Assessing the performance and reliability of PERSIANN-CDR satellite-based rainfall estimates over Spain: case study of rainfall Dry Spell Lengths (DSL)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia Galiano, S. G.; Giraldo Osorio, J. D.; Nguyen, P.; Hsu, K. L.; Braithwaite, D.; Olmos, P.; Sorooshian, S.

2015-12-01

Studying Spain's long-term variability and changing trends in rainfall, due to its unique position in the Mediterranean basin (i.e., the latitudinal gradient from North to South and its orographic variation), can provide a valuable insight into how hydroclimatology of the region has changed. A recently released high resolution satellite-based global daily precipitation climate dataset PERSIANN-CDR (Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Network - Climate Data Record), provided the opportunity to conduct such study. It covers the period 01/01/1983 - to date, at 0.25° resolution. In areas without a dense network of rain-gauges, the PERSIANN-CDR dataset could be useful for identifying the reliability of regional climate models (RCMs), in order to build robust RCMs ensemble for reducing the uncertainties in the climate and hydrological projections. However, before using this data set for RCM evaluation, an assessment of performance of PERSIANN-CDR dataset against in-situ observations is necessary. The high-resolution gridded daily rain-gauge dataset, named Spain02, was employed in this study. The variable Dry Spell Lengths (DSL) considering 1 mm and 10 mm as thresholds of daily rainfall, and the time period 1988-2007 was defined for the study. A procedure for improving the consistency and homogeneity between the two datasets was applied. The assessment is based on distributional similarity and the well-known statistical tests (Smirnov-Kolmogorov of two samples and Chi-Square) are used as fitting criteria. The results demonstrate good fit of PERSIANN-CDR over whole Spain, for threshold 10 mm/day. However, for threshold 1 mm/day PERSIANN-CDR compares well with Spain02 dataset for areas with high values of rainfall (North of Spain); while in semiarid areas (South East of Spain) there is strong overestimation of short DSLs. Overall, PERSIANN-CDR demonstrate its robustness in the simulation of DSLs for the highest thresholds.

Validation of a Climate-Data Record of the "Clear-Sky" Surface Temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Box, Jason E.; Koenig, Lora S.; DiGirolamo, Nicolo E.; Comiso, Josefino C.; Shuman, Christopher A.

2011-01-01

Surface temperatures on the Greenland Ice Sheet have been studied on the ground, using automatic weather station (AWS) data from the Greenland-Climate Network (GC-Net), and from analysis of satellite sensor data. Using Advanced Very High Frequency Radiometer (AVHRR) weekly surface temperature maps, warming of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet has been documented since 1981. We extended and refined this record using higher-resolution Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from March 2000 to the present. We developed a daily and monthly climate-data record (CDR) of the "clear-sky" surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet using an ice-surface temperature (1ST) algorithm developed for use with MODIS data. Validation of this CDR is ongoing. MODIS Terra swath data are projected onto a polar stereographic grid at 6.25-km resolution to develop binary, gridded daily and mean-monthly 1ST maps. Each monthly map also has a color-coded image map that is available to download. Also included with the monthly maps is an accompanying map showing number of days in the month that were used to calculate the mean-monthly 1ST. This is important because no 1ST decision is made by the algorithm for cells that are considered cloudy by the internal cloud mask, so a sufficient number of days must be available to produce a mean 1ST for each grid cell. Validation of the CDR consists of several facets: 1) comparisons between ISTs and in-situ measurements; 2) comparisons between ISTs and AWS data; and 3) comparisons of ISTs with surface temperatures derived from other satellite instruments such as the Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+). Previous work shows that Terra MODIS ISTs are about 3 C lower than in-situ temperatures measured at Summit Camp, during the winter of 2008-09 under clear skies. In this work we begin to compare surface temperatures derived from AWS data with ISTs from the MODIS CDR.

Evaluating the streamflow simulation capability of PERSIANN-CDR daily rainfall products in two river basins on the Tibetan Plateau

DOE PAGES

Liu, Xiaomang; Yang, Tiantian; Hsu, Koulin; ...

2017-01-10

On the Tibetan Plateau, the limited ground-based rainfall information owing to a harsh environment has brought great challenges to hydrological studies. Satellite-based rainfall products, which allow for a better coverage than both radar network and rain gauges on the Tibetan Plateau, can be suitable alternatives for studies on investigating the hydrological processes and climate change. In this study, a newly developed daily satellite-based precipitation product, termed Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks $-$ Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR), is used as input for a hydrologic model to simulate streamflow in the upper Yellow and Yangtze River basinsmore » on the Tibetan Plateau. The results show that the simulated streamflows using PERSIANN-CDR precipitation and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) precipitation are closer to observation than that using limited gauge-based precipitation interpolation in the upper Yangtze River basin. The simulated streamflow using gauge-based precipitation are higher than the streamflow observation during the wet season. In the upper Yellow River basin, gauge-based precipitation, GLDAS precipitation, and PERSIANN-CDR precipitation have similar good performance in simulating streamflow. Finally, the evaluation of streamflow simulation capability in this study partly indicates that the PERSIANN-CDR rainfall product has good potential to be a reliable dataset and an alternative information source of a limited gauge network for conducting long-term hydrological and climate studies on the Tibetan Plateau.« less

Evaluating the streamflow simulation capability of PERSIANN-CDR daily rainfall products in two river basins on the Tibetan Plateau

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Xiaomang; Yang, Tiantian; Hsu, Koulin

On the Tibetan Plateau, the limited ground-based rainfall information owing to a harsh environment has brought great challenges to hydrological studies. Satellite-based rainfall products, which allow for a better coverage than both radar network and rain gauges on the Tibetan Plateau, can be suitable alternatives for studies on investigating the hydrological processes and climate change. In this study, a newly developed daily satellite-based precipitation product, termed Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks $-$ Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR), is used as input for a hydrologic model to simulate streamflow in the upper Yellow and Yangtze River basinsmore » on the Tibetan Plateau. The results show that the simulated streamflows using PERSIANN-CDR precipitation and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) precipitation are closer to observation than that using limited gauge-based precipitation interpolation in the upper Yangtze River basin. The simulated streamflow using gauge-based precipitation are higher than the streamflow observation during the wet season. In the upper Yellow River basin, gauge-based precipitation, GLDAS precipitation, and PERSIANN-CDR precipitation have similar good performance in simulating streamflow. Finally, the evaluation of streamflow simulation capability in this study partly indicates that the PERSIANN-CDR rainfall product has good potential to be a reliable dataset and an alternative information source of a limited gauge network for conducting long-term hydrological and climate studies on the Tibetan Plateau.« less

Evaluation of Daily Extreme Precipitation Derived From Long-term Global Satellite Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPEs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prat, O. P.; Nelson, B. R.; Nickl, E.; Ferraro, R. R.

2017-12-01

This study evaluates the ability of different satellite-based precipitation products to capture daily precipitation extremes over the entire globe. The satellite products considered are the datasets belonging to the Reference Environmental Data Records (REDRs) program (PERSIANN-CDR, GPCP, CMORPH, AMSU-A,B, Hydrologic bundle). Those products provide long-term global records of daily adjusted Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPEs) that range from 20-year (CMORPH-CDR) to 35-year (PERSIANN-CDR, GPCP) record of daily adjusted global precipitation. The AMSU-A,B, Hydro-bundle is an 11-year record of daily rain rate over land and ocean, snow cover and surface temperature over land, and sea ice concentration, cloud liquid water, and total precipitable water over ocean among others. The aim of this work is to evaluate the ability of the different satellite QPE products to capture daily precipitation extremes. This evaluation will also include comparison with in-situ data sets at the daily scale from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN-Daily), the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) gridded full data daily product, and the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN). In addition, while the products mentioned above only provide QPEs, the AMSU-A,B hydro-bundle provides additional hydrological information (precipitable water, cloud liquid water, snow cover, sea ice concentration). We will also present an analysis of those additional variables available from global satellite measurements and their relevance and complementarity in the context of long-term hydrological and climate studies.

Development of a Climate-Data Record (CDR) of the Surface Temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorthy K.; Comiso, Josefino C.; Shuman, Christopher A.; DiGirolamo, Nicolo E.; Stock, Larry V.

2010-01-01

Regional "clear sky" surface temperature increases since the early 1980s in the Arctic, measured using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) infrared data, range from 0.57+/-0.02 deg C to 72+/-0.10 deg C per decade. Arctic warming has important implications for ice-sheet mass balance because much of the periphery of the Greenland Ice Sheet is already near 0 deg C during the melt season, and is thus vulnerable to rapid melting if temperatures continue to increase. An increase in melting of the ice sheet would accelerate sea-level rise, an issue affecting potentially billions of people worldwide. To quantify the ice-surface temperature (IST) of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and to provide an IST dataset of Greenland for modelers that provides uncertainties, we are developing a climate-data record (CDR) of daily "clear-sky" IST of the Greenland Ice Sheet, from 1982 to the present using AVHRR (1982 - present) and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data (2000 - present) at a resolution of approximately 5 km. Known issues being addressed in the production of the CDR are: time-series bias caused by cloud cover (surface temperatures can be different under clouds vs. clear areas) and cross-calibration in the overlap period between AVHRR instruments, and between AVHRR and MODIS instruments. Because of uncertainties, mainly due to clouds, time-series of satellite IST do not necessarily correspond with actual surface temperatures. The CDR will be validated by comparing results with automatic-weather station data and with satellite-derived surface-temperature products and biases will be calculated.

Assessment of Consistencies and Uncertainties between the NASA MODIS and VIIRS Snow-Cover Maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, D. K.; Riggs, G. A., Jr.; DiGirolamo, N. E.; Roman, M. O.

