High Severity Conditions Research Articles

Gαi1/3 signaling mediates IL-5-induced eosinophil activation and type 2 inflammation in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis.

Uncontrolled severe eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (eCRS) is associated with elevated levels of Th2 cells and raised immunoglobulin concentrations in nasal polyp tissue. eCRS is characterized by high eosinophilic infiltration and type 2 inflammation. Gαi1/3 proteins participate in allergic inflammation by regulating immune cells. Whether Gαi1/3 proteins have a role in the development of eCRS remains unknown. To investigate the association between Gαi1/3 expression levels and CRS and the underlying mechanisms. Western blotting and immunohistology were used to detect Gαi1/3 expression. Correlations between Gαi1/3 and immune cells and clinical parameters were analyzed. Signaling pathway activation in IL-5-induced Gαi1/3-knockout or knockdown mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and eosinophils (EoL-1 cells) was detected by western blotting. EdU/DAPI was used to evaluate the proliferation of EoL-1 cells. A CRS model was established using Gαi1/3-knockout mice, and histological analysis and inflammatory cytokine measurements were performed. Compared with the non-eCRS subset, the eCRS subset showed significantly increased Gαi1/3 expression levels. High nasal tissue Gαi1/3 levels were linked to high tissue eosinophil infiltration, and high disease severity and allergic conditions in CRS patients. Gαi1/3 were required for IL-5-induced Akt-mTOR and Erk activation in MEFs. In EoL-1 cells, Gαi1/3 was associated with IL-5-activated IL-5Rα, promoting IL-5Rα endocytosis and transducing downstream signaling. IL-5-induced EoL-1 cell proliferation and degranulation were suppressed after Gαi1/3 silencing. In a CRS murine model, immune cell infiltration and type 2 inflammation were largely impaired in Gαi1/3-double-knockout mice. Increased Gαi1/3 expression levels in nasal tissue are linked to eosinophil infiltration and increased disease severity in CRS patients. Gαi1/3 contributes to eosinophil activation and participates in regulating allergic inflammation in CRS patients.

Trends in severity of work-related traumatic injury and musculoskeletal disorder, Ontario 2004-2017.

Traumatic injury surveillance can be enhanced by describing injury severity trends. This study reports trends in work-related injury severity for males and females over the period 2004-2017 in Ontario, Canada. A weighted measure of workers' compensation benefit expenditures was used to define injury severity, obtained from the linkage of workers' compensation claims to emergency department (ED) records where the main injury or illness was attributed to work. Denominator counts were obtained from Statistics Canada's Labor Force Survey. Trends in the annual incidence of injury, classified as low, moderate, or high severity, were examined using regression modeling, stratified by age and sex. Over a 14-year observation period, there were 1,636,866 ED records included in the analyses. Overall, 57.6% of occupational injury records were classified as low severity, 29.5% as moderate severity, and 12.8% as high severity conditions. There was an increase in the incidence of high severity injuries among females (annual percent change (APC): 1.52%; 95% CI: 0.77, 2.28), while the incidence of low and moderate severity injuries generally declined for males and females. Among females, injuries attributed to animate mechanical forces and assault increased as causes of low, moderate, and high severity injuries. The incidence of concussion increased for both males (APC: 10.51%; 95% CI: 8.18, 12.88) and females (APC: 16.37%; 95% CI: 13.37, 19.45). The incidence of severe work-related injuries increased among females in Ontario between 2004 and 2017. The methods applied in this surveillance study of traumatic injury severity are plausibly generalizable to applications in other jurisdictions.

Pre- and post-fire forest canopy height mapping in Southeast Australia through the integration of multi-temporal GEDI data, satellite images, and Convolution Neural Network

