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Phased array radars (PARs) are a promising observing technology, at the cusp of being available to the broader meteorological community. PARs offer near-instantaneous sampling of the atmosphere with flexible beam forming, multifunctionality, and low operational and maintenance costs and without mechanical inertia limitations. These PAR features are transformative compared to those offered by our current reflector-based meteorological radars. The integration of PARs into meteorological research has the potential to revolutionize the way we observe the atmosphere. The rate of adoption of PARs in research will depend on many factors, including (i) the need to continue educating the scientific community on the full technical capabilities and trade-offs of PARs through an engaging dialogue with the science and engineering communities and (ii) the need to communicate the breadth of scientific bottlenecks that PARs can overcome in atmospheric measurements and the new research avenues that are now possible using PARs in concert with other measurement systems. The former is the subject of a companion article that focuses on PAR technology while the latter is the objective here.

During this study, different varieties of cotton seeds from various cotton growing areas in Côte d'Ivoire were physically and biochemically characterised. These are the varieties W471B, W448C, X442B and R405-2000 (Korhogo, North), BDL and BULK-SR (Bongouanou, East), W471A and W448C (Katiola, Centre). Physically, these varieties were characterised through 8 parameters: seed index, kernel rate, hull rate, seed moisture, linter rate and healthy, damaged and aborted seed rates. Biochemically, six parameters were measured: Total phenol activity, polyphenoloxidase activity (PPO), phenylalanine activity (PAL), peroxidase activity (POD), protein content and total sugar content were evaluated. Moisture (12.32%), aborted seeds (50%), spoiled seeds (41.63%), hull (44.87%) and linter (1.32%) were higher in the east (Bongouanou). The rates of seed index (09.10%), kernel (66.65%) and healthy seeds (53.66%) and linter (1.32%) are higher in the North (Korhogo). At the biochemical level, the results of our work revealed that for the same seed varieties, when total phenol and POD activity are high, PPO activity is low and vice versa.

South Sipilou is an area containing lateritic nickel mineralization that developed on ultramafic rocks in the department of Sipilou-Biankouma in western Ivory Coast. The objective of this study was to characterize the petrography and hydrothermal alterations affecting these ultramafic bed-rocks and to understand their involvement in lateritic nickel mineralization. Then to compare them to the ultramafic rocks already characterized in the department of Sipilou-Biankouma. Thus, the macroscopic characterization of these rocks was carried out in the field. Then, microscopic observations on the petrography and the hydrothermal alterations were made on these rocks after the preparation of thin sections in the laboratory.The results indicated that the lithologies of the ultramafic bed-rocks of South Sipilou consist of strongly serpentinized dunites, more or less harzburgitic lherzolites and olivine orthopyroxenites. Their petrographic characteristics showed a similarity with the ultramafic bed-rocks of the nickel-bearing lateritic mineralization of North Biankouma, North Sipilou and differences with those of Samapleu, Yepleu, in the department of Sipilou-Biankouma. Also, the main hydrothermal alterations of the ultramafic rocks of South Sipilou are composed of silicification, carbonation and serpentinization. Only serpentinizationcontributed to the concentration of nickel in the bed-rock and within the lateritic profile. &nbsp

Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. (Apocynaceae) is a plant used in traditional medicine in Côte d'Ivoire for the treatment of several conditions. This work aims to evaluate the effects of repeated oral administration of the aqueous roots extract Rauvolfia vomitoria AFZEL (AERv) on haematological parameters in Wistar rats. Thus, 100 healthy rats were divided into four groups (T, A, B, C) of 20 rats each. The sub groups Ts and Cs from the groups T and C included 10 rats (5 males and 5 females) were formed for a reversibility study. After 6 months (180 days) of the experiment, the sub groups rats Ts and Cs were no more treated with the extract till the 210th day (7 months), day of their sacrifice to verify the reversibility and/or delayed effects of AERv. The erythrocyte, platelet and leukocyte parameters were determined. Results showed that AERv caused a significant decrease in erythrocyte and thrombocyte parameters with the high dose (1000 mg/kg bw) while an increase in leukocyte parameters was noted in a dose-dependent manner. The aqueous extract of the barkless roots is not harmful at the therapeutic dose of 700 mg/kg bw on the haematological parameters. After stoping administration the effects were reversible.