2017-12-01

Snow cover has great climatic and economic importance in part due to its high albedo and low thermal conductivity and large areal extent in the Northern Hemisphere winter, and its role as a freshwater source for about one-sixth of the world's population. The Rutgers University Global Snow Lab's 50-year climate-data record (CDR) of Northern Hemisphere snow cover is invaluable for climate studies, but, at 25-km resolution, the spatial resolution is too coarse to provide accurate snow information at the basin scale. Since 2000, global snow-cover maps have been produced from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra and Aqua satellites at 500-m resolution, and from the Suomi-National Polar Program (S-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) since 2011 at 375-m resolution. Development of a moderate-resolution (375 - 500 m) earth system data record (ESDR) that utilizes both MODIS and VIIRS snow maps is underway. There is a 6-year overlap between the data records. In late 2017 the second in a series of VIIRS sensors will be launched on the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), with the JPSS-2 satellite scheduled for launch in 2021, providing the potential to extend NASA's snow-cover ESDR for decades into the future and to create a CDR. Therefore it is important to investigate the continuity between the MODIS and VIIRS NASA snow-cover data products and evaluate whether there are any inconsistencies and biases that would affect their value as CDR. Time series of daily normalized-difference snow index (NDSI) Terra and Aqua MODIS Collection 6 (C6) and NASA VIIRS Collection 1 (C1) snow-cover tile maps (MOD10A1 and VNP10A1) are studied for North America to identify NDSI differences and possible biases between the datasets. Developing a CDR using the MODIS and VIIRS records is challenging. Though the instruments and orbits are similar, differences in bands, viewing geometry, spatial resolution, and cloud- and snow-mapping algorithms affect snow detection.

Quality assessment and improvement of the EUMETSAT Meteosat Surface Albedo Climate Data Record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lattanzio, A.; Fell, F.; Bennartz, R.; Trigo, I. F.; Schulz, J.

2015-10-01

Surface albedo has been identified as an important parameter for understanding and quantifying the Earth's radiation budget. EUMETSAT generated the Meteosat Surface Albedo (MSA) Climate Data Record (CDR) currently comprising up to 24 years (1982-2006) of continuous surface albedo coverage for large areas of the Earth. This CDR has been created within the Sustained, Coordinated Processing of Environmental Satellite Data for Climate Monitoring (SCOPE-CM) framework. The long-term consistency of the MSA CDR is high and meets the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) stability requirements for desert reference sites. The limitation in quality due to non-removed clouds by the embedded cloud screening procedure is the most relevant weakness in the retrieval process. A twofold strategy is applied to efficiently improve the cloud detection and removal. The first step consists of the application of a robust and reliable cloud mask, taking advantage of the information contained in the measurements of the infrared and visible bands. Due to the limited information available from old radiometers, some clouds can still remain undetected. A second step relies on a post-processing analysis of the albedo seasonal variation together with the usage of a background albedo map in order to detect and screen out such outliers. The usage of a reliable cloud mask has a double effect. It enhances the number of high-quality retrievals for tropical forest areas sensed under low view angles and removes the most frequently unrealistic retrievals on similar surfaces sensed under high view angles. As expected, the usage of a cloud mask has a negligible impact on desert areas where clear conditions dominate. The exploitation of the albedo seasonal variation for cloud removal has good potentialities but it needs to be carefully addressed. Nevertheless it is shown that the inclusion of cloud masking and removal strategy is a key point for the generation of the next MSA CDR release.

Supporting Private Sector Decision-Making with NOAA's Interim Climate Data Records (ICDRs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Privette, J. L.; Glance, W. J.; Cecil, D.; Bates, J. J.

2012-12-01

NOAA initiated its Climate Data Record Program (CDRP) in 2009 to operationally provide authoritative satellite Climate Data Records (CDRs) to the government and the private sector. The CDRs are based primarily on 35+ years of meteorological satellite and in situ data collected by NOAA and the Department of Defense. To date, the Program has transitioned 14 CDRs from research to initial operations. In the past year, the CDRP developed and implemented a framework to continuously extend historical CDRs using Interim Climate Data Records (ICDRs). ICDRs are "first batch" CDRs generated within several days of observation using official CDR algorithms and processes. ICDRs are required by decision support systems and other near-term applications which need current data that are fully consistent with homogeneous historical records. For example, an electrical power utility may need temperature and precipitation ICDRs to optimally identify, in both time and space, the "nearest" historical analog period to recent weather. The utility could then use the contemporaneous business data from that period to inform current decision-making. In addition to their homogeneity and consistency, ICDRs are more complete than operational weather products since ICDR processing can await upstream data delays that can negate data value for weather forecasting. However, the operational nature of ICDRs means their uncertainties typically can be improved through reprocessing once better sensor calibration and characterization data become available. Therefore, ICDRs may be considered valuable but temporary placeholders. However, the "trigger" for electing to update a given record involves many considerations, including cost, latency, downstream dependencies and scientific significance. This presentation provides an update on NOAA's CDR Program, focusing on the new CDRs transitioned to operations in 2012 and the ICDR framework -- including update decision criteria -- used to extend CDRs and meet the needs of near-term applications as well as climate monitoring and indicators activities.

A Climate-Data Record (CDR) of the "Clear Sky" Surface Temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Comiso, J. C.; DiGirolamo, N. E.; Shuman, C. A.

2011-01-01

To quantify the ice-surface temperature (IST) we are developing a climate-data record (CDR) of monthly IST of the Greenland ice sheet, from 1982 to the present using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data at 5-km resolution. "Clear-sky" surface temperature increases have been measured from the early 1980s to the early 2000s in the Arctic using AVHRR data, showing increases ranging from 0.57-0.02 (Wang and Key, 2005) to 0.72 0.10 deg C per decade (Comiso, 2006). Arctic warming has implications for ice-sheet mass balance because much of the periphery of the ice sheet is near 0 deg C in the melt season and is thus vulnerable to more extensive melting (Hanna et al., 2008). The algorithm used for this work has a long history of measuring IST in the Arctic with AVHRR (Key and Haefliger, 1992). The data are currently available from 1981 to 2004 in the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder (APP) dataset (Fowler et al., 2000). J. Key1NOAA modified the AVHRR algorithm for use with MODIS (Hall et al., 2004). The MODIS algorithm is now being processed over Greenland. Issues being addressed in the production of the CDR are: time-series bias caused by cloud cover, and cross-calibration between AVHRR and MODIS instruments. Because of uncertainties, time series of satellite ISTs do not necessarily correspond with actual surface temperatures. The CDR will be validated by comparing results with in-situ (see Koenig and Hall, in press) and automatic-weather station data (e.g., Shuman et al., 2001).

Break and trend analysis of EUMETSAT Climate Data Records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doutriaux-Boucher, Marie; Zeder, Joel; Lattanzio, Alessio; Khlystova, Iryna; Graw, Kathrin

2016-04-01

EUMETSAT reprocessed imagery acquired by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on board Meteosat 8-9. The data covers the period from 2004 to 2012. Climate Data Records (CDRs) of atmospheric parameters such as Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMV) as well as Clear and All Sky Radiances (CSR and ASR) have been generated. Such CDRs are mainly ingested by ECMWF to produce a reanalysis data. In addition, EUMETSAT produced a long CDR (1982-2004) of land surface albedo exploiting imagery acquired by the Meteosat Visible and Infrared Imager (MVIRI) on board Meteosat 2-7. Such CDR is key information in climate analysis and climate models. Extensive validation has been performed for the surface albedo record and a first validation of the winds and clear sky radiances have been done. All validation results demonstrated that the time series of all parameter appear homogeneous at first sight. Statistical science offers a variety of analyses methods that have been applied to further analyse the homogeneity of the CDRs. Many breakpoint analysis techniques depend on the comparison of two time series which incorporates the issue that both may have breakpoints. This paper will present a quantitative and statistical analysis of eventual breakpoints found in the MVIRI and SEVIRI CDRs that includes attribution of breakpoints to changes of instruments and other events in the data series compared. The value of different methods applied will be discussed with suggestions how to further develop this type of analysis for quality evaluation of CDRs.

A Climate-Data Record of the "Clear-Sky" Surface Temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, D. K.; Comiso, J. C.; Digirolamo, N. E.; Stock, L. V.; Riggs, G. A.; Shuman, C. A.

2009-01-01

We are developing a climate-data record (CDR of daily "clear-sky" ice-surface temperature (IST) of the Greenland Ice Sheet, from 1982 to the present using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) (1982 - present) and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data (2000 - present) at a resolution of approximately 5 km. The CDR will be continued in the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite era. Two algorithms remain under consideration. One algorithm under consideration is based on the split-window technique used in the Polar Pathfinder dataset (Fowler et al., 2000 & 21007). Another algorithm under consideration, developed by Comiso (2006), uses a single channel of AVHRR data (channel 4) in conjunction with meteorological-station data to account for atmospheric effects and drift between AVHRR instruments. Known issues being addressed in the production of the CDR are: tune-series bias caused by cloud cover (surface temperatures can be different under clouds vs. clear areas) and cross-calibration in the overlap period between AVHRR instruments, and between AVHRR and MODIS instruments. Because of uncertainties, mainly due to clouds (Stroeve & Steffen, 1998; Wang and Key, 2005; Hall et al., 2008 and Koenig and Hall, submitted), time-series of satellite 1S'1" do not necessarily correspond to actual surface temperatures. The CDR will be validated by comparing results with automatic-,",eather station (AWS) data and with satellite-derived surface-temperature products. Regional "clear-sky" surface temperature increases in the Arctic, measured from AVHRR infrared data, range from 0.57+/-0.02 deg C (Wang and Key, 2005) to 0.72+/-0.10 deg C (Comiso, 2006) per decade since the early 1980s. Arctic warming has important implications for ice-sheet mass balance because much of the periphery of the Greenland Ice Sheet is already near 0 deg C during the melt season, and is thus vulnerable to rapid melting if temperatures continue to increase. References

Evaluation of a new satellite-based precipitation dataset for climate studies in the Xiang River basin, Southern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Q.; Xu, Y. P.; Hsu, K. L.

