Global warming: the complete briefing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houghton, J

1994-01-01

The science of global warming, its impacts, and what action might be taken, are described in this book, in a way which the intelligent non-scientist can understand. It also examines ethical and moral issues of concern about global warming, considering mankind as stewards of the earth. Chapter headings of the book are: global warming and climate change; the greenhouse effect; the greenhouse gases; climates of the past; modelling the climate; climate change and business-as-usual; the impacts of climate change; why should we be concerned ; weighing the uncertainty; action to slow and stabilize climate change; energy and transport for the future; and the global village.

Substantial proportion of global streamflow less than three months old

Science.gov (United States)

Jasechko, Scott; Kirchner, James W.; Welker, Jeffrey M.; McDonnell, Jeffrey J.

2016-02-01

Biogeochemical cycles, contaminant transport and chemical weathering are regulated by the speed at which precipitation travels through landscapes and reaches streams. Streamflow is a mixture of young and old precipitation, but the global proportions of these young and old components are not known. Here we analyse seasonal cycles of oxygen isotope ratios in rain, snow and streamflow compiled from 254 watersheds around the world, and calculate the fraction of streamflow that is derived from precipitation that fell within the past two or three months. This young streamflow accounts for about a third of global river discharge, and comprises at least 5% of discharge in about 90% of the catchments we investigated. We conclude that, although typical catchments have mean transit times of years or even decades, they nonetheless can rapidly transmit substantial fractions of soluble contaminant inputs to streams. Young streamflow is less prevalent in steeper landscapes, which suggests they are characterized by deeper vertical infiltration. Because young streamflow is derived from less than 0.1% of global groundwater storage, we conclude that this thin veneer of aquifer storage will have a disproportionate influence on stream water quality.

Towards combined global monthly gravity field solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Jaeggi, Adrian; Meyer, Ulrich; Beutler, Gerhard; Weigelt, Matthias; van Dam, Tonie; Mayer-Gürr, Torsten; Flury, Jakob; Flechtner, Frank; Dahle, Christoph; Lemoine, Jean-Michel; Bruinsma, Sean

2014-05-01

Currently, official GRACE Science Data System (SDS) monthly gravity field solutions are generated independently by the Centre for Space Research (CSR) and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). Additional GRACE SDS monthly fields are provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for validation and outside the SDS by a number of other institutions worldwide. Although the adopted background models and processing standards have been harmonized more and more by the various processing centers during the past years, notable differences still exist and the users are more or less left alone with a decision which model to choose for their individual applications. This procedure seriously limits the accessibility of these valuable data. Combinations are well established in the area of other space geodetic techniques, such as the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Regularly comparing and combining space-geodetic products has tremendously increased the usefulness of the products in a wide range of disciplines and scientific applications. Therefore, we propose in a first step to mutually compare the large variety of available monthly GRACE gravity field solutions, e.g., by assessing the signal content over selected regions, by estimating the noise over the oceans, and by performing significance tests. We make the attempt to assign different solution characteristics to different processing strategies in order to identify subsets of solutions, which are based on similar processing strategies. Using these subsets we will in a second step explore ways to generate combined solutions, e.g., based on a weighted average of the individual solutions using empirical weights derived from pair-wise comparisons. We will also assess the quality of such a combined solution and discuss the potential benefits for the GRACE and GRACE-FO user community, but also address minimum processing

The global historical climatology network: Long-term monthly temperature, precipitation, and pressure data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vose, R.S.; Schmoyer, R.L.; Peterson, T.C.; Steurer, P.M.; Heim, R.R. Jr.; Karl, T.R.; Eischeid, J.K.

1992-01-01

Interest in global climate change has risen dramatically during the past several decades. In a similar fashion, the number of data sets available to study global change has also increased. Unfortunately, many different organizations and researchers have compiled these data sets, making it confusing and time consuming for individuals to acquire the most comprehensive data. In response to this rapid growth in the number of global data sets, DOE's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) and NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) established the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) project. The purpose of this project is to compile an improved data set of long-term monthly mean temperature, precipitation, sea level pressure, and station pressure for as dense a network of global stations as possible. Specifically, the GHCN project seeks to consolidate the numerous preexisting national-, regional-, and global-scale data sets into a single global data base; to subject the data to rigorous quality control; and to update, enhance, and distribute the data set at regular intervals. The purpose of this paper is to describe the compilation and contents of the GHCN data base (i.e., GHCN Version 1.0)

Artificial neural network optimisation for monthly average daily global solar radiation prediction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alsina, Emanuel Federico; Bortolini, Marco; Gamberi, Mauro; Regattieri, Alberto

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Prediction of the monthly average daily global solar radiation over Italy. • Multi-location Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model: 45 locations considered. • Optimal ANN configuration with 7 input climatologic/geographical parameters. • Statistical indicators: MAPE, NRMSE, MPBE. - Abstract: The availability of reliable climatologic data is essential for multiple purposes in a wide set of anthropic activities and operative sectors. Frequently direct measures present spatial and temporal lacks so that predictive approaches become of interest. This paper focuses on the prediction of the Monthly Average Daily Global Solar Radiation (MADGSR) over Italy using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). Data from 45 locations compose the multi-location ANN training and testing sets. For each location, 13 input parameters are considered, including the geographical coordinates and the monthly values for the most frequently adopted climatologic parameters. A subset of 17 locations is used for ANN training, while the testing step is against data from the remaining 28 locations. Furthermore, the Automatic Relevance Determination method (ARD) is used to point out the most relevant input for the accurate MADGSR prediction. The ANN best configuration includes 7 parameters, only, i.e. Top of Atmosphere (TOA) radiation, day length, number of rainy days and average rainfall, latitude and altitude. The correlation performances, expressed through statistical indicators as the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), range between 1.67% and 4.25%, depending on the number and type of the chosen input, representing a good solution compared to the current standards.

Historic and future increase in the global land area affected by monthly heat extremes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coumou, Dim; Robinson, Alexander

2013-01-01

Climatic warming of about 0.5 ° C in the global mean since the 1970s has strongly increased the occurrence-probability of heat extremes on monthly to seasonal time scales. For the 21st century, climate models predict more substantial warming. Here we show that the multi-model mean of the CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) climate models accurately reproduces the evolution over time and spatial patterns of the historically observed increase in monthly heat extremes. For the near-term (i.e., by 2040), the models predict a robust, several-fold increase in the frequency of such heat extremes, irrespective of the emission scenario. However, mitigation can strongly reduce the number of heat extremes by the second half of the 21st century. Unmitigated climate change causes most (>50%) continental regions to move to a new climatic regime with the coldest summer months by the end of the century substantially hotter than the hottest experienced today. We show that the land fraction experiencing extreme heat as a function of global mean temperature follows a simple cumulative distribution function, which depends only on natural variability and the level of spatial heterogeneity in the warming. (letter)

Plasma Reactors and Plasma Thrusters Modeling by Ar Complete Global Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chloe Berenguer

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A complete global model for argon was developed and adapted to plasma reactor and plasma thruster modeling. It takes into consideration ground level and excited Ar and Ar+ species and the reactor and thruster form factors. The electronic temperature, the species densities, and the ionization percentage, depending mainly on the pressure and the absorbed power, have been obtained and commented for various physical conditions.

TerraClimate, a high-resolution global dataset of monthly climate and climatic water balance from 1958-2015

Science.gov (United States)

Abatzoglou, John T.; Dobrowski, Solomon Z.; Parks, Sean A.; Hegewisch, Katherine C.

2018-01-01

We present TerraClimate, a dataset of high-spatial resolution (1/24°, ~4-km) monthly climate and climatic water balance for global terrestrial surfaces from 1958-2015. TerraClimate uses climatically aided interpolation, combining high-spatial resolution climatological normals from the WorldClim dataset, with coarser resolution time varying (i.e., monthly) data from other sources to produce a monthly dataset of precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature, wind speed, vapor pressure, and solar radiation. TerraClimate additionally produces monthly surface water balance datasets using a water balance model that incorporates reference evapotranspiration, precipitation, temperature, and interpolated plant extractable soil water capacity. These data provide important inputs for ecological and hydrological studies at global scales that require high spatial resolution and time varying climate and climatic water balance data. We validated spatiotemporal aspects of TerraClimate using annual temperature, precipitation, and calculated reference evapotranspiration from station data, as well as annual runoff from streamflow gauges. TerraClimate datasets showed noted improvement in overall mean absolute error and increased spatial realism relative to coarser resolution gridded datasets.

Global monthly water scarcity: blue water footprints versus blue water availability.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoekstra, Arjen Y; Mekonnen, Mesfin M; Chapagain, Ashok K; Mathews, Ruth E; Richter, Brian D

2012-01-01

Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by considering monthly rather than annual values. We analyzed 405 river basins for the period 1996-2005. In 201 basins with 2.67 billion inhabitants there was severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. The ecological and economic consequences of increasing degrees of water scarcity--as evidenced by the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo), Indus, and Murray-Darling River Basins--can include complete desiccation during dry seasons, decimation of aquatic biodiversity, and substantial economic disruption.

Historic and future increase in the global land area affected by monthly heat extremes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coumou, Dim; Robinson, Alexander

2013-01-01

Climatic warming of about 0.5 ° C in the global mean since the 1970s has strongly increased the occurrence-probability of heat extremes on monthly to seasonal time scales. For the 21st century, climate models predict more substantial warming. Here we show that the multi-model mean of the CMIP5

Improved correlation of monthly mean daily and hourly diffuse radiation with the corresponding global radiation for Indian stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garg, H.P.; Garg, S.N.

1985-12-01

Several existing correlations between radiation monthly mean ratios of global to extraterrestrial and diffuse to global were tried for four Indian stations and found inadequate. New correlations were established for these stations and it was shown that these correlations are highly climate dependent. Classical equation of Liu and Jordon was tried to find hourly diffuse and global radiation from daily sums of diffuse and global radiation respectively. It was suitably modified to suit the Indian data. Equations developed by Collares-Pereira and Rabl have shown excellent agreement with the observed values

MODIS/Terra Aerosol Cloud Water Vapor Ozone Monthly L3 Global 1Deg CMG V006

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MODIS/Terra Aerosol Cloud Water Vapor Ozone Monthly L3 Global 1Deg CMG (MOD08_M3). MODIS was launched aboard the Terra satellite on December 18, 1999 (10:30 am...

TerraClimate, a high-resolution global dataset of monthly climate and climatic water balance from 1958–2015

OpenAIRE

Abatzoglou, John T.; Dobrowski, Solomon Z.; Parks, Sean A.; Hegewisch, Katherine C.

2018-01-01

We present TerraClimate, a dataset of high-spatial resolution (1/24°, ~4-km) monthly climate and climatic water balance for global terrestrial surfaces from 1958–2015. TerraClimate uses climatically aided interpolation, combining high-spatial resolution climatological normals from the WorldClim dataset, with coarser resolution time varying (i.e., monthly) data from other sources to produce a monthly dataset of precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature, wind speed, vapor pressure, and sol...

Counting complete? Finalising the plant inventory of a global biodiversity hotspot.

Science.gov (United States)

Treurnicht, Martina; Colville, Jonathan F; Joppa, Lucas N; Huyser, Onno; Manning, John

2017-01-01

The Cape Floristic Region-the world's smallest and third richest botanical hotspot-has benefited from sustained levels of taxonomic effort and exploration for almost three centuries, but how close is this to resulting in a near-complete plant species inventory? We analyse a core component of this flora over a 250-year period for trends in taxonomic effort and species discovery linked to ecological and conservation attributes. We show that >40% of the current total of species was described within the first 100 years of exploration, followed by a continued steady rate of description. We propose that analysis provides important real-world insights for other hotspots in the context of global strategic plans for biodiversity in informing considerations of the likely effort required in attaining set targets of comprehensive plant inventories. In a time of unprecedented biodiversity loss, we argue for a focused research agenda across disciplines to increase the rate of species descriptions in global biodiversity hotspots.

How complete is the ISC-GEM Global Earthquake Catalog?

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

The International Seismological Centre, in collaboration with the Global Earthquake Model effort, has released a new global earthquake catalog, covering the time period from 1900 through the end of 2009. In order to use this catalog for global earthquake studies, I determined the magnitude of completeness (Mc) as a function of time by dividing the earthquakes shallower than 60 km into 7 time periods based on major changes in catalog processing and data availability and applying 4 objective methods to determine Mc, with uncertainties determined by non-parametric bootstrapping. Deeper events were divided into 2 time periods. Due to differences between the 4 methods, the final Mc was determined subjectively by examining the features that each method focused on in both the cumulative and binned magnitude frequency distributions. The time periods and Mc values for shallow events are: 1900-1917, Mc=7.7; 1918-1939, Mc=7.0; 1940-1954, Mc=6.8; 1955-1963, Mc=6.5; 1964-1975, Mc=6.0; 1976-2003, Mc=5.8; and 2004-2009, Mc=5.7. Using these Mc values for the longest time periods they are valid for (e.g. 1918-2009, 1940-2009,…) the shallow data fits a Gutenberg-Richter distribution with b=1.05 and a=8.3, within 1 standard deviation, with no declustering. The exception is for time periods that include 1900-1917 in which there are only 33 events with M≥ Mc and for those few data b=2.15±0.46. That result calls for further investigations for this time period, ideally having a larger number of earthquakes. For deep events, the results are Mc=7.1 for 1900-1963, although the early data are problematic; and Mc=5.7 for 1964-2009. For that later time period, b=0.99 and a=7.3.

Factors associated with complete immunization coverage in children aged 12–23 months in Ambo Woreda, Central Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etana Belachew

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Vaccination is a proven tool in preventing and eradicating communicable diseases, but a considerable proportion of childhood morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia is due to vaccine preventable diseases. Immunization coverage in many parts of the country remains low despite the efforts to improve the services. In 2005, only 20% of the children were fully vaccinated and about 1 million children were unvaccinated in 2007. The objective of this study was to assess complete immunization coverage and its associated factors among children aged 12–23 months in Ambo woreda. Methods A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted in 8 rural and 2 urban kebeles during January- February, 2011. A modified WHO EPI cluster sampling method was used for sample selection. Data on 536 children aged 12–23 months from 536 representative households were collected using trained nurses. The data collectors assessed the vaccination status of the children based on vaccination cards or mother’s verbal reports using a pre-tested structured questionnaire through house-to-house visits. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess factors associated with immunization coverage. Results About 96% of the mothers heard about vaccination and vaccine preventable diseases and 79.5% knew the benefit of immunization. About 36% of children aged 12–23 months were fully vaccinated by card plus recall, but only 27.7% were fully vaccinated by card alone and 23.7% children were unvaccinated. Using multivariate logistic regression models, factors significantly associated with complete immunization were antenatal care follow-up (adjusted odds ratio(AOR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.2- 4.9, being born in the health facility (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3-3.4, mothers’ knowledge about the age at which vaccination begins (AOR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.9-4.6 and knowledge about the age at which vaccination completes (AOR = 4.3, 95% CI: 2

Global Attractivity Results for Mixed-Monotone Mappings in Partially Ordered Complete Metric Spaces

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Kalabušić S

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We prove fixed point theorems for mixed-monotone mappings in partially ordered complete metric spaces which satisfy a weaker contraction condition than the classical Banach contraction condition for all points that are related by given ordering. We also give a global attractivity result for all solutions of the difference equation , where satisfies mixed-monotone conditions with respect to the given ordering.

Global Warming: The Complete Briefing (Second Edition)

Science.gov (United States)

Hartmann, Dennis L.

Enough coal exists to sustain world energy consumption growth through at least the end of the next century. If fossil carbon fuel consumption continues to increase at current rates, however, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will likely more than double, probably leading to significant warming of global climate, shifts in regional climates, and sea-level rise. Scientists and citizens throughout the world are discussing what should be done about the effects of our energy economy on the global environment.The issue is very broad and engaging, ranging from basic issues of geoscience to economics to fundamental value systems, and it has mobilized great economic interests and concern for our global environment. We live in an interesting time when human activities have begun to compete with the global capacities of Earth to recycle the elements of life. In the coming years, we will see how the world community reacts to this challenge, and what combination of conservation, technological development, and adaptation is ultimately adopted.

Data Descriptor: TerraClimate, a high-resolution global dataset of monthly climate and climatic water balance from 1958-2015

Science.gov (United States)

John T. Abatzoglou; Solomon Z. Dobrowski; Sean A. Parks; Katherine C. Hegewisch

2018-01-01

We present TerraClimate, a dataset of high-spatial resolution (1/24°, ~4-km) monthly climate and climatic water balance for global terrestrial surfaces from 1958–2015. TerraClimate uses climatically aided interpolation, combining high-spatial resolution climatological normals from the WorldClim dataset, with coarser resolution time varying (i.e., monthly) data from...

Complete surgical resection improves outcome in INRG high-risk patients with localized neuroblastoma older than 18 months.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Janina; Pohl, Alexandra; Volland, Ruth; Hero, Barbara; Dübbers, Martin; Cernaianu, Grigore; Berthold, Frank; von Schweinitz, Dietrich; Simon, Thorsten

2017-08-04

Although several studies have been conducted on the role of surgery in localized neuroblastoma, the impact of surgical timing and extent of primary tumor resection on outcome in high-risk patients remains controversial. Patients from the German neuroblastoma trial NB97 with localized neuroblastoma INSS stage 1-3 age > 18 months were included for retrospective analysis. Imaging reports were reviewed by two independent physicians for Image Defined Risk Factors (IDRF). Operation notes and corresponding imaging reports were analyzed for surgical radicality. The extent of tumor resection was classified as complete resection (95-100%), gross total resection (90-95%), incomplete resection (50-90%), and biopsy (Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) staging system. Survival curves were estimated according to the method of Kaplan and Meier and compared by the log-rank test. A total of 179 patients were included in this study. 77 patients underwent more than one primary tumor operation. After best surgery, 68.7% of patients achieved complete resection of the primary tumor, 16.8% gross total resection, 14.0% incomplete surgery, and 0.5% biopsy only. The cumulative complication rate was 20.3% and the surgery associated mortality rate was 1.1%. Image defined risk factors (IDRF) predicted the extent of resection. Patients with complete resection had a better local-progression-free survival (LPFS), event-free survival (EFS) and OS (overall survival) than the other groups. Subgroup analyses showed better EFS, LPFS and OS for patients with complete resection in INRG high-risk patients. Multivariable analyses revealed resection (complete vs. other), and MYCN (non-amplified vs. amplified) as independent prognostic factors for EFS, LPFS and OS. In patients with localized neuroblastoma age 18 months or older, especially in INRG high-risk patients harboring MYCN amplification, extended surgery of the primary tumor site improved local control rate and survival with an acceptable risk of

Assessment of the potential forecasting skill of a global hydrological model in reproducing the occurrence of monthly flow extremes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Candogan Yossef

2012-11-01

Full Text Available As an initial step in assessing the prospect of using global hydrological models (GHMs for hydrological forecasting, this study investigates the skill of the GHM PCR-GLOBWB in reproducing the occurrence of past extremes in monthly discharge on a global scale. Global terrestrial hydrology from 1958 until 2001 is simulated by forcing PCR-GLOBWB with daily meteorological data obtained by downscaling the CRU dataset to daily fields using the ERA-40 reanalysis. Simulated discharge values are compared with observed monthly streamflow records for a selection of 20 large river basins that represent all continents and a wide range of climatic zones.

We assess model skill in three ways all of which contribute different information on the potential forecasting skill of a GHM. First, the general skill of the model in reproducing hydrographs is evaluated. Second, model skill in reproducing significantly higher and lower flows than the monthly normals is assessed in terms of skill scores used for forecasts of categorical events. Third, model skill in reproducing flood and drought events is assessed by constructing binary contingency tables for floods and droughts for each basin. The skill is then compared to that of a simple estimation of discharge from the water balance (P−E.

The results show that the model has skill in all three types of assessments. After bias correction the model skill in simulating hydrographs is improved considerably. For most basins it is higher than that of the climatology. The skill is highest in reproducing monthly anomalies. The model also has skill in reproducing floods and droughts, with a markedly higher skill in floods. The model skill far exceeds that of the water balance estimate. We conclude that the prospect for using PCR-GLOBWB for monthly and seasonal forecasting of the occurrence of hydrological extremes is positive. We argue that this conclusion applies equally to other similar GHMs and

Estimation of monthly-mean daily global solar radiation based on MODIS and TRMM products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin, Jun; Chen, Zhuoqi; Yang, Kun; Liang, Shunlin; Tang, Wenjun

2011-01-01

Global solar radiation (GSR) is required in a large number of fields. Many parameterization schemes are developed to estimate it using routinely measured meteorological variables, since GSR is directly measured at a limited number of stations. Even so, meteorological stations are sparse, especially, in remote areas. Satellite signals (radiance at the top of atmosphere in most cases) can be used to estimate continuous GSR in space. However, many existing remote sensing products have a relatively coarse spatial resolution and these inversion algorithms are too complicated to be mastered by experts in other research fields. In this study, the artificial neural network (ANN) is utilized to build the mathematical relationship between measured monthly-mean daily GSR and several high-level remote sensing products available for the public, including Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) monthly averaged land surface temperature (LST), the number of days in which the LST retrieval is performed in 1 month, MODIS enhanced vegetation index, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM) monthly precipitation. After training, GSR estimates from this ANN are verified against ground measurements at 12 radiation stations. Then, comparisons are performed among three GSR estimates, including the one presented in this study, a surface data-based estimate, and a remote sensing product by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Validation results indicate that the ANN-based method presented in this study can estimate monthly-mean daily GSR at a spatial resolution of about 5 km with high accuracy.

Mapping Monthly Water Scarcity in Global Transboundary Basins at Country-Basin Mesh Based Spatial Resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Degefu, Dagmawi Mulugeta; Weijun, He; Zaiyi, Liao; Liang, Yuan; Zhengwei, Huang; Min, An

2018-02-01

Currently fresh water scarcity is an issue with huge socio-economic and environmental impacts. Transboundary river and lake basins are among the sources of fresh water facing this challenge. Previous studies measured blue water scarcity at different spatial and temporal resolutions. But there is no global water availability and footprint assessment done at country-basin mesh based spatial and monthly temporal resolutions. In this study we assessed water scarcity at these spatial and temporal resolutions. Our results showed that around 1.6 billion people living within the 328 country-basin units out of the 560 we assessed in this study endures severe water scarcity at least for a month within the year. In addition, 175 country-basin units goes through severe water scarcity for 3-12 months in the year. These sub-basins include nearly a billion people. Generally, the results of this study provide insights regarding the number of people and country-basin units experiencing low, moderate, significant and severe water scarcity at a monthly temporal resolution. These insights might help these basins' sharing countries to design and implement sustainable water management and sharing schemes.

Seasonal and global behavior of water vapor in the Mars atmosphere: Complete global results of the Viking atmospheric water detector experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakosky, B.M.; Farmer, C.B.

1982-01-01

The water vapor content of the Mars atmosphere was measured from the Viking Orbiter Mars Atmospheric Water Detectors (MAWD) for a period of more than 1 Martian year, from June 1976 through April 1979. Results are presented in the form of global maps of column abundance for 24 periods throughout each Mars year. The data reduction incorporates spatial and seasonal variations in surface pressure and supplements earlier published versions of less complete data

TOMS/Earth Probe UV Aerosol Index Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid V008

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/Earth Probe UV Aerosol Index Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid Version 8 data in ASCII format. (The shortname for this...

TOMS/Nimbus-7 UV Aerosol Index Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid V008

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/Nimbus-7 UV Aerosol Index Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid Version 8 data in ASCII format. The Total Ozone Mapping...

TOMS/Nimbus-7 Total Column Ozone Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid V008

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/Nimbus-7 Total Column Ozone Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid Version 8 data in ASCII format. The Total Ozone Mapping...

Counting complete? Finalising the plant inventory of a global biodiversity hotspot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Treurnicht

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The Cape Floristic Region—the world’s smallest and third richest botanical hotspot—has benefited from sustained levels of taxonomic effort and exploration for almost three centuries, but how close is this to resulting in a near-complete plant species inventory? We analyse a core component of this flora over a 250-year period for trends in taxonomic effort and species discovery linked to ecological and conservation attributes. We show that >40% of the current total of species was described within the first 100 years of exploration, followed by a continued steady rate of description. We propose that <1% of the flora is still to be described. We document a relatively constant cohort of taxonomists, working over 250 years at what we interpret to be their ‘taxonomic maximum.’ Rates of description of new species were independent of plant growth-form but narrow-range taxa have constituted a significantly greater proportion of species discoveries since 1950. This suggests that the fraction of undiscovered species predominantly comprises localised endemics that are thus of high conservation concern. Our analysis provides important real-world insights for other hotspots in the context of global strategic plans for biodiversity in informing considerations of the likely effort required in attaining set targets of comprehensive plant inventories. In a time of unprecedented biodiversity loss, we argue for a focused research agenda across disciplines to increase the rate of species descriptions in global biodiversity hotspots.

Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Climate Data Record (CDR), Version 1.3 (Daily)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The GPCP Daily analysis is a companion to the GPCP Monthly analysis, and provides globally complete precipitation estimates at a spatial resolution of one degree...

Prediction of Monthly Summer Monsoon Rainfall Using Global Climate Models Through Artificial Neural Network Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Nair, Archana; Singh, Gurjeet; Mohanty, U. C.

2018-01-01

The monthly prediction of summer monsoon rainfall is very challenging because of its complex and chaotic nature. In this study, a non-linear technique known as Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been employed on the outputs of Global Climate Models (GCMs) to bring out the vagaries inherent in monthly rainfall prediction. The GCMs that are considered in the study are from the International Research Institute (IRI) (2-tier CCM3v6) and the National Centre for Environmental Prediction (Coupled-CFSv2). The ANN technique is applied on different ensemble members of the individual GCMs to obtain monthly scale prediction over India as a whole and over its spatial grid points. In the present study, a double-cross-validation and simple randomization technique was used to avoid the over-fitting during training process of the ANN model. The performance of the ANN-predicted rainfall from GCMs is judged by analysing the absolute error, box plots, percentile and difference in linear error in probability space. Results suggest that there is significant improvement in prediction skill of these GCMs after applying the ANN technique. The performance analysis reveals that the ANN model is able to capture the year to year variations in monsoon months with fairly good accuracy in extreme years as well. ANN model is also able to simulate the correct signs of rainfall anomalies over different spatial points of the Indian domain.

Global Historical Climatology Network - Monthly (GHCN-M), Version 3

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Please note, GHCN-Monthly provides climatological observations for four elements; monthly mean maximum temperature, minimum temperature, mean temperature, and...

Global Lunar Topography from the Deep Space Gateway for Science and Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Archinal, B.; Gaddis, L.; Kirk, R.; Edmundson, K.; Stone, T.; Portree, D.; Keszthelyi, L.

2018-02-01

The Deep Space Gateway, in low lunar orbit, could be used to achieve a long standing goal of lunar science, collecting stereo images in two months to make a complete, uniform, high resolution, known accuracy, global topographic model of the Moon.

Global Historical Climatology Network - Monthly Temperature, Version 4 (BETA)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Only available as BETA release. The GHCN-Monthly Temperature Version 4 dataset consists of monthly mean temperature - both raw and bias corrected data. A full...

Determinants of default to fully completion of immunization among children aged 12 to 23 months in south Ethiopia: unmatched case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Asfaw, Abiyot Getachew; Koye, Digsu Negese; Demssie, Amsalu Feleke; Zeleke, Ejigu Gebeye; Gelaw, Yalemzewod Assefa

2016-01-01

Immunization is a cost effective interventions of vaccine preventable disease. There is still, 2.5 million children die by vaccine preventable disease every year in developing countries. In Ethiopia, default to fully completion of child immunization is high and determinants of default to completions are not explored well in the study setting. The aim of the study was to identify determinants of default to fully completion of immunization among children between ages 12 to 23 months in Sodo Zurea District, Southern Ethiopia. Community based unmatched case-control study was conducted. Census was done to identify cases and controls before the actual data collection. A total of 344 samples (172 cases and 172 controls) were selected by simple random sampling technique. Cases were children in the age group of 12 to 23 months old who missed at least one dose from the recommended schedule. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression was used to identify the determinant factors. Odds ratio, 95%CI and p - value less than 0.05 was used to measure the presence and strength of the association. Mothers of infants who are unable to read and write (AOR=8.9; 95%CI: 2.4, 33.9) and attended primary school (AOR=4.1; 95% CI:1.4-15.8), mothers who had no postnatal care follow up (AOR=0.4; 95%CI: 0.3, 0.7), good maternal knowledge towards immunization (AOR= 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3, 0.8) and maternal favorable perception towards uses of health institution for maternal and child care (AOR= 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.6) were significant determinant factors to default to fully completion of immunization. Working on maternal education, postnatal care follow up, promoting maternal knowledge and perception about child immunization are recommended measures to mitigate defaults to complete immunization.

Synoptic monthly gridded Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme (GTSPP) water temperature and salinity from January 1990 to December 2009 (NCEI Accession 0138647)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The synoptic gridded Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme (SG-GTSPP) provides world ocean 3D gridded temperature and salinity data in monthly increment...

Efficacy and safety of paliperidone palmitate three-monthly formulation in East Asian patients with schizophrenia: subgroup analysis of a global, randomized, double-blind, Phase III, noninferiority study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savitz AJ

2017-08-01

remained relapse free at the end of the 48-week DB phase, using Kaplan–Meier cumulative survival estimate. Secondary efficacy endpoints included change from DB baseline to endpoint in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Clinical Global Impression Severity, Personal and Social Performance scores and symptomatic remission. Additional assessments included caregiver burden and safety. Results: A total of 285/344 (83% randomized East Asian patients completed the DB phase. The percentage of patients who had a relapse event was similar on comparing PP3M (17 [10.2%] to PP1M (20 [11.8%], and also for Japan (PP3M: 9 [17.6%], PP1M: 13 [23.2%] and China (PP3M: 6 [5.9%], PP1M: 7 [6.9%]. Mean change from baseline in secondary efficacy parameters was similar to the global population, regardless of treatment. Symptomatic remission was attained by 50% of the treated patients. Caregiver burden was significantly reduced (P<0.001 following treatment with PP3M/PP1M. Frequency of treatment-emergent adverse events in PP3M group during DB phase was greater in the East Asian subgroup (81% than the global population (68% and was higher in Japan (92% than China (75%. Conclusion: Results suggest that PP3M is efficacious in the East Asian subgroup. Although treatment-emergent adverse events were slightly higher in the East Asian subgroup versus the global population, no new safety signals were identified. Keywords: antipsychotic, caregiver burden, depot paliperidone palmitate, East Asia, long-acting injectable, paliperidone palmitate once-monthly, paliperidone palmitate three-monthly, schizophrenia, symptom remission

Monthly Sea Surface Salinity and Freshwater Flux Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, L.; Xie, P.; Wu, S.

2017-12-01

Taking advantages of the complementary nature of the Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) measurements from the in-situ (CTDs, shipboard, Argo floats, etc.) and satellite retrievals from Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA), the Aquarius of a joint venture between US and Argentina, and the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) of national Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a technique is developed at NOAA/NCEP/CPC to construct an analysis of monthly SSS, called the NOAA Blended Analysis of Sea-Surface Salinity (BASS). The algorithm is a two-steps approach, i.e. to remove the bias in the satellite data through Probability Density Function (PDF) matching against co-located in situ measurements; and then to combine the bias-corrected satellite data with the in situ measurements through the Optimal Interpolation (OI) method. The BASS SSS product is on a 1° by 1° grid over the global ocean for a 7-year period from 2010. Combined with the NOAA/NCEP/CPC CMORPH satellite precipitation (P) estimates and the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) evaporation (E) fields, a suite of monthly package of the SSS and oceanic freshwater flux (E and P) was developed to monitor the global oceanic water cycle and SSS on a monthly basis. The SSS in BASS product is a suite of long-term SSS and fresh water flux data sets with temporal homogeneity and inter-component consistency better suited for the examination of the long-term changes and monitoring. It presents complete spatial coverage and improved resolution and accuracy, which facilitates the diagnostic analysis of the relationship and co-variability among SSS, freshwater flux, mixed layer processes, oceanic circulation, and assimilation of SSS into global models. At the AGU meeting, we will provide more details on the CPC salinity and fresh water flux data package and its applications in the monitoring and analysis of SSS variations in association with the ENSO and other major climate

77 FR 66523 - National Entrepreneurship Month, 2012

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-06

... National Entrepreneurship Month, 2012 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation... Entrepreneurship Month, we celebrate the hard work, ingenuity, and courage of our thinkers, doers, and makers... month, and during Global Entrepreneurship Week, let us renew the spirit of innovation that has fueled...

A globally complete map of supraglacial debris cover and a new toolkit for debris cover research

Science.gov (United States)

Herreid, Sam; Pellicciotti, Francesca

2017-04-01

A growing canon of literature is focused on resolving the processes and implications of debris cover on glaciers. However, this work is often confined to a handful of glaciers that were likely selected based on criteria optimizing their suitability to test a specific hypothesis or logistical ease. The role of debris cover in a glacier system is likely to not go overlooked in forthcoming research, yet the magnitude of this role at a global scale has not yet been fully described. Here, we present a map of debris cover for all glacierized regions on Earth including the Greenland Ice Sheet using 30 m Landsat data. This dataset will begin to open a wider context to the high quality, localized findings from the debris-covered glacier research community and help inform large-scale modeling efforts. A global map of debris cover also facilitates analysis attempting to isolate first order geomorphological and climate controls of supraglacial debris production. Furthering the objective of expanding the inclusion of debris cover in forthcoming research, we also present an under development suite of open-source, Python based tools. Requiring minimal and often freely available input data, we have automated the mapping of: i) debris cover, ii) ice cliffs, iii) debris cover evolution over the Landsat era and iv) glacier flow instabilities from altered debris structures. At the present time, debris extent is the only globally complete quantity but with the expanding repository of high quality global datasets and further tool development minimizing manual tasks and computational cost, we foresee all of these tools being applied globally in the near future.

An Innovative Approach to Improve Completeness of Treatment and Other Key Data Elements in a Population-Based Cancer Registry: A15-Month Data Submission.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Mei-Chin; Mumphrey, Brent; Pareti, Lisa; Yi, Yong; Wu, Xiao-Cheng

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: In order to comply with the Louisiana legislative obligation and meet funding agencies’ requirement of case completeness for 12-month data submission, hospital cancer registries are mandated to submit cancer incidence data to the Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) within 6 months of diagnosis. However, enforcing compliance with timely reporting may result in incomplete data on adjuvant treatment received by the LTR. Although additional treatment information can be obtained via retransmission of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)–modified abstracts, consolidating multiple NAACCR-modified abstracts for the same case is extremely time consuming. To avoid a huge amount of work while obtaining timely and complete data, the LTR has requested hospital cancer registries resubmit their data 15 months after the close of the diagnosis year. The purpose of this report is to assess the improvement in the completeness of data items related to treatment, staging and site specific factors. METHODS: The LTR requested that hospital cancer registries resubmit 15-month data between April 1, 2016 and April 15, 2016 for cases diagnosed in 2014. Microsoft Visual Studio Visual Basic script was used to link and compare resubmitted data with existing data in the LTR database. Data elements used for matching same patient/tumor were name, Social Security number, date of birth, primary site, laterality, and hospital identifier number. Treatment data items were compared as known vs none/ unknown and known vs known with different code. Matched records with updated information were imported into the LTR database and flagged as modified abstract records for manual consolidation. Nonmatched records were also loaded in the LTR database as potential new cases for further investigation. RESULTS: A total of 25,207 resubmitted NAACCR abstracts were received from 38 hospitals and freestanding radiation centers. About 11.1% had at least 1 update related to

TOMS/Earth Probe UV-B Erythemal Local Noon Irradiance Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid V008

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/Earth Probe UV-B Erythemal Local Noon Irradiance Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid Version 8 data in ASCII format. (The...

Eight month post program completion; change in risk factors for chronic disease amongst participants in a four-month pedometer-based workplace health program

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Freak-Poli, Rosanne; Wolfe, Rory; Brand, Margaret

2013-01-01

-months. RESULTS: 76% of participants returned at twelve-months. Sustained improvements at twelve-months were observed for self-reported vegetable intake, self-reported sitting time and independently measured blood pressure. Modest improvements from baseline in self-reported physical activity and independently...

A comparison of the Angstrom-type correlations and the estimation of monthly average daily global irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, S.; Jain, P.C.

1985-12-01

Linear regression analysis of the monthly average daily global irradiation and the sunshine duration data of 8 Zambian locations has been performed using the least square technique. Good correlation (r>0.95) is obtained in all the cases showing that the Angstrom equation is valid for Zambian locations. The values of the correlation parameters thus obtained show substantial unsystematic scatter. The analysis was repeated after incorporating the effects of (i) multiple reflections of radiation between the ground and the atmosphere, and (ii) not burning of the sunshine recorder chart, into the Angstrom equation. The surface albedo measurements at Lusaka were used. The scatter in the correlation parameters was investigated by graphical representation, by regression analysis of the data of the individual stations as well as the combined data of the 8 stations. The results show that the incorporation of none of the two effects reduces the scatter significantly. A single linear equation obtained from the regression analysis of the combined data of the 8 stations is found to be appropriate for estimating the global irradiation over Zambian locations with reasonable accuracy from the sunshine duration data. (author)

AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly Global Microwave Land Surface Emissivity

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data set is a global land emissivity product using passive microwave observations from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System...

Fundamental statistical relationships between monthly and daily meteorological variables: Temporal downscaling of weather based on a global observational dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Sommer, Philipp; Kaplan, Jed

2016-04-01

Accurate modelling of large-scale vegetation dynamics, hydrology, and other environmental processes requires meteorological forcing on daily timescales. While meteorological data with high temporal resolution is becoming increasingly available, simulations for the future or distant past are limited by lack of data and poor performance of climate models, e.g., in simulating daily precipitation. To overcome these limitations, we may temporally downscale monthly summary data to a daily time step using a weather generator. Parameterization of such statistical models has traditionally been based on a limited number of observations. Recent developments in the archiving, distribution, and analysis of "big data" datasets provide new opportunities for the parameterization of a temporal downscaling model that is applicable over a wide range of climates. Here we parameterize a WGEN-type weather generator using more than 50 million individual daily meteorological observations, from over 10'000 stations covering all continents, based on the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) and Synoptic Cloud Reports (EECRA) databases. Using the resulting "universal" parameterization and driven by monthly summaries, we downscale mean temperature (minimum and maximum), cloud cover, and total precipitation, to daily estimates. We apply a hybrid gamma-generalized Pareto distribution to calculate daily precipitation amounts, which overcomes much of the inability of earlier weather generators to simulate high amounts of daily precipitation. Our globally parameterized weather generator has numerous applications, including vegetation and crop modelling for paleoenvironmental studies.

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - Global Snow & Ice

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

A new integrated and homogenized global monthly land surface air temperature dataset for the period since 1900

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wenhui; Li, Qingxiang; Jones, Phil; Wang, Xiaolan L.; Trewin, Blair; Yang, Su; Zhu, Chen; Zhai, Panmao; Wang, Jinfeng; Vincent, Lucie; Dai, Aiguo; Gao, Yun; Ding, Yihui

2018-04-01

A new dataset of integrated and homogenized monthly surface air temperature over global land for the period since 1900 [China Meteorological Administration global Land Surface Air Temperature (CMA-LSAT)] is developed. In total, 14 sources have been collected and integrated into the newly developed dataset, including three global (CRUTEM4, GHCN, and BEST), three regional and eight national sources. Duplicate stations are identified, and those with the higher priority are chosen or spliced. Then, a consistency test and a climate outlier test are conducted to ensure that each station series is quality controlled. Next, two steps are adopted to assure the homogeneity of the station series: (1) homogenized station series in existing national datasets (by National Meteorological Services) are directly integrated into the dataset without any changes (50% of all stations), and (2) the inhomogeneities are detected and adjusted for in the remaining data series using a penalized maximal t test (50% of all stations). Based on the dataset, we re-assess the temperature changes in global and regional areas compared with GHCN-V3 and CRUTEM4, as well as the temperature changes during the three periods of 1900-2014, 1979-2014 and 1998-2014. The best estimates of warming trends and there 95% confidence ranges for 1900-2014 are approximately 0.102 ± 0.006 °C/decade for the whole year, and 0.104 ± 0.009, 0.112 ± 0.007, 0.090 ± 0.006, and 0.092 ± 0.007 °C/decade for the DJF (December, January, February), MAM, JJA, and SON seasons, respectively. MAM saw the most significant warming trend in both 1900-2014 and 1979-2014. For an even shorter and more recent period (1998-2014), MAM, JJA and SON show similar warming trends, while DJF shows opposite trends. The results show that the ability of CMA-LAST for describing the global temperature changes is similar with other existing products, while there are some differences when describing regional temperature changes.

Assessment of BSRN radiation records for the computation of monthly means

Science.gov (United States)

Roesch, A.; Wild, M.; Ohmura, A.; Dutton, E. G.; Long, C. N.; Zhang, T.

2011-02-01

The integrity of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) radiation monthly averages are assessed by investigating the impact on monthly means due to the frequency of data gaps caused by missing or discarded high time resolution data. The monthly statistics, especially means, are considered to be important and useful values for climate research, model performance evaluations and for assessing the quality of satellite (time- and space-averaged) data products. The study investigates the spread in different algorithms that have been applied for the computation of monthly means from 1-min values. The paper reveals that the computation of monthly means from 1-min observations distinctly depends on the method utilized to account for the missing data. The intra-method difference generally increases with an increasing fraction of missing data. We found that a substantial fraction of the radiation fluxes observed at BSRN sites is either missing or flagged as questionable. The percentage of missing data is 4.4%, 13.0%, and 6.5% for global radiation, direct shortwave radiation, and downwelling longwave radiation, respectively. Most flagged data in the shortwave are due to nighttime instrumental noise and can reasonably be set to zero after correcting for thermal offsets in the daytime data. The study demonstrates that the handling of flagged data clearly impacts on monthly mean estimates obtained with different methods. We showed that the spread of monthly shortwave fluxes is generally clearly higher than for downwelling longwave radiation. Overall, BSRN observations provide sufficient accuracy and completeness for reliable estimates of monthly mean values. However, the value of future data could be further increased by reducing the frequency of data gaps and the number of outliers. It is shown that two independent methods for accounting for the diurnal and seasonal variations in the missing data permit consistent monthly means to within less than 1 W m-2 in most cases

Principle component analysis (PCA) and second-order global hard-modelling for the complete resolution of transition metal ions complex formation with 1,10-phenantroline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shariati-Rad, Masoud; Hasani, Masoumeh

2009-01-01

Second-order global hard-modelling was applied to resolve the complex formation between Co 2+ , Ni 2+ , and Cd 2+ cations and 1,10-phenantroline. The highly correlated spectral and concentration profiles of the species in these systems and low concentration of some species in the individual collected data matrices prevent the well-resolution of the profiles. Therefore, a collection of six equilibrium data matrices including series of absorption spectra taken with pH changes at different reactant ratios were analyzed. Firstly, a precise principle component analysis (PCA) of different augmented arrangements of the individual data matrices was used to distinguish the number of species involved in the equilibria. Based on the results of PCA, the equilibria included in the data were specified and second-order global hard-modelling of the appropriate arrangement of six collected equilibrium data matrices resulted in well-resolved profiles and equilibrium constants. The protonation constant of the ligand (1,10-phenantroline) and spectral profiles of its protonated and unprotonated forms are the additional information obtained by global analysis. For comparison, multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) was applied to the same data. The results showed that second-order global hard-modelling is more convenient compared with MCR-ALS especially for systems with completely known model. It can completely resolve the system and the concentration profiles which are closer to correct ones. Moreover, parameters showing the goodness of fit are better with second-order global hard-modelling.

Principle component analysis (PCA) and second-order global hard-modelling for the complete resolution of transition metal ions complex formation with 1,10-phenantroline

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shariati-Rad, Masoud [Faculty of Chemistry, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65174 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Hasani, Masoumeh, E-mail: hasani@basu.ac.ir [Faculty of Chemistry, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65174 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2009-08-19

Second-order global hard-modelling was applied to resolve the complex formation between Co{sup 2+}, Ni{sup 2+}, and Cd{sup 2+} cations and 1,10-phenantroline. The highly correlated spectral and concentration profiles of the species in these systems and low concentration of some species in the individual collected data matrices prevent the well-resolution of the profiles. Therefore, a collection of six equilibrium data matrices including series of absorption spectra taken with pH changes at different reactant ratios were analyzed. Firstly, a precise principle component analysis (PCA) of different augmented arrangements of the individual data matrices was used to distinguish the number of species involved in the equilibria. Based on the results of PCA, the equilibria included in the data were specified and second-order global hard-modelling of the appropriate arrangement of six collected equilibrium data matrices resulted in well-resolved profiles and equilibrium constants. The protonation constant of the ligand (1,10-phenantroline) and spectral profiles of its protonated and unprotonated forms are the additional information obtained by global analysis. For comparison, multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) was applied to the same data. The results showed that second-order global hard-modelling is more convenient compared with MCR-ALS especially for systems with completely known model. It can completely resolve the system and the concentration profiles which are closer to correct ones. Moreover, parameters showing the goodness of fit are better with second-order global hard-modelling.

Duration of episodes of untreated Acute Malnutrition in children 6–59 months as observed during monthly growth monitoring sessions in South of Bangladesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoq, Mohammad; Waid, Jillian

2014-01-01

Full text: Background: Planning for management of severe and moderate acute malnutrition programs requires estimation of the caseload of children in need of care. Since incidence of acute malnutrition is not readily available, estimate of caseload is often derived from survey prevalence and the estimated duration of untreated episodes of acute malnutrition. However, information on the duration of acute malnutrition is limited. Sufficient guidance has not been given to planners on how to translate wasting prevalence rates into the probable caseload of a program based on Mid Upper Arm Circumference for admission. Objective: To report the duration of acute malnutrition in children 6 – 59 months as observed during community growth monitoring in the south of Bangladesh. Methodology: The study design was retrospective cohort using administrative data from Terre des hommes’ monthly Growth Monitoring Program in Patharghata Union of Barguna District in absence of any community management. Monitoring data were available between November 2011 and December 2012 for 3340 children and on average, 1766 children were measured each month. Of these children only 585 had observations for every time point. During analysis two models were run, one which imputed missing observations based on status before and after the missing observation and one utilizing complete records. Case definition: Based on the World Health Organization’s threshold for weight-for-height z-scores and MUAC, the duration of acute malnutrition began when children were identified with acute malnutrition The duration of acute malnutrition ended when children were not identified as suffering with acute malnutrition at any monthly visit. Episodes of acute malnutrition observed during the first and last periods of growth monitoring were excluded from the estimation of duration. Results: The prevalence of global acute malnutrition varied over the year, with a peak in June/July (29.7% & 29.0%) and a low in December

Global monthly CO2 flux inversion with a focus over North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Deng; Chen, Jing M.; Ishizawa, Misa; Chiu-Wai Yuen; Gang Mo; Higuchi, Kaz; Chan, Douglas; Maksyutov, Shamil

2007-01-01

A nested inverse modelling system was developed for estimating carbon fluxes of 30 regions in North America and 20 regions for the rest of the globe. Monthly inverse modelling was conducted using CO 2 concentration measurements of 3 yr (2001-2003) at 88 sites. Inversion results show that in 2003 the global carbon sink is -2.76 ± 0.55 Pg C. Oceans and lands are responsible for 88.5% and 11.5% of the sink, respectively. Northern lands are the largest sinks with North America contributing a sink of -0.97 ± 0.21 Pg C in 2003, of which Canada's sink is -0.34 ± 0.14 Pg C. For Canada, the inverse results show a spatial pattern in agreement, for the most part, with a carbon source and sink distribution map previously derived through ecosystem modelling. However, discrepancies in the spatial pattern and in flux magnitude between these two estimates exist in certain regions. Numerical experiments with a full covariance matrix, with the consideration of the error structure of the a priori flux field based on meteorological variables among the 30 North America regions, resulted in a small but meaningful improvement in the inverted fluxes. Uncertainty reduction analysis suggests that new observation sites are still needed to further improve the inversion for these 30 regions in North America

Mochovce Unit 3 and 4 Completion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aquilanti, G.

2007-01-01

Purpose of the Feasibility Study was to define in detail all technical, economic, financial, legal and authorization aspects of Mochovce NPP Unit 3 and 4 completion in order to provide Slovenske Elektrarne, a. s. (SE) and ENEL Top Management with all the necessary information for a final decision on Mochovce Unit 3 and 4. Feasibility study has started in January 2006. SE had the commitment to complete the Feasibility Study within 12 months from Closing of SE acquisition (April 2007). In order not to delay completion of Mochovce Unit 3 and 4, SE has decided to perform, in parallel to the Feasibility study, also all design and permitting activities which are required for the completion of Plant. This has involved anticipation of expenses for approximately 700 MSKK (or approx. 20 MEuro). SE was able to announce the positive decision about completion on Mochovce NPP Unit 3 and 4, two months in advance of the deadline.

Evolution of cerebral blood flow between the acute stage and one month after a global transient amnesia: a study of 18 patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Philippon, B.; Houzard, C.; Cinotti, L.; Croisile, B.

2001-01-01

We studied 18 patients within 24 hours of an idiopathic transient global amnesia and one month later using 133 Xe et 99m Tc-HMPAO for CBF measurements. Absolute hemispheric CBF obtained with the 133 Xe were initially: (right) = 46.9 ml/mn/100 g (s.d 6.6) and (left) = 47.9 (s.d 6.8). One month later, a significant increase of the right hemispheric CBF occurred (52.0 ± 6.9). Accordingly, absolute CBF increased bilaterally in the cerebellar and temporal regions. Local relative cerebral blood flow ( 99m Tc-HMPAO) allowed to reinforce these findings with increased resolution. They can also provide quantitative values thanks to the 133 Xe calibration. (authors)

Prediction of monthly mean daily global solar radiation using ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

a 4-layer MLFF network was developed and the average value of the mean absolute percentage error ... and sunshine hours to estimate the monthly mean .... work. The outputs of the layers are com- puted using the equations (1) and (2).

An overview of global solar radiation measurements in Ghardaia area, south Algeria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gairaa, Kacem; Bakelli, Yahia [Applied Research Unit for Renewables Energies, Ouargla Road, Ghardaia (Algeria)

2011-07-01

This paper presents an overview of actual solar radiation data measurements in Ghardaia site (32.360 N, 3.810 W, 450 m above MSL). Global solar radiation and surface temperatures were measured and analyzed for one complete year from 1 January-31December 2005. The data thus recorded are compared with corresponding data of the 22-year average of NASA's surface meteorology and solar energy-model. Hourly, daily and monthly solar radiation was made from five-minute recorded by EKO Pyranometer. The highest measured daily and monthly mean solar radiation was found to be 369 and 326 (W/m2), and the highest five minute averaged solar radiation values up to 1268 (W/m2) were observed in the summer season from May to September, and the yearly average daily energy input was 21.83 (MJ/m2/day). Besides the global solar radiation, the daily and monthly average temperature variations are discussed. The collected data indicate that Ghardaia has a strong potential for solar energy applications.

Co2 emission scenarios for next centuries to obtain more complete simulations of the global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michelini, M.

2001-01-01

In the framework of a punctual Modeling of the Greenhouse Effect (report RT/ERG/2001/1) it is necessary to set CO2 Emission Scenarios for the next Centuries in order to obtain the complete evolution of the global warming. Some methodologies are described to approach such long term previsions. From the demand side, the growth of the consumes (which are affected by population and development) is correlated (supply side) with the technical-economic-environmental Evaluation of the future diffusion of classic sources (experienced in the past centuries) and of new Technologies and renewable sources. The previsions of the world population Growth are derived from the UNFPA publications. The degree of economic Development of the world Population in the very long term is obtained by simulating the Evolution of the Population across four main Areas characterized by different pro-capita consumes. Using these criteria two different Scenarios have been set-up and put into comparison with the SRES Scenarios published in the Third Assessment Report-WG1 of the IPCC. The cut at the year 2100 of the SRES Scenarios is also discussed. Simulations of the Global Warming in the long term have been performed with the two scenarios. These results are discussed together with the results of the Simulations reported by IPCC [it

Treatment-completion rates with olanzapine long-acting injection versus risperidone long-acting injection in a 12-month, open-label treatment of schizophrenia: indirect, exploratory comparisons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ascher-Svanum H

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Haya Ascher-Svanum1, William S Montgomery2, David P McDonnell3, Kristina A Coleman4, Peter D Feldman11Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA; 2Eli Lilly Australia Pty Ltd, West Ryde, New South Wales, Australia; 3Eli Lilly and Company, Cork, Ireland; 4OptumInsight, Lilyfield, New South Wales, AustraliaBackground: Little is known about the comparative effectiveness of atypical antipsychotics in long-acting injection formulation. Due to the absence of head-to-head studies comparing olanzapine long-acting injection and risperidone long-acting injection, this study was intended to make exploratory, indirect, cross-study comparisons between the long-acting formulations of these two atypical antipsychotics in their effectiveness in treating patients with schizophrenia.Methods: Indirect, cross-study comparisons between olanzapine long-acting injection and risperidone long-acting injection used 12-month treatment-completion rates, because discontinuation of an antipsychotic for any cause is a recognized proxy measure of the medication's effectiveness in treating schizophrenia. Following a systematic review of the literature, two indirect comparisons were conducted using open-label, single-cohort studies in which subjects were stabilized on an antipsychotic medication before depot initiation. The first analysis compared olanzapine long-acting injection (one study with pooled data from nine identified risperidone long-acting injection studies. The second analysis was a “sensitivity analysis,” using only the most similar studies, one for olanzapine long-acting injection and one for risperidone long-acting injection, which shared near-identical study designs and involved study cohorts with near-identical patient characteristics. Pearson Chi-square tests assessed group differences on treatment-completion rates.Results: Comparison of olanzapine long-acting injection data (931 patients with the pooled data from the nine

Estimation of monthly global solar radiation in the eastern Mediterranean region in Turkey by using artificial neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahan, Muhittin; Yakut, Emre

2016-01-01

In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was used to estimate monthly average global solar radiation on a horizontal surface for selected 5 locations in Mediterranean region for period of 18 years (1993-2010). Meteorological and geographical data were taken from Turkish State Meteorological Service. The ANN architecture designed is a feed-forward back-propagation model with one-hidden layer containing 21 neurons with hyperbolic tangent sigmoid as the transfer function and one output layer utilized a linear transfer function (purelin). The training algorithm used in ANN model was the Levenberg Marquand back propagation algorith (trainlm). Results obtained from ANN model were compared with measured meteorological values by using statistical methods. A correlation coefficient of 97.97 (~98%) was obtained with root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.852 MJ/m 2 , mean square error (MSE) of 0.725 MJ/m 2 , mean absolute bias error (MABE) 10.659MJ/m 2 , and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 4.8%. Results show good agreement between the estimated and measured values of global solar radiation. We suggest that the developed ANN model can be used to predict solar radiation another location and conditions

MIRCA2000—Global monthly irrigated and rainfed crop areas around the year 2000: A new high-resolution data set for agricultural and hydrological modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Portmann, Felix T.; Siebert, Stefan; DöLl, Petra

2010-03-01

To support global-scale assessments that are sensitive to agricultural land use, we developed the global data set of monthly irrigated and rainfed crop areas around the year 2000 (MIRCA2000). With a spatial resolution of 5 arc min (about 9.2 km at the equator), MIRCA2000 provides both irrigated and rainfed crop areas of 26 crop classes for each month of the year. The data set covers all major food crops as well as cotton. Other crops are grouped into categories (perennial, annual, and fodder grasses). It represents multicropping systems and maximizes consistency with census-based national and subnational statistics. According to MIRCA2000, 25% of the global harvested areas are irrigated, with a cropping intensity (including fallow land) of 1.12, as compared to 0.84 for the sum of rainfed and irrigated harvested crops. For the dominant crops (rice (1.7 million km2 harvested area), wheat (2.1 million km2), and maize (1.5 million km2)), roughly 60%, 30%, and 20% of the harvested areas are irrigated, respectively, and half of the citrus, sugar cane, and cotton areas. While wheat and maize are the crops with the largest rainfed harvested areas (1.5 million km2 and 1.2 million km2, respectively), rice is clearly the crop with the largest irrigated harvested area (1.0 million km2), followed by wheat (0.7 million km2) and maize (0.3 million km2). Using MIRCA2000, 33% of global crop production and 44% of total cereal production were determined to come from irrigated agriculture.

