Sequoia, currently?the world's most powerful supercomputer, was built for upkeep of?nuclear weaponry. But researchers have put it to work on a groundbreaking simulation of?something a bit more salutary: the human heart.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, already well-known for work in high-performance computing, has commandeered the Sequoia supercomputer during what is known as its "shakedown period," when it's being set up and tested but isn't quite ready to for its intended purpose. LLNL and other organizations were given time-share access to the computer to do approved non-classified research.
Supercomputing is a competitive field, but for the moment Sequoia is the fastest on Earth: with more than 1.5 million computing cores producing 20 quintillion operations per second, it allows the researchers to simulate the heart at a far greater fidelity than ever before.
LLNL computational scientist Art Mirin describes the project: "Our heart code work has been a great opportunity to demonstrate Sequoia?s power with an application that most people consider important to society, in this case, cardiac modeling." So it's not just about digitizing the heart, but also about humanizing the computer.
The simulations divide the heart into thousands of little digital pieces, each composed of mathematical models that take input from and send data to other pieces. Their interactions require an enormous amount of calculations, even though the model only simulates electrical activity, not physical.
The best that could be done before was to simulate pieces about 0.2mm across, and it could take 45 minutes or so to simulate a single beat. With new software called Cardioid running on the Sequoia supercomputer, not only can they simulate more accurately (the pieces are 0.1mm across, about the size of an actual heart cell), but also hundreds of times faster: now a virtual heartbeat only takes 10 seconds to create.
This huge increase in performance makes many things practical: virtually testing arrhythmia drugs, for instance, or establishing baseline patterns against which real hearts can be compared.?And since heart disease is such a major health risk, especially in the U.S., an accurate electromechanical model of the heart is essential for future research in many other fields.
LLNL researcher David Richards described the potential benefits to Popular Mechanics:
At a very coarse level of resolution, everyone?s heart looks the same.?The details that differentiate individual hearts can be very fine, and our ability to model at extraordinarily high resolution, currently a factor of eight greater than previously, that allows us to capture very fine differences.
The time at Sequoia is running out, and the supercomputer will be running programs for the Stockpile Stewardship program, intended to ensure the country's nuclear warheads remain "safe, secure, and reliable well into the future." The researchers will have to fall back on less-powerful machines ? still far faster than even the fastest desktop, but not quite world-class ? to continue their research. But the powerful Cardioid simulation code will still allow for faster and more accurate simulation than before.
Further developments in the heart-simulation department at LLNL, as well as other applications of supercomputing power, should?appear in their internal Science & Technology publication.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC?News Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) ? A new collaborative project among researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden and the University of Cincinnati has, for the first time, demonstrated experimentally the evolutionary force behind the rapid evolution of male genitals, focusing on a species of seed beetle.
This mechanism is revealed in a study published October 25 in the scientific journal Current Biology. The experiments leading to this paper involved a species of seed beetle known as Callosobruchus maculatus. Mating among these beetles involves several males engaging in copulation with individual females.
"When a female mates with several males, the males compete over the fertilization of her eggs," said Michal Polak, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Cincinnati, one of the co-authors. "Because females mate with multiple males, the function of the male copulatory organ may determine which of the males will fertilize most of her eggs. Our results show that the morphology of the male genitalia affects his fertilization success in these beetles."
The competition to produce offspring is the driving force of evolution. Competition among males occurring after insemination may be an important evolutionary force that has led to the evolution of a diversity of shapes and sizes of male sexual organs, the co-authors assert. This competition among males has generated a great biological diversity that they believe can directly contribute to the formation of new species.
"The reproductive organs of animals with internal fertilization change more rapidly than all other morphological features during evolution," Polak said. "In virtually all groups of animals, from roundworms and molluscs to reptiles and mammals, the male sex organs differ markedly among even closely related species, with female genital traits remaining relatively unchanged."
To experimentally investigate the role of genital shape in reproductive success, the Swedish researchers -- Cosima Hotzy, Goran Arnqvist and Johanna L. Ronn -- bred male beetles with extraordinarily long genital spines. They simultaneously bred male beetles with extremely small spines. Experiments demonstrated that the males with long spines produced substantially more offspring.
"It is possible, however, that breeding for long spines introduced a secondary trait that affects fertility," Polak said. Unintended consequences, he said, are well known to animal breeders.
