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Background Following the publication of 2014 consensus statement regarding mass critical care during public health emergencies, much has been learned about surge responses and the care of overwhelming numbers of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Gaps in prior pandemic planning were identified and require modification in the midst of ongoing surge throughout the world. Methods The Task Force for Mass Critical Care (TFMCC) adopted a modified version of established rapid guideline methodologies from the World Health Organization2 and the Guidelines International Network-McMaster Guideline Development Checklist.3 With a consensus development process incorporating expert opinion to define important questions and extract evidence, TFMCC developed relevant pandemic surge suggestions in a structured manner, incorporating peer-reviewed literature, “gray” evidence from lay media sources, and anecdotal experiential evidence. Results Ten suggestions were identified regarding staffing, load-balancing, communication, and technology. Staffing models are suggested with resilience strategies to support critical care staff. Intensive care unit (ICU) surge strategies and strain indicators are suggested to enhance ICU prioritization tactics to maintain contingency level care and avoid crisis triage, with early transfer strategies to further load-balance care. We suggest intensivists and hospitalists be engaged with the incident command structure to ensure two-way communication, situational awareness, and the use of technology to support critical care delivery and families of patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Conclusions A subcommittee from the Task Force for Mass Critical Care offers interim evidence-informed operational strategies to assist hospitals and communities to plan for and respond to surge capacity demands from COVID-19.

Fecal contamination in natural water sources is a common problem in low-income countries. Several health risks are associated with unprotected water sources, such as gastrointestinal infections caused by parasites, viruses, and bacteria. Moreover, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in water sources have become an increasing problem worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the bacterial pathogens present in water within a rural context in Ecuador, along with the efficiency of black ceramic water filters (BCWFs) as a sustainable household water treatment. We monitored five natural water sources that were used for human consumption in the highlands of Ecuador and analyzed the total coliforms and E. coli before and after BCWF installation. The results indicated a variable bacterial contamination (29–300 colony-forming units/100mL) in all unfiltered samples, and they were considered as high risk for human consumption, but after filtration, no bacteria were present. Moreover, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing E. coli with blaTEM, blaCTX-M9, and blaCTX-M1 genes, and two E. coli classified in the clonal complex ST10 (ST98) were detected in two of the locations sampled; these strains can severely impact public health. The clonal complex ST10, found in the E. coli isolates, possesses the potential to spread bacteria-resistant genes to humans and animals. The results of the use of BCWFs, however, argue for the filters’ potential impact within those contexts, as the BCWFs completely removed even antibiotic-resistant contaminants from the water.

A masonry prefabricated element will be produced from the process of reusing a sludge generated by the Colombian mining industry, especially the sandstone quarries, that become pollution agents ending up in the hydric sources, impacting negatively the environment. This waste was previously stabilized with the addition of Ca(OH) and Na(OH), the optimal mixing specifications were obtained using a response surface model accomplishing low quantities of stabilizers and the use of the waste as the main component, achieving improvements in load-bearing capacity (8 MPa) and the durability according to its dimensional stability, upgrading the traditional techniques. In this work, computational simulations are performed to understand some mechanical responses in stabilized-sludge masonry elements with different geometries and to compare the simulation results with common materials in the literature. Simulation outcomes showed that hollow-block geometry saves up a considerable amount of material and improves stress distribution compared with a solid block. Also, the mechanical simulation of the stabilized-sludge elastic zone achieved a better performance than a compressed earth block, which is a similar material used in construction. This way, the design of more sustainable elements through an innovative methodology based on statistics, mathematical and computational models, saving materials, time, and energy is sought, generating an economic and environmental impact.

In this work, a prefabricated masonry element is produced by reusing a residual sludge generated by the Colombian mining industry, especially the sandstone quarries. The addition of Ca (OH) 2 and NaOH stabilizes this waste. Application of a response surface model results in optimal admixture specifications, achieving improvements in load capacity (8 MPa) and durability according to its dimensional stability, upgrading the traditional techniques. Albeit remains a lack in the study of its thermal behavior. Thus, A heat transfer analysis employing computational simulations based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) is applied to predict the thermal performance of manufactured elements with stabilized quarry sludge (SQS). Besides, several construction materials are simulated, allowing their contrast and the complement between simulation and experimentation, pointing to the achievement of a good performance in different climatic conditions, including actual city case characteristics. It is concluded that according to SQS block thermal performance, it can be a suitable building element candidate. Hence, more sustainable processes in the mining and construction production chain can be achieved.

