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A magnetically filtered oxygen plasma source has been developed and characterized for the purpose of simulating the low-Earth-orbit environment. The source uses a magnetic ring cusp geometry couple...

Dryland wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the principal crop grown on 3.35 million ha (8.28 million ac) of the semiarid Inland Pacific Northwest of the United States. In areas with less than 300 mm (12 in) of annual precipitation, challenges for wheat production are similar to those found in the Mediterranean region and Australia. Successful crop production depends on adequate precipitation capture and storage and weed control, which prove problematic under no-tillage (NT), the most effective soil conservation practice. Sweep-tillage (ST) is proposed as an equally effective conservation system, with local conventional wisdom saying that it produces higher yields than NT systems. A study established in 2006 and concluded in 2018 evaluated the performance of NT and ST winter wheat–summer fallow production systems. The null hypothesis for this research assumed no statistically significant differences in any of the soil and plant characteristics measured between NT and ST treatments. Sixteen 0.04 ha (0.10 ac) plots were established in a randomized complete block design, with two rotation entry points for a total of four treatment plots per year replicated in four blocks. Data were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model. The NT system produced significantly higher crop yields and higher precipitation use efficiencies than the ST system (NT 3.38 ± 0.33, ST 2.66 ± 0.27 Mg ha–1 [NT 50 ± 5, ST 40 ± 4 bu ac–1]). Infiltration rates were higher and soil temperatures were lower in the NT system. The higher yields and lower soil temperatures in the NT system were unexpected and contrary to previous research conducted in this region.

Background Little is known regarding the impact of acute kidney injury (AKI) on renal transplant outcome. Our aim was to define the incidence and outcome of AKI in renal transplant patients using data collected from a national AKI electronic alert system Methods The study represents a prospective national cohort study collecting data on 1224 renal transplants recipients with a functioning renal transplant, between April 2015 and March 2019. Results Four hundred forty patients experienced at least one episode of AKI giving an incidence rate of 35.4%. Sixty-four point seven% of episodes were AKI stage 1, 7.3% AKI stage 2 and 28% AKI stage 3. Only 6.2% of episodes occurred in the context of rejection. Forty-three point five% of AKI episodes were associated with sepsis. AKI was associated with pre-existing renal dysfunction, and a primary renal diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy. AKI was more prevalent in recipients from a donor after cardiac death (26.4% vs. 21.4%, p Conclusion The study provides a detailed characterisation of AKI in renal transplant recipients highlighting its significant negative impact on patient and graft survival.

A printed strain gauge based on metal/non-metal composite was successfully fabricated and tested for micro-strain ( $\mu \varepsilon $ ) detection. A silver ink was blended with a carbon ink to achieve a silver-carbon (Ag/C) composite ink. The composite ink was then screen printed on a polyimide substrate in a meandering pattern to achieve a desired resistance of $\sim 350~\Omega $ . The printed strain gauge was bonded on to a flat aluminum beam. The capability of the printed strain gauge to detect linear strain was investigated by applying varying tensile and compressive loads on the aluminum beam, to simulate $\mu \varepsilon $ . Corresponding linear gauge factors for tensile and compressive loads were calculated as 2.26 and 1.47, respectively. In addition, transverse gauge factors for tensile and compressive loads were calculated as 1.18 and 0.43, respectively. The strain gauge has a temperature coefficient resistance of 0.26%/°C. The screen-printed Ag/C composite strain gauge was also compared to a commercial strain gauge of similar gauge resistance. The results demonstrate that a strain gauge with screen-printed Ag/C and encapsulation ink on a polyimide substrate can be utilized for $\mu \varepsilon $ detection. The electromechanical response of the fabricated strain gauge as a function of resistance is investigated and presented in this paper.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pathogenic strains of bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), adversely impacts personal and public health. In this study, we examine competing hypotheses for the evolution of AMR including (i) 'genetic capitalism' in which genotypes that confer antibiotic resistance are gained and not often lost in lineages, and (ii) 'stabilizing selection' in which genotypes that confer antibiotic resistance are gained and lost often. To test these hypotheses, we assembled a dataset that includes annotations for 409 AMR genotypes and a phylogenetic tree based on genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms from 29 255 isolates of E. coli collected over the past 134 years. We used phylogenetic methods to count the times each AMR genotype was gained and lost across the tree and used model-based clustering of the genotypes with respect to their gain and loss rates. We demonstrate that many genotypes cluster to support the hypothesis for genetic capitalism while a few genotypes cluster to support the hypothesis for stabilizing selection. Comparing the sets of genotypes that fall under each of the hypotheses, we found a statistically significant difference in the breakdown of resistance mechanisms through which the AMR genotypes function. The result that many AMR genotypes cluster under genetic capitalism reflects that strong positive selective forces, primarily induced by human industrialization of antibiotics, outweigh the potential fitness costs to the bacterial lineages for carrying the AMR genotypes. We expect genetic capitalism to further drive bacterial lineages to resist antibiotics. We find that antibiotics that function via replacement and efflux tend to behave under stabilizing selection and thus may be valuable in an antibiotic cycling strategy.

