Characterizing the Load Environment of Ferry Landings for Washington State Ferries and the Alaska Marine Highway System

INE/AUTC 13.0

Estimating marine reservoir effects in archaeological chronologies: Comparing ΔR calculations in Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia, Canada

The best method for quantifying the marine reservoir effect (MRE) using the global IntCal Marine13 calibration curve remains unresolved. Archaeologists frequently quantify uncertainty on MRE values as errors computed from single pairs of marineterrestrial radiocarbon ages, which we argue significantly overstates their accuracy and precision. Here, we review the assumptions, methods, and applications of estimating MRE via an estimate of the additional regional offset between the marine and terrestrial calibration curves (ΔR) for the Prince Rupert Harbour (PRH) region of British Columbia, Canada.We acknowledge the influence on ΔR of MRE variation as (1) a dynamic oceanographic process, (2) its variable expression in biochemical and geochemical pathways, and (3) compounding errors in sample selection, measurement, and calculation. We examine a large set of marine-terrestrial pairs (n = 63) from PRH to compare a common archaeological practice of estimating uncertainty from means that generate an uncertainty value of ±49 years with a revised, more appropriate estimate of error of ± 230 years. However, we argue that the use of multiple-pair samples estimates the PRH ΔR as 273 ± 38 years for the last 5,000 years. Calculations of error that do not consider these issues may generate more inaccurate age estimates with unjustifiable precision

Sodium acetate infusion in critically ill trauma patients for hyperchloremic acidosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Sodium acetate has been shown to cause hemodynamic instability when used as a hemodialysis buffer. The pattern of hemodynamic response to injury will be evaluated between those who received sodium acetate and those who did not.</p> <p>The primary purpose of the study is to analyze the effect of sodium acetate on hemodynamic parameters. Secondarily we looked at the effects on prevention and treatment of hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study arm was comprised of patients who had received sodium acetate infusions in place of normal saline between March 2005 and December 2009. A control arm was created based on matching three pre-treatment variables: injury severity score (ISS), pH (+/- 0.03) and base deficit (+/- 3). A retrospective chart review was performed for patients in both arms. Blood pressure, arterial blood gas data and chemistry values were recorded for the time points of -6, -1, 0, 1, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours from start of sodium acetate infusion. Patients were excluded based on the following criteria: patients who were given sodium bicarbonate within 48 hours of starting sodium acetate, those given sodium acetate as a bolus, non-trauma patients, burn patients, patients who expired within 24 hours of arrival to the ICU, patients diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis and patients whose medical record could not be obtained.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 78 patients were included in the study, 39 in the study arm and 39 in the control arm. There were no statistically significant drops in blood pressure within either group. The median pH between the two groups at the start of infusion was equal. Both groups trended towards normal pH with the study arm improving faster than the control arm. The median serum bicarbonate at start of sodium acetate infusion was 19 mmol/L and 20 mmol/L at time zero for the study and control arms respectively with both trending upward during the study period. Chloride trended up initially in both groups but the study arm began to correct sooner at 24 hours compared to 48 hours for the control arm.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We analyzed the use of sodium acetate as an alternative to normal saline or lactated ringers during resuscitation of critically ill trauma patients at a single center. Our data shows that the hemodynamic profile remained favorable, without evidence of instability at any point during the study period. Normalization of hyperchloremia and metabolic acidosis occurred faster in the patients who received sodium acetate.</p

Cortical bony thickening of the lateral intercondylar wall : the functional attachment of the anterior cruciate ligament

Background: The anatomy of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has become the subject of much debate. There has been extensive study into attachment points of the native ligament, especially regarding the femoral attachment. Some of these studies have suggested that fibers in the ACL are of differing functional importance. Fibers with higher functional importance would be expected to exert larger mechanical stress on the bone. According to Wolff’s law, cortical thickening would be expected in these areas. Purpose: To examine cortical thickening in the region of the ACL footprint (ie, the functional footprint of the ACL). Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: Using micro–computed tomography with resolutions ranging from 71 to 91 μm, the cortical thickness of the lateral wall of the intercondylar notch in 17 cadaveric knees was examined, along with surface topography. After image processing, the relationship between the cortical thickening and surface topology was visually compared. Results: A pattern of cortical thickening consistent with the functional footprint of the ACL was found. On average, this area was 3 times thicker than the surrounding bone and significantly thicker than the remaining lateral wall (P < .0001). This thickening was roughly elliptical in shape (with a mean centroid at 23.5 h:31 t on a Bernard and Hertel grid) and had areas higher on the wall where greater thickness was present. The relationship to previously reported osseous landmarks was variable, although the patterns were broadly consistent with those reported in previous studies describing direct and indirect fibers of the ACL. Conclusion: The findings of this study are consistent with those of recent studies describing fibers in the ACL of differing functional importance. The area in which the thickening was found has been defined and is likely to represent the functional footprint of the ACL

Site-Selective Excitation And Polarized Absorption Spectra Of Nd3+ In Sr-5(Po4)(3)F And Ca-5(Po4)(3)F