This article summarizes research and risk reduction that will inform acquisition decisions regarding NOAA’s future national operational weather radar network. A key alternative being evaluated is polarimetric phased-array radar (PAR). Research indicates PAR can plausibly achieve fast, adaptive volumetric scanning, with associated benefits for severe-weather warning performance. We assess these benefits using storm observations and analyses, observing system simulation experiments, and real radar-data assimilation studies. Changes in the number and/or locations of radars in the future network could improve coverage at low altitude. Analysis of benefits that might be so realized indicates the possibility for additional improvement in severe-weather and flash-flood warning performance, with associated reduction in casualties. Simulations are used to evaluate techniques for rapid volumetric scanning and assess data quality characteristics of PAR. Finally, we describe progress in developing methods to compensate for polarimetric variable estimate biases introduced by electronic beam-steering. A research-to-operations (R2O) strategy for the PAR alternative for the WSR-88D replacement network is presented.

The relatively low density of weather radar networks can lead to low-altitude coverage gaps. As existing networks are evaluated for gap fillers and new networks are designed, the benefits of low-altitude coverage must be assessed quantitatively. This study takes a regression approach to modeling quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) differences based on network density, antenna aperture, and polarimetric bias. Thousands of cases from the warm-season months of May–August 2015–17 are processed using both the specific attenuation [R(A)] and reflectivity–differential reflectivity [R(Z, ZDR)] QPE methods and are compared with Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) rain gauge data. QPE errors are quantified on the basis of beam height, cross-radial resolution, added polarimetric bias, and observed rainfall rate. The collected data are used to construct a support vector machine regression model that is applied to the current WSR-88D network for holistic error quantification. An analysis of the effects of polarimetric bias on flash-flood rainfall rates is presented. Rainfall rates that are based on 2-yr/1-h return rates are used for a contiguous-U.S.-wide analysis of QPE errors in extreme rainfall situations. These errors are then requantified using previously proposed network design scenarios with additional radars that provide enhanced estimate capabilities. Last, a gap-filling scenario utilizing the QPE error model, flash-flood rainfall rates, population density, and potential additional WSR-88D sites is presented, exposing the highest-benefit coverage holes in augmenting the WSR-88D network (or a future network) relative to QPE performance.

An econometric geospatial benefit model for nontornadic thunderstorm wind casualty reduction is developed for meteorological radar network planning. Regression analyses on 22 years (1998–2019) of storm event and warning data show, likely for the first time, a clear dependence of nontornadic severe thunderstorm warning performance on radar coverage. Furthermore, nontornadic thunderstorm wind casualty rates are observed to be negatively correlated with better warning performance. In combination, these statistical relationships form the basis of a cost model that can be differenced between radar network configurations to generate geospatial benefit density maps. This model, applied to the current contiguous U.S. weather radar network, yields a benefit estimate of $207 million (M) yr−1 relative to no radar coverage at all. The remaining benefit pool with respect to enhanced radar coverage and scan update rate is about $36M yr−1. Aggregating these nontornadic thunderstorm wind results with estimates from earlier tornado and flash flood cost reduction models yields a total benefit of $1.12 billion yr−1 for the present-day radars and a remaining radar-based benefit pool of $778M yr−1.

Mareya micrantha (Euphorbiaceae) is an Ivorian medicinal plant widely used in gastrointestinal disorders. So as to understand and identify metabolites possibly implicated in the activity of the plant on intestinal muscles, this study has been undertaken. From the crude ethanolic extract EE of the leaves, hexanic (EH), chloromethylene (EC), ethyl acetatic (EA) and butanolic (EB) sub-extracts were prepared as well as the hydroethanolic residual phase dried (Ar) and their effects on the isolated duodenum of rabbits were determined. If the sub-extracts EH, EA and EB, but also Ar, confirmed the myostimulant activity of the crude extract EE, this was not the case of EC which showed myorelaxant activity. This sub-extract, subjected to purification, led to the isolation of three major triterpenoids type 29-norcucurbitacin (1-3) whose structures were confirmed using the combined analyses of their spectroscopic data (UV, MS, 1D NMR and 2D). All these molecules have shown myorelaxant activity, the most significant one being 2 with an IC50 value of 36.9 µM. These molecules would act by blocking both intracellular and extracellular calcium.