Background Electronic alerts for acute kidney injury (AKI) have been widely advocated. Our aim was to describe the changes in AKI demographics and outcomes following implementation of a national electronic AKI alert programme. Methods A prospective national cohort study was undertaken to collect data on all cases of AKI in adult patients (≥18 years of age) between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2019. Results Over the period of data collection, there were 193 838 AKI episodes in a total of 132 599 patients. The lowest incidence of AKI was seen in the first year after implementation of electronic alerts. A 30-day mortality was highest in Year 1 and significantly lower in all subsequent years. A direct comparison of mortality in Years 1 and 4 demonstrated a significantly increased relative risk (RR) of death in Year 1: RR = 1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.054–1.114 P Conclusions This study represents the first large-scale dataset to clearly demonstrate that a national AKI alerting system which highlights AKI is associated with a change in both AKI demographics and patient outcomes.

Spatial variability in terrain, vegetation, and other features affect cattle and wildlife distribution on mountainous grazing lands of the western United States. Yet we have a poor understanding of how this spatial variability influences risk of wolf-cattle encounters and associated depredation. This knowledge gap severely limits our capacity to prevent or mitigate wolf-cattle conflict. Research addressing this problem was conducted in 2009−2011 at four study areas in western Idaho to evaluate models and mapping tools for predicting spatial risk of wolf-cattle encounters. Lactating beef cows grazing these study areas were instrumented with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars and tracked at 5-min intervals throughout the summer grazing season. Resource selection function (RSF) models, based on negative binomial regression, were developed from these GPS data and used to map the relative probability of cattle use in each study area. A wolf RSF model originally developed by Ausband et al. (2010) was applied to map study-area habitat types in terms of their relative suitability as wolf rendezvous sites. Spatial relationships between cattle and wolf selectivity patterns were used to classify and map wolf-cattle encounter risk to 5 classes (very high to very low) across each study area during the wolf rendezvous period (15 June−15 August). Validation analyses using GPS-based, wolf-cattle encounter observations (n = 200) revealed 84% of observed encounters occurred in areas of high- or very high−encounter risk (class 4 or 5). About 75% of confirmed wolf depredations recorded among three of four study areas were located in areas of high or very high risk. This new predictive understanding of wolf-cattle encounter risk will greatly aid livestock producers, resource managers, and policy makers in more effectively applying husbandry practices, allocating mitigation resources, and developing conflict mitigation plans and policies applicable throughout the mountainous western United States and potentially other regions of the world where wolves and cattle come into conflict.

A flexible capacitive force sensor was developed for force sensing applications. The force sensor consists of two electrodes and a dielectric layer. The electrodes were fabricated by depositing conductive silver (Ag) ink on a flexible polyimide platform using screen-printing process. The dielectric layer was prepared by mixing the contents of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (pre-polymer and curing agent) in a 16:1 ratio. Then the PDMS dielectric layer was sandwiched between the screen-printed Ag electrodes. The capability of the fabricated force sensor was investigated by recording its capacitive response for varying applied forces of 100 N. It was observed that the capacitance increased from 5.83 pF to 6.36 pF as the force was increased from 0 N (no load) to 100 N. A sensitivity and correlation coefficient of 0.081%N-1 and 0.998 were calculated for the force sensor. In addition, a response time and recovery time of 3.7 seconds and 5.7 seconds was measured for the fabricated force sensor. The relative humidity (% RH) tests performed from 20% RH to 80% RH, in steps of 20% RH, revealed that there was a minimal effect of RH on the base capacitance of the force sensor at room temperature.

