Ground Motion Study on Dumbarton Toll Bridge

The existing Dumbarton Toll Bridge was built in 1982, connecting the cities of Newark and East Palo Alto in the San Francisco Bay Area. The initial vulnerability studies conducted by California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in 2004 indicated that the performance of the bridge during a maximum credible earthquake was uncertain. Earth Mechanics, Inc. (EMI) has carried out the necessary study for the seismic evaluation of the bridge. An extensive field investigation was undertaken both on-land and over-water at the site to develop the idealized subsurface profile along the bridge alignment. According to the probabilistic and deterministic seismic hazard analyses incorporated with new seismic source model and Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) models, a 1,000-year return period spectrum was adopted for the Safety Evaluation Earthquake (SEE) event and a 100-year return period spectrum for the Function Evaluation Earthquake (FEE) event. SHAKE and KIPS programs were used to conduct the seismic response analysis and kinematic soil-pile interaction analysis were carried out at selected piers. From this study, two sets of Acceleration Response Spectrum (ARS) curves were generated for the seismic retrofit of this bridge: one for the Main Channel piers and another for the West and East Approach structures. Other seismic retrofit-related issues are also addressed

Association between ethnicity and hypertension in Northern Colombia in 2015

Background Studies in the United States have shown a genetic predisposition to hypertension in individuals of African descent. However, studies on the associations between ethnic groups and hypertension in Latin America are lacking and the limited results have been inconsistent. The objective of this study is to determine whether Afro-Colombian ethnicity increases the risk of hypertension. Methods This study is a secondary data analysis of a cross sectional study from five provinces in Northern Colombia. Randomly selected individuals (N = 2613; age-range 18-74 years) enrolled in a health care insurance company underwent physical examinations and completed questionnaires regarding ethnicity, lifestyle, and other risk factors. Hypertension in these patients was determined. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analysis were calculated to determine the association between ethnicity and hypertension. Results No association between Afro-Colombian ethnicity and hypertension was found (odds ratio [OR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66-1.09). As expected, people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher were at a greater risk of having hypertension (OR, 3.12; 95% CI, 2.35-4.16) compared with those with a normal BMI. Conclusions Findings from this study suggest no independent association between Afro-Colombian ethnicity and hypertension. Further research should focus on genotyping or socioeconomic factors such as income level.Peer reviewe

Effect of biochar modified with magnetite nanoparticles and HNO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e for efficient removal of Cr(VI) from contaminated water: A batch and column scale study

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Chromium (Cr) poses serious consequences on human and animal health due to its potential carcinogenicity. The present study aims at preparing a novel biochar derived from Chenopodium quinoa crop residues (QBC), its activation with magnetite nanoparticles (QBC/MNPs) and strong acid HNO3 (QBC/Acid) to evaluate their batch and column scale potential to remove Cr (VI) from polluted water. The QBC, QBC/MNPs and QBC/Acid were characterized with SEM, FTIR, EDX, XRD as well as point of zero charge (PZC) to get an insight into their adsorption mechanism. The impact of different process parameters including dose of the adsorbent (1–4 g/L), contact time (0–180 min), initial concentration of Cr (25–200 mg/L) as well as solution pH (2–8) was evaluated on the Cr (VI) removal from contaminated water. The results revealed that QBC/MNPs proved more effective (73.35–93.62-%) for the Cr (VI) removal with 77.35 mg/g adsorption capacity as compared with QBC/Acid (55.85–79.8%) and QBC (48.85–75.28-%) when Cr concentration was changed from 200 to 25 mg/L. The isothermal experimental results follow the Freundlich adsorption model rather than Langmuir, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption isotherm models. While kinetic adsorption results were well demonstrated by pseudo second order kinetic model. Column scale experiments conducted at steady state exhibited excellent retention of Cr (VI) by QBC, QBC/MNPs and QBC/Acid at 50 and 100 mg Cr/L. The results showed that this novel biochar (QBC) and its modified forms (QBC/Acid and QBC/MNPs) are applicable with excellent reusability and stability under acidic conditions for the practical treatment of Cr (VI) contaminated water

