Risk and Cost Assessment of Nitrate Contamination in Domestic Wells

This study combines empirical predictive and economics models to estimate the cost of remediation for domestic wells exceeding suggested treatment thresholds for nitrates. A multiple logistic regression model predicted the probability of well contamination by nitrate, and a life cycle costing methodology was used to estimate costs of nitrate contamination in groundwater in two areas of Nebraska. In south-central Nebraska, 37% of wells were estimated to be at risk of exceeding a threshold of 7.5 mg/L as N, and 17% were at risk of exceeding 10 mg/L as N, the legal limit for human consumption in the United States. In an area in northeastern Nebraska, 82% of wells were at risk of exceeding the 10 mg/L as N legal threshold. Reverse osmosis Point-of-Use (POU) treatment was the option with the lowest costs for a household (3–4 individuals), with an average of $4–$164 total regional cost per household per year depending on the threshold for treatment. Ion exchange and distillation were the next most cost-effective options. At the community level (~10,000 individuals), a reverse osmosis Point-of-Entry (POE) treatment system was the most expensive option for a community due to high initial costs and ongoing operation and maintenance costs, whereas the biological denitrification system was least expensive due to economies of scale. This study demonstrates integrated modeling methods to assess water treatment costs over time associated with groundwater nitrate contamination, including quantification of at-risk wells, and identifies suitable options for treatment systems for rural households and communities based on their cost

Risk and Cost Assessment of Nitrate Contamination in Domestic Wells

This study combines empirical predictive and economics models to estimate the cost of remediation for domestic wells exceeding suggested treatment thresholds for nitrates. A multiple logistic regression model predicted the probability of well contamination by nitrate, and a life cycle costing methodology was used to estimate costs of nitrate contamination in groundwater in two areas of Nebraska. In south-central Nebraska, 37% of wells were estimated to be at risk of exceeding a threshold of 7.5 mg/L as N, and 17% were at risk of exceeding 10 mg/L as N, the legal limit for human consumption in the United States. In an area in northeastern Nebraska, 82% of wells were at risk of exceeding the 10 mg/L as N legal threshold. Reverse osmosis Point-of-Use (POU) treatment was the option with the lowest costs for a household (3–4 individuals), with an average of $4–$164 total regional cost per household per year depending on the threshold for treatment. Ion exchange and distillation were the next most cost-effective options. At the community level (~10,000 individuals), a reverse osmosis Point-of-Entry (POE) treatment system was the most expensive option for a community due to high initial costs and ongoing operation and maintenance costs, whereas the biological denitrification system was least expensive due to economies of scale. This study demonstrates integrated modeling methods to assess water treatment costs over time associated with groundwater nitrate contamination, including quantification of at-risk wells, and identifies suitable options for treatment systems for rural households and communities based on their cost

Modified Newton’s method in the leapfrog method for mobile robot path planning

The problem of determining an optimal trajectory for an autonomous mobile robot in an environment with obstacles is considered. The Leapfrog approach is used to solve the ensuing system of equations derived from the first-order optimality conditions of the Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle. A comparison is made between a case in which the classical Newton Method and the Modified Newton Method are used in the shooting method for solving the two-point boundary value problem in the inner loop of the Leapfrog algorithm. It can be observed that with this modification there is an improvement in the convergence rate of the Leapfrog algorithm in general.http://www.springer.comseries/111562019-03-20hj2018Mathematics and Applied Mathematic

How to find discrete contact symmetries

This paper describes a new algorithm for determining all discrete contact symmetries of any differential equation whose Lie contact symmetries are known. The method is constructive and is easy to use. It is based upon the observation that the adjoint action of any contact symmetry is an automorphism of the Lie algebra of generators of Lie contact symmetries. Consequently, all contact symmetries satisfy various compatibility conditions. These conditions enable the discrete symmetries to be found systematically, with little effort

The critical detection distance for passively tracking tagged fish using a fixed radio telemetry station in a small stream

Background: Fixed radio telemetry stations are used to study the movement ecology of fishes in streams and rivers. A common assumption of such studies is that detection efficiency remains constant through space and time. The objective of this study was to understand how site characteristics and tag distance can influence the detection efficiency of a fixed receiver when used for fisheries research in a small stream. Field tests included a fixed receiver station on Forty Mile Creek, in Banff National Park, AB, Canada that recorded signals from radio tags over specified distances (i.e., 0 m, 27 m, 53 m, 80 m) within the expected detection range from July to October, 2016. Model selection was used to test which parameters may influence detection efficiency. Results: The fixed receiver was able to record an average of 89% of transmissions over the study period. Detection efficiency was greater or equal to 0.97 at tag di

Nucleon-Nucleon Scattering under Spin-Isospin Reversal in Large-N_c QCD

The spin-flavor structure of certain nucleon-nucleon scattering observables derived from the large N_c limit of QCD in the kinematical regime where time-dependent mean-field theory is valid is discussed. In previous work, this regime was taken to be where the external momentum was of order N_c which precluded the study of differential cross sections in elastic scattering. Here it is shown that the regime extends down to order N_c^{1/2} which includes the higher end of the elastic regime. The prediction is that in the large N_c limit, observables describable via mean-field theory are unchanged when the spin and isospin of either nucleon are both flipped. This prediction is tested for proton-proton and neutron-proton elastic scattering data and found to fail badly. We argue that this failure can be traced to a lack of a clear separation of scales between momentum of order N_c^{1/2} and N_c^1 when N_c is as small as three. The situation is compounded by an anomalously low particle production threshold due to approximate chiral symmetry.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Time Trends in Survival Following First Hemorrhagic or Ischemic Stroke Between 1991 and 2015 in the Rotterdam Study

