Time Of Sample Research Articles

Improving a method for eliminating the spill of hazardous substances by using "Universal Absorbent Cloth"

In order to increase efficiency and implement the principles of resource saving during the elimination of emergency spills of dangerous goods when transporting them by rail, proposals have been offered to improve the method of localization and elimination of emissions of hazardous substances using the "Universal Absorbent Cloth" ("UAC") The specificity of localization of the emergency emission site and the principles of elimination based on sorption technologies using "UAC" are described. To manufacture "UAC", special equipment (carbonizer) was designed, which provides effective carbonization of raw materials from plant waste at sufficiently low temperatures ≤500 °C. Using a carbonizer, a universal sorbent was obtained, which is subsequently used for the manufacture of "UAC". The total carbonization time of plant waste samples did not exceed 60 minutes. The universal absorbent obtained during the carbonization process was placed in a fabric matrix to produce "UAC" absorbent cloth. Standardized procedures for conducting experiments are described. Studies of the adsorption characteristics of the proposed "UAC" involving various model solutions (Gasoline A-95, 25 % solution of ammonia water, and 15 % solution of hydrogen peroxide) confirm its versatility and efficiency; the degree of purification reaches 92 %. It is proposed to use certain types of railroad cars to transport "UAC" as part of a freight train, which is supported by the corresponding dynamic indicators. Recommendations for the regeneration or disposal of spent "UAC" cloth are provided. The proposals for improving the method of emergency emission elimination using the "Universal Absorbent Cloth" ("UAC") make it possible to minimize the negative consequences of emergency spills of liquid cargoes of different hazard classes and reduce the time spent on elimination operations. These advantages ensure the competitiveness and profitability of the proposed technology

Serum levels of immunoglobulin M-free inhibitors of macrophage/CD5L as a predictive and early diagnostic marker for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

The apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM) is usually associated with the immunoglobulin M (IgM) pentamer in the blood and is dissociated from IgM in various diseases, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We aimed to elucidate whether IgM-free AIM (fAIM) is useful for detecting latent HCC in NASH. This research consisted of two cohort studies. The levels of serum fAIM, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and des-gamma carboxy prothrombin (DCP) of 18 NASH patients who developed HCC were measured during the follow-up period before HCC diagnosis (median, 4.7years). In total, 199 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were included in the HCC survey. The serum fAIM levels were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. In the cohort of 18 patients with HCC, 12 had high fAIM at the time of the initial blood sample, three had normal fAIM levels throughout the follow-up period, and three had fAIM elevated from normal to positive. The positive ratio of fAIM prior to HCC diagnosis remained significantly higher than that of AFP and DCP, and the fAIM ratio gradually increased. In a survey of 199 non-HCC NAFLD patients, a Cox regression analysis using independent variables, such as AFP, fAIM, age, albumin, bilirubin, and fibrosis stage, revealed that fAIM and AFP were significantly associated with the incidence of HCC. During the development of NASH-HCC, AIM activation in blood appears to start even before HCC is diagnostically detectable. Thus, the serum IgM-free AIM levels could be a new, sensitive biomarker for latent NASH-HCC.

Constrained model calibration of grain structure dependent spall dynamics in shock-loaded tantalum

We perform a gas gun experiment by shock loading tantalum samples of varying grain structures to assess the suitability of a numerical model for simulating spall behavior. The observed differences in spall strength, as well spallation and re-compression history, are not captured in uncalibrated hydrodynamic simulations. An optimization is performed on the Johnson spall model to determine the best parameters that fit the observed trends. Linear stability analysis is employed to motivate bounds on those parameters. Herein, optimized simulations agree well with the experimental results, reproducing pullback depth and recompression timescales across the different samples tested. Further, the observed pullback time of the single crystal sample was found to imply, via the stability analysis, a percolation threshold in good agreement with the theoretical value for a body centered cubic lattice. Therefore, the combined linear stability and percolation analysis shows promise and may be applied to other materials with diverse microstructures. Collectively, the findings demonstrate that the model is suitable for reproducing spall-induced free surface behavior across various microstructures, but also points to caution in using model coefficients for uncalibrated microstructures.

