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US Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Models (NSHMs) are used extensively for seismic design regulations in the United States and earthquake scenario development, as well as risk assessment and mitigation for both buildings and infrastructure. This 2023 update of the long-term, time-independent Alaska NSHM includes substantial changes to both the earthquake rupture forecast (ERF) and ground motion models (GMMs). The ERF includes numerous additions to the finite-fault model, considers two deformation models, and introduces updated declustering and smoothing algorithms in the gridded background seismicity model. For the Alaska–Aleutian subduction zone, megathrust earthquakes occur on an updated structural and segmentation model, and the moment magnitude (M) 8+ rupture and rate model include a logic tree branch that considers slip rates derived from geodetic models of interface coupling. The megathrust model considers multiple models of down-dip width, and magnitudes are computed using newly developed scaling relations. For subduction intraslab events and subduction interface events with M < 7, the 2023 update uses a smoothed seismicity model with rupture depths derived from Slab2. The 2023 model updates GMMs in all tectonic settings using the recently published Next Generation Attenuation Subduction (NGA-Sub) GMMs for subduction interface and intraslab events, and the NGA-West2 GMMs for active crustal settings. Collectively, additions and updates to the Alaska NSHM result in hazard increases across most of south-central Alaska relative to the previous model, published in 2007. These changes are primarily due to the adoption of updated rate models for the large-magnitude interface events and the NGA-Sub GMMs that have much higher aleatory variability (sigma), consistent with global observations, and that include models of epistemic uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical trial participant populations fail to adequately represent target populations that drugs are intended to serve. Improving racial and ethnic diversity of clinical trial participants is essential for generalizable, quality clinical research results and ensuring social and medical equity. Site‐level clinical research professionals (CRPs) have unique insights on diversity improvement strategies for clinical trial enrollment. A survey was distributed to current CRPs working at clinical research sites in the United States to describe current practices and perceptions of the impact these practices have on participant diversity. Subsequently, descriptive quantitative analysis and inductive content analysis were performed. For the practices surveyed, there are discrepancies between frequency of use and perceived impact on diversity enrollment. Common current practices include phone‐based or telemedicine study visits, electronic/digital data collection, and participant compensation. However, we report travel reimbursement and services, translated documents and translator services, and adequate participant compensation as most impactful on diverse enrollment. A multistakeholder approach is necessary to enhance diversity and inclusion (D&I) of study participants. Besides large‐scale solutions such as countering community distrust, actionable steps are needed by sponsors and study sites to improve D&I of trial participants. Study leadership at the sponsor, contract research organization (CRO), and site‐level should create diversity plans prior to study start, and CRO and sponsor budgets should consider D&I strategies during study planning. Planning should incorporate strategies to improve D&I including adequate participant compensation, translated documents and translator services, and travel reimbursements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gray--Scott model is a widely studied autocatalytic model that exhibits a range of interesting pattern formation behavior, as well as a rich structure of dynamics that includes many ideas from a typical undergraduate dynamical systems course, and some from beyond. Gaining an understanding of the solutions to this model is arguably most easily conducted via a bifurcation analysis of corresponding ODE problems within the software XPPAUT. In this paper, we provide an introductory XPPAUT tutorial, through which we begin to expose the range of intricate patterns that the Gray--Scott model emits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under certain circumstances, such as during the current COVID-19 outbreak, pregnant women can be a target for respiratory infection, and lung examination may be required as part of their clinical evaluation, ideally while avoiding exposure to radiation. We propose a practical approach for obstetricians/gynecologists to perform lung ultrasound examination, discussing potential applications, semiology and practical aspects, which could be of particular importance in emergency situations, such as the current pandemic infection of COVID-19. Copyright © 2020 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: FLU-v is a broad-spectrum influenza vaccine that induces antibodies and cell-mediated immunity.Objective: To compare the safety, immunogenicity, and exploratory efficacy of different formulations and dosing regimens of FLU-v versus placebo.Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-center phase 2b clinical trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02962908; EudraCT: 2015-001932-38).Setting: The Netherlands.Participants: 175 healthy adults aged 18 to 60 years.Intervention: 0.5-mL subcutaneous injection of 500 µg of adjuvanted (1 dose) or nonadjuvanted (2 doses) FLU-v (A-FLU-v or NA-FLU-v) or adjuvanted or nonadjuvanted placebo (A-placebo or NA-placebo) (2:2:1:1 ratio).Measurements: Vaccine-specific cellular responses at days 0, 42, and 180 were assessed via flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Solicited information on adverse events (AEs) was collected for 21 days after vaccination. Unsolicited information on AEs was collected throughout the study.Results: The AEs with the highest incidence were mild to moderate injection site reactions. The difference between A-FLU-v and A-placebo in the median fold increase in secreted interferon-γ (IFN-γ) was 38.2-fold (95% CI, 4.7- to 69.7-fold; P = 0.001) at day 42 and 25.0-fold (CI, 5.7- to 50.9-fold; P < 0.001) at day 180. The differences between A-FLU-v and A-placebo in median fold increase at day 42 were 4.5-fold (CI, 2.3- to 9.8-fold; P < 0.001) for IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells, 4.9-fold (CI, 1.3- to 40.0-fold; P < 0.001) for tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), 7.0-fold (CI, 3.5- to 18.0-fold; P < 0.001) for interleukin-2 (IL-2), and 1.7-fold (CI, 0.1- to 4.0-fold; P = 0.004) for CD107a. At day 180, differences were 2.1-fold (CI, 0.0- to 6.0-fold; P = 0.030) for IFN-γ and 5.7-fold (CI, 2.0- to 15.0-fold; P < 0.001) for IL-2, with no difference for TNF-α or CD107a. No differences were seen between NA-FLU-v and NA-placebo.Limitation: The study was not powered to evaluate vaccine efficacy against influenza infection.Conclusion: Adjuvanted FLU-v is immunogenic and merits phase 3 development to explore efficacy.Primary Funding Source: SEEK and the European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Member States within the UNISEC (Universal Influenza Vaccines Secured) project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In standard B mode imaging, a set of ultrasound pulses is used to reconstruct a 2-D image even though some of the assumptions needed to do this are not fully satisfied. For this reason, ultrasound medical images show numerous artifacts which physicians recognize and evaluate as part of their diagnosis since even one artifact can provide clinical information. Understanding the physical mechanisms at the basis of the formation of an artifact is important to identify the physiopathological state of the biological medium which generated the artifact. Ultrasound lung images are a significant example of this challenge since everything that is represented beyond the thickness of the chest wall ($\approx ~2$ cm) is artifactual information. A convincing physical explanation of the genesis of important ultrasound lung artifacts does not exist yet. Physicians simply base their diagnosis on a correlation observed over the years between the manifestation of some artifacts and the occurrence of particular lung pathologies. In this article, a plausible genesis of some important lung artifacts is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being accepted as a robust assessment of masonry stability, thrust line analysis (TLA) relies on assumptions that can lead to a conservative assessment of stability. This article aims to quantify the extent of these limitations through a comparison of TLA with discrete element modeling (DEM). Two studies are provided. The first study compares TLA with DEM (using fixed input parameters) in assessing the stability of unreinforced masonry arches, semi-circular barrel vaults, multi-ring arches, and groin vaults. The tests demonstrate the types of sliding failures overlooked by the safe theorem due to its assumption of infinite friction. Following these validations, the comparisons between 2D structures and 3D counterparts also give insight into the efficacy of the slicing method. The second study examines the effect of DEM input parameters on the DEM-predicted stability of the considered geometries. While material parameters had limited effect on the determination of stability, for each typology, joint friction angle had a unique impact on stability. These trends are graphically presented and demonstrate how t/R ratios alone are not sufficient to unequivocally confirm stability of the considered vaults. Overall, this research informs the extent of safety for using the geometry-based analysis tool, TLA, for analyzing masonry structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curcumin is a versatile anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent known for its low bioavailability, which could be improved by developing materials capable of binding and releasing drug in a controlled fashion. The present study describes the preparation of magnetic nano-sized Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (nanoMIPs) for the controlled delivery of curcumin and their high throughput characterisation using microtitre plates modified with magnetic inserts. NanoMIPs were synthesised using functional monomers chosen with the aid of molecular modelling. The rate of release of curcumin from five polymers was studied under aqueous conditions and was found to correlate well with the binding energies obtained computationally. The presence of specific monomers was shown to be significant in ensuring effective binding of curcumin and to the rate of release obtained. Characterisation of the polymer particles was carried out using dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in order to establish the relationship between irradiation time and particle size. The protocols optimised during this study could be used as a blueprint for the development of nanoMIPs capable of the controlled release of potentially any compound of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic target recognition (ATR) is generally the reason why inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging systems are employed. Moreover, the use of fully polarimetric radar systems in radar imaging applications such as SAR and ISAR has enhanced both image quality and classification capabilities. The authors propose a novel technique for ATR using polarimetric ISAR (Pol-ISAR) images. The proposed method is based on a model matching approach. Results are obtained that show the effectiveness of such a technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]