Cognition based bTBI mechanistic criteria; a tool for preventive and therapeutic innovations

Blast-induced traumatic brain injury has been associated with neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. To date, although damage due to oxidative stress appears to be important, the specific mechanistic causes of such disorders remain elusive. Here, to determine the mechanical variables governing the tissue damage eventually cascading into cognitive deficits, we performed a study on the mechanics of rat brain under blast conditions. To this end, experiments were carried out to analyse and correlate post-injury oxidative stress distribution with cognitive deficits on a live rat exposed to blast. A computational model of the rat head was developed from imaging data and validated against in vivo brain displacement measurements. The blast event was reconstructed in silico to provide mechanistic thresholds that best correlate with cognitive damage at the regional neuronal tissue level, irrespectively of the shape or size of the brain tissue types. This approach was leveraged on a human head model where the prediction of cognitive deficits was shown to correlate with literature findings. The mechanistic insights from this work were finally used to propose a novel helmet design roadmap and potential avenues for therapeutic innovations against blast traumatic brain injury

Data- and model-driven determination of flow pathways in the Piako catchment, New Zealand

Quantifying flow pathways within a larger catchment can help improve diffuse pollution management strategies across subcatchments. But, spatial quantification of flow pathway contributions to catchment stream flow is very limited, since it is challenging to physically separate water from different paths and very expensive to measure, especially for larger areas. To overcome this problem, a novel, combined data and modelling approach was employed to partition stream flow in the Piako catchment, New Zealand, which is a predominantly agricultural catchment with medium to high groundwater recharge potential. The approach comprised a digital filtering technique to separate baseflow from total stream flow, machine learning to predict a baseflow index (BFI) for all streams with Strahler 1st order and higher, and hydrological modelling to partition the flow into five flow components: surface runoff, interflow, tile drainage, shallow groundwater, and deep groundwater. The baseflow index scores corroborated the spatial distributions of the flow pathways modelled in 1st order catchments. Average depth to groundwater data matched well with BFI and Hydrological Predictions for the Environment (HYPE) modeled flow pathway partitioning results, with deeper water tables in areas of the catchment predicted to have greater baseflow or shallow and deep groundwater contributions to stream flow. Since direct quantification of flow pathways at catchment-scale is scarce, it is recommended to use soft data and expert knowledge to inform model parameterization and to constrain the model results. The approach developed here is applicable as a screening method in ungauged catchments

Identification modale temps réel par caméra rapides et assimilation de données : une nouvelle méthode de magnification

International audienc

CO{sub 2} dial transmitter/receiver noise characterization and related correlated noise issues

Our approach concerning the development of hard target return CO{sub 2} DIAL transmitter/receiver systems is two phased- (i) through analysis and experiment, develop a fundamental understanding of the transmitter/receiver physics specific to DIAL systems and (ii) apply these fundamentals in the development of optimal performance DIAL transmitter/receiver systems. We present our progress and results towards these objectives with the following topics addressed: A general overview of the DIAL transmitter/receiver system characterization effort with a focus on transceiver noise processes. The effects of correlated noise on DIAL performance, especially those effecting statistical convergence over long sample structures, is , introduced. And, preliminary measurements of a low-noise, ``white`` receiver prototype are presented

196 Comparing Response Times, Intensity of Care and Outcomes between Private versus Municipal Emergency Medical Services Systems

Study Objectives: The financial and oversight complexities associated with providing emergency medical services (EMS) in the United States ultimately led to the creation of both private and municipal-based EMS systems providing out-of-hospital medical care to our communities. For over four decades an emotional debate has spurned regarding which system can provide better coverage and quality of care to patients. Although there are many heated editorials and commentary papers on this topic, there is very little scientific research to support one method of delivery over the other. The primary objective of this study was to identify any quantitative differences in care between private and municipal EMS systems related to response times, intensity of services and patient outcomes. Methods: This IRB approved retrospective chart review included all patients presenting to a 60 bed community Emergency Department (ED) via advanced life support (ALS) ambulance between Jan 1, 2017 and March 31, 2017. Our ED receives ambulance traffic from 9 EMS agencies (7 municipal, 2 private)who provide 911 coverage for approximately 20 square miles of suburban communities. Data were collected using the hospital’s electronic records and included patient age, emergency severity index score (ESI), out-of-hospital response and transport times, IVs started, fluids and medications given, airway interventions (oxygen delivery, CPAP, Intubation), cardiac monitoring, 12 lead EKGs, ED intubations, ED mortality, hospital mortality and ICU admission. Categorical data were summarized as counts and percentages, and continuous data as means with corresponding standard deviations. Between-group mean differences were compared by calculating t-tests for independent measures. Categorical data were compared using the chi-square test for association or Fisher’s exact test. Results: A total of 769 patients were included into the study sample with 483 in the private EMS cohort and 286 in the municipal EMS cohort. A detailed breakdown of cohort demographics, out-of-hospital response times, intensity of services, outcomes and comparisons between these groups are displayed in Table 1. A p-value≥0.05 (two-tail) was considered statistically significant. Conclusion: The current operating structure of providing EMS to our communities is based around the premise that there are no significant quality and safety differences between municipal and private EMS systems. It is therefore surprising to see so many statistically and potentially clinically significant differences between these two modes of EMS delivery. Municipal EMS agencies in our community were identified to provider faster care with more intense services in nearly every out-of-hospital time and intensity of care metric. Despite these differences, no outcome disparities were identified in regards to ED and hospital mortality, ICU admissions or ED intubations. Recognizing strengths and potential weakness related to these two systems is essential as we continue to minimize any disparities in care to our communities and maximize the benefits of mutual aid within our national EMS system

An lntegrated Growth and Analysis System for In-Situ XAS Studies of Metal- Semiconductor Interactions

A UHV system for in-situ studies of metal-semiconductor interactions has been designed and assembled at North Carolina State University and recently installed and tested at the NSLS. The UHV system consists of interconnected deposition and analysis chambers, each of which is capable of maintaining a base pressure of approximately 1 x 10-10 Torr. Up to three materials can be co-deposited on 25 mm wafers by electron-beam evaporation. Substrate temperature can be controlled in the range 30-900 °C during deposition, and the growth process may be monitored with RHEED. The deposited materials and their reaction products can be studied in-situ with a variety of technique: XAFS, AES, XPS, UPS and ARXPS/UPS. We describe the capabilities of the system and present our first EXAFS results on the stabilization of Co + 2 Si films co-deposited on Si0.8Ge0.2 alloys. Preliminary results indicate that Co + 2Si forms a stable film on Si0.8Ge0.2 with a "CoSi2-like" reaction path. As is tie case with Co/Si0.8Ge0.2, silicide formation is complete at 700 °C. However, the Co+2Si/0.8Ge0.2 system does not undergo a CoSi→ CoSi2 transition when annealed at 500-700 °C, and exhibits only weak CoSi features in this.temperature range