Ultrasound pretreatment for improving the quality and protein digestibility of stir-frying chicken gizzards

The quality and protein digestibility of chicken gizzards influenced by ultrasound pretreatment and stir-frying time were investigated. The results indicated that with the extension of stir-frying time, the yield, springiness, tenderness and protein digestibility of samples significantly decreased (P < 0.05), while they increased after ultrasound pretreatment. When the stir-frying time was 5 min, the shear force of samples treated with ultrasound decreased by 25.4% and the protein digestibility increased by 65.3% and 34.7% compared with the non-ultrasound. Additionally, the samples stir-fried for 5 min after ultrasound pretreatment (U-5) had the highest overall acceptance score and best flavor. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to all the obtained data, which described the main characteristics of stir-frying chicken gizzard samples from different treatment groups. In conclusion, ultrasound pretreatment is an effective method to improve the quality and promote protein digestion of stir-frying chicken gizzards.

Spectroscopic characterization (Raman and infrared) of Aloe maculata from the north Argentina region

In this work we present the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectra of Aloe maculata (A.maculata)(“maculata” = with spots) gel after elimination of the aloin fraction. The analyzed samples were harvested from two zones of different heights in northern Argentina. From the FTIR measurements it was possible to identify the presence of pectin in the gel, where an analysis of the degree of esterification was done on the basis of characteristic marker bands for the different aloe samples. The effect of the storage time of both samples was also monitored revealing that the degree of esterification undergoes a decrease upon the storage time in all samples. By this way, it was determined that the samples of A. maculata collected from the high lands, present a higher esterification degree in pectins than those collected from the low lands. In order to better follow the distribution of the different spectral signals, we performed a Raman mapping in a selected area. The Raman measurements helped to determine the characteristics of the different fibers of the Aloe gel. Furthermore, theoretical calculations carried out on a molecular model of one important aloe gel component, the acemannan, aided in the assignment of the modes of the groups present in the gel samples. This investigation is important in order to assess the influence of the harvesting place and the storage time on the use and commercialization of the aloe products, since a higher degree of esterification gives rise to a higher viscosity and, consequently, a better bioavailability.

QUALITY EVALUATION OF CAKE FROM WHEAT, BAMBARA GROUNDNUT (Vigna subterranean) and VELVET TAMARIND (Dalium guineense) FLOUR BLENDS

The increasing nutritional awareness of consumers has necessitated investigations into the incorporation of nutrient dense underutilized crops such as Bambara groundnut and velvet tamarind into baked products. This study was aimed at assessing the suitability of different proportions (80:15:5, 75:20:5. 70:25:5, 65:30:5) of wheat, bambara groundnut, velvet tamarind composite flours for cake production with 100% wheat flour as the control. The functional properties of the composite flours were evaluated and the cakes were analyzed for physical, proximate, mineral and sensory properties using standard methods. There was no significant difference (p&gt;0.05) in the bulk densities and swelling index between the composite flours (up to 25% substitution) and the control. The water absorption capacity (WAC), gelatinization temperature and time of the flour samples increased (0.85 to 1.10 %, 69.50 to 80oC and 1.47 to 12.41s respectively) with increase in bambara groundnut flour substitution. Likewise the weight of the cake samples while the height and oven spring reduced with increase in bambara groundnut flour. The protein, ash, calcium, sodium and potassium content of the cake samples increased (7.69 to 12.70%, 1.99 to 2.36%, 20.50 to 31.30 mg/100g, 216.79 to 278.36 mg/100g and 548.55 to 836.92 mg/100g respectively) with inclusion of bambara groundnut and tamarind flour. The sensory properties of the cake samples were adversely affected by inclusion of bambara groundnut and velvet tamarind however they were still acceptable. The study concludes that production of cake from wheat/bambara groundnut/ velvet tamarind composite flour enhanced the nutrient content of the product and hence should be