Rapid water infiltration is important for improving water storage and reducing erosion potential in arid and semiarid areas. Taprooted crops are sometimes credited with improving water infiltration. In a study repeated over three years, we tested whether adding a single brassica crop year to the traditional wheat (Triticum aestivum)–summer fallow rotation would improve water infiltration. We found significantly faster rates of ponded water infiltration in subsequent wheat crops following canola (Brassica napus; 29.68 ± 19.83 mm h–1 [1.17 ± 0.78 in hr–1], n = 24) and mustard (Brassica carinata; 25.27 ± 17.32 mm h–1 [0.99 ± 0.68 in hr–1], n = 19) as compared to wheat following winter wheat (21.14 ± 15.78 mm h–1 [0.83 ± 0.62 in hr–1], n = 24). The greater infiltration rates measured following brassicas compared to wheat were not attributed to root channels due to the lack of visible channels. Crop diversification with oilseeds can increase water infiltration after only a single crop year.

Tillage alters the soil environment and microbial communities responsible for decomposition and nutrient cycling. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of tillage intensity (minimum vs. conventional) on the soil chemical and microbial properties of a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–fallow rotation in the low-precipitation zone of the Pacific Northwest. Soils collected for 2 yr at two depths from both crop phases (wheat and fallow) were analyzed for pH, nutrient availability, total C and N, fungal and bacterial gene abundance, and enzyme activity related to C, P, and N cycling. All soil variables excluding soil pH were significantly greater in the top 10 cm of the soil. Except for pH and nitrate, all were greater in 2016 than in 2017. Across the full rotation, tillage did not affect any measured parameter. Instead, crop phase influenced several soil chemical properties and arylamidase activity, although the effects were not consistent across depth. Fungal abundance was influenced by tillage intensity but only in the top depth under wheat, indicating a phase-specific effect rather than a change persisting across the entire rotation. Soil enzymes were strongly related to total C, total N, and phosphate across the two soil depths, but effects were inconsistent between depths and across phases. Overall, crop phase and year were stronger drivers of soil chemical and microbial properties than tillage intensity. Short-term (

Introduction: This study examined the relationship among age, measures of social deprivation, and incidence and outcome of acute kidney injury (AKI). Methods: The Welsh National electronic AKI reporting system was used to identify all cases of AKI in patients 18 years or older between March 2015 and January 2017. Socioeconomic classification of patients was derived from the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD). Patients were grouped according to their WIMD score, and Multivariate Cox proportional hazard modeling was used to adjust the data for age. The ranked data were categorized into percentiles and correlated with incidence, and measures of AKI severity and outcome. Results: Analysis included 57,654 patients. For the whole cohort, the highest 90-day survival was associated with the most socially deprived cohorts. There was a significant negative relationship between age-adjusted incidence of AKI and the WIMD score. In patients 60 years or older, there was an inverse correlation between WIMD score and survival that was not evident in those younger than 60. AKI severity at presentation was worse in patients from areas of social deprivation. Social deprivation was associated with a significantly higher proportion of preexisting chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with AKI older than 60, but not in those younger than 60. Conclusion: Overall mortality following AKI was higher in least-deprived areas, reflecting an older patient cohort. In contrast, social deprivation was associated with higher age-adjusted AKI incidence and age-adjusted mortality following AKI. The excess mortality observed in more deprived areas was associated with more severe AKI and a higher proportion of preexisting CKD. Keywords: AKI, CKD, epidemiology, mortality