ABSTRACT This study leveraged Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models to estimate canopy height in Southeast Australian forests before and after the 2019–2020 bushfire event, using inputs from Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, spectral indices, and terrain features and GEDI canopy height (rh99) as target variables. Our research consisted of three primary objectives: (1) an evaluation of GEDI rh99 canopy height in relation to an nDSM derived from airborne LiDAR, (2) the development of two CNN models for pre- and post-fire scenarios, and (3) utilizing the trained CNN models to generate pre- and post-fire canopy height maps and canopy height change maps across the continuous landscape. GEDI rh99 accuracy analysis revealed R 2 = 0.85, RMSE = 7.25 m and nRMSE = 0.23 for pre-fire GEDI and R 2 = 0.78, RMSE = 10.1 m and nRMSE = 0.3 for post-fire GEDI. The pre-fire CNN model achieved R 2 = 0.75, RMSE = 7.29 m and nRMSE = 0.22, and post-fire CNN model achieved R 2 = 0.62, RMSE = 11.67 m, and nRMSE = 0.34 when validated against nDSM. Bias analysis was conducted, revealing that GEDI rh99 underestimated nDSM across all canopy height ranges, and slope has no significant impact on GEDI accuracy. Notably, post-fire GEDI rh99 exhibited significant underestimation in high to extreme fire severity. The CNN models’ prediction displayed overestimation in short forests < 20 m and increasing underestimation in taller forests > 20 m and underestimation in high and extreme fire severity. Subsequent investigation indicated that canopy layer thinning in high fire severity conditions resulted in weak GEDI waveform signals and consequent bias. Additionally, the GEDI rh99 bias was propagated to the CNN models, together with insensitivity of spectral band values to canopy height in dense and burnt forests potentially contributed to models’ bias. Finally, we demonstrated CNN models’ ability to monitor forest recovery by generating canopy height maps spanning East Gippsland from 2019 to 2023.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on regular emergency department users.

Regular users of the emergency department (ED) include both patients who could be better served in lower-acuity settings and those with high-severity conditions. ED use decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but patterns among regular ED users are unknown. To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population, we examined quarterly postpandemic ED utilization among prepandemic regular ED users. Key subgroups included prepandemic ED users with regular visits for (1) low-severity conditions and (2)high-severityconditions. An event study design with COVID-19 and historic controls cohorts. We identified 4710 regular ED users at baseline and followed their ED utilization for 7 quarters. We used a generalized estimating equations model to compare the relative quarterly percent difference in ED visit rates between the COVID-19 and historic controls cohorts. The first postpandemic quarter was associated with the largest decline in ED visits, at -36.0% (95% CI, -42.0% to -29.3%) per regular ED user overall, -52.2% (95% CI, -69.4% to -25.3%) among high-severity users, and -29.6% (95% CI, -39.8% to -17.8%) among low-severity users. However, use did not statistically differ from expected levels after 5 quarters among all regular ED users, 1 quarter among high-severity users, and 3 quarters among regular low-severity users. Initial reductions among regular high-severity ED users raise concern for harm from delayed or missed care but did not result in increased high-severity visits later. Nonsustained declines among regular low-severity ED users suggest barriers to and opportunities for redirecting nonurgent ED use to lower-acuity settings.

Investigations into Economic Returns Resulting from Foliar Fungicides and Application Timing on Management of Tar Spot in Indiana Hybrid Corn.

Tar spot, caused by Phyllachora maydis, is the most significant yield-limiting disease of corn (Zea mays L.) in Indiana. Currently, fungicides are an effective management tool for this disease, and partial returns from their use under different disease severity conditions has not previously been studied. Between 2019 and 2021, two separate field experiments were conducted in each year in Indiana to assess the efficacy of nine foliar fungicide products and nine fungicide application timings based on corn growth stages on tar spot symptoms and stromata, canopy greenness, yield, and influence on partial returns. All fungicides evaluated significantly suppressed tar spot development in the canopy and increased canopy greenness over the nontreated control. Additionally, applications of mefentrifluconazole + pyraclostrobin, metconazole + pyraclostrobin, cyproconazole + picoxystrobin at tassel, and propiconazole + benzovindiflupyr + azoxystrobin between the tassel and dough growth stages were the most effective at significantly reducing disease severity, increasing canopy greenness, protecting yield, and offered the greatest partial return. Fungicide products varied in their ability to protect yield under low and high disease severity conditions relative to the nontreated control. Consistently, positive yield increases were observed when disease severity was high, which translated to greater profitability relative to low severity conditions. On average, the yield increases across foliar fungicide products and timed application treatments were 544.6 and 1,020.7 kg/ha greater, and partial returns using a grain value of $0.17/kg were $92.6/ha and $173.5/ha greater, respectively, when high severity conditions occurred. This research demonstrates that foliar fungicides and appropriately timed fungicide applications can profitably be used to manage tar spot in Indiana under high disease severity conditions.