To prove that it was the spines and not some other trait, some beetles had their genital spines surgically modified using micro-scale laser surgery. Polak's laboratory has gained an international reputation for using a precision laser system to make microscopic changes to insect bodies.
Insects modified through both methods were then observed throughout the competitive mating process. The international team found that the longer genital spines directly contributed to successful fertilization. Seminal fluid from the males was also tracked through high-resolution radioisotope labels, and shown to enter the female body more quickly after mating with long-spined males than short-spined males.
"This provides experimental evidence that male genital morphology influences success in postcopulatory reproductive competition," Polak said.
There is more work to be done, Polak said, to understand the mechanism at work here. It is possible that these longer spines help introduce bio-active molecules from seminal fluid into the female circulatory system. These added proteins and peptides, which have yet to be characterized, may create effects within the female that contribute to male reproductive success. It is also possible that genital spines exert mechanical effects within the female by stimulating her reproductive tract during copulation, thereby inducing the female to uptake and use more of her current mate's sperm.
The study was funded by the European Research Council, the Swedish Research Council, and the National Science Foundation.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Cincinnati. The original article was written by Greg Hand.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Cosima Hotzy, Michal Polak, Johanna?L. R?nn, G?ran Arnqvist. Phenotypic Engineering Unveils the Function of Genital Morphology. Current Biology, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.10.009
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U of A medical researchers use simple intervention to improve osteoporosis treatment rates Public release date: 24-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Raquel Maurier raquel.maurier@ualberta.ca 780-492-5986 University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Patients with 'incidentally' detected spinal fractures more apt to receive osteoporosis treatment when physicians and patients targeted with educational intervention
Older patients who visited local ERs for chest pain or breathing problems and had chest x-rays reveal unknown spinal fractures, were more apt to receive osteoporosis treatment afterward if a simple intervention was used, recently published medical research from the University of Alberta has found.
Treatment rates for the bone-thinning condition substantially improved when patients and their family doctors received follow-up information about the warning signs and risk factors. It is the first and only trial in the world that looked at spinal osteoporosis.
Of those patients who weren't targeted with the intervention, only six per cent received follow-up treatment or testing for osteoporosis. When physicians were given educational material, the treatment or testing rate rocketed to 49 per cent. And when both the physicians and patients were informed, the rate climbed to 65 per cent of patients being treated or tested.
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researcher Sumit Majumdar was the principal investigator who led the study that was published in the peer-reviewed journal The American Journal of Medicine. It looked at patients over the age of 60 who visited two Edmonton emergency departments for various complaints and needed a chest x-ray, which incidentally revealed spinal fractures. One group of patients wasn't contacted for an intervention, only physicians were contacted in another group, and both physicians and their patients were contacted in a third group.
Family physicians targeted in the intervention received a one-page email, letter or fax from local doctors and nurses that explained osteoporosis treatment guidelines and recommendations. The same nurse phoned some patients to share the same information and answered patients' questions. These patients also received a pamphlet explaining the link between spinal fractures and osteoporosis.
"The information we provided was not new. But the fact it was linked to a specific patient and had specific advice, it acted as a reminder about what actions family doctors could take when they next saw that patient," says Majumdar.
"These fractures identified in chest x-rays are associated with a 20-fold increase of future fractures in people with osteoporosis and these can be devastating fractures like fractures of the hip that can lead to nursing home admission or death," he says. "What was also concerning is that two-thirds of the patients in the study had a previously documented wrist or hip fracture before the x-ray was done, but they never received osteoporosis treatment."
Majumdar estimates the health-care system could save $1,000 per patient, if high-risk patients like the ones in this study received proper follow-up testing and treatment for osteoporosis. Hip fractures alone cost about $50,000 each to treat, and osteoporosis costs the Canadian health-care system about $1 billion a year.
When compared to the costs of the education intervention $34 per physician and $42 per patient "it's the equivalent of one month's supply of osteoporosis medication," says Majumdar.
One concerning revelation he noted in the study was that 25 per cent of the patients were men and none of them received followed-up treatment or testing as part of usual care.
Majumdar attributes this to the fallacy that "osteoporosis is considered a disease of older women." In fact, men have worse fractures and are more likely to die of hip fractures than women, said the researcher.
The research was funded by Knowledge Translation Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Alberta Innovates Health Solutions.
