Input Volume Research Articles

Introducing Word's Importance Level-Based Text Summarization Using Tree Structure

Text-summarization plays a significant role towards quick knowledge acquisition from any text-based knowledge resource. To enhance the text-summarization process, a new approach towards automatic text-summarization is presented in this article that facilitates level (word importance factor)-based automated text-summarization. An equivalent tree is produced from the directed-graph during the input text processing with WordNet. Detailed investigations further ensure that the execution time for proposed automatic text-summarization, is strictly following a linear relationship with reference to the varying volume of inputs. Further investigation towards the performance of proposed automatic text-summarization approach ensures its superiority over several other existing text-summarization approaches.

АНТИГИПЕРГЛИКЕМИЧЕСКИЙ ЭФФЕКТ ЭКСТРАКТОВ СЕВЕРНЫХ ЯГОД НА МОДЕЛИ САХАРНОГО ДИАБЕТА II ТИПА У КРЫС, ИНИЦИИРОВАННОГО СТРЕПТОЗОТОЦИНОМ

The purpose of this study was to study the potential therapeutic properties of water-alcohol extracts of bilberry, blueberries, cowberries, cranberries, on the model of experimental streptozotocin diabetes mellitus. Research material and methods. Wild bilberry, cowberries, cranberries and blueberries collected in the summer and autumn of 2018 in the Surgut district of the Khanty-Mansiysk district of the Tyumen region of the Russian Federation were used to obtain polyphenolic water-alcohol extracts of Northern berries. The extracts were concentrated in a vacuum evaporator to the level of polyphenols in 10 mg / ml. the Rats were injected with polyphenol extracts at the rate of 10 mg / kg (the input volume of 0.2-0.3 ml). Results. The concentration of polyphenols in the samples was studied using a commercial set for determining the concentration of polyphenols «Polyphenols folin-ciocalteu (ENOLOGY line by BioSytems. Spain)», in accordance with the instructions of the reagent manufacturer. The results were expressed in the equivalent of Gallic acid, i.e. mg of Gallic acid/ml of berry extract (mgGAE /ml Conclusion. A model of type II diabetes mellitus obtained in rats with streptozotocin was used to study the effect of extracts of wild bilberry, cowberries, cranberries and blueberries in North-Western Siberia on the level of glycemia and insulin resistance, lipid metabolism, the level of expression of CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α in the liver and adipose tissue of rats, and histopathological changes in pancreatic tissue were also established. Determined that extracts of bilberry, cowberries, cranberries and blueberry on the model of diabetes reduces the severity of insulin resistance such as Metformin, lower blood glucose levels (except lingonberry extract), reduce the concentration of triglycerides (except cowberries extract), reduces the concentration of LDL (except cranberries and cowberries). The use of blueberry extract on the background of diabetes reduces the expression of inflammatory cytokine genes IL-6, TNF-α and CRP. At the same time, extracts of Northern berries in the blood plasma prevent excessive release of free radicals and increase antioxidant activity. Pathomorphological studies of pancreatic tissue document a lower degree of damage to the Langerhans islets against the background of the introduction of Northern berry extracts.

Decision support systems for leak control in urban water supply systems: A literature synopsis

Abstract Pipelines are urban infrastructure used as a means of transporting water (in small or large volume) across cities. One of the major challenges facing the transportation of water through pipeline infrastructure is the water lost through leaks caused by pipeline crack, corrosion, and third-party interference. Water loss through leaking pipes is recognized as a costly problem worldwide, strongly linked with a waste of precious natural resource, environmental pollution and financial loss. The water loss occurs in all distribution systems even though the volume of the losses differs. In severe cases, water loss level as high as 60% of the total input volume may occur. It, therefore, constitutes a major threat to the operation of municipal water services. Owing to its consequential effect, controlling water losses through pipe leakage detection and localisation is a major priority of municipal water service. Therefore, effective control of water losses is highly essential. This requires good leakage detection and localisation methodology as well as active decision making. To achieve this, decision support systems (DSS) have been utilised to detect and control leaks in water distribution systems. To this end, this paper presents a literature synopsis on the DSS utilised for leak detection and control in water supply systems. Research works in this domain are investigated. Finally, future studies are discussed.

Effects of fluid balance on prognosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome patients secondary to sepsis.

