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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Estimating the Timing of Early Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infections: a Comparison between Poisson Fitter and BEAST

Many HIV prevention strategies are currently under consideration where it is highly informative to know the study participants’ times of infection. These can be estimated using viral sequence data sampled early in infection. However, there are several scenarios that, if not addressed, can skew timing estimates. These include multiple transmitted/founder (TF) viruses, APOBEC (apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like)-mediated mutational enrichment, and recombination. Here, we suggest a pipeline to identify these problems and resolve the biases that they introduce. We then compare two modeling strategies to obtain timing estimates from sequence data. The first, Poisson Fitter (PF), is based on a Poisson model of random accumulation of mutations relative to the TF virus (or viruses) that established the infection. The second uses a coalescence-based phylogenetic strategy as implemented in BEAST. The comparison is based on timing predictions using plasma viral RNA (cDNA) sequence data from 28 simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)-infected animals for which the exact day of infection is known. In this particular setting, based on nucleotide sequences from samples obtained in early infection, the Poisson method yielded more accurate, more precise, and unbiased estimates for the time of infection than did the explored implementations of BEAST. The inference of the time of infection is a critical parameter in testing the efficacy of clinical interventions in protecting against HIV-1 infection. For example, in clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of passively delivered antibodies (Abs) for preventing infections, accurate time of infection data are essential for discerning levels of the Abs required to confer protection, given the natural Ab decay rate in the human body. In such trials, genetic sequences from early in the infection are regularly sampled from study participants, generally prior to immune selection, when the viral population is still expanding and genetic diversity is low. In this particular setting of early viral growth, the Poisson method is superior to the alternative approach based on coalescent methods. This approach can also be applied in human vaccine trials, where accurate estimates of infection times help ascertain if vaccine-elicited immune protection wanes over time.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Assessment of the degree of hydration of ocular surface tissues using THz reflectometry

Using the effective medium model, the complex permittivity of the ocular surface system in the THz frequency range is considered. The penetration depth of THz radiation and the sensitivity of the reflected component to the dynamics of evaporation of the tear film are discussed. The results of in vivo experiments aimed to determine the reflection coefficient of the ocular surface using continuous THz reflectometers are well described using the developed model. (paper)

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

CFD Simulation of Aerobic Gas Fermentation to Enable Commercial Conversion of CO 2 into Aquaculture and Animal Feed: Cooperative Research and Development (Final Report)

NovoNutrients’ fermentation technology uses energy from hydrogen to transform industrial CO2 emissions into premium animal feed ingredients and other valuable products. A single NovoNutrients’ commercial manufacturing plant will capture and convert over 200,000 tons/yr of CO2 into over 100,000 tons/yr of high-protein feed. Key to the rapid and widespread deployment of the technology is maximization of its productivity and energy efficiency. Robust, physically based computational models of the technology will significantly increase productivity and efficiency, accelerating NovoNutrients’ technology to manufacturing scale. NREL has unique capabilities for creating and running such computational models. NREL's existing aerobic bioreaction computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models will be adapted to NovoNutrients’ gas fermentation (CO2, H2, O2) technology. The multiphysics CFD simulations require thousands of high-performance computing (HPC) node hours to simulate the complex geometries and contents of NovoNutrients’ industrial bioreactors. The experimentally validated CFD models were used to identify optimally efficient and productive bioreactor designs and operating conditions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Irisin attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by downregulating inflammatory cytokine expression through miR-199a-mediated Rad23b overexpression

Highlights: • Acute lung injury (ALI) is a leading cause of mortality and therapies for ALI are yet to be thoroughly investigated. • Recent evidence has shown that irisin attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury. • Irisin can alleviate ALI by inhibiting miR-199a and upregulating Rad23b expression. Acute lung injury (ALI) is a leading cause of mortality as a result of inflammatory cytokine overexpression and increased rates of apoptosis. Therapies for ALI are yet to be thoroughly investigated. Recent evidence has shown that irisin exerts protective effects against many types of pathologies. The present study aimed to determine the function of irisin in an ALI mouse model induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the corresponding underlying mechanisms at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