The role of fuel treatments in mitigating wildfire risk

Climate change has led to longer fire seasons and more intense wildfires worldwide and has caused substantial economic and environmental impacts in recent years. This challenge motivates an improvement in fuel treatment to balance between wildfire risk reduction and ecosystem protection. While fuel treatments have been widely applied to reduce wildfire occurrence and spread for a long time, the relationship between their design and effectiveness in wildfire risk mitigation is still unclear, especially under the varying fire severity conditions. In this study, we targeted a fire-prone ecosystem in Southwest China as the study area and designed 17 fuel treatment scenarios based on the local fire prevention plan, which contains three treatments (firebreaks, prescribed burning, and thinning), four treatment intensities (% of area treated), and two treatment shapes (belt and block). Using percentiles of the seasonal severity rating (SSR) index, we divided the 2000–2020 fire seasons into three severity scenarios: low (≤25th), normal (25th–75th), and high (≥75th). Following a framework to assess the effectiveness of fuel treatments on wildfire risk mitigation, we found all designs showed significant effects on risk mitigation under the low and normal fire severity scenarios. The effectiveness of fuel treatments in mitigating wildfire risk of different values was found to be influenced by their intensity and shape. However, even the most intensive fuel treatment design considered in this study cannot reduce wildfire risk significantly at the landscape scale under the high fire severity condition, which suggested that other fire management measures might have to be integrated. This study combined scenario design and risk assessment to demonstrate the effectiveness of fuel treatments in mitigating wildfire risk under different fire severity conditions, and the results could be used to guide the design and implementation of landscape fuel treatments in the future.

High resilience of soil bacterial communities to large wildfires with an important stochastic component

Wildfires alter the structure and functioning of ecosystems through changes in their biotic and abiotic components. A deeper understanding recovery process concerning diverse communities and properties within these components can provide valuable insights into the ecological effects of wildfires. Therefore, it is appropriate to enhance our understanding of the resilience of bacterial communities after wildfires within Mediterranean ecosystems. In this research, soil bacterial community resilience was evaluated in three types of ecosystems for two fire severities, two years after a large wildfire in Mediterranean ecosystems. The resilience of the soil bacterial community refers to its ability to return to original state after disturbance. This capacity can be estimated by the study of its recovery over time. In this study we evaluated the resilience using the variables: alpha diversity, beta diversity and the changes in abundance of both OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units) and principal bacterial taxa (phyla, classes or orders). Our results showed that resilience depends on fire severity and type of ecosystem. We studied three ecosystems with different stage in the secondary succession: low maturity shrublands and heathlands, and high maturity oak forests. In general, high resilience in the soil bacterial community was observed in heathlands under low and high fire severity conditions. The other two ecosystems were resilient only under low fire severity. Stochastic replacement of the abundance of the OTUs was observed in all three ecosystems, with a notable impact on oak forests, under during high-severity conditions.

Influence of Physical Attractiveness and Gender on Patient Preferences in Digital Doctor Consultations: Experimental Study.

The rise of digital health services, particularly digital doctor consultations, has created a new paradigm in health care choice. While patients traditionally rely on digital reviews or referrals to select health care providers, the digital context often lacks such information, leading to reliance on visual cues such as profile pictures. Previous research has explored the impact of physical attractiveness in general service settings but is scant in the context of digital health care. This study aims to fill the research gap by investigating how a health care provider's physical attractiveness influences patient preferences in a digital consultation setting. We also examine the moderating effects of disease severity and the availability of information on health care providers' qualifications. The study uses signal theory and the sexual attribution bias framework to understand these dynamics. Three experimental studies were conducted to examine the influence of health care providers' physical attractiveness and gender on patient preferences in digital consultations. Study 1 (n=282) used a 2×2 between-subjects factorial design, manipulating doctor attractiveness and gender. Study 2 (n=158) focused on women doctors and manipulated disease severity and participant gender. Study 3 (n=150) replicated study 2 but added information about the providers' abilities. This research found that patients tend to choose attractive doctors of the opposite gender but are less likely to choose attractive doctors of the same gender. In addition, our studies revealed that such an effect is more prominent when the disease severity is high. Furthermore, the influence of gender stereotypes is mitigated in both the high and low disease severity conditions when service providers' qualification information is present. This research contributes to the literature on medical information systems research and sheds light on what information should be displayed on digital doctor consultation platforms. To counteract stereotype-based attractiveness biases, health care platforms should consider providing comprehensive qualification information alongside profile pictures.