Analysis of the Microcontroller Resources Using Specifics for Speech Recognition

The use of neural networks for information recognition, in particular, voice, expands the functional capabilities of embedded systems on microcontrollers. But it is necessary to take into account the limitations of the microcontroller resources. The purpose of the work is to analyze the impact of voice processing parameters and neural network architecture on the degree of microcontroller resources usage. To do this, a database of samples of the keyword, samples of other words and voices, and samples of noise are created, the probability of recognizing the keyword among other words and noises is evaluated, the dependence of the amount of memory used on the microcontroller and the decision-making time on the number MFC coefficients is established, the dependence of the amount of used memory of the microcontroller and the decision-making time on the type of convolutional neural network is established also. During the experiment, the Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense development board was used. The neural network model was built and trained on the Edge Impulse software platform. To conduct the experiment, three groups of data with the names "hello", "unknown", "noise" were created. The group "hello" contains 94 examples of the word "hello" in English, spoken by a female voice. The "unknown" group contains 167 examples of other words pronounced by both female and male voices. The "noise" group contains 166 samples of noise and random sounds. According to Edge Impulse's recommendation, 80% of the samples from each of the data groups were used to train the neural network model, and 20% of the samples were used for testing. Analysis of the results shows that with an increase in the number of MFC coefficients and, accordingly, the accuracy of keyword recognition, the amount of program memory occupied by the code increases by 480 bytes (less than 1%). For the nRF52840 microcontroller, this is not a significant increase. The amount of RAM used during the experiment did not change. Although the calculation time of the accuracy of the code word definition increased by only 14 ms (less than 5%) with the increase in the number of MFC coefficients, the calculation procedure is quite long (approximately 0.3 s) compared to the sound sample length of 1 s. This can be a certain limitation when processing a sound signal with 32-bit microcontrollers. To analyze phrases or sentences, it is necessary to use more powerful microcontrollers or microprocessors. Based on the results of experimental research, it can be stated that the computing resources of 32-bit microcontrollers are quite sufficient for recognizing voice commands with the possibility of pre-digital processing of the sound signal, in particular, the use of low-frequency cepstral coefficients. The selection of the number of coefficients does not significantly affect the amount of used FLASH and RAM memory of the nRF52840 microcontroller. The comparison results show the superiority of the 2D network in the accuracy of the keyword definition for both 12 and 13 MFC coefficients. The use of a one-dimensional convolutional neural network for voice sample recognition in the conducted experiment provides memory savings of approximately 5%. The quality of keyword recognition with the number of MFC coefficients of 12 is approximately 0.7. For 17 MFC coefficients, the recognition quality is already 0.97. The amount of RAM used in the case of the 2D network has decreased slightly. Voice sample processing time for both types of networks is practically the same. Thus, 1D convolutional neural networks have certain advantages in microcontroller applications for voice processing and recognition. The limitation of voice recognition on the microcontroller is the sufficiently long processing time of the sound sample (approximately 0.3 s) with the duration of the sample itself being 1 s, this can be explained by a sufficiently low clock frequency of 64 MHz. Increasing the clock frequency will reduce the calculation time.

Determination of pyridine and furfuryl alcohol in breath after coffee consumption

We aimed to demonstrate that breath analysis can be used as a method for the detection of potentially harmful compounds in food after their ingestion. Development of such a method could be adapted as a tool for detection of food intoxication. To achieve this, we compared the levels of pyridine (Py) and furfuryl alcohol (FFA) found in breath with the quantity of these compounds ingested when drinking coffee. Coffee drink beverages were prepared in the laboratory and consumed by volunteers (n = 5). An aliquot of coffee was analysed using high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) to quantify Py and FFA in the beverage. Breath samples were collected several times over a 45 min period after ingestion of coffee and analysed by thermal desorption coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD/GC-MS). The levels of Py and FFA found in coffee ranged from 0.2 to 3 mg/cup of coffee, and from 7 to 30 mg/cup of coffee, respectively. The levels of these compounds detected in breath ranged from 7 to 1200 ng/l breath for Py and from 1 to 760 ng/l breath for FFA. Several parameters can influence the levels of these chemicals in breath, especially the collection time of the breath sample.

Critical slowing down theory provides early warning signals for sandstone failure

The critical point of rock mass transition from stable to unstable states is significant for the prevention and control of rock engineering hazards. This study explored the precursor characteristics of instability in sandstone containing prefabricated fractures and intact sandstone based on the critical slowing down (CSD) theory. The results demonstrated that as the input energy drove the dissipation energy dynamic system toward the critical point of two states, the CSD phenomenon appeared, which was manifested by the sudden increase in CSD time series metrics (skewness, kurtosis, and coefficient of variation) and autoregressive model metrics (variance and autocorrelation coefficient). The CSD characteristics of different dissipation energy dynamical systems were different, resulting in different times of CSD phenomena for distinct systems. In addition, the angle of the sandstone fracture affected the characteristics of the dissipation energy dynamical system and hence the appearance time of the precursor information. The precursor time of the sandstone containing 45° parallel fractures appeared earliest among all rock samples, and the ratio of the appearance time of the precursor point to the failure time of all rock samples reached more than 80%, which had good timeliness. The stress at the precursor point reached more than 80% of the peak stress, which corresponded to the plastic stage in the loading process, indicating that the CSD indicators constitute an effective monitoring index, which can provide an important reference for the stability monitoring and early warning of the field rock project.