"This is both a research and a knowledge translation success story and CIHR would like to congratulate Dr. Majumdar on this important work," says Phillip Gardiner of the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis. "The health care costs associated with osteoporosis can be reduced and treatments improved when creative approaches like this are developed and implemented."
Majumdar hopes this educational intervention program could be a model for other conditions that could be identified in the ER, with follow-up care being co-ordinated by nurses or pharmacists.
Osteoporosis is a chronic and progressive condition that leads to fractures (typically of the upper extremity, spine or hip), acute and chronic pain, deformity, diminished quality of life, disability and loss of independence, nursing home admission and even death. It affects two million Canadians about 25 per cent of women and 12 per cent of men over the age of 50.
A woman's lifetime risk of osteoporotic fracture is 40 to 50 per cent, while a man's risk is 12 to 20 per cent. In Canada, the annual cost of managing osteoporosis is estimated at $1 billion versus $750 million for heart failure or $600 million for asthma. Unless effective prevention strategies are implemented, the rates and costs of osteoporotic fractures are expected to double by 2025.
###
Majumdar is a professor in the Department of Medicine and an adjunct professor with the School of Public Health. He holds an endowed chair jointly supported by the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and is a health scholar supported by Alberta Innovates Health Solutions.
World Osteoporosis Day is October 20th, while Osteoporosis Month is November.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
U of A medical researchers use simple intervention to improve osteoporosis treatment rates Public release date: 24-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Raquel Maurier raquel.maurier@ualberta.ca 780-492-5986 University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Patients with 'incidentally' detected spinal fractures more apt to receive osteoporosis treatment when physicians and patients targeted with educational intervention
Older patients who visited local ERs for chest pain or breathing problems and had chest x-rays reveal unknown spinal fractures, were more apt to receive osteoporosis treatment afterward if a simple intervention was used, recently published medical research from the University of Alberta has found.
Treatment rates for the bone-thinning condition substantially improved when patients and their family doctors received follow-up information about the warning signs and risk factors. It is the first and only trial in the world that looked at spinal osteoporosis.
Of those patients who weren't targeted with the intervention, only six per cent received follow-up treatment or testing for osteoporosis. When physicians were given educational material, the treatment or testing rate rocketed to 49 per cent. And when both the physicians and patients were informed, the rate climbed to 65 per cent of patients being treated or tested.
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researcher Sumit Majumdar was the principal investigator who led the study that was published in the peer-reviewed journal The American Journal of Medicine. It looked at patients over the age of 60 who visited two Edmonton emergency departments for various complaints and needed a chest x-ray, which incidentally revealed spinal fractures. One group of patients wasn't contacted for an intervention, only physicians were contacted in another group, and both physicians and their patients were contacted in a third group.
Family physicians targeted in the intervention received a one-page email, letter or fax from local doctors and nurses that explained osteoporosis treatment guidelines and recommendations. The same nurse phoned some patients to share the same information and answered patients' questions. These patients also received a pamphlet explaining the link between spinal fractures and osteoporosis.
"The information we provided was not new. But the fact it was linked to a specific patient and had specific advice, it acted as a reminder about what actions family doctors could take when they next saw that patient," says Majumdar.
"These fractures identified in chest x-rays are associated with a 20-fold increase of future fractures in people with osteoporosis and these can be devastating fractures like fractures of the hip that can lead to nursing home admission or death," he says. "What was also concerning is that two-thirds of the patients in the study had a previously documented wrist or hip fracture before the x-ray was done, but they never received osteoporosis treatment."
Majumdar estimates the health-care system could save $1,000 per patient, if high-risk patients like the ones in this study received proper follow-up testing and treatment for osteoporosis. Hip fractures alone cost about $50,000 each to treat, and osteoporosis costs the Canadian health-care system about $1 billion a year.
When compared to the costs of the education intervention $34 per physician and $42 per patient "it's the equivalent of one month's supply of osteoporosis medication," says Majumdar.
One concerning revelation he noted in the study was that 25 per cent of the patients were men and none of them received followed-up treatment or testing as part of usual care.
Majumdar attributes this to the fallacy that "osteoporosis is considered a disease of older women." In fact, men have worse fractures and are more likely to die of hip fractures than women, said the researcher.
The research was funded by Knowledge Translation Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Alberta Innovates Health Solutions.