From pity to numbness: Social exclusion moderates the relationship between trait empathy and bystanders' aggressive tendencies in cyberbullying.

Studies on cyberbullying have revealed an inconsistent relationship between trait empathy and bystanders' aggressive tendencies towards victims. We believe that these studies have overlooked the role of social exclusion. We infer that high-severity social exclusion suppresses the negative relationship between trait empathy and bystanders' aggressive tendencies. In Study 1, 226 participants read a news report concerning a singer's humiliation by netizens due to lack of talent. The results revealed that trait empathy predicted lower aggressive tendencies towards the singer for participants with fewer experiences of social exclusion. However, trait empathy was unrelated to aggressive tendencies for participants with more experiences of social exclusion. In Study 2, 146 participants were randomly assigned to a low-severity or a high-severity social exclusion condition and were required to recall their experiences of low- or high-severity social exclusion, respectively. The results demonstrated that in the low-severity condition, trait empathy was negatively associated with participants' aggressive tendencies towards the singer and this relationship was mediated by state empathy. However, there was no evidence that the process was at work in the high-severity condition. This study further presents implications and directions for future research.

Cut & chip wear of rubbers in a range from low up to high severity conditions

The development of cut and chip (CC) resistant rubber articles, composed of rubber blends, requires a detailed understanding and a controlled estimation of the CC behavior of each separate rubber component within the blend in a wide range of severity conditions. This study is focused on comparative CC investigations of NR, SBR and NR/SBR (50:50) rubber blends using an Instrumented Chip and Cut Analyser (ICCA, Coesfeld GmbH, Germany) in a broad range of loading conditions. We show the results for the CC effects dependant on the applied normal forces from 90 to 200 N during cyclic impact damaging and the evolution of the temperature on the surface of the damaged specimen. We find significant differences between the used rubbers regarding dependence on the damage parameters and temperature on the normal load which determines the severity to which the rubber is exposed. In the case of NR evolving the CC damage and temperature goes through a maximum at critical values of the impacting normal load. This effect is briefly discussed in the context of the appearance of strain-induced crystallization (SIC) in the NR during cyclic impacts above a critical level. The results impressively explain the empirical preference for NR or NR-blends in practice when it comes to minimizing CC wear.

Foliar and root applications of the rare sugar tagatose control powdery mildew in soilless grown cucumbers

Powdery mildew is a constant threat to cucumber production in soilless systems requiring the intensive use of chemical fungicides to limit yield losses. However, the toxicity risks for the growers and the food safety issues linked to fungicide residues represent a major concern for crops with a frequent and extended harvest period, like cucumber, and create an urgent need of eco-friendly alternatives. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of foliar and root applications of the rare sugar tagatose, against naturally occurring powdery mildew (Podosphaera xanthii and Golovinomyces cichoracearum) on cucumber plants grown in a soilless system under commercial-like greenhouse conditions. Foliar and root applications of tagatose reduced powdery mildew severity and incidence under conditions of low severity in untreated plants, but tagatose and the chemical standard strategy lost their effect in the control of powdery mildew when the disease severity was increasing steadily. The combination of sulphur with foliar applications of tagatose effectively reduced powdery mildew under high severity conditions. Overall, under high disease pressure, foliar and root applications of tagatose were more effective than the standard chemical treatment reducing powdery mildew disease incidence and severity. Foliar application of tagatose directly inhibited P. xanthii conidial germination. After root application, tagatose was translocated to the leaves guaranteeing a systemic protection with no accumulation in cucumber fruits. Root applications of tagatose represent a novel strategy for cucumber protection against powdery mildew and reduce fungicide applications.

A Systematic Review of Complex Polypharmacy in Bipolar Disorder: Prevalence, Clinical Features, Adherence, and Preliminary Recommendations for Practitioners.