Variability and trends in global drought

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, Gregory J.; Wolock, David M.

2015-01-01

Monthly precipitation (P) and potential evapotranspiration (PET) from the CRUTS3.1 data set are used to compute monthly P minus PET (PMPE) for the land areas of the globe. The percent of the global land area with annual sums of PMPE less than zero are used as an index of global drought (%drought) for 1901 through 2009. Results indicate that for the past century %drought has not changed, even though global PET and temperature (T) have increased. Although annual global PET and T have increased, annual global P also has increased and has mitigated the effects of increased PET on %drought.

Photos of the month

CERN Multimedia

Claudia Marcelloni de Oliveira

Congratulations to Adele Rimoldi, ATLAS physicist from Pavia, who ran her first marathon in New York last month. Adele completed the 42.2 km in a time of 4:49:19. She sure makes it look easy!!! The ATLAS pixel service quarter panel in SR1

Reaching Non-Traditional and Under-Served Communities through Global Astronomy Month Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, Michael

2013-01-01

Global Astronomy Month (GAM), organized each year by Astronomers Without Borders (AWB), has become the world's largest annual celebration of astronomy. Launched as a follow-up to the unprecedented success of the 100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project of IYA2009, GAM quickly attracted not only traditional partners in astronomy and space science outreach, but also unusual partners from very different fields. GAM's third annual edition, GAM2012, included worldwide programs for the sight-impaired, astronomy in the arts, and other non-traditional programs. The special planetarium program, OPTICKS, combined elements such as Moonbounce (sending images to the Moon and back) and artistic elements in a unique presentation of the heavens. Programs were developed to present the heavens to the sight-impaired as well. The Cosmic Concert, in which a new musical piece is composed each year, combined with background images of celestial objects, and presented during GAM, has become an annual event. Several astronomy themed art video projects were presented online. AWB's Astropoetry Blog held a very successful contest during GAM2012 that attracted more than 70 entries from 17 countries. Students were engaged by participation in special GAM campaigns of the International Asteroid Search Campaign. AWB and GAM have both developed into platforms where innovative programs can develop, and interdisciplinary collaborations can flourish. As AWB's largest program, GAM brings the audience and resources that provide a boost for these new types of programs. Examples, lessons learned, new projects, and plans for the future of AWB and GAM will be presented.

Best pictures of the month

CERN Multimedia

Claudia Marcelloni de Oliveira

The last sector of the Big Muon Wheels was brought to the cavern in the morning of September 20... ... installed on one of the Big Muon Wheels during the same afternoon... ... just in time to sqeeze lots of people in between two of the all-completed Big Muon Wheels on the 21st of September to celebrate the installation of the last sector. Installation of the first ATLAS small wheel in building 191 on September 10. Some of the people involved in the construction and installation of the chambers on the first ATLAS small wheel in building 191 celebrating its completion on September 20. After hearing that the rock band The Police played in Geneva last month, Muriel got inspired and decided to become a rock star, just like one of her favorites, Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones. Special accomplishment of the month: (top) Martina Hurwitz (#908) and Monica Dunford (680), both from the Chicago University group, completed the Lausanne Marathon on October 21 in 4h 4...

Probabilistic global maps of the CO2 column at daily and monthly scales from sparse satellite measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Chevallier, Frédéric; Broquet, Grégoire; Pierangelo, Clémence; Crisp, David

2017-07-01

The column-average dry air-mole fraction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (XCO2) is measured by scattered satellite measurements like those from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2). We show that global continuous maps of XCO2 (corresponding to level 3 of the satellite data) at daily or coarser temporal resolution can be inferred from these data with a Kalman filter built on a model of persistence. Our application of this approach on 2 years of OCO-2 retrievals indicates that the filter provides better information than a climatology of XCO2 at both daily and monthly scales. Provided that the assigned observation uncertainty statistics are tuned in each grid cell of the XCO2 maps from an objective method (based on consistency diagnostics), the errors predicted by the filter at daily and monthly scales represent the true error statistics reasonably well, except for a bias in the high latitudes of the winter hemisphere and a lack of resolution (i.e., a too small discrimination skill) of the predicted error standard deviations. Due to the sparse satellite sampling, the broad-scale patterns of XCO2 described by the filter seem to lag behind the real signals by a few weeks. Finally, the filter offers interesting insights into the quality of the retrievals, both in terms of random and systematic errors.

Isoniazid completion rates for latent tuberculosis infection among college students managed by a community pharmacist.

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Karl; Goad, Jeffery; Wu, Joanne; Johnson, Kathleen

2009-01-01

The authors' objective was to document 9-month and previously recommended 6-month treatment completion rates for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in a pharmacist-managed LTBI clinic in a community pharmacy on a college campus, and to describe patient characteristics. Participants were university students diagnosed with LTBI. The authors conducted a retrospective review of pharmacy records from 2000 to 2006. Main outcome measures included 6-month and 9-month LTBI treatment completion rates, total isoniazid (INH) tablets taken, characteristics of completers versus noncompleters, average time to treatment completion, and reported adverse drug events. The 9-month completion rate was 59%, and the 6-month completion rate was 67%. Among those not completing treatment, 15.2% experienced fatigue and 2.2% experienced a rash (p=.04 and p=.03, respectively). LTBI clinics are a unique niche for community pharmacies and can provide individualized patient care to ensure LTBI treatment adherence, monitoring for disease progression, and safety of INH.

Causes of global mean surface temperature slowdowns, trends and variations from months to a century, 1891-2015

Science.gov (United States)

Folland, C. K.; Boucher, O.; Colman, A.; Parker, D. E.

2017-12-01

The recent slowdown in the warming of global mean surface temperature (GST) has highlighted the influences of natural variability. This talk discusses reconstructions of the variations of GST down to the monthly time scale since 1891 using monthly forcing data. We show that most of the variations in annual, and to some extent sub-annual, GST since 1891 can be reproduced skillfully from known forcing factors external and internal to the climate system. This includes the slowdown in warming over about 1998-2013 where reconstruction skill is particularly high down to the multi-monthly time scale. The relative contributions of the several key forcing factors to GST continually vary, but most of the net warming since 1891 is reconstructed to be attributable to the net forcing due to increasing greenhouse gases and anthropogenic aerosols. Separate analyses are carried out for three periods of GST slowdown:- 1896-1910, 1941-1976, together with 1998-2013 and some of its sub periods. We also study two periods where strong warming occurred, 1911-1940 and 1977-1997. Comparisons are made with the skill of average GST provided by 40 CMIP5 models. In the recent 1998-2013 slowdown, TSI forcing appears to have caused significant cooling, particularly over 2001-2010. This is additional to well documented cooling effects of an increased frequency of La Nina events, a negative Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation and some increases in volcanic forcing. Although there are short-term features of the GST curve since 1891 that cannot be fully explained, the most serious disagreements between the reconstructions and observations occur in the Second World War, especially in 1944-1945. Here observed near worldwide SSTs may be biased significantly too warm. Despite this, our generally high reconstruction skill is consistent with a good understanding of the multiple causes of observed GST variations and the general veracity of the GST record since 1891.

BETR Global - A geographically explicit global-scale multimedia contaminant fate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Macleod, M.; Waldow, H. von; Tay, P.; Armitage, J. M.; Wohrnschimmel, H.; Riley, W.; McKone, T. E.; Hungerbuhler, K.

2011-04-01

We present two new software implementations of the BETR Global multimedia contaminant fate model. The model uses steady-state or non-steady-state mass-balance calculations to describe the fate and transport of persistent organic pollutants using a desktop computer. The global environment is described using a database of long-term average monthly conditions on a 15{sup o} x 15{sup o} grid. We demonstrate BETR Global by modeling the global sources, transport, and removal of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5).

BETR global - A geographically-explicit global-scale multimedia contaminant fate model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacLeod, Matthew; Waldow, Harald von; Tay, Pascal; Armitage, James M.; Woehrnschimmel, Henry; Riley, William J.; McKone, Thomas E.; Hungerbuhler, Konrad

2011-01-01

We present two new software implementations of the BETR Global multimedia contaminant fate model. The model uses steady-state or non-steady-state mass-balance calculations to describe the fate and transport of persistent organic pollutants using a desktop computer. The global environment is described using a database of long-term average monthly conditions on a 15 o x 15 o grid. We demonstrate BETR Global by modeling the global sources, transport, and removal of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5). - Two new software implementations of the Berkeley-Trent Global Contaminant Fate Model are available. The new model software is illustrated using a case study of the global fate of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5).

On the spectral composition of global radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Major, G

1983-01-01

The global radiation is recorded at several stations on the Earth. The information about its spectral composition is poor. In this paper the spectral composition means the ratio of spectral global radiation measured by coloured glass filter domes to the total global radiation. From the measuements made by Klein and Goldberg it follows that the monthly ratios vary significantly from place to place, while the variations from month to month at one place are significant only at the station which lies near to the North Pole. The Budapest data proved the dominant effect of cloudiness on the spectral composition of global radiation. This effect is in good statistical relationship with the relative global radiation. The regression constant tabulated in this paper do not contain the error of zero point elevation which is due to the overheating of glass filters by the absorbed solar radiation.

AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly Global Microwave Land Surface Emissivity, Version 1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data set is a global land emissivity product using passive microwave observations from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System...

Global Monthly CO2 Flux Inversion Based on Results of Terrestrial Ecosystem Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, F.; Chen, J.; Peters, W.; Krol, M.

2008-12-01

Most of our understanding of the sources and sinks of atmospheric CO2 has come from inverse studies of atmospheric CO2 concentration measurements. However, the number of currently available observation stations and our ability to simulate the diurnal planetary boundary layer evolution over continental regions essentially limit the number of regions that can be reliably inverted globally, especially over continental areas. In order to overcome these restrictions, a nested inverse modeling system was developed based on the Bayesian principle for estimating carbon fluxes of 30 regions in North America and 20 regions for the rest of the globe. Inverse modeling was conducted in monthly steps using CO2 concentration measurements of 5 years (2000 - 2005) with the following two models: (a) An atmospheric transport model (TM5) is used to generate the transport matrix where the diurnal variation n of atmospheric CO2 concentration is considered to enhance the use of the afternoon-hour average CO2 concentration measurements over the continental sites. (b) A process-based terrestrial ecosystem model (BEPS) is used to produce hourly step carbon fluxes, which could minimize the limitation due to our inability to solve the inverse problem in a high resolution, as the background of our inversion. We will present our recent results achieved through a combination of the bottom-up modeling with BEPS and the top-down modeling based on TM5 driven by offline meteorological fields generated by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMFW).

Global solar irradiation in Italy during 1994 : monthly average daily values for 1614 sites estimated from Meteosat images; Radiazione solare globale al suolo in Italia nel 1994 : valori medi mensili per 1.614 localita` italiane stimate a partire dalle immagini fornite dal satellite Meteosat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cogliani, E; Mancini, M; Petrarca, S; Spinelli, F [ENEA, Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Rome (Italy). Dip. Energia

1995-10-01

The global solar radiation over Italy is estimated from Meteosat secondary images in the visible band. The stimation method relies on the fact that the cloud cover on a given area of the Earth`s surface statistically determines the amount of solar radiation falling on that area. Estimated values of the monthly average daily global radiation on a horizontal surface for the 1994 have been compared with values computed from data measured by the stations of the two Italian radiation networks: the Meteorological Service of the Italian Air Force and the National Agrometeorological Network (a total of 36 stations have been considered). The mean percentage difference between estimated and computed values over the year is 6 per cent. In the present report, the monthly maps of radiation over Italy and the estimated monthly average daily values for over 1600 sites (having more than 10,000 inhabitants) are given. In the yearly reports to be issued in the years to come, maps and mean values over the period starting with 1994 will be given as well.

Reconstruction of global gridded monthly sectoral water withdrawals for 1971-2010 and analysis of their spatiotemporal patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhongwei; Hejazi, Mohamad; Li, Xinya; Tang, Qiuhong; Vernon, Chris; Leng, Guoyong; Liu, Yaling; Döll, Petra; Eisner, Stephanie; Gerten, Dieter; Hanasaki, Naota; Wada, Yoshihide

2018-04-01

Human water withdrawal has increasingly altered the global water cycle in past decades, yet our understanding of its driving forces and patterns is limited. Reported historical estimates of sectoral water withdrawals are often sparse and incomplete, mainly restricted to water withdrawal estimates available at annual and country scales, due to a lack of observations at seasonal and local scales. In this study, through collecting and consolidating various sources of reported data and developing spatial and temporal statistical downscaling algorithms, we reconstruct a global monthly gridded (0.5°) sectoral water withdrawal dataset for the period 1971-2010, which distinguishes six water use sectors, i.e., irrigation, domestic, electricity generation (cooling of thermal power plants), livestock, mining, and manufacturing. Based on the reconstructed dataset, the spatial and temporal patterns of historical water withdrawal are analyzed. Results show that total global water withdrawal has increased significantly during 1971-2010, mainly driven by the increase in irrigation water withdrawal. Regions with high water withdrawal are those densely populated or with large irrigated cropland production, e.g., the United States (US), eastern China, India, and Europe. Seasonally, irrigation water withdrawal in summer for the major crops contributes a large percentage of total annual irrigation water withdrawal in mid- and high-latitude regions, and the dominant season of irrigation water withdrawal is also different across regions. Domestic water withdrawal is mostly characterized by a summer peak, while water withdrawal for electricity generation has a winter peak in high-latitude regions and a summer peak in low-latitude regions. Despite the overall increasing trend, irrigation in the western US and domestic water withdrawal in western Europe exhibit a decreasing trend. Our results highlight the distinct spatial pattern of human water use by sectors at the seasonal and annual

Correlates of complete childhood vaccination in East African countries.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maureen E Canavan

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Despite the benefits of childhood vaccinations, vaccination rates in low-income countries (LICs vary widely. Increasing coverage of vaccines to 90% in the poorest countries over the next 10 years has been estimated to prevent 426 million cases of illness and avert nearly 6.4 million childhood deaths worldwide. Consequently, we sought to provide a comprehensive examination of contemporary vaccination patterns in East Africa and to identify common and country-specific barriers to complete childhood vaccination. METHODS: Using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS for Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, we looked at the prevalence of complete vaccination for polio, measles, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG and DTwPHibHep (DTP as recommended by the WHO among children ages 12 to 23 months. We conducted multivariable logistic regression within each country to estimate associations between complete vaccination status and health care access and sociodemographic variables using backwards stepwise regression. RESULTS: Vaccination varied significantly by country. In all countries, the majority of children received at least one dose of a WHO recommended vaccine; however, in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda less than 50% of children received a complete schedule of recommended vaccines. Being delivered in a public or private institution compared with being delivered at home was associated with increased odds of complete vaccination status. Sociodemographic covariates were not consistently associated with complete vaccination status across countries. CONCLUSIONS: Although no consistent set of predictors accounted for complete vaccination status, we observed differences based on region and the location of delivery. These differences point to the need to examine the historical, political, and economic context of each country in order to maximize vaccination coverage. Vaccination against these childhood diseases is a

Are the effects of a non-drug multimodal activation therapy of dementia sustainable? Follow-up study 10 months after completion of a randomised controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luttenberger Katharina

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the long-term success of non-drug therapies for treating dementia, especially whether the effects are sustained after therapy ends. Here, we examined the effects of a one-year multimodal therapy 10 months after patients completed the therapy. Methods This randomised, controlled, single-blind, longitudinal trial involved 61 patients (catamnesis: n = 52 with primary degenerative dementia in five nursing homes in Bavaria, Germany. The highly standardised intervention, MAKS, consisted of motor stimulation, practice of activities of daily living (ADLs, and cognitive stimulation. Each group of 10 patients was treated for 2 h, 6 days a week for 12 months. Control patients received standard nursing home care. At baseline, at the end of therapy (month 12, and 10 months thereafter (month 22, cognitive functioning was assessed using the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale, and the ability to perform ADLs was assessed using the Erlangen Test of Activities of Daily Living. Results During the therapy phase, the MAKS patients maintained their cognitive function and ability to carry out ADLs. After the end of therapy, both the control and the MAKS groups deteriorated in both their cognitive function (control, p = 0.02; MAKS, p 0: βMAKS + βMAKS month 22 = 0; χ2 = 3.8568, p = 0.0496. Cohen’s d for the difference between the two groups in ADLs and cognitive abilities 10 months after the end of therapy was 0.40 and 0.22, respectively. Conclusions A multimodal non-drug therapy of dementia resulted in stabilisation of the ability to perform ADLs, even beyond the end of therapy. To prevent functional decline for as long as possible, therapy should be performed continuously until the benefit for the patient ends. Follow-up studies on larger numbers of patients are needed to definitively confirm these results. Trial registration http://www.isrctn.com Identifier: ISRCTN

Measurement of global solar radiation over Brunei Darussalam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malik, A.Q.; Ak Abd Malik Abd Raub Pg Ghani

2006-01-01

Measurements of global solar radiation on a horizontal surface were carried out for a period of 11 months starting from June 2001 to April 2002. The pyrano meter (Kipp and Zonen) was placed at the top of the library building of University of Brunei Darussalam, which affords optimum exposure to the instrument sensor without appreciable obstacle for incoming global radiation. The maximum and minimum monthly-averaged global irradiations of 553 W/m 2 and 433 W/m 2 were recorded for the months of March and October respectively. The variation of global solar radiation can be divided into two distinct groups - the low radiation values being associated with cloud and turbidity while the high values are associated with less turbid and cloudy periods

Global and Local Processing of Incidental Information and Memory Retrieval at 6 Months.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatt, Ramesh S.; And Others

1994-01-01

Five experiments examined the role of global and local cues in memory retrieval in infancy. Results showed that infants encode and remember for substantial periods of time not only the shape of figures displayed in their periphery but also the global organization of these figures. They also adapt this information when responding to new events.…

LBA Regional Monthly Climatology for the 20th Century (New et al.)

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: This data set is a subset of "Global Monthly Climatology for the 20th Century (New et al.)" (2000a). This subset characterizes mean monthly surface climate...

LBA Regional Monthly Climatology for the 20th Century (New et al.)

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data set is a subset of "Global Monthly Climatology for the 20th Century (New et al.)" (2000a). This subset characterizes mean monthly surface climate over the...

Orthogonal stack of global tide gauge sea level data

Science.gov (United States)

Trupin, A.; Wahr, J.

1990-01-01

Yearly and monthly tide gauge sea level data from around the globe are fitted to numerically generated equilibrium tidal data to search for the 18.6 year lunar tide and 14 month pole tide. Both tides are clearly evident in the results, and their amplitudes and phases are found to be consistent with a global equilibrium response. Global, monthly sea level data from outside the Baltic sea and Gulf of Bothnia are fitted to global atmospheric pressure data to study the response of the ocean to pressure fluctuations. The response is found to be inverted barometer at periods greater than two months. Global averages of tide gauge data, after correcting for the effects of post glacial rebound on individual station records, reveal an increase in sea level over the last 80 years of between 1.1 mm/yr and 1.9 mm/yr.

Trends and variation in monthly rainfall and temperature in Suriname

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raid, Nurmohamed

2004-01-01

As Surinam lies within the equatorial trough zone, climate is mainly influenced by the movement and intensity of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone and the El Nino Southern Oscillation. Scientist predict that global climate change will directly effect the hydrological cycle such as rainfall and temperature, and extreme events such as a El Nino and La Nina. The aim of this study is to analyze historical changes in monthly rainfall and temperature and to predict future changes, with respect to climate change (doubling of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) by 2100) and variability. Linear extrapolation and five Global Circulations Models (GCMS) (HadCM2, ECHAM4, GFDL-TR, CSIRO2-EQ, CCSR-NIES) will be used. Results of GCMs have showed that under global climate change by 2100, the monthly rainfall is predicted to change with -82 to 66 mm during January and August, and -36 to 47 mm during September and November. The monthly temperature is predicted to increase with 1.3 to 4.3 C by 2100. El Nino events have showed that along the coastal zone and in the center of Surinam, most months (>50%) during the year are drier than normal (88 to 316 mm), while in the west part of Surinam, most months (>50%) are wetter than normal (110 to 220 mm). La Nina events have showed that over entire Surinam, most of the months are wetter than normal (19 to 122 mm), with respect to the minimum rainfall. It can be concluded that the changes in rainfall due to El Nino and La Nina events may have significant impacts on the design, planning and management of water resources systems in Surinam and should therefore be incorporated in future water resources planning. (Author)

GPM, GMI Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling V03

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

Trends in Immunization Completion and Disparities in the Context of Health Reforms: The case study of Tanzania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Semali Innocent A

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Of global concern is the decline in under five children mortality which has reversed in some countries in sub Saharan Africa (SSA since the early 1990 s which could be due to disparities in access to preventive services including immunization. This paper is aimed at determining the trend in disparities in completion of immunization using Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS. Methods DHS studies randomly selected representative households from all regions in Tanzania since 1980 s, is repeated every five years in the same enumeration areas. The last three data sets (1990, 1996 and 2004 were downloaded and analyzed using STATA 9.0. The analysis included all children of between 12-23 months who would have completed all vaccinations required at 12 months. Results Across the time periods 1990, 1996 to 2004/05 the percentage of children completing vaccination was similar (71.0% in 1990, 72.7% in 1996 and 72.3% in 2005. There was no disparity in completion of immunization with wealth strata in 1990 and 1996 (p > 0.05 but not 2004. In 2004/05 there was marked disparity as most poor experienced significant decline in immunization completion while the least poor had significant increase (p Conclusion Equity that existed in 1990 and more pronounced in 1996 regressed to inequity in 2005, thus though at national level immunization coverage did not change, but at sub-group there was significant disparity associated with the changing contexts and reforms. To address sub-group disparities in immunization it is recommended to adopt strategies focused at governance and health system to reach all population groups and most poor.

The association between stress, coping, and sexual risk behaviors over 24 months among African-American female adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulland, Erin N; Brown, Jennifer L; Swartzendruber, Andrea L; Sales, Jessica M; Rose, Eve S; DiClemente, Ralph J

2015-01-01

Heightened psychosocial stress coupled with maladaptive coping may be associated with greater sexual risk engagement. This study examined the association between stress levels and coping strategy use as predictors of sexual risk behavior engagement over 24 months among African-American adolescent females (N = 701; M = 17.6 years) enrolled in an STI/HIV risk-reduction intervention program. Participants completed audio computer assisted self-interview (ACASI) measures of global stress, interpersonal stress, coping strategy use, and sexual behaviors prior to intervention participation. Follow-up ACASI assessments were conducted at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post-intervention. Generalized estimated equation models examined associations between baseline stress levels and coping strategy use as predictors of condom use (past 90 days, last sex) and multiple partners during follow-up. Global stress and individual coping strategy usage were not associated with differences in condom use. Higher interpersonal stress was associated with lower proportion condom use (p = .018), inconsistent condom use (p = .011), and not using a condom at last sex (p = .002). There were no significant associations between stress levels, coping strategy use, and multiple partners. Future research should explore mechanisms that may underlie the association between elevated interpersonal stress and decreased condom use among this population.

Evaluation of early endoscopic realignment of post-traumatic complete posterior urethral rupture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaser M Abdelsalam

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: to report our experience with 41 patients treated by early endoscopic realignment of complete post-traumatic rupture urethra. Materials and Methods: The study includes patients presented to our institute, between May 2004 and April 2009, with post-traumatic complete posterior urethral disruption. Preoperative retrograde urethrography, voiding cystourethrography and abdominopelvic CT were performed to evaluate the urethral defect length, the bladder neck competence, the prostate position, and the extent of the pelvic hematoma. Within the first week after trauma, antegrade and retrograde urethroscopy were performed to identify both urethral ends and insert urethral catheter. Patients were followed up by pericatheter retrograde urethrogram monthly postoperatively till catheter removal on disappearance of extravasation. Retrograde urethrography, voiding cystourethrography and urethroscopy were performed 1 month after the removal of the catheter. Follow-up abdominal ultrasound and uroflowmetry monthly till 6 months, bimonthly till 1 year, and every 3 months thereafter were encouraged. Urinary continence and postoperative erectile dysfunction were assessed by direct patient interview. Results: Forty one patients in the age group 17-61 years (mean 37.9 were treated. Patients were followed up for 12-36 months (mean 17 months. Complete healing of the urethra occurred in 18 patients (43.9%. Passable urethral stricture developed in 15 patients (36.6%. Complete urethral obstruction occurred in eight patients (19.5%. Conclusions: Early endoscopic realignment for complete posterior urethral rupture is a feasible technique with no or minimal intraoperative complications. The technique is successful as the definitive line of therapy in reasonable number of patients and seems to render further future interventions for inevitable urethral stricture easier.

Complete atrioventricular canal.

Science.gov (United States)

Calabrò, Raffaele; Limongelli, Giuseppe

2006-04-05

Complete atrioventricular canal (CAVC), also referred to as complete atrioventricular septal defect, is characterised by an ostium primum atrial septal defect, a common atrioventricular valve and a variable deficiency of the ventricular septum inflow. CAVC is an uncommon congenital heart disease, accounting for about 3% of cardiac malformations. Atrioventricular canal occurs in two out of every 10,000 live births. Both sexes are equally affected and a striking association with Down syndrome was found. Depending on the morphology of the superior leaflet of the common atrioventricular valve, 3 types of CAVC have been delineated (type A, B and C, according to Rastelli's classification). CAVC results in a significant interatrial and interventricular systemic-to-pulmonary shunt, thus inducing right ventricular pressure and volume overload and pulmonary hypertension. It becomes symptomatic in infancy due to congestive heart failure and failure to thrive. Diagnosis of CAVC might be suspected from electrocardiographic and chest X-ray findings. Echocardiography confirms it and gives anatomical details. Over time, pulmonary hypertension becomes irreversible, thus precluding the surgical therapy. This is the reason why cardiac catheterisation is not mandatory in infants (less than 6 months) but is indicated in older patients if irreversible pulmonary hypertension is suspected. Medical treatment (digitalis, diuretics, vasodilators) plays a role only as a bridge toward surgery, usually performed between the 3rd and 6th month of life.

Complete atrioventricular canal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Limongelli Giuseppe

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Complete atrioventricular canal (CAVC, also referred to as complete atrioventricular septal defect, is characterised by an ostium primum atrial septal defect, a common atrioventricular valve and a variable deficiency of the ventricular septum inflow. CAVC is an uncommon congenital heart disease, accounting for about 3% of cardiac malformations. Atrioventricular canal occurs in two out of every 10,000 live births. Both sexes are equally affected and a striking association with Down syndrome was found. Depending on the morphology of the superior leaflet of the common atrioventricular valve, 3 types of CAVC have been delineated (type A, B and C, according to Rastelli's classification. CAVC results in a significant interatrial and interventricular systemic-to-pulmonary shunt, thus inducing right ventricular pressure and volume overload and pulmonary hypertension. It becomes symptomatic in infancy due to congestive heart failure and failure to thrive. Diagnosis of CAVC might be suspected from electrocardiographic and chest X-ray findings. Echocardiography confirms it and gives anatomical details. Over time, pulmonary hypertension becomes irreversible, thus precluding the surgical therapy. This is the reason why cardiac catheterisation is not mandatory in infants (less than 6 months but is indicated in older patients if irreversible pulmonary hypertension is suspected. Medical treatment (digitalis, diuretics, vasodilators plays a role only as a bridge toward surgery, usually performed between the 3rd and 6th month of life.

Monthly paleostreamflow reconstruction from annual tree-ring chronologies

Science.gov (United States)

Stagge, J. H.; Rosenberg, D. E.; DeRose, R. J.; Rittenour, T. M.

2018-02-01

Paleoclimate reconstructions are increasingly used to characterize annual climate variability prior to the instrumental record, to improve estimates of climate extremes, and to provide a baseline for climate-change projections. To date, paleoclimate records have seen limited engineering use to estimate hydrologic risks because water systems models and managers usually require streamflow input at the monthly scale. This study explores the hypothesis that monthly streamflows can be adequately modeled by statistically decomposing annual flow reconstructions. To test this hypothesis, a multiple linear regression model for monthly streamflow reconstruction is presented that expands the set of predictors to include annual streamflow reconstructions, reconstructions of global circulation, and potential differences among regional tree-ring chronologies related to tree species and geographic location. This approach is used to reconstruct 600 years of monthly streamflows at two sites on the Bear and Logan rivers in northern Utah. Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiencies remain above zero (0.26-0.60) for all months except April and Pearson's correlation coefficients (R) are 0.94 and 0.88 for the Bear and Logan rivers, respectively, confirming that the model can adequately reproduce monthly flows during the reference period (10/1942 to 9/2015). Incorporating a flexible transition between the previous and concurrent annual reconstructed flows was the most important factor for model skill. Expanding the model to include global climate indices and regional tree-ring chronologies produced smaller, but still significant improvements in model fit. The model presented here is the only approach currently available to reconstruct monthly streamflows directly from tree-ring chronologies and climate reconstructions, rather than using resampling of the observed record. With reasonable estimates of monthly flow that extend back in time many centuries, water managers can challenge systems models with a

Reconstruction of global gridded monthly sectoral water withdrawals for 1971–2010 and analysis of their spatiotemporal patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Huang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Human water withdrawal has increasingly altered the global water cycle in past decades, yet our understanding of its driving forces and patterns is limited. Reported historical estimates of sectoral water withdrawals are often sparse and incomplete, mainly restricted to water withdrawal estimates available at annual and country scales, due to a lack of observations at seasonal and local scales. In this study, through collecting and consolidating various sources of reported data and developing spatial and temporal statistical downscaling algorithms, we reconstruct a global monthly gridded (0.5° sectoral water withdrawal dataset for the period 1971–2010, which distinguishes six water use sectors, i.e., irrigation, domestic, electricity generation (cooling of thermal power plants, livestock, mining, and manufacturing. Based on the reconstructed dataset, the spatial and temporal patterns of historical water withdrawal are analyzed. Results show that total global water withdrawal has increased significantly during 1971–2010, mainly driven by the increase in irrigation water withdrawal. Regions with high water withdrawal are those densely populated or with large irrigated cropland production, e.g., the United States (US, eastern China, India, and Europe. Seasonally, irrigation water withdrawal in summer for the major crops contributes a large percentage of total annual irrigation water withdrawal in mid- and high-latitude regions, and the dominant season of irrigation water withdrawal is also different across regions. Domestic water withdrawal is mostly characterized by a summer peak, while water withdrawal for electricity generation has a winter peak in high-latitude regions and a summer peak in low-latitude regions. Despite the overall increasing trend, irrigation in the western US and domestic water withdrawal in western Europe exhibit a decreasing trend. Our results highlight the distinct spatial pattern of human water use by sectors at

Stimulation Technologies for Deep Well Completions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2003-09-30

The Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring the Deep Trek Program targeted at improving the economics of drilling and completing deep gas wells. Under the DOE program, Pinnacle Technologies is conducting a study to evaluate the stimulation of deep wells. The objective of the project is to assess U.S. deep well drilling & stimulation activity, review rock mechanics & fracture growth in deep, high pressure/temperature wells and evaluate stimulation technology in several key deep plays. An assessment of historical deep gas well drilling activity and forecast of future trends was completed during the first six months of the project; this segment of the project was covered in Technical Project Report No. 1. The second progress report covers the next six months of the project during which efforts were primarily split between summarizing rock mechanics and fracture growth in deep reservoirs and contacting operators about case studies of deep gas well stimulation.

Marathon Month Promotes Healthful Lifestyles for Extension Employees

Science.gov (United States)

Donaldson, Joseph L.; Bell, Beth A.; Toman, John J.; Hastings, Shirley

2016-01-01

This article describes Marathon Month, a workplace wellness program for Extension employees. The program promoted physical activity by challenging employees to walk or run the length of a marathon (26.2 mi) or half marathon (13.1 mi) over the course of 1 month. Of the 317 participants, 90% achieved a self-set goal of completing a full or half…

Diagnostic outcome following routine genetics clinic referral for the assessment of global developmental delay.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Shahdadpuri, R

2012-02-01

The aim of this study was to ascertain the diagnostic yield following a routine genetics clinic referral for the assessment of global developmental delay. Detailed retrospective review of 119 complete consecutive case notes of patients referred to one single clinical geneticist over a 14 month time period was undertaken (n = 119; 54 males, 65 females). The age at initial review ranged from 2 months to 37 years 3 months (mean 8 y 3 mo [SD 7 y 10 mo]). We made a diagnosis in 36\\/119 (30%); 21\\/36 were new diagnoses and 15\\/36 were confirmations of diagnoses. We removed a wrong diagnostic label in 8\\/119 (7%). In 3\\/8 we were able to achieve a diagnosis but in 5\\/8 no alternative diagnosis was reached. We had a better diagnostic rate where the patients were dysmorphic (odds ratio [OR] 1.825; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.065 to 3.128, p = 0.044). In the majority, the diagnosis was made by clinical examination only. Molecular diagnosis was reached in seven cases. Five cases were confirmed by cytogenetic analysis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a diagnosis in three cases. This study confirms the importance of a clinical genetics assessment in the investigation of global developmental delay.

Atlas of the global distribution of atmospheric heating during the global weather experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Schaack, Todd K.; Johnson, Donald R.

1991-01-01

Global distributions of atmospheric heating for the annual cycle of the Global Weather Experiment are estimated from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Level 3b data set. Distributions of monthly, seasonally, and annually averaged heating are presented for isentropic and isobaric layers within the troposphere and for the troposphere as a whole. The distributions depict a large-scale structure of atmospheric heating that appears spatially and temporally consistent with known features of the global circulation and the seasonal evolution.

Development of phonological constancy: 19-month-olds, but not 15-month-olds, identify words in a non-native regional accent.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulak, Karen E; Best, Catherine T; Tyler, Michael D; Kitamura, Christine; Irwin, Julia R

2013-01-01

By 12 months, children grasp that a phonetic change to a word can change its identity (phonological distinctiveness). However, they must also grasp that some phonetic changes do not (phonological constancy). To test development of phonological constancy, sixteen 15-month-olds and sixteen 19-month-olds completed an eye-tracking task that tracked their gaze to named versus unnamed images for familiar words spoken in their native (Australian) and an unfamiliar non-native (Jamaican) regional accent of English. Both groups looked longer at named than unnamed images for Australian pronunciations, but only 19-month-olds did so for Jamaican pronunciations, indicating that phonological constancy emerges by 19 months. Vocabulary size predicted 15-month-olds' identifications for the Jamaican pronunciations, suggesting vocabulary growth is a viable predictor for phonological constancy development. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

YB0 SERVICES INSTALLATION COMPLETED

CERN Document Server

The beauty of the completed YB0 was briefly visible at P5 as preparations continue for Tracker installation. A tremendous effort, lasting 7 months and involving more than 100 workers on the busiest days, resulted in 5700 electrical cables, 780 optical cables with 65k fibre channels, and 550 pipes laid on YB0 for HB, EB and Tracker.

Global warming without global mean precipitation increase?

Science.gov (United States)

Salzmann, Marc

2016-06-01

Global climate models simulate a robust increase of global mean precipitation of about 1.5 to 2% per kelvin surface warming in response to greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing. Here, it is shown that the sensitivity to aerosol cooling is robust as well, albeit roughly twice as large. This larger sensitivity is consistent with energy budget arguments. At the same time, it is still considerably lower than the 6.5 to 7% K(-1) decrease of the water vapor concentration with cooling from anthropogenic aerosol because the water vapor radiative feedback lowers the hydrological sensitivity to anthropogenic forcings. When GHG and aerosol forcings are combined, the climate models with a realistic 20th century warming indicate that the global mean precipitation increase due to GHG warming has, until recently, been completely masked by aerosol drying. This explains the apparent lack of sensitivity of the global mean precipitation to the net global warming recently found in observations. As the importance of GHG warming increases in the future, a clear signal will emerge.

A Global Precipitation Perspective on Persistent Extratropical Flow Anomalies

Science.gov (United States)

Huffman, George J.; Adler, Robert F.; Bolvin, David T.

1999-01-01

Two globally-complete, observation-only precipitation datasets have recently been developed for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Both depend heavily on a variety of satellite input, as well as gauge data over land. The first, Version 2 x 79, provides monthly estimates on a 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg lat/long grid for the period 1979 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). The second, the One-Degree Daily (1DD), provides daily estimates on a 1 deg x 1 deg grid for the period 1997 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). Both are in beta test preparatory to release as official GPCP products. These datasets provide a unique perspective on the hydrological effects of the various atmospheric flow anomalies that have been identified by meteorologists. In this paper we discuss the regional precipitation effects that result from persistent extratropical flow anomalies. We will focus on the Pacific-North America (PNA) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) patterns. Each characteristically becomes established on synoptic time scales, but then persists for periods that can exceed a month. The onset phase of each appears to have systematic mobile features, while the mature phase tend to be more stationary. Accordingly, composites of monthly data for outstanding positive and negative events (separately) contained in the 20-year record reveal the climatological structure of the precipitation during the mature phase. The climatological anomalies of the positive, negative, and (positive-negative) composites show the expected storm-track-related shifts in precipitation, and provide the advantage of putting the known precipitation effects over land in the context of the total pattern over land and ocean. As well, this global perspective points out some unexpected areas of correlation. Day-by-day composites of daily data anchored to the onset date demonstrate the systematic features during the onset. Although the 1DD has a fairly short record, some

World Gravity Map: a set of global complete spherical Bouguer and isostatic anomaly maps and grids

Science.gov (United States)

Bonvalot, S.; Balmino, G.; Briais, A.; Kuhn, M.; Peyrefitte, A.; Vales, N.; Biancale, R.; Gabalda, G.; Reinquin, F.

2012-04-01

We present here a set of digital maps of the Earth's gravity anomalies (surface free air, Bouguer and isostatic), computed at Bureau Gravimetric International (BGI) as a contribution to the Global Geodetic Observing Systems (GGOS) and to the global geophysical maps published by the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) with support of UNESCO and other institutions. The Bouguer anomaly concept is extensively used in geophysical interpretation to investigate the density distributions in the Earth's interior. Complete Bouguer anomalies (including terrain effects) are usually computed at regional scales by integrating the gravity attraction of topography elements over and beyond a given area (under planar or spherical approximations). Here, we developed and applied a worldwide spherical approach aimed to provide a set of homogeneous and high resolution gravity anomaly maps and grids computed at the Earth's surface, taking into account a realistic Earth model and reconciling geophysical and geodetic definitions of gravity anomalies. This first version (1.0) has been computed by spherical harmonics analysis / synthesis of the Earth's topography-bathymetry up to degree 10800. The detailed theory of the spherical harmonics approach is given in Balmino et al., (Journal of Geodesy, 2011). The Bouguer and terrain corrections have thus been computed in spherical geometry at 1'x1' resolution using the ETOPO1 topography/bathymetry, ice surface and bedrock models from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and taking into account precise characteristics (boundaries and densities) of major lakes, inner seas, polar caps and of land areas below sea level. Isostatic corrections have been computed according to the Airy-Heiskanen model in spherical geometry for a constant depth of compensation of 30km. The gravity information given here is provided by the Earth Geopotential Model (EGM2008), developed at degree 2160 by the National Geospatial

Average monthly and annual climate maps for Bolivia

KAUST Repository

Vicente-Serrano, Sergio M.; El Kenawy, Ahmed M.; Azorin-Molina, Cesar; Chura, O.; Trujillo, F.; Aguilar, Enric; Martí n-Herná ndez, Natalia; Ló pez-Moreno, Juan Ignacio; Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo; Morá n-Tejeda, Enrique; Revuelto, Jesú s; Ycaza, P.; Friend, F.

2015-01-01

This study presents monthly and annual climate maps for relevant hydroclimatic variables in Bolivia. We used the most complete network of precipitation and temperature stations available in Bolivia, which passed a careful quality control

Global high-resolution monthly pCO2 climatology for the coastal ocean derived from neural network interpolation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. G. Laruelle

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In spite of the recent strong increase in the number of measurements of the partial pressure of CO2 in the surface ocean (pCO2, the air–sea CO2 balance of the continental shelf seas remains poorly quantified. This is a consequence of these regions remaining strongly under-sampled in both time and space and of surface pCO2 exhibiting much higher temporal and spatial variability in these regions compared to the open ocean. Here, we use a modified version of a two-step artificial neural network method (SOM-FFN; Landschützer et al., 2013 to interpolate the pCO2 data along the continental margins with a spatial resolution of 0.25° and with monthly resolution from 1998 to 2015. The most important modifications compared to the original SOM-FFN method are (i the much higher spatial resolution and (ii the inclusion of sea ice and wind speed as predictors of pCO2. The SOM-FFN is first trained with pCO2 measurements extracted from the SOCATv4 database. Then, the validity of our interpolation, in both space and time, is assessed by comparing the generated pCO2 field with independent data extracted from the LDVEO2015 database. The new coastal pCO2 product confirms a previously suggested general meridional trend of the annual mean pCO2 in all the continental shelves with high values in the tropics and dropping to values beneath those of the atmosphere at higher latitudes. The monthly resolution of our data product permits us to reveal significant differences in the seasonality of pCO2 across the ocean basins. The shelves of the western and northern Pacific, as well as the shelves in the temperate northern Atlantic, display particularly pronounced seasonal variations in pCO2,  while the shelves in the southeastern Atlantic and in the southern Pacific reveal a much smaller seasonality. The calculation of temperature normalized pCO2 for several latitudes in different oceanic basins confirms that the seasonality in shelf pCO2 cannot solely be explained by

SCT Barrel Assembly Complete

CERN Multimedia

L. Batchelor

As reported in the April 2005 issue of the ATLAS eNews, the first of the four Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) barrels, complete with modules and services, arrived safely at CERN in January of 2005. In the months since January, the other three completed barrels arrived as well, and integration of the four barrels into the entire barrel assembly commenced at CERN, in the SR1 building on the ATLAS experimental site, in July. Assembly was completed on schedule in September, with the addition of the innermost layer to the 4-barrel assembly. Work is now underway to seal the barrel thermal enclosure. This is necessary in order to enclose the silicon tracker in a nitrogen atmosphere and provide it with faraday-cage protection, and is a delicate and complicated task: 352 silicon module powertapes, 352 readout-fibre bundles, and over 400 Detector Control System sensors must be carefully sealed into the thermal enclosure bulkhead. The team is currently verifying the integrity of the low mass cooling system, which must be d...

GPM, TRMM, GMI,TMI Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling V03

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

self-limiting complete feed changes forage intake and animal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Rangeland or hay-based finishing systems often do not allow kids to reach slaughter weights of 30 - 50 kg by 12 months. This study determined the effects of a complete feed (CF) and a self-limiting complete feed (LCF) alone or in combination with ad libitum access to sorghum-sudan hay (SS) on average daily gain (ADG) ...

Feasibility of sequential adjuvant chemotherapy with a 3-month oxaliplatin-based regimen followed by 3 months of capecitabine in patients with stage III and high-risk stage II colorectal cancer: JSWOG-C2 study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuruta, Atsushi; Yamashita, Kazuki; Tanioka, Hiroaki; Tsuji, Akihito; Inukai, Michio; Yamakawa, Toshiki; Yamatsuji, Tomoki; Yoshimitsu, Masanori; Toyota, Kazuhiro; Yamano, Taketoshi; Nagasaka, Takeshi; Okajima, Masazumi

2016-01-01

Six months of oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard adjuvant chemotherapy for completely resected stage III colorectal cancer (CRC). Also, patients with stage II CRC who are considered to be at high risk of disease recurrence often receive the same adjuvant chemotherapy treatment. We prospectively investigated the extent and degree of neuropathy suffered by stage III and high-risk stage II resectable CRC patients who underwent sequential approach involving 3 months of an oxaliplatin-based regimen followed by 3 months of capecitabine. Patients with completely resected stage III and high-risk stage II CRC aged ≥20 years were eligible. Patients were treated with folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) or capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) for 3 months followed by capecitabine (2,500 mg/m 2 on days 1-14 every 3 weeks) for 3 months. Primary end points were frequency and the grade of oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity as evaluated using the physician-based Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0 (CTCAE) grading and the patient-based scale, self-reported Patient Neurotoxicity Questionnaire. Ninety-one patients were enrolled and 86 patients assessed. Eighty-four percent of patients completed the planned oxaliplatin-based therapy for 3 months, and 63% of patients completed all treatments for the full 6 months. Overall incidences of grade 3 or 4 peripheral sensory or motor neuropathy according to the CTCAE were 3.5% and 1.2%, respectively. Regarding the peripheral sensory neuropathy, the proportion of Patient Neurotoxicity Questionnaire (grade C-E) and CTCAE (grade 2-4) at months 1.5/3/6 were 11.3/22.1/29.4% and 5.3/4.4/11.3%, respectively (Spearman correlation coefficient: 0.47). A sequential approach to adjuvant chemotherapy with 3 months of an oxaliplatin-based regimen followed by 3 months of capecitabine was tolerated by patients and associated with a low incidence of neuropathy.

Complete colonic duplication in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Khaleghnejad Tabari, Ahmad; Mirshemirani, Alireza; Khaleghnejad Tabari, Nasibeh

2012-01-01

Complete colonic duplication is a very rare congenital anomaly that may have different presentations according to its location and size. Complete colonic duplication can occur in 15% of gastrointestinal duplication. We report two cases of complete colonic duplications, and their characteristics. We present two patients with complete colonic duplication with different types and presentations. Case 1: A 2- year old boy presented to the clinic with abdominal protrusion, difficulty to defecate, chronic constipation and mucosal prolaps covered bulging (rectocele) since he was 6 months old. The patient had palpable pelvic mass with doughy consistency. Rectal exam confirmed perirectal mass with soft consistency. The patient underwent a surgical operation that had total tubular colorectal duplication with one blind end and was treated with simple fenestration of distal end, and was discharged without complication. After two years follow up, he had normal defecation and good weight gain. Case 2: A 2 -day old infant was referred with imperforate anus and complete duplication of recto-sigmoid colon, diphallus, double bladder, and hypospadiasis. After clinical and paraclinical investigations, he underwent operations in several stages in different periods, and was discharged without complications. After four years follow up, he led a normal life. The patients with complete duplication have to be examined carefully because of the high incidence of other systemic anomalies. Treatment includes simple resection of distal common wall, fenestration, and repair other associated anomalies.

Average monthly and annual climate maps for Bolivia

KAUST Repository

Vicente-Serrano, Sergio M.

2015-02-24

This study presents monthly and annual climate maps for relevant hydroclimatic variables in Bolivia. We used the most complete network of precipitation and temperature stations available in Bolivia, which passed a careful quality control and temporal homogenization procedure. Monthly average maps at the spatial resolution of 1 km were modeled by means of a regression-based approach using topographic and geographic variables as predictors. The monthly average maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation and potential exoatmospheric solar radiation under clear sky conditions are used to estimate the monthly average atmospheric evaporative demand by means of the Hargreaves model. Finally, the average water balance is estimated on a monthly and annual scale for each 1 km cell by means of the difference between precipitation and atmospheric evaporative demand. The digital layers used to create the maps are available in the digital repository of the Spanish National Research Council.

Determinants of defaulting from completion of child immunization in Laelay Adiabo District, Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia: A case-control study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hailay Gebretnsae Aregawi

Full Text Available Globally 2.5 million children under five years of age die every year due to vaccine preventable diseases. In Tigray Region in Northern Ethiopia, full vaccination coverage in children is low. However, the determinants of defaulting from completion of immunization have not been studied in depth. This study aimed to identify the determinants of defaulting from child immunization completion among children aged 9-23 months in the Laelay Adiabo District, North Ethiopia.An unmatched community based case-control study design was conducted among children aged 9-23 months in the Laelay Adiabo District from February-March 2015. A survey was conducted to identify the existence of cases and controls. Two hundred and seventy children aged 9-23 months (90 cases and 180 controls were recruited from 11 kebeles (the smallest administrative units by a simple random sampling technique using computer based Open Epi software. Cases were children aged 9-23 months who missed at least one dose of the recommended vaccine. Controls were children aged 9-23 months who had received all recommended vaccines. Data were collected from mothers/care givers using structured pretested questionnaire. The data were entered into Epi Info version 3.5.1 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21. Bivariate and Multiple logistic regression analysis were used to identify the predictors of the outcome variable. The degree of association was assessed by using odds ratio with 95% Confidence Interval (CI.This study shows that mothers who take >30 minutes to reach the vaccination site (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR = 3.56,95%CI:1.58-8.01; households not visited by health extension workers at least monthly (AOR = 2.68,95%CI:1.30-5.51; poor participation in women's developmental groups (AOR = 3.3,95%CI 1.54-7.08; no postnatal care follow-up (AOR = 5.2,95%CI:2.36-11.46; and poor knowledge of child immunization (AOR = 3.3,95%CI:1.87-7.43 were predictors of defaulting

The Global Economic Crisis and the Global Accumulation of Capital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wojciech Błasiak

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The article presents a thesis that the current global economic crisis is the Second Great Depression, after the First Great Depression of the 30s. This is a global crisis of capital accumulation, which is caused by insufficient global demand. The author analy - ses the theoretical output of John Maynard Keynes, Michał Kalecki, Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy. The post-war „Golden Age” of the capitalist economy ended in 1973 with a de - ep stag flation of the 70s and 80s. Capitals searching for profitable investment, started to be invested in financial speculation, growing since the 80s. This speculation was enabled on a global scale by the Washington Consensus in the 90s. The explosion of financializa - tion of the global economy began. The author presents the analyses of Paul Sweezy and Harry Magdoff, who argued that this was financialization of global accumulation of ca - pital in a form of world financial speculation. This process was completed by the finan - cial crash in 2008, which was the implosion of global speculative balloons. Economics and global economic policy faced challenges of creating new world economic order.

AMSU/MSU LOWTROPO DAY/MONTH TEMP ANOMALIES AND ANNUAL CYCLE V5

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global lower tropospheric temperatures are derived from a series of microwave sounding instruments flown on a series of satellites. Daily Zonal and Monthly...

AMSU/MSU LOWSTRAT DAY/MONTH TEMP ANOMALIES AND ANNUAL CYCLE V5

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global lower stratospheric temperatures are derived from a series of microwave sounding instruments flown on a series of satellites. Daily Zonal and Monthly...

Effect of microwave cured acrylic resin on candidal growth in complete denture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmy, A.H.M.

2009-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of heat-cured acrylic resin denture base and microwave-cured acrylic resin denture base on candidal growth . Seven completely edentulous male patients with on history of denture wearing participated in this study. all the selected patients were re-habilitated by mucosa supported complete dentures .The dentures were constructed from conventional heat-cured acrylic resin denture base following monoplane concept of occlusion. Before dismissing the patients and one month after denture insertion, salivary samples were collected according to oral rinse technique. one month resting period was allowed so as candidal count can reach to normal, then dentures were re based using microwave-cured acrylic denture base, before denture insertion and one month after denture insertion, salivary sample were collected before and one month following the same oral rinse technique.

Training new operators - the first six months

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Worthel, B.; /Fermilab

2010-04-01

The Fermilab Operations Department takes about two years to train a new Operator. The Operator's introductory (Concepts) On-the-Job-Training (OJT) gives him or her an overview of the laboratory, teaches the basic facts about all the accelerators, and it also teaches the new operator the training process used for all the rest of their OJT training. The Concepts OJT takes about four to six months for most people to complete. This paper will explain how this first six months of training sets the new employee on their path to becoming a fully trained Operator.

Training new operators - the first six months

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worthel, B.

2010-01-01

The Fermilab Operations Department takes about two years to train a new Operator. The Operator's introductory (Concepts) On-the-Job-Training (OJT) gives him or her an overview of the laboratory, teaches the basic facts about all the accelerators, and it also teaches the new operator the training process used for all the rest of their OJT training. The Concepts OJT takes about four to six months for most people to complete. This paper will explain how this first six months of training sets the new employee on their path to becoming a fully trained Operator.

Reversible chronic acquired complete atrioventricular block.

Science.gov (United States)

Rakovec, P; Milcinski, G; Voga, G; Korsic, L

1982-01-01

The return of atrioventricular conduction is reported in a case after nearly four years of complete acquired heart block. After recovery from atrioventricular block, right bundle branch block persisted, but P-R interval and H-V interval were normal. Three months later a relapse of second degree infranodal atrioventricular block was noted. A short review of similar cases from the literature is given.