A monetized flash flood casualty reduction benefit model is constructed for application to meteorological radar networks. Geospatial regression analyses show that better radar coverage of the causative rainfall improves flash flood warning performance. Enhanced flash flood warning performance is shown to decrease casualty rates. Consequently, these two effects in combination allow a model to be formed that links radar coverage to flash flood casualty rates. When this model is applied to the present-day contiguous U.S. weather radar network, results yield a flash flood–based benefit of $316 million (M) yr−1. The remaining benefit pools are more modest ($13 M yr−1 for coverage improvement and $69 M yr−1 maximum for all areas of radar quantitative precipitation estimation improvements), indicative of the existing weather radar network’s effectiveness in supporting the flash flood warning decision process. ©2020 Keywords: radars/radar observations; regression analysis; economic value; flood events; geographic information systems (gis); societal impacts

Introduction Across the United States, unintentional shootings involving toddlers are on the rise. Pediatric nurses and nurse practitioners encounter families with toddlers regularly, allowing them the opportunity to make assessments and implement safety measures. The purpose of this study was to assess gun safety knowledge levels, health promotion strategies, and preventive interventions of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) Methods This quantitative study used an anonymous, online survey e-mailed to pediatric-focused APRNs using the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners e-mail list. Results The sample included 54 APRNs. The majority, 70.3%, reported asking parents about guns in the home; this was most often done with a new patient (62.3%, p = .05). APRNs were more likely (88.7%, p = .05) to believe that well-child practice standards should include questions about gun safety, but 56.4% (p = .033) responded that their workplace does not have a teaching plan or policy about gun safety. In addition, APRNs who are gun owners were more likely to screen for guns (62.5%, p = .05) and teach about safe gun storage (75.0%, p = .02). Discussion Overall, APRNs feel knowledgeable enough to assess and inform patients about safe gun storage, as well as interventions. One obstacle to effective promotion of gun safety may exist at the broader systemic level, as most of the practice settings do not have pertinent policies and resources for families of toddlers. Findings suggest that most APRNs are including gun safety teaching without an identified policy.

Metal oxides are intensively used for multilayered optoelectronic devices such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Many approaches have been explored to improve device performance by engineering electrical properties. However, conventional methods cannot enable both energy level manipulation and conductivity enhancement for achieving optimum energy band configurations. Here, we introduce a metal oxide charge transfer complex (NiO:MoO3-complex), which is composed of few-nm-size MoO3 domains embedded in NiO matrices, as a highly tunable carrier injection material. Charge transfer at the finely dispersed interfaces of NiO and MoO3 throughout the entire film enables effective energy level modulation over a wide work function range of 4.47 – 6.34 eV along with enhanced electrical conductivity. The high performance of NiO:MoO3-complex is confirmed by achieving 189% improved current efficiency compared to that of MoO3-based green OLEDs and also an external quantum efficiency of 17% when applied to blue OLEDs, which is superior to 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylene-hexacarbonitrile-based conventional devices., One pathway for improving the performance of optoelectronics is the tailoring energy bands of the charge transport layer. Here, Kim et al present a charge transfer complex composed out of nanodomains of MoO3 embedded within an NiO matrix, significantly improving green and blue OLED performance.

Description, Thermodynamically unstable nanoscale grains can be stabilized by tuning the metal-to-oxygen ratio in metal oxide nanoribbons., Nanograined metal oxides are requisite for diverse applications that use large surface area, such as gas sensors and catalysts. However, nanoscale grains are thermodynamically unstable and tend to coarsen at elevated temperatures. Here, we report effective grain growth suppression in metal oxide nanoribbons annealed at high temperature (900°C) by tuning the metal-to-oxygen ratio and confining the nanoribbons. Despite the high annealing temperatures, the average grain size was maintained at ~6 nm, which also retained their structural integrity. We observe that excess oxygen in amorphous tin oxide nanoribbons prevents merging of small grains during crystallization, leading to suppressed grain growth. As an exemplary application, we demonstrate a gas sensor using grain growth–suppressed tin oxide nanoribbons, which exhibited both high sensitivity and unusual long-term operation stability. Our findings provide a previously unknown pathway to simultaneously achieve high performance and excellent thermal stability in nanograined metal oxide nanostructures.

