time. Methane conversion was constant at 20% during this period. These observations point towards the presence of an activation process for the formation of carbon and hydrogen from the intermediates products (e.g. benzene) of methane pyrolysis. A temperature dependent maximum in carbon loading was observed. When this maximum carbon loading was reached, methane conversion also stopped completely, indicating 100% selectivity towards carbon and hydrogen.Two kinetic models for carbon deposition were derived and applied. After parameterization of these models using single particle data, they were able to predict carbon growth and CH4 conversion as function of temperature, specific bed area, carbon loading and gas composition in the new data set from the fixed bed.

An Investigation of the Bed Area Pre-Neonate as a Risk Factor for MRSA in NICU

Background In Japan, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most frequent source of infections affecting premature and critically ill infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). In addition to strict adherence to contact prevention measures, we focused on medical treatment environment, especially bed area per neonate. In Japan, there is no clear standard for NICU bed design other than the bed area (7m2). Therefore, as no studies have examined the bed area as a risk factor for MRSA, the purpose of this study was to examine the bed area per neonate and MRSA incidence density rate in NICU. Methods A telephone survey was conducted on 145 infection preventionists at medical facilities with NICUs that met the inclusion criteria including the active surveillance of MRSA. This survey was conducted after an approval of the Research Ethics Review Committee to which the researchers belong. Results The data of 30 infection preventionists with no missing data were analyzed (response rate 21%). The mean (standard deviation) of bed area per neonate was 12.5 (4.6) m2, and the median (range) was 11.6 (7.2-23.9) m2. The median (range) of MRSA incidence density rate was 2.81 (0.78-5.95) per 1000 neonate days. There was no statistically significant association between the bed area and MRSA incidence density rate. The NICUs were divided into two groups according to the bed area standards of the United Kingdom (16m2) and the United States (11.2m2). The results showed that by the standard of United States, RR (95% confidence interval) was 1.4 (0.7-2.8), by the standard of United Kingdom RR 1.4 (0.4-4.2). Conclusions All NICUs met Japanese standards for NICU bed area. However, when compared with the standards of other countries, it was suggested that the risk of MRSA might increase about twice in the group with a smaller bed area per neonate.

Assessment of Influencing Factors on the Spatial Variability of SOM in the Red Beds of the Nanxiong Basin of China, Using GIS and Geo-Statistical Methods

Understanding the spatial variability of soil organic matter (SOM) is crucial for implementing precise land degradation control and fertilization to improve crop productivity. Studying spatial variability provides a scientific basis for precision fertilization and land degradation control. In this study, geostatistics and classical statistical methods were used to analyze the spatial variability of SOM and its influencing factors under various degrees of land degradation in the red bed area of southern China. The results demonstrate a declining trend for SOM content with increasing land degradation. The SOM content differs profoundly under different land degradation degrees. The coefficient of variation ranges from 13.61% for extreme land degradation to 8.98% for mild land degradation, 7.96% for moderate land degradation, and 5.64% for severe land degradation. A significant positive correlation is displayed between the altitude and the SOM (p < 0.01) under mild and moderate land degradation conditions. Bulk density and pH value have a significant negative correlation with SOM (p < 0.01). It can be observed that terrain factors, as well as physical and chemical soil parameters, have a great influence on SOM.

Impacts of urbanization and land transitions on seagrass beds in tropical lagoon in central Vietnam