2017-12-01

A new satellite-based precipitation dataset, Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR) with long-term time series dating back to 1983 can be one valuable dataset for climate studies. This study investigates the feasibility of using PERSIANN-CDR as a reference dataset for climate studies. Sixteen CMIP5 models are evaluated over the Xiang River basin, southern China, by comparing their performance on precipitation projection and streamflow simulation, particularly on extreme precipitation and streamflow events. The results show PERSIANN-CDR is a valuable dataset for climate studies, even on extreme precipitation events. The precipitation estimates and their extreme events from CMIP5 models are improved significantly compared with rain gauge observations after bias-correction by the PERSIANN-CDR precipitation estimates. Given streamflows simulated with raw and bias-corrected precipitation estimates from 16 CMIP5 models, 10 out of 16 are improved after bias-correction. The impact of bias-correction on extreme events for streamflow simulations are unstable, with eight out of 16 models can be clearly claimed they are improved after the bias-correction. Concerning the performance of raw CMIP5 models on precipitation, IPSL-CM5A-MR excels the other CMIP5 models, while MRI-CGCM3 outperforms on extreme events with its better performance on six extreme precipitation metrics. Case studies also show that raw CCSM4, CESM1-CAM5, and MRI-CGCM3 outperform other models on streamflow simulation, while MIROC5-ESM-CHEM, MIROC5-ESM and IPSL-CM5A-MR behaves better than the other models after bias-correction.

Long-Term Historical Rainfall-Runoff Modeling Using High-Resolution Satellite-based Precipitation Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashouri, H.; Nguyen, P.; Thorstensen, A. R.; Hsu, K. L.; Sorooshian, S.

2014-12-01

This study evaluates the performance of a newly developed long-term high-resolution satellite-based precipitation products, named Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Network - Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR), in hydrological modeling. PERSIANN-CDR estimations are biased corrected using GPCP monthly climatology data. PERSIANN-CDR provides daily rainfall estimates at 0.25° x 0.25° grid boxes for 1983-2014 (delayed present). This newly released product makes it feasible to model the streamflow over the past 30 years. Three test basins from the Distributed Hydrologic Model Intercomparison Project - Phase 2 (DMIP 2) are chosen. Comparing with other satellite products, the Version 7 TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) product is used. Stage IV radar data is used as a reference data for evaluating the PERSIANN-CDR and TMPA precipitation data. All products are scaled to 0.25° and daily spatiotemporal resolution. The study is performed in two phases. In the first phase, the 2003-2011 period where all the products are available is chosen. Precipitation evaluation results, presented on Taylor Diagrams, show that TMPA and PERSIANN-CDR have close performances. The National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Hydrologic Development (OHD) Hydrology Laboratory-Research Distributed Hydrologic Model (HL-RDHM) is then forced with the PERSIANN-CDR and the TMPA precipitation products, as well as the stage IV radar data. USGS Streamflow observations at the outlet of the basins are used as the reference streamflow data. The results show that in general, in all the three DMIP 2 basins the simulated hydrographs forced with PERSIANN-CDR and TMPA show good agreement, as the statistical measures such as root mean square error, bias, and correlation coefficient are close. In addition, with respect to the streamflow peaks, PERSIANN-CDR shows better performance than Stage IV radar data in capturing the extreme streamflow magnitudes. Based on the results from the first phase of the study and given the fact that PERSIANN-CDR covers the 1983-2014, in the second phase of the study we model the streamflow for the period of 1983-2014. The results will be presented in the meeting.

Bias-correction of PERSIANN-CDR Extreme Precipitation Estimates Over the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faridzad, M.; Yang, T.; Hsu, K. L.; Sorooshian, S.

2017-12-01

Ground-based precipitation measurements can be sparse or even nonexistent over remote regions which make it difficult for extreme event analysis. PERSIANN-CDR (CDR), with 30+ years of daily rainfall information, provides an opportunity to study precipitation for regions where ground measurements are limited. In this study, the use of CDR annual extreme precipitation for frequency analysis of extreme events over limited/ungauged basins is explored. The adjustment of CDR is implemented in two steps: (1) Calculated CDR bias correction factor at limited gauge locations based on the linear regression analysis of gauge and CDR annual maxima precipitation; and (2) Extend the bias correction factor to the locations where gauges are not available. The correction factors are estimated at gauge sites over various catchments, elevation zones, and climate regions and the results were generalized to ungauged sites based on regional and climatic similarity. Case studies were conducted on 20 basins with diverse climate and altitudes in the Eastern and Western US. Cross-validation reveals that the bias correction factors estimated on limited calibration data can be extended to regions with similar characteristics. The adjusted CDR estimates also outperform gauge interpolation on validation sites consistently. It is suggested that the CDR with bias adjustment has a potential for study frequency analysis of extreme events, especially for regions with limited gauge observations.

Validation of the MODIS "Clear-Sky" Surface Temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Koenig, L. S.; DiGirolamo, N. E.; Comiso, J.; Shuman, C. A.

2011-01-01

Surface temperatures on the Greenland Ice Sheet have been studied on the ground, using automatic weather station (AWS) data from the Greenland-Climate Network (GC-Net), and from analysis of satellite sensor data. Using Advanced Very High Frequency Radiometer (AVHRR) weekly surface temperature maps, warming of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet has been documented from 1981 to present. We extend and refine this record using higher-resolution Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from March 2000 to the present. To permit changes to be observed over time, we are developing a well-characterized monthly climate-data record (CDR) of the "clear-sky" surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet using data from both the Terra and Aqua satellites. We use the MODIS ice-surface temperature (IST) algorithm. Validation of the CDR consists of several facets: 1) comparisons between the Terra and Aqua IST maps; 2) comparisons between ISTs and in-situ measurements; 3) comparisons between ISTs and AWS data; and 4) comparisons of ISTs with surface temperatures derived from other satellite instruments such as the Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer. In this work, we focus on 1) and 2) above. Surface temperatures on the Greenland Ice Sheet have been studied on the ground, using automatic weather station (AWS) data from the Greenland-Climate Network (GC-Net), and from analysis of satellite sensor data. Using Advanced Very High Frequency Radiometer (AVHRR) weekly surface temperature maps, warming of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet has been documented from 1981 to present. We extend and refine this record using higher-resolution Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from March 2000 to the present. To permit changes to be observed over time, we are developing a well-characterized monthly climate-data record (CDR) of the "clear-sky" surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet using data from both the Terra and Aqua satellites. We use the MODIS ice-surface temperature (IST) algorithm. Validation of the CDR consists of several facets: 1) comparisons between the Terra and Aqua IST maps; 2) comparisons between ISTs and in-situ measurements; 3) comparisons between ISTs and AWS data; and 4) comparisons of ISTs with surface temperatures derived from other satellite instruments such as the Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer. In this work, we focus on 1) and 2) above. First we provide comparisons between Terra and Aqua swath-based ISTs at approximately 14:00 Local Solar Time, reprojected to 12.5 km polar stereographic cells. Results show good correspondence when Terra and Aqua data were acquired within 2 hrs of each other. For example, for a cell centered over Summit Camp (72.58 N, 38.5 W), the average agreement between Terra and Aqua ISTs is 0.74 K (February 2003), 0.47 K (April 2003), 0.7 K (August 2003) and 0.96 K (October 2003) with the Terra ISTs being generally lower than the Aqua ISTs. More precise comparisons will be calculated using pixel data at the swath level, and correspondence between Terra and Aqua IST is expected to be closer. (Because of cloud cover and other considerations, only a few common cloud-free swaths are typically available for each month for comparison.) Additionally, previous work comparing land-surface temperatures (LSTs) from the standard MODIS LST product and in-situ surface-temperature data at Summit Camp on the Greenland Ice Sheet show that Terra MODIS LSTs are about 3 K lower than in-situ temperatures at Summit Camp, during the winter of 2008-09. This work will be repeated using both Terra and Aqua IST pixel data (in place of LST data). In conclusion, we demonstrate that the uncertainties in the CDR will be well characterized as we work through the various facets of its validation.

Suomi NPP VIIRS Ocean Color Data Product Early Mission Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turpie, Kevin R.; Robinson, Wayne D.; Franz, Bryan A.; Eplee, Robert E., Jr.; Meister, Gerhard; Fireman, Gwyn F.; Patt, Frederick S.; Barnes, Robert A.; McClain, Charles R.

2013-01-01

Following the launch of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polarorbiting Partnership (NPP) spacecraft, the NASA NPP VIIRS Ocean Science Team (VOST) began an evaluation of ocean color data products to determine whether they could continue the existing NASA ocean color climate data record (CDR). The VOST developed an independent evaluation product based on NASA algorithms with a reprocessing capability. Here we present a preliminary assessment of both the operational ocean color data products and the NASA evaluation data products regarding their applicability to NASA science objectives.