Rapid, accurate, and intuitive detection of unknown liquids is greatly important for various fields such as food and drink safety, management of chemical hazards, manufacturing process monitoring, and so on. Here, we demonstrate a highly responsive and selective transparency-switching medium for on-site, visual identification of various liquids. The light scattering–based sensing medium, which is designed to be composed of polymeric interphase voids and hollow nanoparticles, provides an extremely large transmittance window (95%) with outstanding selectivity and versatility. This sensing medium features ternary transparency states (transparent, semitransparent, and opaque) when immersed in liquids depending on liquid-polymer interactions and diffusion kinetics. Several different types of these transparency-changing media can be configured into an arrayed platform to discriminate a wide variety of liquids and also quantify their mixing ratios. The outstanding versatility and user friendliness of the sensing platform allow the development of a practical tool for discrimination of diverse organic liquids.

Background : Glass-ionomer cements (GICs) are biomaterial compounds of basic glasses and an acid polymer with a setting reaction of acid-base type. They are booming these decades due to the improvement in their properties and the development of minima dentistry. Aim: The present study aims at assessing the awareness, aptitudes and practices of dental surgeons in Abidjan with regard to the use of glass ionomer cements. Methods and Materials : A cross-sectional study was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire to 102 dental surgeons in Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire). Results: This study has shown that 100% of the surveyed practitioners were trained to use the glass ionomer cements restorations at the university, but 19.61% did not realize it. For 22.55%, GIC restorations concern only primary teeth while 55.88% concluded that they concern both primary and permanent teeth. Finally, for 1,96%, GIC concern solely permanent teeth. In their daily practice, 14.71% of practitioners had made GCI their preferred material in restorative therapeutics. Conclusions: A better indication accuracy of those materials and practitioners’ motivation is needed with the view of increasing their use. Keywords: Abidjan, Glassionomer cements, Restorative dentistry.

Patient: Male, 56 Final Diagnosis: Exfoliative dermatitis Symptoms: Edema • erythema • pruritus • rash • sepsis • shivers Medication: Vancomycin Clinical Procedure: Skin biopsy Specialty: General and Internal Medicine Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Erythroderma is an exfoliative dermatitis that manifests as generalized erythema and scaling that involves 90% of the body surface. If untreated, erythroderma can be fatal because of its metabolic burden and risk of secondary infections. Case Report: The patient was a 56-year-old male with prior rash attributed to group A Streptococcal cellulitis and discharged on Augmentin, Clindamycin with hydrocortisone cream, and Bactrim, but he had been noncompliant. He was admitted again for rash involving the face, torso, and extremities characterized by diffuse, desquamative, dry scales in morbilliform pattern. The patient was septic with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and compromised skin barrier. He was started on vancomycin and switched to Cefazolin IV due to concern for drug reaction. Autoimmune workup included antibodies for anti-Jo-1, anti-dsDNA, anti-centromere, and ANCA. However, only antinuclear antibody and scleroderma antibody were positive. Given the unclear workup results and lack of response to antibiotics, the patient was started on prednisone 60 mg PO and topical Triamcinolone 0.1% cream. A skin biopsy revealed psoriasiform hyperplasia with atypical T cell infiltrate and eosinophils, but negative for T cell gene rearrangement. The rash resolved after day 12 of application of topical Triamcinolone. Conclusions: This case is unique in terms of the rarity of erythroderma and the diagnostic challenge given confounding factors such as noncompliance and drug reaction. Serious causes, such as SLE and cutaneous T cell lymphoma, were ruled out. Fortunately, the rash responded well to steroids; however, given the adverse effects of long-term use of topical steroids, the patient will need follow up with Dermatology.

A monetized tornado benefit model is developed for arbitrary weather radar network configurations. Geospatial regression analyses indicate that improvement of two key radar parameters—fraction of vertical space observed and cross-range horizontal resolution—leads to better tornado warning performance as characterized by tornado detection probability and false-alarm ratio. Previous experimental results showing faster volume scan rates yielding greater warning performance are also incorporated into the model. Enhanced tornado warning performance, in turn, reduces casualty rates. In addition, lower false-alarm ratios save costs by cutting down on work and personal time lost while taking shelter. The model is run on the existing contiguous U.S. weather radar network as well as hypothetical future configurations. Results show that the current radars provide a tornado-based benefit of ~$490 million (M) yr−1. The remaining benefit pool is about $260M yr−1, split roughly evenly between coverage- and rapid-scanning-related gaps.