Evaluation of global solar radiation models for Shanghai, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, Wanxiang; Li, Zhengrong; Wang, Yuyan; Jiang, Fujian; Hu, Lingzhou

2014-01-01

Highlights: • 108 existing models are compared and analyzed by 42 years meteorological data. • Fitting models based on measured data are established according to 42 years data. • All models are compared by recently 10 years meteorological data. • The results show that polynomial models are the most accurate models. - Abstract: In this paper, 89 existing monthly average daily global solar radiation models and 19 existing daily global solar radiation models are compared and analyzed by 42 years meteorological data. The results show that for existing monthly average daily global solar radiation models, linear models and polynomial models have been able to estimate global solar radiation accurately, and complex equation types cannot obviously improve the precision. Considering direct parameters such as latitude, altitude, solar altitude and sunshine duration can help improve the accuracy of the models, but indirect parameters cannot. For existing daily global solar radiation models, multi-parameter models are more accurate than single-parameter models, polynomial models are more accurate than linear models. Then measured data fitting monthly average daily global solar radiation models (MADGSR models) and daily global solar radiation models (DGSR models) are established according to 42 years meteorological data. Finally, existing models and fitting models based on measured data are comparative analysis by recent 10 years meteorological data, and the results show that polynomial models (MADGSR model 2, DGSR model 2 and Maduekwe model 2) are the most accurate models

GPM, METOP-A, GMI,MHS Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling V03

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

GPM, METOP-B, GMI,MHS Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling V03

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

GPM, F16,GMI,SSMI Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling V03

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

GPM, F17,GMI,SSMI Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling V03

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

GPM, F18,GMI,SSMI Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling V03

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

GPM, NOAA18, GMI,MHS Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling V03

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

GPM, TRMM, GMI,TMI Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling VV03B

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

Performance of Sayigh's universal formula in the estimation of global solar radiation in Ghana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oduro Afriyie, K.

1995-10-01

The performance of Sayigh's universal formula for the estimation of global solar radiation is tested against that of Angstrom-Black model for 13 stations in Ghana, using monthly mean daily global solar radiation averaged over the years 1957-1981. Sayigh's model is found not to perform as credibility as the Angstrom-Black model in the estimation of monthly global solar radiation in Ghana. Of the 156 values of monthly global solar radiation estimated by Sayigh's model, 123 (or 78.8%) had discrepancies of more than 10% with the measured values. The corresponding value for the Angstrom-Black model was 7 (or 4.5%). (author). 5 refs

Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST) Monthly Analysis, Version 3b

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Version 3b (v3b) of the Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST) dataset is a monthly SST analysis on a 2-degree global grid based on the International...

A controlled trial of Partners in Dementia Care: veteran outcomes after six and twelve months.

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, David M; Judge, Katherine S; Snow, A Lynn; Wilson, Nancy L; Morgan, Robert O; Maslow, Katie; Randazzo, Ronda; Moye, Jennifer A; Odenheimer, Germaine L; Archambault, Elizabeth; Elbein, Richard; Pirraglia, Paul; Teasdale, Thomas A; McCarthy, Catherine A; Looman, Wendy J; Kunik, Mark E

2014-01-01

"Partners in Dementia Care" (PDC) tested the effectiveness of a care-coordination program integrating healthcare and community services and supporting veterans with dementia and their caregivers. Delivered via partnerships between Veterans Affairs medical centers and Alzheimer's Association chapters, PDC targeted both patients and caregivers, distinguishing it from many non-pharmacological interventions. Hypotheses posited PDC would improve five veteran self-reported outcomes: 1) unmet need, 2) embarrassment about memory problems, 3) isolation, 4) relationship strain and 5) depression. Greater impact was expected for more impaired veterans. A unique feature was self-reported research data collected from veterans with dementia. Five matched communities were study sites. Two randomly selected sites received PDC for 12 months; comparison sites received usual care. Three structured telephone interviews were completed every 6 months with veterans who could participate. Of 508 consenting veterans, 333 (65.6%) completed baseline interviews. Among those who completed baseline interviews, 263 (79.0%) completed 6-month follow-ups and 194 (58.3%) completed 12-month follow-ups. Regression analyses showed PDC veterans had significantly less adverse outcomes than those receiving usual care, particularly for more impaired veterans after 6 months, including reduced relationship strain (B = -0.09; p = 0.05), depression (B = -0.10; p = 0.03), and unmet need (B = -0.28; p = 0.02; and B = -0.52; p = 0.08). PDC veterans also had less embarrassment about memory problems (B = -0.24; p = 0.08). At 12 months, more impaired veterans had further reductions in unmet need (B = -0.96; p needs and improve the psychosocial functioning of persons with dementia. NCT00291161.

The Global Precipitation Patterns Associated with Short-Term Extratropical Climate Fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Huffman, George J.; Adler, Robert F.; Bolvin, David T.

1999-01-01

Two globally-complete, observation-only precipitation datasets have recently been developed for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Both depend heavily on a variety of satellite input, as well as gauge data over land. The first, Version 2x79, provides monthly estimates on a 2.5 deg. x 2.5 deg. lat/long grid for the period 1979 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). The second, the One-Degree Daily (1DD), provides daily estimates on a 1 deg. x l deg. grid for the period 1997 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). Both are in beta test preparatory to release as official GPCP products. These datasets provide a unique perspective on the hydrological effects of the various atmospheric flow anomalies that have been identified by meteorologists. In this paper we discuss the regional precipitation effects that result from persistent extratropical flow anomalies. We will focus on the Pacific-North America (PNA) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) patterns. Each characteristically becomes established on synoptic time scales, but then persists for periods that can exceed a month. The onset phase of each appears to have systematic mobile features, while the mature phase tend to be more stationary. Accordingly, composites of monthly data for outstanding positive and negative events (separately) contained in the 20-year record reveal the climatological structure of the precipitation during the mature phase. The climatological anomalies of the positive, negative, and (positive-negative) composites show the expected storm-track-related shifts in precipitation, and provide the advantage of putting the known precipitation effects over land in the context of the total pattern over land and ocean. As well, this global perspective points out some unexpected areas of correlation. Day-by-day composites of daily data anchored to the onset date demonstrate the systematic features during the onset. Although the 1DD has a fairly short record, some

MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V005

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global MODIS vegetation indices are designed to provide consistent spatial and temporal comparisons of vegetation conditions. Blue, red, and near-infrared...

MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V005

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global MODIS vegetation indices are designed to provide consistent spatial and temporal comparisons of vegetation conditions. Blue, red, and near-infrared...

MODIS/Aqua Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V005

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global MODIS vegetation indices are designed to provide consistent spatial and temporal comparisons of vegetation conditions. Blue, red, and near-infrared...

Developing Global Nurse Influencers.

Science.gov (United States)

Spies, Lori A

2016-01-01

How can universities create engaged citizens and global leaders? Each year, a select group of advanced practice nursing students at Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing travel to Africa for a month-long clinical mission experience. Students work alongside local and missionary healthcare providers in a comprehensive Christian outreach to the community at a high-volume clinic. Creating rich learning experiences in a global setting in significant and sustainable ways is difficult, but intentionally focusing on what we are called to do and who we serve provides ballast for faculty and students. The success of the trip in preparing students to be global influencers is evident by the work graduates elect to do around the world, following graduation.

EIA completes corrections to drilling estimates series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trapmann, W.; Shambaugh, P.

1998-01-01

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has published monthly and annual estimates of US oil and gas drilling activity since 1978. These data are key information for many industry analysts, serving as a leading indicator of trends in the industry and a barometer of general industry status. They are assessed directly for trends, as well as in combination with other measures to assess the productivity and profitability of upstream industry operations. They are major reference points for federal and state policymakers. EIA does not itself collect drilling activity data. Instead, it relies on an external source for data on oil, bas, and dry well completions. These data are provided to EIA monthly on an as reported basis. During a recent effort to enhance EIA's well completion data system, the detection of unusual patterns in the well completion data as received led to an expanded examination of these data. Substantial discrepancies between the data as received by EIA and correct record counts since 1987 were identified. For total wells by year, the errors ranged up to more than 2,300 wells, 11% of the 1995 total, and the impact of these errors extended backward in time to at least the early 1980s. When the magnitude and extent of the as reported well completion data problem were confirmed, EIA suspended its publication and distribution of updated drilling data. EIA staff proceeded to acquire replacement files with the as reported records and then revise the statistical portion of its drilling data system to reflect the new information. The replacement files unfortunately also included erroneous data based on the improper allocation of wells between exploration and development. EIA has now resolved the two data problems and generated revised time series estimates for well completions and footage drilled. The paper describes the problems in the data, differences between the series, and maintaining future data quality

Quantifying biological integrity by taxonomic completeness: its utility in regional and global assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Charles P

2006-08-01

Water resources managers and conservation biologists need reliable, quantitative, and directly comparable methods for assessing the biological integrity of the world's aquatic ecosystems. Large-scale assessments are constrained by the lack of consistency in the indicators used to assess biological integrity and our current inability to translate between indicators. In theory, assessments based on estimates of taxonomic completeness, i.e., the proportion of expected taxa that were observed (observed/expected, O/E) are directly comparable to one another and should therefore allow regionally and globally consistent summaries of the biological integrity of freshwater ecosystems. However, we know little about the true comparability of O/E assessments derived from different data sets or how well O/E assessments perform relative to other indicators in use. I compared the performance (precision, bias, and sensitivity to stressors) of O/E assessments based on five different data sets with the performance of the indicators previously applied to these data (three multimetric indices, a biotic index, and a hybrid method used by the state of Maine). Analyses were based on data collected from U.S. stream ecosystems in North Carolina, the Mid-Atlantic Highlands, Maine, and Ohio. O/E assessments resulted in very similar estimates of mean regional conditions compared with most other indicators once these indicators' values were standardized relative to reference-site means. However, other indicators tended to be biased estimators of O/E, a consequence of differences in their response to natural environmental gradients and sensitivity to stressors. These results imply that, in some cases, it may be possible to compare assessments derived from different indicators by standardizing their values (a statistical approach to data harmonization). In situations where it is difficult to standardize or otherwise harmonize two or more indicators, O/E values can easily be derived from existing

Monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin, and minocycline therapy for generalized and localized granuloma annulare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shilpa Garg

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The localized form of granuloma annulare is usually self-limiting, resolving within 2 years. Generalized granuloma annulare, on the other hand, runs a protracted course, with spontaneous resolution being rare. It is also characterized by a later age of onset, an increased incidence of diabetes mellitus, poor response to therapy, and an increased prevalence of HLA Bw35. Objective: To assess the efficacy of monthly pulsed rifampicin, ofloxacin, and minocycline (ROM therapy in the management of granuloma annulare. Methods : Six biopsy proven patients of granuloma annulare were included in the study, five of the generalized variety, and one localized. Three of these patients were resistant to standard modalities of treatment. All six patients were treated with pulses of once monthly ROM till complete resolution of all lesions. Results were analyzed in terms of complete resolution of lesions and side effects. Presence of comorbid conditions was noted. Result: All six patients were successfully treated with 4-8 pulses of monthly ROM. None of the patients reported any adverse effects. Limitations: Small sample size and the lack of a control group are limitations. Conclusion: Treatment with pulses of once monthly ROM caused complete resolution of lesions in both localized and generalized granuloma annulare, even in cases recalcitrant to conventional therapy. There were no side effects in any of the patients. Larger trials are needed to substantiate the efficacy of monthly ROM in granuloma annulare.

Generalized global symmetries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaiotto, Davide; Kapustin, Anton; Seiberg, Nathan; Willett, Brian

2015-01-01

A q-form global symmetry is a global symmetry for which the charged operators are of space-time dimension q; e.g. Wilson lines, surface defects, etc., and the charged excitations have q spatial dimensions; e.g. strings, membranes, etc. Many of the properties of ordinary global symmetries (q=0) apply here. They lead to Ward identities and hence to selection rules on amplitudes. Such global symmetries can be coupled to classical background fields and they can be gauged by summing over these classical fields. These generalized global symmetries can be spontaneously broken (either completely or to a subgroup). They can also have ’t Hooft anomalies, which prevent us from gauging them, but lead to ’t Hooft anomaly matching conditions. Such anomalies can also lead to anomaly inflow on various defects and exotic Symmetry Protected Topological phases. Our analysis of these symmetries gives a new unified perspective of many known phenomena and uncovers new results.

Irradiation of the hypothalamic-hypophyseal area induces complete regression of mucocutaneous lesions in disseminated histiocytosis X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palmieri, G.; Stefani, S.; Gridelli, C.; Conte, A.; Airoma, G.; Contegiacomo, A.; Bianco, A.R.

1989-01-01

We report on a 54-year-old woman with disseminated histiocytosis X who had a complete regression of all mucocutaneous lesions within 1 month from the completion of radiation therapy (4500 cGy) to the hypothalamic-hypophyseal (H-H) area. This response lasted 12 months, after which new cutaneous and bone lesions appeared

Increasing Completion Rate of an M4 Emergency Medicine Student End-of-Shift Evaluation Using a Mobile Electronic Platform and Real-Time Completion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew C. Tews

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Medical students on an emergency medicine rotation are traditionally evaluated at the end of each shift with paper-based forms, and data are often missing due to forms not being turned in or completed. Because students’ grades depend on these evaluations, change was needed to increase form rate of return. We analyzed a new electronic evaluation form and modified completion process to determine if it would increase the completion rate without altering how faculty scored student performance. Methods: During fall 2013, 29 faculty completed paper N=339 evaluations consisting of seven competencies for 33 students. In fall 2014, an electronic evaluation form with the same competencies was designed using an electronic platform and completed N=319 times by 27 faculty using 25 students’ electronic devices. Feedback checkboxes were added to facilitate collection of common comments. Data was analyzed with IBM® SPSS® 21.0 using multi-factor analysis of variance with the students’ global rating (GR as an outcome. Inter-item reliability was determined with Cronbach alpha. Results: There was a significantly higher completion rate (p=0.001 of 98% electronic vs. 69% paper forms, lower (p=0.001 missed GR rate (1% electronic. vs 12% paper, and higher mean scores (p=0.001 for the GR with the electronic (7.0±1.1 vs. paper (6.8±1.2 form. Feedback checkboxes were completed on every form. The inter-item reliability for electronic and paper forms was each alpha=0.95. Conclusion: The use of a new electronic form and modified completion process for evaluating students at the end of shift demonstrated a higher faculty completion rate, a lower missed data rate, a higher global rating and consistent collection of common feedback. The use of the electronic form and the process for obtaining the information made our end-of-shift evaluation process for students more reliable and provided more accurate, up-to-date information for student feedback and when

The Scaling LInear Macroweather model (SLIM): using scaling to forecast global scale macroweather from months to decades

Science.gov (United States)

Lovejoy, S.; del Rio Amador, L.; Hébert, R.

2015-03-01

At scales of ≈ 10 days (the lifetime of planetary scale structures), there is a drastic transition from high frequency weather to low frequency macroweather. This scale is close to the predictability limits of deterministic atmospheric models; so that in GCM macroweather forecasts, the weather is a high frequency noise. But neither the GCM noise nor the GCM climate is fully realistic. In this paper we show how simple stochastic models can be developped that use empirical data to force the statistics and climate to be realistic so that even a two parameter model can outperform GCM's for annual global temperature forecasts. The key is to exploit the scaling of the dynamics and the enormous stochastic memories that it implies. Since macroweather intermittency is low, we propose using the simplest model based on fractional Gaussian noise (fGn): the Scaling LInear Macroweather model (SLIM). SLIM is based on a stochastic ordinary differential equations, differing from usual linear stochastic models (such as the Linear Inverse Modelling, LIM) in that it is of fractional rather than integer order. Whereas LIM implicitly assumes there is no low frequency memory, SLIM has a huge memory that can be exploited. Although the basic mathematical forecast problem for fGn has been solved, we approach the problem in an original manner notably using the method of innovations to obtain simpler results on forecast skill and on the size of the effective system memory. A key to successful forecasts of natural macroweather variability is to first remove the low frequency anthropogenic component. A previous attempt to use fGn for forecasts had poor results because this was not done. We validate our theory using hindcasts of global and Northern Hemisphere temperatures at monthly and annual resolutions. Several nondimensional measures of forecast skill - with no adjustable parameters - show excellent agreement with hindcasts and these show some skill even at decadal scales. We also compare

Evaluation and reconstruction of global radiation at Bílý Kříž (the Czech Republic)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marková, I.; Rožnovský, J.; Janouš, D.

2003-01-01

Evaluation of global radiation was performed at the study site of Bílý Kříž (the Moravian-Silesian Beskids Mts, the Czech Republic) during the growing seasons (May-October) in 1991-2000. Radiation conditions were characterized by daily and monthly sums of global radiation. Detailed analysis of global radiation daily sums revealed that they vary considerably with time. Average value of global radiation daily sums calculated after the whole period of seasons 1991-2000 was 13.49 MJ per square m. While seasonal course of monthly averages of global radiation daily sums corresponded to the changes of sun elevation, the average monthly sums of global radiation did not. Average seasonal sum of global radiation at the study site in 1991-2000 was 2483 +/- 141 MJ per square m. Relationship between global radiation daily sums at the Bily Kriz study site and sunshine duration at the nearby site of Lysa hora was described and linear relationship between these two characteristics was confirmed. On the basis of this determined relationship it was possible to reconstruct global radiation daily sums at the study site for a period of forty years (1961-2000). Average of global radiation daily sums calculated for the whole period of seasons from 1961 to 2000 was 9.11 MJ per square m. The highest monthly averages of global radiation daily sums were found in June and July, the lowest in October. It was confirmed that average monthly sums of global radiation did not correspond to the sun elevation even for the long period of 1961-2000. Average seasonal sum of global radiation was 2415 ñ 152 MJ.m-2 in 1961-2000. On average, 40% of extra-terrestrial solar radiation reached the study site during the growing season in 1961-2000

Black holes in loop quantum gravity: the complete space-time.

Science.gov (United States)

Gambini, Rodolfo; Pullin, Jorge

2008-10-17

We consider the quantization of the complete extension of the Schwarzschild space-time using spherically symmetric loop quantum gravity. We find an exact solution corresponding to the semiclassical theory. The singularity is eliminated but the space-time still contains a horizon. Although the solution is known partially numerically and therefore a proper global analysis is not possible, a global structure akin to a singularity-free Reissner-Nordström space-time including a Cauchy horizon is suggested.

GPM, F17,GMI,SSMI Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling VV03B

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

GPM, NOAA19, GMI,MHS Level 3 Monthly GPROF Profiling VV03B

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — 3GPROF products provide global gridded monthly/daily precipitation averages from multiple satellites that can be used for climate studies. The 3GPROF products are...

Global warming and South Indian monsoon rainfall-lessons from the Mid-Miocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Reuter, Markus; Kern, Andrea K; Harzhauser, Mathias; Kroh, Andreas; Piller, Werner E

2013-04-01

Precipitation over India is driven by the Indian monsoon. Although changes in this atmospheric circulation are caused by the differential seasonal diabatic heating of Asia and the Indo-Pacific Ocean, it is so far unknown how global warming influences the monsoon rainfalls regionally. Herein, we present a Miocene pollen flora as the first direct proxy for monsoon over southern India during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum. To identify climatic key parameters, such as mean annual temperature, warmest month temperature, coldest month temperature, mean annual precipitation, mean precipitation during the driest month, mean precipitation during the wettest month and mean precipitation during the warmest month the Coexistence Approach is applied. Irrespective of a ~ 3-4 °C higher global temperature during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum, the results indicate a modern-like monsoonal precipitation pattern contrasting marine proxies which point to a strong decline of Indian monsoon in the Himalaya at this time. Therefore, the strength of monsoon rainfall in tropical India appears neither to be related to global warming nor to be linked with the atmospheric conditions over the Tibetan Plateau. For the future it implies that increased global warming does not necessarily entail changes in the South Indian monsoon rainfall.

Monthly fluctuations of insomnia symptoms in a population-based sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Morin, Charles M; Leblanc, M; Ivers, H; Bélanger, L; Mérette, Chantal; Savard, Josée; Jarrin, Denise C

2014-02-01

To document the monthly changes in sleep/insomnia status over a 12-month period; to determine the optimal time intervals to reliably capture new incident cases and recurrent episodes of insomnia and the likelihood of its persistence over time. Participants were 100 adults (mean age = 49.9 years; 66% women) randomly selected from a larger population-based sample enrolled in a longitudinal study of the natural history of insomnia. They completed 12 monthly telephone interviews assessing insomnia, use of sleep aids, stressful life events, and physical and mental health problems in the previous month. A total of 1,125 interviews of a potential 1,200 were completed. Based on data collected at each assessment, participants were classified into one of three subgroups: good sleepers, insomnia symptoms, and insomnia syndrome. At baseline, 42 participants were classified as good sleepers, 34 met criteria for insomnia symptoms, and 24 for an insomnia syndrome. There were significant fluctuations of insomnia over time, with 66% of the participants changing sleep status at least once over the 12 monthly assessments (51.5% for good sleepers, 59.5% for insomnia syndrome, and 93.4% for insomnia symptoms). Changes of status were more frequent among individuals with insomnia symptoms at baseline (mean = 3.46, SD = 2.36) than among those initially classified as good sleepers (mean = 2.12, SD = 2.70). Among the subgroup with insomnia symptoms at baseline, 88.3% reported improved sleep (i.e., became good sleepers) at least once over the 12 monthly assessments compared to 27.7% whose sleep worsened (i.e., met criteria for an insomnia syndrome) during the same period. Among individuals classified as good sleepers at baseline, risks of developing insomnia symptoms and syndrome over the subsequent months were, respectively, 48.6% and 14.5%. Monthly assessment over an interval of 6 months was found most reliable to estimate incidence rates, while an interval of 3 months proved the most

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - Global El Niño/Southern Oscillation

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

Application of process improvement principles to increase the frequency of complete airway management documentation.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarty, L Kelsey; Saddawi-Konefka, Daniel; Gargan, Lauren M; Driscoll, William D; Walsh, John L; Peterfreund, Robert A

2014-12-01

Process improvement in healthcare delivery settings can be difficult, even when there is consensus among clinicians about a clinical practice or desired outcome. Airway management is a medical intervention fundamental to the delivery of anesthesia care. Like other medical interventions, a detailed description of the management methods should be documented. Despite this expectation, airway documentation is often insufficient. The authors hypothesized that formal adoption of process improvement methods could be used to increase the rate of "complete" airway management documentation. The authors defined a set of criteria as a local practice standard of "complete" airway management documentation. The authors then employed selected process improvement methodologies over 13 months in three iterative and escalating phases to increase the percentage of records with complete documentation. The criteria were applied retrospectively to determine the baseline frequency of complete records, and prospectively to measure the impact of process improvements efforts over the three phases of implementation. Immediately before the initial intervention, a retrospective review of 23,011 general anesthesia cases over 6 months showed that 13.2% of patient records included complete documentation. At the conclusion of the 13-month improvement effort, documentation improved to a completion rate of 91.6% (Pprocess improvement methodologies can improve airway documentation and may be similarly effective in improving other areas of anesthesia clinical practice.

An integrated approach for estimating global glacio isostatic adjustment, land ice, hydrology and ocean mass trends within a complete coupled Earth system framework

Science.gov (United States)

Schumacher, M.; Bamber, J. L.; Martin, A.

2016-12-01

Future sea level rise (SLR) is one of the most serious consequences of climate change. Therefore, understanding the drivers of past sea level change is crucial for improving predictions. SLR integrates many Earth system components including oceans, land ice, terrestrial water storage, as well as solid Earth effects. Traditionally, each component have been tackled separately, which has often lead to inconsistencies between discipline-specific estimates of each part of the sea level budget. To address these issues, the European Research Council has funded a five year project aimed at producing a physically-based, data-driven solution for the complete coupled land-ocean-solid Earth system that is consistent with the full suite of observations, prior knowledge and fundamental geophysical constraints. The project is called "GlobalMass" and based at University of Bristol. Observed mass movement from the GRACE mission plus vertical land motion from a global network of permanent GPS stations will be utilized in a data-driven approach to estimate glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) without introducing any assumptions about the Earth structure or ice loading history. A Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) will be used as the framework to combine the satellite and in-situ observations alongside prior information that incorporates the physics of the coupled system such as conservation of mass and characteristic length scales of different processes in both space and time. The BHM is used to implement a simultaneous solution at a global scale. It will produce a consistent partitioning of the integrated SLR signal into its steric (thermal) and barystatic (mass) component for the satellite era. The latter component is induced by hydrological mass trends and melting of land ice. The BHM was developed and tested on Antarctica, where it has been used to separate surface, ice dynamic and GIA signals simultaneously. We illustrate the approach and concepts with examples from this test case

Coalition for Global Clinical Surgical Education: The Alliance for Global Clinical Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Graf, Jahanara; Cook, Mackenzie; Schecter, Samuel; Deveney, Karen; Hofmann, Paul; Grey, Douglas; Akoko, Larry; Mwanga, Ali; Salum, Kitembo; Schecter, William

Assessment of the effect of the collaborative relationship between the high-income country (HIC) surgical educators of the Alliance for Global Clinical Training (Alliance) and the low-income country surgical educators at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences/Muhimbili National Hospital (MUHAS/MNH), Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, on the clinical global surgery training of the HIC surgical residents participating in the program. A retrospective qualitative analysis of Alliance volunteer HIC faculty and residents' reports, volunteer case lists and the reports of Alliance academic contributions to MUHAS/MNH from 2012 to 2017. In addition, a survey was circulated in late 2016 to all the residents who participated in the program since its inception. Twelve HIC surgical educators provided rotating 1-month teaching coverage at MUHAS/MNH between academic years 2012 and 2017 for a total of 21 months. During the same time period 11 HIC residents accompanied the HIC faculty for 1-month rotations. HIC surgery residents joined the MUHAS/MNH Department of Surgery, made significant teaching contributions, performed a wide spectrum of "open procedures" including hand-sewn intestinal anastomoses. Most had had either no or limited previous exposure to hand-sewn anastomoses. All of the residents commented that this was a maturing and challenging clinical rotation due to the complexity of the cases, the limited resources available and the ethical and emotional challenges of dealing with preventable complications and death in a resource constrained environment. The Alliance provides an effective clinical global surgery rotation at MUHAS/MNH for HIC Surgery Departments wishing to provide such an opportunity for their residents and faculty. Copyright © 2017 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prediction of monthly global solar radiation using adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) technique over the state of Tamilnadu (India): a comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumithira, T. R.; Nirmal, Kumar A.

2012-01-01

Enormous potential of solar energy as a clean and pollution free source enrich the global power generation. India, being a tropical country, has high solar radiation and it lies to the north of equator between 8 degree 4' and 37 degree 6' North latitude and 68 degree 7' , and 97 degree 5' East longitude. In south india, Tamilnadu is located in the extreme south east with an average temperature of grater than 27.5 degree (> 81.5 F). In this study, an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) based modelling approach to predict the monthly global solar radiation (MGSR) in Tamilnadu is presented using the real meteorological solar radiation data from the 31 districts of Tamilnadu with different latitude and longitude. The purpose of the study is to compare the accuracy of ANFIS and other soft computing models as found in literature to assess the solar radiation. The performance of the proposed model was tested and compared with other earth region in a case study. The statistical performance parameters such as root mean square error (RMSE), mean bias error (MBE), and coefficient of determination (R2) are presented and compared to validate the performance. The comparative test results prove the ANFIS based prediction are better than other models and furthermore proves its prediction capability for any geographical area with changing meteorological conditions. (author)

The "side" matters: how configurality is reflected in completion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kogo, Naoki; Wagemans, Johan

2013-01-01

The perception of figure-ground organization is a highly context-sensitive phenomenon. Accumulating evidence suggests that the so-called completion phenomenon is tightly linked to this figure-ground organization. While many computational models have applied borderline completion algorithms based on the detection of boundary alignments, we point out the problems of this approach. We hypothesize that completion is a result of computing the figure-ground organization. Specifically, the global interactions in the neural network activate the "border-ownership" sensitive neurons at the location where no luminance contrast is given and this activation corresponds to the perception of illusory contours. The implications of this result to the general property of emerging Gestalt percepts are discussed.

Climate Prediction Center (CPC)Monthly Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC) Spatial Resolution of 2.5 degree

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This global monthly precipitation analysis is called the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC). This analysis consists of two...

Climate Prediction Center (CPC)Monthly Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC) at Spatial Resolution of 1 degree.

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This global monthly precipitation analysis is called the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC). This analysis consists of two...

Month-hour distributions of zenith luminance and diffuse illuminance in Madrid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soler, Alfonso; Gopinathan, Kannam K.; Robledo, Luis; Ruiz, Enrique

2004-01-01

Month-hour equal mean zenith luminance contours are obtained from one year of data of zenith luminance measurements for cloudless, overcast and partly cloudy skies and also when the combined data for all sky types are considered. For many hours in different months, the overcast sky luminance values are roughly about three times the cloudless sky luminance values and one and a half times the partly cloudy sky values. The dependence of month-hour equal mean zenith luminance contours on the ratio of global to extraterrestrial illuminance on a horizontal surface is also given. From equal mean zenith luminance contours, the approximate values of the mean zenith luminance for different sky conditions and different hours and months of the year can be easily obtained. Month-hour equal mean diffuse illuminance contours are obtained from diffuse illuminance measurements performed during the period 1992-1998. The dependence on solar altitude of the monthly average hourly values of diffuse illuminance is given and compared to the corresponding one obtained from data for Bet Dagan (Israel)

The contract for the completion and commissioning of Cernavoda NPP - Unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

On May 18, 2001 the commercial contract for the completion and commissioning of the Cernavoda NPP Unit 2 has been signed by Nuclearelectrica National Company (SNN SA) and its partners, AECL-Canada and ANSALDO-Italy. This contract represents a continuation of the cooperation with AECL-Canada (the owner of the licence and the designer of the nuclear part of Cernavoda NPP Unit1) and ANSALDO-Italy (the designer of the conventional part of Cernavoda NPP Unit1). The completion is scheduled to last for 54 months (4.5 years) since the date the contract takes effect and the nuclear reactor start-up (the first criticality) is scheduled for the 49 th month. The total negotiated cost for the completion was estimated to amount to 689 million dollars, against the 750 million dollars initially estimated. The works at the site will be managed by an integrated staff team of specialized personnel form AECL-Canada (111 positions), ANSALDO-Italy (72 positions) and Romania (1200 positions)

Timelike Completeness as an Obstruction to C 0-Extensions

Science.gov (United States)

Galloway, Gregory J.; Ling, Eric; Sbierski, Jan

2017-11-01

The study of low regularity (in-)extendibility of Lorentzian manifolds is motivated by the question whether a given solution to the Einstein equations can be extended (or is maximal) as a weak solution. In this paper we show that a timelike complete and globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifold is C 0-inextendible. For the proof we make use of the result, recently established by Sämann (Ann Henri Poincaré 17(6):1429-1455, 2016), that even for continuous Lorentzian manifolds that are globally hyperbolic, there exists a length-maximizing causal curve between any two causally related points.

Interrelations of UV-global/global/diffuse solar irradiance components and UV-global attenuation on air pollution episode days in Athens, Greece

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koronakis, P.S.; Sfantos, G.K.

2002-01-01

An investigation of global ultraviolet (G UV ), global (G) and diffuse (G d ) solar intensities, continuously recorded over a period of five years at a station in Athens, Greece, and stored on the basis of hourly time intervals since 1996, has revealed the following: (a) UV-global irradiation, associated with the 290-395 nm wavelength region, constitutes 4.1% of global solar. (b) UV-global irradiance ranges from an average minimum of 2.4 W m -2 and 3.1% of global solar in January to an average maximum of 45 W m -2 and 7.8%, respectively, in June, both considered at 13:00, solar time. (c) There exists a good correlation among the two dimensionless irradiance ratios G UV /G d and G d /G in the form of an exponential relationship. (d) UV-global monthly irradiation data show evidence of temporal variability in Athens, from 1996 to 2000. (e) Anthropogenic and photochemical atmospheric pollutant agents (O 3 , CO, SO 2 , NO x , smoke) causing air pollution episodes seem to affect differently solar irradiance components. The main results of analysis (measurements within ± 2 h from solar noon) indicate that a buildup of O 3 and NO x inside the urban Athens plume during cloudless and windless warm days could cause: (i) UV-global irradiance depletion between 5.4% and 14.4%. (ii) Diffuse solar irradiance enhancement up to 38.1%. (iii) Global solar irradiance attenuation ranging up to 6.3%. (author)

75 FR 82215 - National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-30

... to fight this serious human rights violation. Human trafficking is a global travesty that takes many... deprived of the most basic right of freedom. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.... There is no one type of victim--men and women, adults and children are all vulnerable. From every corner...

The Globalization of Pediatric Research: An Analysis of Clinical Trials Completed for Pediatric Exclusivity

Science.gov (United States)

Pasquali, Sara K.; Burstein, Danielle S.; Benjamin, Daniel K.; Smith, P. Brian; Li, Jennifer S.

2010-01-01

Background Recent studies have examined the globalization of clinical research. These studies focused on adult trials, and the globalization of pediatric research has not been examined to date. We evaluated the setting of published studies conducted under the US Pediatric Exclusivity Program, which provides economic incentives to pharmaceutical companies to conduct drug studies in children. Methods Published studies containing the main results of trials conducted from 1998–2007 under the Pediatric Exclusivity Provision were included. Data were extracted from each study and described, including the therapeutic area of drug studied, number of patients enrolled, number of sites, and location where the study was conducted, if reported. Results Overall, 174 trials were included (sample size 8–27,065 patients); 9% did not report any information regarding the location or number of sites where the study was conducted. Of those that did report this information, 65% were conducted in at least one country outside the US, and 11% did not have any sites in the US. Fifty-four different countries were represented and 38% of trials enrolled patients in at least one site located in a developing/transition country, including more than one third of infectious disease, cardiovascular, and allergy/immunology trials. Conclusions The majority of published pediatric trials conducted under the Pediatric Exclusivity Provision included sites outside of the US, and over a third of trials enrolled patients in developing/transition countries. While there are many potential benefits to the globalization of pediatric research, this trend also raises certain scientific and ethical concerns which require further evaluation. PMID:20732941

Estimation of monthly solar radiation distribution for solar energy system analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coskun, C.; Oktay, Z.; Dincer, I.

2011-01-01

The concept of probability density frequency, which is successfully used for analyses of wind speed and outdoor temperature distributions, is now modified and proposed for estimating solar radiation distributions for design and analysis of solar energy systems. In this study, global solar radiation distribution is comprehensively analyzed for photovoltaic (PV) panel and thermal collector systems. In this regard, a case study is conducted with actual global solar irradiation data of the last 15 years recorded by the Turkish State Meteorological Service. It is found that intensity of global solar irradiance greatly affects energy and exergy efficiencies and hence the performance of collectors. -- Research highlights: → The first study to apply global solar radiation distribution in solar system analyzes. → The first study showing global solar radiation distribution as a parameter of the solar irradiance intensity. → Time probability intensity frequency and probability power distribution do not have similar distribution patterns for each month. → There is no relation between the distribution of annual time lapse and solar energy with the intensity of solar irradiance.

The ScaLIng Macroweather Model (SLIMM): using scaling to forecast global-scale macroweather from months to decades

Science.gov (United States)

Lovejoy, S.; del Rio Amador, L.; Hébert, R.

2015-09-01

On scales of ≈ 10 days (the lifetime of planetary-scale structures), there is a drastic transition from high-frequency weather to low-frequency macroweather. This scale is close to the predictability limits of deterministic atmospheric models; thus, in GCM (general circulation model) macroweather forecasts, the weather is a high-frequency noise. However, neither the GCM noise nor the GCM climate is fully realistic. In this paper we show how simple stochastic models can be developed that use empirical data to force the statistics and climate to be realistic so that even a two-parameter model can perform as well as GCMs for annual global temperature forecasts. The key is to exploit the scaling of the dynamics and the large stochastic memories that we quantify. Since macroweather temporal (but not spatial) intermittency is low, we propose using the simplest model based on fractional Gaussian noise (fGn): the ScaLIng Macroweather Model (SLIMM). SLIMM is based on a stochastic ordinary differential equation, differing from usual linear stochastic models (such as the linear inverse modelling - LIM) in that it is of fractional rather than integer order. Whereas LIM implicitly assumes that there is no low-frequency memory, SLIMM has a huge memory that can be exploited. Although the basic mathematical forecast problem for fGn has been solved, we approach the problem in an original manner, notably using the method of innovations to obtain simpler results on forecast skill and on the size of the effective system memory. A key to successful stochastic forecasts of natural macroweather variability is to first remove the low-frequency anthropogenic component. A previous attempt to use fGn for forecasts had disappointing results because this was not done. We validate our theory using hindcasts of global and Northern Hemisphere temperatures at monthly and annual resolutions. Several nondimensional measures of forecast skill - with no adjustable parameters - show excellent

SPS completes LS1 activities

CERN Multimedia

Katarina Anthony

2014-01-01

On 27 June, the SPS closed its doors to the LS1 engineers, bringing to an end almost 17 months of activities. The machine now enters the hardware-testing phase in preparation for an October restart.   Photo 1: The SPS transfer tunnel, TT10, reinforced with steal beams. Having completed their LS1 activities right on schedule (to the day!), the SPS team is now preparing the machine for its restart. Over the next eight weeks, hardware tests of the SPS dipole and quadrupole power converters will be underway, led by the TE-EPC (Electrical Power Converters) team. "OP start-up test activities will also be running in parallel, utilising the off hours when EPC is not using the machine," says David McFarlane, the SPS technical coordinator from the Engineering Department. "The primary beam testing phase will start at the beginning of September, once hardware tests and DSO safety tests have been completed." It has been a long journey to this point, with several major...

Vegetation Index and Phenology (VIP) Vegetation Indices Monthly Global 0.05Deg CMG V004

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Vegetation Index and Phenology (VIP) global datasets were created using...

From local perception to global perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Lehner, Flavio; Stocker, Thomas F.

2015-08-01

Recent sociological studies show that over short time periods the large day-to-day, month-to-month or year-to-year variations in weather at a specific location can influence and potentially bias our perception of climate change, a more long-term and global phenomenon. By weighting local temperature anomalies with the number of people that experience them and considering longer time periods, we illustrate that the share of the world population exposed to warmer-than-normal temperatures has steadily increased during the past few decades. Therefore, warming is experienced by an increasing number of individuals, counter to what might be simply inferred from global mean temperature anomalies. This behaviour is well-captured by current climate models, offering an opportunity to increase confidence in future projections of climate change irrespective of the personal local perception of weather.

Reporting bias in completed epilepsy intervention trials: A cross-sectional analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rayi, Appaji; Thompson, Stephanie; Gloss, David; Malhotra, Konark

2018-03-30

To explore the evidence of reporting bias among completed epilepsy intervention trials (EITs) and compliance of applicable EITs to Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA). We included consecutive EITs registered as completed on ClinicalTrials.gov from 2008 to 2015. Descriptive data was collected including study type, study phase, funding source, primary completion date, and result reporting date. Time to result reporting was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimates for two time periods (2008-2011 and 2012-2015). PubMed, Web of Science, and Google scholar databases were manually searched for publication details. Overall, 95/126 EITs (75%) reported, while remaining 31/126 (25%) did not report their results. Time to reporting was significantly lower for trials completed during 2012-2015 (16.5 months; 95% CI: 13.60-19.40; p = .002; Cohen's d = 0.68) as compared to the trials completed during 2008-2011 (25.9 months; 95% CI: 21.56-30.22). 72/126 trials were conducted in at least one U.S. center. 56/72 (78%) of the trials met the FDAAA criteria, while only 19/56 (34%) reported within the mandated one-year time frame. The lack of reporting of nearly one-quarter of completed epilepsy intervention trials suggests existence of reporting bias. As such, it should be considered an important criterion for determining risk of bias in epilepsy systematic reviews. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predicting Heat Stress to Inform Reef Management: NOAA Coral Reef Watch's 4-Month Coral Bleaching Outlook

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gang Liu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW operates a global 4-Month Coral Bleaching Outlook system for shallow-water coral reefs in collaboration with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP. The Outlooks are generated by applying the algorithm used in CRW's operational satellite coral bleaching heat stress monitoring, with slight modifications, to the sea surface temperature (SST predictions from NCEP's operational Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2. Once a week, the probability of heat stress capable of causing mass coral bleaching is predicted for 4-months in advance. Each day, CFSv2 generates an ensemble of 16 forecasts, with nine runs out to 45-days, three runs out to 3-months, and four runs out to 9-months. This results in 28–112 ensemble members produced each week. A composite for each predicted week is derived from daily predictions within each ensemble member. The probability of each of four heat stress ranges (Watch and higher, Warning and higher, Alert Level 1 and higher, and Alert Level 2 is determined from all the available ensemble members for the week to form the weekly probabilistic Outlook. The probabilistic 4-Month Outlook is the highest weekly probability predicted among all the weekly Outlooks during a 4-month period for each of the stress ranges. An initial qualitative skill analysis of the Outlooks for 2011–2015, compared with CRW's satellite-based coral bleaching heat stress products, indicated the Outlook has performed well with high hit rates and low miss rates for most coral reef areas. Regions identified with high false alarm rates will guide future improvements. This Outlook system, as the first and only freely available global coral bleaching prediction system, has been providing critical early warning to marine resource managers, scientists, and decision makers around the world to guide management, protection, and monitoring of coral reefs

Climate Prediction Center(CPC) Monthly Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC)at Spatial Resolution of 0.5 degree.

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This global monthly precipitation analysis is called the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC). This analysis consists of two...

Monthly Fluctuations of Insomnia Symptoms in a Population-Based Sample

Science.gov (United States)

Morin, Charles M.; LeBlanc, M.; Ivers, H.; Bélanger, L.; Mérette, Chantal; Savard, Josée; Jarrin, Denise C.

2014-01-01

Study Objectives: To document the monthly changes in sleep/insomnia status over a 12-month period; to determine the optimal time intervals to reliably capture new incident cases and recurrent episodes of insomnia and the likelihood of its persistence over time. Design: Participants were 100 adults (mean age = 49.9 years; 66% women) randomly selected from a larger population-based sample enrolled in a longitudinal study of the natural history of insomnia. They completed 12 monthly telephone interviews assessing insomnia, use of sleep aids, stressful life events, and physical and mental health problems in the previous month. A total of 1,125 interviews of a potential 1,200 were completed. Based on data collected at each assessment, participants were classified into one of three subgroups: good sleepers, insomnia symptoms, and insomnia syndrome. Results: At baseline, 42 participants were classified as good sleepers, 34 met criteria for insomnia symptoms, and 24 for an insomnia syndrome. There were significant fluctuations of insomnia over time, with 66% of the participants changing sleep status at least once over the 12 monthly assessments (51.5% for good sleepers, 59.5% for insomnia syndrome, and 93.4% for insomnia symptoms). Changes of status were more frequent among individuals with insomnia symptoms at baseline (mean = 3.46, SD = 2.36) than among those initially classified as good sleepers (mean = 2.12, SD = 2.70). Among the subgroup with insomnia symptoms at baseline, 88.3% reported improved sleep (i.e., became good sleepers) at least once over the 12 monthly assessments compared to 27.7% whose sleep worsened (i.e., met criteria for an insomnia syndrome) during the same period. Among individuals classified as good sleepers at baseline, risks of developing insomnia symptoms and syndrome over the subsequent months were, respectively, 48.6% and 14.5%. Monthly assessment over an interval of 6 months was found most reliable to estimate incidence rates, while an

Immediate endoscopic management of complete iatrogenic anterior urethral injuries: A case series with long-term results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maheshwari Pankaj N

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Urethral injury produces partial or complete disruption of the urethral integrity. Advances in endourology have made endoscopic management of most of these injuries feasible without greatly compromising the final result. We report our institutional experience of immediate endoscopic realignment of complete iatrogenic anterior urethral injury. Methods From May 1997 to May 2003, seven patients with complete anterior urethral disruption were managed by immediate endoscopy guided splinting of urethra. Retrograde urethroscopy, combined with fluoroscopic guidance and in some cases antegrade cystoscopy through a suprapubic stab cystostomy was performed. A guide wire was negotiated across the disruption. Later, a 16 F Foley catheter was placed for 1–3 weeks. Patients were followed up at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months and then yearly to assess the long-term outcome of endoscopic management. Results Immediate endoscopic realignment was achieved in all patients. Three patients developed recurrence at six months; that was treated by optical urethrotomy. Only one patient developed multiple recurrences over an average follow-up of 49.2 months (range 7 to 74 months. He was offered open end-to-end urethroplasty at twenty months after third recurrence. Thus immediate endoscopic realignment avoided any further intervention in four patients (57.14%; while after an additional optical urethrotomy, urethroplasty could be avoided in six patients (87.2%. Conclusion Immediate endoscopic realignment of traumatic urethral disruption is a feasible, safe and effective treatment modality for management of patients with iatrogenic complete anterior urethral injuries.

An algorithm to provide UK global radiation for use with models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamer, P.J.C.

1999-01-01

Decision support systems which include crop growth models require long-term average values of global radiation to simulate future expected growth. Global radiation is rarely available as there are relatively few meteorological stations with long-term records and so interpolation between sites is difficult. Global radiation data across a good geographical spread throughout the UK were obtained and sub-divided into ‘coastal’ and ‘inland’ sites. Monthly means of global radiation (S) were extracted and analysed in relation to irradiance in the absence of atmosphere (S o ) calculated from site latitude and the time of year. The ratio S/S o was fitted to the month of the year (t) and site latitude using a nonlinear fit function in which 90% of the variance was accounted for. An algorithm is presented which provides long-term daily values of global radiation from information on latitude, time of year and whether the site is inland or close to the coast. (author)

Does the projected pathway to global warming targets matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Bärring, Lars; Strandberg, Gustav

2018-02-01

Since the ‘Paris agreement’ in 2015 there has been much focus on what a +1.5 °C or +2 °C warmer world would look like. Since the focus lies on policy relevant global warming targets, or specific warming levels (SWLs), rather than a specific point in time, projections are pooled together to form SWL ensembles based on the target temperature rather than emission scenario. This study uses an ensemble of CMIP5 global model projections to analyse how well SWL ensembles represent the stabilized climate of global warming targets. The results show that the SWL ensembles exhibit significant trends that reflect the transient nature of the RCP scenarios. These trends have clear effect on the timing and clustering of monthly cold and hot extremes, even though the effect on the temperature of the extreme months is less visible. In many regions there is a link between choice of RCP scenario used in the SWL ensemble and climate change signal in the highest monthly temperatures. In other regions there is no such clear-cut link. From this we conclude that comprehensive analyses of what prospects the different global warming targets bring about will require stabilization scenarios. Awaiting such targeted scenarios we suggest that prudent use of SWL scenarios, taking their characteristics and limitations into account, may serve as reasonable proxies in many situations.

Balloon dacryocystoplasty: Incomplete versus complete obstruction of the nasolacrimal system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jeong Min; Lee, Sang Hoon; Han, Young Min; Chung, Gyung Ho; Kim, Chong Soo; Choi, Ki Chul; Song, Ho Young

1993-01-01

Balloon dilatation of nasolacrimal drainage apparatus was attempted for the treatment of stenoses or obstructures of the nasolacrimal system in 49 eyes of 41 consecutive patients with complete obstructions and 16 eyes of 14 patients with incomplete obstructions. These two groups were compared with regards to the effectiveness of balloon dacryocystoplasty. All patients suffered from severe epiphora had already undergone multiple probings. A 0.018 inch hair or ball guide wire was introduced through the superior punctum into the inferior meatus of the nasal cavity and pulled out through the nasal aperture using a hemostat under nasal endoscopy. A deflated angiography balloon catheter was then introduced in a retrograde direction and dilated under fluoroscopic control. No major complications occurred in any of the patients. At 7 days after balloon dilatation, 25 of 49 eyes with complete obstruction demonstrated improvement in epiphora (initial success rate: 51.0%) and among them 17 eyes showed complete resolution of symptoms. Reocclusion occurred in 12 of the 25 eyes with initial improvement at the 2 months follow up. For the 16 eyes with incomplete obstruction, and improvement of epiphora was attained in 11 eyes (initial success rate 68.8%): 5 of these eyes showed complete resolution of epiphora, and 3 was failed to maintain initial improvement at the 2 month follow up. Although this study demonstrate that results of balloon dacryocystoplasty are not encouraging because of the high failure and recurrence rate, balloon dacryocystoplasty is a simple and safe nonsurgical technique that can be used to treat for obstructions of the nasolacrimal system. In addition, balloon dacryocystoplasty shows better results in incomplete obstruction than in complete obstruction than complete obstruction of the nasolacrimal system

Global qualitative analysis of a quartic ecological model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broer, Hendrik; Gaiko, Valery A.

2010-01-01

in this paper we complete the global qualitative analysis of a quartic ecological model. In particular, studying global bifurcations of singular points and limit cycles, we prove that the corresponding dynamical system has at most two limit cycles. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensitive study of the climatological SST by using ATSR global SST data sets

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Yong; Lawrence, Sean P.; Llewellyn-Jones, David T.

1995-12-01

Climatological sea surface temperature (SST) is an initial step for global climate processing monitoring. A comparison has been made by using Oberhuber's SST data set and two years monthly averaged SST from ATSR thermal band data to force the OGCM. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, these make only a small difference to model SST. In the western Pacific Ocean, the use of Oberhuber's data set gives higher climatological SST than that using ATSR data. The SSTs were also simulated for 1992 using climatological SSTs from two years monthly averaged ATSR data and Oberhuber data. The forcing with SST from ATSR data was found to give better SST simulation than that from Oberhuber's data. Our study has confirmed that ATSR can provide accurate monthly averaged global SST for global climate processing monitoring.

Reasons for Stopping Exclusive Breastfeeding Between Three and Six Months: A Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Alianmoghaddam, Narges; Phibbs, Suzanne; Benn, Cheryl

Scant published qualitative literature exists focusing on why exclusive breastfeeding rates decline between three and six months. This study aims to develop an understanding of why exclusive breastfeeding tails off so dramatically between three and six months after birth in New Zealand. A generic qualitative methodology was employed in this study and social constructionism selected as the main epistemological framework underpinning the research. This study was carried out between September 2013 and July 2014, involving face-to-face interviews with 30 women who were characterised as highly motivated to complete six months exclusive breastfeeding prior to the birth of their child. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the research material, thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was completed using manual coding techniques. After thematic analysis of the data four key themes were identified: 1) The good employee/good mother dilemma. 2) Breastfeeding is lovely, but six months exclusively is demanding. 3) Exclusive breastfeeding recommendations should be individualised. 4) Introducing solids early as a cultural practice. Most studies have linked barriers to six months exclusive breastfeeding to difficulties within the mother-infant dyad, as well as negative maternal socioeconomic and socio-demographic characteristics. However, this study has shown that the maintenance of six months exclusive breastfeeding is also challenging for this group of mothers who were socially advantaged, well-educated and highly motivated to breastfeed their babies exclusively for six months. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Support infrastructure available to Canadian residents completing post-graduate global health electives: current state and future directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lojan Sivakumaran

2016-12-01

Conclusion: Canadian universities are encouraged to continue to send their trainees on global health electives. To address the gaps in infrastructure reported in this study, the authors suggest the development of comprehensive standardized guidelines by post-graduate regulatory/advocacy bodies to better ensure patient and participant safety. We also encourage the centralization of infrastructure management to the universities’ global health departments to aid in resource management.

On nonstationarity and antipersistency in global temperature series

Science.gov (United States)

KäRner, O.

2002-10-01

Statistical analysis is carried out for satellite-based global daily tropospheric and stratospheric temperature anomaly and solar irradiance data sets. Behavior of the series appears to be nonstationary with stationary daily increments. Estimating long-range dependence between the increments reveals a remarkable difference between the two temperature series. Global average tropospheric temperature anomaly behaves similarly to the solar irradiance anomaly. Their daily increments show antipersistency for scales longer than 2 months. The property points at a cumulative negative feedback in the Earth climate system governing the tropospheric variability during the last 22 years. The result emphasizes a dominating role of the solar irradiance variability in variations of the tropospheric temperature and gives no support to the theory of anthropogenic climate change. The global average stratospheric temperature anomaly proceeds like a 1-dim random walk at least up to 11 years, allowing good presentation by means of the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models for monthly series.

Determinants and predictability of global wildfire emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Knorr

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Biomass burning is one of the largest sources of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols globally. These emissions have a major impact on the radiative balance of the atmosphere and on air quality, and are thus of significant scientific and societal interest. Several datasets have been developed that quantify those emissions on a global grid and offered to the atmospheric modelling community. However, no study has yet attempted to systematically quantify the dependence of the inferred pyrogenic emissions on underlying assumptions and input data. Such a sensitivity study is needed for understanding how well we can currently model those emissions and what the factors are that contribute to uncertainties in those emission estimates.

Here, we combine various satellite-derived burned area products, a terrestrial ecosystem model to simulate fuel loads and the effect of fire on ecosystem dynamics, a model of fuel combustion, and various emission models that relate combusted biomass to the emission of various trace gases and aerosols. We carry out simulations with varying parameters for combustion completeness and fuel decomposition rates within published estimates, four different emissions models and three different global burned-area products. We find that variations in combustion completeness and simulated fuel loads have the largest impact on simulated global emissions for most species, except for some with highly uncertain emission factors. Variation in burned-area estimates also contribute considerably to emission uncertainties. We conclude that global models urgently need more field-based data for better parameterisation of combustion completeness and validation of simulated fuel loads, and that further validation and improvement of burned area information is necessary for accurately modelling global wildfire emissions. The results are important for chemical transport modelling studies, and for simulations of biomass burning impacts on the

Mild pituitary phenotype in 3- and 12-month-old Aip-deficient male mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Lecoq, Anne-Lise; Zizzari, Philippe; Hage, Mirella; Decourtye, Lyvianne; Adam, Clovis; Viengchareun, Say; Veldhuis, Johannes D; Geoffroy, Valérie; Lombès, Marc; Tolle, Virginie; Guillou, Anne; Karhu, Auli; Kappeler, Laurent; Chanson, Philippe; Kamenický, Peter

2016-10-01

Germline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) gene predispose humans to pituitary adenomas, particularly of the somatotroph lineage. Mice with global heterozygous inactivation of Aip (Aip(+/-)) also develop pituitary adenomas but differ from AIP-mutated patients by the high penetrance of pituitary disease. The endocrine phenotype of these mice is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the endocrine phenotype of Aip(+/-) mice by assessing the somatic growth, ultradian pattern of GH secretion and IGF1 concentrations of longitudinally followed male mice at 3 and 12 months of age. As the early stages of pituitary tumorigenesis are controversial, we also studied the pituitary histology and somatotroph cell proliferation in these mice. Aip(+/-) mice did not develop gigantism but exhibited a leaner phenotype than wild-type mice. Analysis of GH pulsatility by deconvolution in 12-month-old Aip(+/-) mice showed a mild increase in total GH secretion, a conserved GH pulsatility pattern, but a normal IGF1 concentration. No pituitary adenomas were detected up to 12 months of age. An increased ex vivo response to GHRH of pituitary explants from 3-month-old Aip(+/-) mice, together with areas of enlarged acini identified on reticulin staining in the pituitary of some Aip(+/-) mice, was suggestive of somatotroph hyperplasia. Global heterozygous Aip deficiency in mice is accompanied by subtle increase in GH secretion, which does not result in gigantism. The absence of pituitary adenomas in 12-month-old Aip(+/-) mice in our experimental conditions demonstrates the important phenotypic variability of this congenic mouse model. © 2016 Society for Endocrinology.