VEGFA165 gene therapy ameliorates blood-labyrinth barrier breakdown and hearing loss

Millions of people are affected by hearing loss. Hearing loss is frequently caused by noise or aging and often associated with loss of pericytes. Pericytes populate the small vessels in the adult cochlea. However, their role in different types of hearing loss is largely unknown. Using an inducible and conditional pericyte depletion mouse model and noise-exposed mouse model, we show that loss of pericytes leads to marked changes in vascular structure, in turn leading to vascular degeneration and hearing loss. In vitro, using advanced tissue explants from pericyte fluorescence reporter models combined with exogenous donor pericytes, we show that pericytes, signaled by VEGF isoform A165 (VEGFA165), vigorously drive new vessel growth in both adult and neonatal mouse inner ear tissue. In vivo, the delivery of an adeno-associated virus serotype 1–mediated (AAV1–mediated) VEGFA165 viral vector to pericyte-depleted or noise-exposed animals prevented and regenerated lost pericytes, improved blood supply, and attenuated hearing loss. These studies provide the first clear-cut evidence that pericytes are critical for vascular regeneration, vascular stability, and hearing in adults. The restoration of vascular function in the damaged cochlea, including in noise-exposed animals, suggests that VEGFA165 gene therapy could be a new strategy for ameliorating vascular associated hearing disorders.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Deriving spatially explicit direct and indirect interaction networks from animal movement data

Abstract Quantifying spatiotemporally explicit interactions within animal populations facilitates the understanding of social structure and its relationship with ecological processes. Data from animal tracking technologies (Global Positioning Systems [“GPS”]) can circumvent longstanding challenges in the estimation of spatiotemporally explicit interactions, but the discrete nature and coarse temporal resolution of data mean that ephemeral interactions that occur between consecutive GPS locations go undetected. Here, we developed a method to quantify individual and spatial patterns of interaction using continuous‐time movement models (CTMMs) fit to GPS tracking data. We first applied CTMMs to infer the full movement trajectories at an arbitrarily fine temporal scale before estimating interactions, thus allowing inference of interactions occurring between observed GPS locations. Our framework then infers indirect interactions—individuals occurring at the same location, but at different times—while allowing the identification of indirect interactions to vary with ecological context based on CTMM outputs. We assessed the performance of our new method using simulations and illustrated its implementation by deriving disease‐relevant interaction networks for two behaviorally differentiated species, wild pigs ( Sus scrofa ) that can host African Swine Fever and mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) that can host chronic wasting disease. Simulations showed that interactions derived from observed GPS data can be substantially underestimated when temporal resolution of movement data exceeds 30‐min intervals. Empirical application suggested that underestimation occurred in both interaction rates and their spatial distributions. CTMM‐Interaction method, which can introduce uncertainties, recovered majority of true interactions. Our method leverages advances in movement ecology to quantify fine‐scale spatiotemporal interactions between individuals from lower temporal resolution GPS data. It can be leveraged to infer dynamic social networks, transmission potential in disease systems, consumer–resource interactions, information sharing, and beyond. The method also sets the stage for future predictive models linking observed spatiotemporal interaction patterns to environmental drivers.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nonlinear elasticity and damping govern ultrafast dynamics in click beetles