Despite highly promising characteristics of three-dimensionally (3D) nanostructured catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs), universal design rules for maximizing their performance have not been explored. Here we show that woodpile (WP)-structured Ir, consisting of 3D-printed, highly-ordered Ir nanowire building blocks, improve OER mass activity markedly. The WP structure secures the electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) through enhanced utilization efficiency of the extended surface area of 3D WP catalysts. Moreover, systematic control of the 3D geometry combined with theoretical calculations and various electrochemical analyses reveals that facile transport of evolved O2 gas bubbles is an important contributor to the improved ECSA-specific activity. The 3D nanostructuring-based improvement of ECSA and ECSA-specific activity enables our well-controlled geometry to afford a 30-fold higher mass activity of the OER catalyst when used in a single-cell PEMWE than conventional nanoparticle-based catalysts., Improved design of three-dimensionally nanostructured catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) can play a key role in maximizing the catalytic performance. Here, the authors show that woodpile-structured iridium consisting of 3D-printed, highly-ordered nanowire building blocks significantly improve OER mass activity.

Background A cardiac myxoma in a young person may pose a diagnostic challenge as symptoms may be variable and the differential diagnosis is wide. The differential diagnosis can include rheumatic mitral valve disease, pulmonary hypertension, endocarditis, myocarditis and vasculitis. Case presentation This case report involves a 49 years old female with a 2.8 cm × 3.4 cm myxoma in the left atrium causing mitral valve obstruction. She presented with fatigue, fever of unknown origin, transient ischemic attack and shortness of breath. Prompt surgery is often recommended due to the risk of embolic complications or complete obstruction. Due to her symptoms, patient underwent successful cardiothoracic surgery to excise the myxoma within 2 weeks of confirmation by cardiac echocardiography. Conclusion This case also emphasizes the diagnostic challenge as symptoms may be variable, ranging from fatigue, fever and shortness of breath to transient ischemic attack and at worst, sudden cardiac death. In conclusion, if a cardiac mass is suspected, echocardiography should be performed early. Surgical resection is curative and recurrence rate is very rare in sporadic isolated myxomas, however, recurrence can be higher in genetic diseases associated with increased frequency of myxomas such as Carney complex. This subpopulation of patients may present further research opportunity to learn more about the perioperative management of patients with myxomas such as determining the optimal time to surgical intervention and decision to anticoagulate.

Background Past research in population health trends has shown that injuries form a substantial burden of population health loss. Regular updates to injury burden assessments are critical. We report Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study estimates on morbidity and mortality for all injuries. methods We reviewed results for injuries from the GBD 2017 study. GBD 2017 measured injury-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) using the Cause of Death Ensemble model. To measure non-fatal injuries, GBD 2017 modelled injury-specific incidence and converted this to prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLLs and YLDs were summed to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings In 1990, there were 4 260 493 (4 085 700 to 4 396 138) injury deaths, which increased to 4 484 722 (4 332 010 to 4 585 554) deaths in 2017, while age-standardised mortality decreased from 1079 (1073 to 1086) to 738 (730 to 745) per 100 000. In 1990, there were 354 064 302 (95% uncertainty interval: 338 174 876 to 371 610 802) new cases of injury globally, which increased to 520 710 288 (493 430 247 to 547 988 635) new cases in 2017. During this time, age-standardised incidence decreased non-significantly from 6824 (6534 to 7147) to 6763 (6412 to 7118) per 100 000. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALYs decreased from 4947 (4655 to 5233) per 100 000 to 3267 (3058 to 3505). Interpretation Injuries are an important cause of health loss globally, though mortality has declined between 1990 and 2017. Future research in injury burden should focus on prevention in high-burden populations, improving data collection and ensuring access to medical care. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.