Evaluating satellite-derived long-term historical precipitation datasets for drought monitoring in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zambrano, Francisco; Wardlow, Brian; Tadesse, Tsegaye; Lillo-Saavedra, Mario; Lagos, Octavio

2017-04-01

Precipitation is a key parameter for the study of climate change and variability and the detection and monitoring of natural disaster such as drought. Precipitation datasets that accurately capture the amount and spatial variability of rainfall is critical for drought monitoring and a wide range of other climate applications. This is challenging in many parts of the world, which often have a limited number of weather stations and/or historical data records. Satellite-derived precipitation products offer a viable alternative with several remotely sensed precipitation datasets now available with long historical data records (+30years), which include the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR) datasets. This study presents a comparative analysis of three historical satellite-based precipitation datasets that include Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B43 version 7 (1998-2015), PERSIANN-CDR (1983-2015) and CHIRPS 2.0 (1981-2015) over Chile to assess their performance across the country and for the case of the two long-term products the applicability for agricultural drought were evaluated when used in the calculation of commonly used drought indicator as the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). In this analysis, 278 weather stations of in situ rainfall measurements across Chile were initially compared to the satellite data. The study area (Chile) was divided into five latitudinal zones: North, North-Central, Central, South-Central and South to determine if there were a regional difference among these satellite products, and nine statistics were used to evaluate their performance to estimate the amount and spatial distribution of historical rainfall across Chile. Hierarchical cluster analysis, k-means and singular value decomposition were used to analyze these datasets to better understand their similarities and differences in characterizing rainfall patterns across Chile. Monthly analysis showed that all satellite products highly overestimated rainfall in the arid North zone. However, there were no major difference between all three products from North to South-Central zones. Though, in the South zone, PERSIANN-CDR shows the lowest fit with high underestimation, while CHIRPS 2.0 and TMPA 3B43 v7 had better agreement with in situ measurements. The accuracy of satellite products were highly dependent on the amount of monthly rainfall with the best results found during winter seasons and in zones (Central to South) with higher amounts of precipitation. PERSIANN-CDR and CHIRPS 2.0 were used to derive SPI at time-scale of 1, 3 and 6 months, both satellite products presented similar results when it was compared in situ against satellite SPI's. Because of its higher spatial resolution that allows better characterizing of spatial variation in precipitation pattern, the CHIRPS 2.0 was used to mapping the SPI-3 over Chile. The results of this study show that in order to use the CHIRPS 2.0 and PERSIANN-CDR datasets in Chile to monitor spatial patterns in the rainfall and drought intensity conditions, these products should be calibrated to adjust for the overestimation/underestimation of rainfall geographically specially in the North zone and seasonally during the summer and spring months in the other zones.

Evaluating satellite-derived long-term historical precipitation datasets for drought monitoring in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zambrano, Francisco; Wardlow, Brian; Tadesse, Tsegaye

2016-10-01

Precipitation is a key parameter for the study of climate change and variability and the detection and monitoring of natural disaster such as drought. Precipitation datasets that accurately capture the amount and spatial variability of rainfall is critical for drought monitoring and a wide range of other climate applications. This is challenging in many parts of the world, which often have a limited number of weather stations and/or historical data records. Satellite-derived precipitation products offer a viable alternative with several remotely sensed precipitation datasets now available with long historical data records (+30 years), which include the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR) datasets. This study presents a comparative analysis of three historical satellite-based precipitation datasets that include Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B43 version 7 (1998-2015), PERSIANN-CDR (1983-2015) and CHIRPS 2.0 (1981-2015) over Chile to assess their performance across the country and evaluate their applicability for agricultural drought evaluation when used in the calculation of commonly used drought indicator as the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). In this analysis, 278 weather stations of in-situ rainfall measurements across Chile were initially compared to the satellite-based precipitation estimates. The study area (Chile) was divided into five latitudinal zones: North, North-Central, Central, South-Central and South to determine if there were a regional difference among these satellite-based estimates. Nine statistics were used to evaluate the performance of satellite products to estimate the amount and spatial distribution of historical rainfall across Chile. Hierarchical cluster analysis, k-means and singular value decomposition were used to analyze these datasets to better understand their similarities and differences in characterizing rainfall patterns across Chile. Monthly analysis showed that all satellite products highly overestimated precipitation in the arid North zone. However, there were no major difference between all three products from North to South-Central zones. Though, in the South zone, PERSIANN-CDR shows the lowest fit with high underestimation, further CHIRPS 2.0 and TMPA 3B43 v7 had better agreement with in-situ measurements. The accuracy of satellite products were highly dependent on the amount of monthly rainfall with the best results found during winter seasons and in zones (Central to South) with higher amounts of precipitation. PERSIANN-CDR and CHIRPS 2.0 were used to derive SPI at time-scale of 1, 3 and 6 months, both satellite products presented similar results when it was compared in-situ against satellite SPI's. Because of its higher spatial resolution that allows better characterizing of spatial variation in precipitation pattern, the CHIRPS 2.0 was used to mapping the SPI-3 over Chile. The results of this study show that in order to use the CHIRPS 2.0 and PERSIANN-CDR data sets in Chile to monitor spatial patterns in the rainfall and drought intensity conditions, these products should be calibrated to adjust for the overestimation/underestimation of precipitation geographically specially in the North zone and seasonally during the summer and spring months in the other zones.

Interoperability Using Lightweight Metadata Standards: Service & Data Casting, OpenSearch, OPM Provenance, and Shared SciFlo Workflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, B. D.; Manipon, G.; Hua, H.; Fetzer, E.

2011-12-01

Under several NASA grants, we are generating multi-sensor merged atmospheric datasets to enable the detection of instrument biases and studies of climate trends over decades of data. For example, under a NASA MEASURES grant we are producing a water vapor climatology from the A-Train instruments, stratified by the Cloudsat cloud classification for each geophysical scene. The generation and proper use of such multi-sensor climate data records (CDR's) requires a high level of openness, transparency, and traceability. To make the datasets self-documenting and provide access to full metadata and traceability, we have implemented a set of capabilities and services using known, interoperable protocols. These protocols include OpenSearch, OPeNDAP, Open Provenance Model, service & data casting technologies using Atom feeds, and REST-callable analysis workflows implemented as SciFlo (XML) documents. We advocate that our approach can serve as a blueprint for how to openly "document and serve" complex, multi-sensor CDR's with full traceability. The capabilities and services provided include: - Discovery of the collections by keyword search, exposed using OpenSearch protocol; - Space/time query across the CDR's granules and all of the input datasets via OpenSearch; - User-level configuration of the production workflows so that scientists can select additional physical variables from the A-Train to add to the next iteration of the merged datasets; - Efficient data merging using on-the-fly OPeNDAP variable slicing & spatial subsetting of data out of input netCDF and HDF files (without moving the entire files); - Self-documenting CDR's published in a highly usable netCDF4 format with groups used to organize the variables, CF-style attributes for each variable, numeric array compression, & links to OPM provenance; - Recording of processing provenance and data lineage into a query-able provenance trail in Open Provenance Model (OPM) format, auto-captured by the workflow engine; - Open Publishing of all of the workflows used to generate products as machine-callable REST web services, using the capabilities of the SciFlo workflow engine; - Advertising of the metadata (e.g. physical variables provided, space/time bounding box, etc.) for our prepared datasets as "datacasts" using the Atom feed format; - Publishing of all datasets via our "DataDrop" service, which exploits the WebDAV protocol to enable scientists to access remote data directories as local files on their laptops; - Rich "web browse" of the CDR's with full metadata and the provenance trail one click away; - Advertising of all services as Google-discoverable "service casts" using the Atom format. The presentation will describe our use of the interoperable protocols and demonstrate the capabilities and service GUI's.

NOAA's Scientific Data Stewardship Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bates, J. J.

2004-12-01

The NOAA mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet the Nation's economic, social and environmental needs. NOAA has responsibility for long-term archiving of the United States environmental data and has recently integrated several data management functions into a concept called Scientific Data Stewardship. Scientific Data Stewardship a new paradigm in data management consisting of an integrated suite of functions to preserve and exploit the full scientific value of NOAA's, and the world's, environmental data These functions include careful monitoring of observing system performance for long-term applications, the generation of authoritative long-term climate records from multiple observing platforms, and the proper archival of and timely access to data and metadata. NOAA has developed a conceptual framework to implement the functions of scientific data stewardship. This framework has five objectives: 1) develop real-time monitoring of all satellite observing systems for climate applications, 2) process large volumes of satellite data extending up to decades in length to account for systematic errors and to eliminate artifacts in the raw data (referred to as fundamental climate data records, FCDRs), 3) generate retrieved geophysical parameters from the FCDRs (referred to as thematic climate data records TCDRs) including combining observations from all sources, 4) conduct monitoring and research by analyzing data sets to uncover climate trends and to provide evaluation and feedback for steps 2) and 3), and 5) provide archives of metadata, FCDRs, and TCDRs, and facilitate distribution of these data to the user community. The term `climate data record' and related terms, such as climate data set, have been used for some time, but the climate community has yet to settle on a concensus definition. A recent United States National Academy of Sciences report recommends using the following definition: a climate data record (CDR) is a time series of measurements of sufficient length, consistency, and continuity to determine climate variability and change.

A long-term Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent product (JASMES) deriving from satellite-borne optical sensors using consistent objective criteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hori, M.; Sugiura, K.; Kobayashi, K.; Aoki, T.; Tanikawa, T.; Niwano, M.; Enomoto, H.