Purpose: Super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) presents management challenges due to the absence of randomized controlled trials and a plethora of potential medical therapies. The literature on treatment options for SRSE reports variable success and quality of evidence. This review is a sequel to the 2020 American Epilepsy Society (AES) comprehensive review of the treatment of convulsive refractory status epilepticus (RSE). Methods: We sought to determine the effectiveness of treatment options for SRSE. We performed a structured literature search (MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL) for studies on reported treatments of SRSE. We excluded antiseizure medications (ASMs) covered in the 2016 AES guideline on the treatment of established SE and the convulsive RSE comprehensive review of the 2020 AES. Literature was reviewed on the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation, ketogenic diet (KD), lidocaine, inhalation anesthetics, brain surgery, therapeutic hypothermia, perampanel, pregabalin (PGB), and topiramate in the treatment of SRSE. Two authors reviewed each therapeutic intervention. We graded the level of the evidence according to the 2017 classification scheme of the American Academy of Neurology. Results: For SRSE (level U; 39 class IV studies total), insufficient evidence exists to support that perampanel, PGB, lidocaine, or acute vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is effective. For children and adults with SRSE, insufficient evidence exists to support that the KD is effective (level U; 5 class IV studies). For adults with SRSE, insufficient evidence exists that brain surgery is effective (level U, 7 class IV studies). For adults with SRSE insufficient, evidence exists that therapeutic hypothermia is effective (level C, 1 class II and 4 class IV studies). For neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, insufficient evidence exists that therapeutic hypothermia reduces seizure burden (level U; 1 class IV study). For adults with SRSE, insufficient evidence exists that inhalation anesthetics are effective (level U, 1 class IV study) and that there is a potential risk of neurotoxicity. Conclusion: For patients with SRSE insufficient, evidence exists that any of the ASMs reviewed, inhalational anesthetics, ketogenic diet, acute VNS, brain surgery, and therapeutic hypothermia are effective treatments. Data supporting the use of these treatments for SRSE are scarce and limited mainly to small case series and case reports and are confounded by differences in patients’ population, and comedications, among other factors.

Some emergent research works have identified that Agile methodologies and sustainability goals are, somehow, aligned. This alignment can be advantageously used to implement new transformation approaches with the objective of implementing a more effective adoption of both Agile and sustainably goals in organizations. Studies claim that Agile and sustainability can be geared with team collaboration and learning. Collective Intelligence has proven to be a very powerful tool, to generate solutions to complex problems, because it is able to combine the diversity of knowledge and skills of different actors into better solutions or processes, which can be extended to wider contexts. In addition, individuals participating in any collaborative process, benefit at the level of skills and new knowledge. In this article, the application of the concepts of collective intelligence to support a transformation process in which the combined adoption of the Agile and Sustainability goals is described.

Brisbane box

The diagnosis of atypical paroxysmal events represents a significant challenge for clinicians when differentiating epileptic from nonepileptic events. The ictal manifestations of pharyngeal dysesthesias are often misdiagnosed and difficult to distinguish clinically, given their subtle features such as pharyngeal discomfort with and without autonomic symptomology. We report a rare case of isolated ictal pharyngeal dysesthesias localizing to the non-dominant frontal operculum lobe misdiagnosed as psychogenic and later confirmed by continuous video-EEG monitoring.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are the major proton receptor in the brain and a key mediator of acidosis-induced neuronal injuries in disease. Most of published data on ASIC function came from studies performed in mice, and relatively little is known about potential differences between human and mouse ASICs (hASIC and mASIC, respectively). This information is critical for us to better interpret the functional importance of ASICs in human disease. Here, we examined the expression of ASICs in acutely resected human cortical tissue. Compared with mouse cortex, human cortical tissue showed a similar ratio of ASIC1a:ASIC2a expression, had reduced ASIC2b level, and exhibited a higher membrane:total ratio of ASIC1a. We further investigated the mechanism for higher surface trafficking of hASIC1a in heterologous cells. A single amino acid at position 285 was critical for increased N-glycosylation and surface expression of hASIC1a. Consistent with the changes in trafficking and current, cells expressing hASIC1a or mASIC1a S285P mutant had a higher acid-activated calcium increase and exhibited worsened acidotoxicity. These data suggest that ASICs are likely to have a larger impact on acidosis-induced neuronal injuries in humans than mice, and this effect is, at least in part, a result of more efficient trafficking of hASIC1a.-Xu, Y., Jiang, Y.-Q., Li, C., He, M., Rusyniak, W. G., Annamdevula, N., Ochoa, J., Leavesley, S. J., Xu, J., Rich, T. C., Lin, M. T., Zha, X.-M. Human ASIC1a mediates stronger acid-induced responses as compared with mouse ASIC1a.

