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Tackling the whole-life emissions of the European built environment World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has convened ten Europan Green Building Councils to galvanise climate action in the built environment through national and regional decarbonisation roadmaps – a Europe-wide project called #BuildingLife. It focuses not only on the operational emissions of buildings, but also the environmental impact of the manufacturing, transportation, construction, and end-of-life phases of built assets – often called embodied carbon. Now in its second year having been launched in 2021, the project aims to achieve the mix of private sector action and public policy change necessary to tackle the whole-life carbon impact of buildings.

An electron beam propagating through a low-pressure gas creates a breakdown plasma which affects the transport of the beam. Such a system is relevant to many applications which include plasma processing, naturally occurring ionospheric events, and electromagnetic pulse events. This system is being studied by NRL using a 1-D rigid-beam approximation model within the NRL turboPy framework. 1 This paper expands upon this work to consider the effects of electron-ion collisions in this system on the electric field and conductivity of the gas. These effects are captured through the total momentum transfer frequency term that is present in the expressions for the plasma electron energy and the induced electric field. Previously, the total momentum transfer frequency included contributions from elastic collisions, ionizing collisions, and inelastic collisions between electrons and gas molecules while the electron-ion collision contribution was assumed to be negligible. A parameterized study over a range of beam current densities and ambient gas pressures will be conducted in order to assess the region of validity for this approximation. Finally, the use of turboPy to systematically vary the plasma chemistry reaction network and run automatic parameter sweeps will be discussed in the context of planned uncertainty quantification studies.

The plasma chemistry generated by an electron beam emitted from a Febetron pulsed-power generator operating in different background gases is being investigated spectroscopically. The generator located at the Naval Research Laboratory produces a peak voltage of 80 kV, peak current of 4 kA with a pulse width of 100 ns. Once formed, the electron beam passes through a thin anode followed by a thin pressure barrier into a volume filled with different background gases at pressures ranging from 1000 to 10 mtorr. The volume is filled with both molecular (nitrogen and air) and atomic gases (Ar) to study the behavior of the generated plasma in these different conditions. The present work focuses on analysis of the emission spectrum from the electron beam generated plasma; of particular interest are spectral lines from the near ultraviolet to the visible (300 nm to 600 nm). The temporal and spatial variation of excited species are studied to understand the characteristics of the plasma.

A high-resolution spectroscopic characterization is conducted on the vibrational and rotational spectral emissions of an N2 plasma produced by an electron beam. The electron beam is initiated by the Naval Research Laboratory’s Febetron pulsed-power generator capable of 80 kV and 4 kA peak voltage and current pulses with a 100 ns pulse time width. The beam is directed into an N2 pressurized chamber, ranging in pressures from 10mTorr to 10 Torr, where the electron beam excites the N2 gas into both molecular and atomic emissions. A spectroscopic analysis is conducted on these emissions from the near-UV to visible (300-650 nm) by means of a sub-angstrom resolution 1.3 m focal length Czerny-Turner spectrometer. Multiple simultaneous spectral measurements are taken per pulse enabling measurements of spatial variations of the plasma spectra through a 7-fiber input array. Imaging of the spectra is conducted by a 2D intensified gated CCD over small time increments to analyze the time-resolved evolution of the emissions.

