Macroalgal Monitoring in the Great Bay Estuary: 2018 Annual Report

Since 2013, the abundance and taxa of intertidal macroalgae have been assessed at fixed locations throughout the Great Bay Estuary in New Hampshire. Algal abundance may be influenced by environmental conditions such as nutrient levels, water temperature, light and invasive species. Therefore, abundance of different algal groups can provide insights into the overall health of the estuary and signal ecological change. In 2018, intertidal abundance data for percentage cover and biomass were collected, as planned, from five of the eight sites. For the first time, subtidal sampling arrays were also incorporated at all four sites in Great Bay proper to monitor macroalgae at lower elevations and to collect data on eelgrass communities coexisting with the algae

A tidal lung simulation to quantify lung heterogeneity with the Inspired Sinewave Test

We have created a lung simulation to quantify lung heterogeneity from the results of the inspired sinewave test (IST). The IST is a lung function test that is non-invasive, non-ionising and does not require patients' cooperation. A tidal lung simulation is developed to assess this test and also a method is proposed to calculate lung heterogeneity from IST results. A sensitivity analysis based on the Morris method and linear regression were applied to verify and to validate the simulation. Additionally, simulated emphysema and pulmonary embolism conditions were created using the simulation to assess the ability of the IST to identify these conditions. Experimental data from five pigs (pre-injured vs injured) were used for validation. This paper contributes to the development of the IST. Firstly, our sensitivity analysis reveals that the IST is highly accurate with an underestimation of about 5% of the simulated values. Sensitivity analysis suggested that both instability in tidal volume and extreme expiratory flow coefficients during the test cause random errors in the IST results. Secondly, the ratios of IST results obtained at two tracer gas oscillation frequencies can identify lung heterogeneity (ELV60/ELV180 and Qp60/Qp180). There was dissimilarity between simulated emphysema and pulmonary embolism (p < 0:0001). In the animal model, the control group had ELV60/ELV180 = 0.58 compared with 0.39 in injured animals (p < 0.0001)

Seaweed Monitoring in the Great Bay Estuary: 2019 Annual Report

As global warming increases temperature and nitrogen inputs change—either due to greater inputs associated with growing populations in the Great Bay or with nitrogen reductions at wastewater treatment plants—it is important to understand how these changes are impacting the estuary. To that end, the abundance and taxa of intertidal seaweeds have been assessed at fixed locations throughout the estuary since 2013. Seaweed abundance may be influenced by environmental conditions such as nutrient levels, water temperature, light availability, and invasive species. Therefore, seaweed communities can provide insights into the overall health of the estuary and signal ecological change. In 2019, abundance data (percent cover and biomass) were collected from five of the eight intertidal sampling locations and four subtidal locations. Two more sampling arrays were established at each subtidal site, making three replicates per site. Data from 2013-2019 show appreciable cover and biomass of nuisance seaweeds (reds and greens), including several introduced species. Green seaweeds decreased in cover at the two intertidal sites that are sampled annually (Depot Road and Adams Point), and cover of red seaweed decreased at one site (Depot Road). However, there were no decreases at the other six sites, and results from 2019 still show high levels of nuisance seaweed at the lowest intertidal elevations. In subtidal areas, percent cover assessments by snorkel appeared successful based on strong correlations between cover and biomass. Percent cover of seagrass measured by snorkel was very similar to independent measurements from underwater photos. The abundance of seaweed in association with eelgrass beds was ecologically significant and may have impacted eelgrass density and productivity. Further monitoring of seaweed and eelgrass is required to determine potential impacts to the estuary from emerging threats of increased nutrients from impervious surfaces and rising water temperatures due to global warming, as well as reduced nutrient threats from improvements to wastewater treatment plants and stormwater management. For example, the 2019 eelgrass survey showed an increase in area of eelgrass beds within Great and Little Bays which co-occurred with declines in nuisance seaweed at two of our stations in Great Bay

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Intimate Partner Violence, and Sexual Violence Among Persons Who May Be Alaska Mental Health Trust Beneficiaries: Findings from the Alaska Victimization Survey