2017-12-01

A long-term Northern Hemisphere (NH) snow cover extent (SCE) product (JASMES SCE) was developed from the application of a consistent objective snow cover mapping algorithm to satellite-borne optical sensors (NOAA/AVHRR and NASA's optical sensor MODIS) from 1982 to the present. We estimated NH SCE from weekly composited snow cover maps and evaluated the accuracies of snow cover detection using in-situ snow data. As benchmark SCE product, we also evaluated the accuracy of SCE maps from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Data Record (NOAA-CDR) product. The evaluation showed that JASMES SCE has more temporally stable accuracies. Seasonally averaged SCE derived from JASMES exhibited negative slopes in all seasons which is opposite to those of NOAA-CDR SCE in the fall and winter seasons. The spatial pattern of annual snow cover duration (SCD) trends exhibited noticeable asymmetric pattern between continents with the largest negative trends seen over western Eurasia. The NH SCE product will be connected to the data of the Japanese Earth Observing satellite named "Global Change Observation Mission for Climate (GCOM-C)" to be launched in late 2017.

Assessing concentration uncertainty estimates from passive microwave sea ice products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meier, W.; Brucker, L.; Miller, J. A.

2017-12-01

Sea ice concentration is an essential climate variable and passive microwave derived estimates of concentration are one of the longest satellite-derived climate records. However, until recently uncertainty estimates were not provided. Numerous validation studies provided insight into general error characteristics, but the studies have found that concentration error varied greatly depending on sea ice conditions. Thus, an uncertainty estimate from each observation is desired, particularly for initialization, assimilation, and validation of models. Here we investigate three sea ice products that include an uncertainty for each concentration estimate: the NASA Team 2 algorithm product, the EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI-SAF) product, and the NOAA/NSIDC Climate Data Record (CDR) product. Each product estimates uncertainty with a completely different approach. The NASA Team 2 product derives uncertainty internally from the algorithm method itself. The OSI-SAF uses atmospheric reanalysis fields and a radiative transfer model. The CDR uses spatial variability from two algorithms. Each approach has merits and limitations. Here we evaluate the uncertainty estimates by comparing the passive microwave concentration products with fields derived from the NOAA VIIRS sensor. The results show that the relationship between the product uncertainty estimates and the concentration error (relative to VIIRS) is complex. This may be due to the sea ice conditions, the uncertainty methods, as well as the spatial and temporal variability of the passive microwave and VIIRS products.

Assessment of Developing Intensity Duration Frequency Curves using Satellite Observations (Case Study)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ombadi, Mohammed; Nguyen, Phu; Sorooshian, Soroosh

2017-12-01

Intensity Duration Frequency (IDF) curves are essential for the resilient design of infrastructures. Since their earlier development, IDF relationships have been derived using precipitation records from rainfall gauge stations. However, with the recent advancement in satellite observation of precipitation which provides near global coverage and high spatiotemporal resolution, it is worthy of attention to investigate the validity of utilizing the relatively short record length of satellite rainfall to generate robust IDF relationships. These satellite-based IDF can address the paucity of such information in the developing countries. Few studies have used satellite precipitation data in IDF development but mainly focused on merging satellite and gauge precipitation. In this study, however, IDF have been derived solely from satellite observations using PERSIANN-CDR (Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Record). The unique PERSIANN-CDR attributes of high spatial resolution (0.25°×0.25°), daily temporal resolution and a record dating back to 1983 allow for the investigation at fine resolution. The results are compared over most of the contiguous United States against NOAA Atlas 14. The impact of using different methods of sampling, distribution estimators and regionalization in the resulting relationships is investigated. Main challenges to estimate robust and accurate IDF from satellite observations are also highlighted.

The new climate data record of total and spectral solar irradiance: Current progress and future steps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coddington, Odele; Lean, Judith; Rottman, Gary; Pilewskie, Peter; Snow, Martin; Lindholm, Doug

2016-04-01

We present a climate data record of Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) and Solar Spectral Irradiance (SSI), with associated time and wavelength dependent uncertainties, from 1610 to the present. The data record was developed jointly by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) as part of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Climate Data Record (CDR) Program, where the data record, source code, and supporting documentation are archived. TSI and SSI are constructed from models that determine the changes from quiet Sun conditions arising from bright faculae and dark sunspots on the solar disk using linear regression of proxies of solar magnetic activity with observations from the SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM), Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM), and SOlar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE). We show that TSI can be separately modeled to within TIM's measurement accuracy from solar rotational to solar cycle time scales and we assume that SSI measurements are reliable on solar rotational time scales. We discuss the model formulation, uncertainty estimates, and operational implementation and present comparisons of the modeled TSI and SSI with the measurement record and with other solar irradiance models. We also discuss ongoing work to assess the sensitivity of the modeled irradiances to model assumptions, namely, the scaling of solar variability from rotational-to-cycle time scales and the representation of the sunspot darkening index.

NPP Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Predicted Sensor Performance Calibration and Preliminary Data Product Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Priestly, Kory; Smith, George L.; Thomas, Susan; Maddock, Suzanne L.

2009-01-01

Continuation of the Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) Climate Data Record (CDR) has been identified as critical in the 2007 NRC Decadal Survey, the Global Climate Observing System WCRP report, and in an assessment titled Impacts of NPOESS Nunn-McCurdy Certification on Joint NASA-NOAA Climate Goals. In response, NASA, NOAA and NPOESS agreed in early 2008 to fly the final existing CERES Flight Model (FM-5) on the NPP spacecraft for launch in 2010. Future opportunities for ERB CDR continuity consist of procuring an additional CERES Sensor with modest performance upgrades for flight on the NPOESS C1 spacecraft in 2013, followed by a new CERES follow-on sensor for flight in 2018 on the NPOESS C3 spacecraft. While science goals remain unchanged for the long-term ERB Climate Data Record, it is now understood that the task of achieving these goals is more difficult for two reasons. The first is an increased understanding of the dynamics of the Earth/atmosphere system which demonstrates that rigorous separation of natural variability from anthropogenic change on decadal time scales requires higher accuracy and stability than originally envisioned. Secondly, future implementation scenarios involve less redundancy in flight hardware (1 vs. 2 orbits and operational sensors) resulting in higher risk of loss of continuity and reduced number of independent observations to characterize performance of individual sensors. Although EOS CERES CDR's realize a factor of 2 to 4 improvement in accuracy and stability over previous ERBE CDR's, future sensors will require an additional factor of 2 improvement to answer rigorously the science questions moving forward. Modest investments, defined through the CERES Science Team s 30-year operational history of the EOS CERES sensors, in onboard calibration hardware and pre-flight calibration and test program will ensure meeting these goals while reducing costs in re-processing scientific datasets. The CERES FM-5 pre-flight radiometric characterization program benefited from the 30-year operational experience of the CERES EOS sensors, as well as a stronger emphasis of radiometric characterization in the Statement of Work with the sensor provider. Improvements to the pre-flight program included increased spectral, spatial, and temporal sampling under vacuum conditions as well as additional tests to characterize the primary and transfer standards in the calibration facility. Future work will include collaboration with NIST to further enhance the understanding of the radiometric performance of this equipment prior to flight. The current effort summarizes these improvements to the CERES FM-5 pre-flight sensor characterization program, as well as modifications to inflight calibration procedures and operational tasking. In addition, an estimate of the impacts to the system level accuracy and traceability is presented.

Uncertainty information in climate data records from Earth observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merchant, C. J.

2017-12-01

How to derive and present uncertainty in climate data records (CDRs) has been debated within the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative, in search of common principles applicable across a range of essential climate variables. Various points of consensus have been reached, including the importance of improving provision of uncertainty information and the benefit of adopting international norms of metrology for language around the distinct concepts of uncertainty and error. Providing an estimate of standard uncertainty per datum (or the means to readily calculate it) emerged as baseline good practice, and should be highly relevant to users of CDRs when the uncertainty in data is variable (the usual case). Given this baseline, the role of quality flags is clarified as being complementary to and not repetitive of uncertainty information. Data with high uncertainty are not poor quality if a valid estimate of the uncertainty is available. For CDRs and their applications, the error correlation properties across spatio-temporal scales present important challenges that are not fully solved. Error effects that are negligible in the uncertainty of a single pixel may dominate uncertainty in the large-scale and long-term. A further principle is that uncertainty estimates should themselves be validated. The concepts of estimating and propagating uncertainty are generally acknowledged in geophysical sciences, but less widely practised in Earth observation and development of CDRs. Uncertainty in a CDR depends in part (and usually significantly) on the error covariance of the radiances and auxiliary data used in the retrieval. Typically, error covariance information is not available in the fundamental CDR (FCDR) (i.e., with the level-1 radiances), since provision of adequate level-1 uncertainty information is not yet standard practice. Those deriving CDRs thus cannot propagate the radiance uncertainty to their geophysical products. The FIDUCEO project (www.fiduceo.eu) is demonstrating metrologically sound methodologies addressing this problem for four key historical CDRs. FIDUCEO methods of uncertainty analysis (which also tend to lead to improved FCDRs and CDRs) could support coherent treatment of uncertainty across FCDRs to CDRs and higher level products for a wide range of essential climate variables.

Developing NOAA's Climate Data Records From AVHRR and Other Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Privette, J. L.; Bates, J. J.; Kearns, E. J.

2010-12-01

As part of the provisional NOAA Climate Service, NOAA is providing leadership in the development of authoritative, measurement-based information on climate change and variability. NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) recently initiated a satellite Climate Data Record Program (CDRP) to provide sustained and objective climate information derived from meteorological satellite data that NOAA has collected over the past 30+ years - particularly from its Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) program. These are the longest sustained global measurement records in the world and represent billions of dollars of investment. NOAA is now applying advanced analysis methods -- which have improved remarkably over the last decade -- to the POES AVHRR and other instrument data. Data from other satellite programs, including NASA and international research programs and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), are also being used. This process will unravel the underlying climate trend and variability information and return new value from the records. In parallel, NCDC will extend these records by applying the same methods to present-day and future satellite measurements, including the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and Jason-3. In this presentation, we will describe the AVHRR-related algorithm development activities that CDRP recently selected and funded through open competitions. We will particularly discuss some of the technical challenges related to adapting and using AVHRR algorithms with the VIIRS data that should become available with the launch of the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite in early 2012. We will also describe IT system development activities that will provide data processing and reprocessing, storage and management. We will also outline the maturing Program framework, including the strategies for coding and development standards, community reviews, independent program oversight, and research-to-operations algorithm migration and execution. Timeline of NOAA's polar orbiters that carried AVHRR. NOAA's approach to flying the same or similar instruments sequentially is well-suited to CDR development.