Clinical and microbiological effects in high-risk beef calves administered intranasal or parenteral modified-live virus vaccines.

Experimental bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) infection can enhance Histophilus somni (Hs) disease in calves; we thus hypothesized that modified-live virus (MLV) vaccines containing BRSV may alter Hs carriage. Our objective was to determine the effects of an intranasal (IN) trivalent (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus [IBRV], parainfluenza-3 virus [PI3V], and BRSV) respiratory vaccine with parenteral (PT) bivalent bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) type I + II vaccine, or a PT pentavalent (BVDV type I and II, IBRV, BRSV, and PI3V) respiratory vaccine, on health, growth, immunity, and nasal pathogen colonization in high-risk beef calves. Calves (n = 525) were received in five truckload blocks and stratified by body weight (213 ± 18.4 kg), sex, and presence of a pre-existing ear-tag. Pens were spatially arranged in sets of three within a block and randomly assigned to treatment with an empty pen between treatment groups consisting of: 1) no MLV respiratory vaccination (CON), 2) IN trivalent MLV respiratory vaccine with PT BVDV type I + II vaccine (INT), or 3) PT pentavalent, MLV respiratory vaccine (INJ). The pen was the experimental unit, with 15 pens/treatment and 11 to 12 calves/pen in this 70-d receiving study. Health, performance, and BRSV, Hs, Mycoplasma bovis (Mb), Mannheimia haemolytica (Mh), and Pasteurella multocida (Pm) level in nasal swabs via rtPCR was determined on days 0, 7, 14, and 28, and BRSV-specific serum neutralizing antibody titer, and serum IFN-γ concentration via ELISA, were evaluated on days 0, 14, 28, 42, 56, and 70. Morbidity (P = 0.83), mortality (P = 0.68) and average daily gain (P ≥ 0.82) did not differ. Serum antibodies against BRSV increased with time (P < 0.01). There was a treatment × time interaction (P < 0.01) for Hs detection; on days 14 and 28, INT (21.1% and 57.1%) were more frequently (P < 0.01) Hs positive than CON (3.6% and 25.3%) or INJ (3.4 % and 8.4%). Also, INT had reduced (P = 0.03) cycle time of Hs positive samples on day 28. No difference (P ≥ 0.17) was found for IFN-γ concentration and Mb, Mh, or Pm detection. The proportion of Mh positive culture from lung specimens differed (P < 0.01); INT had fewer (0.0%; 0 of 9) Mh positive lungs than INJ (45.5%; 6 of 13) or CON (74.0%; 14 of 19). Vaccination of high-risk calves with MLV did not clearly impact health or growth during the receiving period. However, INT was associated with an altered upper respiratory microbial community in cattle resulting in increased detection and level of Hs.

Assessment of the Susceptibility of Aesthetic Orthodontic Brackets to Discoloration

The high aesthetic value of orthodontic appliance elements during treatment constitutes an important factor for an increasing number of adult patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether food dyes could significantly affect the color of both plastic and ceramic orthodontic brackets. Four brands of orthodontic brackets were investigated in the present study. Twenty-five samples of each kind were prepared. Five brackets of each series were stored in pure water, coffee, black tea and red wine for 1 h, 24 h, 7 days and 14 days. Total color change ΔE* of the samples was analyzed after storage with the use of the SpectroShade dental spectrophotometer (MHT, Verona, Italy) according to the CIE L*a*b* color scale. Correlations between bracket brand, kind of food dye and intensity of color change at the significance level p = 0.05 were investigated. After 1 and 24 h of incubation, water had the least influence on the color change of aesthetic orthodontic brackets, and tea had the greatest effect (p = 0.05). After 7 and 14 days of incubation of the samples, water still remained the environment influencing ΔE* change to the smallest extent, whereas storage in red wine changed the color of brackets to the significantly (p = 0.05) highest degree. The degree of discoloration of the assessed brackets depended on the type of material and the storage time in the environment of the individual food dyes (p = 0.05). The results of the present study show that, in the event of contact with food dyes, aesthetic orthodontic brackets discolor, the intensity of which can be influenced by the materials they are made of, the kind of food dye and the time of samples’ storage.

Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of LaNi5-xMgx Alloys.

This study analysed the corrosion parameters of LaNi5-xMgx hydrogen-absorbing alloys depending on the degree of replacement of nickel with magnesium and the exposure time of samples in a strongly alkaline solution. The microstructure and composition of the alloys were analysed using SEM and EDS, respectively. A correlation was observed between the corrosion rate and the magnesium content in the alloy and the exposure time of the investigated materials in the corrosive solution. The obtained research results showed that the LaNi5 phase, rich in Mg, corroded easily, and the presence of Mg in LaNi5-xMgx alloys became beneficial only for longer exposure times of samples in an alkaline solution. The corrosion layer formed during the contact of the magnesium alloys with the electrolyte promoted faster H2 evolution compared to the non-magnesium-substituted alloy.

Real-time detection of wind power abnormal data based on semi-supervised learning Robust Random Cut Forest

Due to extreme weather or wind turbine (WT) fault, WTs often collects abnormal data, which often interferes with the real-time control strategy of WT. To detect the abnormal data in real time, a detection framework suitable for wind power data is proposed, integrating the semi-supervised learning mechanism into the Robust Random Cut Forest algorithm. To do so, the normal data around the wind power curve are firstly selected and used to establish the structure model of normal data, considering the magnitude orders and distribution of different features. In each sample, the new sample data are inserted into the model, of which the complexity change is compared with a dynamic threshold, so as to judge whether the new sample data are abnormal. To reduce the dependence on the selection of the labeled normal data in modelling, it is presented a real-time model updating strategy based on self-training idea in semi-supervised learning. The experimental results show that the detection accuracy of the proposed method can reach 95% with only 1000 groups of the labeled normal data, and the detection time of a single sample is only 50 ms, which can detect abnormal data in real time for facilitating control strategy and other work.

53. Wound Edge Inversion Delays Healing and Contributes to Dystrophic Scar Formation in a Mouse Model

Purpose: Management of dystrophic scars often requires surgical excision in the delayed periods as there are few reliable options to prophylax against the formation off dystrophic scars during physiologic or pathologic wound healing. This is in part because of limitations in the availability of genetically tractable small-animal models which can reliably generate the desired dystrophic tissue architecture. While using small animal models of wound healing is desired, the nature of murine dermal healing through contracture makes it poorly suited to the study of later wound sequalae such as dystrophic scars. We have previously demonstrated that tissue-edge inward folding mimicking the architecture of epibole mitigates contracture, restricts epithelialization, and prolongs wound opening. Here we demonstrate that murine epibolous wounds generate an environment of sustained inflammatory infiltration and proliferative granulation and ultimately generate consistent and reliable dystrophic scars in mice. Methods: Male C57BL/6J control (wt/wt) and diabetic (db/db) mice received bilateral 6mm excisional wounds. Each wound was stratified as either untreated control or chronic model. Chronic wounds were generated by incising skin flaps, which were sutured to the dermis side to create a folded skin edge. A first (acute) cohort was s were maintained for 14-days until all control wounds had closed and/or epithelialized and were harvested for flow cytometry for neutrophils and/or macrophages and/or histology for pan-keratin (epithelium) and alpha-smooth-muscle actin (myofibroblasts). A second (delayed) cohort was maintained until closure up to 63 days. Photographs were taken at time of sacrifice and samples were collected for H&E and Masson’s Trichrome Stain. Results: The epibolous wound environment maintained prolonged neutrophil-dominant inflammatory infiltrate up to 2-weeks with simultaneous enrichment of macrophage/monocyte populations (p<0.05). Epibolous wounds demonstrated reduced frequency of epithelialization as defined by pan-keratin signaling. In epibolous wounds without epithelialization, strong alpha-smooth-muscle actin signal was noted. When allowed to proceed to maturation, scars from epibole injuries remained significantly larger (p<0.05). This was true in both control and diabetic models. All wound-edge inversion injuries demonstrated gross and histologic evidence of dystrophic healing and collagen deposition compared to controls. Conclusion: Previously we demonstrated that wound-edge inversion to mimic epibole prolongs wound opening. Here we demonstrate that this translates to prolongs inflammation and a transition of murine healing to a more human-relevant granulation pattern. Furthermore, the delay of closure results in a consistent dystrophic scar without need for thermal, radiological, chemical or biological interference. Consequently, this simple surgical maneuver enhances our ability to study and intervene in the process of acute and chronic wound development and dystrophic scar formation in a histologically humanized model while retaining access to the genetic tractability of murine stock.