A printed flexible humidity sensor based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) composite was fabricated for humidity sensing applications. The electrical response (resistance and impedance) of the sensor was investigated as a function of excitation signal frequency for optimizing the sensor performance, in terms of sensitivity. The MWCNT/HEC composite was gravure printed as the sensing layer on a flexible polyimide substrate. Silver based interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) were then screen printed on top of the sensing layer. The resistance and impedance responses of the sensor was measured for varying relative humidity (RH) (20% RH to 60% RH, increased in steps of 10% RH)) and for different excitation signal frequencies ranging from 0.1 kHz to 80 kHz. It was observed that the overall sensitivity for resistance and impedance response decreased by 79% and 60%, as the excitation signal frequency was increased from 0.1 kHz to 80 kHz, respectively. In addition, variations in resistance and impedance response increased by 70% and 63% as the excitation signal frequency was increased from 0.1 kHz to 80 kHz, respectively. The results demonstrated that the 1 kHz excitation signal frequency was the optimum frequency for measuring the resistive and impedance responses of the humidity sensor to obtain high sensitivity with high repeatability.

MBX-2168 has a mechanism of action similar to that of acyclovir (ACV) and ganciclovir (GCV), but two unique steps differentiate this drug from ACV/GCV. First, MBX-2168 is, at least partially, phosphorylated by the endogenous cellular kinase TAOK3 to a monophosphate. The second involves the removal of a moiety at the 6-position of MBX-2168-MP by adenosine deaminase like protein-1 (ADAL-1). It has been previously demonstrated that co-incubation with pentostatin (dCF), an ADAL-1 inhibitor, antagonizes the anti-viral activity of MBX-2168. We therefore hypothesize that inhibiting ADAL-1 results in a reduction of active compound produced in virus-infected cells. To test this, we examined the effect dCF has on the conversion of MBX-2168 to a triphosphate in HSV-1 and HCMV-infected cells. Our results demonstrate incubation of MBX-2168 alone or with dCF in HCMV-infected cells resulted in 53.1±0.7 and 39.4±1.5 pmol triphosphate/10(6) cells at 120 hours, respectively. Incubation of MBX-2168 alone or with dCF in Vero cells resulted in 12.8±0.1 and 6.7±0.7 pmol triphosphate/10(6) cells at 24 hours, respectively. HSV-1-infected Vero cells demonstrated no statistical difference in triphosphate accumulation at 24 hours (13.1±0.3 pmol triphosphate/10(6) cells). As expected, incubation with dCF resulted in the accumulation of MBX-2168-MP in both HFF (9.8±0.9 pmol MBX-2168-MP/10(6) cells at 120 hours) and Vero cells (4.7±0.3 pmol MBX-2168-MP/10(6) cells at 24 hours) while no detectable levels of monophosphate were observed in cultures not incubated with dCF. We conclude that dCF antagonizes the anti-viral effect of MBX-2168 by inhibiting the production of triphosphate, the active compound.

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa type III secretion system (T3SS) needle comprised of multiple PscF subunits is essential for the translocation of effector toxins into human cells, facilitating the establishment and dissemination of infection. Mutations in the pscF gene provide resistance to the phenoxyacetamide (PhA) series of T3SS inhibitory chemical probes. To better understand PscF functions and interactions with PhA, alleles of pscF with 71 single mutations altering 49 of the 85 residues of the encoded protein were evaluated for their effects on T3SS phenotypes. Of these, 37% eliminated and 63% maintained secretion, with representatives of both evenly distributed across the entire protein. Mutations in 14 codons conferred a degree of PhA resistance without eliminating secretion, and all but one were in the alpha-helical C-terminal 25% of PscF. PhA-resistant mutants exhibited no cross-resistance to two T3SS inhibitors with different chemical scaffolds. Two mutations caused constitutive T3SS secretion. The pscF allele at its native locus, whether wild type (WT), constitutive, or PhA resistant, was dominant over other pscF alleles expressed from nonnative loci and promoters, but mixed phenotypes were observed in chromosomal ΔpscF strains with both WT and mutant alleles at nonnative loci. Some PhA-resistant mutants exhibited reduced translocation efficiency that was improved in a PhA dose-dependent manner, suggesting that PhA can bind to those resistant needles. In summary, these results are consistent with a direct interaction between PhA inhibitors and the T3SS needle, suggest a mechanism of blocking conformational changes, and demonstrate that PscF affects T3SS regulation, as well as carrying out secretion and translocation. IMPORTANCEP. aeruginosa effector toxin translocation into host innate immune cells is critical for the establishment and dissemination of P. aeruginosa infections. The medical need for new anti-P. aeruginosa agents is evident by the fact that P. aeruginosa ventilator-associated pneumonia is associated with a high mortality rate (40 to 69%) and recurs in >30% of patients, even with standard-of-care antibiotic therapy. The results described here confirm roles for the PscF needle in T3SS secretion and translocation and suggest that it affects regulation, possibly by interaction with T3SS regulatory proteins. The results also support a model of direct interaction of the needle with PhA and suggest that, with further development, members of the PhA series may prove useful as drugs for P. aeruginosa infection.