Socio-economic development activities have significantly affected biodiversity of seagrass beds in the coastal lagoon areas in central Vietnam. This study was carried out to investigate the major past and potential impacts on seagrass changes in Lang Co lagoon. In this study, historical satellite remote sensing data and GIS technology were used to evaluate the variation of seagrass beds during the period of 1998 to 2020. Bottom Reflectance Index (BRI) was employed with the correlation coefficient between the band pairs and the depth, which fluctuated between 0.76 and 0.90 with the bottom reflectance of the bands including bands 1, 2 and 3 ranging between 0.59 to 3.10, 0.66 to 2.35 and 0.45 to 1.95, respectively. Two coefficients were used to evaluate the accuracy of underwater objects including Kappa coefficient (K) and overall accuracy (OA) which ranged from 0.78 to 0.88 and 83.78 to 91.22, respectively. The classification results of terrestrial layers recorded Kappa coefficients and overall accuracies ranging from 0.76 to 0.90 and 85.35 to 99.27, respectively. The change in the area of seagrass beds and other land use types around Lang Co lagoon was studied during the period of 22 years. In the period of 1998–2004, seagrass was not clearly affected by socio-economic development activities, while the period of 2006–2012 witnessed significant impacts of socio-economic activities on seagrass beds. The period of 2014–2020 revealed the most apparent impacts of economic development on seagrass beds. The results of analyzing land use transitions indicated that while water, sand and artificial layers were stable over time; bare soil, forest and agricultural soil layers combined with plantation areas tended to change continuously over the years. The study results provide a scientific database for sustainable management of the Lang Co lagoon ecosystem in particular and coastal area in central Vietnam in general.

Study on the Fluidization Quality Characterization Method and Process Intensification of Fine Coal Separation in a Vibrated Dense Medium Fluidized Bed.

Uniform and stable bed density is the basis of efficient coal separation by a gas–solid dense medium fluidized bed. The traditional air dense medium fluidized bed (ADMFB) is a kind of bubbling bed. By introducing vibration energy, a vibrated dense medium fluidized bed (VDMFB) with uniform and stable bed density can be formed, where the bubble merger is suppressed, the gas–solid contact can is strengthened, and the fluidization quality is also improved. In this paper, the transfer process of vibration energy in a fluidized bed is studied in detail. By calculating the coherence of pressure signals induced by vibration energy and bubbles at different bed heights, the suppression effect of vibration energy on bubble merger is analyzed. The coefficient Rimp to quantitatively evaluate the improvement effect of vibration energy on the fluidization quality is proposed. The differences and incentives of density uniformity and stability in different height bed areas have been clarified under different vibration parameters and gas flow parameters. It is proposed that the optimal separation bed height area of VDMFB is about H = 40–150 mm. The separation effect of the ADMFB and the VDMFB on 1–6 mm fine coal was compared. The results show that, compared with the ADMFB, the VDMFB reduces the separation probable error, E, from 0.134 to 0.083 g/cm3, and the ash content of the clean coal is reduced from 18.83 to 14.97%. The vibration energy significantly improves the fluidization quality of the ADMFB and the separation effect of fine coal.

Artificial intelligence (AI)–powered pathologic response (PathR) assessment of resection specimens after neoadjuvant atezolizumab in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: Results from the LCMC3 study.