Models for prediction of global solar radiation on horizontal surface ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The estimation of global solar radiation continues to play a fundamental role in solar engineering systems and applications. This paper compares various models for estimating the average monthly global solar radiation on horizontal surface for Akure, Nigeria, using solar radiation and sunshine duration data covering years ...

Teaching corner: an undergraduate medical education program comprehensively integrating global health and global health ethics as core curricula : student experiences of the medical school for international health in Israel.

Science.gov (United States)

Teichholtz, Sara; Kreniske, Jonah Susser; Morrison, Zachary; Shack, Avraham R; Dwolatzky, Tzvi

2015-03-01

The Medical School for International Health (MSIH) was created in 1996 by the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in affiliation with Columbia University's Health Sciences division. It is accredited by the New York State Board of Education. Students complete the first three years of the program on the Ben-Gurion University campus in Be'er-Sheva, Israel, while fourth-year electives are completed mainly in the United States (at Columbia University Medical Center and affiliates as well as other institutions) along with a two-month global health elective at one of numerous sites located around the world (including Canada, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uganda, the United States, and Vietnam). The unique four-year, American-style curriculum is designed not only to prepare physicians who will be able to work at both an individual and community level but also at both of these levels anywhere in the world. In this way, it combines elements of medical and public health curricula not limited to an American perspective.

Global Methodology to Integrate Innovative Models for Electric Motors in Complete Vehicle Simulators Méthodologie générale d’intégration de modèles innovants de moteurs électriques dans des simulateurs véhicules complets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdelli A.

2011-11-01

Full Text Available By what means the greenhouse gas emissions of passenger cars can be reduced to 120 g/km in 2012 and 95 g/km in 2020 as the European Commission and the automotive manufacturers are stated? This question with multi answers preoccupies at the moment the whole automobile world. One of the most promising solutions which receive attention is the electrification of the vehicle. It is this idea that has prompted the automobile manufacturers to envisage increasingly innovative hybrid vehicles. However, this theoretically interesting solution makes more complex the powertrain, which requires the use of simulation tools in order to reduce the cost and the time of system development. System simulation, which is already a crucial tool for the design process of internal combustion engines, becomes indispensable in the development of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV. To study the complex structures of HEV, following the example of the physical models developed for the internal combustion engine, system simulation has to provide itself of the same predictive models for electric machines. From their specifications, these models have to take into account the strict constraint on the time simulation. This constraint guarantees the wide use of simulators, notably to help the development and the validation of control strategies. This paper aims to present a global methodology to develop innovative models of electrical machines. The final objective of these models is to be integrated in a global vehicle simulator. This methodology includes several types of models and tools, as Finite Elements Models (FEM, characterization and simulating models. This methodology was applied successfully to model an internal permanent magnet synchronous motors. At the end of the modelling process of the electric motor, the latter has been integrated in a complete global hybrid vehicle. This guarantees the good operation and integration in the global process of a new vehicle concept

Global nuclear material control model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreicer, J.S.; Rutherford, D.A.

1996-01-01

The nuclear danger can be reduced by a system for global management, protection, control, and accounting as part of a disposition program for special nuclear materials. The development of an international fissile material management and control regime requires conceptual research supported by an analytical and modeling tool that treats the nuclear fuel cycle as a complete system. Such a tool must represent the fundamental data, information, and capabilities of the fuel cycle including an assessment of the global distribution of military and civilian fissile material inventories, a representation of the proliferation pertinent physical processes, and a framework supportive of national or international perspective. They have developed a prototype global nuclear material management and control systems analysis capability, the Global Nuclear Material Control (GNMC) model. The GNMC model establishes the framework for evaluating the global production, disposition, and safeguards and security requirements for fissile nuclear material

Complete Genome Sequences of Four Isolates of Plutella xylostella Granulovirus

OpenAIRE

Spence, Robert J.; Noune, Christopher; Hauxwell, Caroline

2016-01-01

Granuloviruses are widespread pathogens of Plutella xylostella L. (diamondback moth) and potential biopesticides for control of this global insect pest. We report the complete genomes of four Plutella xylostella granulovirus isolates from China, Malaysia, and Taiwan exhibiting pairs of noncoding, homologous repeat regions with significant sequence variation but equivalent length.

Global solar radiation in Sierra Leone (West Africa)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massaquoi, J.G.M.

1987-09-01

A correlation equation of the Angstrom type has been developed to predict the monthly average daily global solar irradiation incident on a horizontal surface in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Measurements of the global insolation have been compared with those predicted using the equation. A good agreement (greater than 95% in most cases) was observed between the measured values and the predicted ones. (author). 15 refs, 2 tabs

SeaWiFS Deep Blue Aerosol Optical Thickness Monthly Level 3 Climatology Data Gridded at 0.5 Degrees V004

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The SeaWiFS Deep Blue Level 3 Monthly Climatology Product contains monthly global climatology gridded (0.5 x 0.5 deg) data derived from SeaWiFS Deep Blue Level 3...

Recent Development on the NOAA's Global Surface Temperature Dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, H. M.; Huang, B.; Boyer, T.; Lawrimore, J. H.; Menne, M. J.; Rennie, J.

2016-12-01

Global Surface Temperature (GST) is one of the most widely used indicators for climate trend and extreme analyses. A widely used GST dataset is the NOAA merged land-ocean surface temperature dataset known as NOAAGlobalTemp (formerly MLOST). The NOAAGlobalTemp had recently been updated from version 3.5.4 to version 4. The update includes a significant improvement in the ocean surface component (Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature or ERSST, from version 3b to version 4) which resulted in an increased temperature trends in recent decades. Since then, advancements in both the ocean component (ERSST) and land component (GHCN-Monthly) have been made, including the inclusion of Argo float SSTs and expanded EOT modes in ERSST, and the use of ISTI databank in GHCN-Monthly. In this presentation, we describe the impact of those improvements on the merged global temperature dataset, in terms of global trends and other aspects.

Compliance with RSV prophylaxis: Global physicians’ perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kari S Anderson

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Kari S Anderson, Victoria M Mullally, Linda M Fredrick, Andrew L CampbellAbbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL, USAAbstract: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV is a significant cause of morbidity in high-risk infants. Palivizumab is proven to prevent serious RSV disease, but compliance with prophylaxis (monthly doses during the RSV season is essential to ensure protection. We invited 453 pediatricians to participate in a survey to identify their perspectives of barriers to compliance and interventions to improve compliance with palivizumab prophylaxis schedules. One hundred physicians from five continents completed the survey, identifying caregiver inconvenience, distance to clinic, cost of prophylaxis, and lack of understanding of the severity of RSV as the most common reasons for noncompliance. They recommended provision of educational materials about RSV, reminders from hospital or clinic, and administration of prophylaxis at home to increase compliance. Globally, physicians recognize several obstacles to prophylaxis compliance. This survey suggests that focused proactive interventions such as empowering caregivers with educational materials and reducing caregiver inconvenience may be instrumental to increase compliance.Keywords: medication adherence, respiratory syncytial virus infections, infant, premature, immunization, passive

Global engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plass, L.

2001-01-01

This article considers the challenges posed by the declining orders in the plant engineering and contracting business in Germany, the need to remain competitive, and essential preconditions for mastering the challenge. The change in engineering approach is illustrated by the building of a methanol plant in Argentina by Lurgi with the basic engineering completed in Frankfurt with involvement of key personnel from Poland, completely engineered subsystems from a Brazilian subsupplier, and detailed engineering work in Frankfurt. The production of methanol from natural gas using the LurgiMega/Methanol process is used as a typical example of the industrial plant construction sector. The prerequisites for successful global engineering are listed, and error costs in plant construction, possible savings, and process intensification are discussed

Daily disaggregation of simulated monthly flows using different rainfall datasets in southern Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.A. Hughes

2015-09-01

New hydrological insights for the region: There are substantial regional differences in the success of the monthly hydrological model, which inevitably affects the success of the daily disaggregation results. There are also regional differences in the success of using global rainfall data sets (Climatic Research Unit (CRU datasets for monthly, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration African Rainfall Climatology, version 2 (ARC2 satellite data for daily. The overall conclusion is that the disaggregation method presents a parsimonious approach to generating daily flow simulations from existing monthly simulations and that these daily flows are likely to be useful for some purposes (e.g. water quality modelling, but less so for others (e.g. peak flow analysis.

Shrunken head (tsantsa): a complete forensic analysis procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

Charlier, P; Huynh-Charlier, I; Brun, L; Hervé, C; de la Grandmaison, G Lorin

2012-10-10

Based on the analysis of shrunken heads referred to our forensic laboratory for anthropological expertise, and data from both anthropological and medical literature, we propose a complete forensic procedure for the analysis of such pieces. A list of 14 original morphological criteria has been developed, based on the global aspect, color, physical deformation, anatomical details, and eventual associated material (wood, vegetal fibers, sand, charcoals, etc.). Such criteria have been tested on a control sample of 20 tsantsa (i.e. shrunken heads from the Jivaro or Shuar tribes of South America). Further complementary analyses are described such as CT-scan and microscopic examination. Such expertise is more and more asked to forensic anthropologists and practitioners in a context of global repatriation of human artifacts to native communities. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

International Surface Temperature Initiative (ISTI) Global Land Surface Temperature Databank - Stage 2 Daily

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The global land surface temperature databank contains monthly timescale mean, max, and min temperature for approximately 40,000 stations globally. It was developed...

International Surface Temperature Initiative (ISTI) Global Land Surface Temperature Databank - Stage 1 Daily

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The global land surface temperature databank contains monthly timescale mean, max, and min temperature for approximately 40,000 stations globally. It was developed...

The mixed waste management facility. Monthly report, September 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streit, R.D.

1995-10-01

A continuing concern over the last few months was resolved with the approval of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and signing of the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). This was completed in time to allow approval of the DWTF Phase 1 KD-3 and subsequent award of the construction contract for this phase (site preparation). The Project continues to make progress toward the Project Preliminary Design Review (PDR), scheduled for November 15-16, 1995. We completed the conventional feed preparation and solid feed preparation demonstration technologies (telerobotic sorting) and conducted a prereview of the Analytical Services element. Molten Salt is scheduled for October 3-4, with Water Treatment and Analytical Services completing the reviews by October 12. While a number of design issues have been raised and are being tracked, the general level of engineering progress is consistent with completing the PDR on schedule. No show-stoppers have been identified, and all items requiring resolution before PDR will be competed

The mixed waste management facility. Monthly report, September 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Streit, R.D.

1995-10-01

A continuing concern over the last few months was resolved with the approval of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and signing of the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). This was completed in time to allow approval of the DWTF Phase 1 KD-3 and subsequent award of the construction contract for this phase (site preparation). The Project continues to make progress toward the Project Preliminary Design Review (PDR), scheduled for November 15-16, 1995. We completed the conventional feed preparation and solid feed preparation demonstration technologies (telerobotic sorting) and conducted a prereview of the Analytical Services element. Molten Salt is scheduled for October 3-4, with Water Treatment and Analytical Services completing the reviews by October 12. While a number of design issues have been raised and are being tracked, the general level of engineering progress is consistent with completing the PDR on schedule. No show-stoppers have been identified, and all items requiring resolution before PDR will be competed.

Motor development of kindergarten in 13 months interval

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lilian Teresa Bucken Gobbi

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Motor development is a changing process of individual functioning level where a better capacity to control movements is acquiring with time. Then, the purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in children motor behavior in 13 months interval. Thirty-five children ranging from 3 to 7 years of age participated and were distributed in 4 age groups. The motor performance of each participant were evaluated and reevaluated after 13 months by means of the Motor Development Scale, which is a test battery with specific tasks according to the age for each component: fine skill, global skill, balance, body schema/fastness, and spatial organization. Motor performance was compared inter and intra groups for each component. The results showed that the motor performance in the balance tasks improved after the 13 months for all age groups; for fine skill, global skill, and body schema children of 3, 4, and 5 years of age improved their performances between the evaluations; for spatial organization only children of 3 and 5 years of age improved their performances when reevaluated. These results suggest that the development in this age range occurs in a no homogeneous way, i.e., it presents different rhythms for the motor components. Environmental, individual and task factors can explain the developmental changes in a 13 months period. We conclude that the developmental process of each motor component is dynamic and it presents no linearity aspects. RESUMO O desenvolvimento motor é um processo de mudanças no nível de funcionamento de um indivíduo, onde uma maior capacidade de controlar movimentos é adquirida ao longo do tempo. Assim, o objetivo principal deste estudo foi analisar as mudanças no comportamento motor de crianças no intervalo de 13 meses. Participaram deste estudo 35 crianças entre 3 e 7 anos de idade distribuídas por faixa etária em 4 grupos. O desempenho motor de cada participante foi avaliado e re-avaliado após 13 meses por meio

Climatic driving forces in inter-annual variation of global FPAR

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Dailiang; Liu, Liangyun; Yang, Xiaohua; Zhou, Bin

2012-09-01

Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) characterizes vegetation canopy functioning and its energy absorption capacity. In this paper, we focus on climatic driving forces in inter-annual variation of global FPAR from 1982 to 2006 by Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN-Monthly) data. Using FPAR-Simple Ratio Vegetation Index (SR) relationship, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to estimate FPAR at the global scale. The correlation between inter-annual variation of FPAR and temperature, precipitation derived from GHCN-Monthly was examined, during the periods of March-May (MAM), June-August (JJA), September-November (SON), and December-February (DJF) over from 1982 to 2006. The analysis of climatic influence on global FPAR revealed the significant correlation with temperature and precipitation in some meteorological stations area, and a more significant correlation with precipitation was found than which with temperature. Some stations in the regions between 30° N and 60° N and around 30° S in South America, where the annual FPAR variation showed a significant positive correlation with temperature (P forest of Africa and Amazon during the dry season of JJA and SON.

Soil moisture memory at sub-monthly time scales

Science.gov (United States)

Mccoll, K. A.; Entekhabi, D.

2017-12-01

For soil moisture-climate feedbacks to occur, the soil moisture storage must have `memory' of past atmospheric anomalies. Quantifying soil moisture memory is, therefore, essential for mapping and characterizing land-atmosphere interactions globally. Most previous studies estimate soil moisture memory using metrics based on the autocorrelation function of the soil moisture time series (e.g., the e-folding autocorrelation time scale). This approach was first justified by Delworth and Manabe (1988) on the assumption that monthly soil moisture time series can be modelled as red noise. While this is a reasonable model for monthly soil moisture averages, at sub-monthly scales, the model is insufficient due to the highly non-Gaussian behavior of the precipitation forcing. Recent studies have shown that significant soil moisture-climate feedbacks appear to occur at sub-monthly time scales. Therefore, alternative metrics are required for defining and estimating soil moisture memory at these shorter time scales. In this study, we introduce metrics, based on the positive and negative increments of the soil moisture time series, that can be used to estimate soil moisture memory at sub-monthly time scales. The positive increments metric corresponds to a rapid drainage time scale. The negative increments metric represents a slower drying time scale that is most relevant to the study of land-atmosphere interactions. We show that autocorrelation-based metrics mix the two time scales, confounding physical interpretation. The new metrics are used to estimate soil moisture memory at sub-monthly scales from in-situ and satellite observations of soil moisture. Reference: Delworth, Thomas L., and Syukuro Manabe. "The Influence of Potential Evaporation on the Variabilities of Simulated Soil Wetness and Climate." Journal of Climate 1, no. 5 (May 1, 1988): 523-47. doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1988)0012.0.CO;2.

Synoptic Monthly Gridded WOD Absolute Geostrophic Velocity (SMG-WOD-V) (January 1945 - December 2014) with the P-Vector Method (NCEI Accession 0146195)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The SMG-WOD-V dataset comprises synoptic monthly global gridded fields of absolute geostrophic velocity inverted from the synoptic monthly gridded WOD temperature...

CERES Monthly TOA and SRB Averages (SRBAVG) data in HDF-EOS Grid (CER_SRBAVG_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B)

Science.gov (United States)

Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

The Monthly TOA/Surface Averages (SRBAVG) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SRBAVG is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. The monthly average regional flux is estimated using diurnal models and the 1-degree regional fluxes at the hour of observation from the CERES SFC product. A second set of monthly average fluxes are estimated using concurrent diurnal information from geostationary satellites. These fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes and are spatially averaged from 1-degree regions to 1-degree zonal averages and a global average. For each region, the SRBAVG also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average. The cloud properties from SFC are column averaged and are included on the SRBAVG. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-02-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=1 degree; Longitude_Resolution=1 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=100 km - < 250 km or approximately 1 degree - < 2.5 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

Long acting risperidone in Australian patients with chronic schizophrenia: 24-month data from the e-STAR database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lambert Tim

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This observational study was designed to collect treatment outcomes data in patients using the electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry (e-STAR. Methods Patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in Australia who were prescribed risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI between 2003 and 2007 were assessed 12-months retrospectively, at baseline and 24-months prospectively at 3-monthly intervals. The intent-to-treat population, defined as all patients who received at least one dose of RLAI at baseline, was used for the efficacy and safety analyses. Results At total of 784 patients (74% with schizophrenia, 69.8% male with a mean age of 37.1 ± 12.5 years and 10.6 ± 9.5 years since diagnosis were included in this Australian cohort. A significant improvement in mean Clinical Global Impression - severity score was observed at 24-months (4.52 ± 1.04 at baseline, 3.56 ± 1.10 at 24-months. Most of this improvement was seen by 3-months and was also reflected in mean Global Assessment of Functioning score, which improved significantly at 24-months (42.9 ± 14.5 at baseline, 59 ± 15.4 at 24-months. For patients still receiving RLAI at 24-months there was an increase from a mean baseline RLAI dose of 26.4 ± 5 mg to 43.4 ± 15.7 mg. Sixty-six percent of patients discontinued RLAI before the 24-month period--this decreased to 46% once patients lost to follow-up were excluded. Conclusion Over the 24-month period, initiation of RLAI was associated with improved patient functioning and illness severity in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Improved outcomes were observed early and sustained throughout the study. Trial Registration Clinical Trials Registration Number, NCT00283517.

Cognitive development in 7- to 24-month-old extremely/very-to-moderately/late preterm and full-term born infants: The mediating role of focused attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Reuner, Gitta; Weinschenk, Andrea; Pauen, Sabina; Pietz, Joachim

2015-01-01

The present study analyzed the links between prematurity, attention, and global cognitive performance in infancy and early childhood. At 7 months, focused attention (FA) was examined with an object examination task in 93 preterm infants (39 of them born extremely/very preterm, 54 born moderately/late preterm, and 38 infants born full-term). Global cognition was assessed at 7 and 24 months with the Bayley-II cognitive scale. Groups did not differ with respect to global cognitive performance but FA of infants born extremely/very preterm was significantly lower than in infants born moderately/late preterm. FA correlated significantly with both prematurity and cognitive performance at 7 months of age but not with global cognition in childhood. Findings point to a subtle adverse effect of prematurity on early attention and reveal evidence for the mediating role of FA on the effect of prematurity on cognition.

Petroleum supply monthly, April 1990

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1990-06-26

The Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) is one of a family of three publications produced by the Petroleum Supply Division within the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reflecting different levels of data timeliness and completeness. The other two publications are the Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) and the Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA). Data presented in the Petroleum Supply Monthly describe (PSM) the supply and disposition of petroleum products in the United States and major US geographic regions. The data series describe production, imports and exports, inter-Petroleum Administration for Defense (PAD) District movements, and inventories by the primary suppliers of petroleum products in the United States (50 States and the District of Columbia). The reporting universe includes those petroleum sectors in Primary Supply.'' Included are: petroleum refiners, motor gasoline blenders, operators of natural gas processing plants and fractionators, inter-PAD transporters, importers, and major inventory holders of petroleum products and crude oil. When aggregated, the data reported by these sectors approximately represent the consumption of petroleum products in the United States. Data presented in the PSM are divided into two sections: (1) the Summary Statistics and (2) the Detailed Statistics.

Isoniazid Completion Rates for Latent Tuberculosis Infection among College Students Managed by a Community Pharmacist

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Karl; Goad, Jeffery; Wu, Joanne; Johnson, Kathleen

2009-01-01

Objective: The authors' objective was to document 9-month and previously recommended 6-month treatment completion rates for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in a pharmacist-managed LTBI clinic in a community pharmacy on a college campus, and to describe patient characteristics. Participants: Participants were university students diagnosed with…

Inter-comparison of different models for estimating clear sky solar global radiation for the Negev region of Israel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ianetz, Amiran; Lyubansky, Vera; Setter, Ilan; Kriheli, Boris; Evseev, Efim G.; Kudish, Avraham I.

2007-01-01

Solar global radiation is a function of solar altitude, site altitude, albedo, atmospheric transparency and cloudiness, whereas solar global radiation on a clear day is defined such that it is a function of all the abovementioned parameters except cloudiness. Consequently, analysis of the relative magnitudes of solar global radiation and solar global radiation on a clear day provides a platform for studying the influence of cloudiness on solar global radiation. The Iqbal filter for determining the day type has been utilized to calculate the monthly average clear day solar global radiation at three sites in the Negev region of Israel. An inter-comparison between four models for estimating clear sky solar global radiation at the three sites was made. The relative accuracy of the four models was determined by comparing the monthly average daily clear sky solar global radiation to that determined using the Iqbal filter. The analysis was performed on databases consisting of measurements made during the time interval of January 1991 to December 2004. The monthly average daily clear sky solar global radiation determined by the Berlynd model was found to give the best agreement with that determined using the Iqbal filter. The Berlynd model was then utilized to calculate a daily clear day index, K c , which is defined as the ratio of the daily solar global radiation to the daily clear day solar global radiation. It is suggested that this index be used as an indication of the degree of cloudiness. Linear regression analysis was performed on the individual monthly databases for each site to determine the correlation between the daily clear day index and the daily clearness index, K T

Complete second branchial cleft anomaly presenting as a fistula and a tonsillar cyst: an interesting congenital anomaly.

Science.gov (United States)

Thottam, Prasad John; Bathula, Samba S; Poulik, Janet M; Madgy, David N

2014-01-01

Branchial cleft anomalies make up 30% of all pediatric neck masses, but complete second branchial cleft anomalies are extremely rare. We report an unusual case of a complete second branchial cleft anomaly that presented as a draining neck fistula and a tonsillar cyst in an otherwise healthy 3-month-old girl. At the age of 7 months, the patient had been experiencing feeding difficulties, and there was increasing concern about the risk of persistent infections. At that point, the anomaly was excised in its entirety. Our suspicion that the patient had a complete second branchial cleft anomaly was confirmed by imaging, surgical excision, and histopathologic analysis.

Complete Genome Sequences of Four Isolates of Plutella xylostella Granulovirus.

Science.gov (United States)

Spence, Robert J; Noune, Christopher; Hauxwell, Caroline

2016-06-30

Granuloviruses are widespread pathogens of Plutella xylostella L. (diamondback moth) and potential biopesticides for control of this global insect pest. We report the complete genomes of four Plutella xylostella granulovirus isolates from China, Malaysia, and Taiwan exhibiting pairs of noncoding, homologous repeat regions with significant sequence variation but equivalent length. Copyright © 2016 Spence et al.

Health and Safety Laboratory environmental quarterly. Final tabulation of monthly /sup 90/Sr fallout data: 1954--1976

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1977-10-01

This report presents the monthly /sup 90/Sr deposition data derived from a global network of stations started in 1954. This program was carried out to assess the distribution patterns and inventory the amount of fallout of radionuclies from atmospheric nuclear tests. In 1976, monthly deposition rates had diminished to the point where measurable levels of /sup 90/Sr were rarely observed.

Influence of daily versus monthly fire emissions on atmospheric model applications in the tropics

Science.gov (United States)

Marlier, M. E.; Voulgarakis, A.; Faluvegi, G.; Shindell, D. T.; DeFries, R. S.

2012-12-01

Fires are widely used throughout the tropics to create and maintain areas for agriculture, but are also significant contributors to atmospheric trace gas and aerosol concentrations. However, the timing and magnitude of fire activity can vary strongly by year and ecosystem type. For example, frequent, low intensity fires dominate in African savannas whereas Southeast Asian peatland forests are susceptible to huge pulses of emissions during regional El Niño droughts. Despite the potential implications for modeling interactions with atmospheric chemistry and transport, fire emissions have commonly been input into global models at a monthly resolution. Recognizing the uncertainty that this can introduce, several datasets have parsed fire emissions to daily and sub-daily scales with satellite active fire detections. In this study, we explore differences between utilizing the monthly and daily Global Fire Emissions Database version 3 (GFED3) products as inputs into the NASA GISS-E2 composition climate model. We aim to understand how the choice of the temporal resolution of fire emissions affects uncertainty with respect to several common applications of global models: atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and climate. Focusing our analysis on tropical ozone, carbon monoxide, and aerosols, we compare modeled concentrations with available ground and satellite observations. We find that increasing the temporal frequency of fire emissions from monthly to daily can improve correlations with observations, predominately in areas or during seasons more heavily affected by fires. Differences between the two datasets are more evident with public health applications: daily resolution fire emissions increases the number of days exceeding World Health Organization air quality targets.

Complete detoxification is the most effective treatment of medication-overuse headache

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carlsen, Louise Ninett; Munksgaard, Signe Bruun; Jensen, Rigmor Højland

2018-01-01

/month by 46% (95% CI 34-58) compared with 22% (95% CI 11-34) in program-B ( p = 0.005), and 70% in program A versus 42% in program B were reverted to episodic headache ( p = 0.04). Migraine-days/month were reduced by 7.2 in program A ( p 0.001) and 3.6 in program B ( p = 0.002) after 6 months. Conclusion......Background There is lack of evidence on how to detoxify medication-overuse headache. Aim To compare the effect of complete stop of acute medication with restricted intake. Methods Medication-overuse headache patients were included in a prospective, outpatient study and randomized to two months...... Both detoxification programs were very effective. Detoxification without analgesics or acute migraine-medication was the most effective program. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02903329)....

Development of global cortical networks in early infancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Homae, Fumitaka; Watanabe, Hama; Otobe, Takayuki; Nakano, Tamami; Go, Tohshin; Konishi, Yukuo; Taga, Gentaro

2010-04-07

Human cognition and behaviors are subserved by global networks of neural mechanisms. Although the organization of the brain is a subject of interest, the process of development of global cortical networks in early infancy has not yet been clarified. In the present study, we explored developmental changes in these networks from several days to 6 months after birth by examining spontaneous fluctuations in brain activity, using multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy. We set up 94 measurement channels over the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital regions of the infant brain. The obtained signals showed complex time-series properties, which were characterized as 1/f fluctuations. To reveal the functional connectivity of the cortical networks, we calculated the temporal correlations of continuous signals between all the pairs of measurement channels. We found that the cortical network organization showed regional dependency and dynamic changes in the course of development. In the temporal, parietal, and occipital regions, connectivity increased between homologous regions in the two hemispheres and within hemispheres; in the frontal regions, it decreased progressively. Frontoposterior connectivity changed to a "U-shaped" pattern within 6 months: it decreases from the neonatal period to the age of 3 months and increases from the age of 3 months to the age of 6 months. We applied cluster analyses to the correlation coefficients and showed that the bilateral organization of the networks begins to emerge during the first 3 months of life. Our findings suggest that these developing networks, which form multiple clusters, are precursors of the functional cerebral architecture.

Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation of the Genicular Nerves for Chronic Pain due to Knee Osteoarthritis: Six-Month Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Zachary L; Korn, Marc; Reddy, Rajiv; Marcolina, Austin; Dayanim, David; Mattie, Ryan; Cushman, Daniel; Bhave, Meghan; McCarthy, Robert J; Khan, Dost; Nagpal, Geeta; Walega, David R

2017-09-01

Determine outcomes of cooled radiofrequency ablation (C-RFA) of the genicular nerves for treatment of chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis (OA). Cross-sectional survey. Academic pain medicine center. Consecutive patients with knee OA and 50% or greater pain relief following genicular nerve blocks who underwent genicular nerve C-RFA. Survey administration six or more months after C-RFA. Pain numeric rating scale (NRS), Medication Quantification Scale III (MQSIII), Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC), and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) data were collected. Logistic regression was used to identify factors that predicted treatment success. Thirty-three patients (52 discrete knees) met inclusion criteria. Thirty-five percent (95% confidence interval [CI] = 22-48) of procedures resulted in the combined outcome of 50% or greater reduction in NRS score, reduction of 3.4 or more points in MQSIII score, and PGIC score consistent with "very much improved/improved." Nineteen percent (95% CI = 10-33) of procedures resulted in complete pain relief. Greater duration of pain and greater than 80% pain relief from diagnostic blocks were identified as predictors of treatment success. The accuracy of the model was 0.88 (95% CI = 0.78-0.97, P  <   0.001). Genicular C-RFA demonstrated a success rate of 35% based on a robust combination of outcome measures, and 19% of procedures resulted in complete relief of pain at a minimum of six months of follow-up. Report of 80% or greater relief from diagnostic blocks and duration of pain of less than five years are associated with high accuracy in predicting treatment success. Further prospective study is needed to optimize the patient selection protocol and success rate of this procedure. © 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Global monodromy modulo 5 of quintic-mirror family

OpenAIRE

Shirakawa, Kennichiro

2011-01-01

The quintic-mirror family is a well-known one-parameter family of Calabi-Yau threefolds. A complete description of the global monodromy group of this family is not yet known. In this paper, we give a presentation of the global monodromy group in the general linear group of degree 4 over the ring of integers modulo 5.

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Monthly Precipitation Reconstruction of Ocean(PRECO)at Spatial Resolution of 2.5 degree.

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This global monthly precipitation analysis is called the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC). This analysis consists of two...

Blind RRT: A probabilistically complete distributed RRT

KAUST Repository

Rodriguez, Cesar; Denny, Jory; Jacobs, Sam Ade; Thomas, Shawna; Amato, Nancy M.

2013-01-01

Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees (RRTs) have been successful at finding feasible solutions for many types of problems. With motion planning becoming more computationally demanding, we turn to parallel motion planning for efficient solutions. Existing work on distributed RRTs has been limited by the overhead that global communication requires. A recent approach, Radial RRT, demonstrated a scalable algorithm that subdivides the space into regions to increase the computation locality. However, if an obstacle completely blocks RRT growth in a region, the planning space is not covered and is thus not probabilistically complete. We present a new algorithm, Blind RRT, which ignores obstacles during initial growth to efficiently explore the entire space. Because obstacles are ignored, free components of the tree become disconnected and fragmented. Blind RRT merges parts of the tree that have become disconnected from the root. We show how this algorithm can be applied to the Radial RRT framework allowing both scalability and effectiveness in motion planning. This method is a probabilistically complete approach to parallel RRTs. We show that our method not only scales but also overcomes the motion planning limitations that Radial RRT has in a series of difficult motion planning tasks. © 2013 IEEE.

Blind RRT: A probabilistically complete distributed RRT

KAUST Repository

Rodriguez, Cesar

2013-11-01

Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees (RRTs) have been successful at finding feasible solutions for many types of problems. With motion planning becoming more computationally demanding, we turn to parallel motion planning for efficient solutions. Existing work on distributed RRTs has been limited by the overhead that global communication requires. A recent approach, Radial RRT, demonstrated a scalable algorithm that subdivides the space into regions to increase the computation locality. However, if an obstacle completely blocks RRT growth in a region, the planning space is not covered and is thus not probabilistically complete. We present a new algorithm, Blind RRT, which ignores obstacles during initial growth to efficiently explore the entire space. Because obstacles are ignored, free components of the tree become disconnected and fragmented. Blind RRT merges parts of the tree that have become disconnected from the root. We show how this algorithm can be applied to the Radial RRT framework allowing both scalability and effectiveness in motion planning. This method is a probabilistically complete approach to parallel RRTs. We show that our method not only scales but also overcomes the motion planning limitations that Radial RRT has in a series of difficult motion planning tasks. © 2013 IEEE.

Global Water Surface Dynamics: Toward a Near Real Time Monitoring Using Landsat and Sentinel Data

Science.gov (United States)

Pekel, J. F.; Belward, A.; Gorelick, N.

2017-12-01

Global surface water dynamics and its long-term changes have been documented at 30m spatial resolution using the entire multi-temporal orthorectified Landsat 5, 7 and 8 archive for the years 1984 to 2015. This validated dataset recorded the months and years when water was present, where occurrence changed and what form changes took (in terms of seasonality), documents inter-annual variability, and multi-annual trends. This information is freely available from the global surface water explorer https://global-surface-water.appspot.com. Here we extend this work (doi:10.1038/nature20584 ) by combining post 2015 Landsat 7 and 8 data with imagery from the Copernicus program's Sentinel 2a and b satellites. Using these data in combination improves the spatial resolution (from 30m to a nominal 10m) and temporal resolution (from 8 days to 4 days revisit time at the equator). The improved geographic and temporal completeness of the combined Landsat / Sentinel dataset also offers new opportunities for the identification and characterization of seasonally occurring waterbodies. These improvements are also being examined in the light of reporting progress against Agenda 2030's Sustainable Development Goal 6, especially the indicator used to measure 'change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time'.

CERES Monthly TOA and SRB Averages (SRBAVG) data in HDF-EOS Grid (CER_SRBAVG_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2D)

Science.gov (United States)

Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

The Monthly TOA/Surface Averages (SRBAVG) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SRBAVG is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. The monthly average regional flux is estimated using diurnal models and the 1-degree regional fluxes at the hour of observation from the CERES SFC product. A second set of monthly average fluxes are estimated using concurrent diurnal information from geostationary satellites. These fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes and are spatially averaged from 1-degree regions to 1-degree zonal averages and a global average. For each region, the SRBAVG also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average. The cloud properties from SFC are column averaged and are included on the SRBAVG. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-02-01; Stop_Date=2004-05-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=1 degree; Longitude_Resolution=1 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=100 km - < 250 km or approximately 1 degree - < 2.5 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

CERES Monthly TOA and SRB Averages (SRBAVG) data in HDF-EOS Grid (CER_SRBAVG_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2C)

Science.gov (United States)

Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

The Monthly TOA/Surface Averages (SRBAVG) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SRBAVG is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. The monthly average regional flux is estimated using diurnal models and the 1-degree regional fluxes at the hour of observation from the CERES SFC product. A second set of monthly average fluxes are estimated using concurrent diurnal information from geostationary satellites. These fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes and are spatially averaged from 1-degree regions to 1-degree zonal averages and a global average. For each region, the SRBAVG also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average. The cloud properties from SFC are column averaged and are included on the SRBAVG. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-02-01; Stop_Date=2003-02-28] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=1 degree; Longitude_Resolution=1 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=100 km - < 250 km or approximately 1 degree - < 2.5 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

CERES Monthly TOA and SRB Averages (SRBAVG) data in HDF-EOS Grid (CER_SRBAVG_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2C)

Science.gov (United States)

Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

The Monthly TOA/Surface Averages (SRBAVG) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SRBAVG is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. The monthly average regional flux is estimated using diurnal models and the 1-degree regional fluxes at the hour of observation from the CERES SFC product. A second set of monthly average fluxes are estimated using concurrent diurnal information from geostationary satellites. These fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes and are spatially averaged from 1-degree regions to 1-degree zonal averages and a global average. For each region, the SRBAVG also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average. The cloud properties from SFC are column averaged and are included on the SRBAVG. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-02-01; Stop_Date=2003-02-28] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=1 degree; Longitude_Resolution=1 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=100 km - < 250 km or approximately 1 degree - < 2.5 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

Variations and Trends in Global and Regional Precipitation Based on the 22-year GPCP (Global Precipitation Climatology Project) and Three-year TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Data Sets

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, R.; Curtis, S.; Huffman, G.; Bolvin, D.; Nelkin, E.

2001-05-01

This paper gives an overview of the analysis of global precipitation over the last few decades and the impact of the new TRMM precipitation observations. The 20+ year, monthly, globally complete precipitation analysis of the World Climate Research Program's (WCRP/GEWEX) Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) is used to study global and regional variations and trends and is compared to the much shorter TRMM(Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) tropical data set. The GPCP data set shows no significant trend in global precipitation over the twenty years, unlike the positive trend in global surface temperatures over the past century. The global trend analysis must be interpreted carefully, however, because the inhomogeneity of the data set makes detecting a small signal very difficult, especially over this relatively short period. The relation of global (and tropical) total precipitation and ENSO events is quantified with no significant signal when land and ocean are combined. Identifying regional trends in precipitation may be more practical. From 1979 to 2000 the tropics have pattern of regional rainfall trends that has an ENSO-like pattern with features of both the El Nino and La Nina. This feature is related to a possible trend in the frequency of ENSO events (either El Nino or La Nina) over the past 20 years. Monthly anomalies of precipitation are related to ENSO variations with clear signals extending into middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres. The El Nino and La Nina mean anomalies are near mirror images of each other and when combined produce an ENSO signal with significant spatial continuity over large distances. A number of the features are shown to extend into high latitudes. Positive anomalies extend in the Southern Hemisphere (S.H.) from the Pacific southeastward across Chile and Argentina into the south Atlantic Ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere (N.H.) the counterpart feature extends across the southern U.S. and Atlantic Ocean into Europe

Pictures of the month

CERN Multimedia

Claudia Marcelloni de Oliveira

Starting with this issue, we will publish special pictures illustrating the ongoing construction and commissioning efforts. If you wish to have a professionnal photographer immortalize your detector before it disappears in the heart of ATLAS or for a special event, don't hesitate to contact Claudia Marcelloni de Oliveira (16-3687) from the CERN photo service. Members of the pixel team preparing to insert the outermost layer (the outer of the three barrel pixel layers) into the Global Support Frame for the Pixel Detector in SR1. Ongoing work on the first Big Wheel on the C side. Exploded view of the side-C Big Wheel and the barrel cryostat. The TRT Barrel services (HV, LV, cooling liquid, active gas, flushing gas) are now completely connected and tested. Hats off to Kirill Egorov, Mike Reilly, Ben Legeyt and Godwin Mayers who managed to fit everything within the small clearance margin!

Open Source Tools for Assessment of Global Water Availability, Demands, and Scarcity

Science.gov (United States)

Li, X.; Vernon, C. R.; Hejazi, M. I.; Link, R. P.; Liu, Y.; Feng, L.; Huang, Z.; Liu, L.

2017-12-01

Water availability and water demands are essential factors for estimating water scarcity conditions. To reproduce historical observations and to quantify future changes in water availability and water demand, two open source tools have been developed by the JGCRI (Joint Global Change Research Institute): Xanthos and GCAM-STWD. Xanthos is a gridded global hydrologic model, designed to quantify and analyze water availability in 235 river basins. Xanthos uses a runoff generation and a river routing modules to simulate both historical and future estimates of total runoff and streamflows on a monthly time step at a spatial resolution of 0.5 degrees. GCAM-STWD is a spatiotemporal water disaggregation model used with the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) to spatially downscale global water demands for six major enduse sectors (irrigation, domestic, electricity generation, mining, and manufacturing) from the region scale to the scale of 0.5 degrees. GCAM-STWD then temporally downscales the gridded annual global water demands to monthly results. These two tools, written in Python, can be integrated to assess global, regional or basin-scale water scarcity or water stress. Both of the tools are extensible to ensure flexibility and promote contribution from researchers that utilize GCAM and study global water use and supply.

Meteors Without Borders: a global campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Heenatigala, T.

2012-01-01

"Meteors Without Borders" is a global project, organized by Astronomers Without Borders and launched during the Global Astronomy Month in 2010 for the Lyrid meteor shower. The project focused on encouraging amateur astronomy groups to hold public outreach events for major meteor showers, conduct meteor-related classroom activities, photography, poetry and art work. It also uses social-media platforms to connect groups around the world to share their observations and photography, live during the events. At the International Meteor Conference 2011, the progress of the project was presented along with an extended invitation for collaborations for further improvements of the project.

Global spatiotemporal distribution of soil respiration modeled using a global database

Science.gov (United States)

Hashimoto, S.; Carvalhais, N.; Ito, A.; Migliavacca, M.; Nishina, K.; Reichstein, M.

2015-07-01

The flux of carbon dioxide from the soil to the atmosphere (soil respiration) is one of the major fluxes in the global carbon cycle. At present, the accumulated field observation data cover a wide range of geographical locations and climate conditions. However, there are still large uncertainties in the magnitude and spatiotemporal variation of global soil respiration. Using a global soil respiration data set, we developed a climate-driven model of soil respiration by modifying and updating Raich's model, and the global spatiotemporal distribution of soil respiration was examined using this model. The model was applied at a spatial resolution of 0.5°and a monthly time step. Soil respiration was divided into the heterotrophic and autotrophic components of respiration using an empirical model. The estimated mean annual global soil respiration was 91 Pg C yr-1 (between 1965 and 2012; Monte Carlo 95 % confidence interval: 87-95 Pg C yr-1) and increased at the rate of 0.09 Pg C yr-2. The contribution of soil respiration from boreal regions to the total increase in global soil respiration was on the same order of magnitude as that of tropical and temperate regions, despite a lower absolute magnitude of soil respiration in boreal regions. The estimated annual global heterotrophic respiration and global autotrophic respiration were 51 and 40 Pg C yr-1, respectively. The global soil respiration responded to the increase in air temperature at the rate of 3.3 Pg C yr-1 °C-1, and Q10 = 1.4. Our study scaled up observed soil respiration values from field measurements to estimate global soil respiration and provide a data-oriented estimate of global soil respiration. The estimates are based on a semi-empirical model parameterized with over one thousand data points. Our analysis indicates that the climate controls on soil respiration may translate into an increasing trend in global soil respiration and our analysis emphasizes the relevance of the soil carbon flux from soil to

ATSR sea surface temperature data in a global analysis with TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Per; Andersen, Ole Baltazar; Knudsen, Thomas

1996-01-01

Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) data from the ERS 1 satellite mission are used in a global analysis of the surface temperature of the oceans. The data are the low resolution 0.5 degrees by 0.5 degrees average temperatures and cover about 24 months. At global scales a significant seasonal...... variability is found. On each of the hemispheres the surface temperatures reach their maximum after summer heating. The seasonal sea level variability, as observed from TOPEX/POSEIDON, reaches its maximum 1.1-1.4 months later....

Predictors of Post-concussion Rehabilitation Outcomes at Three-month Follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Katie L; Strong, Carrie-Ann H; Gorter, Bethany; Donders, Jacobus

2016-01-01

To determine factors related to three-month follow-up outcomes for individuals participating in an outpatient rehabilitative treatment program for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Fifty participants underwent neuropsychological screening prior to treatment initiation and completed the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 (MPAI-4) at treatment initiation, discharge from treatment, and three months following discharge. Regression models indicated that information garnered from the neuropsychological screening prior to treatment initiation (e.g., mood symptoms and prior psychiatric history) accounted for unique variance in three-month post-discharge outcomes on several MPAI-4 subscales. Specifically, after controlling for baseline MPAI-4 ratings, higher Beck Depression Inventory-second edition (BDI-II) scores were associated with worse MPAI-4 Ability scores at three-month follow-up, and the presence of a psychiatric history was associated with worse MPAI-4 Adjustment scores at three-month follow-up. Neuropsychological screening prior to the initiation of treatment for mild TBI can help to identify patients who may be at greater risk for poorer rehabilitation outcomes, thus allowing for the implementation of specific interventions to address these risk factors.

CAVITY LIKE COMPLETIONS IN WEAK SANDS PREFERRED UPSTREAM MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ian Palmer; John McLennan

2004-04-30

The technology referred to as Cavity Like Completions (CLC) offers a new technique to complete wells in friable and unconsolidated sands. A successfully designed CLC provides significant increases in well PI (performance index) at lower costs than alternative completion techniques. CLC technology is being developed and documented by a partnership of major oil and gas companies through a GPRI (Global Petroleum Research Institute) joint venture. Through the DOE-funded PUMP program, the experiences of the members of the joint venture will be described for other oil and gas producing companies. To date six examples of CLC completions have been investigated by the JV. The project was performed to introduce a new type of completion (or recompletion) technique to the industry that, in many cases, offers a more cost effective method to produce oil and gas from friable reservoirs. The project's scope of work included: (1) Further develop theory, laboratory and field data into a unified model to predict performance of cavity completion; (2) Perform at least one well test for cavity completion (well provided by one of the sponsor companies); (3) Provide summary of geo-mechanical models for PI increase; and (4) Develop guidelines to evaluate success of potential cavity completion. The project tracks the experiences of a joint industry consortium (GPRI No. 17) over a three year period and compiles results of the activities of this group.

Modeling Change in Project Duration and Completion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiltshire, Travis; Butner, Jonathan E.; Pirtle, Zachary

2017-01-01

In complex work domains and organizations, understanding scheduleing dynamics can ensure objectives are reached and delays are mitigated. In the current paper, we examine the scheduling dynamics for NASA’s Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) activities. For this examination, we specifically modeled...... simultaneous change in percent complete and estimated duration for a given project as they were included in monthly reports over time. In short, we utilized latent change score mixture modeling to extract the attractor dynamics within the scheduling data. We found three primarily patterns: an attractor at low...

The Complexity of the Implications of Globalization in the Context of the Current Global Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raluca Ionela CREŢOIU

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Globalization represents a controversial phenomenon both because of its complexity and because of the various implications it has on the global economy. Globalization will act simultaneously on many levels, its effects being correlated with the diversity of the angles from which this phenomenon can be approached from – economic, social, politic, cultural, philosophic etc. The article represents an incursion into the issue regarding the implications and effects of globalization grouped in several areas of analysis such as the disappearance of borders, the effects on culture, the effects on the education, the impact on labour market impact and the phenomenon of immigration, the effects of globalization in the context of the food crisis underdevelopment and poverty. To complete the analysis that points out enough elements considered to be negative, at the end of the article, there are also approached the development opportunities that globalization can offer in terms of boosting the economic exchanges, the exchange of genuine cultural values and ensuring a transfer of information at a global scale, so necessary for the scientific and technological progress.  The conclusions of the article weighs the many aspects highlighted, both negative and positive, and suggests a series of useful research directions in order to fathom the complex features of this concept so controversial – globalization.

Prison-based rehabilitation: Predictors of offender treatment participation and treatment completion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosma, A.; Kunst, M.; Dirkzwager, A.J.E.; Nieuwbeerta, Paul|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/138622973

2016-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to examine to what extent risk factors and treatment readiness were related to engagement (i.e., participation and completion) in prison-based rehabilitation programs. The sample consisted of the total 6-month inflow of male detainees in the Netherlands who were

Factors affecting school completion by the girl child in Binga Rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Despite the plausible increase in the enrolment rate of girls, progress in education among rural girls at global, regional and local level has been impeded by high influx of school dropouts. The objectives of the study were to assess factors that prohibit girls from completing their formal education in Binga rural district in ...

Complete invagination of vermiform appendix with adenocarcinoma: case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Young Lan; Choi, Chul Soon; Kim, Ho Chul; Bae Sang Hoon; Kim, Duck Hwan

2000-01-01

Appendiceal intussusception is a very rare pathological condition, an incidence, as revealed by appendectomy specimens, of only 0.01 percent. There are various types among which complete invagination of the appendix is very rare. We encountered a case of intussusception of the appendix with complete invagination induced by appendiceal adenocarcinoma. A preoperative diagnosis of appendiceal adenocarcinoma and intussusception was not possible, but a final pathological report confirmed these conditions and retrospective analysis of a barium enema showed a finger-like filling defect of the cecum, a relatively specific finding in such cases. We describe a case involving a 39-year old man who one month earlier had noted the onset of pain in the right lower abdomen. (author)

Complete invagination of vermiform appendix with adenocarcinoma: case report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seo, Young Lan; Choi, Chul Soon; Kim, Ho Chul; Bae Sang Hoon; Kim, Duck Hwan [Kang Dong Sacred Heart Hospital, Collge of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2000-09-01

Appendiceal intussusception is a very rare pathological condition, an incidence, as revealed by appendectomy specimens, of only 0.01 percent. There are various types among which complete invagination of the appendix is very rare. We encountered a case of intussusception of the appendix with complete invagination induced by appendiceal adenocarcinoma. A preoperative diagnosis of appendiceal adenocarcinoma and intussusception was not possible, but a final pathological report confirmed these conditions and retrospective analysis of a barium enema showed a finger-like filling defect of the cecum, a relatively specific finding in such cases. We describe a case involving a 39-year old man who one month earlier had noted the onset of pain in the right lower abdomen. (author)

Five months of physical exercise in hemodialysis patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Molsted, Stig; Eidemak, Inge; Sorensen, Helle Tauby

2004-01-01

BACKGROUND: The number of chronic renal failure patients treated by hemodialysis (HD) is continuously increasing. Most patients have reduced physical capacity and have a high risk of cardiac and vascular diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of 5 months physical exercise...... limitations, severe peripheral polyneuropathy, inability to speak Danish or English, dementia or other mental disorders. The patients were randomly assigned to an exercise group (EG, n = 22) or a control group (CG, n = 11). Prior to randomization, baseline testing was performed. The effects were measured...... by aerobic capacity, '2-min stair climbing', 'squat test', self-rated health (SF36), blood pressure and lipids. All tests were carried out by blinded testers. The intervention consisted of 1 h of physical exercise twice a week for 5 months. RESULTS: 20 patients completed the intervention. Attendance was 74...

The Sun is the climate pacemaker II. Global ocean temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Douglass, David H., E-mail: douglass@pas.rochester.edu; Knox, Robert S.

2015-04-17

In part I, equatorial Pacific Ocean temperature index SST3.4 was found to have segments during 1990–2014 showing a phase-locked annual signal and phase-locked signals of 2- or 3-year periods. Phase locking is to an inferred solar forcing of 1.0 cycle/yr. Here the study extends to the global ocean, from surface to 700 and 2000 m. The same phase-locking phenomena are found. The El Niño/La Niña effect diffuses into the world oceans with a delay of about two months. - Highlights: • Global ocean temperatures at depths 0–700 m and 0–2000 m from 1990 to 2014 are studied. • The same phase-locked phenomena reported in Paper I are observed. • El Niño/La Niña effects diffuse to the global oceans with a two month delay. • Ocean heat content trends during phase-locked time segments are consistent with zero.

Complete cloacal duplication imaged before and during pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ragab, Omar; Landay, Melanie; Shriki, Jabi

2009-01-01

The authors describe a 31 year-old female who presented emergently with abdominal pain and was found at CT to have complete genitourinary duplication including separate urinary bladders, uteri, cervices, and vaginas, and also duplication of the rectum. No etiology for abdominal pain was identified. The patient was referred to urology for further evaluation, and an intravenous urographic study was obtained, which confirmed complete lower urinary tract duplication. The patient presented emergently 9 months later during a subsequent pregnancy for further evaluation of abdominal pain. A second CT scan was ordered to rule out appendicitis. Findings consistent with cloacal duplication were again noted. There was also dilatation of the urinary collecting systems, more prominently on the right side. A Cesarean section was performed and confirmed total genitourinary and rectal duplication.

Petroleum supply monthly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-10-01

The Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) is one of a family of four publications produced by the Petroleum Supply Division within the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reflecting different levels of data timeliness and completeness. The other publications are the Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), the Winter Fuels Report, and the Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA). Data presented in the PSM describe the supply and disposition of petroleum products in the United States and major US geographic regions. The data series describe production, imports and exports, inter-Petroleum Administration for Defense (PAD) District movements, and inventories by the primary suppliers of petroleum products in the United States (50 States and the District of Columbia). The reporting universe includes those petroleum sectors in primary supply. Included are: petroleum refiners, motor gasoline blends, operators of natural gas processing plants and fractionators, inter-PAD transporters, importers, and major inventory holders of petroleum products and crude oil. When aggregated, the data reported by these sectors approximately represent the consumption of petroleum products in the United States.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana CHINDRIS-VASIOIU

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The confrontation between third millennium will not be between civilizations but between forces of globalization and global agents. Already live in a global economy, context in which it is necessary to understand by globalization the modernization process of life world by spreading economic means of production and communication at world level. Globalization produces a capitalism healthy whereas stimulates competition beneficial between an ever-increasing number of companies. Economic and political unification under the global financial corporate banner is accompanied by mixing spiritual values and return unique realm. After internationalism political correctness (multiculturalism, feminism, ecological radically administered Western individualism typical bruising, it seems that the ground is ready for the big toe-in. Globalization can be seen as a crucial stage of expansion and economic interdependence. This stage is completing a process of aggregation of relatively autonomous local economies whose element mainly in the past has been constant widening of the space for the exchange of each economic savings. Economic renewal based on knowledge of known but a contrary geospatial evolution. Advances in knowledge are favored and intimately linked to the possibility of communication. So, they are favored by communication infrastructure and communication technologies.

Supra-complete surgery via dual intraoperative visualization approach (DiVA) prolongs patient survival in glioblastoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyüpoglu, Ilker Y; Hore, Nirjhar; Merkel, Andreas; Buslei, Rolf; Buchfelder, Michael; Savaskan, Nicolai

2016-05-03

Safe and complete resection represents the first step in the treatment of glioblastomas and is mandatory in increasing the effectiveness of adjuvant therapy to prolong overall survival. With gross total resection currently limited in extent to MRI contrast enhancing areas, the extent to which supra-complete resection beyond obvious contrast enhancement could have impact on overall survival remains unclear. DiVA (dual intraoperative visualization approach) redefines gross total resection as currently accepted by enabling for the first time supra-complete surgery without compromising patient safety. This approach exploits the advantages of two already accepted surgical techniques combining intraoperative MRI with integrated functional neuronavigation and 5-ALA by integrating them into a single surgical approach. We investigated whether this technique has impact on overall outcome in GBM patients. 105 patients with GBM were included. We achieved complete resection with intraoperative MRI alone according to current best-practice in glioma surgery in 75 patients. 30 patients received surgery with supra-complete resection. The control arm showed a median life expectancy of 14 months, reflecting current standards-of-care and outcome. In contrast, patients receiving supra-complete surgery displayed significant increase in median survival time to 18.5 months with overall survival time correlating directly with extent of supra-complete resection. This extension of overall survival did not come at the cost of neurological deterioration. We show for the first time that supra-complete glioma surgery leads to significant prolongation of overall survival time in GBM patients.

Role of global stress in the health-related quality of life of caregivers: evidence from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin.