Fluid management is crucial to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to sepsis. However, choices of fluid resuscitation strategies and fluid input volumes remain a thorny problem. Our study aimed to elucidate the relationship between fluid balance and prognosis of ARDS patients secondary to sepsis. Our study included 322 sepsis patients from Ruijin Hospital between 2014 and 2018, and 84 patients were diagnosed as ARDS within 72 hours after onset of sepsis according to Berlin ARDS Definition. Among the 322 sepsis patients, 84 (26.1%) were complicated with ARDS within 72 hours. ARDS patients had a lower oxygenation index (PaO2/FiO2 166.4±71.0 vs. 255.0±91.2, P<0.05), longer duration of mechanical ventilation (11 [6-24] days vs. 0 [0-0] days, P<0.05) than those without ARDS. Sepsis patients with ARDS showed daily positive net fluid balance during seven days compared with those without ARDS who showed daily negative net fluid balance since the second day with significant statistical differences. Among the 84 sepsis patients with ARDS, 58 (69.0%) died. Mean daily fluid input volumes were much lower in survivors than in non-survivors (43.2±16.7 mL/kg vs. 51.0±25.2 mL/kg, P<0.05) while output volumes were much higher in survivors (45.2±19.8 mL/kg vs. 40.2±22.7 mL/kg, P<0.05). Using binary logistic regression analysis, we found that the mean daily fluid balance was independently associated with mortality of sepsis patients complicating with ARDS (P<0.05). Early negative fluid balance is independently associated with a better prognosis of sepsis patients complicated with ARDS.

Usability of Mobile Applications: A Systematic Literature Study

Since the release of the first mobile devices, the usability of on-board applications has been the concern not only of software vendors but hardware manufacturers as well. The academia community later willingly joined the discussion on usability in terms of theory and empirical measurement, having experience and knowledge in desktop settings. At first sight, such a background should guarantee a solid foundation to conduct research on software usability in a new setting. However, a preliminary study on the subject matter revealed methodological disorder in contemporary literature. As a matter of fact, a need emerged to review existing usability definitions, attributes and measures to recognize all associated aspects. In order to fill this void, we conducted a systematic literature review on usability studies indexed by the Scopus database and devoted to mobile applications. The input volume covers 790 documents from 2001 to 2018. The data analysis shows that the ISO 9241–11 usability definition has been adopted in an unchanged form and popularized as the standard by the HCI community. Secondly, in total, 75 attributes were identified and analysed. The most frequent are efficiency (70%), satisfaction (66%) and effectiveness (58%), which directly originate from the above definition. Subsequently, the less frequent are learnability (45%), memorability (23%), cognitive load (19%) and errors (17%). The last two concern simplicity (13%) and ease of use (9%). Thirdly, in the evaluation of usability, controlled observation and surveys are two major research methods applied, while eye-tracking, thinking aloud and interview are hardly used and serve as complementary to collect additional data. Moreover, usability evaluations are often confused with user experience dimensions, covering not only application quality characteristics, but also user beliefs, emotions and preferences. All these results indicate the need for further research on the usability of mobile applications, aiming to establish a consensus in the theory and practice among all interested parties.

MODELS OF GENERATION OF INPUT DATA OF TRAINING OF NEURAL NETWORK MODULES FOR DIAGNOSTIC OF DISEASES IN UROLOGY

The subject of the research presented in the article is neural network modules (NNMs), which are used to solve problems in the practice of diagnosing diseases in urology. This work aims to develop a mathematical model for generating a multitude of uroflowmetric parameters, in particular, graphs of uroflowrograms of the required volume, used as input data for NNM training. Objective: to develop a mathematical model for the formation of uroflowmetric parameters using a probabilistic approach based on a uniform "white noise". To develop an effective algorithm for the procedure for generating new parameter values and tools for its implementation. Methods used: NNM training methods, mathematical modeling methods, digital signal processing methods, tools for generating and processing random numerical sequences, digital data filtering methods. The following results were obtained: when creating and implementing a mathematical model for generating a large amount of training data, the requirements of randomness are taken into account when obtaining new values of uroflowmetric parameters. And at the same time, the obtained noise values are filtered to values of a given range, which are percentage-wise comparable to the amplitude value of the uroflowmetric parameter. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the results is as follows: the NNM training method for recognizing diseases in urology has been improved by developing a mathematical model to generate uroflowmetric parameters for NNM training. The presented model allows you to create the necessary amount of data for training neural network modules in the course of experimental research on the recognition of diseases. The generation of uroflowmetric parameters is based on adding noise to the parameter values. This allows you to change the input data of the NNM training in a given range. This ensures the creation of the required input volume of the NNM training procedure. In the future, this contributes to the testing process of trained neural network modules with reliable information on the diagnosis of diseases in urology.