Despite years of prostate cancer-related research, balancing the risk of treatment-derived complications with tumor progression risk remains a challenge. The inability to dissect heterogeneous tumor microenvironments (TME) and immune compartments partly contribute to this knowledge gap. Spatially resolved molecular tumor profiling can enhance our understanding of these complexities and bring us closer to personalized treatment; however, deploying such methods in oncology workflows is challenging as the prevalent tissue preservation technique of formalin fixation and paraffin embedding (FFPE) leads to RNA degradation.We used tissue-wide whole transcriptome analysis with 10x Genomics Visium Spatial Gene Expression Solution for FFPE tissue to resolve the tumor microenvironment of two prostate cancer samples. This assay incorporates ~5,000 molecularly barcoded, spatially encoded capture probes in spots over which the tissue is placed, imaged, and permeabilized. Imaging and sequencing data are processed together for spatially resolved transcriptional readout. We analyzed, and resolved whole transcriptome tumorigenic profiles in sections of normal, stage III invasive adenocarcinoma, and stage IV acinar cell carcinoma FFPE human prostate tissues. Computational clustering of the whole-transcriptome data automatically identified spatial gene expression patterns that aligned well with pathologist annotations. Well known prostate gland and prostate cancer markers were over-expressed in the corresponding healthy and cancerous tumor tissue, validating this method. The data showed that basal cells and luminal cells are spatially organized in healthy tissue while this pattern is lost in tumor samples as the luminal cells encroach the invasive carcinoma region and do not colocalize with basal cells. Moreover, T lymphocytes are dispersed throughout the whole tissue in the adenocarcinoma, while plasma B cells are in the peritumoral region which could impact prognosis. Using computational methods to infer CNV profiles, we identified aneuploidy regions and specific loci that may be driving the underlying genomic profile of the cancerous regions. We demonstrated that spatial whole transcriptome analysis can successfully resolve FFPE prostate samples. Whole-transcriptome data can rapidly confirm known patterns of cell type and tumor region-specific gene expression while giving a better understanding of the TME for drug target identification or biomarker discovery that may lead to patient-tailored therapies and improved patient stratification. Citation Format: Stephen Richardson Williams, Valeria Giangarra, Naishitha Anaparthy, Mesruh Turkekul, Paulius Mielinis, Caroline Gallant, Neil I. Weisenfeld, Sarah E. Taylor, James Chell. Spatial whole transcriptome profiling of the tumor microenvironment in FFPE prostate carcinoma using the Visium platform [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 3812.

Although an agile approach is standard for software design, how to properly adapt this method to hardware is still an open question. This work addresses this question while building a system on chip (SoC) with specialized accelerators. Rather than using a traditional waterfall design flow, which starts by studying the application to be accelerated, we begin by constructing a complete flow from an application expressed in a high-level domain-specific language (DSL), in our case Halide, to a generic coarse-grained reconfigurable array (CGRA). As our under-standing of the application grows, the CGRA design evolves, and we have developed a suite of tools that tune application code, the compiler, and the CGRA to increase the efficiency of the resulting implementation. To meet our continued need to update parts of the system while maintaining the end-to-end flow, we have created DSL-based hardware generators that not only provide the Verilog needed for the implementation of the CGRA, but also create the collateral that the compiler/mapper/place and route system needs to configure its operation. This work provides a systematic approach for desiging and evolving high-performance and energy-efficient hardware-software systems for any application domain.

To effectively minimize static power for a wide range of applications, power domains for a coarse-grained reconfigurable array (CGRA) need to be finer-grained than a typical ASIC. However, the special isolation logic needed to ensure electrical protection between off and on domains makes fine-grained power domains area- and timing-inefficient. We propose a novel design of the CGRA routing fabric that intrinsically provides boundary protection. This technique reduces the area overhead of boundary protection between power domains for the CGRA from around 9% to less than 1% and removes the delay from the isolation cells. However, with this design choice, we cannot leverage the conventional UPF-based flow to introduce power domain boundary protection. We create compiler-like passes that iteratively introduce the needed design transformations, and formally verify the passes with satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) methods. These passes also allow us to optimize how we handle test and debug signals through the off tiles. We use our framework to insert power domains into an SoC with an ARM Cortex M3 processor and a CGRA with 32 × 16 processing element (PE) and memory tiles and 4MB secondary memory. Depending on the size of the applications mapped, our CGRA achieves up to an 83% reduction in leakage power and 26% reduction in total power versus a CGRA without multiple power domains, for a range of image processing and machine learning applications.