Objective\ud To define the incidence and outcome of acute kidney injury (AKI) in pediatrics using data collected from a national electronic alert system.\ud Study design\ud A prospective national cohort study was undertaken to collect data on all cases of pediatric AKI, excluding neonates, identified by an e-alert, from April 2015 to March 2019.\ud Results\ud There were 2472 alerts in a total of 1719 patients, giving an incidence of 77.3 per 100 000 person-years. Of the patients, 84.2% of all AKI were stage 1 and 58.3% occurred with a triggering creatinine within the reference range. The incidence of AKI was associated with measures of social deprivation. Thirty-day mortality was 1.7% but was significantly higher in hospital-acquired AKI (2.1%), compared with community-acquired AKI (0.8%, P < .001) and was associated with the severity of AKI at presentation. A significant proportion of patients had no repeat measure of creatinine (39.8%). This was higher in community-acquired AKI (69.7%) compared with hospital-acquired AKI (43.0%, P < .001), and higher in patients alerting with patients triggering with a creatinine within the reference range (48.4% vs 24.5%, P < .001). The majority of patients (84.7%) experienced only 1 AKI episode. Repeated episodes of AKI were associated with increased 30-mortaltiy (11.6% vs 4.6%, P < .001) and higher residual renal impairment (13.3% vs 5.4%, P < .001).\ud Conclusions\ud The results suggest that the significance of the alert is missed in many cases reflecting that a large proportion of cases represent modest elevations in serum creatinine (SCr), triggered by a SCr level that may be interpreted as being normal despite a significant increase from the baseline for the patient.

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa type III secretion system (T3SS) needle comprised of multiple PscF subunits is essential for the translocation of effector toxins into human cells, facilitating the establishment and dissemination of infection. Mutations in the pscF gene provide resistance to the phenoxyacetamide (PhA) series of T3SS inhibitory chemical probes. To better understand PscF functions and interactions with PhA, alleles of pscF with 71 single mutations altering 49 of the 85 residues of the encoded protein were evaluated for their effects on T3SS phenotypes. Of these, 37% eliminated and 63% maintained secretion, with representatives of both evenly distributed across the entire protein. Mutations in 14 codons conferred a degree of PhA resistance without eliminating secretion, and all but one were in the alpha-helical C-terminal 25% of PscF. PhA-resistant mutants exhibited no cross-resistance to two T3SS inhibitors with different chemical scaffolds. Two mutations caused constitutive T3SS secretion. The pscF allele at its native locus, whether wild type (WT), constitutive, or PhA resistant, was dominant over other pscF alleles expressed from nonnative loci and promoters, but mixed phenotypes were observed in chromosomal ΔpscF strains with both WT and mutant alleles at nonnative loci. Some PhA-resistant mutants exhibited reduced translocation efficiency that was improved in a PhA dose-dependent manner, suggesting that PhA can bind to those resistant needles. In summary, these results are consistent with a direct interaction between PhA inhibitors and the T3SS needle, suggest a mechanism of blocking conformational changes, and demonstrate that PscF affects T3SS regulation, as well as carrying out secretion and translocation. IMPORTANCE P. aeruginosa effector toxin translocation into host innate immune cells is critical for the establishment and dissemination of P. aeruginosa infections. The medical need for new anti-P. aeruginosa agents is evident by the fact that P. aeruginosa ventilator-associated pneumonia is associated with a high mortality rate (40 to 69%) and recurs in >30% of patients, even with standard-of-care antibiotic therapy. The results described here confirm roles for the PscF needle in T3SS secretion and translocation and suggest that it affects regulation, possibly by interaction with T3SS regulatory proteins. The results also support a model of direct interaction of the needle with PhA and suggest that, with further development, members of the PhA series may prove useful as drugs for P. aeruginosa infection.