Many small animals use springs and latches to overcome the mechanical power output limitations of their muscles. Click beetles use springs and latches to bend their bodies at the thoracic hinge and then unbend extremely quickly, resulting in a clicking motion. When unconstrained, this quick clicking motion results in a jump. While the jumping motion has been studied in depth, the physical mechanisms enabling fast unbending have not. Here, we first identify and quantify the phases of the clicking motion: latching, loading, and energy release. We detail the motion kinematics and investigate the governing dynamics (forces) of the energy release. We use high-speed synchrotron X-ray imaging to observe and analyze the motion of the hinge’s internal structures of four Elater abruptus specimens. We show evidence that soft cuticle in the hinge contributes to the spring mechanism through rapid recoil. Using spectral analysis and nonlinear system identification, we determine the equation of motion and model the beetle as a nonlinear single-degree-of-freedom oscillator. Quadratic damping and snap-through buckling are identified to be the dominant damping and elastic forces, respectively, driving the angular position during the energy release phase. The methods used in this study provide experimental and analytical guidelines for the analysis of extreme motion, starting from motion observation to identifying the forces causing the movement. Here, the tools demonstrated here can be applied to other organisms to enhance our understanding of the energy storage and release strategies small animals use to achieve extreme accelerations repeatedly.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Use of X-Ray Fluorescence Microscopy for Studies on Research Models of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Introduction: TheraSphere ® microspheres containing yttrium 90 Y are among many radioembolization agents used clinically to reduce liver tumor burden, and their effects on cancer volume reduction are well-established. At the same time, concerns about off target tissue injury often limit their use. Deeper investigation into tissue distribution and long-term impact of these microspheres could inform us about additional ways to use them in practice. Methods: Healthy rat liver and rabbit liver tumor samples from animals treated with TheraSpheres were sectioned and their elemental maps were generated by X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Results: Elemental imaging allowed us to identify the presence and distribution of TheraSpheres in animal tissues without the need for additional sample manipulation or staining. Ionizing radiation produced by 90 Y radioactive contaminants present in these microspheres makes processing TheraSphere treated samples complex. Accumulation of microspheres in macrophages was observed. Conclusions: This is the first study that used XFM to evaluate the location of microspheres and radionuclides in animal liver and tumor samples introduced through radioembolization. XFM has shown promise in expanding our understanding of radioembolization and could be used for investigation of human patient samples in the future.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Defining blood hematology reference values in female pig-tailed macaques ( Macaca nemestrina ) using the Isolation Forest algorithm

Background: Pig-tailed macaques (PTMs) are commonly used as preclinical models to assess antiretroviral drugs for HIV prevention research. Drug toxicities and disease pathologies are often preceded by changes in blood hematology. To better assess the safety profile of pharmaceuticals, we defined normal ranges of hematological values in PTMs using an Isolation Forest (iForest) algorithm. Methods: Eighteen female PTMs were evaluated. Blood was collected 1–24 times per animal for a total of 159 samples. Complete blood counts were performed, and iForest was used to analyze the hematology data to detect outliers. Results: Median, IQR, and ranges were calculated for 13 hematology parameters. From all samples, 22 outliers were detected. These outliers were excluded from the reference index. Conclusions: Using iForest, we defined a normal range for hematology parameters in female PTMs. This reference index can be a valuable tool for future studies evaluating drug toxicities in PTMs.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Finite Element Analysis System Workflow Tools

A collection of MATLAB functions and class definitions called System Workflow Tools (SWFT) are available to semi-automate steps in the simulation process. Some of these steps are often simple and routine for smaller finite element models, but if done directly by an analyst can quickly become labor intensive, cumbersome, and error prone for larger, system level models. Some of SWFT’s capabilities demonstrated in this report includes writing Sierra input decks and processing Quantities of Interest (QOI) from results files. SWFT also writes scripts in order to utilize other software programs such as Cubit (separating system level CAD into subassemblies and components, creating nodesets and sidesets), DAKOTA (ensemble management), and ParaView (contour plots and animations). Detailed commands and workflows from mesh generation to report generation are provided as examples for analysts to utilize SWFT capabilities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Diagnostic Evaluation of the IS1081-Targeted Real-Time PCR for Detection of Mycobacterium bovis DNA in Bovine Milk Samples