Naval Research Laboratory is starting to study the connection between plasma instabilities and fast ion acceleration for neutron production on a dense plasma focus (DPF). The experiments will be performed on the HAWK generator (665 kA) that has a fast rise time, $1.2~\mu \text{s}$ , and a high inductance, 720 nH. There is a conjecture that the neutron yield on a DPF may be enhanced on a high-impedance generator, since the assembly on the axis will not significantly reduce the current drive. Furthermore, to prevent the upstream breakdown during the implosion, there are plans to inject the gas load as plasma far from the insulator stack. As an introductory study, we performed MHD simulations using the Athena code. Athena is a Eulerian 3-D, unsplit finite volume MHD code that includes shock capturing with Riemann solvers and resistive diffusion for the magnetic field components. The simulations are coupled to an equivalent circuit model for HAWK. We report the dynamics and implosion time as a function of the initial injected plasma distribution and study the implications of nonideal effects. We also calculated a stochastic particle acceleration resulting from the motional electric field.

These studies were undertaken to determine if fexapotide triflutate 2.5 mg transrectal injectable (FT) has significant long-term (LT) safety and efficacy for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Two placebo controlled double-blind randomized parallel group trials with 995 BPH patients at 72 sites treated 3:2 FT:placebo, with open-label FT crossover (CO) re-injection in 2 trials n = 344 and long-term follow-up (LF) 2–6.75 years (mean 3.58 years, median 3.67 years; FT re-injection CO mean 4.27 years, median 4.42 years) were evaluated. 12 months post-treatment patients elected no further treatment, approved oral medications, FT, or interventional treatment. Primary endpoint variable was change in Symptom Score (IPSS) at 12 months and at LF. CO primary co-endpoints were 3-year incidence of (1) surgery for BPH in FT treated CO patients versus patients crossed over to oral BPH medications and (2) surgery or acute urinary retention in FT-treated CO placebo patients versus placebo patients crossed over to oral BPH medications. 28 CO secondary endpoints assessed surgical and symptomatic outcomes in FT reinjected patients versus conventional BPH medication CO and control subgroups at 2 and 3 years. FT injection had no significant safety differences from placebo. LF IPSS change from baseline was higher in FT treated patients compared to placebo (median FT group improvement − 5.2 versus placebo − 3.0, p

Among the most dominant factors in x-ray radiographic image resolution is the radiographic spot size, which is primarily a function of the physical extent of the x-ray source, so the most marked improvements in image resolution come from modifying the pulse power driver's diode configuration to reduce that extent. The smaller the size of the x-ray spot, the higher the image resolution potential. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Mercury pulsed power accelerator has been configured with a rod- pinch diode, and recent measurements were conducted to demonstrate the impact of anode rod geometry on x-ray spot size. The “standard” anode rod is a 0.75 mm diameter cylinder that is tapered down to 0.25 mm over a length of 5 mm, and, in this study, it was replaced by rods with a sharp step between their two diameters, rather than a taper. The effect on spot size was assessed by analyzing the edge and line spread functions calculated from high-mag rolled edge and pinhole camera images. For certain diameter pairs, a reduction in radiographic spot size is observed. In addition, the dual-diameter rods have provided unique insight into the electron-anode coupling dynamics that are at play in all diodes of this type.

Antes de integrar dispositivos com restrições de recursos computacionais em domínios de IoT, deve-se garantir que possuam ferramental criptográfico suficiente para estabelecer mecanismos de segurança essenciais. Neste contexto, as Assinaturas baseadas em Atributos (ABS) mostramse uma opção elegante na implementação de um esquema de autenticação e autorização. Neste trabalho discutimos diferentes abordagens para a aceleração de (ABS) considerando-se como plataforma alvo os dispositivos com restrições de recursos computacionais em domínios de IoT.