This work investigates the feasibility of a binderless, extrusion-based additive manufacturing approach to fabricate alumina ( A l 2 O 3 ) parts from nanopowder. Traditional manufacture of ceramics with subtractive methods is limited due to their inherent hardness and brittleness, inevitably leading to ceramic parts with less-than-optimal geometries for the specific application. With an additive manufacturing approach, ceramic parts with complex 3D geometries, including overhangs or hollow enclosures, become possible. These complex ceramic parts are highly valuable in heat exchanger, condenser, biomedical implant, chemical reactant vessel, and electrical isolation applications. This research employed direct coagulation of alumina nanopowder slurries with the polyvalent salt tri-ammonium citrate providing the solidification mechanism in an extrusion-based printing process. The viscosity of the slurries was adjusted from ∼35 Pa-s to ∼1000 Pa-s by adjusting pH from ∼9 to ∼4, resulting in a paste that is suitable for extrusion, which retains near-net geometry. It was shown that the direct coagulation approach can be used to create a suspension with tuneable flow characteristics and coagulation rate, and a mechanism describing the process was proposed. The direct coagulation printing (DCP) method is described in detail, including how slurry is extruded, solidified, and printed in complex geometries, and sintered to full density. Parts were printed with a sintered resolution of 450 μm and green densities as high as 65%. After sintering at 1550 °C for up to 2 h, parts were shown to be fully dense (>97%) with an average grain size of ∼2 μm. Mechanical properties were characterized with a comparison to different materials and methods from literature, showing hardness and flexural modulus up to ∼1800 HV and 400 GPa, respectively.

Let μ denote a Borel probability measure and let { μ t } t ≥ 1 denote the free additive convolution semigroup of Nica and Speicher. We show that the support of these measures varies continuously in the Hausdorff metric for t > 1 . We utilize complex analytic methods and, in particular, a characterization of the absolutely continuous portion of these supports due to Huang.

Improving soil aggregation in the semiarid inland Pacific Northwest (PNW) cropping region can improve water infiltration of its erodible silt loam soils. We compared the individual crop phases of six different crop rotations in plots located in a 200- to 300-mm mean annual precipitation area of the PNW to determine if any crop, sequence of crops, tillage, or combination thereof would result in differences in mean weight diameter or size class distribution (1 mm, 250 μm, 125 μm, 53 μm

The presence of gray wolves (Canis lupus) can directly and indirectly affect beef cattle (Bos taurus) production on rangelands of the Northern Rocky Mountains. While fairly extensive knowledge exists for the direct effects of wolf predation threat (e.g., cattle death and injury losses, elevated stress), our understanding of wolf-caused changes in cattle behavior and the associated cascade of potential indirect effects on cattle resource selection, diet quality, activity budgets, and energetic relationships is still largely in its infancy. We investigated whether wolf presence affected the daily travel distance of Global Positioning System (GPS) — collared cattle under a replicated, Impact-Control study conducted in western Idaho and northeastern Oregon during 2008 — 2012. Cattle in three Control (Oregon) study areas, where wolf presence was consistently low, traveled farther per day (13.7 ± 0.396 SE km day-1) than those in three Impact (Idaho) study areas (11.4 ± 0.396 SE km day-1) with moderate to high wolf presence. At Control study areas, cattle traveled farthest per day in July (13.2 ± 0.355 SE km day-1) and were least mobile in October (11.8 ± 0.365 SE km day-1), but daily travel distances were similar across all months for cattle in Impact study areas. This observational study provides evidence suggesting cattle in mountainous grazing areas alter their spatial behavior in response to gray wolf presence. These behavioral changes have energetic consequences that could potentially impact cattle productivity and ranch economics. Additional research into the activity budget and resource selection responses of these collared cattle is required to better understand the specific mechanisms behind these daily travel distance results.