Science.gov (United States)

Litzelman, Kristin; Skinner, Halcyon G; Gangnon, Ronald E; Nieto, F Javier; Malecki, Kristen; Witt, Whitney P

2014-06-01

Informal caregivers play a critical role in the care of individuals who are aging or have disabilities and are at increased risk for poor health outcomes. This study sought to determine whether and to what extent: (1) global stress and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) differed between caregivers and non-caregivers; (2) global stress mediated the relationship between caregiving status and HRQoL; and (3) caregiver strain (i.e., stress attributable to caregiving) was associated with worse HRQoL after accounting for global stress. Cross-sectional data were from the 2008-2010 Survey of the Health of Wisconsin, a representative sample of adults aged 21-74 years. Participants (n = 1,364) completed questionnaires about caregiving status, sociodemographics, global stress, and HRQoL. Staged generalized additive models assessed the impact of caregiving on HRQoL and the role of caregiver strain and global stress in this relationship. In the last 12 months, 17.2% of the sample reported caregiving. Caregivers reported worse mental HRQoL than non-caregivers (β -1.88, p = 0.02); global stress mediated this relationship (p stress (p stress, rather than caregiving per se, contributes to poor HRQoL among caregivers, above and beyond the effect of caregiving strain. Screening, monitoring, and reducing stress in multiple life domains presents an opportunity to improve HRQoL outcomes for caregivers.

Medical Student Perceptions of Global Surgery at an Academic Institution: Identifying Gaps in Global Health Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Ambar; Xu, Tim; Murray, Matthew; Casey, Kathleen M

2017-12-01

Robust global health demands access to safe, affordable, timely surgical care for all. The long-term success of global surgery requires medical students to understand and engage with this emerging field. The authors characterized medical students' perceptions of surgical care relative to other fields within global health. An optional, anonymous survey was given to all Johns Hopkins medical students from February to March 2016 to assess perceptions of surgical care and its role in global health. Of 480 students, 365 (76%) completed the survey, with 150 (41%) reporting global health interests. One-third (34%) of responding students felt that surgical care is one of two fields with the greatest potential global health impact in the future, second to infectious disease (49%). A minority (28%) correctly identified that trauma results in more deaths worldwide than obstetric complications or HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Relative to other examined fields, students perceived surgical care as the least preventive and cost-effective, and few students (3%) considered adequate surgical care the best indicator of a robust health care system. Students believed that practicing in a surgical field was least amenable to pursuing a global health career, citing several barriers. Medical students have several perceptions of global surgery that contradict current evidence and literature, which may have implications for their career choices. Opportunities to improve students' global health knowledge and awareness of global surgery career paths include updating curricula, fostering meaningful international academic opportunities, and creating centers of global surgery and global health consortia.

Neoliberal Optimism: Applying Market Techniques to Global Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Mei, Yuyang

2017-01-01

Global health and neoliberalism are becoming increasingly intertwined as organizations utilize markets and profit motives to solve the traditional problems of poverty and population health. I use field work conducted over 14 months in a global health technology company to explore how the promise of neoliberalism re-envisions humanitarian efforts. In this company's vaccine refrigerator project, staff members expect their investors and their market to allow them to achieve scale and develop accountability to their users in developing countries. However, the translation of neoliberal techniques to the global health sphere falls short of the ideal, as profits are meager and purchasing power remains with donor organizations. The continued optimism in market principles amidst such a non-ideal market reveals the tenacious ideological commitment to neoliberalism in these global health projects.

Scaling behaviour of the global tropopause

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Varotsos

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Detrended fluctuation analysis is applied to the time series of the global tropopause height derived from the 1980–2004 daily radiosonde data, in order to detect long-range correlations in its time evolution.

Global tropopause height fluctuations in small time-intervals are found to be positively correlated to those in larger time intervals in a power-law fashion. The exponent of this dependence is larger in the tropics than in the middle and high latitudes in both hemispheres. Greater persistence is observed in the tropopause of the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere. A plausible physical explanation of the fact that long-range correlations in tropopause variability decreases with increasing latitude is that the column ozone fluctuations (that are closely related with the tropopause ones exhibit long range correlations, which are larger in tropics than in the middle and high latitudes at long time scales.

This finding for the tropopause height variability should reduce the existing uncertainties in assessing the climatic characteristics. More specifically the reliably modelled values of a climatic variable (i.e. past and future simulations must exhibit the same scaling behaviour with that possibly existing in the real observations of the variable under consideration. An effort has been made to this end by applying the detrended fluctuation analysis to the global mean monthly land and sea surface temperature anomalies during the period January 1850–August 2008. The result obtained supports the findings presented above, notably: the correlations between the fluctuations in the global mean monthly land and sea surface temperature display scaling behaviour which must characterizes any projection.

Estimation of Global Vegetation Productivity from Global LAnd Surface Satellite Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Yu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Accurately estimating vegetation productivity is important in research on terrestrial ecosystems, carbon cycles and climate change. Eight-day gross primary production (GPP and annual net primary production (NPP are contained in MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS products (MOD17, which are considered the first operational datasets for monitoring global vegetation productivity. However, the cloud-contaminated MODIS leaf area index (LAI and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR retrievals may introduce some considerable errors to MODIS GPP and NPP products. In this paper, global eight-day GPP and eight-day NPP were first estimated based on Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS LAI and FPAR products. Then, GPP and NPP estimates were validated by FLUXNET GPP data and BigFoot NPP data and were compared with MODIS GPP and NPP products. Compared with MODIS GPP, a time series showed that estimated GLASS GPP in our study was more temporally continuous and spatially complete with smoother trajectories. Validated with FLUXNET GPP and BigFoot NPP, we demonstrated that estimated GLASS GPP and NPP achieved higher precision for most vegetation types.

Medicalization of global health 1: has the global health agenda become too medicalized?

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Jocalyn

2014-01-01

Medicalization analyses have roots in sociology and have critical usefulness for understanding contemporary health issues including the 'post-2015 global health agenda'. Medicalization is more complex than just 'disease mongering'--it is a process and not only an outcome; has both positive and negative elements; can be partial rather than complete; and is often sought or challenged by patients or others in the health field. It is understood to be expanding rather than contracting, plays out at the level of interaction or of definitions and agenda-setting, and is said to be largely harmful and costly to individuals and societies. Medicalization of global health issues would overemphasise the role of health care to health; define and frame issues in relation to disease, treatment strategies, and individual behaviour; promote the role of medical professionals and models of care; find support in industry or other advocates of technologies and pharmaceuticals; and discount social contexts, causes, and solutions. In subsequent articles, three case studies are explored, which critically examine predominant issues on the global health agenda: global mental health, non-communicable disease, and universal health coverage. A medicalization lens helps uncover areas where the global health agenda and its framing of problems are shifted toward medical and technical solutions, neglecting necessary social, community, or political action.

STATUS REPORT ON THE SIX-MONTH STUDY ON HIGH ENERGY MUON COLLIDERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KING, B.J.

2001-01-01

The structure, study topics, straw-man muon collider parameter sets and technical challenges for ''Six-Month Study on High Energy Muon Colliders: Oct'00-Apr'0l'' have been summarized at one month from completion of the study. The extremely high constituent particle energies and luminosities of the parameter sets presented in table 1 continue to suggest that muon colliders could play a central role in exploring and extending the HEP energy frontier. The study has already resulted in encouraging progress in areas such as the final focus lattice design and cost-efficient acceleration

Secular trends in monthly heating and cooling demands in Croatia

Science.gov (United States)

Cvitan, Lidija; Sokol Jurković, Renata

2016-08-01

This paper analyzes long-term heating and cooling trends for five locations in Croatia from 1901 to 2008 to assist in the revision of Croatia's heating and cooling energy policy. Trends in monthly heating degree-days (HDD) and cooling degree-days (CDD) were determined for three related temperature threshold values each and analyzed to provide insight into the influence of desired thermal comfort on the extent of changes in energy consumption. Monthly trends in the corresponding number of heating days (HD) and cooling days (CD) were also analyzed. A basic investigation of HDD, HD, CDD, and CD trends proved to be essential to the development of a complete description of important climate-related conditions that impact energy demands associated with heating and cooling. In a few cases, the dependence of the trends on the implemented temperature thresholds was rather pronounced and was reflected in great spatial and temporal variations in monthly trends. The statistical significance of the detected monthly trends illustrated a diverse range of possible impacts of climate changes on heating and cooling energy consumption both across and within three main climate regions in Croatia (continental, mountainous, and maritime). It is confirmed that the applied monthly scale for analyses is suitable for assessing heating and cooling practices.

Effect of Microwave Cured Acrylic Resin on Candidal Growth in Complete denture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmy, A.H.M.

2009-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of heat-cured acrylic resin denture base and microwave-cured acrylic resin denture base on Candidal growth. Seven completely edentulous male patients with no history of denture wearing participated in this study. All the selected patients were re-habilitated by mucosa supported complete dentures. The dentures were constructed from conventional heat-cured acrylic resin denture base following monoplane concept of occlusion. Before dismissing the patients and one month after denture insertion, salivary samples were collected according to oral rinse technique. One month resting period was allowed so as Candidal count can reach to normal. Then dentures were re based using microwave-cured acrylic denture base, before denture insertion and one month after denture insertion, salivary sample were collected before and one month following the same oral rinse technique. In the oral rinse technique, the patients were instructed to rinse their mouths with 10 mL of sterile phosphate buffered saline for 60 seconds. The rinse was then expectorated into a universal container and immediately transported to the laboratory for concentration by centrifugation, then cultured on sabouraud's dextrose agar plates which were incubated at 37 degree C for 48 hours. Microscopic examination and germ tube test were carried out for laboratory investigations. In addition, the morphological features of the isolated Candida from the samples tested in this study, were investigated using the scanning electron microscope(SEM)

Use of autologous platelet-rich plasma in complete cleft palate repair.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Anwar, Mohammad Waheed; Nofal, Ahmed Abdel Fattah; Khalifa, Mohamed; Quriba, Amal Saeed

2016-07-01

Evaluate the effect of topical application of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in primary repair of complete cleft palate and then compare the result with another group of patients using the same surgical technique, without application of PRP with regard to the incidence of oronasal fistula, velopharyngeal closure, and grade of nasality. Case control study. This study was carried on 44 children with complete cleft palate with age range from 12 to 23 months. The children were divided into two age- and gender-matched groups: All children were subjected to the same technique of V-Y pushback repair of the complete cleft palate. In group A (22 children), the PRP prepared from the patient was topically applied between the nasal and oral mucosa layer during palatoplasty, whereas in group B (22 children) the PRP was not applied. All cases were recovered smoothly without problems. In group A, no oronasal fistula was reported, whereas in group B three patients (13.6%) had postoperative fistulae and two patients (9.1%) needed revision palatoplasty. At 6 months postoperative assessment, group A (with PRP application) showed significantly better grade of nasality (P = 0.024) and better endoscopic velopharyngeal closure (P = 0.016) than group B. Usage of autologous PRP in complete cleft palate repair is simple; effective; can decrease the incidence of oronasal fistula; and also significantly improves the grade of nasality and velopharyngeal closure, which decreases the need of further surgical intervention in cleft palate patients. 3b. Laryngoscope, 126:1524-1528, 2016. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Global assessments of the state of the marine environment: Contemporary initiatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bewers, J.M.; Boelens, R.G.V.

1999-01-01

A large number of assessments of regional marine areas have been conducted in recent years for a variety of purposes. Periodic reviews of the state of the marine environment have been undertaken by the United Nations Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP). The most recent of these global assessments was published in 1990. The international adoption of a Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities in 1995 has led to additional demand for regional assessments and a global review. The regional assessments are either completed or in train largely through mechanisms associated with the UNEP Regional Seas Programme. The global assessment has been assigned to GESAMP and incorporated into its plans for the preparation of a new global review to be completed in the year 2002. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, (IOC) the Scientific Committee for Oceanic Research (SCOR) and the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) are collaborating in a review of ocean science. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) recently approved funding for a 'Global International Waters Assessment' (GIWA) partly as a means of determining priorities within its International Waters Portfolio. This paper outlines the nature of, and contemporary activities within, these various assessments. (author)

GEOGLAM Crop Monitor Assessment Tool: Developing Monthly Crop Condition Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

McGaughey, K.; Becker Reshef, I.; Barker, B.; Humber, M. L.; Nordling, J.; Justice, C. O.; Deshayes, M.

2014-12-01

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) developed the Global Agricultural Monitoring initiative (GEOGLAM) to improve existing agricultural information through a network of international partnerships, data sharing, and operational research. This presentation will discuss the Crop Monitor component of GEOGLAM, which provides the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) with an international, multi-source, and transparent consensus assessment of crop growing conditions, status, and agro-climatic conditions likely to impact global production. This activity covers the four primary crop types (wheat, maize, rice, and soybean) within the main agricultural producing regions of the AMIS countries. These assessments have been produced operationally since September 2013 and are published in the AMIS Market Monitor Bulletin. The Crop Monitor reports provide cartographic and textual summaries of crop conditions as of the 28th of each month, according to crop type. This presentation will focus on the building of international networks, data collection, and data dissemination.

Isolated complete bitemporal hemianopia in traumatic chiasmal syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dai Woo Kim

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A 29-year-old man presented with a chief complaint of lateral blindness in the left eye at 4 months after an accidental fall. His best corrected visual acuity was 0.7 in the left eye and 1.0 in the right eye. Visual field test showed a complete bitemporal hemianopic defect without any neurologic symptoms. An orbital computed tomography scan with non-enhancement conducted at the time of the visit showed multiple frontal skull fractures and cerebromalacia a small fracture in the sphenoidal boneboth frontal lobes. No radiological abnormalities of the visual pathway were detected. Optical coherence showed reduced thickness in the retinal nerve fiber layer, primarily in the superior and inferior part of the left eye. To our knowledge, a complete bitemporal hemianopia without neurological deficits is extremely rare in traumatic chiasmal syndrome.

Global Fire Emissions Database, Version 2.1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: This data set consists of 1 degree x 1 degree gridded monthly burned area, fuel loads, combustion completeness, and fire emissions of carbon (C), carbon...

Disease activity in idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a 3-month follow-up study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skau, Maren; Sander, Birgit; Milea, Dan

2011-01-01

, fast RNFL 3.4 protocol), and Humphrey visual field testing were evaluated at regular intervals. Repeat lumbar puncture was performed at final visit (n = 13). The diagnostic delay was 3 months and initial symptoms were headache (94%), visual blurring (82%) and pulsatile tinnitus (65%). Complete clinical...

Monthly land cover-specific evapotranspiration models derived from global eddy flux measurements and remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan Fang; Ge Sun; Peter Caldwell; Steven G. McNulty; Asko Noormets; Jean-Christophe Domec; John King; Zhiqiang Zhang; Xudong Zhang; Guanghui Lin; Guangsheng Zhou; Jingfeng Xiao; Jiquan Chen

2015-01-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) is arguably the most uncertain ecohydrologic variable for quantifying watershed water budgets. Although numerous ET and hydrological models exist, accurately predicting the effects of global change on water use and availability remains challenging because of model deficiency and/or a lack of input parameters. The objective of this study was to...

Yearly, seasonal and monthly daily average diffuse sky radiation models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kassem, A.S.; Mujahid, A.M.; Turner, D.W.

1993-01-01

A daily average diffuse sky radiation regression model based on daily global radiation was developed utilizing two year data taken near Blytheville, Arkansas (Lat. =35.9 0 N, Long. = 89.9 0 W), U.S.A. The model has a determination coefficient of 0.91 and 0.092 standard error of estimate. The data were also analyzed for a seasonal dependence and four seasonal average daily models were developed for the spring, summer, fall and winter seasons. The coefficient of determination is 0.93, 0.81, 0.94 and 0.93, whereas the standard error of estimate is 0.08, 0.102, 0.042 and 0.075 for spring, summer, fall and winter, respectively. A monthly average daily diffuse sky radiation model was also developed. The coefficient of determination is 0.92 and the standard error of estimate is 0.083. A seasonal monthly average model was also developed which has 0.91 coefficient of determination and 0.085 standard error of estimate. The developed monthly daily average and daily models compare well with a selected number of previously developed models. (author). 11 ref., figs., tabs

Feasibility of sequential adjuvant chemotherapy with a 3-month oxaliplatin-based regimen followed by 3 months of capecitabine in patients with stage III and high-risk stage II colorectal cancer: JSWOG-C2 study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsuruta A

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Atsushi Tsuruta,1,* Kazuki Yamashita,2,* Hiroaki Tanioka,3 Akihito Tsuji,4,5 Michio Inukai,6 Toshiki Yamakawa,7 Tomoki Yamatsuji,8 Masanori Yoshimitsu,9 Kazuhiro Toyota,10 Taketoshi Yamano,11 Takeshi Nagasaka,12 Masazumi Okajima13 On behalf of the Japan Southwest Oncology Group (JSWOG 1Department of Digestive Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Hospital, 2Department of Surgery, 3Department of Medical Oncology, Okayama Rosai Hospital, Okayama, 4Department of Medical Oncology, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, Kobe, 5Department of Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University Hospital, Kagawa, 6Department of Medicine, Okayama Saiseikai General Hospital, Okayama, 7Department of Surgery, Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital, Takamatsu, 8Department of General Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School, Okayama, 9Department of Surgery, Hiroshima City Asa Hospital, Hiroshima, 10Department of Surgery, National Hospital Organization Higashihirosima Medical Center, Higashihiroshima, 11Department of Surgery, Kurashiki Medical Center, 12Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, 13Department of Surgery, Hiroshima City Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Six months of oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard adjuvant chemotherapy for completely resected stage III colorectal cancer (CRC. Also, patients with stage II CRC who are considered to be at high risk of disease recurrence often receive the same adjuvant chemotherapy treatment. We prospectively investigated the extent and degree of neuropathy suffered by stage III and high-risk stage II resectable CRC patients who underwent sequential approach involving 3 months of an oxaliplatin-based regimen followed by 3 months of capecitabine. Patients and methods: Patients with completely resected stage III and high-risk stage II CRC aged ≥20 years were

TRACKER INSERTED INTO YB0 & HEAVY LOWERING COMPLETED

CERN Multimedia

      The Tracker travelled very smoothly from Meyrin to Point 5 during the early hours of December 13th. Lowered later the same day, insertion was completed 18th December. The intense campaign of Tracker connections, involving 980 pipes, 2330 cables and 3623 fibre ribbons, has since begun and is making good progress. The final large element of CMS YE-1 was lowered gently into the cavern on January 22nd. This marks the end of fourteen months of heavy lowering operations.  

Prevalence and predictors of anxiety and depression after completion of chemotherapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A prospective longitudinal study

Science.gov (United States)

Kunin-Batson, Alicia S.; Lu, Xiaomin; Balsamo, Lyn; Graber, Kelsey; Devidas, Meenakshi; Hunger, Stephen P.; Carroll, William L.; Winick, Naomi J.; Mattano, Leonard A.; Maloney, Kelly W.; Kadan-Lottick, Nina S.

2016-01-01

Background The months immediately following completion of treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are often regarded as a stressful time for children and families. In this prospective, longitudinal study, the prevalence and predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms after completion of treatment were examined. Methods Participants included 160 children (ages 2-9 years) with standard-risk ALL enrolled on Children's Oncology Group protocol AALL0331. Parents completed standardized rating scales of children's emotional-behavioral functioning, and measures of coping and family functioning at ∼1, 6, and 12 months after diagnosis, and again 3 months following completion of chemotherapy. Results Three months off-therapy, 24% of survivors had at-risk/clinically elevated anxiety scores and 28% had elevated depression scores, significantly higher than the expected 15% in the general population (p=0.028 and 0.001, respectively). Patients with elevated anxiety one-month post-diagnosis were at greater risk for off–therapy anxiety (OR=4.1; 95% CI, 1.31-12.73, p=0.022), and those with elevated depressive symptoms 6-months post-diagnosis were at greater risk for off-therapy depression (OR=7.88, 95% CI, 2.61-23.81, p=0.0002). In adjusted longitudinal analyses, unhealthy family functioning (p=0.008), and less reliance on social support coping (p=0.009) were associated with risk for emotional distress. Children from Spanish-speaking families (p=0.05) were also at greater risk for distress. Conclusions A significant proportion of children experience emotional distress during and after therapy for ALL. These data provide a compelling rationale for targeted early screening, and psychosocial interventions to support family functioning and coping skills. PMID:27028090

RiceAtlas, a spatial database of global rice calendars and production.

Science.gov (United States)

Laborte, Alice G; Gutierrez, Mary Anne; Balanza, Jane Girly; Saito, Kazuki; Zwart, Sander J; Boschetti, Mirco; Murty, M V R; Villano, Lorena; Aunario, Jorrel Khalil; Reinke, Russell; Koo, Jawoo; Hijmans, Robert J; Nelson, Andrew

2017-05-30

Knowing where, when, and how much rice is planted and harvested is crucial information for understanding the effects of policy, trade, and global and technological change on food security. We developed RiceAtlas, a spatial database on the seasonal distribution of the world's rice production. It consists of data on rice planting and harvesting dates by growing season and estimates of monthly production for all rice-producing countries. Sources used for planting and harvesting dates include global and regional databases, national publications, online reports, and expert knowledge. Monthly production data were estimated based on annual or seasonal production statistics, and planting and harvesting dates. RiceAtlas has 2,725 spatial units. Compared with available global crop calendars, RiceAtlas is nearly ten times more spatially detailed and has nearly seven times more spatial units, with at least two seasons of calendar data, making RiceAtlas the most comprehensive and detailed spatial database on rice calendar and production.

Linking the Taiwan Fish Database to the Global Database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwang-Tsao Shao

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Under the support of the National Digital Archive Program (NDAP, basic species information about most Taiwanese fishes, including their morphology, ecology, distribution, specimens with photos, and literatures have been compiled into the "Fish Database of Taiwan" (http://fishdb.sinica.edu.tw. We expect that the all Taiwanese fish species databank (RSD, with 2800+ species, and the digital "Fish Fauna of Taiwan" will be completed in 2007. Underwater ecological photos and video images for all 2,800+ fishes are quite difficult to achieve but will be collected continuously in the future. In the last year of NDAP, we have successfully integrated all fish specimen data deposited at 7 different institutes in Taiwan as well as their collection maps on the Google Map and Google Earth. Further, the database also provides the pronunciation of Latin scientific names and transliteration of Chinese common names by referring to the Romanization system for all Taiwanese fishes (2,902 species in 292 families so far. The Taiwanese fish species checklist with Chinese common/vernacular names and specimen data has been updated periodically and provided to the global FishBase as well as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF through the national portal of the Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility (TaiBIF. Thus, Taiwanese fish data can be queried and browsed on the WWW. For contributing to the "Barcode of Life" and "All Fishes" international projects, alcohol-preserved specimens of more than 1,800 species and cryobanking tissues of 800 species have been accumulated at RCBAS in the past two years. Through this close collaboration between local and global databases, "The Fish Database of Taiwan" now attracts more than 250,000 visitors and achieves 5 million hits per month. We believe that this local database is becoming an important resource for education, research, conservation, and sustainable use of fish in Taiwan.

4 km NODC/RSMAS AVHRR Pathfinder Cloud Screened Version 5.0 Monthly Climatologies (1985-2006) (NODC Accession 0110657)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains a global, 4km monthly sea surface temperature climatology derived from harmonic analysis of the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 sea surface...

The effect of three-monthly albendazole treatment on Th2 responses: Differential effects on IgE and IL-5.

Science.gov (United States)

de Ruiter, K; Tahapary, D L; Wammes, L J; Wiria, A E; Hamid, F; van Lieshout, L; Smit, J W A; Houwing-Duistermaat, J J; Sartono, E; Supali, T; Yazdanbakhsh, M

2017-06-01

Helminth parasites induce a strong Th2 response, characterized by high levels of IgE and elevated signature cytokines such as IL-5. As many global deworming programmes are underway, there is concern that this might lead to emergence of Th1-mediated pathologies when the counterbalancing helminth-induced Th2 response is absent. Therefore, we assessed the effect of deworming on Th2-mediated responses in a household-clustered randomized controlled trial in Indonesia. Total plasma IgE and whole-blood IL-5 responses to mitogen phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) were measured in 1494 and 682 subjects, respectively, at baseline, 9 and 21 months after three-monthly single-dose treatment with albendazole or placebo. Anthelmintic treatment did not result in complete removal of helminth infections in the community. However, treatment significantly decreased IgE levels in albendazole- compared to placebo-treated subjects. IL-5 responses to PHA were not significantly affected by anthelmintic treatment and tended to increase in albendazole-treated subjects, indicating that intensive treatment of helminth parasites has different outcomes on B-cell (IgE levels) and T-cell (IL-5) responses. The data shows that 2 years of deworming can have differential effects on responses typified as Th2-mediated, which needs to be taken into account when examining the impact of helminths on noncommunicable diseases. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of 37 months global net radiation flux derived from PICARD-BOS over the same period observations of CERES and ARGO

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ping; Wild, Martin

2016-04-01

The absolute level of the global net radiation flux (NRF) is fixed at the level of [0.5-1.0] Wm-2 based on the ocean heat content measurements [1]. The space derived global NRF is at the same order of magnitude than the ocean [2]. Considering the atmosphere has a negligible effects on the global NRF determination, the surface global NRF is consistent with the values determined from space [3]. Instead of studying the absolute level of the global NRF, we focus on the interannual variation of global net radiation flux, which were derived from the PICARD-BOS experiment and its comparison with values over the same period but obtained from the NASA-CERES system and inferred from the ocean heat content survey by ARGO network. [1] Allan, Richard P., Chunlei Liu, Norman G. Loeb, Matthew D. Palmer, Malcolm Roberts, Doug Smith, and Pier-Luigi Vidale (2014), Changes in global net radiative imbalance 1985-2012, Geophysical Research Letters, 41 (no.15), 5588-5597. [2] Loeb, Norman G., John M. Lyman, Gregory C. Johnson, Richard P. Allan, David R. Doelling, Takmeng Wong, Brian J. Soden, and Graeme L. Stephens (2012), Observed changes in top-of-the-atmosphere radiation and upper-ocean heating consistent within uncertainty, Nature Geoscience, 5 (no.2), 110-113. [3] Wild, Martin, Doris Folini, Maria Z. Hakuba, Christoph Schar, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Seiji Kato, David Rutan, Christof Ammann, Eric F. Wood, and Gert Konig-Langlo (2015), the energy balance over land and oceans: an assessment based on direct observations and CMIP5 climate models, Climate Dynamics, 44 (no.11-12), 3393-3429.

Oregon department of transportation small business group twice-monthly payments pilot project : summary report.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-07-01

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently completed a pilot study on small business payment practices. In the study, three pilot projects were tested where payments to small business contractors were changed from a monthly payment to twice-...

Global assessment of surfing conditions: seasonal, interannual and long-term variability

Science.gov (United States)

Espejo, A.; Losada, I.; Mendez, F.

2012-12-01

International surfing destinations owe a great debt to specific combinations of wind-wave, thermal conditions and local bathymetry. As surf quality depends on a vast number of geophysical variables, a multivariable standardized index on the basis of expert judgment is proposed to analyze surf resource in a worldwide domain. Data needed is obtained by combining several datasets (reanalyses): 60-year satellite-calibrated spectral wave hindcast (GOW, WaveWatchIII), wind fields from NCEP/NCAR, global sea surface temperature from ERSST.v3b, and global tides from TPXO7.1. A summary of the global surf resource is presented, which highlights the high degree of variability in surfable events. According to general atmospheric circulation, results show that west facing low to middle latitude coasts are more suitable for surfing, especially those in Southern Hemisphere. Month to month analysis reveals strong seasonal changes in the occurrence of surfable events, enhancing those in North Atlantic or North Pacific. Interannual variability is investigated by comparing occurrence values with global and regional climate patterns showing a great influence at both, global and regional scales. Analysis of long term trends shows an increase in the probability of surfable events over the west facing coasts on the planet (i.e. + 30 hours/year in California). The resulting maps provide useful information for surfers and surf related stakeholders, coastal planning, education, and basic research.; Figure 1. Global distribution of medium quality (a) and high quality surf conditions probability (b).

Leading Indicators: Increasing Statewide Bachelor's Degree Completion Rates at 4-Year Public Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, Jeffrey Cody

2014-01-01

For the United States to maintain national and global economic stability, colleges must graduate more students. Four-year completion rates have declined and less than one-third of full-time, degree-seeking students graduate in 4 years. Some researchers and policymakers have suggested "leading indicators" to track postsecondary…

Longitudinal evaluation of the importance of homework assignment completion for the academic performance of middle school students with ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Langberg, Joshua M; Dvorsky, Melissa R; Molitor, Stephen J; Bourchtein, Elizaveta; Eddy, Laura D; Smith, Zoe; Schultz, Brandon K; Evans, Steven W

2016-04-01

The primary goal of this study was to longitudinally evaluate the homework assignment completion patterns of middle school age adolescents with ADHD, their associations with academic performance, and malleable predictors of homework assignment completion. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 104 middle school students comprehensively diagnosed with ADHD and followed for 18 months. Multiple teachers for each student provided information about the percentage of homework assignments turned in at five separate time points and school grades were collected quarterly. Results showed that agreement between teachers with respect to students assignment completion was high, with an intraclass correlation of .879 at baseline. Students with ADHD were turning in an average of 12% fewer assignments each academic quarter in comparison to teacher-reported classroom averages. Regression analyses revealed a robust association between the percentage of assignments turned in at baseline and school grades 18 months later, even after controlling for baseline grades, achievement (reading and math), intelligence, family income, and race. Cross-lag analyses demonstrated that the association between assignment completion and grades was reciprocal, with assignment completion negatively impacting grades and low grades in turn being associated with decreased future homework completion. Parent ratings of homework materials management abilities at baseline significantly predicted the percentage of assignments turned in as reported by teachers 18 months later. These findings demonstrate that homework assignment completion problems are persistent across time and an important intervention target for adolescents with ADHD. Copyright © 2015 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory monthly activities report, November 1967

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albaugh, F.W.

1967-12-01

Calculated temperatures permitted in the Columbia River under various suggested regulations were plotted and reported in support of AEC studies. Mechanisms of Environmental Exposure. Measurements of radioactivity were completed in 362 pupils and 5 teachers at Emerson School on November 17. Measurements will begin at the third Pasco elementary school on December 5. Lectures were given at Mark Twain School to the teaching staff on November 20, and to 23 classroom son November 27 through December 1. A lecture was also given to the PTA meeting the evening of November 20 at Robert Frost elementary school in Pasco. Modifications were made to the electronic equipment and to the mobile whole-body counter van to improve the performance of the facility to further protect the NaI crystal from potential cold weather damage. Errors found inn the computer-calculated environmental doses were being corrected at month`s end, and the doses will be recalculated in December.

Global assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture: irrigated and rainfed croplands

Science.gov (United States)

Thebo, A. L.; Drechsel, P.; Lambin, E. F.

2014-11-01

The role of urban agriculture in global food security is a topic of increasing discussion. Existing research on urban and peri-urban agriculture consists largely of case studies that frequently use disparate definitions of urban and peri-urban agriculture depending on the local context and study objectives. This lack of consistency makes quantification of the extent of this practice at the global scale difficult. This study instead integrates global data on croplands and urban extents using spatial overlay analysis to estimate the global area of urban and peri-urban irrigated and rainfed croplands. The global area of urban irrigated croplands was estimated at about 24 Mha (11.0 percent of all irrigated croplands) with a cropping intensity of 1.48. The global area of urban rainfed croplands found was approximately 44 Mha (4.7 percent of all rainfed croplands) with a cropping intensity of 1.03. These values were derived from the MIRCA2000 Maximum Monthly Cropped Area Grids for irrigated and rainfed crops and therefore their sum does not necessarily represent the total urban cropland area when the maximum extent of irrigated and rainfed croplands occurs in different months. Further analysis of croplands within 20 km of urban extents show that 60 and 35 percent of, respectively, all irrigated and rainfed croplands fall within this distance range.

Global assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture: irrigated and rainfed croplands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thebo, A L; Drechsel, P; Lambin, E F

2014-01-01

The role of urban agriculture in global food security is a topic of increasing discussion. Existing research on urban and peri-urban agriculture consists largely of case studies that frequently use disparate definitions of urban and peri-urban agriculture depending on the local context and study objectives. This lack of consistency makes quantification of the extent of this practice at the global scale difficult. This study instead integrates global data on croplands and urban extents using spatial overlay analysis to estimate the global area of urban and peri-urban irrigated and rainfed croplands. The global area of urban irrigated croplands was estimated at about 24 Mha (11.0 percent of all irrigated croplands) with a cropping intensity of 1.48. The global area of urban rainfed croplands found was approximately 44 Mha (4.7 percent of all rainfed croplands) with a cropping intensity of 1.03. These values were derived from the MIRCA2000 Maximum Monthly Cropped Area Grids for irrigated and rainfed crops and therefore their sum does not necessarily represent the total urban cropland area when the maximum extent of irrigated and rainfed croplands occurs in different months. Further analysis of croplands within 20 km of urban extents show that 60 and 35 percent of, respectively, all irrigated and rainfed croplands fall within this distance range. (letter)

Bilingual children with primary language impairment: 3 months after treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Giang; Ebert, Kerry Danahy; Kohnert, Kathryn

2015-01-01

Evidence on the treatment effectiveness for bilingual children with primary language impairment (PLI) is needed to advance both theory and clinical practice. Of key interest is whether treatment effects are maintained following the completion of short-term intense treatments. To investigate change in select language and cognitive skills in Spanish-English bilingual children with PLI 3 months after children have completed one of three experimental treatment conditions. There are two main study aims. First, to determine if skills in Spanish, English and cognitive processing decline, improve or are maintained after treatment has been completed. Second, to determine if differential rates of change are a function of the type of treatment children received. Participants were 48 children, aged 5:6-11:3, who spoke Spanish and English and were diagnosed with moderate to severe PLI. Participants received 6 weeks of treatment focused on English only (EO), bilingual skills in Spanish and English (BI) or nonlinguistic cognitive processing (NCP). Treatment effects reported in a previous study were determined by comparing pre- and post-treatment performance on a variety of language and cognitive measures. Here we re-administered each measure 3 months after completion of the experimental treatments. Hierarchical linear models were calculated for each measure using pre-, post- and follow-up testing scores to estimate change trajectories and compare outcomes between treatment conditions. Participants in all three treatment conditions either maintained skills or showed improvement even after treatment was discontinued for 3 months. Main findings included (1) comparable, positive rates of change on all English language outcomes for EO and BI conditions; (2) maintenance of Spanish language skills, and (3) modest improvements in NCP following the discontinuation of treatment. This study is the first to examine longer-term treatment effects for bilingual school-age children with PLI

Bilingual children with primary language impairment: 3 months after treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Giang; Ebert, Kerry Danahy; Kohnert, Kathryn

2018-01-01

Background Evidence on the treatment effectiveness for bilingual children with primary language impairment (PLI) is needed to advance both theory and clinical practice. Of key interest is whether treatment effects are maintained following the completion of short-term intense treatments. Aims To investigate change in select language and cognitive skills in Spanish–English bilingual children with PLI 3 months after children have completed one of three experimental treatment conditions. There are two main study aims. First, to determine if skills in Spanish, English and cognitive processing decline, improve or are maintained after treatment has been completed. Second, to determine if differential rates of change are a function of the type of treatment children received. Methods & Procedures Participants were 48 children, aged 5:6–11:3, who spoke Spanish and English and were diagnosed with moderate to severe PLI. Participants received 6 weeks of treatment focused on English only (EO), bilingual skills in Spanish and English (BI) or nonlinguistic cognitive processing (NCP). Treatment effects reported in a previous study were determined by comparing pre- and post-treatment performance on a variety of language and cognitive measures. Here we re-administered each measure 3 months after completion of the experimental treatments. Hierarchical linear models were calculated for each measure using pre-, post- and follow-up testing scores to estimate change trajectories and compare outcomes between treatment conditions. Outcomes & Results Participants in all three treatment conditions either maintained skills or showed improvement even after treatment was discontinued for 3 months. Main findings included (1) comparable, positive rates of change on all English language outcomes for EO and BI conditions; (2) maintenance of Spanish language skills, and (3) modest improvements in NCP following the discontinuation of treatment. Conclusions & Implications This study is the first

Patient-physician discordance in global assessment in early spondyloarthritis and its change over time: the DESIR cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Desthieux, Carole; Molto, Anna; Granger, Benjamin; Saraux, Alain; Fautrel, Bruno; Gossec, Laure

2016-09-01

To assess patient-physician discordance in global assessment of disease activity in early axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) over time and determinants of discordance. DESIR (Devenir des Spondyloarthropathies Indifférenciées Récentes) is a French, multicentre, longitudinal cohort of patients with early inflammatory back pain suggestive of axSpA. Patient global assessment (PGA) and physician global assessment (PhGA) were rated with a 0-10 numerical rating scale, every 6 months during 2 years then at 3 years. Discordance was defined by the absolute difference |PGA-PhGA|≥3 (range 0-10) and was analysed at each visit. Determinants of (PGA-PhGA) were assessed at the visit level by a generalised linear mixed model. A total of 702 patients were analysed at baseline (401 with complete data over 3 years): mean age 33.8±8.6 years, 379 (54.0%) female, mean symptom duration 18.1±10.5 months. Mean PGA values were always higher than mean PhGA values with a mean absolute difference of 1.8 points. At baseline, 202 (28.8%) patients had discordance mainly by PGA>PhGA; over 3 years the frequency of discordance was stable (range 25.5-28.8%). Discordance was not stable at the patient level, 118 (29.4%) patients were discordant once and 88 (22.0%) twice, and only 92 (22.9%) more than twice. Determinants of (PGA-PhGA) were spine pain (β=0.24, ppatient characteristic. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Petroleum Supply Monthly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-02-01

The Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) is one of a family of four publications produced by the Petroleum Supply Division within the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reflecting different levels of data timeliness and completeness. The other publications are the Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), the Winter Fuels Report, and the Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA). Data presented in the PSM describe the supply and disposition of petroleum products in the United States and major U.S. geographic regions. The data series describe production, imports and exports, inter-Petroleum Administration for Defense (PAD) District movements, and inventories by the primary suppliers of petroleum products in the United States (50 States and the District of Columbia). The reporting universe includes those petroleum sectors in primary supply. Included are: petroleum refiners, motor gasoline blenders, operators of natural gas processing plants and fractionators, inter-PAD transporters, importers, and major inventory holders of petroleum products and crude oil. When aggregated, the data reported by these sectors approximately represent the consumption of petroleum products in the United States. Data presented in the PSM are divided into two sections: Summary Statistics and Detailed Statistics.

Convex analysis and global optimization

CERN Document Server

Tuy, Hoang

2016-01-01

This book presents state-of-the-art results and methodologies in modern global optimization, and has been a staple reference for researchers, engineers, advanced students (also in applied mathematics), and practitioners in various fields of engineering. The second edition has been brought up to date and continues to develop a coherent and rigorous theory of deterministic global optimization, highlighting the essential role of convex analysis. The text has been revised and expanded to meet the needs of research, education, and applications for many years to come. Updates for this new edition include: · Discussion of modern approaches to minimax, fixed point, and equilibrium theorems, and to nonconvex optimization; · Increased focus on dealing more efficiently with ill-posed problems of global optimization, particularly those with hard constraints;

complete revision of the chapter on nonconvex quadratic programming...

The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Combined Precipitation Dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Huffman, George J.; Adler, Robert F.; Arkin, Philip; Chang, Alfred; Ferraro, Ralph; Gruber, Arnold; Janowiak, John; McNab, Alan; Rudolf, Bruno; Schneider, Udo

1997-01-01

The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) has released the GPCP Version 1 Combined Precipitation Data Set, a global, monthly precipitation dataset covering the period July 1987 through December 1995. The primary product in the dataset is a merged analysis incorporating precipitation estimates from low-orbit-satellite microwave data, geosynchronous-orbit -satellite infrared data, and rain gauge observations. The dataset also contains the individual input fields, a combination of the microwave and infrared satellite estimates, and error estimates for each field. The data are provided on 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg latitude-longitude global grids. Preliminary analyses show general agreement with prior studies of global precipitation and extends prior studies of El Nino-Southern Oscillation precipitation patterns. At the regional scale there are systematic differences with standard climatologies.

Cognitive function predicts 24-month weight loss success after bariatric surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Spitznagel, Mary Beth; Alosco, Michael; Strain, Gladys; Devlin, Michael; Cohen, Ronald; Paul, Robert; Crosby, Ross D; Mitchell, James E; Gunstad, John

2013-01-01

Clinically significant cognitive impairment, particularly in attention/executive and memory function, is found in many patients undergoing bariatric surgery. These difficulties have previously been linked to decreased weight loss 12 months after surgery, but more protracted examination of this relationship has not yet been conducted. The present study prospectively examined the independent contribution of cognitive function to weight loss 24 months after bariatric surgery. Given the rapid rate of cognitive improvement observed after surgery, postoperative cognitive function (i.e., cognition 12 weeks after surgery, controlling for baseline cognition) was expected to predict lower body mass index (BMI) and higher percent total weight loss (%WL) at 24-month follow-up. Data were collected by 3 sites of the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) parent project. Fifty-seven individuals enrolled in the LABS project who were undergoing bariatric surgery completed cognitive evaluation at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 months. BMI and %WL were calculated for 24-month postoperative follow-up. Better cognitive function 12 weeks after surgery predicted higher %WL and lower BMI at 24 months, and specific domains of attention/executive and memory function were robustly related to decreased BMI and greater %WL at 24 months. Results show that cognitive performance shortly after bariatric surgery predicts greater long-term %WL and lower BMI 24 months after bariatric surgery. Further work is needed to clarify the degree to which this relationship is mediated by adherence to postoperative guidelines. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The global burden of periodontal disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Poul E; Ogawa, Hiroshi

2012-01-01

Chronic diseases are accelerating globally, advancing across all regions and pervading all socioeconomic classes. Unhealthy diet and poor nutrition, physical inactivity, tobacco use, excessive use of alcohol and psychosocial stress are the most important risk factors. Periodontal disease...... is a component of the global burden of chronic disease, and chronic disease and periodontal disease have the same essential risk factors. In addition, severe periodontal disease is related to poor oral hygiene and to poor general health (e.g. the presence of diabetes mellitus and other systemic diseases......). The present report highlights the global burden of periodontal disease: the ultimate burden of periodontal disease (tooth loss), as well as signs of periodontal disease, are described from World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiological data. High prevalence rates of complete tooth loss are found in upper...

International virtual teams engineering global success

CERN Document Server

Brewer, P

2015-01-01

As a complete guide to international virtual team communication with practical problem-solving strategies, this book is a must read for managers and engineers in all stages of their professional development This book provides essential information for creating and maintaining successful international virtual teams for those who manage, participate in, or train others in international virtual teaming. Based on new studies in engineering communication, this book presents processes and principles that can help managers and engineers establish global virtual teams that work, assess the virtual team climate, and maintain the effectiveness of virtual teams across cultural boundaries. It provides knowledge and tools necessary to understand the variable contexts of global virtual teams, so that organizations are able to respond to inevitable changes in technology and the global marketplace.

Concatenated image completion via tensor augmentation and completion

OpenAIRE

Bengua, Johann A.; Tuan, Hoang D.; Phien, Ho N.; Do, Minh N.

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a novel framework called concatenated image completion via tensor augmentation and completion (ICTAC), which recovers missing entries of color images with high accuracy. Typical images are second- or third-order tensors (2D/3D) depending if they are grayscale or color, hence tensor completion algorithms are ideal for their recovery. The proposed framework performs image completion by concatenating copies of a single image that has missing entries into a third-order tensor,...

Investigating Student Use of Technology for Engaged Citizenship in A Global Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brad M. Maguth

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This study undertook a five month qualitative investigation into technology use amongst twelve high school social studies students in two different sites in the Midwestern United States. This study examined students’ use of technology and its relationship to three dimensions of citizenship in a global age: understand global events, issues, and perspectives, participate in global networks to communicate and collaborate with global audiences, and advocate on global problems and issues to think and act globally. Collecting data through semi-structured student interviews, online-threaded discussions and document analysis, I triangulated findings, and employed a qualitative approach. The study finds a relationship between student participants’ use of technology and their serving as engaged citizenship in a global age. In using technology, students accessed international news and information, joined global networks to communicate and collaborate with global audiences, and produced digital content for international audiences.

Recently amplified arctic warming has contributed to a continual global warming trend

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jianbin; Zhang, Xiangdong; Zhang, Qiyi; Lin, Yanluan; Hao, Mingju; Luo, Yong; Zhao, Zongci; Yao, Yao; Chen, Xin; Wang, Lei; Nie, Suping; Yin, Yizhou; Xu, Ying; Zhang, Jiansong

2017-12-01

The existence and magnitude of the recently suggested global warming hiatus, or slowdown, have been strongly debated1-3. Although various physical processes4-8 have been examined to elucidate this phenomenon, the accuracy and completeness of observational data that comprise global average surface air temperature (SAT) datasets is a concern9,10. In particular, these datasets lack either complete geographic coverage or in situ observations over the Arctic, owing to the sparse observational network in this area9. As a consequence, the contribution of Arctic warming to global SAT changes may have been underestimated, leading to an uncertainty in the hiatus debate. Here, we constructed a new Arctic SAT dataset using the most recently updated global SATs2 and a drifting buoys based Arctic SAT dataset11 through employing the `data interpolating empirical orthogonal functions' method12. Our estimate of global SAT rate of increase is around 0.112 °C per decade, instead of 0.05 °C per decade from IPCC AR51, for 1998-2012. Analysis of this dataset shows that the amplified Arctic warming over the past decade has significantly contributed to a continual global warming trend, rather than a hiatus or slowdown.

On Becoming a Global Citizen: Transformative Learning Through Global Health Experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Litzelman, Debra K; Gardner, Adrian; Einterz, Robert M; Owiti, Philip; Wambui, Charity; Huskins, Jordan C; Schmitt-Wendholt, Kathleen M; Stone, Geren S; Ayuo, Paul O; Inui, Thomas S; Umoren, Rachel A

Globalization has increased the demand for international experiences in medical education. International experiences improve medical knowledge, clinical skills, and self-development; influence career objectives; and provide insights on ethical and societal issues. However, global health rotations can end up being no more than tourism if not structured to foster personal transformation and global citizenship. We conducted a qualitative assessment of trainee-reported critical incidents to more deeply understand the impact of our global health experience on trainees. A cross-sectional survey was administered to trainees who had participated in a 2-month elective in Kenya from January 1989 to May 2013. We report the results of a qualitative assessment of the critical incident reflections participants (n = 137) entered in response to the prompt, "Write about one of your most memorable experiences and explain why you chose to describe this particular one." Qualitative analyses were conducted using thematic analysis and crystallization immersion analytic methods based on the principles of grounded theory, employing a constructivists' research paradigm. Four major themes emerged. These themes were Opening Oneself to a Broader World View; Impact of Suffering and Death; Life-Changing Experiences; and Commitment to Care for the Medically Underserved. Circumstances that learners encounter in the resource-scarce environment in Kenya are eye-opening and life-changing. When exposed to these frame-shifting circumstances, students elaborate on or transform existing points of view. These emotionally disruptive experiences in an international health setting allowed students to enter a transformational learning process with a global mind. Students can see the world as an interdependent society and develop the capacity to advance both their enlightened self-interest and the interest of people elsewhere in the world as they mature as global citizens. Medical schools are encouraged to

12-month follow-up study of drug treatment in pathological gamblers: a primary outcome study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dannon, Pinhas N; Lowengrub, Katherine; Musin, Ernest; Gonopolsky, Yehudit; Kotler, Moshe

2007-12-01

Pathological gambling (PG) is a relatively common and highly disabling impulse control disorder. A range of psychotherapeutic agents including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antiepileptic drugs, and opioid antagonists are shown to be effective in the short-term treatment of PG. The use of a wide range of pharmacological treatments for PG is consistent with the observation that PG shares features of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, impulse control disorders, and addictive disorders. The aim of the study is to assess the rate of relapse in treatment-responder pathological gamblers after discontinuation of the active treatment. Our study sample was composed of 43 male pathological gamblers who had been full responders to 1 of 4 drug treatment regimens (fluvoxamine, topiramate, bupropion SR, or naltrexone) from several previous acute open-label (12-week) comparison studies. Full response was defined as the absence of gambling for a 1-month duration together with improvement on the Clinical Global Improvement scale. The 43 full responders were then followed prospectively for an additional 9 months, which included a 3-month open-label continuation phase and a 6-month medication-free follow-up phase. Follow-up visits were performed on a monthly basis throughout the duration of study. At every follow-up visit, a comprehensive psychiatric diagnostic evaluation was performed on all patients, and patients were assessed for symptoms of gambling using a self-report instrument and collateral family reports. The Clinical Global Impression Improvement scale was also administered at every follow-up visit. Raters were blind to the previous drug treatment. Most patients did not relapse during the 6-month medication-free follow-up phase. Three of 6 patients with fluvoxamine, 3 of 9 with topiramate, 7 of 18 with bupropion SR, and 4 of 10 with naltrexone relapsed. Relapse was strictly defined as gambling behavior at any time during the 6-month medication-free follow

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Global Land Surface Air Temperature Analysis

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A station observation-based global land monthly mean surface air temperature dataset at 0.5 0.5 latitude-longitude resolution for the period from 1948 to the present...

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Global Land Surface Air Temperature Analysis

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A station observation-based global land monthly mean surface air temperature dataset at 0.5 x 0.5 latitude-longitude resolution for the period from 1948 to the...

Geoengineering and the blockchain: a near-complete solution to greenhouse emissions?

Science.gov (United States)

Lockley, A.; Coffman, D.

2016-12-01

Geoengineering has been proposed to deal partially with the consequences ofanthropogenic global warming. This is composed of two strands - fast acting,incomplete but inexpensive solar radiation management; and carbon dioxide removal,which (if enacted quickly) has the potential to be a complete solution. We propose asystem of smart contracts, executed and made transparent by the blockchain, toprovide an economically and environmentally complete solution to carbon emissions atthe point of combustion. This will integrate CDR futures contracts and SRM carboncredits to ensure that all emissions are fully and transactionally disposed of at themoment of release. Specifically, we suggest use of an SRM 'bridge' contract, tocounter the warming caused between CDR economic activity being undertaken, andthe resultant drawdown of carbon occurring.

[Successful treatment with reduced-intensity cord blood transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia with complete tetraploidy (92, XXXX)].

Science.gov (United States)

Iwasaki, Junko; Onozawa, Masahiro; Takahashi, Shojiro; Okada, Kohei; Takahata, Mutsumi; Shigematsu, Akio; Kahata, Kaoru; Kondo, Takeshi; Hashino, Satoshi; Imamura, Masahiro; Asaka, Masahiro

2011-03-01

A 56-year-old female was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (FAB: AML-M1). G-banding karyotype of her bone marrow showed complete tetraploidy (92, XXXX [24/24]). Although she achieved complete remission (CR) after induction therapy and maintained CR during consolidation therapy, relapse occurred only 2 months after discharge. When the relapse occurred, bone marrow karyotypic analysis showed complete tetraploidy again. The patient received reduced-intensity cord blood transplantation (RI-CBT), which induced CR for the second time. The patient is currently alive 24 months after transplantation and there have not been any signs of recurrence to date. There have been a few reports of AML with near-tetraploidy, but cases of AML with complete tetraploidy are extremely rare. Tetraploid AML has been reported to have a poor prognosis and there have been very few cases maintaining CR over the long term after chemotherapy alone. This is the first case of complete tetraploid AML successfully treated by RI-CBT. The clinical course of this case suggests that hematopoietic stem cell transplantation during the first CR phase should be considered a treatment option for tetraploid AML.

Completion of risk assessment and monitoring within forensic psychiatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Galappathie, Nuwan; Heeramun, Ragini; Jethwa, Krishma

2009-04-01

There is a clear need for high standards of risk assessment and monitoring within forensic psychiatry. This has been highlighted by a number of high profile homicide enquires which have called for better standards of multidisciplinary risk assessment and monitoring. There are no national standards for risk assessment. We conducted a study to audit electronically the completion rate of a service-designed risk assessment document within Fromside, a medium secure unit in the UK. The completion rates for key sections of 64 risk assessment documents were assessed. Only 48 of the 64 (75%) documents were electronically available. The completion rates ranged from 59/64 (92%) for the retrospective risk review to 46/64 (72%) for relapse indicators. Only 35/64 (55%) risk documents were updated within the last three months. We found that the use of risk profile documents has helped achieve good standards of risk assessment, however greater priority needs to be given to ongoing monitoring. We recommend that consideration is given to the development of national guidelines for multidisciplinary risk assessment and monitoring.

The renovation of the Main Building is approaching completion

CERN Multimedia

Anaïs Schaeffer

2011-01-01

The renovation work under way in the CERN Main Building should be completed by June. From the floors to the ceilings, everything has been done to give this historic building a new lease of life.     Taken in the early 60s, this picture illustrates how light maintenance was a challenge for the auditorium in CERN’s main building.   Nobody who has recently had to shimmy between the cables, ladders and toolboxes deposited around the main hall of Building 500 to get to the post office, the bank or Restaurant 1 can be oblivious to the fact that the ground floor of the Main Building has been getting a face-lift. The renovation work, which started with the first-floor concourse in June 2010, should be finished over the next couple of months. The first-floor renovations, now almost complete, set the tone for the rest of the project. The floor and ceiling, both fitted with special acoustic materials for efficient noise damping, have been completely refurbished and the Building ...

TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) Level 3 Monthly 0.5 degree x 0.5 degree Profiling V7 (3A12) at GES DISC V7

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This document provides basic information on 3A12, TMI Monthly 0.5 deg. x 0.5 deg. Profiling. Algorithm 3A12 produces global 0.5 deg. x 0.5 deg. monthly gridded means...

Multitarget global sensitivity analysis of n-butanol combustion.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Dingyu D Y; Davis, Michael J; Skodje, Rex T

2013-05-02

A model for the combustion of butanol is studied using a recently developed theoretical method for the systematic improvement of the kinetic mechanism. The butanol mechanism includes 1446 reactions, and we demonstrate that it is straightforward and computationally feasible to implement a full global sensitivity analysis incorporating all the reactions. In addition, we extend our previous analysis of ignition-delay targets to include species targets. The combination of species and ignition targets leads to multitarget global sensitivity analysis, which allows for a more complete mechanism validation procedure than we previously implemented. The inclusion of species sensitivity analysis allows for a direct comparison between reaction pathway analysis and global sensitivity analysis.

Dynamical Predictability of Monthly Means.

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, J.