Prion Disease and the Innate Immune System

Prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are a unique category of infectious protein-misfolding neurodegenerative disorders. Hypothesized to be caused by misfolding of the cellular prion protein these disorders possess an infectious quality that thrives in immune-competent hosts. While much has been discovered about the routing and critical components involved in the peripheral pathogenesis of these agents there are still many aspects to be discovered. Research into this area has been extensive as it represents a major target for therapeutic intervention within this group of diseases. The main focus of pathological damage in these diseases occurs within the central nervous system. Cells of the innate immune system have been proven to be critical players in the initial pathogenesis of prion disease, and may have a role in the pathological progression of disease. Understanding how prions interact with the host innate immune system may provide us with natural pathways and mechanisms to combat these diseases prior to their neuroinvasive stage. We present here a review of the current knowledge regarding the role of the innate immune system in prion pathogenesis

Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020

Background: The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol might lower the risk of some health outcomes but increase the risk of others, suggesting that the overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and year. Methods: For this analysis, we constructed burden-weighted dose–response relative risk curves across 22 health outcomes to estimate the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) and non-drinker equivalence (NDE), the consumption level at which the health risk is equivalent to that of a non-drinker, using disease rates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020 for 21 regions, including 204 countries and territories, by 5-year age group, sex, and year for individuals aged 15–95 years and older from 1990 to 2020. Based on the NDE, we quantified the population consuming harmful amounts of alcohol. Findings: The burden-weighted relative risk curves for alcohol use varied by region and age. Among individuals aged 15–39 years in 2020, the TMREL varied between 0 (95% uncertainty interval 0–0) and 0·603 (0·400–1·00) standard drinks per day, and the NDE varied between 0·002 (0–0) and 1·75 (0·698–4·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals aged 40 years and older, the burden-weighted relative risk curve was J-shaped for all regions, with a 2020 TMREL that ranged from 0·114 (0–0·403) to 1·87 (0·500–3·30) standard drinks per day and an NDE that ranged between 0·193 (0–0·900) and 6·94 (3·40–8·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals consuming harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020, 59·1% (54·3–65·4) were aged 15–39 years and 76·9% (73·0–81·3) were male. Interpretation: There is strong evidence to support recommendations on alcohol consumption varying by age and location. Stronger interventions, particularly those tailored towards younger individuals, are needed to reduce the substantial global health loss attributable to alcohol. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Efficacy of Quasi Agro Binding Fibre on the Hybrid Composite Used in Advance Application

The choice for natural fibre obtained from agricultural products is on the rise due to its solution to eco-friendly, environmental and improved mechanical properties concerns. Its abundant availability, low cost, emission reduction and adaptability to base material for composite make it a prime material for selection. This review explores diverse perspectives to the future trend of agro fibre in terms of the thermo-mechanical properties as it applies to advanced application in building structures. It is important to investigate the ecofriendliness of the products of composites from fibres in agricultural wastes so as to achieve a green and sustainable environment. This will come to fore by the combined efforts of both researchers and feedback from building stakeholders

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Federated learning enables big data for rare cancer boundary detection.

Although machine learning (ML) has shown promise across disciplines, out-of-sample generalizability is concerning. This is currently addressed by sharing multi-site data, but such centralization is challenging/infeasible to scale due to various limitations. Federated ML (FL) provides an alternative paradigm for accurate and generalizable ML, by only sharing numerical model updates. Here we present the largest FL study to-date, involving data from 71 sites across 6 continents, to generate an automatic tumor boundary detector for the rare disease of glioblastoma, reporting the largest such dataset in the literature (n = 6, 314). We demonstrate a 33% delineation improvement for the surgically targetable tumor, and 23% for the complete tumor extent, over a publicly trained model. We anticipate our study to: 1) enable more healthcare studies informed by large diverse data, ensuring meaningful results for rare diseases and underrepresented populations, 2) facilitate further analyses for glioblastoma by releasing our consensus model, and 3) demonstrate the FL effectiveness at such scale and task-complexity as a paradigm shift for multi-site collaborations, alleviating the need for data-sharing

Author Correction: Federated learning enables big data for rare cancer boundary detection.

10.1038/s41467-023-36188-7NATURE COMMUNICATIONS14