A Comparison of Reliability Measures for Continuous and Discontinuous Recording Methods: Inflated Agreement Scores with Partial Interval Recording and Momentary Time Sampling for Duration Events

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rapp, John T.; Carroll, Regina A.; Stangeland, Lindsay; Swanson, Greg; Higgins, William J.

2011-01-01

The authors evaluated the extent to which interobserver agreement (IOA) scores, using the block-by-block method for events scored with continuous duration recording (CDR), were higher when the data from the same sessions were converted to discontinuous methods. Sessions with IOA scores of 89% or less with CDR were rescored using 10-s partial…

The Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Intercomparison Project (CDRMIP): rationale and experimental protocol for CMIP6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keller, David P.; Lenton, Andrew; Scott, Vivian; Vaughan, Naomi E.; Bauer, Nico; Ji, Duoying; Jones, Chris D.; Kravitz, Ben; Muri, Helene; Zickfeld, Kirsten

2018-03-01

The recent IPCC reports state that continued anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are changing the climate, threatening severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts. Slow progress in emissions reduction to mitigate climate change is resulting in increased attention to what is called geoengineering, climate engineering, or climate intervention - deliberate interventions to counter climate change that seek to either modify the Earth's radiation budget or remove greenhouse gases such as CO2 from the atmosphere. When focused on CO2, the latter of these categories is called carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Future emission scenarios that stay well below 2 °C, and all emission scenarios that do not exceed 1.5 °C warming by the year 2100, require some form of CDR. At present, there is little consensus on the climate impacts and atmospheric CO2 reduction efficacy of the different types of proposed CDR. To address this need, the Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Intercomparison Project (or CDRMIP) was initiated. This project brings together models of the Earth system in a common framework to explore the potential, impacts, and challenges of CDR. Here, we describe the first set of CDRMIP experiments, which are formally part of the 6th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). These experiments are designed to address questions concerning CDR-induced climate reversibility, the response of the Earth system to direct atmospheric CO2 removal (direct air capture and storage), and the CDR potential and impacts of afforestation and reforestation, as well as ocean alkalinization.>

The Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Intercomparison Project (CDRMIP): rationale and experimental protocol for CMIP6

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Keller, David P.; Lenton, Andrew; Scott, Vivian

The recent IPCC reports state that continued anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are changing the climate, threatening severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts. Slow progress in emissions reduction to mitigate climate change is resulting in increased attention to what is called geoengineering, climate engineering, or climate intervention – deliberate interventions to counter climate change that seek to either modify the Earth's radiation budget or remove greenhouse gases such as CO 2 from the atmosphere. When focused on CO 2, the latter of these categories is called carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Future emission scenarios that stay well below 2 °C, and all emissionmore » scenarios that do not exceed 1.5 °C warming by the year 2100, require some form of CDR. At present, there is little consensus on the climate impacts and atmospheric CO 2 reduction efficacy of the different types of proposed CDR. To address this need, the Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Intercomparison Project (or CDRMIP) was initiated. This project brings together models of the Earth system in a common framework to explore the potential, impacts, and challenges of CDR. Here, we describe the first set of CDRMIP experiments, which are formally part of the 6th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). These experiments are designed to address questions concerning CDR-induced climate reversibility, the response of the Earth system to direct atmospheric CO 2 removal (direct air capture and storage), and the CDR potential and impacts of afforestation and reforestation, as well as ocean alkalinization.>« less

Effectiveness of carbon dioxide removal in lowering atmospheric CO2 and reversing global warming in the context of 1.5 degrees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zickfeld, K.; Azevedo, D.

2017-12-01

The majority of emissions scenarios that limit warming to 2°C, and nearly all emission scenarios that do not exceed 1.5°C warming by the year 2100 require artificial removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies in these scenarios are required to offset emissions from sectors that are difficult or costly to decarbonize and to generate global `net negative' emissions, allowing to compensate for earlier emissions and to meet long-term climate stabilization targets after overshoot. Only a few studies have explored the Earth system response to CDR and large uncertainties exist regarding the effect of CDR on the carbon cycle and its effectiveness in reversing climate impacts after overshoot. Here we explore the effectiveness of CDR in lowering atmospheric CO2 ("carbon cycle effectiveness") and cool global climate ("cooling effectiveness"). We force the University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model, a model of intermediate complexity, with a set of negative CO2 emissions pulses of different magnitude and applied from different background atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We find the carbon cycle effectiveness of CDR - defined as the change in atmospheric CO2 per unit CO2 removed - decreases with the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere and increases at higher background CO2 concentrations from which CDR is applied due to nonlinear responses of carbon sinks to CO2 and climate. The cooling effectiveness - defined as the change in global mean surface air temperature per unit CO2 removed - on the other hand, is largely insensitive to the amount of CO2 removed, but decreases if CDR is applied at higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations, due to the logarithmic relationship between atmospheric CO2 and radiative forcing. Based on our results we conclude that CDR is more effective in restoring a lower atmospheric CO2 concentration and reversing impacts directly linked to CO2 at lower levels of overshoot. CDR's effectiveness in restoring a cooler climate, on the other hand, is largely insensitive to the level of overshoot.

Intercomparison of PERSIANN-CDR and TRMM-3B42V7 precipitation estimates at monthly and daily time scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katiraie-Boroujerdy, Pari-Sima; Akbari Asanjan, Ata; Hsu, Kuo-lin; Sorooshian, Soroosh

2017-09-01

In the first part of this paper, monthly precipitation data from Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 3B42 algorithm Version 7 (TRMM-3B42V7) are evaluated over Iran using the Generalized Three-Cornered Hat (GTCH) method which is self-sufficient of reference data as input. Climate Data Unit (CRU) is added to the GTCH evaluations as an independent gauge-based dataset thus, the minimum requirement of three datasets for the model is satisfied. To ensure consistency of all datasets, the two satellite products were aggregated to 0.5° spatial resolution, which is the minimum resolution of CRU. The results show that the PERSIANN-CDR has higher Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) than TRMM-3B42V7 for the monthly rainfall estimation, especially in the northern half of the country. All datasets showed low SNR in the mountainous area of southwestern Iran, as well as the arid parts in the southeast region of the country. Additionally, in order to evaluate the efficacy of PERSIANN-CDR and TRMM-3B42V7 in capturing extreme daily-precipitation amounts, an in-situ rain-gauge dataset collected by the Islamic Republic of the Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO) was employed. Given the sparsity of the rain gauges, only 0.25° pixels containing three or more gauges were used for this evaluation. There were 228 such pixels where daily and extreme rainfall from PERSIANN-CDR and TRMM-3B42V7 could be compared. However, TRMM-3B42V7 overestimates most of the intensity indices (correlation coefficients; R between 0.7648-0.8311, Root Mean Square Error; RMSE between 3.29mm/day-21.2mm/5day); PERSIANN-CDR underestimates these extremes (R between 0.6349-0.7791 and RMSE between 3.59mm/day-30.56mm/5day). Both satellite products show higher correlation coefficients and lower RMSEs for the annual mean of consecutive dry spells than wet spells. The results show that TRMM-3B42V7 can capture the annual mean of the absolute indices (the number of wet days in which daily precipitation > 10 mm, 20 mm) better than PERSIANN-CDR. The results of daily evaluations show that the similarity of Empirical Cumulative Density Function (ECDF) of satellite products and IRIMO gauges daily precipitation, as well as dry spells with different thresholds in some selected pixels (include at least five gauges), are significant. The results also indicate that ECDFs become more significant when threshold increases. In terms of regional analyses, the higher SNR of the products on monthly (based on the GTCH method) and daily evaluations (significant ECDFs) is mostly consistent.

Use and Limitations of a Climate-Quality Data Record to Study Temperature Trends on the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Comiso, Josefino C.; Shuman, Christopher A.; Koenig, Lora S.; DiGirolamo, Nicolo E.

2011-01-01

Enhanced melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet has been documented in recent literature along with surface-temperature increases measured using infrared satellite data since 1981. Using a recently-developed climate-quality data record, 11- and 12-year trends in the clear-sky ice-surface temperature (IST) of the Greenland Ice Sheet have been studied using the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) IST product. Daily and monthly MODIS ISTs of the Greenland Ice Sheet beginning on 1 March 2000 and continuing through 31 December 2010 are now available at 6.25-km spatial resolution on a polar stereographic grid as described in Hall et al. (submitted). This record will be elevated in status to a climate-data record (CDR) when more years of data become available either from the MODIS on the Terra or Aqua satellites, or from the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to be launched in October 2011. Maps showing the maximum extent of melt for the entire ice sheet and for the six major drainage basins have been developed from the MODIS IST dataset. Twelve-year trends of the duration of the melt season on the ice sheet vary in different drainage basins with some basins melting progressively earlier over the course of the study period. Some (but not all) of the basins also show a progressively-longer duration of melt. IST 12-year trends are compared with in-situ data, and climate data from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) Reanalysis.