This release includes a full report, "Adverse Childhood Experiences, Intimate Partner Violence, and Sexual Violence Among Persons Who May Be Alaska Mental Health Trust Beneficiaries: Findings from the Alaska Victimization Survey," a Fact Sheet, "Alaska Mental Health Trust Beneficiaries had more Adverse Childhood Experiences," and a second Fact Sheet, "Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries were more likely to experience Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence."The Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) at the University of Alaska Anchorage has released a new report, “Adverse Childhood Experiences, Intimate Partner Violence, and Sexual Violence Among Persons Who May Be Alaska Mental Health Trust Beneficiaries: Findings from the Alaska Victimization Survey.” This report used data from the 2020 Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS) to estimate the extent to which victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault were Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries. It also estimated the extent to which Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries include Alaskans with mental illness, developmental disabilities, chronic alcohol or drug addiction, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and traumatic brain injuries.Executive Summary / The Alaska Victimization Survey / Nearly one-third of Alaska Victimization Survey respondents may be Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries / Possible Trust beneficiaries were more likely to have had adverse childhood experiences / Women identified as possible Trust beneficiaries are more likely to experience intimate partner violence and sexual violence / Half of women who experienced IPV, SV, or both were possible Trust beneficiaries / Summary / Works Cited / Survey Tex

OpenSep: A generalizable open source pipeline for SOFA score calculation and Sepsis-3 classification

EHR-based sepsis research often uses heterogeneous definitions of sepsis leading to poor generalizability and difficulty in comparing studies to each other. We have developed OpenSep, an open-source pipeline for sepsis phenotyping according to the Sepsis-3 definition, as well as determination of time of sepsis onset and SOFA scores. The Minimal Sepsis Data Model was developed alongside the pipeline to enable the execution of the pipeline to diverse sources of electronic health record data. The pipeline\u27s accuracy was validated by applying it to the MIMIC-IV version 1.0 data and comparing sepsis onset and SOFA scores to those produced by the pipeline developed by the curators of MIMIC. We demonstrated high reliability between both the sepsis onsets and SOFA scores, however the use of the Minimal Sepsis Data model developed for this work allows our pipeline to be applied to more broadly to data sources beyond MIMIC

Comparison of early warning scores for sepsis early identification and prediction in the general ward setting

The objective of this study was to directly compare the ability of commonly used early warning scores (EWS) for early identification and prediction of sepsis in the general ward setting. For general ward patients at a large, academic medical center between early-2012 and mid-2018, common EWS and patient acuity scoring systems were calculated from electronic health records (EHR) data for patients that both met and did not meet Sepsis-3 criteria. For identification of sepsis at index time, National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS 2) had the highest performance (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.803 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.795-0.811], area under the precision recall curves: 0.130 [95% CI: 0.121-0.140]) followed NEWS, Modified Early Warning Score, and quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA). Using validated thresholds, NEWS 2 also had the highest recall (0.758 [95% CI: 0.736-0.778]) but qSOFA had the highest specificity (0.950 [95% CI: 0.948-0.952]), positive predictive value (0.184 [95% CI: 0.169-0.198]), and F1 score (0.236 [95% CI: 0.220-0.253]). While NEWS 2 outperformed all other compared EWS and patient acuity scores, due to the low prevalence of sepsis, all scoring systems were prone to false positives (low positive predictive value without drastic sacrifices in sensitivity), thus leaving room for more computationally advanced approaches

Molecular Threading: Mechanical Extraction, Stretching and Placement of DNA Molecules from a Liquid-Air Interface

We present “molecular threading”, a surface independent tip-based method for stretching and depositing single and double-stranded DNA molecules. DNA is stretched into air at a liquid-air interface, and can be subsequently deposited onto a dry substrate isolated from solution. The design of an apparatus used for molecular threading is presented, and fluorescence and electron microscopies are used to characterize the angular distribution, straightness, and reproducibility of stretched DNA deposited in arrays onto elastomeric surfaces and thin membranes. Molecular threading demonstrates high straightness and uniformity over length scales from nanometers to micrometers, and represents an alternative to existing DNA deposition and linearization methods. These results point towards scalable and high-throughput precision manipulation of single-molecule polymers

Structure and Vibrations of the Vicinal Copper (211) Surface

We report a first principles theoretical study of the surface relaxation and lattice dynamics of the Cu(211) surface using the plane wave pseudopotential method. We find large atomic relaxations for the first several atomic layers near the step edges on this surface, and a substantial step-induced renormalization of the surface harmonic force constants. We use the results to study the harmonic fluctuations around the equilibrium structure and find three new step-derived features in the zone center vibrational spectrum. Comparison of these results with previous theoretical work and weith experimental studies using inelastic He scattering are reported.Comment: 6 Pages RevTex, 7 Figures in Postscrip