"This is both a research and a knowledge translation success story and CIHR would like to congratulate Dr. Majumdar on this important work," says Phillip Gardiner of the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis. "The health care costs associated with osteoporosis can be reduced and treatments improved when creative approaches like this are developed and implemented."
Majumdar hopes this educational intervention program could be a model for other conditions that could be identified in the ER, with follow-up care being co-ordinated by nurses or pharmacists.
Osteoporosis is a chronic and progressive condition that leads to fractures (typically of the upper extremity, spine or hip), acute and chronic pain, deformity, diminished quality of life, disability and loss of independence, nursing home admission and even death. It affects two million Canadians about 25 per cent of women and 12 per cent of men over the age of 50.
A woman's lifetime risk of osteoporotic fracture is 40 to 50 per cent, while a man's risk is 12 to 20 per cent. In Canada, the annual cost of managing osteoporosis is estimated at $1 billion versus $750 million for heart failure or $600 million for asthma. Unless effective prevention strategies are implemented, the rates and costs of osteoporotic fractures are expected to double by 2025.
###
Majumdar is a professor in the Department of Medicine and an adjunct professor with the School of Public Health. He holds an endowed chair jointly supported by the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and is a health scholar supported by Alberta Innovates Health Solutions.
World Osteoporosis Day is October 20th, while Osteoporosis Month is November.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
If you are installing an updated heating or air conditioning system in your house, the most essential choices to make are selecting high quality materials and professional service. There are many types of furnaces which all have various parts and functions. Depending on your home and location, your utility bill and home temperature can improve greatly if you buy the right furnace. Air conditioning systems are also quite unique and it is essential to install a system that operates effectively. When you meet with a heating and cooling specialist, they can evaluate your situation and help choose the tools that best meets your needs. They can also handle all varieties of repairs on these systems. Notice a large difference in your year-round comfort with experienced heating and cooling specialists on your side. AC Contractors
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Few have worked as closely with Cam Newton as Warren Moon, and the Hall of Fame quarterback is still defending last year?s pupil, even while acknowledging his need to improve.
Moon thinks placing too much of the blame for the Panthers? 1-5 start (and the firing of general manager Marty Hurney) at the second-year quarterback?s feet is wrong, and any suggestion he?s a bust is ridiculous.
?I think a lot of this is because so many people want to say ?I told you so? about him, but couldn?t because he was so good last year,? Moon told Yahoo?s Mike Silver in a wide-ranging interview. ?I think people are overreacting. How can he be a bust? He just had one of the great years a rookie has ever had, and now he can?t play? Come on.?
Moon acknowledged he?d like to see Newton adopt a more even-keeled approach, something he?s done more of in recent weeks. But as he did prior to the draft?last year, Moon thinks there?s an undertone of racism to some of the criticism.
?I don?t understand it,? Moon said. ?I heard somebody compare him to Vince Young. It?s the same old crap ? it?s always a comparison of one black to another black. I get tired of it. I get tired of defending it.
?If you want to compare him to someone because of his demeanor, compare him to Jay Cutler. There are a lot of guys who whine and moan. Cam?s not biting anybody?s head off or pushing his linemen. He?s just disgruntled, and not handling losing well, because, think about it, he basically didn?t lose in college.
?I don?t think Cam?s as bad as Cutler, because Cutler looks like he doesn?t give a damn sometimes, or he?s yelling and cussing at someone. Cam, he just looks down when they?re losing.?
Moon also doesn?t think the Panthers coaches are putting Newton in good positions to succeed by ignoring the run game with the talent they have, and leaning too heavily on the read-option principles he ran in college.
?I don?t know why they got away from what they were doing last year,? Moon said. ?They were running more of a pro-style offense, and now they?re going more to the read-option, the stuff he did in college. I think some of it is coaching. I think some of it is they don?t have enough good players yet. And there?s no question he?s not playing as well as last year.
?That offense doesn?t allow you to be an NFL-type quarterback. It?s a lot of tricks, sticking the ball into a running back?s stomach, trying to freeze the defense. Even though he can do that and had success with it in college, I don?t think it serves him well in the long run. You can?t keep going back and forth. I think he?s a little bit confused with the footwork, and I think that?s one of the problems with his accuracy ? his feet are crossed up. Why this change? I think it?s backfiring. I think they?re out-thinking themselves.?
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Public release date: 24-Oct-2012
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