Resumen La esporotricosis es la micosis subcutánea o por implantación más frecuente en México. Se comunica el caso de una esporotricosis cutánea-fija preauricular que simuló una celulitis bacteriana atípica, en una paciente anciana sin antecedente de traumatismo. La biopsia mostró un granuloma supurativo con presencia de levaduras escasas. En el cultivo se identificó Sporothrix schenckii que se confirmó por biología molecular. Se trató con itraconazol obteniéndose una curación clínica y micológica. Se presenta el caso de presentación atípica, proveniente de una zona semidesértica con clima extremo.

As ictal semiology is increasingly understood to arise from epileptogenic networks, high-frequency oscillation propagation patterns are helping elucidate networks relevant for surgical planning. Musical automatisms, a well-documented but very rare phenomenon of epilepsy, have yet to be examined as a manifestation of high-frequency propagation in the public literature. In our current study, we report a rare case intractable epilepsy with ictal humming whose epileptogenic zone was associated with the non-dominant left anterior medial temporal region. Mapping our case's ictal semiology and high-frequency propagation pattern both facilitated treatment and further supports prior observations that the rare phenomena of musical automatisms localize to a non-dominant frontal-temporal network rather than a specific cortical territory.

Brisbane box,Lophostemon confertus (Myrtaceae) is a frost tender evergreen tree planted for its upright form, large ovate leaves and attractive white flowers which bloom in the spring. In June of 2017, the Plant Pest Diagnostics Center lab received a call from an arborist who described Brisbane box street trees dying in central Sausalito, Marin Co., California. Trees ranged from containing 10% to nearly 80% dead hanging leaves. Six trees along the same street were affected. Wilted brown leaves remained attached to branchlets covered in black cankers. Some healthy branchlets had leaves with angular spots which crossed the veins and were surrounded by yellow halos. Isolations were made onto CMA-PARP (Jeffers and Martin, 1986) from the canker and leaf spot margins. A Phytophthora species resemblingPhytophthora ramorum grew on CMA-PARP media with coralloid coenocytic hyphae, chlamydospores, and ellipsoidal semi-papillate sporangia. The internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of rDNA was amplified and sequenced using primers PHY.OO.18F and PHY.OO.28SR (Rooney-Latham, et al. 2019). BLAST analysis of 770 base pairs of the sequenced amplicon (GenBank MK993541) showed 100% identity with the ITS sequence of the P. ramorum ex-type (MG865581). A portion of the cox2 gene was amplified and sequenced (Hudspeth et al. 2000) (GenBank MK994528) and 530 base pairs matched with 100% identity GU222130. Pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculating 3, initially 1.8-meter-tall trees in 18.9-liter pots. Prior to inoculations, trees were cut so they would fit into 122 cm high dew and growth chambers. For each tree, 3 lower branchlets measuring from 4 to10 mm in diameter were inoculated by wounding with a 6 mm punch, placing a colonized agar plugs in the wound, then wrapping with Parafilm. Lower branches were covered in plastic to protect them from subsequent zoospore inoculation. Branchlet inoculum was prepared by growing P. ramorum on V8 juice agar (V8) for 4 days at 22°C. Zoospores were prepared for leaf inoculation by taking 6 mm agar plugs from the margin of 6-day old cultures and flooding plugs in soil water for four days. Zoospores were released by transferring plugs to sterile distilled water at 4°C for 1.5 h. Leaves on the same three trees that were inoculated with the plugs were sprayed with 350 mL of zoospores (2 × 105 zoospores/mL), and placed in a dew chamber at 23°C for 48 h. Afterwards, they were transferred to a growth chamber (23°C, 12-h diurnal cycle) where the plastic was removed from the lower branches after leaves had dried. A single control tree was treated similarly with uncolonized V8 plugs, followed by a water spray. Leaf spots were visible 4 days later, with inoculated leaves turning necrotic and abscising after 3 weeks. Cankers from inoculated branchlets measured from 12 to 60 mm long after 60 days. Phytophthora ramorum was isolated from the margin of every inoculated canker and leaf spot. No P. ramorum was isolated from the control tree. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. ramorum on L. confertus, in the world. Natural inoculum presumably came from infected Umbellularia californica trees located less than 800 m west of the trees in Sausalito. This detection will further limit the planting choices of arborists and landscapers in P. ramorum infected locations.