Objective: Extensive combination pharmacotherapy regimens for bipolar disorder have gained increasing use in routine practice in ways that outpace data from evidence-based clinical trials. The present review examined the prevalence of complex pharmacotherapy regimens in bipolar disorder patients and sought to characterize factors that most influence polypharmacy prescribing patterns. Data Sources: The authors independently systematically searched the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase databases for English-language observational/naturalistic or randomized controlled polypharmacy trials, using the keywords bipolar and polypharmacy or bipolar and combination treatment and pharmacotherapy. Study Selection: From among 3,566 publications, 49 ultimately met study inclusion criteria. Data Extraction: Information was obtained regarding prevalence rates of extensive polypharmacy as well as clinical characteristics and naturalistic outcomes for patients with simple (≤ 2) or complex (≥ 3) regimens of psychotropic agents. Results: A weighted mean percentage of 32.7% of bipolar outpatients (4,535/13,863) taking ≥ 3 psychotropic medications was identified. Factors associated with complex polypharmacy use include female sex, White race, age > 50 years, history of psychosis, greater burden of depressive illness, subtherapeutic dosing, lower treatment adherence, more extensive psychiatric comorbidity, and a greater history of suicide attempts. Conclusions: Extensive or complex combination pharmacotherapy regimens are common in many patients with bipolar disorder and often reflect greater overall illness severity. Naturalistic studies do not point to better outcomes for patients receiving more complex drug regimens, suggesting likely confounding by indication, high severity, or comorbid conditions. Formal clinical trials are needed to identify optimal drug combinations and durations when using ≥ 3 psychotropic medications to treat patients with bipolar disorder.

Breeding progress of disease resistance and impact of disease severity under natural infections in winter wheat variety trials

Key messageBreeding progress of resistance to fungal wheat diseases and impact of disease severity on yield reduction in long-term variety trials under natural infection were estimated by mixed linear regression models.This study aimed at quantifying breeding progress achieved in resistance breeding towards varieties with higher yield and lower susceptibility for 6 major diseases, as well as estimating decreasing yields and increasing disease susceptibility of varieties due to ageing effects during the period 1983–2019. A further aim was the prediction of disease-related yield reductions during 2005–2019 by mixed linear regression models using disease severity scores as covariates. For yield and all diseases, overall progress of the fully treated intensity (I2) was considerably higher than for the intensity without fungicides and growth regulators (I1). The disease severity level was considerably reduced during the study period for mildew (MLD), tan spot (DTR) and Septoria nodorum blotch (ear) (SNB) and to a lesser extent for brown (leaf) rust (BNR) and Septoria tritici blotch (STB), however, not for yellow/stripe rust (YLR). Ageing effects increased susceptibility of varieties strongly for BNR and MLD, but were comparatively weak for SNB and DTR. Considerable yield reductions under high disease severity were predicted for STB (−6.6%), BNR (−6.5%) and yellow rust (YLR, −5.8%), but lower reductions for the other diseases. The reduction for resistant vs. highly susceptible varieties under high severity conditions was about halved for BNR and YLR, providing evidence of resistance breeding progress. The empirical evidence on the functional relations between disease severity, variety susceptibility and yield reductions based on a large-scale multiple-disease field trial data set in German winter wheat is an important contribution to the ongoing discussion on fungicide use and its environmental impact.

Fermentability of Concentrated Sulfuric acid Hydrolyzates from Aspenwood and Pinewood

The fermentability of hydrolyzates derived from two-stage concentrated sulfuric acid hydrolysis of Trembling aspen (Populus tremula) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) were investigated. Three types of hydrolyzates were produced at mild, moderate and high decrystallization severity conditions. Portions of each of the original hydrolyzates were concentrated by vacuum evaporation to increase the sugar fraction to simulate industrial applications. Both sets of hydrolyzates were fermented anaerobically using Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 96581. After 23 hours of fermentation, complete glucose consumption was observed for all the original hydrolyzates, with no signs of inhibition. The ethanol yields from these hydrolyzates ranged from 68% to 90% of theoretical value. Fermentation of concentrated aspen hydrolyzates produced at mild or moderate decrystallization severity showed a significant lag phase, associated with relatively high furfural content in the samples (approximately 2 g/L). No lag phase was apparent for aspen produced at high decrystallization severity or pine hydrolyzates. However, furfural had no adverse effect on the maximum ethanol yield. No inhibitory effect of HMF, acetic acid, formic acid or levulinic acid was detected in the concentrated hydrolyzates due to the relatively low concentrations of these compounds. The ethanol yields from concentrated hydrolyzates were above 97% of theoretical with exception of pine hydrolyzate produced at high severity which had a fairy good yield of 87%. The quantitative analysis of inhibitors and the fermentability investigation showed that both the original and concentrated hydrolyzates from the concentrated sulfuric acid process were readily fermentable, and furfural was singled out as the most important inhibitor in these hydrolyzates.