An overview of sensor calibration inter-comparison and applications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Xiong, Xiaoxiong; Cao, Changyong; Chander, Gyanesh

2010-01-01

Long-term climate data records (CDR) are often constructed using observations made by multiple Earth observing sensors over a broad range of spectra and a large scale in both time and space. These sensors can be of the same or different types operated on the same or different platforms. They can be developed and built with different technologies and are likely operated over different time spans. It has been known that the uncertainty of climate models and data records depends not only on the calibration quality (accuracy and stability) of individual sensors, but also on their calibration consistency across instruments and platforms. Therefore, sensor calibration inter-comparison and validation have become increasingly demanding and will continue to play an important role for a better understanding of the science product quality. This paper provides an overview of different methodologies, which have been successfully applied for sensor calibration inter-comparison. Specific examples using different sensors, including MODIS, AVHRR, and ETM+, are presented to illustrate the implementation of these methodologies.

Use and Limitations of a Climate-Quality Data Record to Study Temperature Trends on the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, D. K.; Comiso, J. C.; Shuman, C. A.; Koenig, L.; DiGirolamo, N. E.

2011-12-01

Enhanced melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet has been documented in recent literature along with surface-temperature increases measured using infrared satellite data since 1981. Using a recently-developed climate-quality data record, 11- and 12-year trends in the clear-sky ice-surface temperature (IST) of the Greenland Ice Sheet have been studied using the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) IST product. Daily and monthly MODIS ISTs of the Greenland Ice Sheet beginning on 1 March 2000 and continuing through 31 December 2010 are now available at 6.25-km spatial resolution on a polar stereographic grid as described in Hall et al. (submitted). This record will be elevated in status to a climate-data record (CDR) when more years of data become available either from the MODIS on the Terra or Aqua satellites, or from the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to be launched in October 2011. Maps showing the maximum extent of melt for the entire ice sheet and for the six major drainage basins have been developed from the MODIS IST dataset. Twelve-year trends in the extent of melt and duration of the melt season on the ice sheet vary in different drainage basins with some basins melting progressively earlier over the course of the study period. Some (but not all) of the basins also show a progressively-longer duration of melt. Twelve-year trends in IST are compared with in-situ data, and climate data from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) Reanalysis. Hall, D.K., J.C. Comiso, N.E. DiGirolamo, C.A. Shuman, J. Key and L.S. Koenig, submitted for journal publication: A Satellite-Derived Climate-Quality Data Record of the Clear-Sky Surface Temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Towards a long-term global aerosol optical depth record: applying a consistent aerosol retrieval algorithm to MODIS and VIIRS-observed reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, R. C.; Munchak, L. A.; Mattoo, S.; Patadia, F.; Remer, L. A.; Holz, R. E.

2015-10-01

To answer fundamental questions about aerosols in our changing climate, we must quantify both the current state of aerosols and how they are changing. Although NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors have provided quantitative information about global aerosol optical depth (AOD) for more than a decade, this period is still too short to create an aerosol climate data record (CDR). The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) was launched on the Suomi-NPP satellite in late 2011, with additional copies planned for future satellites. Can the MODIS aerosol data record be continued with VIIRS to create a consistent CDR? When compared to ground-based AERONET data, the VIIRS Environmental Data Record (V_EDR) has similar validation statistics as the MODIS Collection 6 (M_C6) product. However, the V_EDR and M_C6 are offset in regards to global AOD magnitudes, and tend to provide different maps of 0.55 μm AOD and 0.55/0.86 μm-based Ångström Exponent (AE). One reason is that the retrieval algorithms are different. Using the Intermediate File Format (IFF) for both MODIS and VIIRS data, we have tested whether we can apply a single MODIS-like (ML) dark-target algorithm on both sensors that leads to product convergence. Except for catering the radiative transfer and aerosol lookup tables to each sensor's specific wavelength bands, the ML algorithm is the same for both. We run the ML algorithm on both sensors between March 2012 and May 2014, and compare monthly mean AOD time series with each other and with M_C6 and V_EDR products. Focusing on the March-April-May (MAM) 2013 period, we compared additional statistics that include global and gridded 1° × 1° AOD and AE, histograms, sampling frequencies, and collocations with ground-based AERONET. Over land, use of the ML algorithm clearly reduces the differences between the MODIS and VIIRS-based AOD. However, although global offsets are near zero, some regional biases remain, especially in cloud fields and over brighter surface targets. Over ocean, use of the ML algorithm actually increases the offset between VIIRS and MODIS-based AOD (to ~ 0.025), while reducing the differences between AE. We characterize algorithm retrievability through statistics of retrieval fraction. In spite of differences between retrieved AOD magnitudes, the ML algorithm will lead to similar decisions about "whether to retrieve" on each sensor. Finally, we discuss how issues of calibration, as well as instrument spatial resolution may be contributing to the statistics and the ability to create a consistent MODIS → VIIRS aerosol CDR.

Towards a long-term global aerosol optical depth record: applying a consistent aerosol retrieval algorithm to MODIS and VIIRS-observed reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, R. C.; Munchak, L. A.; Mattoo, S.; Patadia, F.; Remer, L. A.; Holz, R. E.

2015-07-01

To answer fundamental questions about aerosols in our changing climate, we must quantify both the current state of aerosols and how they are changing. Although NASA's Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors have provided quantitative information about global aerosol optical depth (AOD) for more than a decade, this period is still too short to create an aerosol climate data record (CDR). The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) was launched on the Suomi-NPP satellite in late 2011, with additional copies planned for future satellites. Can the MODIS aerosol data record be continued with VIIRS to create a consistent CDR? When compared to ground-based AERONET data, the VIIRS Environmental Data Record (V_EDR) has similar validation statistics as the MODIS Collection 6 (M_C6) product. However, the V_EDR and M_C6 are offset in regards to global AOD magnitudes, and tend to provide different maps of 0.55 μm AOD and 0.55/0.86 μm-based Ångstrom Exponent (AE). One reason is that the retrieval algorithms are different. Using the Intermediate File Format (IFF) for both MODIS and VIIRS data, we have tested whether we can apply a single MODIS-like (ML) dark-target algorithm on both sensors that leads to product convergence. Except for catering the radiative transfer and aerosol lookup tables to each sensor's specific wavelength bands, the ML algorithm is the same for both. We run the ML algorithm on both sensors between March 2012 and May 2014, and compare monthly mean AOD time series with each other and with M_C6 and V_EDR products. Focusing on the March-April-May (MAM) 2013 period, we compared additional statistics that include global and gridded 1° × 1° AOD and AE, histograms, sampling frequencies, and collocations with ground-based AERONET. Over land, use of the ML algorithm clearly reduces the differences between the MODIS and VIIRS-based AOD. However, although global offsets are near zero, some regional biases remain, especially in cloud fields and over brighter surface targets. Over ocean, use of the ML algorithm actually increases the offset between VIIRS and MODIS-based AOD (to ∼ 0.025), while reducing the differences between AE. We characterize algorithm retrievibility through statistics of retrieval fraction. In spite of differences between retrieved AOD magnitudes, the ML algorithm will lead to similar decisions about "whether to retrieve" on each sensor. Finally, we discuss how issues of calibration, as well as instrument spatial resolution may be contributing to the statistics and the ability to create a consistent MODIS → VIIRS aerosol CDR.

Rightsizing expectations for carbon dioxide removal towards ambitious climate goals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mach, K. J.; Field, C. B.

2017-12-01

Proven approaches for reducing heat-trapping emissions are increasingly cost competitive and feasible at scale. Such approaches include renewable-energy technologies, energy efficiency, reduced deforestation, and abatement of industrial and agricultural emissions. Their pace of deployment, though, is far from sufficient to limit warming well below 2°C above preindustrial levels, the goal of the Paris Agreement. Against this backdrop, technologies for carbon removal are increasingly asserted as key to climate policy. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), or negative emissions, technologies can compensate for ongoing emissions, helping keep ambitious warming limits in reach. The dramatic rise of CDR approaches in analysis and planning towards ambitious climate goals, however, has stirred up discomfort and debate. Focusing on rightsizing CDR expectations, this presentation will first briefly reflect on the status of the suite of CDR possibilities. The options include strategies grounded in improved ecosystem stewardship (e.g., reforestation and afforestation, conservation agriculture); strategies that are also biomass-based but with more engineering and more trade-offs (e.g., biochar additions to soils, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage); and engineered, nonbiological approaches (e.g., enhanced weathering, direct air capture). Second, the presentation will evaluate constraints surrounding CDR deployment at large scale and in peak-and-decline scenarios. These constraints involve, for example, unprecedented rates of land transformation in climate change mitigation pathways limiting warming to 2°C with high probability. They also entail the substantial, little studied risks of scenarios with temperatures peaking and then declining. Third, the presentation will review emerging lessons from CDR implementation to date, such as in legally enforceable forest-offset projects, along with near-term opportunities for catalyzing CDR, such as through low-cost opportunities for carbon capture and storage.

Integrated Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rickels, W.; Reith, F.; Keller, D.; Oschlies, A.; Quaas, M. F.

2018-03-01

To maintain the chance of keeping the average global temperature increase below 2°C and to limit long-term climate change, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (carbon dioxide removal, CDR) is becoming increasingly necessary. We analyze optimal and cost-effective climate policies in the dynamic integrated assessment model (IAM) of climate and the economy (DICE2016R) and investigate (1) the utilization of (ocean) CDR under different climate objectives, (2) the sensitivity of policies with respect to carbon cycle feedbacks, and (3) how well carbon cycle feedbacks are captured in the carbon cycle models used in state-of-the-art IAMs. Overall, the carbon cycle model in DICE2016R shows clear improvements compared to its predecessor, DICE2013R, capturing much better long-term dynamics and also oceanic carbon outgassing due to excess oceanic storage of carbon from CDR. However, this comes at the cost of a (too) tight short-term remaining emission budget, limiting the model suitability to analyze low-emission scenarios accurately. With DICE2016R, the compliance with the 2°C goal is no longer feasible without negative emissions via CDR. Overall, the optimal amount of CDR has to take into account (1) the emission substitution effect and (2) compensation for carbon cycle feedbacks.