THE USE OF “ELECTRONIC CLOUD” TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE THE FUNCTIONING OF THE RECOVERY SYSTEM OF ARMORED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT

The subject matter of the article is the process of the system of recovery of armored weapons and equipment functioning in the performance of tasks for the purpose in modern conditions. The goal of the study is to create a decision support system for the recovery of armored weapons and equipment under the interactive analysis of temporal and spatial indicators of warfare based on the use of “electronic cloud " technology. The tasks to be solved are: to formulate tasks effectiveness will increase in the decision support system; to develope structural and functional-logical scheme of the system, the list of external, calculation and control modules; to determinate the volume and format of input and output information for each structural unit and information buses of the system; to define the format of protocols for information exchange, the content of “survey” cards. General scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge are used.On the basis of a systematic analysis of the existing of armored weapons and military equipment recovery system, the main conditions and factors affect its functioning in modern armed conflicts were determined. The following results are obtained. The synthesis of the structural and logical scheme of the decision support system “virtual headquarters” in the form of software with modular architecture was carried out. Conclusions. Today, not only the process of positioning forces and means of technical support and their rational placement relative to military units, but also rapid response to changes in the technical situation is complicated. Improving the quality of the of weapons and military equipment recovery system is possible by creating a decision support system "Virtual headquarters". The main idea of creating the system is the processing of incoming and outgoing information in interactive mode, operational and optimal management of information flows and visualization of the solution for the recovery of weapons and military equipment. The proposed modular system architecture provides a list of external, design and management modules; the scope and format of input and output information for every business unit and information system buses. The information space, where the system resources will be located, is proposed to be built using the "electronic cloud" technology.

Feasibility of Multimodal MRI-Based Deep Learning Prediction of High Amino Acid Uptake Regions and Survival in Patients With Glioblastoma.

Purpose: Amino acid PET has shown high accuracy for the diagnosis and prognostication of malignant gliomas, however, this imaging modality is not widely available in clinical practice. This study explores a novel end-to-end deep learning framework (“U-Net”) for its feasibility to detect high amino acid uptake glioblastoma regions (i.e., metabolic tumor volume) using clinical multimodal MRI sequences.Methods: T2, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), apparent diffusion coefficient map, contrast-enhanced T1, and alpha-[11C]-methyl-L-tryptophan (AMT)-PET images were analyzed in 21 patients with newly-diagnosed glioblastoma. U-Net system with data augmentation was implemented to deeply learn non-linear voxel-wise relationships between intensities of multimodal MRI as the input and metabolic tumor volume from AMT-PET as the output. The accuracy of the MRI- and PET-based volume measures to predict progression-free survival was tested.Results: In the augmented dataset using all four MRI modalities to investigate the upper limit of U-Net accuracy in the full study cohort, U-Net achieved high accuracy (sensitivity/specificity/positive predictive value [PPV]/negative predictive value [NPV]: 0.85/1.00/0.81/1.00, respectively) to predict PET-defined tumor volumes. Exclusion of FLAIR from the MRI input set had a strong negative effect on sensitivity (0.60). In repeated hold out validation in randomly selected subjects, specificity and NPV remained high (1.00), but mean sensitivity (0.62), and PPV (0.68) were moderate. AMT-PET-learned MRI tumor volume from this U-net model within the contrast-enhancing volume predicted 6-month progression-free survival with 0.86/0.63 sensitivity/specificity.Conclusions: These data indicate the feasibility of PET-based deep learning for enhanced pretreatment glioblastoma delineation and prognostication by clinical multimodal MRI.