106 Background: PathR is an efficacy endpoint in Phase II and III neoadjuvant trials and is proposed as a surrogate for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival. Machine learning (ML)–based, automated approaches standardize quantification of areas of tumor bed and residual viable tumor. Here we show that automation may provide a scalable alternative to or complementary tool for manual assessment. Methods: We determined inter-reader variability for PathR among pathologists in the LCMC3 (NCT02927301) study and developed an AI-powered digital PathR assessment tool in line with manual consensus recommendations. Study cases were reviewed for PathR by a local site pathologist and 3 central expert pathologists (n = 127). When determined manually, major PathR (MPR) was defined as ≤10% viable tumor averaged per case. ML models were trained and validated by the PathAI research platform using digitized H&E-stained tumor sections. The digital PathR model predicted percent viable tumor for each case as the sum of the cancer epithelium area from each slide divided by the sum of tumor bed area for each slide. DFS (clinical cutoff: Oct 23, 2020) was reported for patients with manual and digital PathR assessment (n = 135). For digital MPR, we used a prevalence-matched cutoff that maintained the same proportion of patients as manual MPR. Results: Inter-reader agreement among 1 local and 3 central pathologists for manual PathR was good (n = 127; ICC = 0.87; 95% CI: 0.84-0.90). Agreement was 91% (κ = 0.82) on manual MPR and 98% (κ = 0.88) on pathologic complete response (pCR). 6 patients had unanimous pCR. Digital and manual PathR were strongly correlated (n = 135, Pearson r = 0.78) and digital PathR demonstrated an outstanding predictability for manual MPR (AUROC = 0.975). The range was 0%-60% for digital PathR and 0%-100% for manual PathR with a regression line slope < 1.0 (m = 0.303) indicating systematic differences between the methods, consistent with digital PathR using a high-resolution segmentation of cancer epithelium from stroma across each slide. Longer DFS was observed for MPR yes vs no with both digital and manual assessment (Table). Conclusions: This analysis showed good inter-reader agreement for manual and strong correlation of AI-powered digital and manual PathR. Comparable DFS rates for manual MPR and digital MPR are encouraging in the preliminary data. These data support further studies of digital PathR as a standardized and scalable tool to determine PathR. Clinical trial information: NCT02927301. [Table: see text]

Expansion of intertidal mussel beds following disease-driven reduction of a keystone predator

Disease shapes community composition by removing species with strong interactions. To test whether the absence of keystone predation due to disease produced changes to the species composition of rocky intertidal communities, we leverage a natural experiment involving mass mortality of the keystone predator Pisaster ochraceus from Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. Over four years, we measured dimensions of mussel beds, sizes of Mytilus californianus, mussel recruitment, and species composition on vertical rock walls at six rocky intertidal sites on the central California coast. We also assessed the relationship between changes in mussel cover and changes in sea star density across 33 sites along the North American Pacific coast using data from long-term monitoring. After four years, the lower boundary of the central California mussel beds shifted downward toward the water 18.7 ± 15.8 cm (SD) on the rock and 11.7 ± 11.0 cm in elevation, while the upper boundary remained unchanged. In central California, downward expansion and total area of the mussel bed were positively correlated with mussel recruitment but were not correlated with pre-disease sea star density or biomass. At a multi-region scale, changes in mussel percent cover were positively correlated with pre-disease sea star densities but not change in densities. Species composition of primary substrate holders and epibionts below the mussel bed remained similar across years. Extirpation of the community below the bed did not occur. Instead, this community became limited to a smaller spatial extent while the mussel bed expanded.

Changes in seagrass carbon stock: implications of decreasing area and percentage cover of seagrass beds in Barranglompo Island, Spermonde archipelago, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Seagrass ecosystems in shallow waters, including in highly dense small islands, are vulnerable to anthropogenic activities and may lead to a decreasing in seagrass area and percentage cover. As a result, it will negatively affect climate change mitigation, i.e. a decrease in seagrass carbon stock. This research was conducted to evaluate seagrass carbon stock changes in Barranglompo Island, Spermonde archipelago, in 2001 and 2017. Carbon stock estimation was carried out by collecting seagrass biomass based on the category of a sparse, medium, and dense seagrass coverage (each with 20 replications) and analysing their carbon concentrations. Changes in carbon sequestration were analysed using an estimated approach to the changes in the seagrass bed areas. Landsat and Worldview-2 image analysis were utilized to estimate the area of seagrass beds in 2001 and 2017, respectively. Results showed a decrease in seagrass beds by 9.9 ha, from 66.8 ha in 2001 to 56.9 ha in 2017, or an average of 0.62 ha per year. Based on that, it was estimated that seagrass carbon stocks had declined from 74.19 tons in 2001 to 65.21 tons in 2017 or decreased by an average of 0.75% per year. Anthropogenic activities, such as boat anchors as well as household waste disposal in the seagrass area, are considered having the potential in causing a decrease in seagrass area and the percentage coverage.