Background: The extent of patient contact with medical services prior to development of community acquired-acute kidney injury (CA-AKI)is unknown.\ud \ud Aim: We examined the relationship between incident CA-AKI alerts, previous contact with hospital or primary care and clinical outcomes. \ud \ud Design: A prospective national cohort study of all electronic AKIalerts representing adult CA-AKI.\ud \ud Methods: Data were collected for all cases of adult (≥18 years of age) CA-AKI in Wales between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2017.\ud \ud Results: There were a total of 50 560 incident CA-AKI alerts. In 46.8% there was a measurement of renal function in the 30 days prior to the AKI alert. In this group, in 63.8% this was in a hospital setting, of which 37.6% were as an inpatient and 37.5% in Accident and Emergency. Progression of AKI to a higher AKI stage (13.1 vs. 9.8%, P < 0.001) (or for AKI 3 an increase of > 50% from the creatinine value generating the alert), the proportion of patients admitted to Intensive Care (5.5 vs. 4.9%, P = 0.001) and 90-day mortality (27.2 vs. 18.5%, P < 0.001) was significantly higher for patients with a recent test. 90-day mortality was highest for patients with a recent test taken in an inpatient setting prior to CA-AKI (30.9%).\ud \ud Conclusion: Almost half of all patients presenting with CA-AKI are already known to medical services, the majority of which have had recent measurement of renal function in a hospital setting, suggesting that AKI for at least some of these may potentially be predictable and/or avoidable.

Introduction Automated acute kidney injury (AKI) electronic alerts are based on comparing creatinine with historic results. Methods We report the significance of AKI defined by 3 “rules” differing in the time period from which the baseline creatinine is obtained, and AKI with creatinine within the normal range. Results A total of 47,090 incident episodes of AKI occurred between November 2013 and April 2016. Rule 1 (>26 μmol/l increase in creatinine within 48 hours) accounted for 9.6%. Rule 2 (≥50% increase in creatinine within previous 7 days) and rule 3 (≥50% creatinine increase from the median value of results within the last 8–365 days) accounted for 27.3% and 63.1%, respectively. Hospital-acquired AKI was predominantly identified by rules 1 and 2 (71.7%), and community-acquired AKI (86.3%) by rule 3. Stages 2 and 3 were detected by rules 2 and 3. Ninety-day mortality was higher in AKI rule 2 (32.4%) than rule 1 (28.3%, P < 0.001) and rule 3 (26.6%, P < 0.001). Nonrecovery of renal function (90 days) was lower for rule 1 (7.9%) than rule 2 (22.4%, P < 0.001) and rule 3 (16.5%, P < 0.001). We found that 19.2% of AKI occurred with creatinine values within normal range, in which mortality was lower than that in AKI detected by a creatinine value outside the reference range (22.6% vs. 29.6%, P < 0.001). Discussion Rule 1 could only be invoked for stage 1 alerts and was associated with acute on chronic kidney disease acquired in hospital. Rule 2 was also associated with hospital-acquired AKI and had the highest mortality and nonrecovery. Rule 3 was the commonest cause of an alert and was associated with community-acquired AKI.

Electrostatic analyzers are used in electric propulsion to measure the energy per unit charge E/q distribution of ion and electron beams: in the downstream region of thrusters, for example. This paper serves to give an overview of the most fundamental, yet most widely used, types of electrostatic analyzer designs. Analyzers are grouped into two classifications: 1) mirror-type analyzers, and 2) deflector-type analyzers. Common mirror-type analyzers are the parallel-plate mirror analyzer and the cylindrical mirror analyzer. For deflector-type analyzers, a generalized toroidal type is first described and the commonly used cylindrical deflector and spherical deflector analyzers are discussed as special cases. The procedure for energy resolution calculations of electrostatic analyzers is described, which is a common way of comparing analyzers. Ion energy distributions from a spherical deflector analyzer are presented, comparing variations in 1) particle energy, 2) particle angle, 3) the entrance and exit geome...

