The imminent release of tissue atlases combining multichannel microscopy with single-cell sequencing and other omics data from normal and diseased specimens creates an urgent need for data and metadata standards to guide data deposition, curation and release. We describe a Minimum Information about Highly Multiplexed Tissue Imaging (MITI) standard that applies best practices developed for genomics and for other microscopy data to highly multiplexed tissue images and traditional histology.

Exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) may increase risk of lung cancer. The repetitive and broad-area coverage of satellites may allow atmospheric remote sensing to offer a unique opportunity to monitor air quality and help fill air pollution data gaps that hinder efforts to study air pollution and protect public health. This geographical study explores if there is an association between PM 2.5 and lung cancer mortality rate in the conterminous USA. Lung cancer (ICD-10 codes C34-C34) death count and population at risk by county were extracted for the period from 2001 to 2010 from the U.S. CDC WONDER online database. The 2001-2010 Global Annual Average PM 2.5 Grids from MODIS and MISR Aerosol Optical Depth dataset was used to calculate a 10 year average PM 2.5 pollution. Exploratory spatial data analyses, spatial regression (a spatial lag and a spatial error model), and spatially extended Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov Chain simulation found that there is a significant positive association between lung cancer mortality rate and PM 2.5 . The association would justify the need of further toxicological investigation of the biological mechanism of the adverse effect of the PM 2.5 pollution on lung cancer. The Global Annual Average PM 2.5 Grids from MODIS and MISR Aerosol Optical Depth dataset provides a continuous surface of concentrations of PM 2.5 and is a useful data source for environmental health research.

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Deep dynamic site characterization and a site-specific ground motion response analysis (SSGMRA) were conducted for a bridge site in Monette, Arkansas. The SSGMRA indicated the design acceleration response spectrum determined using the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) general seismic procedure could be reduced by one third for the short-period range due to attenuation of the short-period ground motions. The steel girder pile-bent bridge, originally designed using the AASHTO general seismic design procedure, was redesigned using the updated seismic demands estimated from SSGMRA. A cost-savings analysis was then conducted to determine the potential savings associated with conducting the SSGMRA. By designing based on the results of the SSGMRA, a potential gross savings of $205,000, or 7% of the original bridge construction cost, could be achieved for the study bridge. Items that contributed most to the cost savings were the pile and embankment construction.