Background: While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria. Methods: In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality for every cause of injury, and then estimating incidence for every cause of injury. Non-fatal disability for each cause is then calculated based on the probabilities of suffering from different types of bodily injury experienced. Results: GBD 2017 produced morbidity and mortality estimates for 38 causes of injury. Estimates were produced in terms of incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, cause-specific mortality, years of life lost and disability-adjusted life-years for a 28-year period for 22 age groups, 195 countries and both sexes. Conclusions: GBD 2017 demonstrated a complex and sophisticated series of analytical steps using the largest known database of morbidity and mortality data on injuries. GBD 2017 results should be used to help inform injury prevention policy making and resource allocation. We also identify important avenues for improving injury burden estimation in the future. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC B Y. Published by BMJ.

Thermal energy storage and release in aliphatic phase-change materials are actively controlled by adding azobenzene-based photo-switches. UV activation of the additives induces supercooling of the composites, allowing for longer thermal storage at lower temperatures. The mechanism of this process is studied by comparing phase change behavior across diverse materials.

A new radio frequency interference (RFI) filter algorithm for weather radars is proposed in the two-dimensional (2D) range-time/sample-time domain. Its operation in 2D space allows RFI detection at lower interference-to-noise or interference-to-signal ratios compared to filters working only in the sample-time domain while maintaining very low false alarm rates. Simulations and real weather radar data with RFI are used to perform algorithm comparisons. Results are consistent with theoretical considerations and show the 2D RFI filter to be a promising addition to the signal processing arsenal against interference with weather radars. Increased computational burden is the only drawback relative to filters currently used by operational systems.

Nonlinear frequency modulated (NLFM) pulse compression waveforms have become a mainstream methodology for radars across multiple sectors and missions, including weather observation, target tracking, and target detection. NLFM affords the ability to generate a low-sidelobe autocorrelation function and matched filter while avoiding aggressive amplitude modulation, resulting in more power incident on the target. This capability can lead to significantly lower system design costs due to the possibility of sensitivity gains on the order of 3 dB or more compared with traditional, amplitude-modulated linear frequency modulated (LFM) waveforms. Generation of an optimal NLFM waveform, however, can be an arduous task, and may involve complex optimization and non-closed-form solutions. For a multi-mission or cognitive radar, which may utilize a wide combination of frequencies, pulse lengths, and amplitude modulations (among other factors), this could lead to an extremely large waveform table for selection. This paper takes a neural network approach to this problem by optimizing a set of over 100 waveforms spanning a wide space and using the results to interpolate the waveform possibilities to a higher resolution. A modified form of a previous NLFM method is combined with a four-hidden-layer neural network to show the integrated and peak range sidelobes of the generated waveforms across the model training space. The results are applicable to multi-mission and cognitive radars that need precise waveform specifications in rapid succession. The expected waveform generation times are addressed and quantified, and the potential applicability to multi-mission and cognitive radars is discussed.

This case involves a 62-year-old male with a prior history of epidural abscess and L1-L2 osteodiscitis who was admitted because of low back pain. The patient was previously treated for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) discitis in the L1/L2 vertebral region with intravenous (IV) nafcillin through a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). However, he returned after four months with recurrent low back pain along with chills and fever. He was admitted for severe sepsis related to the L1-L2 region osteomyelitis and discitis. The Infectious Disease department initially started the patient on IV vancomycin and cefepime; however, routine labs on the second day of IV antibiotics showed concern for pancytopenia with white blood cell count (WBC) decreased to 2.5 thou/mm3, Hgb to 6.2 g/dL, Hct to 20.8%, and platelets to 82 thou/mm3 from baseline values of WBC 3.9 thou/mm3, Hgb 8.3 g/dL, Hct 28%, and platelets 126 thou/mm3. Due to concern for pancytopenia in the setting of severe sepsis, extensive hematologic workup was pursued to evaluate for disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and bone marrow suppression. The patient also had a positive fecal occult blood test, so the Gastroenterology department was consulted for esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy. Furthermore, despite appropriate outpatient treatment for MSSA osteodiscitis, the patient was bacteremic with Staphylococcus aureus. Hence, the Cardiology department was consulted to rule out cardiac valvular vegetation. This case presents a unique case of pancytopenia involving elements of drug-induced aplastic anemia as well as DIC-related sepsis. The agranulocytosis may have been a consequence of drug reaction to IV vancomycin. The anemia and thrombocytopenia may have been caused by DIC. Repeat computed tomography (CT) guided spinal aspiration confirmed pan-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus infection of the L1/L2 vertebral region. Treatment was reverted to nafcillin monotherapy and fortunately his hematologic function normalized, avoiding the need for advanced treatments such as intravenous immunoglobulin infusion therapy (IVIG) or high dose steroids.