Assessment of Safety Risk for Signalized and Un signalized Intersection in a Road Network

The spectacular increase of number of motor vehicles on the road is mainly attributed ingeneration of traffic problems like accidents, congestions, delays etc., especially in the urban premises of developing countries. This paper examines the traffic problems and sustainable improvement of road intersection at Bhopal, India. The special and temporal constitutions of the vehicle as well as pedestrian traffic at the intersections were examined and the characteristics of the junction indoctrinating the delay problems are identified. Data regarding the traffic volume, land use and pedestrian movement activities are collected through surveys, expert opinion and literature . Analysis of the collected data revealed that the improper planning of the junctions, lack of traffic signals and unauthorised parking are the major factors contributing to the traffic congestions. Various Using data collected from surveys, traffic frequency and severity standards for signalized and Un signalized have been established. The methodologies are developed incorporating the relative importance of different severity of different safety indices at intersection. The relative importance (weights) of very low, low, medium and high severity condition is developed using data collection and expert opinions experience people which have knowledge in development/safety development at intersection were obtained by conducting a survey.

Evaluation of Road Safety for Roundabout and Signalized Intersection

Traditional intersections have always caused accidents. There are numerous geometric intersection designs that best fit each situation. This study performed an operational and safety comparison with different intersection like signalized, unsignalized and roundabout to decrease the overall travel delay &amp; collision at intersection and increase the safety using case study. This dissertation describes the application of the traffic conflict technique to estimate, traffic safety at intersections. Using data collected from surveys, traffic frequency and severity standards for signalized and roundabout have been established. The methodologies are developed incorporating the relative importance of different severity of different safety indices at intersection. The relative importance (weights) of very low, low, medium and high severity condition is developed using data collection and expert opinions experience people which have knowledge in development/safety development at intersection were obtained by conducting a survey. A questionnaire was prepared to obtain the relative importance of different severity of different parameter performance. The weights are developed in such a way that their values lie between 0 and 1. In proposed work design safety parameter for intersection for enhancement of safety at intersections and all safety design is implemented on MATLAB and analysis of the geometrical design for vehicle system in the intersection by MATLAB, analyses, the status of confliction and desired value obtained by comparison of actual value with available geometric designs and to enhance the safety at intersection and explores methods to solve the problem of collision at intersections. In this paper evaluate safety parameter of roundabout.

Human rights issues in host countries of the Olympic Games and resulting differences in consumer evaluations

ABSTRACT Research question Violations of human rights have been reported in host countries of mega-sport events. Yet, the severity of violations differs between hosts. This study aims to find out whether differences in the severity of violations of human rights issues in potential and actual hosts of the Olympic Games lead to differential consumer evaluations of the Games, and whether Olympic Value perceptions influence evaluations depending on the severity of human rights violations. Research methods Two samples from the U.S. were surveyed. In Study 1, participants were informed about the potential hosting of the Olympic Games in countries outside the U.S. with reportedly high-severity vs. low-severity violations of human rights. Study 2 referred to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and framed the U.S. as a country with either high- or low-severity violations of human rights. It also assessed consumer knowledge about human rights issues and country image. Results and findings Attitude toward the Olympic Games was lower in the high (vs. low) severity conditions in both studies. Structural equation modeling results showed that two of the three Olympic value factors predicted consumer attitude in the high (but not in the low) severity conditions, and that attitude as well as some value factors related to intentions to follow the event in both studies. Implications Human rights issues in host countries of Olympic Games have negative effects on consumer evaluations. While consumers might still follow the event, value perceptions are important when violations are severe. This makes ethical concerns salient and affects the Olympic Movement.

