Understanding management practices for biomass harvest equipment for commercial scale operation

As second generation biofuels approach commercial scale production, a large fleet of harvesting equipment is required to meet feedstock demand. In the Midwest United States, agricultural residue, such as corn stover, has been identified as a readily available feedstock. Multi-pass corn stover harvest requires the in-field operations of shredding, baling, and stacking. Proper management practices are required to keep machines running at maximum efficiency in order to reduce cost and harvest enough material to meet processing demand. This need for management becomes increasing important as production levels reach commercial scale levels. This study looked at management practices of several individual harvest crews across an entire harvest season. Data was collected from multiple machines, including balers, shredders, and stackers during the 2013 and 2014 fall harvests. The controller area network (CAN) bus system was utilized to record machine data that was linked to specific GPS coordinates within a given field. The information was then analyzed to identify controllable metrics, such as machine productivity, daily bale production, and bale density. Recognizing these controllable metrics will improve overall logistics as production reaches full scale and reduce overall costs. A techno-economic analysis was executed to quantify cost as performance and quality changed

The Source Matters for Getting the Most out of Aerial Imagery

As spring plans are finalized, don’t forget to consider aerial imaging as part of a continuous improvement plan. Remote sensing and the use of aerial imagery has been used for decades in agriculture but since 2010 we’ve seen the number of available imagery providers grow extensively. The use of imagery can vary from farm to farm but several common uses include variable rate fertility recommendations, assessing water management performance, quantifying soil compaction and machinery induced yield limiters, locating late season weed outbreaks, and generally evaluating the consistency of crop vigor across a field

Anthropomorphic Human Carotid Ultrasound Phantom

Vascular hemodynamics and plaque composition are indicators of stroke risk. Previous work indicates that multi-angle Plane Wave (PW) implementation of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI), Log Variance of Acceleration (log(VoA)), and 2-D Vector Doppler (VD) imaging can detect plaque structure and composition. Additional preceding work used Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) modeling to simulate blood fluid dynamics to estimate Wall Shear Stress (WSS) for plaque characterization and rupture risk evaluation. Anthropomorphic tissue-mimicking phantoms are constructed to recapitulate WSS measurements in complex human carotid arteries with pronounced plaques. Ultrasound experiments using duel PW Log(VoA) and 2D VD sequences under steady-state flow conditions are compared to the analogous FSI model simulations. The results suggest that thin-walled and wall-less anthropomorphic flow phantoms can be constructed to resemble the FSI model in physical geometry and WSS vessel profiles. These flow phantoms are currently limited to construction challenges.Master of Scienc

Pharmacokinetics and Efficacy of PEGylated Liposomal Doxorubicin in an Intracranial Model of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM) are a challenging consequence of advanced BC. Nanoparticle agents, including liposomes, have shown enhanced delivery to solid tumors and brain. We compared pharmacokinetics (PK) and efficacy of PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) with non-liposomal doxorubicin (NonL-doxo) in an intracranial model of BC

Genetic Analysis of a Novel Human Adenovirus with a Serologically Unique Hexon and a Recombinant Fiber Gene

In February of 1996 a human adenovirus (formerly known as Ad-Cor-96-487) was isolated from the stool of an AIDS patient who presented with severe chronic diarrhea. To characterize this apparently novel pathogen of potential public health significance, the complete genome of this adenovirus was sequenced to elucidate its origin. Bioinformatic and phylogenetic analyses of this genome demonstrate that this virus, heretofore referred to as HAdV-D58, contains a novel hexon gene as well as a recombinant fiber gene. In addition, serological analysis demonstrated that HAdV-D58 has a different neutralization profile than all previously characterized HAdVs. Bootscan analysis of the HAdV-D58 fiber gene strongly suggests one recombination event

Effects of Tumor Microenvironment Heterogeneity on Nanoparticle Disposition and Efficacy in Breast Cancer Tumor Models

Tumor cells are surrounded by a complex microenvironment. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the role of heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment in the variability of nanoparticle (NP) delivery and efficacy

Erythropoietin promotes breast tumorigenesis through tumor-initiating cell self-renewal

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone that induces red blood cell production. In its recombinant form, EPO is the one of most prescribed drugs to treat anemia, including that arising in cancer patients. In randomized trials, EPO administration to cancer patients has been associated with decreased survival. Here, we investigated the impact of EPO modulation on tumorigenesis. Using genetically engineered mouse models of breast cancer, we found that EPO promoted tumorigenesis by activating JAK/STAT signaling in breast tumor-initiating cells (TICs) and promoted TIC self renewal. We determined that EPO was induced by hypoxia in breast cancer cell lines, but not in human mammary epithelial cells. Additionally, we demonstrated that high levels of endogenous EPO gene expression correlated with shortened relapse-free survival and that pharmacologic JAK2 inhibition was synergistic with chemotherapy for tumor growth inhibition in vivo. These data define an active role for endogenous EPO in breast cancer progression and breast TIC self-renewal and reveal a potential application of EPO pathway inhibition in breast cancer therapy

A Comprehensive Patient-Derived Xenograft Collection Representing the Heterogeneity of Melanoma

Therapy of advanced melanoma is changing dramatically. Following mutational and biological subclassification of this heterogeneous cancer, several targeted and immune therapies were approved and increased survival significantly. To facilitate further advancements through pre-clinical in vivo modeling, we have established 459 patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and live tissue samples from 384 patients representing the full spectrum of clinical, therapeutic, mutational, and biological heterogeneity of melanoma. PDX have been characterized using targeted sequencing and protein arrays and are clinically annotated. This exhaustive live tissue resource includes PDX from 57 samples resistant to targeted therapy, 61 samples from responders and non-responders to immune checkpoint blockade, and 31 samples from brain metastasis. Uveal, mucosal, and acral subtypes are represented as well. We show examples of pre-clinical trials that highlight how the PDX collection can be used to develop and optimize precision therapies, biomarkers of response, and the targeting of rare genetic subgroups

The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international survey

Abstract: Background: The Covid-19 pandemic led to significant changes and disruptions to medical education worldwide. We evaluated medical student perceived views on training, their experiences and changes to teaching methods during the pandemic. Methods: An online survey of medical students was conducted in the Autumn of 2020. An international network of collaborators facilitated participant recruitment. Students were surveyed on their perceived overall impact of Covid-19 on their training and several exposure variables. Univariate analyses and adjusted multivariable analysis were performed to determine strengths in associations. Results: A total of 1604 eligible participants from 45 countries took part in this survey and 56.3% (n = 860) of these were female. The median age was 21 (Inter Quartile Range:21–23). Nearly half (49.6%, n = 796) of medical students were in their clinical years. The majority (n = 1356, 84.5%) were residents of a low or middle income country. A total of 1305 (81.4%) participants reported that the Covid-19 pandemic had an overall negative impact on their training. On adjusted analysis, being 21 or younger, females, those reporting a decline in conventional lectures and ward based teaching were more likely to report an overall negative impact on their training (p ≤ 0.001). However, an increase in clinical responsibilities was associated with lower odds of participants reporting a negative impact on training (p < 0.001). The participant’s resident nation economy and stage of training were associated with some of the participant training experiences surveyed (p < 0.05). Conclusion: An international cohort of medical students reported an overall significant negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their undergraduate training. The efficacy of novel virtual methods of teaching to supplement traditional teaching methods warrants further research