Background and Purpose- The introduction of stroke units and the implementation of evidence-based interventions have been a breakthrough in the management

Proteomic changes in serum of first onset, antidepressant drug-naïve major depression patients

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex and multi-factorial disorder. Although genetic factors and other molecular aspects of MDD have been widely studied, the underlying pathological mechanisms are still mostly unknown. We sought to investigate the pathophysiology of MDD by identifying and characterising serum molecular differences and their correlation to symptom severity in first onset, antidepressant drug-naïve MDD patients. We performed an exploratory molecular profiling study on serum samples of MDD patients and controls using multiplex immunoassay and label-free liquid chromatography mass spectrometry in data independent mode (LC-MSE). We included two independent cohorts of first onset, antidepressant drug-naïve MDD patients (n = 23 and 15) and matched controls (n = 42 and 21) in our study in order to validate the results. The main outcome included the following list of circulatory molecules changing and/or correlating to symptom severity: angiotensin-converting enzyme, acute phase proteins (e.g. ferritin and serotransferrin), brain-derived neurotrophic factor, complement component C4-B, cortisol, cytokines (e.g. macrophage migration inhibitory factor and interleukin-16), extracellular newly identified receptor for advanced glycosylation end products-binding protein, growth hormone and superoxide dismutase-1. This study provides evidence of an increased pro-inflammatory and oxidative stress response, followed by a hyperactivation of the HPA-axis in the acute stages of first onset MDD, as well as a dysregulation in growth factor pathways. These findings help to elucidate MDD related pathways in more detail and further studies may lead to identification of novel drug targets, inc

Identification of a novel quinoxaline-isoselenourea targeting the STAT3 pathway as a potential melanoma therapeutic

The prognosis for patients with metastatic melanoma remains very poor. Constitutive signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation has been correlated to metastasis, poor patient survival, larger tumor size, and acquired resistance against vemurafenib (PLX-4032), suggesting its potential as a molecular target. We recently designed a series of isoseleno- and isothio-urea derivatives of several biologically active heterocyclic scaffolds. The cytotoxic effects of lead isoseleno- and isothio-urea derivatives (compounds 1 and 3) were studied in a panel of five melanoma cell lines, including B-RAFV600E-mutant and wild-type (WT) cells. Compound 1 (IC50 range 0.8–3.8 µM) showed lower IC50 values than compound 3 (IC50 range 8.1–38.7 µM) and the mutant B-RAF specific inhibitor PLX-4032 (IC50 ranging from 0.4 to >50 µM), especially at a short treatment time (24 h). These effects were long-lasting, since melanoma cells did not recover their proliferative potential after 14 days of treatment. In addition, we confirmed that compound 1 induced cell death by apoptosis using Live-and-Dead, Annexin V, and Caspase3/7 apoptosis assays. Furthermore, compound 1 reduced the protein levels of STAT3 and its phosphorylation, as well as decreased the expression of STAT3-regulated genes involved in metastasis and survival, such as survivin and c-myc. Compound 1 also upregulated the cell cycle inhibitor p21. Docking studies further revealed the favorable binding of compound 1 with the SH2 domain of STAT3, suggesting it acts through STAT3 inhibition. Taken together, our results suggest that compound 1 induces apoptosis by means of the inhibition of the STAT3 pathway, non-specifically targeting both B-RAF-mutant and WT melanoma cells, with much higher cytotoxicity than the current therapeutic drug PLX-4032

The association of innate and adaptive immunity, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease in the Rotterdam Study: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is driven by multifaceted contributions of the immune system. However, the dysregulation of immune cells that leads to ASCVD is poorly understood. We determined the association of components of innate and adaptive immunity longitudinally with ASCVD, and assessed whether arterial calcifications play a role in this association. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Granulocyte (innate immunity) and lymphocyte (adaptive immunity) counts were determined 3 times (2002-2008, mean age 65.2 years; 2009-2013, mean age 69.0 years; and 2014-2015, mean age 78.5 years) in participants of the population-based Rotterdam Study without ASCVD at baseline. Participants were followed-up for ASCVD or death until 1 January 2015. A random sample of 2,366 underwent computed tomography at baseline to quantify arterial calcification volume in 4 vessel beds. We studied the association between immunity components with risk of ASCVD and assessed whether immunity components were related to arterial calcifications at baseline. Of 7,730 participants (59.4% women), 801 developed ASCVD during a median follow-up of 8.1 years. Having an increased granulocyte count increased ASCVD risk (adjusted hazard ratio for doubled granulocyte count [95% CI] = 1.78 [1.34-2.37], P < 0.001). Higher granulocyte counts were related to larger calcification volumes in all vessels, most prominently in the coronary arteries (mean difference in calcium volume [mm3] per SD increase in granulocyte count [95% CI] = 32.3 [9.9-54.7], P < 0.001). Respectively, the association between granulocyte count and incident coronary heart disease and stroke was partly mediated by coronary artery calcification (overall proportion mediated [95% CI] = 19.0% [-10% to 32.3%], P = 0.08) and intracranial artery calcification (14.9% [-10.9% to 19.1%], P = 0.05). A limitation of our study is that studying the etiology of ASCVD remains difficult within an epidemiological setting due to the limited availability of surrogates for innate and especially adaptive immunity. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found that an increased granulocyte count was associated with a higher risk of ASCVD in the general population. Moreover, higher levels of granulocytes were associated with larger volumes of arterial calcification. Arterial calcifications may explain a proportion of the link between granulocytes and ASCVD