Use of tamarisk as a potential feedstock for biofuel production.

This study assesses the energy and water use of saltcedar (or tamarisk) as biomass for biofuel production in a hypothetical sub-region in New Mexico. The baseline scenario consists of a rural stretch of the Middle Rio Grande River with 25% coverage of mature saltcedar that is removed and converted to biofuels. A manufacturing system life cycle consisting of harvesting, transportation, pyrolysis, and purification is constructed for calculating energy and water balances. On a dry short ton woody biomass basis, the total energy input is approximately 8.21 mmBTU/st. There is potential for 18.82 mmBTU/st of energy output from the baseline system. Of the extractable energy, approximately 61.1% consists of bio-oil, 20.3% bio-char, and 18.6% biogas. Water consumptive use by removal of tamarisk will not impact the existing rate of evapotranspiration. However, approximately 195 gal of water is needed per short ton of woody biomass for the conversion of biomass to biocrude, three-quarters of which is cooling water that can be recovered and recycled. The impact of salt presence is briefly assessed. Not accounted for in the baseline are high concentrations of Calcium, Sodium, and Sulfur ions in saltcedar woody biomass that can potentially shift the relative quantities of bio-char and bio-oil. This can be alleviated by a pre-wash step prior to the conversion step. More study is needed to account for the impact of salt presence on the overall energy and water balance

Impact of crisaborole in patients with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis who received prior treatment

Topical treatments can provide relief with minimal adverse events (AEs) in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Crisaborole ointment 2% is a nonsteroidal phosphodiesterase inhibitor for the treatment of mild-to-moderate AD. The objective was to assess the efficacy and safety of crisaborole ointment in patients with AD who had received prior treatments of corticosteroids [topical corticosteroids (TCS) or systemic corticosteroids)], topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCI) or no prior treatments (treatment-naive). This was a post-hoc analysis of two identically designed, vehicle-controlled, randomized, double-blind, phase III studies of patients aged ≥2 years (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02118766 and NCT02118792). Patients were assigned crisaborole or vehicle (2: 1) twice daily for 28 days and had a baseline Investigator’s Static Global Assessment (ISGA) score of mild (2) or moderate (3). Patients were divided into three subgroups: treatment-experienced patients who had received prior treatments of corticosteroids (systemic or dermatologic) or TCI; treatment-experienced patients who had received prior treatment with TCS or TCI; and treatment-naive patients who received no prior treatments within 90 days to screening. The primary endpoint was success in ISGA, defined as an ISGA score at day 29 of clear (0) or almost clear (1) with a ≥ 2-grade improvement from baseline. Additional endpoints included a Severity of Pruritus Scale (SPS) at week 4 (weekly average) of none (0) or mild (1) with a ≥ 1-grade improvement from baseline; changes in the Atopic Dermatitis Severity Index (ADSI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and Dermatitis Family Impact Questionnaire (DFI) results were also assessed at day 29. AEs, including treatment-emergent AEs and serious AEs, were analysed. A significantly higher proportion of crisaborole-treated patients than vehicle-treated patients achieved success in ISGA in all subgroups [corticosteroids or TCI: 27.9% vs. 15.9% (P = 0.001); TCS or TCI: 27.4% vs. 14.7% (P = 0.001); treatment-naive: 35.0% vs. 26.8% (P = 0.017)]. SPS score 0/1 with a ≥ 1-grade improvement was also achieved by a significantly higher proportion of crisaborole-treated patients than vehicle-treated patients in all subgroups [corticosteroids or TCI: 35.1% vs. 14.9% (P \u3c 0.001); TCS or TCI: 34.5% vs. 13.5% (P \u3c 0.001); treatment-naive: 36.3% vs. 26.0% (P = 0.01)]. Changes in the least squares mean for ADSI, DLQI, CDLQI and DFI results were also significant for crisaborole- vs. vehicle-treated patients in all subgroups except for DLQI, DFI and ADSI (not examined) results for the treatment naive subgroup. Treatment-related AEs were infrequent and mild to moderate in severity. Crisaborole demonstrated a favourable efficacy and safety profile in both treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients with AD