Polarized absorption and fluorescence spectra were analyzed to establish individual energy (Stark) levels of Nd3+ ions in host crystals of Sr-5(PO4)(3)F (SFAP) and Ca-5(PO4)(3)F (FAP). Site-selective excitation and fluorescence facilitated differentiation between Nd3+ ions in emitting sites-associated with 1.06 mu m stimulated emission, and nonemitting Nd3+ ions in other sites. Measurements were made on samples containing different concentrations of Nd3+ at 4 K and higher temperatures. Substitution of Nd3+ for Sr2+ or Ca2+ was accompanied by passive charge compensation during crystal growth. Crystal-field splitting calculations were performed according to site for Stark levels of Nd3+ ions identified spectroscopically. We obtained a final set of crystal-field parameters B-nm for Nd3+ ions in fluorescing sites with a rms, deviation of 7 cm(-1) (52 levels in Nd:SFAP) and 8 cm(-1) (59 levels in Nd:FAP). For one of the nonemitting sites in Nd:FAP we obtained a final set of B-nm parameters which gave a rms deviation of 6 cm(-1) between 46 experimental and calculated levels

Allele-Specific Methylation Occurs at Genetic Variants Associated with Complex Disease

We hypothesize that the phenomenon of allele-specific methylation (ASM) may underlie the phenotypic effects of multiple variants identified by Genome-Wide Association studies (GWAS). We evaluate ASM in a human population and document its genome-wide patterns in an initial screen at up to 380,678 sites within the genome, or up to 5% of the total genomic CpGs. We show that while substantial inter-individual variation exists, 5% of assessed sites show evidence of ASM in at least six samples; the majority of these events (81%) are under genetic influence. Many of these cis-regulated ASM variants are also eQTLs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and monocytes and/or in high linkage-disequilibrium with variants linked to complex disease. Finally, focusing on autoimmune phenotypes, we extend this initial screen to confirm the association of cis-regulated ASM with multiple complex disease-associated variants in an independent population using next-generation bisulfite sequencing. These four variants are implicated in complex phenotypes such as ulcerative colitis and AIDS progression disease (rs10491434), Celiac disease (rs2762051), Crohn's disease, IgA nephropathy and early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (rs713875) and height (rs6569648). Our results suggest cis-regulated ASM may provide a mechanistic link between the non-coding genetic changes and phenotypic variation observed in these diseases and further suggests a route to integrating DNA methylation status with GWAS results

Real-time energy storage simulators for the electricity grid

In this paper, a novel Distributed Real-Time Simulation Environment (DRTSE) which enables the coordinated control of multiple Real-Time Simulators (RTSs) positioned across the UK is introduced and demonstrated for an energy storage application. Using RTSs instead of physical energy storage assets enables the testing of different communication and control strategies, thereby reducing the risk of failure when the physical storage assets are deployed. In addition, the testing of different storage types (e.g. batteries, compressed air, flywheels, etc.) and storage locations can be conducted without expensive hardware modifications. In this paper, technical details of the RTSs are given, including the hardware and electrical storage models. The Central Controller (CC) and communication are also described, and results from the DRTSE presented

Competing risk bias in prognostic models predicting hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence: impact on clinical decision making

Existing models predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence do not account for competing risk events and, thus, may overestimate the probability of HCC. Our goal was to quantify this bias for patients with cirrhosis and cured hepatitis C. We analyzed a nationwide cohort of patients with cirrhosis and cured hepatitis C infection from Scotland. Two HCC prognostic models were developed: (1) a Cox regression model ignoring competing risk events and (2) a Fine-Gray regression model accounting for non-HCC mortality as a competing risk. Both models included the same set of prognostic factors used by previously developed HCC prognostic models. Two predictions were calculated for each patient: first, the 3-year probability of HCC predicted by model 1 and second, the 3-year probability of HCC predicted by model 2. The study population comprised 1629 patients with cirrhosis and cured HCV, followed for 3.8 years on average. A total of 82 incident HCC events and 159 competing risk events (ie, non-HCC deaths) were observed. The mean predicted 3-year probability of HCC was 3.37% for model 1 (Cox) and 3.24% for model 2 (Fine-Gray). For most patients (76%), the difference in the 3-year probability of HCC predicted by model 1 and model 2 was minimal (ie, within 0 to ±0.3%). A total of 2.6% of patients had a large discrepancy exceeding 2%; however, these were all patients with a 3-year probability exceeding >5% in both models. Prognostic models that ignore competing risks do overestimate the future probability of developing HCC. However, the degree of overestimation—and the way it is patterned—means that the impact on HCC screening decisions is likely to be modest

The SCottish Alcoholic Liver disease Evaluation: a population-level matched cohort study of hospital-based costs, 1991-2011

Studies assessing the costs of alcoholic liver disease are lacking. We aimed to calculate the costs of hospitalisations before and after diagnosis compared to population controls matched by age, sex and socio-economic deprivation. We aimed to use population level data to identify a cohort of individuals hospitalised for the first time with alcoholic liver disease in Scotland between 1991 and 2011.Incident cases were classified by disease severity, sex, age group, socio-economic deprivation and year of index admission. 5 matched controls for every incident case were identified from the Scottish population level primary care database. Hospital costs were calculated for both cases and controls using length of stay from morbidity records and hospital-specific daily rates by specialty. Remaining lifetime costs were estimated using parametric survival models and predicted annual costs. 35,208 incident alcoholic liver disease hospitalisations were identified. Mean annual hospital costs for cases were 2.3 times that of controls pre diagnosis (£804 higher) and 10.2 times (£12,774 higher) post diagnosis. Mean incident admission cost was £6,663. Remaining lifetime cost for a male, 50-59 years old, living in the most deprived area diagnosed with acoholic liver disease was estimated to be £65,999 higher than the matched controls (£12,474 for 7.43 years remaining life compared to £1,224 for 21.8 years). In Scotland, alcoholic liver disease diagnosis is associated with significant increases in admissions to hospital both before and after diagnosis. Our results provide robust population level estimates of costs of alcoholic liver disease for the purposes of health-care delivery, planning and future cost-effectiveness analyses