1981-12-01

We have attempted to determine the theoretical upper limit of dynamical predictability of monthly means for prescribed nonfluctuating external forcings. We have extended the concept of `classical' predictability, which primarily refers to the lack of predictability due mainly to the instabilities of synoptic-scale disturbances, to the predictability of time averages, which are determined by the predictability of low-frequency planetary waves. We have carded out 60-day integrations of a global general circulation model with nine different initial conditions but identical boundary conditions of sea surface temperature, snow, sea ice and soil moisture. Three of these initial conditions are the observed atmospheric conditions on 1 January of 1975, 1976 and 1977. The other six initial conditions are obtained by superimposing over the observed initial conditions a random perturbation comparable to the errors of observation. The root-mean-square (rms) error of random perturbations at all the grid points and all the model levels is 3 m s1 in u and v components of wind. The rms vector wind error between the observed initial conditions is >15 m s1.It is hypothesized that for a given averaging period, if the rms error among the time averages predicted from largely different initial conditions becomes comparable to the rms error among the time averages predicted from randomly perturbed initial conditions, the time averages are dynamically unpredictable. We have carried out the analysis of variance to compare the variability, among the three groups, due to largely different initial conditions, and within each group due to random perturbations.It is found that the variances among the first 30-day means, predicted from largely different initial conditions, are significantly different from the variances due to random perturbations in the initial conditions, whereas the variances among 30-day means for days 31-60 are not distinguishable from the variances due to random initial

Global implications of China's healthcare reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Fei; Tang, Shenglan; Zhang, Jian

2016-01-01

The ongoing healthcare reform in China has a powerful spillover effect beyond the health sector and the borders of China. A successful completion of the Chinese reform will offer a new model for social justice development, shift the global economy toward sustainability and create a new hub for science and technology in medical and health science. However, reforming the healthcare system in the most populated country is a daunting task. China will not live up to its promise, and all the potentials may end with hype not hope if coherent national strategies are not constructed and state-of-the-art navigation is not achieved with staggering domestic and global challenges. The cost of failure will be immensely high, socioeconomic costs for Chinese and an opportunity cost for the world as a whole. A full appreciation of the global implications of China's healthcare reform is crucial in keeping China receptive toward good practices evidence-approved elsewhere and open minded to fulfill its international obligations. More critically, the appreciation yields constructive engagements from global community toward a joint development and global prosperity. The current report provides a multiple disciplinary assessment on the global implications of the healthcare reform in China. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Overseas Student Teaching and National Identity: Why Go Somewhere You Feel Completely Comfortable?

Science.gov (United States)

Doppen, Frans H.

2010-01-01

One of the major goals of teacher education programs is to prepare globally competent teachers who hold inspiring dreams for the future and who contribute to the betterment of our world and planet (Cushner & Brennan, 2007). This study presents the emerging perceptions of national identity held by preservice teachers who completed their student…

Recent Global Warming As Depicted by AIRS, GISSTEMP, and MERRA-2

Science.gov (United States)

Susskind, J.; Iredell, L. F.; Lee, J. N.

2017-12-01

We observed anomalously warm global mean surface temperatures since 2015. The year 2016 represents the warmest annual mean surface skin and surface air temperatures in the AIRS observational period, September 2002 through August 2017. Additionally, AIRS monthly mean surface skin temperature, from January 2016 through September 2016, and November 2016, were the warmest observed for each month of the year. Continuing this trend, the AIRS global surface temperatures of 2017 February and April show the second greatest positive anomalies from average. This recent warming is particularly significant over the Arctic where the snow and sea ice melt is closely tied to the spring and summer surface temperatures. In this paper, we show the global distribution of surface temperature anomalies as observed by AIRS over the period September 2002 through August 2017 and compare them with those from the GISSTEMP and MERRA-2 surface temperatures. The spatial patterns of warm and cold anomalies for a given month show reasonably good agreement in all three data set. AIRS anomalies, which do not have the benefit of in-situ measurements, are in almost perfect agreement with those of MERRA-2, which does use in-situ surface measurements. GISSTEMP anomaly patterns for the most part look similar to those of AIRS and MERRA-2, but are more spread out spatially, and consequently are also weaker.

Completed suicides and self-harm in Malaysia: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Armitage, Christopher J; Panagioti, Maria; Abdul Rahim, Wirda; Rowe, Richard; O'Connor, Rory C

2015-01-01

Most of the research into suicide and self-harm has been conducted in the United States and Europe, yet the volume of research does not reflect the distribution of suicide globally, with Asia accounting for up to 60% of all suicides. The present study systematically reviews the literature to assess the prevalence and correlates of suicidal acts in Malaysia in Southeast Asia. Five relevant databases were searched from inception up to February 2014, and a narrative synthesis of the results from the included studies was performed. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were correlational survey research and archival/observational research describing self-harm and suicide. Outcomes included completed suicides and self-harm including suicide attempts and self-poisoning, suicide plans and suicidal ideation. In total, 39 studies met the inclusion criteria. The principal findings were that the prevalence of suicide in Malaysia is approximately 6-8 per 100,000 population per year and that there is an excess of suicide among men, people younger than 40 years and the Indian minority group. The past-month prevalence rates of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts are 1.7, 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively, whereas the past-year prevalence rates of suicidal ideation range between 6% and 8%. The present research marks a first step towards understanding the prevalence and correlates of suicide and self-harm in Malaysia. However, the heterogeneity of the included studies was high. Further research into the antecedents, consequences and interventions for suicide and self-harm in the Malaysian context is required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adjuvant radiochemotherapy in the treatment of completely resected, locally advanced gastric cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baeza, Mario R.; Osvaldo Giannini, T.; Raul Rivera, S.; Gonzalez, Pablo; Gonzalez, Julio; Vergara, Ernesto; Castillo, Cesar del; Madrid, Jorge; Vines, Eugenio

2001-01-01

Purpose: To analyze the efficacy and toxicity of adjuvant whole abdomen irradiation (WAI) and concomitant chemotherapy in the treatment of completely resected, high-risk gastric cancer. Methods and Materials: Between October 1990 and September 1997, 52 patients with completely resected gastric cancer, with lymph node and/or serosal involvement, were treated. Ages were 16-78 (median, 53.5) years. Treatment was either total- or sub-total gastrectomy, followed by WAI, 2100 cGy/21 fractions plus a 2400 cGy/16 fractions boost to the tumor bed. Chemotherapy consisted of either 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 450-500 mg/m 2 i.v. for 5 days first and 5th week or 200-300 mg/m 2 continuous infusion during irradiation. No further chemotherapy was given. Results: With a minimum follow-up of 30 months and a median follow-up of 43.5 months, 25 of the 52 patients have died. Overall 5-year survival rate is 54%. Three patients sustained Grade 3-5 complications. Two patients with Grade 5 complications (malabsorption syndrome) died 31 and 56 months after the beginning of the treatment, respectively, with no evidence of recurrent tumor. For patients with involvement of the lymph nodes alone (n=19) the 5-year survival was 69%, which was significantly better than the 36% 5-year survival observed for those patients with both serosal and lymph node involvement (n=26, p=0.004). Conclusion: Adjuvant radiochemotherapy, WAI, and concomitant 5-FU, is a feasible and a fairly well-tolerated treatment for patients with locally advanced (involvement of the lymph nodes or serosa) gastric carcinoma who undergo complete resection. The 54% overall 5-year survival compares favorably with the survival reported after surgery alone for those patients

Effect of resilient liner on masticatory efficiency and general patient satisfaction in completely edentulous patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mangtani, Nidhi; Pillai, Rajath; Babu, Dinesh

2015-01-01

Objectives: To assess the effect of resilient lined denture on patient masticatory efficiency, general patient satisfaction and denture quality as compare to conventional complete denture over a period of one year. Material and methodology: A total of 28 completely edentulous patients (14 males...... denture liner – group 2). All patients were clinically evaluated to assess the denture quality, and administered questionnaires for masticatory efficiency and patients general satisfaction level at three intervals i.e. one month (T0), 6 months (T1) and 1 year post-insertion (T2). Results: Statistical...... masticatory efficiency improved significantly over time in controls, while in experimental group masticatory efficiency remained the same (p>.05) for almost all the questions. Patient general satisfaction score at different time intervals for each question showed no significant difference (P>.05) on inter...

U.S. Hail Frequency and the Global Wind Oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Gensini, Vittorio A.; Allen, John T.

2018-02-01

Changes in Earth relative atmospheric angular momentum can be described by an index known as the Global Wind Oscillation. This global index accounts for changes in Earth's atmospheric budget of relative angular momentum through interactions of tropical convection anomalies, extratropical dynamics, and engagement of surface torques (e.g., friction and mountain). It is shown herein that U.S. hail events are more (less) likely to occur in low (high) atmospheric angular momentum base states when excluding weak Global Wind Oscillation days, with the strongest relationships found in the boreal spring and fall. Severe, significant severe, and giant hail events are more likely to occur during Global Wind Oscillation phases 8, 1, 2, and 3 during the peak of U.S. severe weather season. Lower frequencies of hail events are generally found in Global Wind Oscillation phases 4-7 but vary based on Global Wind Oscillation amplitude and month. In addition, probabilistic anomalies of atmospheric ingredients supportive of hail producing supercell thunderstorms closely mimic locations of reported hail frequency, helping to corroborate report results.

Clinical Effect of Acute Complete Acromioclavicular Joint Dislocation Treated with Micro-Movable and Anatomical Acromioclavicular Plate

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Qingjun; Miao, Jianyun; Lin, Bin; Guo, Zhimin

2012-01-01

Objectives: We evaluated the long-term clinical results of acute complete acromioclavicular dislocations treated with micro-movable and anatomical acromioclavicular plate. Methods: Open reduction and internal fixation was performed using the MAAP in 16 patients (10 males, 6 females; mean age 36 years; range16 to 63 years) with acute complete acromioclavicular joint dislocation. Radiographic evaluations were routinely conducted every 3 weeks until 3 months postoperatively. The MAAP were removed under local anesthesia after 3 months postoperatively. We evaluated the functional results by using the constant scoring system and radiological results in the last follow-up time. The mean follow up was 26 months (range 16 to 38 months). Results: The mean Constant score was 94 (range, 78 to 100). The results were excellent in 12 patients (75.0%), good in 3 patients (18.8%) and satisfactory in 1patient (6.2%). Three patients with scores of 80 to 90 had mild pain during activity, but have not affected the shoulder range of motion. One patient has both some pain and limited range of motion of shoulder joint. All patients but one have returned to their preoperative work without any limitations. Compared to the contralateral side, radiography showed anatomical reposition in the vertical plane in 14 cases, slight loss of reduction in 2 older patients. Conclusion: We recommend the MAAP fixation for surgical treatment of acute complete acromioclavicular joint dislocation as it could provide satisfactory shoulder functions and clinical results, with lower complication rate. However, it is necessary to continue to observe the clinical effects of this fixation technique. PMID:23091410

Integrating chemistry into 3D climate models: Detailed kinetics in the troposphere and stratosphere of a global climate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kao, C.Y.J.; Elliott, S. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States). Earth and Environmental Sciences Div.; Turco, R.P.; Zhao, X. [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

1997-11-01

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The motivation for the project is to create the first complete, three-dimensional climate model that enfolds atmospheric photochemistry. The LANL chemical global climate model (GCM) not only distributes the trace greenhouse gases and modifies their concentrations within the detailed photochemical web, but also permits them to influence the radiation field and so force their own transport. Both atmospheric chemistry and fluid dynamics are nonlinear and zonally asymmetric phenomena. They can only be adequately modeled in three dimensions on the global grid. The kinetics-augmented GCM is the only program within the atmospheric community capable of investigating interaction involving chemistry and transport. The authors have conducted case studies of timely three-dimensional chemistry issues. Examples include ozone production from biomass burning plumes, kinetic feedbacks in zonally asymmetric transport phenomena with month- to year-long time scales, and volcano sulfate aerosols with respect to their potential effects on tropospheric ozone depletion.

Assessing water resources in Azerbaijan using a local distributed model forced and constrained with global data

Science.gov (United States)

Bouaziz, Laurène; Hegnauer, Mark; Schellekens, Jaap; Sperna Weiland, Frederiek; ten Velden, Corine

2017-04-01

In many countries, data is scarce, incomplete and often not easily shared. In these cases, global satellite and reanalysis data provide an alternative to assess water resources. To assess water resources in Azerbaijan, a completely distributed and physically based hydrological wflow-sbm model was set-up for the entire Kura basin. We used SRTM elevation data, a locally available river map and one from OpenStreetMap to derive the drainage direction network at the model resolution of approximately 1x1 km. OpenStreetMap data was also used to derive the fraction of paved area per cell to account for the reduced infiltration capacity (c.f. Schellekens et al. 2014). We used the results of a global study to derive root zone capacity based on climate data (Wang-Erlandsson et al., 2016). To account for the variation in vegetation cover over the year, monthly averages of Leaf Area Index, based on MODIS data, were used. For the soil-related parameters, we used global estimates as provided by Dai et al. (2013). This enabled the rapid derivation of a first estimate of parameter values for our hydrological model. Digitized local meteorological observations were scarce and available only for limited time period. Therefore several sources of global meteorological data were evaluated: (1) EU-WATCH global precipitation, temperature and derived potential evaporation for the period 1958-2001 (Harding et al., 2011), (2) WFDEI precipitation, temperature and derived potential evaporation for the period 1979-2014 (by Weedon et al., 2014), (3) MSWEP precipitation (Beck et al., 2016) and (4) local precipitation data from more than 200 stations in the Kura basin were available from the NOAA website for a period up to 1991. The latter, together with data archives from Azerbaijan, were used as a benchmark to evaluate the global precipitation datasets for the overlapping period 1958-1991. By comparing the datasets, we found that monthly mean precipitation of EU-WATCH and WFDEI coincided well

Global Emergency Care Skills. Does it work?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean O’Sullivan

2012-09-01

Discussion: Comparison of results in each country separately and cumulatively demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in participant’s knowledge after completing a Global Emergency Care Skills course. This improvement mirrors the qualitative improvement in psychomotor skills, knowledge and attitudes seen in candidates who participated in the course.

Development and validation of a new global well-being outcomes rating scale for integrative medicine research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bell Iris R

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Researchers are finding limitations of currently available disease-focused questionnaire tools for outcome studies in complementary and alternative medicine/integrative medicine (CAM/IM. Methods Three substudies investigated the new one-item visual analogue Arizona Integrative Outcomes Scale (AIOS, which assesses self-rated global sense of spiritual, social, mental, emotional, and physical well-being over the past 24 hours and the past month. The first study tested the scale's ability to discriminate unhealthy individuals (n = 50 from healthy individuals (n = 50 in a rehabilitation outpatient clinic sample. The second study examined the concurrent validity of the AIOS by comparing ratings of global well-being to degree of psychological distress as measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI in undergraduate college students (N = 458. The third study evaluated the relationships between the AIOS and positively- and negatively-valenced tools (Positive and Negative Affect Scale and the Positive States of Mind Scale in a different sample of undergraduate students (N = 62. Results Substudy (i Rehabilitation patients scored significantly lower than the healthy controls on both forms of the AIOS and a current global health rating. The AIOS 24-hours correlated moderately and significantly with global health (patients r = 0.50; controls r = 0.45. AIOS 1-month correlations with global health were stronger within the controls (patients r = 0.36; controls r = 0.50. Controls (r = 0.64 had a higher correlation between the AIOS 24-hour and 1-month forms than did the patients (r = 0.33, which is consistent with the presumptive improvement in the patients' condition over the previous 30 days in rehabilitation. Substudy (ii In undergraduate students, AIOS scores were inversely related to distress ratings, as measured by the global severity index on the BSI (rAIOS24h = -0.42, rAIOS1month = -0.40. Substudy (iii AIOS scores were significantly

Complete long-term corrosion protection with chemical vapor deposited graphene

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yu, Feng; Camilli, Luca; Wang, Ting

2018-01-01

Despite numerous reports regarding the potential of graphene for corrosion protection, examples of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene-based anticorrosive coatings able to provide long-term protection (i.e. several months) of metals have so far been absent. Here, we present a polymer-graphene......Despite numerous reports regarding the potential of graphene for corrosion protection, examples of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene-based anticorrosive coatings able to provide long-term protection (i.e. several months) of metals have so far been absent. Here, we present a polymer......-graphene hybrid coating, comprising two single layers of CVD graphene sandwiched by three layers of polyvinyl butyral, which provides complete corrosion protection of commercial aluminum alloys even after 120 days of exposure to simulated seawater. The essential role played by graphene in the hybrid coating...

Completely continuous and weakly completely continuous abstract ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

An algebra A is called right completely continuous (right weakly completely continuous) ... Moreover, some applications of these results in group algebras are .... A linear subspace S(G) of L1(G) is said to be a Segal algebra, if it satisfies the.

Global Analysis of Empirical Relationships Between Annual Climate and Seasonality of NDVI

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, C. S.

1997-01-01

This study describes the use of satellite data to calibrate a new climate-vegetation greenness function for global change studies. We examined statistical relationships between annual climate indexes (temperature, precipitation, and surface radiation) and seasonal attributes of the AVHRR Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series for the mid-1980s in order to refine our empirical understanding of intraannual patterns and global abiotic controls on natural vegetation dynamics. Multiple linear regression results using global l(sup o) gridded data sets suggest that three climate indexes: growing degree days, annual precipitation total, and an annual moisture index together can account to 70-80 percent of the variation in the NDVI seasonal extremes (maximum and minimum values) for the calibration year 1984. Inclusion of the same climate index values from the previous year explained no significant additional portion of the global scale variation in NDVI seasonal extremes. The monthly timing of NDVI extremes was closely associated with seasonal patterns in maximum and minimum temperature and rainfall, with lag times of 1 to 2 months. We separated well-drained areas from l(sup o) grid cells mapped as greater than 25 percent inundated coverage for estimation of both the magnitude and timing of seasonal NDVI maximum values. Predicted monthly NDVI, derived from our climate-based regression equations and Fourier smoothing algorithms, shows good agreement with observed NDVI at a series of ecosystem test locations from around the globe. Regions in which NDVI seasonal extremes were not accurately predicted are mainly high latitude ecosystems and other remote locations where climate station data are sparse.

Cognitive status is a determinant of health resource utilization among individuals with a history of falls: a 12-month prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, J C; Dian, L; Khan, K M; Bryan, S; Marra, C A; Hsu, C L; Jacova, P; Chiu, B K; Liu-Ambrose, T

2016-03-01

Falls are a costly public health problem worldwide. The literature is devoid of prospective data that identifies factors among fallers that significantly drive health care resource utilization. We found that cognitive function--specifically, executive functions--and cognitive status are significant determinants of health resource utilization among older fallers. Although falls are costly, there are no prospective data examining factors among fallers that drive health care resource utilization. We identified key determinants of health resource utilization (HRU) at 6 and 12 months among older adults with a history of falls. Specifically, with the increasing recognition that cognitive impairment is associated with increased falls risk, we investigated cognition as a potential driver of health resource utilization. This 12-month prospective cohort study at the Vancouver Falls Prevention Clinic (n = 319) included participants with a history of at least one fall in the previous 12 months. Based on their cognitive status, participants were divided into two groups: (1) no mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and (2) MCI. We constructed two linear regression models with HRU at 6 and 12 months as the dependent variables for each model, respectively. Predictors relating to mobility, global cognition, executive functions, and cognitive status (MCI versus no MCI) were examined. Age, sex, comorbidities, depression status, and activities of daily living were included regardless of statistical significance. Global cognition, comorbidities, working memory, and cognitive status (MCI versus no MCI ascertained using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)) were significant determinants of total HRU at 6 months. The number of medical comorbidities and global cognition were significant determinants of total HRU at 12 months. MCI status was a determinant of HRU at 6 months among older adults with a history of falls. As such, efforts to minimize health care resource use related to falls

The mixed waste management facility. Monthly report, October 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streit, R.D.

1995-11-01

A continuing concern over the last few months was resolved with the approval of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and signing of the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). This was completed in time to allow approval of the DWTF Phase 1 KD-3 and subsequent award of the construction contract for this phase (site preparation). The Project continues to make progress toward the Project Preliminary Design Review (PDR), scheduled for November 15-16, 1995. We completed the conventional feed preparation and solid feed preparation demonstration technologies (telerobotic sorting) and conducted a prereview of the Analytical Services element. Molten Salt is scheduled for October 3-4, with Water Treatment and Analytical Services completing the reviews by October 12. While a number of design issues have been raised and are being tracked, the general level of engineering progress is consistent with completing the PDR on schedule. No show-stoppers have been identified, and all items requiring resolution before PDR will be completed. We completed the initial iteration of the cost roll-ups for the preliminary design and have developed a plan consistent with the guidance issued for the Project (level funding at ∼$10M/yr, reduced scope, integrated with the DWTF). This was accomplished by staging the completion of various elements (e.g., MSO in FY98, Telerobotics in FY99), and reducing to the extent possible project support functions. Two significant modifications will be noted in the Project Baseline Revision 2.0-Preliminary Design (PB2.0) relative to previous estimates: (1) the cost of the MSO system has increased due to a better understanding of the system needs (relative to CDR assessment), and (2) project management has increased owing to a restructuring of how LLNL distributes facility charge costs. However, both these increases have been offset by reduction in other elements and by a general lowering of Project contingency

Effects of a 12-Month Educational Intervention on Clinicians' Attitudes/Practices Regarding the Screening Spiritual History.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, Harold G; Perno, Kathleen; Erkanli, Alaattin; Hamilton, Ted

2017-06-01

Patients' spiritual values, beliefs, and preferences are identified in outpatient medical settings by the taking of a screening spiritual history (SSH). We report the impact of an educational/training program on the attitudes/practices of physicians (MDs) and midlevel practitioners (MLPs). A convenience sample of 1082 MDs or MLPs in outpatient practices was approached to participate in a 12-month educational/training program in this single-group experimental study. Of the 1082 professionals, 48% (427 physicians, 93 MLPs) agreed to complete a questionnaire assessing demographics, practice characteristics, religiosity, and attitudes/practices regarding the SSH. Changes in attitudes/practices over time were examined and baseline predictors identified using mixed-effects regression. Of the 520 participants completing questionnaires at baseline, 436 were assessed at 1 month (83.8%) and 432 were assessed at 12 months (83.1%). The belief that MDs should take a SSH did not significantly change over time (B = -0.022, standard error [SE] 0.028, P = 0.426). However, those who took an SSH often/always increased from 16.7% at baseline to 34.8% at 12-month follow-up (B = 0.328, SE 0.030, P Educational programs of this type may be used to increase SSH taking by outpatient MDs and MLPs.

Complementary feeding: a Global Network cluster randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasha Omrana

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Inadequate and inappropriate complementary feeding are major factors contributing to excess morbidity and mortality in young children in low resource settings. Animal source foods in particular are cited as essential to achieve micronutrient requirements. The efficacy of the recommendation for regular meat consumption, however, has not been systematically evaluated. Methods/Design A cluster randomized efficacy trial was designed to test the hypothesis that 12 months of daily intake of beef added as a complementary food would result in greater linear growth velocity than a micronutrient fortified equi-caloric rice-soy cereal supplement. The study is being conducted in 4 sites of the Global Network for Women's and Children's Health Research located in Guatemala, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC and Zambia in communities with toddler stunting rates of at least 20%. Five clusters per country were randomized to each of the food arms, with 30 infants in each cluster. The daily meat or cereal supplement was delivered to the home by community coordinators, starting when the infants were 6 months of age and continuing through 18 months. All participating mothers received nutrition education messages to enhance complementary feeding practices delivered by study coordinators and through posters at the local health center. Outcome measures, obtained at 6, 9, 12, and 18 months by a separate assessment team, included anthropometry; dietary variety and diversity scores; biomarkers of iron, zinc and Vitamin B12 status (18 months; neurocognitive development (12 and 18 months; and incidence of infectious morbidity throughout the trial. The trial was supervised by a trial steering committee, and an independent data monitoring committee provided oversight for the safety and conduct of the trial. Discussion Findings from this trial will test the efficacy of daily intake of meat commencing at age 6 months and, if beneficial, will

Ecogenomics and potential biogeochemical impacts of globally abundant ocean viruses.

Science.gov (United States)

Roux, Simon; Brum, Jennifer R; Dutilh, Bas E; Sunagawa, Shinichi; Duhaime, Melissa B; Loy, Alexander; Poulos, Bonnie T; Solonenko, Natalie; Lara, Elena; Poulain, Julie; Pesant, Stéphane; Kandels-Lewis, Stefanie; Dimier, Céline; Picheral, Marc; Searson, Sarah; Cruaud, Corinne; Alberti, Adriana; Duarte, Carlos M; Gasol, Josep M; Vaqué, Dolors; Bork, Peer; Acinas, Silvia G; Wincker, Patrick; Sullivan, Matthew B

2016-09-29

Ocean microbes drive biogeochemical cycling on a global scale. However, this cycling is constrained by viruses that affect community composition, metabolic activity, and evolutionary trajectories. Owing to challenges with the sampling and cultivation of viruses, genome-level viral diversity remains poorly described and grossly understudied, with less than 1% of observed surface-ocean viruses known. Here we assemble complete genomes and large genomic fragments from both surface- and deep-ocean viruses sampled during the Tara Oceans and Malaspina research expeditions, and analyse the resulting 'global ocean virome' dataset to present a global map of abundant, double-stranded DNA viruses complete with genomic and ecological contexts. A total of 15,222 epipelagic and mesopelagic viral populations were identified, comprising 867 viral clusters (defined as approximately genus-level groups). This roughly triples the number of known ocean viral populations and doubles the number of candidate bacterial and archaeal virus genera, providing a near-complete sampling of epipelagic communities at both the population and viral-cluster level. We found that 38 of the 867 viral clusters were locally or globally abundant, together accounting for nearly half of the viral populations in any global ocean virome sample. While two-thirds of these clusters represent newly described viruses lacking any cultivated representative, most could be computationally linked to dominant, ecologically relevant microbial hosts. Moreover, we identified 243 viral-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes, of which only 95 were previously known. Deeper analyses of four of these auxiliary metabolic genes (dsrC, soxYZ, P-II (also known as glnB) and amoC) revealed that abundant viruses may directly manipulate sulfur and nitrogen cycling throughout the epipelagic ocean. This viral catalog and functional analyses provide a necessary foundation for the meaningful integration of viruses into ecosystem models where they

Modeling the Global Workplace Using Emerging Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Dorazio, Patricia; Hickok, Corey

2008-01-01

The Fall 2006 term of COM495, Senior Practicum in Communication, offered communication and information design students the privilege of taking part in a transatlantic intercultural virtual project. To emulate real world experience in today's global workplace, these students researched and completed a business communication project with German…

Complete Whole-Genome Sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Java NCTC5706.

Science.gov (United States)

Fazal, Mohammed-Abbas; Alexander, Sarah; Burnett, Edward; Deheer-Graham, Ana; Oliver, Karen; Holroyd, Nancy; Parkhill, Julian; Russell, Julie E

2016-11-03

Salmonellae are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Here, we report the first complete genome sequence for Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Java strain NCTC5706. This strain is of historical significance, having been isolated in the pre-antibiotic era and was deposited into the National Collection of Type Cultures in 1939. © Crown copyright 2016.

GloFAS-Seasonal: Operational Seasonal Ensemble River Flow Forecasts at the Global Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Emerton, Rebecca; Zsoter, Ervin; Smith, Paul; Salamon, Peter

2017-04-01

Seasonal hydrological forecasting has potential benefits for many sectors, including agriculture, water resources management and humanitarian aid. At present, no global scale seasonal hydrological forecasting system exists operationally; although smaller scale systems have begun to emerge around the globe over the past decade, a system providing consistent global scale seasonal forecasts would be of great benefit in regions where no other forecasting system exists, and to organisations operating at the global scale, such as disaster relief. We present here a new operational global ensemble seasonal hydrological forecast, currently under development at ECMWF as part of the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS). The proposed system, which builds upon the current version of GloFAS, takes the long-range forecasts from the ECMWF System4 ensemble seasonal forecast system (which incorporates the HTESSEL land surface scheme) and uses this runoff as input to the Lisflood routing model, producing a seasonal river flow forecast out to 4 months lead time, for the global river network. The seasonal forecasts will be evaluated using the global river discharge reanalysis, and observations where available, to determine the potential value of the forecasts across the globe. The seasonal forecasts will be presented as a new layer in the GloFAS interface, which will provide a global map of river catchments, indicating whether the catchment-averaged discharge forecast is showing abnormally high or low flows during the 4-month lead time. Each catchment will display the corresponding forecast as an ensemble hydrograph of the weekly-averaged discharge forecast out to 4 months, with percentile thresholds shown for comparison with the discharge climatology. The forecast visualisation is based on a combination of the current medium-range GloFAS forecasts and the operational EFAS (European Flood Awareness System) seasonal outlook, and aims to effectively communicate the nature of a seasonal

Global features of the Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2 genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reva, Oleg N.; Hallin, Peter Fischer; Willenbrock, Hanni

2008-01-01

The global feature of the completely sequenced Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2 type strain chromosome is its symmetry and homogeneity. The origin and terminus of replication are located opposite to each other in the chromosome and are discerned with high signal to noise ratios by maximal oligonucleot......The global feature of the completely sequenced Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2 type strain chromosome is its symmetry and homogeneity. The origin and terminus of replication are located opposite to each other in the chromosome and are discerned with high signal to noise ratios by maximal...... oligonucleotide usage biases on the leading and lagging strand. Genomic DNA structure is rather uniform throughout the chromosome with respect to intrinsic curvature, position preference or base stacking energy. The orthologs and paralogs of A. borkumensis genes with the highest sequence homology were found...

Distress among women receiving uninformative BRCA1/2 results: 12-month outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, Suzanne C; Rini, Christine; Goldsmith, Rachel E; Valdimarsdottir, Heiddis; Cohen, Lawrence H; Schwartz, Marc D

2009-10-01

Few data are available regarding the long-term psychological impact of uninformative BRCA1/2 test results. This study examines change in distress from pretesting to 12-months post-disclosure, with medical, family history, and psychological variables, such as pretesting perceived risk of carrying a deleterious mutation prior to testing and primary and secondary appraisals, as predictors. Two hundred and nine women with uninformative BRCA1/2 test results completed questionnaires at pretesting and 1-, 6-, and 12-month post-disclosure, including measures of anxiety and depression, cancer-specific and genetic testing distress. We used a mixed models approach to predict change in post-disclosure distress. Distress declined from pretesting to 1-month post-disclosure, but remained stable thereafter. Primary appraisals predicted all types of distress at 1-month post-disclosure. Primary and secondary appraisals predicted genetic testing distress at 1-month as well as change over time. Receiving a variant of uncertain clinical significance and entering testing with a high expectation for carrying a deleterious mutation predicted genetic testing distress that persisted through the year after testing. As a whole, women receiving uninformative BRCA1/2 test results are a resilient group. For some women, distress experienced in the month after testing does not dissipate. Variables, such as heightened pretesting perceived risk and cognitive appraisals, predict greater likelihood for sustained distress in this group and could be amenable to intervention.

Benchmarking monthly homogenization algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Venema, V. K. C.; Mestre, O.; Aguilar, E.; Auer, I.; Guijarro, J. A.; Domonkos, P.; Vertacnik, G.; Szentimrey, T.; Stepanek, P.; Zahradnicek, P.; Viarre, J.; Müller-Westermeier, G.; Lakatos, M.; Williams, C. N.; Menne, M.; Lindau, R.; Rasol, D.; Rustemeier, E.; Kolokythas, K.; Marinova, T.; Andresen, L.; Acquaotta, F.; Fratianni, S.; Cheval, S.; Klancar, M.; Brunetti, M.; Gruber, C.; Prohom Duran, M.; Likso, T.; Esteban, P.; Brandsma, T.

2011-08-01

The COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action ES0601: Advances in homogenization methods of climate series: an integrated approach (HOME) has executed a blind intercomparison and validation study for monthly homogenization algorithms. Time series of monthly temperature and precipitation were evaluated because of their importance for climate studies and because they represent two important types of statistics (additive and multiplicative). The algorithms were validated against a realistic benchmark dataset. The benchmark contains real inhomogeneous data as well as simulated data with inserted inhomogeneities. Random break-type inhomogeneities were added to the simulated datasets modeled as a Poisson process with normally distributed breakpoint sizes. To approximate real world conditions, breaks were introduced that occur simultaneously in multiple station series within a simulated network of station data. The simulated time series also contained outliers, missing data periods and local station trends. Further, a stochastic nonlinear global (network-wide) trend was added. Participants provided 25 separate homogenized contributions as part of the blind study as well as 22 additional solutions submitted after the details of the imposed inhomogeneities were revealed. These homogenized datasets were assessed by a number of performance metrics including (i) the centered root mean square error relative to the true homogeneous value at various averaging scales, (ii) the error in linear trend estimates and (iii) traditional contingency skill scores. The metrics were computed both using the individual station series as well as the network average regional series. The performance of the contributions depends significantly on the error metric considered. Contingency scores by themselves are not very informative. Although relative homogenization algorithms typically improve the homogeneity of temperature data, only the best ones improve precipitation data

Effects of a nurse-managed program on hepatitis A and B vaccine completion among homeless adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyamathi, Adeline; Liu, Yihang; Marfisee, Mary; Shoptaw, Steven; Gregerson, Paul; Saab, Sammy; Leake, Barbara; Tyler, Darlene; Gelberg, Lillian

2009-01-01

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection constitutes a major health problem for homeless persons. Ability to complete an HBV vaccination series is complicated by the need to prioritize competing needs, such as addiction issues, safe places to sleep, and food, over health concerns. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-case-managed intervention compared with that of two standard programs on completion of the combined hepatitis A virus (HAV) and HBV vaccine series among homeless adults and to assess sociodemographic factors and risk behaviors related to the vaccine completion. A randomized, three-group, prospective, quasi-experimental design was conducted with 865 homeless adults residing in homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation sites, and outdoor areas in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. The programs included (a) nurse-case-managed sessions plus targeted hepatitis education, incentives, and tracking (NCMIT); (b) standard targeted hepatitis education plus incentives and tracking (SIT); and (c) standard targeted hepatitis education and incentives only (SI). Sixty-eight percent of the NCMIT participants completed the three-series vaccine at 6 months, compared with 61% of SIT participants and 54% of SI participants. NCMIT participants had almost 2 times greater odds of completing vaccination than those of participants in the SI program. Completers were more likely to be older, to be female, to report fair or poor health, and not to have participated in a self-help drug treatment program. Newly homeless White adults were significantly less likely than were African Americans to complete the vaccine series. The use of vaccination programs incorporating nurse case management and tracking is critical in supporting adherence to completion of a 6-month HAV/HBV vaccine. The finding that White homeless persons were the least likely to complete the vaccine series suggests that programs tailored to address their unique cultural issues are needed.

Speed of Language Comprehension at 18 Months Old Predicts School-Relevant Outcomes at 54 Months Old in Children Born Preterm.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchman, Virginia A; Loi, Elizabeth C; Adams, Katherine A; Ashland, Melanie; Fernald, Anne; Feldman, Heidi M

2018-04-01

Identifying which preterm (PT) children are at increased risk of language and learning differences increases opportunities for participation in interventions that improve outcomes. Speed in spoken language comprehension at early stages of language development requires information processing skills that may form the foundation for later language and school-relevant skills. In children born full-term, speed of comprehending words in an eye-tracking task at 2 years old predicted language and nonverbal cognition at 8 years old. Here, we explore the extent to which speed of language comprehension at 1.5 years old predicts both verbal and nonverbal outcomes at 4.5 years old in children born PT. Participants were children born PT (n = 47; ≤32 weeks gestation). Children were tested in the "looking-while-listening" task at 18 months old, adjusted for prematurity, to generate a measure of speed of language comprehension. Parent report and direct assessments of language were also administered. Children were later retested on a test battery of school-relevant skills at 4.5 years old. Speed of language comprehension at 18 months old predicted significant unique variance (12%-31%) in receptive vocabulary, global language abilities, and nonverbal intelligence quotient (IQ) at 4.5 years, controlling for socioeconomic status, gestational age, and medical complications of PT birth. Speed of language comprehension remained uniquely predictive (5%-12%) when also controlling for children's language skills at 18 months old. Individual differences in speed of spoken language comprehension may serve as a marker for neuropsychological processes that are critical for the development of school-relevant linguistic skills and nonverbal IQ in children born PT.

Management of tracheal chondrosarcoma almost completely obstructing the airway: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Andolfi, Marco; Vaccarili, Maurizio; Crisci, Roberto; Puma, Francesco

2016-07-11

Primary malignant tracheal tumors account for only 0.2 % of all malignancies of the respiratory tract. Tracheal chondrosarcoma is a rare condition and only 17 cases have been described in the literature from 1965 to date. Herein we report the very unusual case of a patient with a tracheal chondrosarcoma, electively treated by curative surgery despite the virtually complete obstruction of the airway. We present the case of a 79-year old Caucasian man with long-lasting wheezing misdiagnosed as asthma and affected by a tracheal chondrosarcoma almost completely obstructing the airway. Videobronchoscopy and imaging investigations revealed a well-circumscribed mass arising from the cartilaginous rings of the cervical trachea with a posterior residual respiratory space of about 1 mm. Because of the mobility and flaccidity of the uninvolved pars membranacea, the tiny respiratory space slightly expanded during inspiration and expiration allowing the patient to be treated without an essential emergency procedure. Standard tracheal intubation was impossible. Rigid bronchoscopy enabled placement of a small tracheal tube distally to the tumor. Successful cervical tracheal resection and reconstruction was then performed, achieving complete tumor excision. Histologically, the mass was characterized as a low-grade tracheal chondrosarcoma. Videobronchoscopy performed 9 months after surgery showed a wide, well healed tracheal anastomosis. Ten months after surgery, the patient is alive and disease free. Complete surgical resection is the treatment of choice for tracheal chondrosarcoma. Rigid bronchoscopy is an essential tool for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It allows the palliative maneuvers for obstruction relief but also, in resectable patients, the intraoperative safe and straightforward management of the obstructed airway.

Natural gas monthly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-01-01

The Natural Gas Monthly highlights activities, events, and analyses of interest to public and private sector organizations associated with the natural gas industry. Volume and price data are presented each month for natural gas production, distribution, consumption, and interstate pipeline activities. Producer-related activities and underground storage data are also reported. From time to time, the Natural Gas Monthly features articles designed to assist readers in using and interpreting natural gas information.

Possible change in distribution of seaweed, Sargassum horneri, in northeast Asia under A2 scenario of global warming and consequent effect on some fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Komatsu, Teruhisa; Fukuda, Masahiro; Mikami, Atsuko; Mizuno, Shizuha; Kantachumpoo, Attachai; Tanoue, Hideaki; Kawamiya, Michio

2014-08-30

Global warming effects on seaweed beds are already perceptible. Their geographical distributions greatly depend on water temperatures. To predict future geographical distributions of brown alga, Sargassum horneri, forming large beds in the northwestern Pacific, we referred to future monthly surface water temperatures at about 1.1° of longitude and 0.6° of latitude in February and August in 2050 and 2100 simulated by 12 organizations under an A2 scenario of global warming. The southern limit of S. horneri distribution is expected to keep moving northward such that it may broadly disappear from Honshu Island, the Chinese coast, and Korean Peninsula in 2100, when tropical Sargassum species such as Sargassum tenuifolium may not completely replace S. horneri. Thus, their forests in 2100 do not substitute those of S. horneri in 2000. Fishes using the beds and seaweed rafts consisting of S. horneri in East China Sea suffer these disappearances. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Metaphors of Primary School Students Relating to the Concept of Global Warming

Science.gov (United States)

Dogru, Mustafa; Sarac, Esra

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to reveal the metaphors of primary school students (n = 362) relating to the concept of global warming. Data collected by completing the expression of "global warming is like..., because..." of the students were analysed by use of qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques. According to findings of…

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative: Progress, Lessons Learned, And Polio Legacy Transition Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochi, Stephen L; Hegg, Lea; Kaur, Anjali; Pandak, Carol; Jafari, Hamid

2016-02-01

The world is closer than ever to achieving global polio eradication, with record-low polio cases in 2015 and the impending prospect of a polio-free Africa. Tens of millions of volunteers, social mobilizers, and health workers have participated in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The program contributes to efforts to deliver other health benefits, including health systems strengthening. As the initiative nears completion after more than twenty-five years, it becomes critical to document and transition the knowledge, lessons learned, assets, and infrastructure accumulated by the initiative to address other health goals and priorities. The primary goals of this process, known as polio legacy transition planning, are both to protect a polio-free world and to ensure that investments in polio eradication will contribute to other health goals after polio is completely eradicated. The initiative is engaged in an extensive transition process of consultations and planning at the global, regional, and country levels. A successful completion of this process will result in a well-planned and -managed conclusion of the initiative that will secure the global public good gained by ending one of the world's most devastating diseases and ensure that these investments provide public health benefits for years to come. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Evolution of cerebral blood flow between the acute stage and one month after a global transient amnesia: a study of 18 patients; Evolution des debits sanguins cerebraux entre la phase aigue et un mois apres un ictus amnesique: etude chez 18 patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philippon, B.; Houzard, C.; Cinotti, L. [Hopital Neuro Cardiologique, Centre de Medecine Nucleaire, 69 - Lyon (France); Croisile, B. [Hopital Neuro Cardiologique, Lab. de Neuropsychologie, Fonctions Cognitives, Langage et Memoire, 69 - Lyon (France)

2001-03-01

We studied 18 patients within 24 hours of an idiopathic transient global amnesia and one month later using {sup 133}Xe et {sup 99m}Tc-HMPAO for CBF measurements. Absolute hemispheric CBF obtained with the {sup 133}Xe were initially: (right) = 46.9 ml/mn/100 g (s.d 6.6) and (left) = 47.9 (s.d 6.8). One month later, a significant increase of the right hemispheric CBF occurred (52.0 {+-} 6.9). Accordingly, absolute CBF increased bilaterally in the cerebellar and temporal regions. Local relative cerebral blood flow ( {sup 99m}Tc-HMPAO) allowed to reinforce these findings with increased resolution. They can also provide quantitative values thanks to the{sup 133}Xe calibration. (authors)

Generation of global hourly radiation sequences using a Transition Markov matrix for Madrid. Generacion de secuencias horarias de radiacion global utilizando matrices de transicion de Markov, para la localidad de Madrid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mora, Ll

1989-11-01

The aim of this work is the generation of sequences of hourly global radiation which have similar statistically characteristics of real sequences for the city of Madrid (Spain). For this generation, a first order Markov model has been proposed. The input parameters of simulation method are the following: The maximum value of hourly radiation and the average monthly value of the transparency normalized index. The maximum value of hourly radiation has been calculated as a function of the solar height by an empirical expression. The transparency normalized index has been defined as the ratio among the measured hourly global radiation to the maximum value for the corresponding solar height. The method is based on the following observations: -The transparency normalized index shows a significant correlation only for two consecutive hours. -The months with the same average transparency normalized indies have similar probability density function. Global solar radiation, time series, simulation, Markov transition matrix, solar energy.

Patient satisfaction with occlusal scheme of conventional complete dentures: A randomised clinical trial (part I).

Science.gov (United States)

Moradpoor, H; Arabzade Hoseini, M; Savabi, O; Shirani, M

2018-01-01

Occlusal scheme can affect denture retention, stability, occlusal force distribution, aesthetics, masticatory function, patient comfort and general patient satisfaction with dentures. This study aimed to compare the patient satisfaction with 3 types of complete denture occlusion including fully bilateral balanced occlusion (FBBO), newly presented buccalised occlusion (BO) and lingualised occlusion (LO). In this parallel randomised clinical trial, new conventional complete dentures were fabricated for 86 volunteers. Participants were randomly allocated to 3 groups with 3 different occlusal schemes. All patients were recalled at 1 and 3 months after delivery for data collection. The 19-item version of Oral Health Impact Profile for Edentulous Patients questionnaire was used in this study. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for assessment of the prosthodontist's attitude towards denture quality, patient's attitude towards different occlusal schemes and evaluation of patient satisfaction. Data were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test, the Kruskal-Wallis test and the post hoc Dunn test via SPSS version 18.0 (P ≤ .05). Eighty-six patients completed the study, and their data were analysed (mean age ± standard deviation = 57.78 ± 9.98 years). The only significant difference when comparing the 3 groups was physical pain, which was significantly higher in FBBO group. No significant differences were found for the VAS scores of patient and prosthodontist satisfaction or the domain scores among the 3 occlusal schemes either at 1 or at 3 months post-delivery. The VAS score of patient satisfaction and prosthodontist satisfaction increased at third compared to first month after delivery. The results of this randomised clinical trial provided evidence that BO is as effective as LO for the fabrication of complete dentures. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Costs of infertility treatment: Results from an 18-month prospective cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Patricia; Showstack, Jonathan; Smith, James F.; Nachtigall, Robert D.; Millstein, Susan G.; Wing, Holly; Eisenberg, Michael L.; Pasch, Lauri A.; Croughan, Mary S.; Adler, Nancy

2010-01-01

Objectives To examine resource use (costs) by women presenting for infertility evaluation and treatment over 18 months, regardless of treatment pursued. Design Prospective cohort study in which women were followed for 18 months. Setting Eight infertility practices. Patients 398 women recruited from infertility practices. Data collection Women completed interviews and questionnaires at baseline, and after 4, 10, and 18 months of follow-up. Medical records were abstracted after 18 months to obtain details of services used. Main outcome measures Per-person and per-successful-outcome costs Results Treatment groups were defined as highest intensity treatment use. 20% of women did not pursue cycle-based treatment; about half pursued in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Median per-person costs ranged from $1,182 for medications only, to $24,373 and $38,015 for IVF and IVF-donor egg groups, respectively. Estimates of costs of successful outcomes (delivery or ongoing pregnancy by 18 months) were higher – $61,377 for IVF, for example – reflecting treatment success rates. Within the timeframe of the study, costs were not significantly different for women who were successful and women who were not. Conclusions While individual patient costs vary, these cost estimates developed from actual patient treatment experiences may provide patients with realistic estimates to consider when initiating infertility treatment. PMID:21130988

Globalization theories of crime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kostić Miomira

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The process of globalization is affecting all areas of social life, and thus no exception crime. Its effect is most evident in the development of new forms of crime that transcends national borders and states receive a supranational character. This primarily refers to the various forms of organized crime, but also in certain of its forms, which are a kind of state violence and the consequences of which are reflected in the systematic violation of human rights. Also, the process of globalization of crime has caused the formation of international organizations aimed at combating of crime which transcends national boundaries. New forms of crime are conditioned by globalization demanded a new approach to their study. Existing criminological theories have proven inadequate in explaining all the causes that lead to crime. It was necessary to create new theories and new doctrines about the causes of crime. In the continuous process of development of criminology, in constant search for new explanations of the causes of crime, within the sociological theories have emerged and globalization theories of criminality, which the authors in their work special attention. The focus of the globalization theory on crime just on its prevention, to reduce the risk of its occurrence. This is certainly a positive step because it shifts the focus of criminologists with immediate causes of crime and focus on the study of their interactions, which is largely socially conditioned, which is especially prominent in the work. The aim of this paper is to point out that globalization theories should not be viewed in isolation from other criminological theories and doctrines, but that one, although relatively new, contribute to the creation of complete systems of criminological doctrines in order to find the optimal social response to crime.

Monthly Weather Review

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Supplements to the Monthly Weather Review publication. The Weather Bureau published the Monthly weather review Supplement irregularly from 1914 to 1949. The...

4 km NODC/RSMAS AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 Monthly Harmonic Climatologies (1982-2008) (NODC Accession 0075098)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains a global, 4km monthly sea surface temperature climatology derived from harmonic analysis of the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 sea...

Monitoring the World Health Organization Global Target 2025 for Exclusive Breastfeeding: Experience From the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Priya M; Perrine, Cria G; Chen, Jian; Elam-Evans, Laurie D; Flores-Ayala, Rafael

2017-08-01

Exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months, calculated from a single 24-hour recall among mothers of children 0 to 5 months of age, is a World Health Organization (WHO) indicator used to monitor progress on the 2025 global breastfeeding target. Many upper-middle-income and high-income countries, including the United States, do not have estimates for this indicator. Research aim: To describe the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months in the United States. We used a single 24-hour dietary recall from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2012 to calculate the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months. We discuss our results in the context of routine breastfeeding surveillance, which is reported from a national survey with different methodology. Among children younger than 6 months, 24.4%, 95% confidence interval [17.6, 31.1], were exclusively breastfed the previous day. To our knowledge, this is the first estimate of the WHO indicator of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months for the United States. This study supports the global surveillance and data strategy for reporting to the WHO on the 2025 target for exclusive breastfeeding.

Assessment of global motor performance and gross and fine motor skills of infants attending day care centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Carolina T; Santos, Denise C C; Tolocka, Rute E; Baltieri, Letícia; Gibim, Nathália C; Habechian, Fernanda A P

2010-01-01

To analyze the global motor performance and the gross and fine motor skills of infants attending two public child care centers full-time. This was a longitudinal study that included 30 infants assessed at 12 and 17 months of age with the Motor Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III). This scale allows the analysis of global motor performance, fine and gross motor performance, and the discrepancy between them. The Wilcoxon test and Spearman's correlation coefficient were used. Most of the participants showed global motor performance within the normal range, but below the reference mean at 12 and 17 months, with 30% classified as having "suspected delays" in at least one of the assessments. Gross motor development was poorer than fine motor development at 12 and at 17 months of age, with great discrepancy between these two subtests in the second assessment. A clear individual variability was observed in fine motor skills, with weak linear correlation between the first and the second assessment of this subtest. A lower individual variability was found in the gross motor skills and global motor performance with positive moderate correlation between assessments. Considering both performance measurements obtained at 12 and 17 months of age, four infants were identified as having a "possible delay in motor development". The study showed the need for closer attention to the motor development of children who attend day care centers during the first 17 months of life, with special attention to gross motor skills (which are considered an integral part of the child's overall development) and to children with suspected delays in two consecutive assessments.

Statistical models of global Langmuir mixing

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qing; Fox-Kemper, Baylor; Breivik, Øyvind; Webb, Adrean

2017-05-01

The effects of Langmuir mixing on the surface ocean mixing may be parameterized by applying an enhancement factor which depends on wave, wind, and ocean state to the turbulent velocity scale in the K-Profile Parameterization. Diagnosing the appropriate enhancement factor online in global climate simulations is readily achieved by coupling with a prognostic wave model, but with significant computational and code development expenses. In this paper, two alternatives that do not require a prognostic wave model, (i) a monthly mean enhancement factor climatology, and (ii) an approximation to the enhancement factor based on the empirical wave spectra, are explored and tested in a global climate model. Both appear to reproduce the Langmuir mixing effects as estimated using a prognostic wave model, with nearly identical and substantial improvements in the simulated mixed layer depth and intermediate water ventilation over control simulations, but significantly less computational cost. Simpler approaches, such as ignoring Langmuir mixing altogether or setting a globally constant Langmuir number, are found to be deficient. Thus, the consequences of Stokes depth and misaligned wind and waves are important.

Global warming: is weight loss a solution?

Science.gov (United States)

Gryka, A; Broom, J; Rolland, C

2012-03-01

The current climate change has been most likely caused by the increased greenhouse gas emissions. We have looked at the major greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO(2)), and estimated the reduction in the CO(2) emissions that would occur with the theoretical global weight loss. The calculations were based on our previous weight loss study, investigating the effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on body weight, body composition and resting metabolic rate of obese volunteers with type 2 diabetes. At 6 months, we observed decreases in weight, fat mass, fat free mass and CO(2) production. We estimated that a 10 kg weight loss of all obese and overweight people would result in a decrease of 49.560 Mt of CO(2) per year, which would equal to 0.2% of the CO(2) emitted globally in 2007. This reduction could help meet the CO(2) emission reduction targets and unquestionably would be of a great benefit to the global health.

Global-local visual biases correspond with visual-spatial orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Basso, Michael R; Lowery, Natasha

2004-02-01

Within the past decade, numerous investigations have demonstrated reliable associations of global-local visual processing biases with right and left hemisphere function, respectively (cf. Van Kleeck, 1989). Yet the relevance of these biases to other cognitive functions is not well understood. Towards this end, the present research examined the relationship between global-local visual biases and perception of visual-spatial orientation. Twenty-six women and 23 men completed a global-local judgment task (Kimchi and Palmer, 1982) and the Judgment of Line Orientation Test (JLO; Benton, Sivan, Hamsher, Varney, and Spreen, 1994), a measure of visual-spatial orientation. As expected, men had better performance on JLO. Extending previous findings, global biases were related to better visual-spatial acuity on JLO. The findings suggest that global-local biases and visual-spatial orientation may share underlying cerebral mechanisms. Implications of these findings for other visually mediated cognitive outcomes are discussed.

Mixed Waste Management Facility, monthly report June 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streit, R.

1994-07-01

This monthly report for June 1994 presents general progress in the development of the MWMF including bugetary considerations. During June, the outstanding issues of Project guidance and OPEX/CENRTC funding were essentially resolved. A letter from DOE/OAK on June 28 provided the KD-1 decision and provided revised scope and budget guidance for the Project. Prior to this, during June, an agreement with DOE for release of funds to mitigate the OPEX/CENRTC funding levels was also completed. In response to KD-1 guidance, work to provide a revised Project schedule and budget profile began. Preliminary design activities have been on hold since May 1

FliPer: checking the reliability of global seismic parameters from automatic pipelines

Science.gov (United States)

Bugnet, L.; García, R. A.; Davies, G. R.; Mathur, S.; Corsaro, E.

2017-12-01

Our understanding of stars through asteroseismic data analysis is limited by our ability to take advantage of the huge amount of observed stars provided by space missions such as CoRoT, \\keplerp, \\ktop, and soon TESS and PLATO. Global seismic pipelines provide global stellar parameters such as mass and radius using the mean seismic parameters, as well as the effective temperature. These pipelines are commonly used automatically on thousands of stars observed by K2 for 3 months (and soon TESS for at least ˜ 1 month). However, pipelines are not immune from misidentifying noise peaks and stellar oscillations. Therefore, new validation techniques are required to assess the quality of these results. We present a new metric called FliPer (Flicker in Power), which takes into account the average variability at all measured time scales. The proper calibration of \\powvar enables us to obtain good estimations of global stellar parameters such as surface gravity that are robust against the influence of noise peaks and hence are an excellent way to find faults in asteroseismic pipelines.

Global aspects of classical integrable systems

CERN Document Server

Cushman, Richard H

2015-01-01

This book gives a uniquely complete description of the geometry of the energy momentum mapping of five classical integrable systems: the 2-dimensional harmonic oscillator, the geodesic flow on the 3-sphere, the Euler top, the spherical pendulum and the Lagrange top. It presents for the first time in book form a general theory of symmetry reduction which allows one to reduce the symmetries in the spherical pendulum and the Lagrange top. Also the monodromy obstruction to the existence of global action angle coordinates is calculated for the spherical pendulum and the Lagrange top. The book addresses professional mathematicians and graduate students and can be used as a textbook on advanced classical mechanics or global analysis.