On the point process with finite memory and its application to optimal age replacement

There has been extensive study of various repair models in the literature, mostly under the assumption that these repairs are minimal or imperfect/better than minimal. Although this is often a realistic assumption, it may not be sufficient to model instances where the repair is worse than minimal. The generalized Polya process (GPP) that has been used to describe this type of repair takes into account all previous events/repairs, which is not often the case in practice. Therefore, in this paper, we define a new process with finite memory that starts as the GPP but, after a certain number of events or elapsed time, becomes the non-homogeneous Poisson process of repairs (minimal repairs). The corresponding age replacement policy is defined and the optimal solutions that minimize the long-run expected cost rate are analyzed. The detailed numerical examples illustrate our findings

Optimising text messaging to improve adherence to web-based smoking cessation treatment: a randomised control trial protocol

Introduction Millions of smokers use the Internet for smoking cessation assistance each year; however, most smokers engage minimally with even the best designed websites. The ubiquity of mobile devices and their effectiveness in promoting adherence in other areas of health behaviour change make them a promising tool to address adherence in Internet smoking cessation interventions. Text messaging is used by most adults, and messages can proactively encourage use of a web-based intervention. Text messaging can also be integrated with an Internet intervention to facilitate the use of core Internet intervention components. Methods and analysis We identified four aspects of a text message intervention that may enhance its effectiveness in promoting adherence to a web-based smoking cessation programme: personalisation, integration, dynamic tailoring and message intensity. Phase I will use a two-level full factorial design to test the impact of these four experimental features on adherence to a web-based intervention. The primary outcome is a composite metric of adherence that incorporates general utilisation metrics (eg, logins, page views) and specific feature utilisation shown to predict abstinence. Participants will be N=860 adult smokers who register on an established Internet cessation programme and enrol in its text message programme. Phase II will be a two-arm randomised trial to compare the efficacy of the web-based cessation programme alone and in conjunction with the optimised text messaging intervention on 30-day point prevalence abstinence at 9 months. Phase II participants will be N=600 adult smokers who register to use an established Internet cessation programme and enrol in text messaging. Secondary analyses will explore whether adherence mediates the effect of treatment condition on outcome. Ethics and dissemination This protocol was approved by Chesapeake IRB. We will disseminate study results through peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations related to the methods and design, outcomes and exploratory analyses. Trial registration number NCT02585206

Crisaborole Ointment, 2%, for Treatment of Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Atopic Dermatitis:Systematic Literature Review and Network Meta-Analysis

The authors would like to replace 2 small sections of the published manuscript that refer to a qualitative review of safety data for included studies (together with an associated safety table), to provide some further clarifications on these safety data and to include some quantitative updates for rates

Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparison of Crisaborole Ointment 2% vs. Topical Calcineurin Inhibitors in the Treatment of Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Atopic Dermatitis

INTRODUCTION: Crisaborole topical ointment, 2%, is a nonsteroidal, topical anti-inflammatory phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis (AD). The objective of the current analysis was to compare the efficacy of crisaborole 2% relative to pimecrolimus 1%, tacrolimus 0.03% and tacrolimus 0.1% in patients aged ≥ 2 years with mild-to-moderate AD by comparing improvement in Investigator’s Static Global Assessment scores ( (ISGA scores of 0/1 indicating “clear or almost clear”). ISGA was selected as the primary efficacy outcome given the US Food and Drug Administration’s recommendations on the use of ISGA for assessment of global severity in AD and to align with efficacy measurements in the crisaborole registration trials. Safety endpoints could not be analyzed due to differences in outcome definitions across studies. METHODS: Efficacy of crisaborole was evaluated using individual patient data (IPD) from two pivotal phase III randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and efficacy of comparators was evaluated using published RCTs included in a previous network meta-analysis. Vehicle controls were not comparable due to differences in ingredients and population imbalance and, therefore, an unanchored matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC) was used, which reweighted IPD for crisaborole to estimate absolute response in comparator populations. RESULTS: The odds of achieving an improvement in ISGA score was higher with crisaborole 2% versus pimecrolimus 1% (odds ratio [OR] 2.03; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.45–2.85; effective sample size =  627, reduced from 1021; p value < 0.001) and for crisaborole 2% versus tacrolimus 0.03% (OR 1.50; 95% CI 1.09–2.05; effective sample size = 311, reduced from 1021; p = 0.012). CONCLUSION: The unanchored MAIC suggests that the odds of achieving an improvement in ISGA score is greater with crisaborole 2% than with pimecrolimus 1% or tacrolimus 0.03% in patients aged ≥ 2 years with mild-to-moderate AD. These results are consistent with findings from the previously published network meta-analysis, which used a different methodology for performing indirect treatment comparisons. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13555-021-00646-1