Measuring the productivity of the health care system

Measuring health care productivity is important as health is a large sector of the economy and with the majority of funding coming from public sources, the outlook for productivity growth is a critical factor in the debate about fiscal sustainability. The UK has over 20 years’ experience of measuring health care productivity. The UK measure of productivity is relatively comprehensive; measuring hospital, mental health and primary care services. It compares changes in the volume of quality-adjusted output with changes in the volume of quality-adjusted inputs. The productivity measure plays a role in budget setting, fiscal risk assessment and within the health system, hospital reimbursement. The UK experience has considerable strengths but also highlights some of the challenges of health care productivity measurement. Robust productivity measurement requires high quality, comprehensive data collected on a consistent basis over time. Even in a national health service this is challenging. The emerging evidence on allocative efficiency also highlights the importance of shifting the focus from the outputs of healthcare to outcomes. But, however productivity is measured, for fiscal sustainability the critical issue is how to realise potential productivity gains within the healthcare system and the mix of policy and managerial support needed to help the system optimise the trend rate of efficiency growth.

A study of lead removal using sargassum tenerrimum (brown algae): Biosorption in column study

The sorption capacity of sargassum tenerrimum powder is studied for various flow rates i.e., 10, 20 and 30 mL/min. The initial pH of aqueous solution is maintained at 5. For the flow rates of 10, 20 and 30 mL/min, the breakthrough times are 32, 26 and 18 min respectively while the exhaust times are 90, 85 and 75 min respectively. The time taken to achieve breakthrough has decreased with increase of flow rate. A glass column having 2.54 cm internal diameter (ID) and length of 40 cm were used. The experiments are conducted for two different bed heights (5 and 10 cm) using 2 and 4 g of biosorbent. A flow rate of 30 mL/min of aqueous solution (Co = 20 mg/L) is maintained. With an increase in bed height, the throughput volume is increased to achieve the saturation and this increase in input volume, would result in higher contact time, thereby increasing the uptake capacity. Lead biosorption uptakes are increased from 13.852 to 20.839 mg/g as the bed height is increased from 5 to 10 cm. the breakthrough curve models BDST, Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models were studied for discussing the fixed bed column onto biosprion of lead.

Archimedes’ water fountain; a water droplet energy harvesting system utilising piezoelectric spiral transducers

The arithmetic, or Archimedean spiral, was originally described by the Greek mathematician, Archimedes. In this research, the design, characterisation and fabrication of piezoelectric transducers inspired by double-armed Archimedean spirals for harvesting water droplet impact energy is presented. Such designs present a highly tuneable, self-supporting structure with multiple degrees of freedom, encouraging high sensitivity to droplet impact. It was found that spiral designs with droplet impact area bending stiffness within the range 7.9–9.9 N m−1 produced the highest peak energy outputs. However, samples with lower bending stiffness produced a greater average energy output, highlighting the significant influence of geometry design on energy transfer efficiency. A tiered tank system is presented which collects an input volume of water, before dispensing this water as a series of frequency and diameter regulated droplets onto the impact energy harvesting spirals. Controlling such aspects significantly increases system efficiency—a total energy output of 58.9 μJ was generated by a single spiral transducer arm driven by 1 L of water dispensed as droplets of 6 mm diameter, 1 m release height and impact frequency 0–40 Hz, representing an energy density of 16 mJ cm−2.

PDTM-42. CROSS-PLATFORM PROFILING OF ctDNA USING ddPCR: STANDARDIZATION OF THE LIQUID BIOPSY FOR PEDIATRIC DIFFUSE MIDLINE GLIOMA

Abstract INTRODUCTION Pediatric diffuse midline glioma (DMG) with histone H3 mutations (80%), are highly morbid tumors with poor response to therapy. We previously detected H3 mutations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from CSF derived from children with DMG and high grade glioma. Here, we describe a high-throughput, sensitive and specific approach for H3 mutation detection and quantification in plasma and CSF specimens, validated across multiple centers. METHODS DNA extracted from tissue-validated H3.3K27M specimens (4 tumor, 5 CSF, 4 plasma) and pediatric glioma cell lines (1 wild-type, 1 H3.3K27M) were used to standardize ddPCR workflows. ctDNA extracted from 500uL of CSF or plasma was pre-amplified using sequence-specific primers, then analyzed on RainDance and BioRad ddPCR systems using two sets of custom primers and fluorescent LNA probes (Assays A and B). H3 mutation allelic frequency (MAF) was determined across specimens, and validated through parallel analysis of additional matched H3.3K27M tumor tissue, CSF and plasma specimens (n=3). RESULTS ctDNA processing and detection was standardized across three institutions and two platforms with sensitive, specific and reproducible H3 mutation detection. H3K27M mutations were detected in as little as 0.3-2pg input DNA on both platforms, with comparable MAFs across instruments and assays. RainDance yielded greater overall positive droplet number detection (increased sensitivity). Differences in optimal sample input volume between platforms were circumvented by vacuum concentration or dilution to maintain equal input DNA. Assay A yielded superior specificity so was used for subsequent matched specimen analysis. Mutation detection in plasma, as in previous studies, remained challenging due to low [ctDNA], while CSF analysis yielded reliable results across assays and platforms. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate the utility of liquid biopsy for identifying H3K27M mutations in plasma and CSF via ddPCR with low starting [DNA], representing a rapid, minimally invasive method for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of DMG.

Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of modern Andean rivers in Ecuador: Fingerprinting tectonic provinces and assessing downstream propagation of provenance signals

AbstractRecognizing detrital contributions from sediment source regions is fundamental to provenance studies of active and ancient orogenic settings. Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of unconsolidated sands from modern rivers that have source catchments with contrasting bedrock signatures provides insight into the fidelity of U-Pb age signatures in discriminating tectonic provenance and downstream propagation of environmental signals. We present 1705 new detrital zircon U-Pb ages for 15 samples of unconsolidated river sands from 12 modern rivers over a large spatial extent of Ecuador (∼1°N–5°S and ∼79°–77°W).Results show distinctive U-Pb age distributions with characteristic zircon age populations for various tectonic provinces along the Andean convergent margin, including the forearc, magmatic arc, and internal (hinterland) and external (foreland) segments of the fold-thrust belt. (1) Forearc and magmatic arc (Western Cordillera) river sands are characterized by Neogene–Quaternary age populations from magmatic sources. (2) Rivers in the hinterland (Eastern Cordillera) segment of the Andean fold-thrust belt have substantial populations of Proterozoic and Paleozoic ages, representing upper Paleozoic–Mesozoic sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of ultimate cratonic origin. (3) River sands in the frontal fold-thrust belt (Subandean Zone to Oriente Basin) show distinctive bimodal Jurassic age populations, a secondary Triassic population, and subordinate Early Cretaceous ages representative of Mesozoic plutonic and metamorphic bedrock.Detrital zircon U-Pb results from a single regional watershed (Rio Pastaza) spanning the magmatic arc to foreland basin show drastic downstream variations, including the downstream loss of magmatic arc and hinterland signatures and abrupt introduction and dominance of selected sources within the fold-thrust belt. Disproportionate contributions from Mesozoic crystalline metamorphic rocks, which form high-elevation, high-relief areas subject to focused precipitation and active tectonic deformation, are likely the product of focused erosion and high volumes of local sediment input from the frontal fold-thrust belt, leading to dilution of upstream signatures from the hinterland and magmatic arc.

Real time control of biofilters delivers stormwater suitable for harvesting and reuse

Stormwater biofilters have great potential to treat stormwater for harvesting and reuse, but their variable performance in pathogen removal requires further optimisation prior to widespread uptake. This paper provides the first evidence that real time control (RTC) of stormwater biofilters can mitigate the impact of operational characteristics that result in poor microbial removal. We developed two RTC strategies and validated them using long-term laboratory experiments, utilising biofilters with a raised outlet pipe that creates a submerged zone. The first RTC strategy focuses on delivering the best water quality for harvesting and reuse or for recreational waterways. It has two components which ensure adequate treatment (microbial die-off): (1) it retains water in the biofilter for at least two days before allowing any further inputs into the system, and (2) the input volume is restricted to the submerged zone’s pore volume. This strategy was effective and significantly improved water quality in the biofilter effluent. However, since the system favours bypassing influent to ensure good quality effluent, only 28.4% of the stormwater was treated. This still resulted in a 62.3% reduction in the influent E. coli load because the system was effective at removing E. coli under controlled conditions. The second RTC strategy builds upon the first strategy, and focuses on delivering a balance between good water quality for harvesting and protecting the environment (i.e., lower bypass). Three hours before the next rainfall event begins, the water that has remained in the biofilter’s submerged zone for at least two days is drained and collected for harvesting through a bottom pipe. When stormwater inflow begins, the bottom pipe is closed and the biofilter operates without control, with water leaving the biofilter to the environment via the raised outlet pipe. The harvested effluent of this RTC strategy met the Australian stormwater harvesting guideline requirements for dual reticulation with indoor and outdoor use and irrigation of commercial food crops. Although only 5.4% of stormwater was collected for harvesting in this strategy, the environment was better protected because of a significantly reduced bypass volume. Our experiments also showed that the nutrient and sediment removal was high for both RTC strategies. This study presents the first stepping stone toward RTC of stormwater biofilters, demonstrating that these systems can deliver safe stormwater for harvesting and reuse, and for active recreational uses.