Sea urchin identification in Kodingareng Lompo waters, Spermonde Archipelago

Sea urchin, belongs to Phylum Echinoderm, Class Echinoidea. It is categorized as benthic marine invertebrates, and could be found in several ecosystem from shallow water to abyssal depth. Despite the high potential, there is no detail information of this organism in Indonesia, especially in Spermonde Archipelago, South Sulawesi Region. This study aim to identify the sea urchin species found in Kodingareng Lompo Island, Spermonde Archipelago. Kodingareng Lompo is one of the islands belong to Sangkarang Regency, Makassar city. Sampling was done during July 2020. Samples were collected randomly in seagrass bed and transition area. The morphological identification was conducted at the main island. The morphological traits of sea urchin samples collections were observed, noted, and compared with some literatures for identification. There three kind of sea urchin found in this waters: Diadema setosum, Mespilia globulus and Tripneustes gratilla.

Update of seagrass cover and species diversity in Southern Viet Nam using remote sensing data and molecular analyses

Along with coral reefs and mangroves, seagrass meadows are being threatened globally Southeast Asia is considered within the area of seagrasses’ cradle of diversity. However, information on the current status of seagrass beds from Southern Viet Nam is limited due to lack of reliable data about seagrass species occurring in the Southeast Asian region. One factor is the difficulty of unambiguous species identification. For example, the leaf morphological characteristics of Halophila ovalis and closely related species are overlapping which leads to misidentifications. In this study, the latest satellite Landsat 8 OLI and SENTINEL-2B image analyses were applied to determine the distribution of seagrass beds in Southern Viet Nam. Detailed morphological and genetic marker analyses were used to determine and update the species composition. The present study together with literature reviews indicate that the total area of seagrass beds from Southern Viet Nam are 10,832.1 ha. 2562 ha (or 19.1%) of seagrass coverage has been lost. The seagrass beds at Phu Quoc Island are the largest with 7579 ha. The occurrence of Halophila major is updated for almost all off-shore islands and open-water areas.

Risk Factors and Patterns of Locoregional Recurrence after Radical Nephrectomy for Locally Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma.

PurposeWe aimed to investigate the risk factors and patterns of locoregional recurrence (LRR) after radical nephrectomy (RN) in patients with locally advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 245 patients who underwent RN for non-metastatic pT3–4 RCC from January 2006 to January 2016. We analyzed the risk factors associated with poor locoregional control using Cox regression. Anatomical mapping was performed on reference computed tomography scans showing intact kidneys.ResultsThe median follow-up duration was 56 months (range, 1 to 128 months). Tumor extension to renal vessels or the inferior vena cava (IVC) and Fuhrman’s nuclear grade IV were identified as independent risk factors of LRR. The 5-year actuarial LRR rates in groups with no risk factor, one risk factor, and two risk factors were 2.3%, 19.8%, and 30.8%, respectively (p < 0.001). The locations of LRR were distributed as follows: aortocaval area (n=2), paraaortic area (n=4), retrocaval area (n=5), and tumor bed (n=11). No LRR was observed above the celiac axis (CA) or under the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA).ConclusionTumor extension to renal vessels or the IVC and Fuhrman’s nuclear grade IV were the independent risk factors associated with LRR after RN for pT3–4 RCC. The locations of LRR after RN for RCC were distributed in the tumor bed and regional lymphatic area from the bifurcation of the CA to that of the IMA.

Retinal vascular bed area on ultra-wide field fluorescein angiography indicates the severity of diabetic retinopathy

AimsTo quantify retinal vascular bed area (RVBA) in square millimetres on stereographically projected ultra-wide field (UWF) fluorescein angiography (FA) in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR).MethodsA prospective, observational study. Baseline Optos...