Objective. Review presurgical use of ictal HFO mapping to detect ictal activation areas with dual seizure focus in both the temporal and extratemporal cortex.Methods. Review of consecutive patients admitted to the University of South Alabama Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (SouthCEP) between January 2014 and October 2015, with suspected temporal lobe epilepsy and intracranial electrode recording. Ictal HFO localization was displayed in 3D reconstructed brain images using the patient’s own coregistered magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) with the implanted electrodes.Results. Four of fifteen patients showed evidence of extratemporal involvement at the onset of the clinical seizures. Ictal HFO mapping involving both frontal and temporal lobe changed the surgical resection areas in three patients where the initial surgical plan included only the temporal lobe. Resection of the ictal HFO at the onset of the seizure and the initial propagation region was associated with seizure freedom in all patients; follow-up period ranged from 12 to 25 months.Significance. Extratemporal ictal involvement may not have clinical manifestations and may account for surgical failure in temporal lobe epilepsy. Ictal HFO mapping is useful to define the ictal cortical network and may help detect an extratemporal focus.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are the major proton receptor in the brain and a key mediator of acidosis-induced neuronal injuries in disease. Most of published data on ASIC function came from studies performed in mice, and relatively little is known about potential differences between human and mouse ASICs (hASIC and mASIC, respectively). This information is critical for us to better interpret the functional importance of ASICs in human disease. Here, we examined the expression of ASICs in acutely resected human cortical tissue. Compared with mouse cortex, human cortical tissue showed a similar ratio of ASIC1a:ASIC2a expression, had reduced ASIC2b level, and exhibited a higher membrane:total ratio of ASIC1a. We further investigated the mechanism for higher surface trafficking of hASIC1a in heterologous cells. A single amino acid at position 285 was critical for increased N-glycosylation and surface expression of hASIC1a. Consistent with the changes in trafficking and current, cells expressing hASIC1a or mASIC1a S285P mutant had a higher acid-activated calcium increase and exhibited worsened acidotoxicity. These data suggest that ASICs are likely to have a larger impact on acidosis-induced neuronal injuries in humans than mice, and this effect is, at least in part, a result of more efficient trafficking of hASIC1a.—Xu, Y., Jiang, Y.-Q., Li, C., He, M., Rusyniak, W. G., Annamdevula, N., Ochoa, J., Leavesley, S. J., Xu, J., Rich, T. C., Lin, M. T., Zha, X.-M. Human ASIC1a mediates stronger acid-induced responses as compared with mouse ASIC1a.

Sporotrichosis is the most common subcutaneous or implantation mycosis in Mexico. The case of a preauricular cutaneous-fixed sporotrichosis simulating atypical bacterial cellulitis is reported in an elderly patient with no history of trauma. The biopsy showed a suppurative granuloma with scarce yeast. Sporothrix schenckii was identified in the culture and confirmed by molecular biology. She was treated with itraconazole and a clinical and mycological cure was obtained. The case of atypical presentation is presented, coming from a semi-arid zone with extreme weather.

This paper presents an analysis, as a case study, of the development of the "Bluetooth terminal" application, a tool to monitor Bluetooth devices. The objective is to get further insight on how to use pivots to get a product closer to its users, and on how to introduce creativity during a new product early stage development. Another issue analyzed is how pivots can be determined based on the user's feedback, introducing the of the Build Measure Loop, and how assumptions or new ideas can be evaluated following the path created by the Build Measure Loop and the Minimal Valuable Product.

Welding is one of the most widely used permanent joining technologies in assembly. As with other manufacturing processes, manufacturing feasibility and efficiency of weld components should be considered early in the part design stages to avoid costly redesign and delay. While there have been considerable research interests in weldability assessment and predictive modeling of welding distortion, under current practices, only after the part has been designed, welding engineers start working on the welding process plan. One significant reason for the current practice is the complexity involved in the decision and selection of feasible welding parameters. Therefore, there is a great need for a methodology that can incorporate benefits from Concurrent Engineering (CE) concepts into weld design. The objective of this study is to develop such a methodology to avoid welding infeasibility due to lack of manufacturability evaluations at the design stages and to generate a more complete and improved welding design in a shorter time. A CAD-based decision support system, named Sheet Metal Welding Advisor (SMWA), is developed for the purpose. The advantages include: (1) integration of CE concepts in welding design, thus improving the overall efficiency of design and manufacturing practices, (2) automatic generation of optimum welding parameters and associated manufacturing data for economic considerations, and (3) a great potential for the real-world applications.