The company that one keeps: An interplay between growth hormone and other pituitary hormones

Short stature is defined as a height &lt;2 SD from the mean height for a child of the same sex, ethnicity and chronological age. We present a case series of proportionate short stature whose associated endocrinological deficits left us intrigued. A 9 ½-year-old boy presented with poor growth-velocity (GV) for 5 years and central diabetes insipidus (on the treatment for 1 year). His height was 118 cm (−2.6 SD) and his weight was 20 kg (−2.03 SD). MRI brain showed hypoplastic anterior pituitary with absent bright spot and growth hormone (GH) dynamics proved GH deficiency. A 10-year-4-month-old girl presented with poor GV. Her height was 106 cm (−4.44 SD) and her weight was 15 kg (−3.74 SD). Targeted investigations revealed multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies (central hypothyroidism, secondary adrenal insufficiency and GH deficiency). MRI brain showed reduced pituitary height with ectopic posterior pituitary. GH therapy commenced only after coverage with hydrocortisone. A 1-year-old boy was admitted with failure to gain weight and height for 4 months of age. His length was 57 cm (−7.89 SD) and weight: was 4.6 kg (−5.86 SD) with immature facies, frontal bossing and midfacial hypoplasia. Low GH values at the time of critical sample (blood glucose = 36 mg/dl) revealed GH deficiency. MRI brain demonstrated a hypoplastic pituitary gland. All proportionate short-statured children without obvious dysmorphism need detailed evaluation. GH deficiency can present as a spectrum from isolated deficiency to multiple pituitary (anterior and posterior) deficiencies and so the order of correction of the deficiencies is equally important.

Abstract LB173: AACR President's initiative - 2020 by 2020: Democratizing precision cancer medicine and advancing health equity in the black belt

Abstract African Americans (AA) have higher incidence and mortality rates for several cancer types in comparison to their European American (EA) counterparts. Increasing participation in clinical research and patient registries, related to precision cancer medicine, will significantly improve cancer health equity. Many AA cancer patients are treated in community oncology clinics. Unfortunately, these health systems have limited access to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) next generation sequence (NGS) germline and somatic DNA and RNA testing that are used to inform oncologists on the best treatment and/or clinical trial options for cancer patients. Indeed, AA CLIA NGS sample sets are poorly represented, which could presumably result in incomplete knowledge of genomic variants that could affect their treatment and overall outcomes. Hence, it is crucial to implement CLIA NGS efforts for all cancer patients. To address these disparities, Morehouse School of Medicine has formed the Comprehensive Approach to Reimagine health Equity Solutions (CARhES) consortium with Tuskegee University that has engaged community oncology practices in Alabama and Georgia - two of five Black Belt states. The CARhES consortium aims to implement precision cancer medicine to underserved and underrepresented communities that will improve the standard of cancer care by providing access to CLIA NGS testing, clinical trials, and personalized cancer care. Here we describe the first proof of concept of this approach with community oncology partners, i.e., Grady Health System, Wellstar Health System, Georgia Urology, Midtown Urology, and Maui Memorial Medical Center. At the time of consent, saliva, buccal, and tumor samples were collected from participants. Germline and somatic CLIA NGS was performed, and medical reports were returned to practitioners within 14 days. Prior to the COVID pandemic, the study enrolled over 880 patients with a 88% consent rate (n = 1000) in the first 11months of the program. At the start of the COVID pandemic, recruitment efforts were suspended for four months with a slow restart by June 2020. A decrease in the number of staff, office visits (67% reduction), and increase in COVID cases significantly limited recruitment efforts. During this slowdown, we established and improved eConsenting capabilities, which exist today. Community anxiety, due to the pandemic and SARS-CoV-19 vaccine efforts, resulted in a significant reduction in consent rates (88% to 60%). Nevertheless, this study began in April of 2019 and consented 1,750 participants in less than 2 years. Taken together, our study shows that a community-focused precision medicine approach requires meeting people where they are and providing them with access and understanding the benefit of clinical trial participation. The approximate 2,000 clinically annotated genomic AA datasets will greatly contribute to our understanding of cancer health disparities and among the first steps to democratize precision medicine. This study was funded by the American Association for Cancer Research, The Pelotonia Foundation, the M2Gen Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute (U54CA118638). Citation Format: Latrisha L. Horne, Gabriella M. Oprea-Ilies, Eddie R. Stanley, Carla M. Holloway, Margaret P. Hooker, Amina Isom, Derrick J. Beech, Ana Gaonkar, Shavette Harden, Jeffrey F. Hines, LaTonya Randolph, James K. Bennett, Daniel Canter, Darrell J. Carmen, Pooja Mishra, Giuseppe Del Priore, Roland Matthews, Brian M. Rivers, James W. Lillard. AACR President's initiative - 2020 by 2020: Democratizing precision cancer medicine and advancing health equity in the black belt [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr LB173.

