Community Support and Transition of Research to Operations for the Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting Model

The Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting Model (HWRF) is an operational model used to provide numerical guidance in support of tropical cyclone forecasting at the National Hurricane Center. HWRF is a complex multicomponent system, consisting of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) atmospheric model coupled to the Princeton Ocean Model for Tropical Cyclones (POM-TC), a sophisticated initialization package including a data assimilation system and a set of postprocessing and vortex tracking tools. HWRF’s development is centralized at the Environmental Modeling Center of NOAA’s National Weather Service, but it incorporates contributions from a variety of scientists spread out over several governmental laboratories and academic institutions. This distributed development scenario poses significant challenges: a large number of scientists need to learn how to use the model, operational and research codes need to stay synchronized to avoid divergence, and promising new capabilities need to be tested for operational consideration. This article describes how the Developmental Testbed Center has engaged in the HWRF developmental cycle in the last three years and the services it provides to the community in using and developing HWRF

Influence of silicone mammoplasty on the immunoendocrine status of female recipients

The article concerns a study of early influence of silicone breast implants on the development of autoimmune reactions and dynamics of prolactin and thyroid hormone levels in women after mammoplasty. At the present time, this issue remains relevant for several reasons: more than 20 million pairs of implants have been installed in the world and the number of their implantations is constantly growing. Despite relative safety of the silicone implants, some of them are periodically banned by regulatory bodies in various countries. At the same time, there is a growing number of controversial publications in the scientific literature, about potential adverse consequences of their use. Some authors suggest an association between the silicone implants and risk of developing autoimmune conditions, connective tissue disorders, and occasional malignancies. On the other hand, the journals are full of publications about the overall safe tolerance of such medical devices by the patients. These considerations served as a pre-requisite to our research. As part of this project, we have assayed serum levels of autoantibodies to ten antigens, as well as contents of prolactin and thyroid hormones by means of ELISA technique in 27 patients before, 3 and 6 months after aesthetic and reconstructive mammoplastics performed within a period of September 2018 to November 2019. As a result, it was found that 5 out of 27 patients exhibited changes in the autoimmunity spectrum and intensity after mammoplasty. In particular, the concentrations of autoantibodies to modified citrullinated vimentin and IgM autoantibodies to cardiolipin exceeded the normal level at 3 and 6 months. In addition, the initially high prolactin concentration in mammoplasty recipients dropped to normal ranges by 3 months after breast surgery, even after several-fold increased initial levels. As for thyroid hormones, there were no statistically significant changes in their dynamics. The increase of autoantibodies to various target antigens after mammoplasty was statistically significant and positively correlated with each other. This can be explained, for example, by dependence on the adjuvant effect of silicone, which is not associated with antigen specificity. However, it may generally stimulate the immune responses

Возможности прогнозирования продолжительности жизни больных XOБЛ с целью уточнения показаний к трансплантации легких