1832. Development of an Ultrasensitive Field-Applicable Plasmodium falciparum Assay for Malaria Diagnosis and Eradication

BackgroundMalaria control and eradication have been hampered by asymptomatic carriage which serves as a parasite reservoir. Low-density infections (< 100 parasites/microliter) frequently fall below the limit of detection (LOD) of microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) which are antigen-based tests. Molecular methods such as polymerase chain reaction are capable of higher sensitivity yet remain impractical for resource-limited settings. We describe development of an isothermal assay using the nucleic acid detection platform SHERLOCK (Specific High-Sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter UnLOCKing), which may also be increasingly important as there has been rising detection of histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2) gene deletions in Plasmodium spp. HRP2 is the most commonly used antigen in RDTs and deletion of this gene would render many RDTs obsolete.MethodsSHERLOCK leverages the endonucleases of CRISPR-associated microbial adaptive immunity. Cas12a is an RNA-guided, DNA-cleaving enzyme, which can be programmed with guide RNAs to cleave nontarget reporter ssDNA. We exploit the nonspecific degradation of labeled ssDNA to detect the presence of the dsDNA target that activated Cas12a (Figure 1). Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) coupled with Cas12a detection enables a lower LOD. Plasmodium falciparum whole genomic DNA was compared with parasites cultured in red blood cells (RBCs) with known parasitemia and boiled at 95°C for 5 minutes for lysis of RBCs/parasites then diluted 1:2.5 to prevent solidification.ResultsThis SHERLOCK assay detected simulated Plasmodium falciparum infection at attomolar LODs when applied to whole genomic DNA and simulated samples of infected RBCs spiked into whole blood. The genomic assay detected down to 0.2 parasites/microliter and the simulated sample detected to 10 parasites/microliter in the final reaction volume. In comparison, LODs from the initial input volume was 5aM and 250aM, respectively (Figure 2).ConclusionWe demonstrate an isothermal nucleic acid detection platform capable of diagnosis in 60 minutes in a one-pot assay requiring minimal sample preparation and reaching an LOD recommended by the WHO for malaria eradication. In summary, we illustrate the utility of the SHERLOCK platform in application to malaria and global health. Disclosures All Authors: No reported Disclosures.

Performance Evaluation of Adama City Water Supply System, Oromia, Ethiopia

This study was to evaluate the performance of Adama city water supply system and to recommend the improvement measures for the water supply system. Performance evaluation of the water supply system, user perception, Percapita water consumption, and water loss was analyzed. Among the International Water association Indicators(IWA) of water supply service, water resource indicator shows better performance, from quality of service indicators, average water tariff performance was better but need improvement, water resource indicators result shows better performance, from personnel indicators employees per connection, and operation and maintenance personnel shows poor performance, and from physical indicators treated water storage shows better performance, metered customer good, and microbiological and chemical test carried out shows poor performance. Households included in the analysis which connected to the water distribution network were 72%. Out of the total households included in the study, of the total respondents, 67% have individual connection 20.33% use community tap and 12.67% buy water from vendors. From the total households in the town, about 35% were collect rainwater. The average per capita consumption of Adama city was 38.25l/c/d and the water loss was 34.67% of the system input volume. Keywords : Adama City, Performance evaluation, Performance indicator, User perception, Water loss. DOI : 10.7176/CER/11-9-04 Publication date :October 31 st 2019

EP1.14-16 Use of Digital Droplet PCR for Detecting EGFR T790M Resistance Mutation in Plasma at Progression on TKI Therapy