Chemical Looping Combustion of a Biomass Char in Fe2O3-, CuO-, and SrFeO3−δ-Based Oxygen Carriers

This research focuses on the combustion of biomass char in fluidized beds of various particulate solids, which, under the conditions of the reaction, were either inert or capable of supplying oxygen to reactions. The latter were termed oxygen carriers. The solids used were SiO2, as an inert material, and three oxygen carriers: (1) Fe2O3 prepared from a natural pyrite ore, (2) CuO supported on mayenite, and (3) SrFeO3−δ strontium ferrite perovskite. Combustion experiments were undertaken by introducing a sample of partially devolatilized biomass (commercial “biochar”) to a hot bubbling bed (inner diameter of 30 mm), fluidized by a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, then analyzing the composition of the off-gas and the burnout time of the char sample. In the temperature range investigated in this work (1023–1168 K), CuO and SrFeO3−δ but not Fe2O3 thermally decomposed, releasing gaseous O2 [so-called “chemical looping oxygen uncoupling” (CLOU)]. Hence, to make the combustion conditions comparable to various oxygen carriers, all experiments were performed using a fluidizing gas with a fixed partial pressure of O2 (pO2) of ∼0.015 bar. Despite the same nominal pO2, the occurrence of the oxygen uncoupling reaction increased the total net amount of O2(g) available in the process, affecting external mass transfer of O2 to the char particle and accelerating its rate of combustion. The time needed to totally combust 0.1 g of biochar particles in different beds at 1168 K followed the trend CuO < SrFeO3−δ < Fe2O3 ≈ silica sand. The difference in the performance of CuO and SrFeO3−δ was ascribed to the lower oxygen availability via CLOU in perovskite compared to copper oxide. Interestingly, combustion in the bed of Fe2O3 particles took a similar amount of time as combustion in the inert bed of SiO2, despite iron oxide playing an active role in the process. The finding is explained by Fe2O3 reacting with CO produced from incomplete char combustion, which results in the reduced oxide competing with char for O2(g) and effectively decreasing the local pO2.

#49 Nasal microbiota differences in young infants are associated with early childhood irritability