[EN] Measuring the rate of water retention of the aggregates used in mortars and concrete is required to achieve a good mix design. The water retention, specifically absorption, is used to keep constant the water/cement ratio. This paper focuses on the study of a new technique for measuring retained water in fine aggregates. In order to obtain results, the procedure described in the existing standards takes more than 24 h. Additionally, it involves high consumption of heat energy due to the use of drying ovens. Furthermore, the results obtained remain highly variable and therefore discussed by the scientific community.In this research, a novel technique based on a halogen moisture analyzer was implemented. The technique was assessed using an experiment design with a surface response model. The most important factors and levels were identified together with the interactions between them. Finally, the model was validated and the results obtained with this technique were compared with those obtained by conventional techniques in order to verify that they were equivalent.

Although antiepileptic drugs are often effective in the control of seizures, some patients show little or no improvement. As alternative treatments, different dietary modifications were shown to be beneficial for patients with poor tolerance for AEDS. Previous reports have shown that rice-based oral electrolyte hydration therapy is effective in seizure control in patients with refractory absence seizures. In the present study, using an animal model of absence epilepsy, we showed that the occurrence of spike-and-wave discharges significantly decreases upon switching to electrolyte therapy. We also showed that consumption of solution with the same osmolarity as rice-based oral electrolyte solution leads to a decrease in the number of spike-and-wave discharges per hour. We suggest that the antiepileptic effect of rice-based oral electrolyte hydration therapy can be at least in part due to hyperosmolarity of the ingested solution.

En Patagonia, la ganadería ovina es una de las principales actividades económicas, pero la calidad de la carne de cordero se ve afectada por el sabor desagradable que toma a causa de la ingesta de neneo (Mulinum spinosum (Cav.) Persoon, Apiaceae) que es una planta predominante, y muy accesible para el ganado en primavera-verano. Para detectar los animales afectados antes de su sacrificio, se ensayaron técnicas fitoquímicas en diferentes órganos de la planta y del animal buscando correspondencias. Se estudiaron 2 grupos (uno con neneo como componente de la dieta y el otro no) de 6 animales cada uno a los que se extrajeron muestras de carne, grasa, hígado, orina y sangre. Los compuestos responsables del efecto del neneo pertenecen al grupo de los terpenos/esteroles, el único presente tanto en las flores de neneo, como en la orina de los corderos. Los tejidos animales fueron inadecuados para detectar el neneo siendo la orina el medio más apropiado para ello. se propone un protocolo con la intención de generar una herramienta que permita desarrollar tecnologías de bajo costo para superar la dificultad, que queda a disposición de investigadores y productores para su puesta a prueba, con el fin de detectar un posible sabor desagradable previo al sacrificio, evitando así la consecuente pérdida económica. In Patagonia, sheep farming constitutes one of the major economic activities, but the quality of lamb meat is seriously affected by a disagreeable taste found in its tissues, derived from the ovine intake of neneo (Mulinum spinosum (Cav.) Persoon, Apiaceae), predominant in grazing lands easily accessed by sheep during the warm seasons. With the aim of detecting the affected animals before their slaughter, phytochemical testing techniques were applied on different organs of the plant and animal accordingly, in order to identify matches. We studied two groups (one had neneo in their diet while the other did not) of six animals each, of which were extracted samples of meat, fat, liver, urine and blood. The compounds responsible for the effect of neneo belong to the terpene/sterol group, the only present in the flowers of neneo as in the urine of lambs. Various animal tissues were inadequate to detect the presence of neneo in lambs, only urine has been identified as the most suitable to examine the metabolites. A protocol, to experiment with it, was proposed, with the aim of generate a useful tool for the development of low-cost technologies. This protocol is available to researchers and producers to put to the test, with the aim of detecting a disagreeable taste in the animals before their slaughter and avoiding the consequent economic loss. Fil: Seoane, Nicolás Fernando. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina Fil: Ochoa, Juan. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Borrelli, Laura. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Carlos de Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Severino, María Elena. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Taddeo, Héctor. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Carlos de Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Giraudo, Celso. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Carlos de Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Andrade Gamboa, Julio José. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina. Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Gerencia del Area de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Fisica (CAB); Argentina