Experimental Description of Information Technology Equipment Reliability Exposed to a Data Center Using Airside Economizer Operating in Recommended and Allowable ASHRAE Envelopes in an ANSI/ISA Classified G2 Environment

Abstract Airside economizers lower the operating cost of data centers by reducing or eliminating mechanical cooling. It, however, increases the risk of reliability degradation of information technology (IT) equipment due to contaminants. IT Equipment manufacturers have tested equipment performance and guarantee the reliability of their equipment in environments within ISA 71.04-2013 severity level G1 and the ASHRAE recommended temperature-relative humidity (RH) envelope. IT Equipment manufacturers require data center operators to meet all the specified conditions consistently before fulfilling warranty on equipment failure. To determine the reliability of electronic hardware in higher severity conditions, field data obtained from real data centers are required. In this study, a corrosion classification coupon experiment as per ISA 71.04-2013 was performed to determine the severity level of a research data center (RDC) located in an industrial area of hot and humid Dallas. The temperature-RH excursions were analyzed based on time series and weather data bin analysis using trend data for the duration of operation. After some period, a failure was recorded on two power distribution units (PDUs) located in the hot aisle. The damaged hardware and other hardware were evaluated, and cumulative corrosion damage study was carried out. The hypothetical estimation of the end of life of components is provided to determine free air-cooling hours for the site. There was no failure of even a single server operated with fresh air-cooling shows that using evaporative/free air cooling is not detrimental to IT equipment reliability. This study, however, must be repeated in other geographical locations to determine if the contamination effect is location dependent.

Field Triage of Motor Vehicle Crashes: Which Factors Predict High Injury Severity?

Patient physiology and crash characteristics are essential components of field triage for motor vehicle crashes. We aimed to identify prehospital information that predicted high injury severity or critical patient condition on hospital arrival. The association of demographics, shock index (SI), Glasgow Coma Scale, and 10 crash characteristics of trauma activations for motor vehicle crashes with injury severity score (ISS) ≥ 16 and a composite of hypotension, need for blood transfusions, or immediate operation was determined using univariate and multivariate analyses. A total of 133 of 498 patients (27%) had ISS ≥ 16; SI ≥ 0.9, Glasgow Coma Scale ≤ 8, speed ≥ 55 mph, seatbelt use, airbag deployment, ambulatory patient, severe vehicle damage, ejection, and extrication were associated with ISS ≥ 16. Only abnormal SI and high speed remained independent predictors for ISS ≥ 16 with Odds Ratio (OR) = 10.76 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.14-101, P = 0.04) and OR = 10.37 (95% CI, 1.48-72.93, P = 0.02), respectively. SI ≥ 0.9 predicted the composite outcome with OR = 5.92 (95% CI, 2.32-15.08, P < 0.01). Many commonly reported crash characteristics did not predict clinically important outcomes. Improvements in road and vehicle safety may be resulting in lower injury severity despite major crash mechanisms.

Deformation patterns in WorldSID 50th percentile dummy instrumented with IR-TRACC and RibEye™ in different loading configurations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different loading configurations on the WorldSID 50th percentile male dummy instrumented either with the Infra-Red Telescoping Rod for the Assessment of Chest Compression (IR-TRACC) or the RibEye™ rib deflection measurement system.Methods: The optical sensors of the RibEye system were used to capture the multipoint deformation of the dummy at frontal and rearward off-center locations in addition to the center of the rib location. The experimental setup consisted of 2 types of loadings: Low severity and high severity. Low-severity loading was performed by deploying a fixture-mounted side airbag on the dummy and high-severity loading was achieved by deploying a driver front airbag mounted in a similar fashion. The low-severity condition aimed at deforming the dummy’s ribs locally at off-center locations where the RibEye light emitting diodes (LEDs) were positioned to capture the deformations at those locations. The high-severity condition aimed at loading the dummy at high speed in lateral and oblique directions similar to what is experienced by dummies in side impacts.Results: In the low-severity tests, the peak deflections, in terms of length change, were approximately 15–20 mm, whereas for the high-severity cases the peak deflections were in the range of 30–40 mm for both IR-TRACC and RibEye cases.Conclusions: For similar physical insults, dummies with the IR-TRACC and RibEye systems showed varying results for both length changes and the shoulder forces depending on the severity and direction of loading. Under purely lateral loading, the mid-length changes with the RibEye and the 1D IR-TRACC were comparable. In the oblique loading conditions, more differences were seen with the 2 systems depending on the impact direction. The shoulder forces consistently differed between the 2 systems. In the frontal oblique low-severity cases, the ribs pivoted along the spine end and the length change was not found to be a suitable parameter to quantify rib deformation in such loading scenarios.