The ability of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) to survive in bovine milk has emerged as a serious public health concern. The first objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of IS1081-targeted real-time PCR for the detection of M. bovis DNA in different fractions of bovine milk. In a model study, bovine milk samples were spiked with serially diluted M. bovis BCG to investigate the detection limit of M. bovis DNA in whole milk and milk fractions (cream, pellet, and pellet + cream combined) using IS1081 real-time PCR. The assay was then used to detect M. bovis DNA in whole milk and milk fractions from naturally infected animals. The results showed that the IS1081 real-time PCR was more sensitive when detecting M. bovis DNA in the cream layer alone and cream + pellet combined compared to whole milk or the pellet alone. While PCR-based diagnostic assays for the detection of M. bovis in milk samples provide a quicker diagnostic tool for bovine tuberculosis, safe processing, and handling of M. bovis-infected milk samples remain a challenge and pose a human health risk. PrimeStore Molecular Transport Medium (MTM) has been shown to rapidly inactivate infected specimens while preserving nucleic acid for subsequent Molecular analysis. Therefore, the secondary objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of MTM to inactivate M. bovis BCG in spiked milk samples as well as its ability to preserve BCG DNA for the PCR assay. The results showed that MTM can successfully inactivate BCG alone or in spiked milk samples while preserving DNA for the PCR assay. The CT values of M. bovis BCG alone and spiked milk samples aliquoted in MTM and without MTM were similar at various dilutions. Taken together, our results indicate that using DNA extracted from the milk cream fraction alone or combined milk cream and pellet improved the recovery rate of M. bovis DNA in bovine milk samples. MTM has the potential to provide a safe and rapid sample processing tool for M. bovis inactivation in milk samples and preserve DNA for molecular diagnostics.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mapping Nitrogen Pathways in Organic Manure through GCAM

As the world has become more and more globalized, a need for a comprehensive and extensive modelling system that maps out the vast majority of processes and items around the world and can display how interdependent they are. Furthermore, such a model should be able to predict future processes and values such that it can guide scientific thinking and policy. This is where the importance of GCAM becomes so apparent. GCAM, the Global Change Analysis Model, that incorporates many different fields and can predict such a wide variety of processes. As the model expands and encompasses more fields and goes into greater detail, there is a need for previously incorporated processes to be further fleshed out. My project is dedicated to creating the organic nitrogen fertilizer pathway, such that there are two nitrogen fertilizer pathways, synthetic and organic (manure). Previously, only synthetic fertilizer was included, with all organic fertilizer (manure) being omitted from the model. Developing the synthetic path is relatively easy, as the process for creating synthetic fertilizer is an industrial process that has been perfected over decades, and thus has a very precise input/output coefficient of nitrogen, but determining that same coefficient for organic manure is much harder, because, well, digestion is not an industrial process, especially considering the many different types of animals have different processes, and a good amount of the manure they produce won’t be applied to the soil. I obtained data from the UN’s FAO on manure nitrogen applied to soil, and filled in the gaps and created many different visualizations to help comprehend the data. These findings will foster a greater understanding of nitrogen flows, which is crucial to fields like industrial agriculture, polluting runoff, and nitrifying bacteria and archaea in the soil.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Distribution Development for Residual Inventory at the New York West Valley Site - 20400