Controversy exists whether the ECG pattern of ST elevation (STE) in lead aVR with diffuse ST depression is associated with left main coronary artery occlusion versus insufficiency. This may also be seen with left anterior descending artery (LAD) occlusion, severe triple vessel disease or

In 2016, the FAA, NOAA, DoD, and DHS initiated a feasibility study for a Spectrum Efficient National Surveillance Radar (SENSR). The goal is to assess approaches for vacating the 1.3- to 1.35-GHz radio frequency band currently allocated to FAA/DoD long-range radars so that this band can be auctioned for commercial use. As part of this goal, the participating agencies have developed preliminary performance requirements that not only assume minimum capabilities based on legacy radars, but also recognize the need for enhancements in future radar networks. The relatively low density of the legacy radar networks, especially the WSR-88D network, had led to the goal of enhancing low-altitude weather coverage. With multiple design metrics and network possibilities still available to the SENSR agencies, the benefits of low-altitude coverage must be assessed quantitatively. This study lays the groundwork for estimating Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE) differences based on network density, array size, and polarimetric bias. These factors create a pareto front of cost-benefit for QPE in a new radar network, and these results will eventually be used to determine appropriate tradeoffs for SENSR requirements. Results of this study are presented in the form of two case examples that quantify errors based on polarimetric bias and elevation, along with a description of eventual application to a national network in upcoming expansion of the work.

New signal processing algorithms for the Airport Surveillance Radar-9 (ASR-9) Weather Systems Processor (WSP) are introduced. The Moving Clutter Spectral Processing for Uneven-Sampled Data with Dealiasing (MCSPUDD) algorithm suite removes isolated moving clutter targets and corrects aliased velocity values on a per-range-gate basis. The spectral differencing technique is applied to the low- and high-beam data to produce a dual-beam velocity estimate that is more accurate than the current autocorrelation-lag-1-based approach. Comparisons with Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) data show that estimate errors are reduced by 8%, 15%, and 15% for the low-, high-, and dual-beam velocities, respectively.

H3N2, H5N1 and H5N8 virus were wide-spread epidemic in South Korea. Especially in 2014 Korea, the serious outbreak of avian influenza caused by H5N8 took place, effecting not only birds but also dogs. Antibody of H5N8 virus was found on a dog which differentiated the virus from existing H3N2 canine virus. At this point, we wanted to find out why H5N8 was self-medicated in dogs and whether H5N8 would cross species boundaries and be fatal to dogs or other species. While H5N1 is avian influenza like H5N8, many cases of fatal infections among dogs caused by H5N1 have been reported. Another kind of avian influenza, H3N2 is most common type of canine influenza in Asia. With the use of decision tree and apriori algorithm, we could find out characteristics of H5N8 by comparing it with H5N1 and H3N2.

We discuss the challenge of managing the Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR) timeline to satisfy the requirements of its multiple missions, with a particular focus on weather surveillance. This command and control (C2) function partitions the available scan time among these missions, exploits opportunities to service multiple missions simultaneously, and utilizes techniques for increasing scan rate where feasible. After reviewing the candidate MPAR architectures and relevant previous research, we describe a specific C2 framework that is consistent with a demonstrated active array architecture using overlapped subarrays to realize multiple, concurrent receive beams. Analysis of recently articulated requirements for near-airport and national-scale aircraft surveillance indicates that with this architecture, 40–60% of the MPAR scan timeline would be available for the high-fidelity weather observations currently provided by the Weather Service Radar (WSR-88D) network. We show that an appropriate use of subarray generated concurrent receive beams, in concert with previously documented, complementary techniques to increase the weather scan rate, could enable MPAR to perform full weather volume scans at a rate of 1 per minute. Published observing system simulation experiments, human-in-the-loop studies and radar-data assimilation experiments indicate that high-quality weather radar observations at this rate may significantly improve the lead time and reliability of severe weather warnings relative to current observation capabilities., United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Contract FA8721-05-C-0002), United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Contract FA8702-15-D-0001)