Modeling pore corrosion in normally open gold- plated copper connectors.

The goal of this study is to model the electrical response of gold plated copper electrical contacts exposed to a mixed flowing gas stream consisting of air containing 10 ppb H{sub 2}S at 30 C and a relative humidity of 70%. This environment accelerates the attack normally observed in a light industrial environment (essentially a simplified version of the Battelle Class 2 environment). Corrosion rates were quantified by measuring the corrosion site density, size distribution, and the macroscopic electrical resistance of the aged surface as a function of exposure time. A pore corrosion numerical model was used to predict both the growth of copper sulfide corrosion product which blooms through defects in the gold layer and the resulting electrical contact resistance of the aged surface. Assumptions about the distribution of defects in the noble metal plating and the mechanism for how corrosion blooms affect electrical contact resistance were needed to complete the numerical model. Comparisons are made to the experimentally observed number density of corrosion sites, the size distribution of corrosion product blooms, and the cumulative probability distribution of the electrical contact resistance. Experimentally, the bloom site density increases as a function of time, whereas the bloom size distribution remains relatively independent of time. These two effects are included in the numerical model by adding a corrosion initiation probability proportional to the surface area along with a probability for bloom-growth extinction proportional to the corrosion product bloom volume. The cumulative probability distribution of electrical resistance becomes skewed as exposure time increases. While the electrical contact resistance increases as a function of time for a fraction of the bloom population, the median value remains relatively unchanged. In order to model this behavior, the resistance calculated for large blooms has been weighted more heavily

Inherently safer technology gaps analysis study.

Approved for public release; further dissemination unlimited

High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy for the Treatment of Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinomas on Sensitive Areas of the Face: A Report of Clinical Outcomes and Acute and Subacute Toxicities

Purpose Basal cell and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma are common malignancies (keratinocyte carcinomas [KCs]). Surgical resection is the standard of care. Radiation using high-dose rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) may serve as a superior alternative where surgical scars may be of cosmetic concern or in elderly patients with significant comorbidity. We aim to describe the clinical and cosmetic outcomes as well as posttreatment radiation toxicities associated with HDR-BT in patients who were treated for KCs of the face. Methods and Materials Patients with KCs treated with HDR-BT from 2015 to 2018 were included in the study. Patient medical records and clinical photos were reviewed at multiple time points: start of treatment, end of treatment, short-term (2 week) follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and if needed at 6 months. Radiation toxicity was graded using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Grading (RTOG) acute toxicity scale. Median (range) toxicity grades at follow-up intervals were calculated. Clinical outcomes including local recurrence were evaluated for all patients. Results The study included 19 patients and 20 KCs. The median radiation dose was 42 Gy (39-42 Gy) over 6 fractions. The median toxicity at completion of treatment was RTOG grade 2 (85% of patients). At short-term follow-up, 50% of patients (n = 10) improved to RTOG grade 1 (0-2). At 3 months, 70% of patients (n = 14) had RTOG grade 0, and by 6 months, 100% of patients (n = 18) had RTOG grade 0. No RTOG grade 3 or higher skin toxicity was observed. With a median follow-up of 7.2 months (range, 1.3-54.4 months), the local recurrence-free survival was 95%. Conclusions We demonstrate that HDR-BT can be used as definitive treatment of KCs of the face with excellent cosmetic outcomes and local control. Acute and subacute skin toxicities were most commonly RTOG grade 2 or less with resolution of patient’s skin toxicity by 3 months