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is the owner of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC), a 1,351 ha site located approximately 48 km south of Buffalo, New York. In 1962, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) entered into Agreements with the Atomic Energy Commission and New York State to construct the first commercial reprocessing plant of nuclear fuel in the United States. NFS, a private company, built and operated the spent fuel reprocessing plant and waste disposal facilities, processing 640 Mg of spent nuclear fuel from 1966 to 1972 under an Atomic Energy Commission license. Nuclear fuel reprocessing operations ended in 1972 and never reopened, leaving behind radioactive and chemical wastes. Operations led to contamination in a number of facilities and locations. Some of that contamination has migrated from waste disposal zones to other layers, formations, and features on and off the WNYNSC. Phase I decommissioning activities are ongoing and involve the removal of a number of areas and structures that have been associated with contamination. The purpose of this work is to outline the approach for characterizing contamination not associated with disposed wastes, contaminated structures, or specific releases. In this work, the term, residual radiological activity, is used to describe environmental contamination that exists subsequent to the completion of Phase I decommissioning activities, that is not associated with disposed wastes, contaminated structures, or specific releases. Contamination from the Site was quantified relative to data that characterize the concentrations of radionuclides that exist in background. Background concentrations are those present in the area but having no influence from Site related activities. The existence of residual radiological activity that is elevated relative to background has the potential to contribute to future risks to human health and the environment. As a consequence, the residual inventory information is used to inform the West Valley Probabilistic Performance Assessment (PPA) model to characterize potential future risks to human health and the environment. The centralized West Valley Data Management System (DMS) was the source of information for the data assembled in this analysis. The DMS is a fairly large compilation consisting of thousands of records from investigation studies, with sample dates ranging from 1990 to present. Samples from monitoring wells, boreholes, geoprobe studies, surface water, surface soils, storm water outfalls, ventilation stack filters, plant and animal tissues, and more are included in the DMS. Results are typically reported in units of activity per unit volume. For the purpose of the analyses presented here, all results were converted into consistent units of pCi per unit volume. Since 1990, data have been collected from various locations across the WNYNSC at different times with varying frequency over the course of several decades. As a consequence, a number of potential issues can arise with respect to the assembly of a dataset that is deemed adequate for the characterization of residual radiological activity. These issues were assessed and resolved to the extent possible through careful consideration of the properties of the distributions. The intent was to use data which characterize the current state of the Site. Radionuclides can be designated to one of several groups depending on their origin. In this work the groups considered were 1) Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), 2) fallout, and 3) Other (including power plant, medical research, etc). This grouping is a useful construct with respect to the interpretation of fixed laboratory results. For example, NORM radionuclides that exist within a decay chain should have approximately equivalent distributions of concentrations if they are representative of background conditions. Insights such as these can be used as a check to identify sample results that need to be further investigated or omitted due to issues associated with reported results from fixed laboratory analyses. This type of analysis provided a foundation for the assessment of the adequacy of sample results for use in subsequent components of an assessment. The general process for the assessment of residual radiological contamination at the Site consists of a sequence of several steps. First, for each analyte, several statistical tests were performed to assess the weight of evidence against the null hypothesis that the mean of the distribution of concentrations was equal to zero. If the mean of the distribution of concentrations for a given radionuclide was not found to be greater than zero, then it was removed from consideration as a component of the residual radiological contamination. If there was significant evidence to reject the hypothesis of the mean being equal to zero, the second step was to compare the distribution of the data from the Site to that of the corresponding background. A suite of tests was used to compare the distributions of the site and background data. The results of these tests were collectively used to determine if site data are elevated relative to background. The third step was to develop distributions using a Bayesian framework to characterize the distribution of mean of the increment present above background for each of the radionuclides. The Bayesian model implemented allowed for the comparison of site-specific records to background concentrations to better approximate contamination attributed to the Site. A final screening step was employed for radionuclides that exceed background. This screening step compared 95% upper confidence limits (UCLs) from the increment distribution developed in the previous step to the risk screening levels. This approach yields a list of analytes that were determined to be elevated relative to background.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Control of multi-agent systems: Results, open problems, and applications

The purpose of this review article is to present some recent results on the modeling and control of large systems of agents. We focus on particular applications where the agents are capable of independent actions instead of simply reacting to external forces. In the literature, such agents were referred to as autonomous, intelligent, self-propelled, greedy, and others. The main applications we have in mind are social systems (as opinion dynamics), pedestrians’ movements (also called crowd dynamics), animal groups, and vehicular traffic. We note that the last three examples include physical constraints; however, the agents are able to inject energy into the system, thus preventing the typical conservation of momentum and energy. In addition, the control problems posed by such systems are new and require innovative methods. We illustrate some ideas developed recently, including the use of sparse controls, limiting the total variation of controls, and defining new control problems for measures. After reviewing various approaches, we discuss some future research directions of potential interest. The latter encompasses both new types of equations and new types of limiting procedures to connect several scales at which a system can be represented. We conclude by illustrating a recent real-life experiment using autonomous vehicles on an open highway to smooth traffic waves. This opens the door to a new era of interventions to control real-time multi-agent systems and to increase the societal impact of such interventions guided by control research.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

An intranasal recombinant NDV-BRSV F opt vaccine is safe and reduces lesion severity in a colostrum-deprived calf model of RSV infection