Abstract Background The etiology and pathophysiology of childhood mental health are poorly understood. Early childhood irritability is a transdiagnostic marker that portends significant risk for subsequent mental health problems. Robust evidence demonstrates irritability can be quantified early in infancy. The early life microbiome is implicated in defining health trajectories including neurodevelopment. In contrast to the gut microbiome, however, a relationship between the infant nasal microbiome and early childhood irritability remains undefined. We sought to investigate associations between the nasal microbiota of infants &amp;lt;60 days of age and early childhood irritability. Method This case-control study included infants with archived respiratory nasal samples collected for routine clinical care at ≤60 days of age from an emergency department visit (1/2016-5/2019). Parents completed an online survey when children were 14-42 months of age that included questions about medical history, development, and irritability (Multidimensional Assessment of Preschool Disruptive Behavior, MAP-DB). The upper quartile of the MAP-DB Temper Loss Score was classified as high dysregulation. Additional clinical data were collected from the electronic health record. DNA extracted from archived viral media specimens were subjected to 16S rRNA gene (V3-V4 region) next generation sequencing (NGS). Ecological diversity and differential taxon analysis were performed. Results Seventy-two children were initially included, with 16 categorized as high dysregulation. The median age at nasal sample collection was 30 days (IQR 14-44), and age at parent survey was 28 months (IQR 19-31). Fifty-weight percent of the cohort was white, 6% Black, 6% Asian, 20% other, and 25% identified as Lantine ethnicity. The infants were 49% female sex, 77% were born by vaginal delivery, and 43% had a virus identified at time of nasal sample. After removal of extraction/PCR contaminants, taxa present only or at higher levels in media, and samples with &amp;lt;80 sequences, the final microbiota comparison dataset was n=33 children, 7 with high dysregulation. Alpha-diversity (Shannon index) was lower in the high dysregulation group (p=0.0031 pre-background taxa removal, p=0.1288 post-correction, Figure 1A-B). Of the 18 taxa that were compared, Haemophilus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Gardnerella were significantly less abundant in the high dysregulation group (false discovery corrected significance q&amp;lt;0.005, Figure 1C). Parasutterella was more abundant in a subset of the high dysregulation group. Conclusion Differences in the nasal microbiota of infants, decreased diversity and abundance of certain respiratory bacteria, are associated with early childhood irritability, a marker of mental health risk. Further study may provide mechanistic insights and potentially guide new risk assessment or treatment options.

Reconsidering the potential of micropyrolyzer to investigate biomass fast pyrolysis without heat transfer limitations

Commercial analytical pyrolysis systems have become increasingly used in biomass fast pyrolysis research. Establishing experimental conditions free from heat transfer limitations using these micro-rectors has not been verified. Since accurate measurement of biomass sample temperature with these devices is not possible, the isothermal character of experiments has never been verified. In this work, numerical simulations were conducted to assess the time-temperature history of both cup and different sample arrangements and to determine the overall heat transfer coefficients at the surface of the biomass samples to confirm the pyrolysis regime based on the dimensionless analysis in the micropyrolyzer. Using both a small mass of biomass sample (≤ 50 μg) carefully arranged at the bottom of the cup and a temperature below 723 K allows the complete elimination of heat transfer limitations within the micropyrolyzer. The heating time of the biomass sample was significant (4–5 s to reach 773 K), proving that the experiment is not isothermal. Thus, evaluating the kinetics of biomass fast pyrolysis requires establishing the time-temperature history of the sample, as an essential prerequesite. Both heating profiles of biomass samples arranged in thin-film and torus were found to follow that of the cup; the time-temperature history of the sample can be determined by measuring the temperature of the cup.

Peritoneal Protein Clearance Is Associated With Cardiovascular Events but Not Mortality in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients.

IntroductionAssociation of peritoneal protein clearance (Pcl) with outcomes in patients with peritoneal dialysis (PD) is uncertain. Thus, we aimed to investigate its impact on cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in patients with PD and factors associated with Pcl.MethodsPrevalent patients with PD from January 2014 to April 2015 in the center of Renji Hospital were enrolled. At the time of enrollment, serum and dialysate samples were collected to detect biochemical parameters and Angiopoietin-2-Tie2 system cytokines. Mass transfer area coefficient of creatinine (MTACcr) and Pcl were calculated. Patients were dichotomized into two groups by the median Pcl level (68.5 ml/day) and were followed up prospectively until the end of the study (1 October 2018).ResultsA total of 318 patients with PD [51.2% men, mean age 56.7 ± 14.3 y, median PD duration 31.5 (12.1–57.2) months] were enrolled. Among them, 25.7% were comorbid with diabetes and 28.6% had a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). After being followed up for up to 43.9 (24.2–50.3) months, 63 had developed cardiovascular events, and 81 patients were died. Among them, the high Pcl group had occurred 39 cardiovascular events and 51 deaths, and the low Pcl group had 24 cardiovascular events and 30 deaths. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that both the occurrence of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality were increased in patients with high Pcl. However, after adjusting for important confounders and serum Angiopoietin-2 (Angpt-2) level, Pcl was still an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.006 (1.000–1.012), p = 0.038] but not mortality. On multivariate regression analysis, serum albumin, MTACcr, and body mass index (BMI) were found to be independently associated with Pcl.ConclusionHigh Pcl is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events but not all-cause mortality. The prediction of cardiovascular events by Pcl was independent of serum Angpt-2.