The results of 58 COPD patients’ dynamic observation (56 males and 2 females) were analysed. The patients had been treated in the State Scientific Pulmonology Centre of Health Ministry of Russian Federation and the municipal pulmonology hospital N 2 of Sankt-Peterburg city in the years 1996-1998. The patients were examined using standard clinical techniques, lung function and diffusing capacity tests, blood gas analysis, echography of pulmonary circulation. Prognostic criteria were evaluated which enable to determine the optimal date for lung grafting.Initially all the patients were divided into two groups: 9 patients whose lifetime had not exceeded 18 months after their first examination and 49 patients who had lived more than 18 months after their first examination. The first group patients demonstrated the signs of right heart hypertrophy and overload significantly more often.Their pulmonary artery blood pressure was increased to 38 mm Hg and the capillary blood oxygen contents was greatly diminished. Lung function and diffusing capacity parameters, pCO2 did not differ in the groups.Next, the certain indices’ influence on the life-expectancy as well as the prognostic value of chronic cor pulmonale existence and severity were assessed.The correlation analysis displayed a strong tie between the COPD patients’ life-expectancy and the pulmonary artery blood pressure level, dyspnoe, heart beat rate, hypoxaemia level and also between the pulmonary artery blood pressure level and the capillary blood oxygen contents. The correlation between the severity of corpulmonale failure and the patients’ life-expectancy was faint.The pulmonary artery blood pressure proved to be the most important parameter for the patients’ prognosis: ones having it normal lived more than 2 years meanwhile the patients with the pulmonary artery blood pressure higher 50 mm Hg lived not more 18 months. The lung functional parametbrs were not found to be the independent prognostic factors.So, based on the result obtained the indications for lung grafting in COPD patients are thought to be the pulmonary artery blood pressure higher than 50 mm Hg, the pO2 level less than 60 mm Hg and the conservative therapy failure.Проанализированы материалы динамического наблюдения 58 больных ХОБЛ (56 мужчин и 2 женщины), пролеченных в ГНЦ пульмонологии М3 РФ и ГМПБ № 2 г. Санкт-Петербурга в 1986-1998 гг. Больным проведено стандартное общеклиническое обследование, исследование функции внешнего дыхания и диффузионной способности легких, газового состава крови, эхографическое исследование гемодинамики малого круга кровообращения. Оценивали прогностические критерии, позволяющие определить оптимальные сроки выполнения трансплантации легких. В начале исследования больные были разделены на 2 группы: прожившие не более 18 месяцев после первого обследования (9 человек) и прожившие более 18 месяцев (49 человек). В первой группе значительно чаще выявлялись признаки гипертрофии правых отделов сердца и их перегрузки, было повышено давление в легочной артерии в среднем до 38 мм рт.ст., напряжение кислорода в капиллярной крови было значительно ниже. Показатели функции внешнего дыхания, диффузионная способность легких, рСО2 в сравниваемых группах не различались. Далее оценивалось влияние ряда показателей на продолжительность жизни, а также прогностическое значение наличия и выраженности хронического легочного сердца.Корреляционный анализ показал сильную взаимосвязь между продолжительностью жизни больных ХОБЛ и уровнем давления в легочной артерии, одышкой и частотой пульса, выраженностью гипоксемии, а также - между давлением в легочной артерии и напряжением кислорода в капиллярной крови. Корреляция между степенью декомпенсации легочного сердца и продолжительностью жизни больных была слабой.Наиболее прогностически значимым показателем оказался уровень давления в легочной артерии: при нормальном давлении в легочной артерии все больные жили более 2 лет, а при давлении выше 50 мм рт. ст. - не более 18 месяцев. Функциональные показатели не имели самостоятельного прогностического значения.Таким образом, на основании полученных результатов показаниями для трансплантации легких при ХОБЛ можно считать давление в легочной артерии более 50 мм рт. ст., уровень рО2 менее 60 мм рт. ст., отсутствие эффекта от проводимой консервативной терапии

БАКТЕРИЦИДНАЯ АКТИВНОСТЬ ЛЕЙКОЦИТОВ У БОЛЬНЫХ ТУБЕРКУЛЕЗОМ ЛЕГКИХ

Bactericidal activity of leukocytes was investigated in 63 patients with new infiltrate pulmonary tuberculosis and 28 patients with fibrous cavernous pulmonary tuberculosis. The diverse oxygen-dependent bactericidal activity of phagocytes is typical of the patients suffering from both clinical forms of tuberculosis: reduction of nitrosative stress rates, which is more frequent in those suffering from fibrous cavernous tuberculosis, and increase of oxidative stress rates, which is more intensive in case of fibrous cavernous tuberculosis. The associated functions were detected among immune-competent cells, involved in the bactericidal function: in case of fibrous cavernous tuberculosis – between oxidative stress rates, and in case of infiltrate pulmonary tuberculosis – between nitrosative stress rates; the synergistic effect of respiratory burst was observed. In case of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, both types of cells were equally responsible for bactericidal functions, while neutrophils were dominating in new infiltrate pulmonary tuberculosis, without prior treatment, being the cells of the first line of defense. The obtained results allowed concluding that in case of new pulmonary tuberculosis without prior treatment, nitrosative stress played the important role in the killing of tuberculous mycobacteria, while in case of chronic tuberculosis – it was oxidative stress.Бактерицидная активность лейкоцитов изучена у 63 больных впервые выявленным инфильтративным туберкулезом легких (ИТЛ) и 28 ‒ фиброзно-кавернозным туберкулезом легких (ФКТ). Для больных с обеими клиническими формами туберкулеза характерна разнонаправленная кислородзависимая бактерицидная активность фагоцитирующих клеток: снижение показателей нитрозилирующего стресса, в большей степени характерное для больных ФКТ, и рост показателей оксидативного стресса, больше выраженного при ФКТ. Выявлена сопряженность функционирования иммунокомпетентных клеток, участвующих в бактерицидной функции: при ФКТ ‒ между показателями оксидативного стресса, при ИТЛ – нитрозилирующего; отмечен синергический эффект респираторного взрыва. Если при хронической форме туберкулеза легких за бактерицидную функцию одинаково «отвечают» оба типа клеток, то при впервые выявленном нелеченном ИТЛ доминирующая роль отводится нейтрофилам как клеткам первой линии защиты. Полученные результаты дают основание полагать, что при впервые выявленном нелеченном туберкулезе легких важная роль в подавлении микобактерий туберкулеза отводится нитрозилирующему стрессу, а при хронической форме туберкулеза – оксидативному

Transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling of Zymomonas mobilis during aerobic and anaerobic fermentations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Zymomonas mobilis </it>ZM4 (ZM4) produces near theoretical yields of ethanol with high specific productivity and recombinant strains are able to ferment both C-5 and C-6 sugars. <it>Z. mobilis </it>performs best under anaerobic conditions, but is an aerotolerant organism. However, the genetic and physiological basis of ZM4's response to various stresses is understood poorly.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles for ZM4 aerobic and anaerobic fermentations were elucidated by microarray analysis and by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. In the absence of oxygen, ZM4 consumed glucose more rapidly, had a higher growth rate, and ethanol was the major end-product. Greater amounts of other end-products such as acetate, lactate, and acetoin were detected under aerobic conditions and at 26 h there was only 1.7% of the amount of ethanol present aerobically as there was anaerobically. In the early exponential growth phase, significant differences in gene expression were not observed between aerobic and anaerobic conditions via microarray analysis. HPLC and GC analyses revealed minor differences in extracellular metabolite profiles at the corresponding early exponential phase time point.</p> <p>Differences in extracellular metabolite profiles between conditions became greater as the fermentations progressed. GC-MS analysis of stationary phase intracellular metabolites indicated that ZM4 contained lower levels of amino acids such as alanine, valine and lysine, and other metabolites like lactate, ribitol, and 4-hydroxybutanoate under anaerobic conditions relative to aerobic conditions. Stationary phase microarray analysis revealed that 166 genes were significantly differentially expressed by more than two-fold. Transcripts for Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway genes (<it>glk, zwf, pgl, pgk, and eno</it>) and gene <it>pdc</it>, encoding a key enzyme leading to ethanol production, were at least 30-fold more abundant under anaerobic conditions in the stationary phase based on quantitative-PCR results. We also identified differentially expressed ZM4 genes predicted by The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) that were not predicted in the primary annotation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>High oxygen concentrations present during <it>Z. mobilis </it>fermentations negatively influence fermentation performance. The maximum specific growth rates were not dramatically different between aerobic and anaerobic conditions, yet oxygen did affect the physiology of the cells leading to the buildup of metabolic byproducts that ultimately led to greater differences in transcriptomic profiles in stationary phase.</p

BACTERICIDAL ACTIVITY OF LEUKOCYTES IN PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS

Bactericidal activity of leukocytes was investigated in 63 patients with new infiltrate pulmonary tuberculosis and 28 patients with fibrous cavernous pulmonary tuberculosis. The diverse oxygen-dependent bactericidal activity of phagocytes is typical of the patients suffering from both clinical forms of tuberculosis: reduction of nitrosative stress rates, which is more frequent in those suffering from fibrous cavernous tuberculosis, and increase of oxidative stress rates, which is more intensive in case of fibrous cavernous tuberculosis. The associated functions were detected among immune-competent cells, involved in the bactericidal function: in case of fibrous cavernous tuberculosis – between oxidative stress rates, and in case of infiltrate pulmonary tuberculosis – between nitrosative stress rates; the synergistic effect of respiratory burst was observed. In case of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, both types of cells were equally responsible for bactericidal functions, while neutrophils were dominating in new infiltrate pulmonary tuberculosis, without prior treatment, being the cells of the first line of defense. The obtained results allowed concluding that in case of new pulmonary tuberculosis without prior treatment, nitrosative stress played the important role in the killing of tuberculous mycobacteria, while in case of chronic tuberculosis – it was oxidative stress

Long-Term Outcomes of Service Women Injured on Combat Deployment

Sex- and gender-based health disparities are well established and may be of particular concern for service women. Given that injured service members are at high risk of adverse mental and behavioral health outcomes, it is important to address any such disparities in this group, especially in regard to patient-reported outcomes, as much of the existing research has focused on objective medical records. The current study addressed physical and mental health-related quality of life, mental health symptoms, and health behaviors (i.e., alcohol use, sleep, and physical activity) among a sample of service women injured on deployment. Results indicate that about half of injured service women screened positive for a mental health condition, and also evidenced risky health behaviors including problematic drinking, poor sleep, and physical inactivity. Many of the mental and behavioral health variables demonstrated statistically significant associations with each other, supporting the relationships between psychological health and behaviors. Results provide additional evidence for the importance of access to integrated and effective mental healthcare treatment for injured service women and the need for screening in healthcare settings that address the multiple factors (e.g., mental health symptoms, alcohol use, poor sleep) that may lead to poor outcomes