Objectives: To investigate the effects of nutraceuticals on key processes associated with atherosclerosis in vitro and in vivo. Background: Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the vasculature in which macrophages play key roles at all stages and represent promising therapeutic targets. Unfortunately, current therapies against atherosclerosis are not fully effective and associated with other issues such as adverse side effects. In addition, there have been many failures on pharmaceutical agents identified from drug discovery programs. Nutraceuticals represent promising alternatives in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis but requires a thorough understanding of their actions together with the underlying mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to address this with emphasis on key macrophage processes associated with atherosclerosis. Methods: A combination of macrophage cell lines and primary cultures were used with gene expression analysed by atherosclerosis profiler arrays and real time quantitative PCR. Foam cell formation was investigated by following the uptake of fluorescently labeled modified LDL, intracellular lipid profiling and cholesterol efflux assays. Inflammasome activation was evaluated by following the release of interleukin (IL)-1beta using an ELISA and ROS production using a kit from Abcam. The effects in vivo were analysed in C57BL/6 mice fed a high fat diet. Results: The studies focused on polyphenols, flavanols and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. These either inhibited or had no effect on several key macrophage processes associated with atherosclerosis such as pro-inflammatory gene expression, the uptake of modified LDL, macropinocytosis, ROS production and the activation of the inflammasome. In addition, where analysed, the nutraceutical inhibited several atherosclerosis-associated markers in mice fed a high fat diet. The mechanisms underlying such actions will be presented. Conclusions: The studies provide new insights into the beneficial actions of nutraceuticals in atherosclerosis.

Consider the $\mathcal{B}$-valued probability space $(\mathcal{A}, E, \mathcal{B})$, where $\mathcal{A}$ is a tracial von Neumann algebra. We extend the theory of operator valued free probability to the algebra of affiliated operators $\tilde{\mathcal{A}}$. For a random variable $X \in \tilde{\mathcal{A}}^{sa}$ we study the Cauchy transform $G_{X}$ and show that the operator algebra $(\mathcal{B} \cup \{X\})"$ can be recovered from this function. In the case where $\mathcal{B}$ is finite dimensional, we show that, when $X, Y \in \tilde{\mathcal{A}}^{sa}$ are assumed to be $\mathcal{B}$-free, the $\mathcal{R}$-transforms are defined on universal subsets of the resolvent and satisfy $$ \mathcal{R}_{X} + \mathcal{R}_{Y} = \mathcal{R}_{X + Y}. $$ Examples indicating a failure of the theory for infinite dimensional $\mathcal{B}$ are provided. Lastly, we show that the class of functions that arise as the Cauchy transform of affiliated operators is, in a natural way, the closure of the set of Cauchy transforms of bounded operators., Several small errors corrected. Streamlined proofs. To be published in Indiana University Journal or Mathematics

To determine the mechanism of action of third-generation methylenecyclopropane nucleoside analogs (MCPNAs), DNA sequencing of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) isolates resistant to third-generation MCPNAs resulted in the discovery of G841S and N815S mutations in HSV-1 UL30. Purified HSV-1 UL30 or human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL54 was then subjected to increasing concentrations of MBX-2168-triphosphate (TP), with results demonstrating a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of ∼200 μM, indicating that MBX-2168-TP does not inhibit the viral DNA polymerase. Further metabolic studies showed the removal of a moiety on the guanine ring of MBX-2168. Therefore, we hypothesized that enzymatic removal of a moiety at the 6-position of the guanine ring of third-generation MCPNAs is an essential step in activation. To test this hypothesis, pentostatin (deoxycoformycin [dCF]), an adenosine deaminase-like protein 1 (ADAL-1) inhibitor, was coincubated with MBX-2168. The results showed that dCF antagonized the effect of MBX-2168, with a >40-fold increase in the 50% effective concentration (EC(50)) at 50 μM dCF (EC(50) of 63.1 ± 8.7 μM), compared with MBX-2168 alone (EC(50) of 0.2 ± 0.1 μM). Purified ADAL-1 demonstrated time-dependent removal of the moiety on the guanine ring of MBX-2168-monophosphate (MP), with a K(m) of 17.5 ± 2.4 μM and a V(max) of 0.12 ± 0.04 nmol min(−1). Finally, synguanol-TP demonstrated concentration-dependent inhibition of HSV-1 UL30 and HCMV UL54, with IC(50)s of 0.33 ± 0.16 and 0.38 ± 0.11 μM, respectively. We conclude that ADAL-1 is the enzyme responsible for removing the moiety from the guanine ring of MBX-2168-MP prior to conversion to a TP, the active compound that inhibits the viral DNA polymerase.