ResumenEste artículo es parte de los resultados de una investigaciónpara conocer el proceso de gestión de la integración social de lainvestigación de nueve instituciones de educación superior colombianas. En la investigación se analizaron 21 proyectos deinvestigación de diferentes áreas de conocimiento y tipo de investigaciones (básica, aplicada e I+D+I).Las técnicas e instrumentos utilizados fueron la entrevista semiestructurada o enfocada, el grupo focal y análisis documental. Los resultados muestran que la integración es un proceso complejo que implica transferencia y apropiación y que para que exista unagestión de la integración del conocimiento se necesita no solamenteuna capacidad de gestión sobre los diferentes temas involucradosen la integración (intencionalidad, actores, estructuras organizacionales), sino que adicionalmente existan requerimientos y exigencias muy concretas en las políticas de Estado para el fomento a lainvestigación.AbstractThis article is a part of the results of a research aiming at knowingthe management process of social integration of research in nine Colombianuniversities. In the study, 21 research projects in different areas of knowledge and type of research (basic, applied and I+D+I) were analyzedSemi-structure interviews, focal groups and documentary analysis wereused s techniques and instruments to collect data. Results show that the integration is a complex process which implies transference and appropriation, and in order to exist a management of the integration of the knowledge, it is necessary not only to have the ability to manage the different involved topics in the integration (intentionality, actors, organizational structures), but also the existence of very concrete requirements in the State policies for fostering research.

Reducing agricultural water use in arid regions while maintaining or improving economic productivity of the agriculture sector is a major challenge. Controlled environment agriculture (CEA, or, greenhouse agriculture) affords advantages in direct resource use (less land and water required) and productivity (i.e., much higher product yield and quality per unit of resources used) relative to conventional open-field practices. These advantages come at the price of higher operating complexity and costs per acre. The challenge is to implement and apply CEA such that the productivity and resource use advantages will sufficiently outweigh the higher operating costs to provide for overall benefit and viability. This project undertook an investigation of CEA for livestock forage production as a water-saving alternative to open-field forage production in arid regions. Forage production is a large consumer of fresh water in many arid regions of the world, including the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. With increasing competition among uses (agriculture, municipalities, industry, recreation, ecosystems, etc.) for limited fresh water supplies, agricultural practice alternatives that can potentially maintain or enhance productivity while reducing water use warrant consideration. The project established a pilot forage production greenhouse facility in southern New Mexico based on a relatively modest and passive (nomore » active heating or cooling) system design pioneered in Chihuahua, Mexico. Experimental operations were initiated in August 2004 and carried over into early-FY05 to collect data and make initial assessments of operational and technical system performance, assess forage nutrition content and suitability for livestock, identify areas needing improvement, and make initial assessment of overall feasibility. The effort was supported through the joint leveraging of late-start FY04 LDRD funds and bundled CY2004 project funding from the New Mexico Small Business Technical Assistance program at Sandia. Despite lack of optimization with the project system, initial results show the dramatic water savings potential of hydroponic forage production compared with traditional irrigated open field practice. This project produced forage using only about 4.5% of the water required for equivalent open field production. Improved operation could bring water use to 2% or less. The hydroponic forage production system and process used in this project are labor intensive and not optimized for minimum water usage. Freshly harvested hydroponic forage has high moisture content that dilutes its nutritional value by requiring that livestock consume more of it to get the same nutritional content as conventional forage. In most other aspects the nutritional content compares well on a dry weight equivalent basis with other conventional forage. More work is needed to further explore and quantify the opportunities, limitations, and viability of this technique for broader use. Collection of greenhouse environmental data in this project was uniquely facilitated through the implementation and use of a self-organizing, wirelessly networked, multi-modal sensor system array with remote cell phone data link capability. Applications of wirelessly networked sensing with improved modeling/simulation and other Sandia technologies (e.g., advanced sensing and control, embedded reasoning, modeling and simulation, materials, robotics, etc.) can potentially contribute to significant improvement across a broad range of CEA applications.« less

Researchers in the area of health informatics have made significant progress in the standardization of ICT tools to support the management, storage, retrieval and exchange of health-related data. However, the adoption of these advances is largely uneven across different areas. We present a comprehensive knowledge model for the realm of Speech and Language Therapy (SLT), based on an OWL ontology, normalized vocabularies and OpenEHR constructs. This model, validated by several collaborating institutions, is being used as the cornerstone to build a comprehensive framework with supporting tools for the different people involved in SLT, including therapists, patients and their relatives, and students.