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is a major cause of severe lower respiratory tract disease in infants and the elderly, yet no safe, effective vaccine is commercially available. Closely related bovine RSV (BRSV) causes respiratory disease in young calves, with many similar features to those seen in HRSV. We previously showed that a Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-vectored vaccine expressing the F glycoprotein of HRSV reduced viral loads in lungs of mice and cotton rats and protected from HRSV. However, clinical signs and pathogenesis of disease in laboratory animals following HRSV infection differs from that observed in human infants. Thus, we examined whether a similar vaccine would protect neonatal calves from BRSV infection. Codon-optimized rNDV vaccine (rNDV-BRSV F opt ) was constructed and administered to colostrum-deprived calves. The rNDV-BRSV F opt vaccine was well-tolerated and there was no evidence of vaccine-enhanced disease in the upper airways or lungs of these calves compared to the non-vaccinated calves. We found two intranasal doses reduces severity of gross and microscopic lesions and decreases viral load in the lungs. Furthermore, serum neutralizing antibodies were generated in vaccinated calves. Finally, reduced lung CXC chemokine levels were observed in vaccinated calves after BRSV challenge. In summary, we have shown that rNDV-BRSV F opt vaccine is safe in colostrum-deprived calves, and is effective in reducing lung lesions, and decreasing viral load in upper respiratory tract and lungs after challenge.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Integrating Multiomics Information in Deep Learning Architectures for Joint Actuarial Outcome Prediction in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients After Radiation Therapy

Novel actuarial deep learning neural network (ADNN) architectures are proposed for joint prediction of radiation therapy outcomes—radiation pneumonitis (RP) and local control (LC)—in stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Unlike normal tissue complication probability/tumor control probability models that use dosimetric information solely, our proposed models consider complex interactions among multiomics information including positron emission tomography (PET) radiomics, cytokines, and miRNAs. Additional time-to-event information is also used in the actuarial prediction.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Improvised Field Expedient Method for Renal Replacement Therapy in a Porcine Model of Acute Kidney Injury

ABSTRACT Objective: Dialysis patients may not have access to conventional renal replacement therapy (RRT) following disasters. We hypothesized that improvised renal replacement therapy (ImpRRT) would be comparable to continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in a porcine acute kidney injury model. Methods: Following bilateral nephrectomies and 2 hours of caudal aortic occlusion, 12 pigs were randomized to 4 hours of ImpRRT or CRRT. In the ImpRRT group, blood was circulated through a dialysis filter using a rapid infuser to collect the ultrafiltrate. Improvised replacement fluid, made with stock solutions, was infused pre-pump. In the CRRT group, commercial replacement fluid was used. During RRT, animals received isotonic crystalloids and norepinephrine. Results: There were no differences in serum creatinine, calcium, magnesium, or phosphorus concentrations. While there was a difference between groups in serum potassium concentration over time ( P < 0.001), significance was lost in pairwise comparison at specific time points. Replacement fluids or ultrafiltrate flows did not differ between groups. There were no differences in lactate concentration, isotonic crystalloid requirement, or norepinephrine doses. No difference was found in electrolyte concentrations between the commercial and improvised replacement solutions. Conclusion: The ImpRRT system achieved similar performance to CRRT and may represent a potential option for temporary RRT following disasters.

Public, Environmental & Occupational Health↗
DOE OSTI2021

Soil microbiome predictability increases with spatial and taxonomic scale

Soil microorganisms shape ecosystem function, yet it remains an open question whether we can predict the composition of the soil microbiome in places before observing it. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the predictability of microbial life exhibits taxonomic- and spatial-scale dependence, as it does for macrobiological communities. Here, we leverage multiple large-scale soil microbiome surveys to develop predictive models of bacterial and fungal community composition in soil, then test these models against independent soil microbial community surveys from across the continental United States. We find remark- able scale dependence in community predictability. The predictability of bacterial and fungal communities increases with the spatial scale of observation, and fungal predictability increases with taxonomic scale. These patterns suggest that there is an increasing importance of deterministic versus stochastic processes with scale, consistent with findings in plant and animal communities, suggesting a general scaling relationship across biology. Biogeochemical functional groups and high-level taxonomic groups of microorganisms were equally predictable, indicating that traits and taxonomy are both powerful lenses for understanding soil communities. Here, by focusing on out-of-sample prediction, these findings suggest an emerging generality in our understanding of the soil microbiome, and that this understanding is fundamentally scale dependent

Biogeography↗