Therapy surveillance is a corner stone in advanced lung cancer clinical management. Due to the ease of sampling, analysis of tumor derived circulating DNA in plasma for treatment monitoring and decision making is desirable. Patients with tumors harboring a sensitizing EGFR mutation benefit from targeted therapy using tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Unfortunately, the majority of patients develop resistance towards the initially administered TKI either through intrinsic mechanisms of EGFR or mutations of additional genes such as amplification of MET. Osimertinib can be administered at disease progression due to the resistance mutation T790M in EGFR. In this study we used liquid biopsy at progression after TKI treatment to assess mutational status of sensitizing and T790M mutations. In some cases, a tumor biopsy was analyzed in parallel as part of clinical management. Six 10 ml Streck Cell free BCT® tubes were collected and plasma was isolated. Cell free circulating DNA was purified and used in an ultra-sensitive ddPCR assay IBSAFE (George et al, manuscript in preparation). Both the sensitizing EGFR mutation and T790M was analyzed. In some cases, a solid biopsy was analyzed in the clinic in parallel to our plasma analysis. Patient outcome data will be collected from patient files. Eighteen of 25 patients tested positive in plasma for the previously known sensitizing EGFR mutation (72%). Twelve of 25 tested positive in plasma for T790M mutation (48%). Among plasma samples positive for the sensitizing mutation, 67% were also positive for T790M. The minor allele frequency (MAF) fraction of T790M in comparison to the sensitizing mutation varied extensively from 0.01% to 90% and also the MAF compared to total DNA varied (0.005% to 23%). Updated clinical follow up data will be presented. For a subset of patients were a tumor biopsy is not feasible, a liquid biopsy could provide information about the mutational status. As the MAF vary considerably and can be very low, a highly sensitive assay such as the IBSAFE ddPCR assay, capable of confirming a mutation at a MAF as low as 0.005% is advantageous. Further, a large plasma input volume may aid in identifying patients positive for mutations at a low MAF. Updated clinical follow up data will be discussed.

$$ \mathrm{NiMo}/{\mathrm{WO}}_4^{2-}/{\mathrm{ZrO}}_2 $$,-Zeolite-Containing Hydrodearomatization Catalyst for Improving the Operating and Environmental Characteristics of Diesel Fuel

A zeolite-containing diesel-fuel dearomatization catalyst was prepared using synthesized tungsten-doped zirconia $$ {\mathrm{WO}}_4^{2-} $$/ZrO2 and an Ni—Mo complex. The catalyst was tested for diesel fuel dearomatization at 4.5 MPa, feedstock input volume flow rate 1.5 h-1, H2/feedstock volume ratio 1000 nm3/m3, and temperature range 270-330°C. The highest conversion (78.8%) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and greatest cetane number were attained at 290°C. Also, the cloud and pour points of the diesel fuel decreased by 23-25°C because of cracking at 310-330°C and extensive isomerization at 290°C. This was confirmed by the yields of target diesel fraction of 69.8-72.9 and 89.2 wt. %, respectively.

Variable Background Flow on Aquatic Toxicant Exposure Alters Foraging Patterns on Crayfish.

Climate change is expected to alter hydrological cycles on global and regional scales, impacting groundwater and surface water inputs to stream habitats. In the midwestern United States, the volume and frequency of inputs are expected to become increasingly variable. This region has a high incidence of agriculture, creating enormous potential for transport of pesticides and herbicides into aquatic ecosystems. Metolachlor, an herbicide for corn and soybean crops, has been demonstrated to contaminate surface water and groundwater in the region. This study examines the impact of variable flow conditions on the toxicity of environmentally relevant concentrations of metolachlor in a macroinvertebrate found in midwestern streams, the rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus). Changes in crayfish foraging behavior were analyzed using a Mixed Model ANCOVA. Under toxicant exposure, crayfish significantly increased their consumption of macrophytes, but only under the variable flow regime. Thus, the increased variability in toxicant exposure impacted crayfish foraging behavior more than other flow regimes. This significant interaction between flow regime and metolachlor exposure suggests that the greater variability in toxicant inputs to streams may lead to more severe changes in behavior for exposed organisms.

Organizational and Economic Model of Renovation with Due Regard for the Development of Territory Planning Projects

The article considers a new version of the organizational and economic model of renovation. Using the proposed scheme of renovation and modeling the results of the program on the basis of an array of developed projects of territory planning, it is possible to clarify the economic calculations at the city level. Changes and new opportunities of the model are presented. Probabilistic charts of volumes of input of houses which will be constructed under the renovation program according to the developed projects of planning of territories are shown. When implementing the renovation program, the task of solving social problems is set, and in this regard, it is necessary to strike a balance between urban planning and economic parameters. Competent modeling of financial flows will avoid uneven expenditure of funds from the city budget. By varying the parameters of the model depending on the source data and the purpose of the analysis, it is possible to create an optimal scenario for the renovation program execution.