Diversity, distribution and conservation of seagrass in coastal waters of the Liaodong Peninsula, North Yellow Sea, northern China: Implications for seagrass conservation

Seagrass beds are highly productive coastal ecosystems that are widely distributed along temperate and tropical coastlines globally. Although seagrass distribution and diversity have been widely reported on a global scale, there have been few reports on seagrass distribution and diversity in northern China, especially for coastal waters of the Liaodong Peninsula in the North Yellow Sea. In the present study, we investigated the distribution and diversity of seagrass in coastal waters of the Liaodong Peninsula in the North Yellow Sea, northern China. Field surveys of seagrass wrack were conducted along shorelines, to identify whether seagrass beds occurred in nearby waters, and sonar methods were then used to collect data relating to seagrass bed extent. Also, we analyzed the major threats facing seagrass beds. The results of the study revealed that four species (Zostera marina L., Z. japonica Aschers. & Graebn., Z. caespitosa M., and Phyllospadix iwatensis M.) were found in study area, covering a total area of 1253.47 ha. Seagrass bed area significantly decreased with increasing water depth, and most seagrass was recorded at depths of 2–5 m. Due to the steep slope of the seabed, seagrass beds exhibited a zonal distribution in most of the study areas. In addition, the amount of seagrass wrack along shorelines could be used to infer the size and distance of seagrass beds. Human activities, such as clam harvesting, land reclamation, coastal aquaculture pose a threat to the seagrass beds. This study provides new information to fill knowledge gaps regarding seagrass distribution in northern China and it provides a baseline for further monitoring of these seagrass beds.

A Feasibility Study on a Monitoring for Seagrass beds Using Environmental DNA

In order to protect marine resources listed in the SDGs, it is important to conduct surveys to understand the current status and transition of aquatic species such as fish and seagrass. However, the area and frequency of surveys are often limited due to the lack of manpower and cost. Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is a method to obtain information of aquatic species in the sea or rivers. The aquatic species are identified by analyzing DNA contained in the sampled water. The eDNA analysis can be utilized as a new and efficient method for investigating aquatic species. The author is developing a monitoring method for seagrass beds using eDNA. Seagrasses are sessile organisms and don’t move like a fish, the areas where eDNA is generated are fixed. Therefore, eDNA path in a seagrass beds area can be predicted by flow prediction simulation. The monitoring carries out in the path of eDNA released from seagrass. When there is a correlation between the amount of DNA and the amount of biomass, it is possible to gain knowledge of the amount of biomass from sampling water in the path of eDNA. For example, the changes in the amount of biomass due to growth and withering of seagrass beds can be studied by observing the changes in the amount of DNA. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of the monitoring method using experiments, field surveys and numerical simulations for eDNA. The water tank experiments for 15 months, suggested that the amount of seagrass eDNA is related to the seasonal changes in the biomass of seagrass, which has been grown in the water tank. In the conducted four field surveys, the amount of eDNA tended to be high during times of spring with high amounts of seagrasses. In addition, the decomposition process of eDNA were examined by laboratory experiments using sea water. As a result, seagrass DNA contained in the sampling sea water was degraded and undetected within around 5 days. This result suggests that information obtained from the sampling water reflects biological information within a few days. These results suggest the possibility to estimate the changes in biomass by using eDNA in the sea. And, in the field surveys, it was shown that the amount of eDNA is small, so we have recognized that increasing the amount of sampling water and improvement of the DNA analysis method is an issue. This monitoring method is feasible when the collected eDNA is related to a specific seagrass bed. The feasibility of the method was considered using numerical simulation. In the numerical simulation, a particle tracking method using 10 types of simple bay shapes was used to trace the path of eDNA regarded as a particle. When the eDNA started from multiple positions, it was searched for position where the point where DNA starts and arrives is uniquely determined. As a result, at some observation points, the particles that departed from a specific position was observed without being mixed with particles departing from other starting positions, and this was true for all bay types. In addition, the same tendency could be obtained in calculations using the bathymetry of Ago bay, in Mie prefecture. These suggests that it may be possible to monitor seagrass beds by performing fixed-point observations according to the seagrass beds distribution and bay flow. Since few cases in the sea were conducted, the authors intend to continue the survey for the upcoming years and continue the study under various conditions including numerical analysis.