Background The extent of coronary disease affects clinical outcomes and may predict the effectiveness of coronary revascularization with either coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The SYNTAX (Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery) score quantifies the extent of coronary disease. Objectives This study sought to determine whether SYNTAX scores predicted outcomes and the effectiveness of coronary revascularization compared with medical therapy in the BARI-2D (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes) trial. Methods Baseline SYNTAX scores were retrospectively calculated for BARI-2D patients without prior revascularization (N = 1,550) by angiographic laboratory investigators masked to patient characteristics and outcomes. The primary outcome was major cardiovascular events (a composite of death, myocardial infarction, and stroke) over 5 years. Results A mid/high SYNTAX score (≥23) was associated with a higher risk of major cardiovascular events (hazard ratio: 1.36, confidence interval: 1.07 to 1.75, p = 0.01). Patients in the CABG stratum had significantly higher SYNTAX scores: 36% had mid/high SYNTAX scores compared with 13% in the PCI stratum (p Conclusions Among patients with diabetes and stable ischemic heart disease, higher SYNTAX scores predict higher rates of major cardiovascular events and were associated with more favorable outcomes of revascularization compared with medical therapy among patients suitable for CABG. (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation in Type 2 Diabetes; NCT00006305)

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is currently in creasing its capability to perform high fidelity particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of high power microwave (HPM) sources. Different PIC codes are available from commercial, government, and open source efforts, including LSP, ICEPIC, and VSim. Most of the algorithms in these codes are similar, but some algorithms important to high power microwave simulations are different, such as the exact treatment of fields at curved surfaces, the particle emission algorithms, and the energy conservation properties on various mesh resolutions. Understanding how these differences affect simulation results is the goal of this work. The codes will be benchmarked by looking at the simulations of a radial planar magnetron (RPM) at a frequency of 1 GHz. The simulated performance of the RPM HPM source will be evaluated across these codes on supercomputing clusters, comparing typical HPM source parameters of interest such as predicted output power as well as typical numerical metrics such as CPU runtimes. As part of the evaluation process, a list strengths and weaknesses will be generated for each of the codes taking in to account the workflow of the code and any ancillary tools used in the execution of the code.

We compare MHD simulation results to experimental measurements taken from a dense plasma focus driven by the HAWK pulsed-power generator (0.65 MA peak current, $1.2\mu \mathrm{s}$ rise time). USim is a 3D capable, fluid plasma modeling framework that simulates the dynamics of charged fluids using the two temperature MHD equations, among others. The DPF device is modeled using an unstructured mesh, and initial conditions are applied to account for plasma injected radially inward by 3 Marshall guns, as well as additional mass injected by an on-axis gas puff valve. The non-axisymmetric nature of the Marshall guns means that full 3D simulations are required. The initial plasma and gas density profiles were varied to determine their effect on the pinch parameters. Simulated current, voltage, inductance and neutron yield are compared with experimental results. We also calculate simulated end-on optical imaging using multiple opacity models and compare with experiment.

A conflict-free schedule lets an FFT run to completion without ever having to pause for memory-conflict resolution. We show how to build such schedules for FFTs having any number of butterfly units $B$ operating at any radix $R$ , transforming any number of datapoints $D$ . Our algorithm works for FFT datapaths with or without pipeline overlap, and for memory banks having any number of access ports. Specifically, it enables construction of conflict-free schedules using single-ported memory banks, which require less area than more traditional multi-ported designs.

The embodied carbon of a material cannot be known deterministically. It is perhaps more accurate to speak of estimating, rather than calculating, embodied carbon. Uncertainty can be thought of as a consequence of this imperfect knowledge. The complexity and variability of supply chains and production processes, variations in the scope and boundaries applied, and the source, age and quality of data used all introduce uncertainty to an embodied carbon estimate. This applies both at the product and the building levels and makes it difficult to compare studies. At the design stage, uncertainty introduces the risk that a particular design choice, intended to reduce emissions, may not achieve the desired level of carbon abatement. To date, these uncertainties have either been dealt with only very superficially or, in many cases, simply ignored.