Jumping the Queue: From NASA to the Commercial Cloud

NASA's High-End Computing Capability (HECC) Project has made it possible for its users to run on commercial cloud resources in a seamless way. In the first of three phases, we implemented a pilot project for a few users, enabling them to jump the queue and burst jobs from the HECC environment to Amazon Web Services (AWS). By using GPU-accelerated nodes at AWS, the users were able to make significant advances in their research. The second phase of the project made AWS access available to all HECC users and added accounting to make users responsible for cloud charges. We are also enabling export-controlled work through the use of AWS GovCloud. In the third phase, we will add web-based mechanisms to permit non-HECC users to access cloud resources for their HPC projects

Transboundary cooperation to reduce bacterial pollution in Washington\u27s lower Nooksack Basin

The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in streams and shallow marine waters used to grow and harvest shellfish indicate the presence of human- and animal-borne pathogens that can cause serious illness. People who contact polluted water or eat shellfish contaminated with these pathogens are at risk. Since 1998, state and local agencies, dairy operators, farmers, septic system owners and others have worked to address this concern. In 2012, a partnership of local, state and federal entities started the Whatcom Clean Water Program (WCWP), with the purpose of reducing fecal coliform contamination in Drayton Harbor and Portage Bay. County and State agencies are identifying and correcting conditions that pollute the Nooksack River and Portage Bay, where Lummi Nation Tribal members rely on shellfish harvesting for commercial, ceremonial and subsistence purposes. Livestock and farm operators, homeowners with on-site septic systems, and cities have invested time and money to reduce the risk of polluted runoff. Since the beginning of the WCWP, agricultural leaders have voiced concerns that fecal coliform concentrations in Bertrand and Fishtrap creeks and their tributaries are high at the Washington-British Columbia border, making it difficult for operators downstream to achieve reductions in fecal coliform, a fundamental objective in the program. In late 2016, the BC/WA Environmental Cooperation Council (ECC), comprised primarily of Washington’s Department of Ecology and the BC Ministry of Environment, began a program to review available information, identify knowledge and understanding gaps, and deliver recommendations to agency directors. The main goal of the program is to develop a cross-border strategy to identify sources of fecal coliform pollution, to engage landowners and help them address problem areas, and to reduce the risk of restrictions placed on streams and shellfish harvest areas connected to the Nooksack River

An Application-Based Performance Evaluation of NASAs Nebula Cloud Computing Platform

The high performance computing (HPC) community has shown tremendous interest in exploring cloud computing as it promises high potential. In this paper, we examine the feasibility, performance, and scalability of production quality scientific and engineering applications of interest to NASA on NASA's cloud computing platform, called Nebula, hosted at Ames Research Center. This work represents the comprehensive evaluation of Nebula using NUTTCP, HPCC, NPB, I/O, and MPI function benchmarks as well as four applications representative of the NASA HPC workload. Specifically, we compare Nebula performance on some of these benchmarks and applications to that of NASA s Pleiades supercomputer, a traditional HPC system. We also investigate the impact of virtIO and jumbo frames on interconnect performance. Overall results indicate that on Nebula (i) virtIO and jumbo frames improve network bandwidth by a factor of 5x, (ii) there is a significant virtualization layer overhead of about 10% to 25%, (iii) write performance is lower by a factor of 25x, (iv) latency for short MPI messages is very high, and (v) overall performance is 15% to 48% lower than that on Pleiades for NASA HPC applications. We also comment on the usability of the cloud platform

Do overweight and obese individuals demonstrate impaired thermoregulatory adaptation to six weeks of studio cycling training: a pilot study

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is effective at improving health markers in groups at risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Studio cycling may offer a platform for HIIT in the community, however little is know about how increased adiposity influences thermal control during HIIT and the effect this may have on overweight patients who are new to exercise. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the thermal adaptation in response to studio based group HIIT in sedentary overweight adults

Group studio cycling is an effective intervention to improve cardio-metabolic health in overweight sedentary individuals

Group studio cycling is an effective intervention to improve cardio-metabolic health in overweight sedentary individual

Adapting Dietary Guidelines to Client-Centered Preferences at the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK)

The Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK) in New Haven, Connecticut exists to serve individuals who are food insecure, through the provision of meals. A majority of DESK’s food is sourced through donations and federal programs. A significant portion of these donations are from Yale University Dining, where trays of food from the dining hall are delivered multiple times a week. Connecticut faces a 6.4 percent prevalence of households with low food security, exceeding the 5.2 percent national average (Coleman-Jensen, 2017). Meals served at soup kitchens tend to contain high levels of fat and low levels of fiber, vitamins, and minerals (Lyles et al., 2013; Sisson, 2011), contributing to malnutrition, obesity, high blood pressure, and many other chronic conditions (Sisson, 2011). Currently, there are no national guidelines to regulate the nutrition of meals served specifically at these institutions, allowing for the continued distribution of meals with insufficient nutritional value (Koh et al., 2015; Kourgialis et al., 2001). The objectives of this study were as follows: Conduct a nutritional assessment of the dinners served by DESK, establish effective principles for the DESK menu based on the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and incorporate client food preferences in menu adaptations.https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysph_pbchrr/1018/thumbnail.jp

Quantification of Drugs in Brain and Liver Mimetic Tissue Models Using Raman Spectroscopy

Quantitative analysis of drug delivery with in biological systems is an integral challenge in drug development. Analytical techniques are important for assessing both drug target delivery, target action, and drug toxicology. Using mimetic tissue models, we have investigated the efficacy of Raman spectroscopy in quantitative detection of alkyne group and deuterated drugs in rat brain and rat liver tissue models. Lasers with 671 nm and 785 nm wavelengths were assessed for their feasibility in this application due to opposing relative benefits and disadvantages. Thin tissue sections have been tested as a practical means of reducing autofluorescent background by minimizing out-of-focus tissue and therefore maximizing photobleaching rates. Alkyne-tagged drugs were quantitatively measured at 18 ± 5 μg/g drug/tissue mass ratio in rat brain and at 34 ± 6 μg/g in rat liver. Quantification calibration curves were generated for a range of concentrations from 0–500 μg/g. These results show the potential of Raman spectroscopy as a diffraction-limited spatially resolved imaging technique for assessing drug delivery in tissue applications

Exploration of Perceived Psychosocial Benefits of Senior Companion Program Participation Among Urban-Dwelling, Low-Income Older Adult Women Volunteers

Background: As the older adult population increases, it is imperative to increase older adults' opportunities for social involvement, thus maintaining their important roles and contributions to society. While there are known health-related benefits of volunteerism among older adults, a dearth of information exists on the perceived benefits of volunteerism among low-income and ethnic minority older adults. Purpose: To understand the perceived psychosocial benefits of volunteering in the Senior Companion Program and to present findings of focus groups conducted with urban-dwelling, low-income older adult women volunteers. Design and Methods: Inductive content analysis and the Dedoose qualitative data analysis software were used for analyzing data obtained from 59 older adult women Senior Companions who participated in nine focus groups. Results: Content analyses of the focus group transcripts identified four major themes: (1) Reducing social isolation; (2) Improving quality of life; (3) Finding purpose and meaning; and (4) Increasing understanding of aging. The majority of our participants (81%) were African American women, with a mean age of 70 years. Approximately 83.1% had completed high school and 62.7% lived below the poverty line. Discussion and Implications: Findings provided data rich in descriptions of positive psychosocial outcomes, finding meaning and purpose, and a better understanding of aging in urban-dwelling, low-income older women volunteers. The findings also provide support for the need for policies and programs that promote civic engagement in this population