Abstract PS17-13: The prognostic role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes after treatment with neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in inflammatory breast cancer patients

Abstract Introduction: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare, but aggressive form of breast cancer. Increasing evidence indicates that immune cells in the tumor micro-environment play an important role in IBC progression: infiltration with stromal Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (sTIL) is associated with a better response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and longer overall survival in IBC patients. However, the prognostic role of sTIL in patients without a complete pathological response (pCR) after NACT remains unclear. In this study we evaluated the effect of NACT on sTIL in IBC and locally advanced non-inflammatory breast cancer (LABC) and the prognostic impact of sTIL in IBC. Methodology: In this retrospective case-control study we evaluated sTIL in patients with IBC (n=60) and LABC (n= 134) that received anthracyclin-taxane based NACT. Tumor tissue was sampled as part of the routine work-up, before (diagnostic biopsy) and after (resection specimen) NACT. sTIL scoring was performed on Haematoxylin &amp; Eosin stained 5-µm sections of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue by two different researchers according to the recommendations by the International TILs Working Group. In case of discrepancy, the sample was scored by a third observer in order to obtain a consensus score. sTIL difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment specimen was called δsTIL. Cellularity of the residual cancer after NACT was evaluated according to the MD Anderson Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) method. Results: Most of the IBC patients presented with a hormone receptor (HR) positive carcinoma (n=35/60, 58.3%) and 25 patients had pCR after NACT (42%); the latter patients had less than 1% sTIL in the tumor bed area. Besides having histologically more poorly differentiated tumors (P= 0.033), no significant clinicopathological differences between the IBC and LABC cohort were observed. There was no significant difference in the pre-treatment median sTIL score between IBC (12.5%, range: 1% - 80%) and LABC (10%, range: 1% - 85%). Furthermore, both in the IBC (median δsTIL: -4.5%, P= 0.01) and in the LABC (median δsTIL: -1%, P= 0.06) cohort the number of sTIL was lower after NACT. This decrease was significantly greater in the IBC cohort (P= 0.04). In a multivariate model - including HR and HER2 status, histological differentiation grade, nodal status and IBC/LABC phenotype - IBC disease correlated with a stronger decrease of sTILs after NACT (OR: 0.31, 95% CI 0.10 - 0.89, P= 0.04). As we previously demonstrated, higher sTIL score before NACT was associated with better overall survival (OS) (P= 0.006) in IBC. IBC patients without pCR, but with a stronger decrease (&amp;gt; 4.5 %) of the number of sTIL after NACT had a better OS (P= 0.04) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P= 0.04). There was a significant correlation between δsTIL and both higher sTIL score before NACT (P&amp;lt; .001) and lower residual cancer cellularity (P= 0.02). However, in a multivariate model - including sTIL before NACT, δsTIL and residual cancer cellularity - both a strong decrease of sTIL (HR: 0.32; 95% CI 0.10 - 1.00; P= 0.05) and a low residual cancer cellularity (HR: 0.22; 95% CI 0.07 - 0.68; P= 0.009) were independent predictors of a better DFS. Conclusion: Both the IBC and LABC cohort had the same number of sTIL before NACT. However, the IBC phenotype was associated with a stronger decrease of sTIL after NACT independent of molecular subtype and nodal stage. Furthermore, a strong decrease in sTIL was an independent predictor of better prognosis in IBC. Citation Format: Christophe Van Berckelaer, Leonie Vercauteren, Iris Vermeiren, Glenn Broeckx, Steven Van Laere, Luc Dirix, Cecile Colpaert, Peter Van Dam. The prognostic role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes after treatment with neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in inflammatory breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS17-13.