Neonatal Sleep-Wake Analyses Predict 18-month Neurodevelopmental Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Shellhaas, Renée A; Burns, Joseph W; Hassan, Fauziya; Carlson, Martha D; Barks, John D E; Chervin, Ronald D

2017-11-01

The neurological examination of critically ill neonates is largely limited to reflexive behavior. The exam often ignores sleep-wake physiology that may reflect brain integrity and influence long-term outcomes. We assessed whether polysomnography and concurrent cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) might improve prediction of 18-month neurodevelopmental outcomes. Term newborns with suspected seizures underwent standardized neurologic examinations to generate Thompson scores and had 12-hour bedside polysomnography with concurrent cerebral NIRS. For each infant, the distribution of sleep-wake stages and electroencephalogram delta power were computed. NIRS-derived fractional tissue oxygen extraction (FTOE) was calculated across sleep-wake stages. At age 18-22 months, surviving participants were evaluated with Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley-III), 3rd edition. Twenty-nine participants completed Bayley-III. Increased newborn time in quiet sleep predicted worse 18-month cognitive and motor scores (robust regression models, adjusted r2 = 0.22, p = .007, and 0.27, .004, respectively). Decreased 0.5-2 Hz electroencephalograph (EEG) power during quiet sleep predicted worse 18-month language and motor scores (adjusted r2 = 0.25, p = .0005, and 0.33, .001, respectively). Predictive values remained significant after adjustment for neonatal Thompson scores or exposure to phenobarbital. Similarly, an attenuated difference in FTOE, between neonatal wakefulness and quiet sleep, predicted worse 18-month cognitive, language, and motor scores in adjusted analyses (each p sleep-as quantified by increased time in quiet sleep, lower electroencephalogram delta power during that stage, and muted differences in FTOE between quiet sleep and wakefulness-may improve prediction of adverse long-term outcomes for newborns with neurological dysfunction. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved

Determining the Impact of Prenatal Tobacco Exposure on Self-Regulation at 6 Months

Science.gov (United States)

Wiebe, Sandra A.; Fang, Hua; Johnson, Craig; James, Karen E.; Espy, Kimberly Andrews

2014-01-01

Our goal in the present study was to examine the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on infant self-regulation, exploring birth weight as a mediator and sex as a moderator of risk. A prospective sample of 218 infants was assessed at 6 months of age. Infants completed a battery of tasks assessing working memory/inhibition, attention, and…

Tubal endometriosis diagnosed within one month after menarche: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, K; Mitsuhashi, Y; Takaike, T; Takase, K; Hoshiai, H; Noda, K

1997-03-01

A 13-year-old nulligravida girl, 158.5 cm in height and 76.0 kg in body weight, came to our department complaining of continuous right lower abdominal pain. One month earlier, an ovarian cyst in the right ovary, about 3 cm in diameter, was found when she underwent appendectomy at another hospital, but was left untreated. Menarche occurred at the age of 13 years and 1 month, which was after the appendectomy and 24 days before the present operation. Right hematosalpinx with peripheral obstruction and a para-ovarian serous cyst on the same side were diagnosed, and therefore right salpingectomy with para-ovarian cyst resection was performed. The bilateral ovaries and uterus were completely normal by inspection. The post operative histological examination confirmed hematosalpinx and revealed tubal endometriosis.

Social security for seafarers globally

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Olaf; Canals, Luisa; Haarløv, Erik

2013-01-01

Social security for seafarers globally Background: Social security protection is one of the essential elements of decent work. The issue is complex and no previous epidemiological studies of the coverage among seafarers have yet been performed. Objectives: The aim was to overcome the gap...... of knowledge to promote the discussion and planning of the implementation of social security for all seafarers. Methods: The seafarers completed a short questionnaire concerning their knowledge about their social security status. Results: Significant disparities of coverage of social security were pointed out...... comes from poorer countries without substantial social security systems. The solutions suggested are to implement the minimum requirements as recommended by the ILO 2006 Convention, to survey the implementation and in the long term to struggle for global social equality. Key words: Social security...

Candidal Arthritis After Complete Treatment of Systemic Candidiasis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Bin Hsieh

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Over the last few decades, the incidence of invasive candidal infections in neonatal intensive care units has increased dramatically. Various complications, such as arthritis, endocarditis, meningitis, and endophthalmitis, have been reviewed. We present the case of a premature infant with systemic candidemia. Arthritis was discovered 6 months after completion of amphotericin B therapy, and was successfully treated with oral fluconazole for 6 weeks. We conclude that long-term follow-up is particularly important in patients with treated candidemia. To prevent complications, prolonged treatment with high-dose amphotericin B is suggested for systemic fungal infection, and oral fluconazole is an effective alternative for candidal arthritis.

The CERN Global Network opens its doors to companies

CERN Multimedia

Francesco Poppi

2010-01-01

Six months after its launch, the CERN Global Network already has almost one thousand members. Today, it is opening its doors to companies from CERN's Member States. This will open up a variety of new professional and career opportunities to all the members and will enhance the networking capabilities of all parties involved.   Screenshot of the CERN Global Network website. A new item has recently appeared on the top menu of the Network's website: “Organisations”. This is the entry point for companies and, later, research institutes, wishing to join. “The CERN Global Network brings together hundreds of people who have worked at or with CERN and who have a wealth of skills and expertise. Thanks to the Network, the job opportunities made available by the companies will become visible to the wider community,” says Linda Orr-Easo, a member of the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Group and the CERN Global Network Manager. In addition to creating new career opp...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of March 2008 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1979-05-15 to 2008-03-31 (NODC Accession 0040187)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of September 2007 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2007-09-30 (NODC Accession 0033660)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of August 2006 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2006-08-31 (NODC Accession 0002818)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of December 2003 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2003-12-31 (NODC Accession 0001286)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of January 2005 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2005-01-31 (NODC Accession 0002005)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of August 2007 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2007-08-31 (NODC Accession 0032684)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of December 2004 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2004-12-31 (NODC Accession 0001960)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of October 2004 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2004-10-31 (NODC Accession 0001897)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of April 2005 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2005-04-30 (NODC Accession 0002163)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of January 2006 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2006-01-31 (NODC Accession 0002524)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of September 2004 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2004-09-30 (NODC Accession 0001735)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Temperature and salinity profile data from globally distributed Argo profiling floats for the month of February 2005 for the Global Argo Data Repository, 1996-01-05 to 2005-02-28 (NODC Accession 0002048)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) operates the Global Argo Data Repository (GADR) as the long-term archive for the International Global Argo Project...

Coadministration of melatonin and fluoxetine does not improve the 3-month outcome following ECT.

Science.gov (United States)

Grunhaus, L; Hirschman, S; Dolberg, O T; Schreiber, S; Dannon, P N

2001-06-01

At least 50% of patients with manic depressive disorder (MDD) treated successfully with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) will experience a relapse within the first year of follow-up. Sleep disturbances are very common in MDD and may constitute forerunners of relapse. In this study we tested the hypothesis that melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone, would decrease the 3-month relapse rate after successful ECT. We included in the study patients with MDD successfully treated with ECT (post-ECT Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression [HRSD] < or = 10). Patients were blindly randomized to two groups, one receiving fluoxetine + placebo and one receiving fluoxetine + melatonin. Assessments (HRSD, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Global Assessment of Function Scale, Global Depression Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Mini-Mental State Exam, and pill count) were performed for 12 weeks after ECT. Ten of the 35 patients (28.5%) relapsed during the follow-up period. Relapse rates were similar in both groups of patients. Sleep reports were not improved by melatonin. Patients who achieved a higher functional state post-ECT relapsed less often. We conclude that the addition of melatonin to on-going fluoxetine treatment did not have a beneficial effect either on the 3-month outcome post-ECT or on the sleep reports of these patients.

12-Month Follow-Up of Fluoxetine and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Binge Eating Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Grilo, Carlos M.; Crosby, Ross D.; Wilson, G. Terence; Masheb, Robin M.

2012-01-01

Objective: The longer term efficacy of medication treatments for binge-eating disorder (BED) remains unknown. This study examined the longer term effects of fluoxetine and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) either with fluoxetine (CBT + fluoxetine) or with placebo (CBT + placebo) for BED through 12-month follow-up after completing treatments.…

How Will Copper Contamination Constrain Future Global Steel Recycling?

OpenAIRE

Daehn, Katrin; Cabrera Serrenho, Andre; Allwood, Julian Mark

2017-01-01

Copper in steel causes metallurgical problems, but is pervasive in end-of-life scrap and cannot currently be removed commercially once in the melt. Contamination can be managed to an extent by globally trading scrap for use in tolerant applications and dilution with primary iron sources. However, the viability of long-term strategies can only be evaluated with a complete characterization of copper in the global steel system and this is presented in this paper. The copper concentration of flow...

Online registration of monthly sports participation after anterior cruciate ligament injury: a reliability and validity study.

Science.gov (United States)

Grindem, Hege; Eitzen, Ingrid; Snyder-Mackler, Lynn; Risberg, May Arna

2014-05-01

The current methods measuring sports activity after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury are commonly restricted to the most knee-demanding sports, and do not consider participation in multiple sports. We therefore developed an online activity survey to prospectively record the monthly participation in all major sports relevant to our patient-group. To assess the reliability, content validity and concurrent validity of the survey and to evaluate if it provided more complete data on sports participation than a routine activity questionnaire. 145 consecutively included ACL-injured patients were eligible for the reliability study. The retest of the online activity survey was performed 2 days after the test response had been recorded. A subsample of 88 ACL-reconstructed patients was included in the validity study. The ACL-reconstructed patients completed the online activity survey from the first to the 12th postoperative month, and a routine activity questionnaire 6 and 12 months postoperatively. The online activity survey was highly reliable (κ ranging from 0.81 to 1). It contained all the common sports reported on the routine activity questionnaire. There was a substantial agreement between the two methods on return to preinjury main sport (κ=0.71 and 0.74 at 6 and 12 months postoperatively). The online activity survey revealed that a significantly higher number of patients reported to participate in running, cycling and strength training, and patients reported to participate in a greater number of sports. The online activity survey is a highly reliable way of recording detailed changes in sports participation after ACL injury. The findings of this study support the content and concurrent validity of the survey, and suggest that the online activity survey can provide more complete data on sports participation than a routine activity questionnaire.

Online registration of monthly sports participation after anterior cruciate ligament injury: a reliability and validity study

Science.gov (United States)

Grindem, Hege; Eitzen, Ingrid; Snyder-Mackler, Lynn; Risberg, May Arna

2013-01-01

Background Current methods measuring sports activity after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury are commonly restricted to the most knee-demanding sport, and do not consider participation in multiple sports. We therefore developed an online activity survey to prospectively record monthly participation in all major sports relevant to our patient-group. Objective To assess the reliability, content validity, and concurrent validity of the survey, and evaluate if it provided more complete data on sports participation than a routine activity questionnaire. Methods One hundred and forty-five consecutively included ACL-injured patients were eligible for the reliability study. The retest of the online activity survey was performed two days after the test response had been recorded. A subsample of 88 ACL-reconstructed patients were included in the validity study. The ACL-reconstructed patients completed the online activity survey from the first to the twelfth postoperative month, and a routine activity questionnaire 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Results The online activity survey was highly reliable (κ ranging from 0.81 to 1). It contained all the common sports reported on the routine activity questionnaire. There was substantial agreement between the two methods on return to preinjury main sport (κ = 0.71 and 0.74 at 6 and 12 months postoperatively). The online activity survey revealed that a significantly higher number of patients reported to participate in running, cycling and strength training, and patients reported to participate in a greater number of sports. Conclusion The online activity survey is a highly reliable way of recording detailed changes in sports participation after ACL injury. The findings of this study support the content and concurrent validity of the survey, and suggest that the online activity survey can provide more complete data on sports participation than a routine activity questionnaire. PMID:23645830

Scalable alcohol interventions - An online “Month off Booze” programme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jussi Tolvi

2015-09-01

Club Soda has developed a scalable online intervention, supporting people who want to abstain from alcohol for a month, which will be piloted in October 2015. An evaluation of the programme is not possible at the time of writing this abstract, but will be completed in November 2015. Based on initial feedback and anecdotal evidence, however, the programme is expected to be a powerful tool helping people abstain for a set period of time, and in reducing their alcohol consumption after the programme as well.

Spring and Its Global Echo: Quantitative Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Korotayev

2017-01-01

Full Text Available It is shown that the Arab Spring acted as a trigger for a global wave of socio-political destabilization, which signifi cantly exceeded the scale of the Arab Spring itself and affected absolutely all world-system zones. Only in 2011 the growth of the global number of largescale anti-government demonstrations, riots and political strikes was to a high degree (although not entirely due to their growth in the Arab world. In the ensuing years, the Arab countries rather made a negative contribution to a very noticeable further increase in the global number of large-scale anti-government demonstrations, riots and general strikes (the global intensity of all these three important types of socio-political destabilization continued to grow despite the decline in the Arab world. Thus, for all these three important indicators of sociopolitical destabilization, the scale of the global echo of the Arab Spring has overshadowed the scale of the Arab Spring itself. Only as regards the fourth considered indicator (major terrorist attacks / guerrilla warfare the scale of the global echo for the entire period considered did not overshadow the scale of the Arab Spring (and, incidentally, «Winter» - and in 2014-2015 Arab countries continued to make a disproportionate contribution to the historically record global values of this sad indicator – global number of major terrorist attacks/ guerilla warfare. To conclude, triggered by the Arab Spring, the global wave of socio-political destabilization led after 2010 to a very signifi cant growth of socio-political instability in absolutely all World System zones. However, this global destabilization wave manifested itself in different World System zones in different ways and not completely synchronously.

Global nuclear material flow/control model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreicer, J.S.; Rutherford, D.S.; Fasel, P.K.; Riese, J.M.

1997-01-01

This is the final report of a two-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The nuclear danger can be reduced by a system for global management, protection, control, and accounting as part of an international regime for nuclear materials. The development of an international fissile material management and control regime requires conceptual research supported by an analytical and modeling tool which treats the nuclear fuel cycle as a complete system. The prototype model developed visually represents the fundamental data, information, and capabilities related to the nuclear fuel cycle in a framework supportive of national or an international perspective. This includes an assessment of the global distribution of military and civilian fissile material inventories, a representation of the proliferation pertinent physical processes, facility specific geographic identification, and the capability to estimate resource requirements for the management and control of nuclear material. The model establishes the foundation for evaluating the global production, disposition, and safeguards and security requirements for fissile nuclear material and supports the development of other pertinent algorithmic capabilities necessary to undertake further global nuclear material related studies

Process of globalization and basic traits of Serbian national character

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atlagić Marko

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In contemporary world globalization, along with many perplexities, increasingly takes on the universal/cosmopolitan character in spite of all geographical, national, racial, religious and alignment barriers. Information exchange, scientific achievements and technology are nowadays world process. Economy increasingly becomes global. Serbia and Serbian people have their own specific character, which is defined by three significant characteristics: sovereignty and territorial integrity, aspirations to social justice, the rule of people and democracy. The creators of global society should take into consideration these three important characteristics of Serbian people with which Serbian political elite is to familiarize them, for the sake of more rapid and complete process of integration of Serbs into global processes from both Serbia and its neighboring countries would benefit.

Life Cycle Assessment of Completely Recyclable Concrete.

Science.gov (United States)

De Schepper, Mieke; Van den Heede, Philip; Van Driessche, Isabel; De Belie, Nele

2014-08-21

Since the construction sector uses 50% of the Earth's raw materials and produces 50% of its waste, the development of more durable and sustainable building materials is crucial. Today, Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is mainly used in low level applications, namely as unbound material for foundations, e.g., in road construction. Mineral demolition waste can be recycled as crushed aggregates for concrete, but these reduce the compressive strength and affect the workability due to higher values of water absorption. To advance the use of concrete rubble, Completely Recyclable Concrete (CRC) is designed for reincarnation within the cement production, following the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) principle. By the design, CRC becomes a resource for cement production because the chemical composition of CRC will be similar to that of cement raw materials. If CRC is used on a regular basis, a closed concrete-cement-concrete material cycle will arise, which is completely different from the current life cycle of traditional concrete. Within the research towards this CRC it is important to quantify the benefit for the environment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) needs to be performed, of which the results are presented in a this paper. It was observed that CRC could significantly reduce the global warming potential of concrete.

Life Cycle Assessment of Completely Recyclable Concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mieke De Schepper

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Since the construction sector uses 50% of the Earth’s raw materials and produces 50% of its waste, the development of more durable and sustainable building materials is crucial. Today, Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW is mainly used in low level applications, namely as unbound material for foundations, e.g., in road construction. Mineral demolition waste can be recycled as crushed aggregates for concrete, but these reduce the compressive strength and affect the workability due to higher values of water absorption. To advance the use of concrete rubble, Completely Recyclable Concrete (CRC is designed for reincarnation within the cement production, following the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C principle. By the design, CRC becomes a resource for cement production because the chemical composition of CRC will be similar to that of cement raw materials. If CRC is used on a regular basis, a closed concrete-cement-concrete material cycle will arise, which is completely different from the current life cycle of traditional concrete. Within the research towards this CRC it is important to quantify the benefit for the environment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA needs to be performed, of which the results are presented in a this paper. It was observed that CRC could significantly reduce the global warming potential of concrete.

Preschool-based social communication treatment for children with autism: 12-month follow-up of a randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaale, Anett; Fagerland, Morten W; Martinsen, Egil W; Smith, Lars

2014-02-01

This study reports 12-month follow-up data from a randomized controlled trial of preschool-based social communication treatment for young children with autism. A total of 61 children (48 males) with autism, 29 to 60 months of age, had earlier been randomized either to 8 weeks of preschool-based social communication treatment in addition to standard preschool program (n = 34) or to standard preschool program only (n = 27). Significant short-term effects on targeted social communication skills have previously been published. Long-term gains in social communication, language and global social functioning and communication were assessed from video-taped preschool teacher-child and mother-child interactions, Early Social Communication Scales, Reynell Developmental Language Scale, and Social Communication Questionnaire. Compared with those in the control group, the treated children achieved significantly larger improvements in joint attention and joint engagement from baseline to 12-month follow-up. However, no effects were detected on language and global ratings of social functioning and communication. The treatment effect on child initiation of joint attention increased with increasing level of sociability at baseline, whereas nonverbal IQ and expressive language had no moderating effect. This study is the first to show that, similar to specialist-delivered treatment, preschool-based treatment may produce small but possibly clinically important long-term changes in social communication in young children with autism. The treatment did not affect language and global ratings of social functioning and communication. More studies are needed to better understand whether treatment effects may be improved by increasing the intensity and duration of the treatment. Clinical trial registration information--Joint Attention Intervention and Young Children With Autism; http://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT00378157. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

The Global Financial Crisis and currency crises in Latin America

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boonman, Tjeerd M.; Jacobs, Jan P.A.M.; Kuper, Gerard H.

2012-01-01

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has aected many regions including Latin America. This paper focuses on currency crises in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. We estimate an Early Warning System, consisting of a dynamic factor model and an ordered logit model, with monthly data for 1990-2007. Ex ante

Evidence of a global magma ocean in Io's interior.

Science.gov (United States)

Khurana, Krishan K; Jia, Xianzhe; Kivelson, Margaret G; Nimmo, Francis; Schubert, Gerald; Russell, Christopher T

2011-06-03

Extensive volcanism and high-temperature lavas hint at a global magma reservoir in Io, but no direct evidence has been available. We exploited Jupiter's rotating magnetic field as a sounding signal and show that the magnetometer data collected by the Galileo spacecraft near Io provide evidence of electromagnetic induction from a global conducting layer. We demonstrate that a completely solid mantle provides insufficient response to explain the magnetometer observations, but a global subsurface magma layer with a thickness of over 50 kilometers and a rock melt fraction of 20% or more is fully consistent with the observations. We also place a stronger upper limit of about 110 nanoteslas (surface equatorial field) on the dynamo dipolar field generated inside Io.

The influence of psychological factors on post-partum weight retention at 9 months.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Joanne; King, Ross; Skouteris, Helen

2014-11-01

Post-partum weight retention (PWR) has been identified as a critical pathway for long-term overweight and obesity. In recent years, psychological factors have been demonstrated to play a key role in contributing to and maintaining PWR. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship between post-partum psychological distress and PWR at 9 months, after controlling for maternal weight factors, sleep quality, sociocontextual influences, and maternal behaviours. Pregnant women (N = 126) completed a series of questionnaires at multiple time points from early pregnancy until 9 months post-partum. Hierarchical regression indicated that gestational weight gain, shorter duration (6 months or less) of breastfeeding, and post-partum body dissatisfaction at 3 and 6 months are associated with higher PWR at 9 months; stress, depression, and anxiety had minimal influence. Interventions aimed at preventing excessive PWR should specifically target the prevention of body dissatisfaction and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. What is already known on this subject? Post-partum weight retention (PWR) is a critical pathway for long-term overweight and obesity. Causes of PWR are complex and multifactorial. There is increasing evidence that psychological factors play a key role in predicting high PWR. What does this study add? Post-partum body dissatisfaction at 3 and 6 months is associated with PWR at 9 months post-birth. Post-partum depression, stress and anxiety have less influence on PWR at 9 months. Interventions aimed at preventing excessive PWR should target body dissatisfaction. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

The First USGS Global Geologic Map of Europa

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, E. J.; Patthoff, D. A.; Senske, D.; Collins, G. C.

2017-12-01

Understanding the global scale geology of Europa is paramount to gaining insight into the potential habitability of this icy world. To this end, work is ongoing to complete a global geological map at the scale of 1:15 million that incorporates data at all resolutions collected by the Voyager and Galileo missions. The results of this work will aid the Europa Clipper mission, now in formulation, by providing a framework for collaborative and synergistic science investigations. To understand global geologic and tectonic relations, a total of 10 geologic units have been defined. These include: Low Albedo Ridge Material (lam)—low albedo material that irregularly surrounds large (>20 km) ridge structures; Ridged plains (pr)—distributed over all latitudes and characterized by subparallel to cross-cutting ridges and troughs visible at high resolution (material (b)—linear to curvilinear zones with a distinct, abrupt albedo change from the surrounding region; Crater material (c), Continuous Crater Ejecta (ce) and Discontinuous Crater Ejecta (dce)—features associated with impact craters including the site of the impact, crater material, and the fall-out debris respectively; Low Albedo Chaos (chl), Mottled Albedo Chaos (chm) and High Albedo Chaos (chh)—disrupted terrain with a relatively uniform low albedo, patchy/variegated albedo, and uniform high albedo appearance respectively; Knobby Chaos (chk) - disrupted terrain with rough and blocky texture occurring in the high latitudes. In addition to the geologic units, our mapping also includes structural features—Ridges, Cycloids, Undifferentiated Linea, Crater Rims, Depression Margins, Dome Margins and Troughs. We also introduce a point feature (at the global scale), Microchaos, to denote small (material. The completed map will constrain the distribution of different Europa terrains and provide a general stratigraphic framework to assess the geologic history of Europa from the regional to the global scale. Here, we

Cyclic efforts to improve completion rates of masters’ degree students in nursing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lizeth Roets

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Supervisors at Higher Education Institutions are challenged to shorten throughput of Master’s degree students in nursing as researchers are needed to improve the art and science of the nursing profession. Globally the completion time for a postgraduate degree in the health sciences varies between 4.7 and 5.5 years. The purpose of the study was to describe strategies that were implemented to shorten completion time and attrition rate of postgraduate students. A cyclic technical, scientific collaborative mode within an action research methodology was used to identify factors impeding completion time in this study. Contrary to other studies, supervision was not an inhibiting factor in this study. Physical, technical, academic and financial aspects were identified by postgraduate students through questionnaires and informal discussion groups with supervisors as well as progress reports. Strategies were implemented to address these. Following implementation of all strategies, 42% of the postgraduate students in the School of Nursing completed their Master’s degree within two years. This implies a 34% improvement. Although the completion rate improved it was still unsatisfactory and new challenges were identified during the second cycle, for example, the number of inexperienced supervisors increased and they needed mentoring. Speed mentoring is a possible solution to the problem.

Global daily precipitation fields from bias-corrected rain gauge and satellite observations. Pt. 1. Design and development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kottek, M.; Rubel, F. [Univ. of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Austria). Biometeorology Group

2007-10-15

Global daily precipitation analyses are mainly based on satellite estimates, often calibrated with monthly ground analyses or merged with model predictions. We argue here that an essential improvement of their accuracy is only possible by incorporation of daily ground measurements. In this work we apply geostatistical methods to compile a global precipitation product based on daily rain gauge measurements. The raw ground measurements, disseminated via Global Telecommunication System (GTS), are corrected for their systematic measurement errors and interpolated onto a global 1 degree grid. For interpolation ordinary block kriging is applied, with precalculated spatial auto-correlation functions (ACFs). This technique allows to incorporate additional climate information. First, monthly ACFs are calculated from the daily data; second, they are regionalised according to the five main climatic zones of the Koeppen-Geiger climate classification. The interpolation error, a by-product of kriging, is used to flag grid points as missing if the error is above a predefined threshold. But for many applications missing values constitute a problem. Due to a combination of the ground analyses with the daily multi-satellite product of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP-1DD) not only these missing values are replaced but also the spatial structure of the satellite estimates is considered. As merging method bivariate ordinary co-kriging is applied. The ACFs necessary for the gauge and the satellite fields as well as the corresponding spatial cross-correlation functions (CCFs) are again precalculated for each of the five main climatic zones and for each individual month. As a result two new global daily data sets for the period 1996 up to today will be available on the Internet (www.gmes-geoland.info): A precipitation product over land, analysed from ground measurements; and a global precipitation product merged from this and the GPCP-1DD multi-satellite product. (orig.)

Student Mental Models of the Greenhouse Effect: Retention Months After Interventions

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, S. E.; Gold, A. U.

2013-12-01

Individual understanding of climate science, and the greenhouse effect in particular, is one factor important for societal decision-making. Ideally, learning opportunities about the greenhouse effect will not only move people toward expert-like ideas but will also have long-lasting effects for those individuals. We assessed university students' mental models of the greenhouse effect before and after specific learning experiences, on a final exam, then again a few months later. Our aim was to measure retention after students had not necessarily been thinking about, nor studying, the greenhouse effect recently. How sticky were the ideas learned? 164 students in an introductory science course participated in a sequence of two learning activities and assessments regarding the greenhouse effect. The first lesson involved the full class, then, for the second lesson, half the students completed a simulation-based activity and the other half completed a data-driven activity. We assessed student thinking through concept sketches, multiple choice and short answer questions. All students generated concept sketches four times, and completed a set of multiple choice (MCQs) and short answer questions twice. Later, 3-4 months after the course ended, 27 students ('retention students') completed an additional concept sketch and answered the questions again, as a retention assessment. These 27 students were nearly evenly split between the two contrasting second lessons in the sequence and included both high and low-achieving students. We then compared student sketches and scores to 'expert' answers. The general pattern over time showed a significant increase in student scores from before the lesson sequence to after, both on concept sketches and MCQs, then an additional increase in concept sketch score on the final exam (MCQs were not asked on the final exam). The scores for the retention students were not significantly different from the full class. Within the retention group

Self-reported balance status is not a reliable indicator of balance performance in adolescents at one-month post-concussion.

Science.gov (United States)

Rochefort, Coralie; Walters-Stewart, Coren; Aglipay, Mary; Barrowman, Nick; Zemek, Roger; Sveistrup, Heidi

2017-11-01

To determine if self-reported balance symptoms can be used as a proxy for measures of the center of pressure (COP) to identify balance deficits in a group of concussed adolescents. Case-control. Thirteen adolescents 1-month post-concussion who reported ongoing balance problems (Balance+), 20 adolescent 1-month post-concussion who reported no balance problems (Balance-), and 30 non-injured adolescents (control) completed a series of balance tests. Participants completed two 2-min trials standing on a Nintendo Wii Balance Board™ during which the COP under their feet was recorded: i) double-leg stance, eyes open; ii) double-leg stance, eyes closed. Participants also completed a dual-task condition combining a double-leg stance and a Stroop Colour-word test. Participants in both the Balance+ and Balance- group swayed over a larger ellipse area compared to the control group while completing the Eyes Closed (Balance+, p=0.002; Balance-, p=0.002) and Dual-Task (Balance+, p=0.001; Balance-, p=0.004) conditions and performed the Dual-Task condition with faster medio-lateral velocity (Balance+, p=0.003; Balance-, p=0.009). The participants in the Balance- group also swayed over a larger ellipse area compared to the control group while completing the Eyes Open condition (p=0.005). No significant differences were identified between the Balance+ and Balance- groups. At 1-month post-concussion, adolescents demonstrated balance deficits compared to non-injured adolescents regardless of whether they reported balance problems. These results suggest that self-reported balance status might not be an accurate reflection of balance performance following a concussion in adolescents. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The assessment of local response using magnetic resonance imaging at 3- and 6-month post chemoradiotherapy in patients with anal cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kochhar, Rohit [The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Radiology, Manchester (United Kingdom); The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Institute of Cancer Sciences, Manchester (United Kingdom); Renehan, Andrew G. [The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Institute of Cancer Sciences, Manchester (United Kingdom); The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Surgery, Manchester (United Kingdom); Mullan, Damian; Carrington, Bernadette M. [The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Radiology, Manchester (United Kingdom); Chakrabarty, Bipasha [The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Histopathology, Manchester (United Kingdom); Saunders, Mark P. [The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Clinical Oncology, Manchester (United Kingdom)

2017-02-15

To assess the use of MRI-determined tumour regression grading (TRG) in local response assessment and detection of salvageable early local relapse after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC). From a prospective database of patients with ASCC managed through a centralised multidisciplinary team, 74 patients who completed routine post-CRT 3- and 6-month MRIs (2009-2012) were reviewed. Two radiologists blinded to the outcomes consensus read and retrospectively assigned TRG scores [1 (complete response) to 5 (no response)] and related these to early local relapse (within 12 months) and disease-free survival (DFS). Seven patients had early local relapse. TRG 1/2 scores at 3 and 6 months had a 100 % negative predictive value; TRG 4/5 scores at 6 months had a 100 % positive predictive value. All seven patients underwent salvage R0 resections. We identified a novel 'tram-track' sign on MRI in over half of patients, with an NPV for early local relapse of 83 % at 6 months. No imaging characteristic or TRG score independently prognosticated for late relapse or 3-year DFS. Post-CRT 3- and 6-month MRI-determined TRG scores predicted salvageable R0 early local relapses in patients with ASCC, challenging current clinical guidelines. (orig.)

Global irradiation on horizontal surface at Hyderabad, Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalhoro, A.N.

2005-01-01

The measurement of global irradiation on horizontal surface at PCSIR (Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) Laboratories, Hyderabad, Pakistan, for the period of January-June, 2003 is presented in this paper. During six months the total global irradiation received on horizontal surface at Hyderabad Laboratories is 1.80238 MW-h-m2. The daily irradiation data (Watt-h/Sq.m) has been collected on continuous basis by means of EPLAB Pyranometer and EPLAB Electronic Integrator provided with DIGITEC printer system. HPX- Y recorder (potentiometer) is also connected for continuous data recording of solar intensity (m V). The weather effect over the radiation income was observed regularly and proportion of sunny, cloudy, partly cloudy and dusty days is plotted. Monthly mean daily irradiation bifurcated for sunny and cloudy days are also shown separately. To give an overview of sky conditions, the monthly clearness index is calculated. The highest value of average irradiation per day was recorded in June (7.15 kW/m/sup 2/) and minimum recorded in January (4.11 kW/m/sup 2/). The summer season, although rich in radiation with long sunshine duration, brings dust storms along with many partly cloudy or cloudy days, mostly in the month of May and likely in June as well. This could be an additional barrier for solar energy applications especially in desert areas; therefore the study was made for evaluating the effect of dust on the radiation flux. The purpose of the study is the development of rural life in Pakistan such that the inhabitants of rural areas may need not to wait for the connection to national grid. This study will help in improving the efficiency of solar thermal devices, (currently fabricated on theoretical basis at the laboratories), according to experimental data. (author)

A global probe into dental student perceptions about philanthropy, global dentistry and international student exchanges.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanoff, Chris S; Yaneva, Krassimira; Luan, Diana; Andonov, Bogomil; Kumar, Reena R; Agnihotry, Anirudha; Ivanoff, Athena E; Emmanouil, Dimitrios; Volpato, Luiz Evaristo Ricci; Koneski, Filip; Muratovska, Ilijana; Al-Shehri, Huda A; Al-Taweel, Sara M; Daly, Michele

2017-04-01

Training culturally competent graduates who can practice effectively in a multicultural environment is a goal of contemporary dental education. The Global Oral Health Initiative is a network of dental schools seeking to promote global dentistry as a component of cultural competency training. Before initiating international student exchanges, a survey was conducted to assess students' awareness of global dentistry and interest in cross-national clerkships. A 22-question, YES/NO survey was distributed to 3,487 dental students at eight schools in seven countries. The questions probed students about their school's commitment to enhance their education by promoting global dentistry, volunteerism and philanthropy. The data were analysed using Vassarstats statistical software. In total, 2,371 students (67.9%) completed the survey. Cultural diversity was seen as an important component of dental education by 72.8% of the students, with two-thirds (66.9%) acknowledging that their training provided preparation for understanding the oral health care needs of disparate peoples. A high proportion (87.9%) agreed that volunteerism and philanthropy are important qualities of a well-rounded dentist, but only about one-third felt that their school supported these behaviours (36.2%) or demonstrated a commitment to promote global dentistry (35.5%). In addition, 87.4% felt that dental schools are morally bound to improve oral health care in marginalised global communities and should provide students with international exchange missions (91%), which would enhance their cultural competency (88.9%) and encourage their participation in charitable missions after graduation (67.6%). The study suggests that dental students would value international exchanges, which may enhance students' knowledge and self-awareness related to cultural competence. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

Global F-theory GUTs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blumenhagen, Ralph; /Munich, Max Planck Inst.; Grimm, Thomas W.; /Bonn U.; Jurke, Benjamin; /Munich, Max Planck Inst.; Weigand, Timo; /SLAC

2010-08-26

We construct global F-theory GUT models on del Pezzo surfaces in compact Calabi-Yau fourfolds realized as complete intersections of two hypersurface constraints. The intersections of the GUT brane and the flavour branes as well as the gauge flux are described by the spectral cover construction. We consider a split S[U(4) x U(1){sub X}] spectral cover, which allows for the phenomenologically relevant Yukawa couplings and GUT breaking to the MSSM via hypercharge flux while preventing dimension-4 proton decay. General expressions for the massless spectrum, consistency conditions and a new method for the computation of curvature-induced tadpoles are presented. We also provide a geometric toolkit for further model searches in the framework of toric geometry. Finally, an explicit global model with three chiral generations and all required Yukawa couplings is defined on a Calabi-Yau fourfold which is fibered over the del Pezzo transition of the Fano threefold P{sup 4}.

Global F-theory GUTs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blumenhagen, Ralph; Grimm, Thomas W.; Jurke, Benjamin; Weigand, Timo

2010-01-01

We construct global F-theory GUT models on del Pezzo surfaces in compact Calabi-Yau fourfolds realized as complete intersections of two hypersurface constraints. The intersections of the GUT brane and the flavour branes as well as the gauge flux are described by the spectral cover construction. We consider a split S[U(4)xU(1) X ] spectral cover, which allows for the phenomenologically relevant Yukawa couplings and GUT breaking to the MSSM via hypercharge flux while preventing dimension-4 proton decay. General expressions for the massless spectrum, consistency conditions and a new method for the computation of curvature-induced tadpoles are presented. We also provide a geometric toolkit for further model searches in the framework of toric geometry. Finally, an explicit global model with three chiral generations and all required Yukawa couplings is defined on a Calabi-Yau fourfold which is fibered over the del Pezzo transition of the Fano threefold P 4 [4].

Ecogenomics and potential biogeochemical impacts of globally abundant ocean viruses

KAUST Repository

Roux, Simon

2016-05-12

Ocean microbes drive biogeochemical cycling on a global scale. However, this cycling is constrained by viruses that affect community composition, metabolic activity, and evolutionary trajectories. Owing to challenges with the sampling and cultivation of viruses, genome-level viral diversity remains poorly described and grossly understudied, with less than 1% of observed surface-ocean viruses known. Here we assemble complete genomes and large genomic fragments from both surface-and deep-ocean viruses sampled during the Tara Oceans and Malaspina research expeditions, and analyse the resulting â global ocean virome\\' dataset to present a global map of abundant, double-stranded DNA viruses complete with genomic and ecological contexts. A total of 15,222 epipelagic and mesopelagic viral populations were identified, comprising 867 viral clusters (defined as approximately genus-level groups). This roughly triples the number of known ocean viral populations and doubles the number of candidate bacterial and archaeal virus genera, providing a near-complete sampling of epipelagic communities at both the population and viral-cluster level. We found that 38 of the 867 viral clusters were locally or globally abundant, together accounting for nearly half of the viral populations in any global ocean virome sample. While two-thirds of these clusters represent newly described viruses lacking any cultivated representative, most could be computationally linked to dominant, ecologically relevant microbial hosts. Moreover, we identified 243 viral-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes, of which only 95 were previously known. Deeper analyses of four of these auxiliary metabolic genes (dsrC, soxYZ, P-II (also known as glnB) and amoC) revealed that abundant viruses may directly manipulate sulfur and nitrogen cycling throughout the epipelagic ocean. This viral catalog and functional analyses provide a necessary foundation for the meaningful integration of viruses into ecosystem models where

Ecogenomics and potential biogeochemical impacts of globally abundant ocean viruses

KAUST Repository

Roux, Simon; Brum, Jennifer R; Dutilh, Bas E.; Sunagawa, Shinichi; Duhaime, Melissa B; Loy, Alexander; Poulos, Bonnie T; Solonenko, Natalie; Lara, Elena; Poulain, Julie; Pesant, Stephane; Kandels-Lewis, Stefanie; Dimier, Celine; Picheral, Marc; Searson, Sarah; Cruaud, Corinne; Alberti, Adriana; Duarte, Carlos M.; Gasol, Josep M M; Vaque, Dolors; Bork, Peer; Acinas, Silvia G; Wincker, Patrick; Sullivan, Matthew B

2016-01-01

Ocean microbes drive biogeochemical cycling on a global scale. However, this cycling is constrained by viruses that affect community composition, metabolic activity, and evolutionary trajectories. Owing to challenges with the sampling and cultivation of viruses, genome-level viral diversity remains poorly described and grossly understudied, with less than 1% of observed surface-ocean viruses known. Here we assemble complete genomes and large genomic fragments from both surface-and deep-ocean viruses sampled during the Tara Oceans and Malaspina research expeditions, and analyse the resulting â global ocean virome' dataset to present a global map of abundant, double-stranded DNA viruses complete with genomic and ecological contexts. A total of 15,222 epipelagic and mesopelagic viral populations were identified, comprising 867 viral clusters (defined as approximately genus-level groups). This roughly triples the number of known ocean viral populations and doubles the number of candidate bacterial and archaeal virus genera, providing a near-complete sampling of epipelagic communities at both the population and viral-cluster level. We found that 38 of the 867 viral clusters were locally or globally abundant, together accounting for nearly half of the viral populations in any global ocean virome sample. While two-thirds of these clusters represent newly described viruses lacking any cultivated representative, most could be computationally linked to dominant, ecologically relevant microbial hosts. Moreover, we identified 243 viral-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes, of which only 95 were previously known. Deeper analyses of four of these auxiliary metabolic genes (dsrC, soxYZ, P-II (also known as glnB) and amoC) revealed that abundant viruses may directly manipulate sulfur and nitrogen cycling throughout the epipelagic ocean. This viral catalog and functional analyses provide a necessary foundation for the meaningful integration of viruses into ecosystem models where they

Complications and Clinical Considerations of the Implant-Retained Zirconia Complete-Arch Prosthesis with Various Opposing Dentitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Jorge; Triplett, Robert G

To evaluate the performance of the implant-retained zirconia complete-arch prosthesis with various opposing dentitions. The 40 patients included in this retrospective case series study were treated with one or two implant-retained zirconia complete-arch prostheses (ZIRCAP) using the Zirkonzahn protocol. Prettau zirconia frames were created with strategic cutbacks in the structure to extend zirconia incisal coverage of the esthetic anterior sextants and complete monolithic zirconia in the molar areas; subsequent layers of porcelain were applied to nonfunctional and esthetic areas. Patients had three possible occlusal scenarios: (1) maxillary ZIRCAP and mandibular ZIRCAP, (2) maxillary ZIRCAP and mandibular natural dentition, and (3) maxillary ZIRCAP and mandibular conventional hybrid prosthesis. Complications were recorded during follow-up appointments 3, 6, and 12 months after definitive prosthesis delivery. The mean treatment observation period was 33 months. Eight prosthetic complications were noted for the 40 implant-retained zirconia complete-arch prostheses (18.18%), including six cases of minor porcelain chipping and two cases of debonding of the metal insert from the zirconia framework. Maxillary ZIRCAP opposing mandibular ZIRCAP and maxillary ZIRCAP opposing mandibular natural dentition occlusal scenarios presented the same complication ratio of 4. No complications were seen in the maxillary ZIRCAP opposing mandibular conventional hybrid prosthesis group, yet 16 complications were found as denture tooth fractures in 12 mandibular conventional hybrid prostheses (ratio of 0.75). The results indicate that the implant-retained zirconia complete-arch prosthesis offers acceptable performance for use as an alternative to the conventional titanium framework acrylic veneer prosthesis for complete edentulism with a lower incidence of prosthetic complications and fewer maintenance appointments. Chipping of veneering porcelain was the most common complication, but a

Training Cambodian Village Health Support Guides in Diabetes Prevention: Effects on Guides' Knowledge and Teaching Activities Over 6 Months.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Julie; Keuky, Lim; Fraser-King, Lorraine; Kuoch, Theanvy; Scully, Mary

2016-04-01

Type 2 diabetes is a pressing public health concern in Cambodia, a country with limited human resource capacity due to genocide. Cambodian village health support guides (Guides) promote health at the local level. This paper reports preliminary results of training Guides in diabetes prevention. The curriculum, called Eat, Walk, Sleep was delivered to Guides in Siem Reap province once over 3 h. Participants completed a pretest and posttest on diabetes knowledge. Guides were offered continuing education through Eat, Walk, Sleep resources and were encouraged to teach Eat, Walk, Sleep in their villages. For each of 6 months following their training, Guides completed a checklist regarding their activities. One hundred eighty-five Guides attended one of ten trainings. Knowledge scores increased significantly from pretest to posttest. During 6 months of follow-up, n = 159 Guides (85 %) completed at least one monthly checklist. Guides reported high rates of uptake and delivery of the Eat, Walk, Sleep curriculum and moderate rates of continuing education about diabetes. Diabetes prevention in Cambodia is nascent. Guides show excellent uptake and dissemination of the curriculum. Future research should examine effect of support for Guide activities and the effect of the curriculum on villager health behaviors, and ultimately, on rates of type 2 diabetes.

Impact of malnutrition on 12-month mortality following acute hip fracture.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Jack J; Pulle, Ranjeev C; Crouch, Alisa M; Kuys, Suzanne S; Ferrier, Rebecca L; Whitehouse, Sarah L

2016-03-01

Studies investigating the relationship between malnutrition and post-discharge mortality following acute hip fracture yield conflicting results. This study aimed to determine whether malnutrition independently predicted 12-month post-fracture mortality after adjusting for clinically relevant covariates. An ethics approved, prospective, consecutive audit was undertaken for all surgically treated hip fracture inpatients admitted to a dedicated orthogeriatric unit (November 2010-October 2011). The 12-month mortality data were obtained by a dual search of the mortality registry and Queensland Health database. Malnutrition was evaluated using the Subjective Global Assessment. Demographic (age, gender, admission residence) and clinical covariates included fracture type, time to surgery, anaesthesia type, type of surgery, post-surgery time to mobilize and post-operative complications (delirium, pulmonary and deep vein thrombosis, cardiac complications, infections). The Charlson Comorbidity Index was retrospectively applied. All diagnoses were confirmed by the treating orthogeriatrician. A total of 322 of 346 patients were available for audit. Increased age (P = 0.004), admission from residential care (P malnutrition (P 48 h (P malnutrition (odds ratio (OR) 2.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-4.7, P = 0.007)), in addition to admission from residential care (OR 2.6 (95% CI 1.3-5.3, P = 0.005)) and pulmonary embolism (OR 11.0 (95% CI 1.5-78.7, P = 0.017)), independently predicted 12-month mortality. Findings substantiate malnutrition as an independent predictor of 12-month mortality in a representative sample of hip fracture inpatients. Effective strategies to identify and treat malnutrition in hip fracture should be prioritized. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

A model for calculating hourly global solar radiation from satellite data in the tropics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janjai, S.; Pankaew, P.; Laksanaboonsong, J.

2009-01-01

A model for calculating global solar radiation from geostationary satellite data is presented. The model is designed to calculate the monthly average hourly global radiation in the tropics with high aerosol load. This model represents a physical relation between the earth-atmospheric albedo derived from GMS5 satellite data and the absorption and scattering coefficients of various atmospheric constituents. The absorption of solar radiation by water vapour which is important for the tropics, was calculated from ambient temperature and relative humidity. The relationship between the visibility and solar radiation depletion due to aerosols was developed for a high aerosol load environment. This relationship was used to calculate solar radiation depletion by aerosols in the model. The total column ozone from TOMS/EP satellite was employed for the determination of solar radiation absorbed by ozone. Solar radiation from four pyranometer stations was used to formulate the relationship between the satellite band earth-atmospheric albedo and broadband earth-atmospheric albedo required by the model. To test its performance, the model was used to compute the monthly average hourly global radiation at 25 solar radiation monitoring stations in tropical areas in Thailand. It was found that the values of monthly average of hourly global radiations calculated from the model were in good agreement with those obtained from the measurements, with the root mean square difference of 10%. After the validation the model was employed to generate hourly solar radiation maps of Thailand. These maps reveal the diurnal and season variation of solar radiation over the country.

A model for calculating hourly global solar radiation from satellite data in the tropics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Janjai, S.; Pankaew, P.; Laksanaboonsong, J. [Solar Energy Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000 (Thailand)

2009-09-15

A model for calculating global solar radiation from geostationary satellite data is presented. The model is designed to calculate the monthly average hourly global radiation in the tropics with high aerosol load. This model represents a physical relation between the earth-atmospheric albedo derived from GMS5 satellite data and the absorption and scattering coefficients of various atmospheric constituents. The absorption of solar radiation by water vapour which is important for the tropics, was calculated from ambient temperature and relative humidity. The relationship between the visibility and solar radiation depletion due to aerosols was developed for a high aerosol load environment. This relationship was used to calculate solar radiation depletion by aerosols in the model. The total column ozone from TOMS/EP satellite was employed for the determination of solar radiation absorbed by ozone. Solar radiation from four pyranometer stations was used to formulate the relationship between the satellite band earth-atmospheric albedo and broadband earth-atmospheric albedo required by the model. To test its performance, the model was used to compute the monthly average hourly global radiation at 25 solar radiation monitoring stations in tropical areas in Thailand. It was found that the values of monthly average of hourly global radiations calculated from the model were in good agreement with those obtained from the measurements, with the root mean square difference of 10%. After the validation the model was employed to generate hourly solar radiation maps of Thailand. These maps reveal the diurnal and season variation of solar radiation over the country. (author)

IAEA inspectors complete verification of nuclear material in Iraq

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

recent months. IAEA marine scientists have completed a regional pollution survey to guide the UN Development Programme in the clearing of sunken wreckage from Iraq's coastal zone. IAEA personnel have also provided data on radioactive sources around the country. A delegation led by the Iraqi Science and Technology Minister visited IAEA headquarters last month to discuss technical cooperation in fields as various as radiation protection, radioactive waste management, combating illicit trafficking, the physical protection of radioactive materials, and human-resource development for nuclear applications. (IAEA)

Is globalization really good for public health?

Science.gov (United States)

Tausch, Arno

2016-10-01

In the light of recent very prominent studies, especially that of Mukherjee and Krieckhaus (), one should be initially tempted to assume that nowadays globalization is a driver of a good public health performance in the entire world system. Most of these studies use time series analyses based on the KOF Index of Globalization. We attempt to re-analyze the entire question, using a variety of methodological approaches and data. Our re-analysis shows that neoliberal globalization has resulted in very important implosions of public health development in various regions of the world and in increasing inequality in the countries of the world system, which in turn negatively affect health performance. We use standard ibm/spss ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, time series and cross-correlation analyses based on aggregate, freely available data. Different components of the KOF Index, most notably actual capital inflows, affect public health negatively. The "decomposition" of the available data suggests that for most of the time period of the last four decades, globalization inflows even implied an aggregate deterioration of public health, quite in line with globalization critical studies. We introduce the effects of inequality on public health, widely debated in global public health research. Our annual time series for 99 countries show that globalization indeed leads to increased inequality, and this, in turn, leads to a deteriorating public health performance. In only 19 of the surveyed 99 nations with complete data (i.e., 19.1%), globalization actually preceded an improvement in the public health performance. Far from falsifying globalization critical research, our analyses show the basic weaknesses of the new "pro-globalization" literature in the public health profession. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Institutionalizing human-computer interaction for global health.

Science.gov (United States)

Gulliksen, Jan

2017-06-01

Digitalization is the societal change process in which new ICT-based solutions bring forward completely new ways of doing things, new businesses and new movements in the society. Digitalization also provides completely new ways of addressing issues related to global health. This paper provides an overview of the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and in what way the field has contributed to international development in different regions of the world. Additionally, it outlines the United Nations' new sustainability goals from December 2015 and what these could contribute to the development of global health and its relationship to digitalization. Finally, it argues why and how HCI could be adopted and adapted to fit the contextual needs, the need for localization and for the development of new digital innovations. The research methodology is mostly qualitative following an action research paradigm in which the actual change process that the digitalization is evoking is equally important as the scientific conclusions that can be drawn. In conclusion, the paper argues that digitalization is fundamentally changing the society through the development and use of digital technologies and may have a profound effect on the digital development of every country in the world. But it needs to be developed based on local practices, it needs international support and to not be limited by any technological constraints. Particularly digitalization to support global health requires a profound understanding of the users and their context, arguing for user-centred systems design methodologies as particularly suitable.

Infant sleep development from 3 to 6 months postpartum: links with maternal sleep and paternal involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Tikotzky, Liat; Sadeh, Avi; Volkovich, Ella; Manber, Rachel; Meiri, Gal; Shahar, Golan

2015-03-01

The aims of this longitudinal study were to examine (a) development of infant sleep and maternal sleep from 3 to 6 months postpartum; (b) concomitant and prospective links between maternal sleep and infant sleep; and (c) triadic links between paternal involvement in infant caregiving and maternal and infant sleep. The study included 57 families that were recruited during pregnancy. Maternal and infant sleep was assessed using actigraphy and sleep diaries for 5 nights. Both fathers and mothers completed a questionnaire assessing the involvement of fathers relative to mothers in infant caregiving. The results demonstrated moderate improvement in infant and maternal sleep percent between 3 and 6 months. Maternal sleep percent at 3 months significantly predicted infant sleep percent at 6 months. Greater paternal involvement in infant daytime and nighttime caregiving at 3 months significantly predicted more consolidated maternal and infant sleep at 6 months. These findings suggest that maternal sleep is an important predictor of infant sleep and that increased involvement of fathers in infant caregiving responsibilities may contribute to improvements in both maternal and infant sleep during the first 6 months postpartum. © 2015 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Self-organized global control of carbon emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Zhenyuan; Fenn, Daniel J.; Hui, Pak Ming; Johnson, Neil F.

2010-09-01

There is much disagreement concerning how best to control global carbon emissions. We explore quantitatively how different control schemes affect the collective emission dynamics of a population of emitting entities. We uncover a complex trade-off which arises between average emissions (affecting the global climate), peak pollution levels (affecting citizens’ everyday health), industrial efficiency (affecting the nation’s economy), frequency of institutional intervention (affecting governmental costs), common information (affecting trading behavior) and market volatility (affecting financial stability). Our findings predict that a self-organized free-market approach at the level of a sector, state, country or continent can provide better control than a top-down regulated scheme in terms of market volatility and monthly pollution peaks. The control of volatility also has important implications for any future derivative carbon emissions market.

Complete genome sequence of the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schneiker, S; Perlova, O; Kaiser, O

2007-01-01

The genus Sorangium synthesizes approximately half of the secondary metabolites isolated from myxobacteria, including the anti-cancer metabolite epothilone. We report the complete genome sequence of the model Sorangium strain S. cellulosum Soce56, which produces several natural products and has...... morphological and physiological properties typical of the genus. The circular genome, comprising 13,033,779 base pairs, is the largest bacterial genome sequenced to date. No global synteny with the genome of Myxococcus xanthus is apparent, revealing an unanticipated level of divergence between...... these myxobacteria. A large percentage of the genome is devoted to regulation, particularly post-translational phosphorylation, which probably supports the strain's complex, social lifestyle. This regulatory network includes the highest number of eukaryotic protein kinase-like kinases discovered in any organism...

Strategic Global Climate Command?

Science.gov (United States)

Long, J. C. S.

2016-12-01

Researchers have been exploring geoengineering because Anthropogenic GHG emissions could drive the globe towards unihabitability for people, wildlife and vegetation. Potential global deployment of these technologies is inherently strategic. For example, solar radiation management to reflect more sunlight might be strategically useful during a period of time where the population completes an effort to cease emissions and carbon removal technologies might then be strategically deployed to move the atmospheric concentrations back to a safer level. Consequently, deployment of these global technologies requires the ability to think and act strategically on the part of the planet's governments. Such capacity most definitely does not exist today but it behooves scientists and engineers to be involved in thinking through how global command might develop because the way they do the research could support the development of a capacity to deploy intervention rationally -- or irrationally. Internationalizing research would get countries used to working together. Organizing the research in a step-wise manner where at each step scientists become skilled at explaining what they have learned, the quality of the information they have, what they don't know and what more they can do to reduce or handle uncertainty, etc. Such a process can increase societal confidence in being able to make wise decisions about deployment. Global capacity will also be enhanced if the sceintific establishment reinvents misssion driven research so that the programs will identify the systemic issues invovled in any proposed technology and systematically address them with research while still encouraging individual creativity. Geoengineering will diverge from climate science in that geoengineering research needs to design interventions for some publically desirable goal and investigates whether a proposed intervention will acheive desired outcomes. The effort must be a systems-engineering design problem

A case of perforating radiation-induced ulcer of the esophagus, 7 months after radiotherapy for early esophageal cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikuta, Hajime; Hamabe, Yutaka; Narita, Kouichi

1997-01-01

The patient was a 64-year-old man. Early esophageal cancer, slightly depressed type, was diagnosed at the middle part of the intrathoracic esophagus. Radiotherapy was chosen because of severe liver cirrhosis. External and intracavitary irradiation (50 Gy and 12 Gy, respectively) were administered with uracil and futraful (300 mg/day). The result of this therapy was complete response. Six months later, endoscopy showed that the lesion of the tumor had been almost completely healed with normal mucosa, but after 7 months the patient complained of chest pain. A large ulcer with white belag had formed. One month later the ulcer perforated into the right side of the chest, and the patient died of pyothorax. We suspected that the esophageal cancer had recurred, but at autopsy a deep ulcer 4 cm in length was found to have perforated into the right side of the chest. Pathologic findings included severe vasculitis of the esophageal wall. We diagnosed perforation of a radiation-induced esophageal ulcer after radiotherapy. The esophageal cancer did not recur. (author)

EXERCISE LIMITATIONS IN A COMPETITIVE CYCLIST TWELVE MONTHS POST HEART TRANSPLANTATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas G. Walton

2009-12-01

Full Text Available It has been well documented that for heart transplant recipients (HTrecipient post transplantation exercise capacity does not exceed 60% of healthy age-matched controls. Few studies have been undertaken to determine the cause of exercise limitations following heart transplantation (HT for an elite athlete. Participant was a 39 year old elite male cyclist who suffered an acute myocardial infarction after a cycling race and received a heart transplant (HT four months later. Six weeks prior to his AMI fitness testing was completed and a predicted VO2max of 58 mL·kg-1·min-1 and HRmax of 171 bpm was achieved. The participant underwent maximal exercise testing 6 and 12 months post transplant to determine exercise limitations. His results 6 and 12 months post transplant were a VO2max of 33.8 and 44.2 mL·kg-1·min-1 respectively, and a HR max that was 97% and 96% of HRmax measured. The participant showed an increase in both HRmax and VO2max 12 months post HT compared to previous testing. Results suggest that the limiting factors to exercise following HT are likely due to peripheral function, which became diminished as a result accumulated from 4 months of congestive heart failure, the strain of HT, and immunosuppressive therapy leading up to the exercise testing. Lifestyle before HT and a more aggressive approach to HT recovery should be considered necessary in the improvement of peripheral functioning following HT

Risperidone long-acting injection in the treatment of schizophrenia: 24-month results from the electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry in Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Williams R

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Richard Williams,1 Ranjith Chandrasena,2 Linda Beauclair,3 Doanh Luong,4 Annette Lam4 On behalf of the e-STAR study group 1Vancouver Island Health Authority, Victoria, BC, Canada; 2Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Chatham, ON, Canada; 3Allan Memorial Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada; 4Janssen Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada Objective: To assess outcomes over 24 months in Canadian patients with schizophrenia initiated on risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI and participating in the electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry (e-STAR. Materials and methods: Patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were enrolled from 24 sites after an independent decision to initiate RLAI. Subsequent patient management was based on usual clinical practice at each site and was not protocol-driven. Relevant data were collected retrospectively by chart review for 12 months prior to RLAI and prospectively for 24 months following RLAI initiation. Results: Patients (n=188 had a mean age of 39.2 years, were 66.3% male, and 27.7% were inpatients at baseline. Twenty-four months after initiating therapy (initial dose =28.7 mg, 34.1% (95% confidence interval 27.2%–42.2% of patients had discontinued RLAI with a mean time to discontinuation of 273.4±196 days. Over the treatment period, there were significant (P<0.001 changes from baseline in Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S; 3.48 versus [vs] 4.31 at baseline, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF; 56.1 vs 48.1, and Personal and Social Performance (PSP; 59.1 vs 46.9 scale scores. In addition, after 12 months, there were significant (P<0.001 decreases in the percentage of patients hospitalized (23.9% vs 58.5% pre-RLAI, mean length of stay (11.4 vs 30.4 days, and number of hospitalizations (0.32 vs 0.87 compared to the 12-month pre-RLAI period. Reductions in hospitalization continued into the second 12 months of therapy, when only 9% of patients were hospitalized and mean length of stay was 2.0 days

British Gas plans global gas unit expansion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vielvoye, R.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on developing a global gas business, a British Gas plc's strategy for evolving a state owned U.K. gas company to a privatized worldwide oil and gas giant. By 2000, BG's global gas business is expected to provide 20% of its revenues, compared with 40% each from its exploration and production operations and its U.K. gas business. The global gas unit (GGU) plans to meet its targets mainly through acquiring holdings in gas transmission and distribution companies around the world. In the 12 months since GGU was established, it has made two such major acquisitions in this area. BG acquired Consumers Gas Co., Ltd., Ontario, Canada's biggest natural gas distribution company, for $943.5 million. It also took a 10% stake in Catalana de Gas SA, Barcelona, the largest privately owned gas utility in Spain and in terms of number of customers, the fourth largest in western Europe. BG also is targeting additional revenues from developing gas fired cogeneration systems in developing countries with gas reserves but no established transmission and distribution systems

Global ex-situ crop diversity conservation and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault: assessing the current status.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ola T Westengen

Full Text Available Ex-situ conservation of crop diversity is a global concern, and the development of an efficient and sustainable conservation system is a historic priority recognized in international law and policy. We assess the completeness of the safety duplication collection in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault with respect to data on the world's ex-situ collections as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Currently, 774,601 samples are deposited at Svalbard by 53 genebanks. We estimate that more than one third of the globally distinct accessions of 156 crop genera stored in genebanks as orthodox seeds are conserved in the Seed Vault. The numbers of safety duplicates of Triticum (wheat, Sorghum (sorghum, Pennisetum (pearl millet, Eleusine (finger millet, Cicer (chickpea and Lens (lentil exceed 50% of the estimated numbers of distinct accessions in global ex-situ collections. The number of accessions conserved globally generally reflects importance for food production, but there are significant gaps in the safety collection at Svalbard in some genera of high importance for food security in tropical countries, such as Amaranthus (amaranth, Chenopodium (quinoa, Eragrostis (teff and Abelmoschus (okra. In the 29 food-crop genera with the largest number of accessions stored globally, an average of 5.5 out of the ten largest collections is already represented in the Seed Vault collection or is covered by existing deposit agreements. The high coverage of ITPGRFA Annex 1 crops and of those crops for which there is a CGIAR mandate in the current Seed Vault collection indicates that existence of international policies and institutions are important determinants for accessions to be safety duplicated at Svalbard. As a back-up site for the global conservation system, the Seed Vault plays not only a practical but also a symbolic role for enhanced integration and cooperation for conservation of crop diversity.

Global ex-situ crop diversity conservation and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault: assessing the current status.

Science.gov (United States)

Westengen, Ola T; Jeppson, Simon; Guarino, Luigi

2013-01-01

Ex-situ conservation of crop diversity is a global concern, and the development of an efficient and sustainable conservation system is a historic priority recognized in international law and policy. We assess the completeness of the safety duplication collection in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault with respect to data on the world's ex-situ collections as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Currently, 774,601 samples are deposited at Svalbard by 53 genebanks. We estimate that more than one third of the globally distinct accessions of 156 crop genera stored in genebanks as orthodox seeds are conserved in the Seed Vault. The numbers of safety duplicates of Triticum (wheat), Sorghum (sorghum), Pennisetum (pearl millet), Eleusine (finger millet), Cicer (chickpea) and Lens (lentil) exceed 50% of the estimated numbers of distinct accessions in global ex-situ collections. The number of accessions conserved globally generally reflects importance for food production, but there are significant gaps in the safety collection at Svalbard in some genera of high importance for food security in tropical countries, such as Amaranthus (amaranth), Chenopodium (quinoa), Eragrostis (teff) and Abelmoschus (okra). In the 29 food-crop genera with the largest number of accessions stored globally, an average of 5.5 out of the ten largest collections is already represented in the Seed Vault collection or is covered by existing deposit agreements. The high coverage of ITPGRFA Annex 1 crops and of those crops for which there is a CGIAR mandate in the current Seed Vault collection indicates that existence of international policies and institutions are important determinants for accessions to be safety duplicated at Svalbard. As a back-up site for the global conservation system, the Seed Vault plays not only a practical but also a symbolic role for enhanced integration and cooperation for conservation of crop diversity.

Monthly gravity field solutions based on GRACE observations generated with the Celestial Mechanics Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Ulrich; Jäggi, Adrian; Beutler, Gerhard

2012-09-01

The main objective of the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission consists of determining the temporal variations of the Earth's gravity field. These variations are captured by time series of gravity field models of limited resolution at, e.g., monthly intervals. We present a new time series of monthly models, which was computed with the so-called Celestial Mechanics Approach (CMA), developed at the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB). The secular and seasonal variations in the monthly models are tested for statistical significance. Calibrated errors are derived from inter-annual variations. The time-variable signal can be extracted at least up to degree 60, but the gravity field coefficients of orders above 45 are heavily contaminated by noise. This is why a series of monthly models is computed up to a maximum degree of 60, but only a maximum order of 45. Spectral analysis of the residual time-variable signal shows a distinctive peak at a period of 160 days, which shows up in particular in the C20 spherical harmonic coefficient. Basic filter- and scaling-techniques are introduced to evaluate the monthly models. For this purpose, the variability over the oceans is investigated, which serves as a measure for the noisiness of the models. The models in selected regions show the expected seasonal and secular variations, which are in good agreement with the monthly models of the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The results also reveal a few small outliers, illustrating the necessity for improved data screening. Our monthly models are available at the web page of the International Centre for Global Earth Models (ICGEM).

Multimodal treatment in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a 6-month follow-up.

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Duric, Nezla S; Assmus, Jørg; Gundersen, Doris; Duric Golos, Alisa; Elgen, Irene B

2017-07-01

Different treatment approaches aimed at reducing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) core symptoms are available. However, factors such as intolerance, side-effects, lack of efficacy, high new technology costs, and placebo effect have spurred on an increasing interest in alternative or complementary treatment. The aim of this study is to explore efficacy of multimodal treatment consisting of standard stimulant medication (methylphenidate) and neurofeedback (NF) in combination, and to compare it with the single treatment in 6-month follow-up in ADHD children and adolescents. This randomized controlled trial with 6-month follow-up comprised three treatment arms: multimodal treatment (NF + MED), MED alone, and NF alone. A total of 130 ADHD children/adolescents participated, and 62% completed the study. ADHD core symptoms were recorded pre-/post-treatment, using parents' and teachers' forms taken from Barkley's Defiant Children: A Clinician's Manual for Assessment and Parent Training, and a self-report questionnaire. Significant ADHD core symptom improvements were reported 6 months after treatment completion by parents, teachers, and participants in all three groups, with marked improvement in inattention in all groups. However, no significant improvements in hyperactivity or academic performance were reported by teachers or self-reported by children/adolescents, respectively, in the three groups. Changes obtained with multimodal treatment at 6-month follow-up were comparable to those with single medication treatment, as reported by all participants. Multimodal treatment using combined stimulant medication and NF showed 6-month efficacy in ADHD treatment. More research is needed to explore whether multimodal treatment is suitable for ADHD children and adolescents who showed a poor response to single medication treatment, and for those who want to reduce the use of stimulant medication.

PERFORMANCE OF FAT-TAILED RAMS FED COMPLETE FEED BASED OIL PALM FRONDS

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A. Hamidah

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the performance of fat-tailed rams fed complete feed based oil palm fronds (OPF. This experiment was arranged in Completely Randomized Design (CRD with 5 treatments and 4 replications i.e. 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of OPF substituting fields grass in complete feed for A, B, C, D and E treatments, respectively. Twenty fat-tailed rams were fed twice at 08.00 and 14.00 with pellet of complete feed for 4 months. The result of this experiment showed that OPF significantly influenced nutrient consumption, average daily gain (ADG and feed efficiency ratio (FER. Oil palm fronds significantly affected (P<0.05 fat-tailed rams’s dry matter intake (DMI, organic matter intake (OMI, crude protein intake (CPI, ADG and FER. The highest DMI, OMI, CPI, ADG, and FER of fat-tailed rams was in C treatment and significantly different from the others. It was concluded that C treatment was the best treatment which can give the best fat-tailed rams performance. The OPF can be used to replace the field grass as feed up to 75% proportion in complete feed and could increase the performance and productivity of fat-tailed rams.

Statistical significance of trends in monthly heavy precipitation over the US

KAUST Repository

Mahajan, Salil

2011-05-11

Trends in monthly heavy precipitation, defined by a return period of one year, are assessed for statistical significance in observations and Global Climate Model (GCM) simulations over the contiguous United States using Monte Carlo non-parametric and parametric bootstrapping techniques. The results from the two Monte Carlo approaches are found to be similar to each other, and also to the traditional non-parametric Kendall\\'s τ test, implying the robustness of the approach. Two different observational data-sets are employed to test for trends in monthly heavy precipitation and are found to exhibit consistent results. Both data-sets demonstrate upward trends, one of which is found to be statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Upward trends similar to observations are observed in some climate model simulations of the twentieth century, but their statistical significance is marginal. For projections of the twenty-first century, a statistically significant upwards trend is observed in most of the climate models analyzed. The change in the simulated precipitation variance appears to be more important in the twenty-first century projections than changes in the mean precipitation. Stochastic fluctuations of the climate-system are found to be dominate monthly heavy precipitation as some GCM simulations show a downwards trend even in the twenty-first century projections when the greenhouse gas forcings are strong. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

Combination of synoptical-analogous and dynamical methods to increase skill score of monthly air temperature forecasts over Northern Eurasia

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Khan, Valentina; Tscepelev, Valery; Vilfand, Roman; Kulikova, Irina; Kruglova, Ekaterina; Tischenko, Vladimir

2016-04-01

Long-range forecasts at monthly-seasonal time scale are in great demand of socio-economic sectors for exploiting climate-related risks and opportunities. At the same time, the quality of long-range forecasts is not fully responding to user application necessities. Different approaches, including combination of different prognostic models, are used in forecast centers to increase the prediction skill for specific regions and globally. In the present study, two forecasting methods are considered which are exploited in operational practice of Hydrometeorological Center of Russia. One of them is synoptical-analogous method of forecasting of surface air temperature at monthly scale. Another one is dynamical system based on the global semi-Lagrangian model SL-AV, developed in collaboration of Institute of Numerical Mathematics and Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia. The seasonal version of this model has been used to issue global and regional forecasts at monthly-seasonal time scales. This study presents results of the evaluation of surface air temperature forecasts generated with using above mentioned synoptical-statistical and dynamical models, and their combination to potentially increase skill score over Northern Eurasia. The test sample of operational forecasts is encompassing period from 2010 through 2015. The seasonal and interannual variability of skill scores of these methods has been discussed. It was noticed that the quality of all forecasts is highly dependent on the inertia of macro-circulation processes. The skill scores of forecasts are decreasing during significant alterations of synoptical fields for both dynamical and empirical schemes. Procedure of combination of forecasts from different methods, in some cases, has demonstrated its effectiveness. For this study the support has been provided by Grant of Russian Science Foundation (№14-37-00053).

Evaluation of changes in random blood glucose and body mass index during and after completion of chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

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Kyong-Won Bang

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Improved survival of patients with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL has drawn attention to the potential for late consequences of previous treatments among survivors, including metabolic syndrome. In this study, we evaluated changes in 3 parameters, namely, random blood glucose, body mass index (BMI, and Z score for BMI (Z-BMI, in children with ALL during chemotherapy and after completion of treatment. Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with ALL from January, 2005 to December, 2008 at Saint Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, who completed treatment with chemotherapy only were included (n=107. Random glucose, BMI, and Z-BMI were recorded at 5 intervals: at diagnosis, before maintenance treatment, at completion of maintenance treatment, and 6 and 12 months after completion of maintenance treatment. Similar analyses were conducted on 2 subcohorts based on ALL risk groups. Results: For random glucose, a paired comparison showed significantly lower levels at 12 months post-treatment compared to those at initial diagnosis (P&lt;0.001 and before maintenance (P&lt;0.001. The Z-BMI score was significantly higher before maintenance than at diagnosis (P&lt;0.001, but decreased significantly at the end of treatment (P&lt;0.001 and remained low at 6 months (P&lt;0.001 and 12 months (P&lt;0.001 post-treatment. Similar results were obtained upon analysis of risk group-based subcohorts. Conclusion: For a cohort of ALL patients treated without allogeneic transplantation or cranial irradiation, decrease in random glucose and Z-BMI after completion of chemotherapy does not indicate future glucose intolerance or obesity.

Century-scale variability in global annual runoff examined using a water balance model

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McCabe, G.J.; Wolock, D.M.

2011-01-01

A monthly water balance model (WB model) is used with CRUTS2.1 monthly temperature and precipitation data to generate time series of monthly runoff for all land areas of the globe for the period 1905 through 2002. Even though annual precipitation accounts for most of the temporal and spatial variability in annual runoff, increases in temperature have had an increasingly negative effect on annual runoff after 1980. Although the effects of increasing temperature on runoff became more apparent after 1980, the relative magnitude of these effects are small compared to the effects of precipitation on global runoff. ?? 2010 Royal Meteorological Society.

Tensor Completion for Estimating Missing Values in Visual Data

KAUST Repository

Liu, Ji

2012-01-25

In this paper, we propose an algorithm to estimate missing values in tensors of visual data. The values can be missing due to problems in the acquisition process or because the user manually identified unwanted outliers. Our algorithm works even with a small amount of samples and it can propagate structure to fill larger missing regions. Our methodology is built on recent studies about matrix completion using the matrix trace norm. The contribution of our paper is to extend the matrix case to the tensor case by proposing the first definition of the trace norm for tensors and then by building a working algorithm. First, we propose a definition for the tensor trace norm that generalizes the established definition of the matrix trace norm. Second, similarly to matrix completion, the tensor completion is formulated as a convex optimization problem. Unfortunately, the straightforward problem extension is significantly harder to solve than the matrix case because of the dependency among multiple constraints. To tackle this problem, we developed three algorithms: simple low rank tensor completion (SiLRTC), fast low rank tensor completion (FaLRTC), and high accuracy low rank tensor completion (HaLRTC). The SiLRTC algorithm is simple to implement and employs a relaxation technique to separate the dependant relationships and uses the block coordinate descent (BCD) method to achieve a globally optimal solution; the FaLRTC algorithm utilizes a smoothing scheme to transform the original nonsmooth problem into a smooth one and can be used to solve a general tensor trace norm minimization problem; the HaLRTC algorithm applies the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMMs) to our problem. Our experiments show potential applications of our algorithms and the quantitative evaluation indicates that our methods are more accurate and robust than heuristic approaches. The efficiency comparison indicates that FaLTRC and HaLRTC are more efficient than SiLRTC and between Fa

Tensor Completion for Estimating Missing Values in Visual Data

KAUST Repository

Liu, Ji; Musialski, Przemyslaw; Wonka, Peter; Ye, Jieping

2012-01-01

In this paper, we propose an algorithm to estimate missing values in tensors of visual data. The values can be missing due to problems in the acquisition process or because the user manually identified unwanted outliers. Our algorithm works even with a small amount of samples and it can propagate structure to fill larger missing regions. Our methodology is built on recent studies about matrix completion using the matrix trace norm. The contribution of our paper is to extend the matrix case to the tensor case by proposing the first definition of the trace norm for tensors and then by building a working algorithm. First, we propose a definition for the tensor trace norm that generalizes the established definition of the matrix trace norm. Second, similarly to matrix completion, the tensor completion is formulated as a convex optimization problem. Unfortunately, the straightforward problem extension is significantly harder to solve than the matrix case because of the dependency among multiple constraints. To tackle this problem, we developed three algorithms: simple low rank tensor completion (SiLRTC), fast low rank tensor completion (FaLRTC), and high accuracy low rank tensor completion (HaLRTC). The SiLRTC algorithm is simple to implement and employs a relaxation technique to separate the dependant relationships and uses the block coordinate descent (BCD) method to achieve a globally optimal solution; the FaLRTC algorithm utilizes a smoothing scheme to transform the original nonsmooth problem into a smooth one and can be used to solve a general tensor trace norm minimization problem; the HaLRTC algorithm applies the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMMs) to our problem. Our experiments show potential applications of our algorithms and the quantitative evaluation indicates that our methods are more accurate and robust than heuristic approaches. The efficiency comparison indicates that FaLTRC and HaLRTC are more efficient than SiLRTC and between Fa

Tensor completion for estimating missing values in visual data.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ji; Musialski, Przemyslaw; Wonka, Peter; Ye, Jieping

2013-01-01

In this paper, we propose an algorithm to estimate missing values in tensors of visual data. The values can be missing due to problems in the acquisition process or because the user manually identified unwanted outliers. Our algorithm works even with a small amount of samples and it can propagate structure to fill larger missing regions. Our methodology is built on recent studies about matrix completion using the matrix trace norm. The contribution of our paper is to extend the matrix case to the tensor case by proposing the first definition of the trace norm for tensors and then by building a working algorithm. First, we propose a definition for the tensor trace norm that generalizes the established definition of the matrix trace norm. Second, similarly to matrix completion, the tensor completion is formulated as a convex optimization problem. Unfortunately, the straightforward problem extension is significantly harder to solve than the matrix case because of the dependency among multiple constraints. To tackle this problem, we developed three algorithms: simple low rank tensor completion (SiLRTC), fast low rank tensor completion (FaLRTC), and high accuracy low rank tensor completion (HaLRTC). The SiLRTC algorithm is simple to implement and employs a relaxation technique to separate the dependent relationships and uses the block coordinate descent (BCD) method to achieve a globally optimal solution; the FaLRTC algorithm utilizes a smoothing scheme to transform the original nonsmooth problem into a smooth one and can be used to solve a general tensor trace norm minimization problem; the HaLRTC algorithm applies the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMMs) to our problem. Our experiments show potential applications of our algorithms and the quantitative evaluation indicates that our methods are more accurate and robust than heuristic approaches. The efficiency comparison indicates that FaLTRC and HaLRTC are more efficient than SiLRTC and between FaLRTC an

Combination of monthly gravity field solutions from different processing centers

Science.gov (United States)

Jean, Yoomin; Meyer, Ulrich; Jäggi, Adrian

2015-04-01

Currently, the official GRACE Science Data System (SDS) monthly gravity field solutions are generated independently by the Centre for Space Research (CSR) and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). Additional GRACE SDS monthly fields are provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for validation and outside the SDS by a number of other institutions worldwide. Although the adopted background models and processing standards have been harmonized more and more by the various processing centers during the past years, notable differences still exist and the users are more or less left alone with a decision which model to choose for their individual applications. Combinations are well-established in the area of other space geodetic techniques, such as the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), where regular comparisons and combinations of space-geodetic products have tremendously increased the usefulness of the products in a wide range of disciplines and scientific applications. In the frame of the recently started Horizon 2020 project European Gravity Service for Improved Emergency Management (EGSIEM), a scientific combination service shall therefore be established to deliver the best gravity products for applications in Earth and environmental science research based on the unified knowledge of the European GRACE community. In a first step the large variety of available monthly GRACE gravity field solutions shall be mutually compared spatially and spectrally. We assess the noise of the raw as well as filtered solutions and compare the secular and seasonal periodic variations fitted to the monthly solutions. In a second step we will explore ways to generate combined solutions, e.g., based on a weighted average of the individual solutions using empirical weights derived from pair-wise comparisons. We will also assess the quality of such a combined solution and discuss the

Global Trends of Tropospheric NO2 Observed From Space

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Schneider, P.; van der A, R. J.

2012-04-01

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is one of the major atmospheric pollutants and is primarily emitted by industrial activity and transport. While observations of NO2 are frequently being carried out at air quality stations, such measurements are not able to provide a global perspective of spatial patterns in NO2 concentrations and their associated trends due to the stations' limited spatial representativity and an extremely sparse and often completely non-existent station coverage in developing countries. Satellite observations of tropospheric NO2 are able to overcome this issue and provide an unprecedented global view of spatial patterns in NO2 levels and due to their homogeneity are well suited for studying trends. Here we present results of a global trend analysis from nearly a decade of NO2 observations made by the SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY) instrument onboard the Envisat satellite platform. Using only SCIAMACHY data allows for mapping global and regional trends at an unprecedented spatial resolution since no aggregation to the coarser resolution of other sensors is necessary. Monthly average tropospheric NO2 column data was acquired for the period between August 2002 and August 2011. A trend analysis was subsequently performed by fitting a statistical model including a seasonal cycle and linear trend to the time series extracted at each grid cell. The linear trend component and the trend uncertainty were then mapped spatially at both regional and global scales. The results show that spatially contiguous areas of significantly increasing NO2 levels are found primarily in Eastern China, with absolute trends of up to 4.05 (± 0.41) - 1015 molecules cm-2 yr-1 at the gridcell level and large areas showing rapid relative increases of 10-20 percent per year. In addition, many urban agglomerations in Asia and the Middle East similarly exhibit significantly increasing trends, with Dhaka in Bangladesh being the megacity with

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mastication with Complete Dentures Made by a Conventional or an Abbreviated Technique.

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Mengatto, Cristiane Machado; Gameiro, Gustavo Hauber; Brondani, Mario; Owen, C Peter; MacEntee, Michael I

The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to test the hypothesis that there are no statistically significant differences after 3 and 6 months in masticatory performance or chewing ability of people with new complete dentures made by an abbreviated or a conventional technique. The trial included 20 edentulous participants at a dental school in Brazil assigned randomly to receive dentures made by either a conventional technique involving six clinical sessions or by an abbreviated technique involving three clinical sessions. At baseline with old dentures and at 3 and 6 months with new dentures, masticatory performance was measured by counting the number of chewing strokes and the time before participants had an urge to swallow and by calculating the medium particle size of a silicone material after 20 chewing strokes and at the urge to swallow. On each occasion, the participants recorded on visual analog scales their ability to chew five food textures. Statistical significance (P ≤ .05) of changes in masticatory performance and chewing ability during the trial were analyzed with generalized estimating equations. Both techniques improved masticatory performance between baseline and 6 months and the ability to bite and chew all foods apart from hard apples. There were no significant differences in masticatory performance or chewing ability after 6 months between complete dentures made by a conventional or an abbreviated technique.

Technology-assisted balance and gait training reduces falls in patients with Parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled trial with 12-month follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Xia; Mak, Margaret K Y

2015-02-01

Objective. To examine the effects of technology-assisted balance and gait training on reducing falls in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods. Eligible subjects were randomly allocated to an experimental group given technology-assisted balance and gait training (BAL, n = 26) and an active control group undertaking strengthening exercises (CON, n = 25). The training in each group lasted for 3 months. The number of fallers and fall rate were used as primary outcomes, and single-leg-stance-time, latency of postural response to perturbation, self-selected gait velocity, and stride length as secondary outcomes. Fall incidence was recorded over 15 months after the baseline assessment (Pre). Other tests were performed at Pre, after 3-month intervention (Post(3m)), at 3 months (Post(6m)), and 12 months (Post(15m)) after treatment completion. Results. Forty-five subjects who completed the 3-month training were included in the data analysis. There were fewer fallers in the BAL than in the CON group at Post(3m), Post(6m), and Post(15m) (P fall rate than the CON group at Post(3m) and Post(6m) (incidence rate ratio: 0.111-0.188, P balance and gait training in reducing falls in people with PD. © The Author(s) 2014.

[Efficacy and tolerability of 5% minoxidil solution (Carexidil®) in male and female androgenetic alopecia: a 6-month open multicentric study].

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Piraccini, B; Starace, M; Alessandrini, A; Guarrera, M; Fiorucci, M C; Lorenzi, S

2011-12-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of 5% Carexidil solution®, applied twice a day on the scalp, on male and female androgenetic alopecia. The 6 month-study was performed in three Italian dermatological centers. Evaluation of efficacy was performed with subjective and objective methods, including operator and patient assessments, global photography and videodermoscopy. Global photography revealed that after 6 months of treatment with 5% Carexidil solution®, androgenetic alopecia was improved in all 32 females and 16 males. Alopecia stopped to progress in 6 males. Scalp videodermoscopy confirmed the results. Some patients complained of increased hair greasiness, others complained of mild scalp itching. Two female patients developed contact sensitization to minoxidil, confirmed by patch test, 2 a mild malar-temporal hypertrichosis. All patients were satisfied by treatment and continued it after the end of the study. Our study confirms the data of the literature and the evidence coming from years of clinical experience, that twice a day topical application of 5% minoxidil solution, Carexidil ®, is effective in the treatment of male and female androgenetic alopecia, with evident efficacy already after 6 months.

The patient general satisfaction of mandibular single-implant overdentures and conventional complete dentures: Study protocol for a randomized crossover trial.

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Kanazawa, Manabu; Tanoue, Mariko; Miyayasu, Anna; Takeshita, Shin; Sato, Daisuke; Asami, Mari; Lam, Thuy Vo; Thu, Khaing Myat; Oda, Ken; Komagamine, Yuriko; Minakuchi, Shunsuke; Feine, Jocelyne

2018-05-01

Mandibular overdentures retained by a single implant placed in the midline of edentulous mandible have been reported to be more comfortable and function better than complete dentures. Although single-implant overdentures are still more costly than conventional complete dentures, there are a few studies which investigated whether mandibular single-implant overdentures are superior to complete dentures when patient general satisfaction is compared. The aim of this study is to assess patient general satisfaction with mandibular single-implant overdentures and complete dentures. This study is a randomized crossover trial to compare mandibular single-implant overdentures and complete dentures in edentulous individuals. Participant recruitment is ongoing at the time of this submission. Twenty-two participants will be recruited. New mandibular complete dentures will be fabricated. A single implant will be placed in the midline of the edentulous mandible. The mucosal surface of the complete denture around the implant will be relieved for 3 months. The participants will then be randomly allocated into 2 groups according to the order of the interventions; group 1 will receive single-implant overdentures first and will wear them for 2 months, followed by complete dentures for 2 months. Group 2 will receive the same treatments in a reverse order. After experiencing the 2 interventions, the participants will choose one of the mandibular prostheses, and yearly follow-up visits are planned for 5 years. The primary outcome of this trial is patient ratings of general satisfaction on 100 mm visual analog scales. Assessments of the prostheses and oral health-related quality of life will also be recorded as patient-reported outcomes. The secondary outcomes are cost and time for treatment. Masticatory efficiency and cognitive capacity will also be recorded. Furthermore, qualitative research will be performed to investigate the factors associated with success of these mandibular

Evaluation of Applicability of Global Solar Radiation Prediction Models for Kocaeli

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Nurullah ARSLANOĞLU

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Design and analyses of solar energy systems needs value of global solar radiation falling on the surface of the earth. In this study,  thirty relative sunshine duration based regression models in the literature for determining the monthly average daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface for Kocaeli were investigated. To indicate the performance of the models, the following statistical test methods are used: mean absolute bias error (MABE, mean bias error (MBE, mean absolute percent error (MAPE, mean percent error (MPE, root mean square error (RMSE. According to the statistical performance, Lewis model (Model 23, Model-18 (Jin et al. and Model 8 (Bahel et al. showed the best estimation of the global solar radiation on a horizontal surface for Kocaeli.

1-km Global Anthropogenic Heat Flux Database for Urban Climate Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Y.; Varquez, A. C. G.; Kanda, M.

2016-12-01

Among various factors contributing to warming in cities, anthropogenic heat emission (AHE), defined by heat fluxes arising from human consumption of energy, has the most obvious influence. Despite this, estimation of the AHE distribution is challenging and assumed almost uniform in investigations of the regional atmospheric environment. In this study, we introduce a top-down method for estimating a global distribution of AHE (see attachment), with a high spatial resolution of 30 arc-seconds and temporal resolution of 1 hour. Annual average AHE was derived from human metabolic heating and primary energy consumption, which was further divided into three components based on consumer sector: heat loss, heat emissions from industrial-related sectors and heat emissions from commercial, residential and transport sectors (CRT). The first and second components were equally distributed throughout the country and populated areas, respectively. Bulk AHE from the CRT was proportionally distributed using a global population dataset with a nighttime lights adjustment. An empirical function to estimate monthly fluctuations of AHE based on monthly temperatures was derived from various city measurements. Finally, a global AHE database was constructed for the year 2013. Comparisons between our proposed AHE and other existing datasets revealed that a problem of AHE underestimation at central urban areas existing in previous top-down models was significantly mitigated by the nighttime lights adjustment. A strong agreement in the monthly profiles of AHE between our database and other bottom-up datasets further proved the validity of our current methodology. Investigations of AHE in the 29 largest urban agglomerations globally highlighted that the share of heat emissions from CRT sectors to the total AHE at the city level was 40-95%, whereas the share of metabolic heating varied closely depending on the level of economic development in the city. Incorporation of our proposed AHE data

Complete resolution of avascular necrosis of the human femoral head treated with adipose tissue-derived stem cells and platelet-rich plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Pak, Jaewoo; Lee, Jung Hun; Jeon, Jeong Ho; Lee, Sang Hee

2014-12-01

We report a case of a 43-year-old man with early stage (stage 1) avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head treated with adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP). ASC-containing stromal vascular fraction was mixed with PRP and hyaluronic acid. This mixture was then injected into the diseased hip under ultrasound guidance. The affected hip was reinjected weekly with additional PRP for 4 weeks. The patient was followed-up with sequential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at 3, 18, and 21 months after treatment, together with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) Walking Index, Functional Rating Index, Harris Hip Score, and Range of Motion (ROM) assessments. The patient's severe hip pain was considerably improved at 3 months after treatment, with pain scores, ROM and MRI showing near complete resolution of AVN. Pain scores, ROM and MRI at 18 and 21 months after treatment indicated complete resolution of AVN. This case represents the first evidence of complete resolution of early stage AVN of the hip following treatment with ASCs/PRP. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Mentoring, training and support to global health innovators: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Dan-Bi; Cole, Donald; Simiyu, Ken; Luong, Winnie; Neufeld, Vic

2013-06-28

Global health innovators must navigate substantial complexities to successfully develop, implement and sustain global health innovations with impact through application of an Integrated InnovationTM approach. We sought to examine the nature of the literature and evidence around mentoring, training and support of global health innovators. We conducted a scoping review searching eight databases with terms capturing different kinds of innovation and support. Assessment of relevance and mapping was completed by two reviewers, with interpretation by the review team. Twenty-eight relevant papers provided perspectives on fostering global health innovators and innovation. Fifteen included empirical data on supports to global health innovators involving a wide range of innovators. Eight included documentation of outcomes but without designs to determine effectiveness. The diverse mentoring, training and support activities included: business incubators, support organizations and centres for entrepreneurship, technology transfer and intellectual property management, internship programs for business skill development, initiatives to bridge industry and researchers, and platforms for South-led innovation for global health. We propose the cultivation of a pipeline of global health innovators to increase the number of appropriate, sustainable innovations with impact in global health. Further empirical work on how to effectively support global health innovators is needed.

p-topological Cauchy completions

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J. Wig

1999-01-01

Full Text Available The duality between “regular” and “topological” as convergence space properties extends in a natural way to the more general properties “p-regular” and “p-topological.” Since earlier papers have investigated regular, p-regular, and topological Cauchy completions, we hereby initiate a study of p-topological Cauchy completions. A p-topological Cauchy space has a p-topological completion if and only if it is “cushioned,” meaning that each equivalence class of nonconvergent Cauchy filters contains a smallest filter. For a Cauchy space allowing a p-topological completion, it is shown that a certain class of Reed completions preserve the p-topological property, including the Wyler and Kowalsky completions, which are, respectively, the finest and the coarsest p-topological completions. However, not all p-topological completions are Reed completions. Several extension theorems for p-topological completions are obtained. The most interesting of these states that any Cauchy-continuous map between Cauchy spaces allowing p-topological and p′-topological completions, respectively, can always be extended to a θ-continuous map between any p-topological completion of the first space and any p′-topological completion of the second.

Clinical Outcome of Patients with Complete Pathological Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancers: The Indian Scenario

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Snita Sinukumar

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and total mesorectal excision are considered the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer. Various studies have reported pathological downstaging and a complete pathological response rate of 15%–27% following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy which has translated into improved survival. We endeavour to determine the clinical outcome of patients attaining a complete pathological tumor response following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in the Indian setting where most of our patient population is younger and presents with aggressive tumor biology. Materials and Methods. Clinicopathological and treatment details were recorded for 64 patients achieving pathological complete response from 2010 to 2013. Disease-free survival (DFS, overall survival (OS, and locoregional and systemic recurrence rates were evaluated for these patients. Results. After a median follow-up of 30.5 months (range 11–59 months, the 3-year overall survival (OS was 94.6% and the 3-year disease-free survival (DFS was 88.5%. The locoregional and systemic recurrence rates were 4.7% and 3.1%, respectively. Conclusion. In the Indian subcontinent, despite younger patients with aggressive tumor biology, outcome in complete responders is good.

PERFORMANCE OF FAT-TAILED RAMS FED COMPLETE FEED BASED OIL PALM FRONDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Hamidah

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the performance of fat-tailed rams fed complete feedbased oil palm fronds (OPF. This experiment was arranged in Completely Randomized Design (CRDwith 5 treatments and 4 replications i.e. 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of OPF substituting fields grass incomplete feed for A, B, C, D and E treatments, respectively. Twenty fat-tailed rams were fed twice at08.00 and 14.00 with pellet of complete feed for 4 months. The result of this experiment showed thatOPF significantly influenced nutrient consumption, average daily gain (ADG and feed efficiency ratio(FER. Oil palm fronds significantly affected (P<0.05 fat-tailed rams’s dry matter intake (DMI, organicmatter intake (OMI, crude protein intake (CPI, ADG and FER. The highest DMI, OMI, CPI, ADG, andFER of fat-tailed rams was in C treatment and significantly different from the others. It was concludedthat C treatment was the best treatment which can give the best fat-tailed rams performance. The OPFcan be used to replace the field grass as feed up to 75% proportion in complete feed and could increasethe performance and productivity of fat-tailed rams.

Comorbid insomnia symptoms predict lower 6-month adherence to CPAP in US veterans with obstructive sleep apnea.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Douglas M; Sawyer, A M; Shafazand, S

2018-03-01

There is limited information on the association between pre-treatment insomnia symptoms and dysfunctional sleep beliefs with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) adherence in veterans with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Our aims were to describe demographic and sleep characteristics of veterans with and without comorbid insomnia and determine whether pre-treatment insomnia symptoms and dysfunctional sleep beliefs predict CPAP use after 6 months of therapy. Hispanic veterans attending the Miami VA sleep clinic were recruited and completed the insomnia severity index, the dysfunctional sleep belief and attitude scale (DBAS), and other questionnaires. Participants were asked to return after 7 days and 1 and 6 months to repeat questionnaires and for objective CPAP adherence download. Hierarchical regression models were performed to determine adjusted associations of pre-treatment insomnia symptoms and DBAS sub-scores on 6-month mean daily CPAP use. Fifty-three participants completed the 6-month follow-up visit with a mean CPAP use of 3.4 ± 1.9 h. Veterans with comorbid insomnia had lower mean daily CPAP use (168 ± 125 vs 237 ± 108 min, p = 0.04) and lower percent daily CPAP use ≥ 4 h (32 ± 32 vs 51 ± 32%, p = 0.05) compared to participants without insomnia. In adjusted analyses, pre-treatment insomnia symptoms (early, late, and aggregated nocturnal symptoms) and sleep dissatisfaction were predictive of lower CPAP use at 6 months. Pre-treatment dysfunctional sleep beliefs were not associated with CPAP adherence. Pre-treatment nocturnal insomnia symptoms and sleep dissatisfaction predicted poorer 6- month CPAP use. Insomnia treatment preceding or concurrent with CPAP initiation may eliminate a barrier to regular use.

Regional forecasting with global atmospheric models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crowley, T.J.; North, G.R.; Smith, N.R.

1994-05-01

The scope of the report is to present the results of the fourth year's work on the atmospheric modeling part of the global climate studies task. The development testing of computer models and initial results are discussed. The appendices contain studies that provide supporting information and guidance to the modeling work and further details on computer model development. Complete documentation of the models, including user information, will be prepared under separate reports and manuals

Acute respiratory illnesses in the first 18 months of life

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Ilse M. López Bravo

1997-01-01

Full Text Available To help assess the causes and frequency of acute respiratory illnesses (ARI during the first 18 months of life in Chile, a cohort of 437 children born in good health between May 1991 and April 1992 was followed at an urban health clinic in northern Santiago. Information was obtained from medical checkups performed at the clinic, from emergency health care services, from private physicians, and from interviews with each child's mother when the child was enrolled in the study and when it was 6, 12, and 18 months old. Followup was completed for 379 (87% of the children. ARI accounted for 67% of all 3762 episodes of illness recorded for these children in the 18-month study period, 1384 (55% of the ARI episodes affecting the upper respiratory tract and the remaining 1144 (45% affecting the lower. The overall rate of ARI observed was 33 episodes per 100 child-months of observation. The incidences of upper, lower, and total ARI episodes decreased significantly in the third six months of life. A statistically significant association was found between upper ARI ( > or = 2 episodes and maternal smoking ( > or = 5 cigarettes per day, but no significant associations were found with any of the other risk factors studied. However, lower ARI ( > or = 2 episodes was significantly associated with maternal schooling ( or = 4 episodes was significantly associated with these factors and also with the existence of one or more siblings, birth in a cold season, limited breast-feeding (<4 months, and low socioeconomic status. Significant associations were found between obstructive bronchitis episodes and most of the risk factors studied (gender, siblings, season of birth, duration of breast-feeding, maternal schooling, smoking, use of polluting fuels in the home, and a family history of atopic allergy; similarly, significant associations were found between the occurrence of pneumonia and many risk factors (including siblings, season of birth, duration of breast

Complete genome sequencing and evolutionary analysis of Indian isolates of Dengue virus type 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dash, Paban Kumar, E-mail: pabandash@rediffmail.com; Sharma, Shashi; Soni, Manisha; Agarwal, Ankita; Parida, Manmohan; Rao, P.V.Lakshmana

2013-07-05

Highlights: •Complete genome of Indian DENV-2 was deciphered for the first time in this study. •The recent Indian DENV-2 revealed presence of many unique amino acid residues. •Genotype shift (American to Cosmopolitan) characterizes evolution of DENV-2 in India. •Circulation of a unique clade of DENV-2 in South Asia was identified. -- Abstract: Dengue is the most important arboviral infection of global public health significance. It is now endemic in most parts of the South East Asia including India. Though Dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) is predominantly associated with major outbreaks in India, complete genome information of Indian DENV-2 is not available. In this study, the full-length genome of five DENV-2 isolates (four from 2001 to 2011 and one from 1960), from different parts of India was determined. The complete genome of the Indian DENV-2 was found to be 10,670 bases long with an open reading frame coding for 3391 amino acids. The recent Indian DENV-2 (2001–2011) revealed a nucleotide sequence identity of around 90% and 97% with an older Indian DENV-2 (1960) and closely related Sri Lankan and Chinese DENV-2 respectively. Presence of unique amino acid residues and non-conservative substitutions in critical amino acid residues of major structural and non-structural proteins was observed in recent Indian DENV-2. Selection pressure analysis revealed positive selection in few amino acid sites of the genes encoding for structural and non-structural proteins. The molecular phylogenetic analysis based on comparison of both complete coding region and envelope protein gene with globally diverse DENV-2 viruses classified the recent Indian isolates into a unique South Asian clade within Cosmopolitan genotype. A shift of genotype from American to Cosmopolitan in 1970s characterized the evolution of DENV-2 in India. Present study is the first report on complete genome characterization of emerging DENV-2 isolates from India and highlights the circulation of a

Complete genome sequencing and evolutionary analysis of Indian isolates of Dengue virus type 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dash, Paban Kumar; Sharma, Shashi; Soni, Manisha; Agarwal, Ankita; Parida, Manmohan; Rao, P.V.Lakshmana

2013-01-01

Highlights: •Complete genome of Indian DENV-2 was deciphered for the first time in this study. •The recent Indian DENV-2 revealed presence of many unique amino acid residues. •Genotype shift (American to Cosmopolitan) characterizes evolution of DENV-2 in India. •Circulation of a unique clade of DENV-2 in South Asia was identified. -- Abstract: Dengue is the most important arboviral infection of global public health significance. It is now endemic in most parts of the South East Asia including India. Though Dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) is predominantly associated with major outbreaks in India, complete genome information of Indian DENV-2 is not available. In this study, the full-length genome of five DENV-2 isolates (four from 2001 to 2011 and one from 1960), from different parts of India was determined. The complete genome of the Indian DENV-2 was found to be 10,670 bases long with an open reading frame coding for 3391 amino acids. The recent Indian DENV-2 (2001–2011) revealed a nucleotide sequence identity of around 90% and 97% with an older Indian DENV-2 (1960) and closely related Sri Lankan and Chinese DENV-2 respectively. Presence of unique amino acid residues and non-conservative substitutions in critical amino acid residues of major structural and non-structural proteins was observed in recent Indian DENV-2. Selection pressure analysis revealed positive selection in few amino acid sites of the genes encoding for structural and non-structural proteins. The molecular phylogenetic analysis based on comparison of both complete coding region and envelope protein gene with globally diverse DENV-2 viruses classified the recent Indian isolates into a unique South Asian clade within Cosmopolitan genotype. A shift of genotype from American to Cosmopolitan in 1970s characterized the evolution of DENV-2 in India. Present study is the first report on complete genome characterization of emerging DENV-2 isolates from India and highlights the circulation of a

A vertically resolved, global, gap-free ozone database for assessing or constraining global climate model simulations

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G. E. Bodeker

2013-02-01

Full Text Available High vertical resolution ozone measurements from eight different satellite-based instruments have been merged with data from the global ozonesonde network to calculate monthly mean ozone values in 5° latitude zones. These ''Tier 0'' ozone number densities and ozone mixing ratios are provided on 70 altitude levels (1 to 70 km and on 70 pressure levels spaced ~ 1 km apart (878.4 hPa to 0.046 hPa. The Tier 0 data are sparse and do not cover the entire globe or altitude range. To provide a gap-free database, a least squares regression model is fitted to the Tier 0 data and then evaluated globally. The regression model fit coefficients are expanded in Legendre polynomials to account for latitudinal structure, and in Fourier series to account for seasonality. Regression model fit coefficient patterns, which are two dimensional fields indexed by latitude and month of the year, from the N-th vertical level serve as an initial guess for the fit at the N + 1-th vertical level. The initial guess field for the first fit level (20 km/58.2 hPa was derived by applying the regression model to total column ozone fields. Perturbations away from the initial guess are captured through the Legendre and Fourier expansions. By applying a single fit at each level, and using the approach of allowing the regression fits to change only slightly from one level to the next, the regression is less sensitive to measurement anomalies at individual stations or to individual satellite-based instruments. Particular attention is paid to ensuring that the low ozone abundances in the polar regions are captured. By summing different combinations of contributions from different regression model basis functions, four different ''Tier 1'' databases have been compiled for different intended uses. This database is suitable for assessing ozone fields from chemistry-climate model simulations or for providing the ozone boundary conditions for global climate model simulations that do not

Evaluation of the global MODIS 30 arc-second spatially and temporally complete snow-free land surface albedo and reflectance anisotropy dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Qingsong; Wang, Zhuosen; Li, Zhan; Erb, Angela; Schaaf, Crystal B.

2017-06-01

Land surface albedo is an essential variable for surface energy and climate modeling as it describes the proportion of incident solar radiant flux that is reflected from the Earth's surface. To capture the temporal variability and spatial heterogeneity of the land surface, satellite remote sensing must be used to monitor albedo accurately at a global scale. However, large data gaps caused by cloud or ephemeral snow have slowed the adoption of satellite albedo products by the climate modeling community. To address the needs of this community, we used a number of temporal and spatial gap-filling strategies to improve the spatial and temporal coverage of the global land surface MODIS BRDF, albedo and NBAR products. A rigorous evaluation of the gap-filled values shows good agreement with original high quality data (RMSE = 0.027 for the NIR band albedo, 0.020 for the red band albedo). This global snow-free and cloud-free MODIS BRDF and albedo dataset (established from 2001 to 2015) offers unique opportunities to monitor and assess the impact of the changes on the Earth's land surface.

Building Virtual Watersheds: A Global Opportunity to Strengthen Resource Management and Conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Benda, Lee; Miller, Daniel; Barquin, Jose; McCleary, Richard; Cai, TiJiu; Ji, Y.

2016-03-01

Modern land-use planning and conservation strategies at landscape to country scales worldwide require complete and accurate digital representations of river networks, encompassing all channels including the smallest headwaters. The digital river networks, integrated with widely available digital elevation models, also need to have analytical capabilities to support resource management and conservation, including attributing river segments with key stream and watershed data, characterizing topography to identify landforms, discretizing land uses at scales necessary to identify human-environment interactions, and connecting channels downstream and upstream, and to terrestrial environments. We investigate the completeness and analytical capabilities of national to regional scale digital river networks that are available in five countries: Canada, China, Russia, Spain, and United States using actual resource management and conservation projects involving 12 university, agency, and NGO organizations. In addition, we review one pan-European and one global digital river network. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the majority of the regional, national, and global scale digital river networks in our sample lack in network completeness, analytical capabilities or both. To address this limitation, we outline a general framework to build as complete as possible digital river networks and to integrate them with available digital elevation models to create robust analytical capabilities (e.g., virtual watersheds). We believe this presents a global opportunity for in-country agencies, or international players, to support creation of virtual watersheds to increase environmental problem solving, broaden access to the watershed sciences, and strengthen resource management and conservation in countries worldwide.

Taking Orlistat: Predicting Weight Loss over 6 Months

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amelia Hollywood

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This study explored the predictors of weight loss following orlistat with a focus on both baseline variables and changes in beliefs and behaviours occurring over the course of taking the drug. Patients (n=566 prescribed orlistat completed a questionnaire at baseline and after 6 months concerning their weight, beliefs and behaviours. By 6 months the majority had lost some weight and showed improvements in diet. Many had also stopped taking the drug and a large minority reported using it flexibly as a lifestyle drug. Those who lost most weight showed a decrease in beliefs in a medical solution, a decrease in unhealthy eating, an increased belief in treatment control and an increased belief that the unpleasant consequences are both due to their eating behaviour and just part of the drug. When taken with fatty food orlistat causes symptoms such as anal leakage and oily stools. These may encourage some patients to focus on the behavioural aspects of their weight problem thus promoting the dietary changes needed for both short and longer term weight loss. When prescribing orlistat, clinicians should encourage patients to see the consequences as an education as a means to promote the effectiveness of this form of medical management.

Predicting mothers' decisions to introduce complementary feeding at 6 months. An investigation using an extended theory of planned behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Kyra; Daniels, Lynne; White, Katherine M; Murray, Nicole; Walsh, Anne

2011-06-01

In Australia and other developed countries there is poor adherence to guidelines recommending the introduction of complementary feeding to infants at 6 months of age. We aimed to investigate, via adopting a theory of planned behaviour framework and incorporating additional normative and demographic influences, mothers' complementary feeding intentions and behaviour. Participants were 375 primiparas who completed an initial questionnaire (infant age 13±3 weeks) that assessed the theory of planned behaviour constructs of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control, as well as group norm and additional maternal and infant variables of mothers' age, education level, weight status perception, current maternal feeding practices, and infant birth weight. Approximately, 3 months after completion of the main questionnaire, mothers completed a follow-up questionnaire that assessed the age in months at which the infant was first introduced to solids. The theory of planned behaviour variables of attitude and subjective norm, along with group norm, predicted intentions, with intention, mothers' age (older more likely), and weight status perception (overweight less likely) predicting behaviour. Overall, the results highlight the importance of attitudes, normative influences, and individual characteristics in complementary feeding decision-making which should be considered when designing interventions aimed at improving adherence to current maternal feeding guidelines. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Temporal and spatial variability of global water balance

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, Gregory J.; Wolock, David M.

2013-01-01

An analysis of simulated global water-balance components (precipitation [P], actual evapotranspiration [AET], runoff [R], and potential evapotranspiration [PET]) for the past century indicates that P has been the primary driver of variability in R. Additionally, since about 2000, there have been increases in P, AET, R, and PET for most of the globe. The increases in R during 2000 through 2009 have occurred despite unprecedented increases in PET. The increases in R are the result of substantial increases in P during the cool Northern Hemisphere months (i.e. October through March) when PET increases were relatively small; the largest PET increases occurred during the warm Northern Hemisphere months (April through September). Additionally, for the 2000 through 2009 period, the latitudinal distribution of P departures appears to co-vary with the mean P departures from 16 climate model projections of the latitudinal response of P to warming, except in the high latitudes. Finally, changes in water-balance variables appear large from the perspective of departures from the long-term means. However, when put into the context of the magnitudes of the raw water balance variable values, there appears to have been little change in any of the water-balance variables over the past century on a global or hemispheric scale.

Tracking the complete revolution of surface westerlies over Northern Hemisphere using radionuclides emitted from Fukushima

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernández-Ceballos, M.A.; Hong, G.H.; Lozano, R.L.; Kim, Y.I.; Lee, H.M.; Kim, S.H.; Yeh, S.-W.; Bolívar, J.P.; Baskaran, M.

2012-01-01

Massive amounts of anthropogenic radionuclides were released from the nuclear reactors located in Fukushima (northeastern Japan) between 12 and 16 March 2011 following the earthquake and tsunami. Ground level air radioactivity was monitored around the globe immediately after the Fukushima accident. This global effort provided a unique opportunity to trace the surface air mass movement at different sites in the Northern Hemisphere. Based on surface air radioactivity measurements around the globe and the air mass backward trajectory analysis of the Fukushima radioactive plume at various places in the Northern Hemisphere by employing the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model, we show for the first time, that the uninterrupted complete revolution of the mid-latitude Surface Westerlies took place in less than 21 days, with an average zonal velocity of > 60 km/h. The position and circulation time scale of Surface Westerlies are of wide interest to a large number of global researchers including meteorologists, atmospheric researchers and global climate modellers. -- Highlights: ► Evidence of the South Korea contamination with released radiocesium from Fukushima. ► Field samples and air mass analysis were utilized to elucidate the transport of those radionuclides. ► Characterization of the air mass movements at different sites at the Earth's surface. ► Verification of the uninterrupted complete revolution of the artificial radionuclides released in Fukushima. ► Quantification of the velocity of the artificial radionuclides released in Fukushima.