Ecological Limits to Terrestrial Carbon Dioxide Removal Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, L. J.; Torn, M. S.; Jones, A. D.

2011-12-01

Carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere through terrestrial carbon sequestration and bioenergy (biological CDR) is a proposed climate change mitigation strategy. Biological CDR increases the carbon storage capacity of soils and biomass through changes in land cover and use, including reforestation, afforestation, conversion of land to agriculture for biofuels, conversion of degraded land to grassland, and alternative management practices such as conservation tillage. While biological CDR may play a valuable role in future climate change mitigation, many of its proponents fail to account for the full range of biological, biophysical, hydrologic, and economic complexities associated with proposed land use changes. In this analysis, we identify and discuss a set of ecological limits and impacts associated with terrestrial CDR. The capacity of biofuels, soils, and other living biomass to sequester carbon may be constrained by nutrient and water availability, soil dynamics, and local climate effects, all of which can change spatially and temporally in unpredictable ways. Even if CDR is effective at sequestering CO2, its associated land use and land cover changes may negatively impact ecological resources by compromising water quality and availability, degrading soils, reducing biodiversity, displacing agriculture, and altering local climate through albedo and evapotranspiration changes. Measures taken to overcome ecological limitations, such as fertilizer addition and irrigation, may exacerbate these impacts even further. The ecological considerations and quantitative analyses that we present highlight uncertainties introduced by ecological complexity, disagreements between models, perverse economic incentives, and changing environmental factors. We do not reject CDR as a potentially valuable strategy for climate change mitigation; ecosystem protection, restoration, and improved management practices could enhance soil fertility and protect biodiversity while reducing increases in atmospheric CO2. Rather, we emphasize the importance of evaluating the full set of biological, physical, economic, and political realities that accompany land-use changes and manipulations to the carbon cycle. While the immediate goal of biological CDR is to reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations, its ultimate goal in mitigating climate change is to reduce the threats to ecosystems and society. Sequestering carbon at the cost of ecosystem health would not be a sensible approach.

Optimal bioenergy power generation for climate change mitigation with or without carbon sequestration.

PubMed

Woolf, Dominic; Lehmann, Johannes; Lee, David R

2016-10-21

Restricting global warming below 2 °C to avoid catastrophic climate change will require atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Current integrated assessment models (IAMs) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios assume that CDR within the energy sector would be delivered using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). Although bioenergy-biochar systems (BEBCS) can also deliver CDR, they are not included in any IPCC scenario. Here we show that despite BECCS offering twice the carbon sequestration and bioenergy per unit biomass, BEBCS may allow earlier deployment of CDR at lower carbon prices when long-term improvements in soil fertility offset biochar production costs. At carbon prices above $1,000 Mg -1 C, BECCS is most frequently (P>0.45, calculated as the fraction of Monte Carlo simulations in which BECCS is the most cost effective) the most economic biomass technology for climate-change mitigation. At carbon prices below $1,000 Mg -1 C, BEBCS is the most cost-effective technology only where biochar significantly improves agricultural yields, with pure bioenergy systems being otherwise preferred.

Optimal bioenergy power generation for climate change mitigation with or without carbon sequestration

PubMed Central

Woolf, Dominic; Lehmann, Johannes; Lee, David R.

2016-01-01

Restricting global warming below 2 °C to avoid catastrophic climate change will require atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Current integrated assessment models (IAMs) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios assume that CDR within the energy sector would be delivered using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). Although bioenergy-biochar systems (BEBCS) can also deliver CDR, they are not included in any IPCC scenario. Here we show that despite BECCS offering twice the carbon sequestration and bioenergy per unit biomass, BEBCS may allow earlier deployment of CDR at lower carbon prices when long-term improvements in soil fertility offset biochar production costs. At carbon prices above $1,000 Mg−1 C, BECCS is most frequently (P>0.45, calculated as the fraction of Monte Carlo simulations in which BECCS is the most cost effective) the most economic biomass technology for climate-change mitigation. At carbon prices below $1,000 Mg−1 C, BEBCS is the most cost-effective technology only where biochar significantly improves agricultural yields, with pure bioenergy systems being otherwise preferred. PMID:27767177

ECOSYSTEM IMPACTS OF GEOENGINEERING: A Review for Developing a Science Plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Russell, Lynn M; Jackson, Robert B; Norby, Richard J

2012-01-01

Geoengineering methods are intended to reduce the magnitude of climate change, which is already having demonstrable effects on ecosystem structure and functioning. Two different types of activities have been proposed: solar radiation management (SRM), or sunlight reflection methods, which involves reflecting a small percentage of solar light back into space to offset the warming due to greenhouse gases, and carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which includes a range of engineered and biological processes to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. This report evaluates some of the possible impacts of CDR and SRM on the physical climate and their subsequent influencemore » on ecosystems, which include the risks and uncertainties associated with new kinds of purposeful perturbations to the Earth. Therefore, the question considered in this review is whether CDR and SRM methods would exacerbate or alleviate the deleterious impacts on ecosystems associated with climate changes that might occur in the foreseeable future.Geoengineering methods are intended to reduce the magnitude of climate change, which is already having demonstrable effects on ecosystem structure and functioning. Two different types of activities have been proposed: solar radiation management (SRM), or sunlight reflection methods, which involves reflecting a small percentage of solar light back into space to offset the warming due to greenhouse gases, and carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which includes a range of engineered and biological processes to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. This report evaluates some of the possible impacts of CDR and SRM on the physical climate and their subsequent influence on ecosystems, which include the risks and uncertainties associated with new kinds of purposeful perturbations to the Earth. Therefore, the question considered in this review is whether CDR and SRM methods would exacerbate or alleviate the deleterious impacts on ecosystems associated with climate changes that might occur in the foreseeable future.« less

Evaluating and Extending the Ocean Wind Climate Data Record

PubMed Central

Ricciardulli, Lucrezia; Rodriguez, Ernesto; Stiles, Bryan W.; Bourassa, Mark A.; Long, David G.; Hoffman, Ross N.; Stoffelen, Ad; Verhoef, Anton; O'Neill, Larry W.; Farrar, J. Tomas; Vandemark, Douglas; Fore, Alexander G.; Hristova-Veleva, Svetla M.; Turk, F. Joseph; Gaston, Robert; Tyler, Douglas

2017-01-01

Satellite microwave sensors, both active scatterometers and passive radiometers, have been systematically measuring near-surface ocean winds for nearly 40 years, establishing an important legacy in studying and monitoring weather and climate variability. As an aid to such activities, the various wind datasets are being intercalibrated and merged into consistent climate data records (CDRs). The ocean wind CDRs (OW-CDRs) are evaluated by comparisons with ocean buoys and intercomparisons among the different satellite sensors and among the different data providers. Extending the OW-CDR into the future requires exploiting all available datasets, such as OSCAT-2 scheduled to launch in July 2016. Three planned methods of calibrating the OSCAT-2 σo measurements include 1) direct Ku-band σo intercalibration to QuikSCAT and RapidScat; 2) multisensor wind speed intercalibration; and 3) calibration to stable rainforest targets. Unfortunately, RapidScat failed in August 2016 and cannot be used to directly calibrate OSCAT-2. A particular future continuity concern is the absence of scheduled new or continuation radiometer missions capable of measuring wind speed. Specialized model assimilations provide 30-year long high temporal/spatial resolution wind vector grids that composite the satellite wind information from OW-CDRs of multiple satellites viewing the Earth at different local times. PMID:28824741

Evaluating and Extending the Ocean Wind Climate Data Record.

PubMed

Wentz, Frank J; Ricciardulli, Lucrezia; Rodriguez, Ernesto; Stiles, Bryan W; Bourassa, Mark A; Long, David G; Hoffman, Ross N; Stoffelen, Ad; Verhoef, Anton; O'Neill, Larry W; Farrar, J Tomas; Vandemark, Douglas; Fore, Alexander G; Hristova-Veleva, Svetla M; Turk, F Joseph; Gaston, Robert; Tyler, Douglas

2017-05-01

Satellite microwave sensors, both active scatterometers and passive radiometers, have been systematically measuring near-surface ocean winds for nearly 40 years, establishing an important legacy in studying and monitoring weather and climate variability. As an aid to such activities, the various wind datasets are being intercalibrated and merged into consistent climate data records (CDRs). The ocean wind CDRs (OW-CDRs) are evaluated by comparisons with ocean buoys and intercomparisons among the different satellite sensors and among the different data providers. Extending the OW-CDR into the future requires exploiting all available datasets, such as OSCAT-2 scheduled to launch in July 2016. Three planned methods of calibrating the OSCAT-2 σ o measurements include 1) direct Ku-band σ o intercalibration to QuikSCAT and RapidScat; 2) multisensor wind speed intercalibration; and 3) calibration to stable rainforest targets. Unfortunately, RapidScat failed in August 2016 and cannot be used to directly calibrate OSCAT-2. A particular future continuity concern is the absence of scheduled new or continuation radiometer missions capable of measuring wind speed. Specialized model assimilations provide 30-year long high temporal/spatial resolution wind vector grids that composite the satellite wind information from OW-CDRs of multiple satellites viewing the Earth at different local times.

Improvements and Advances to the Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) Ocean Vector Wind Analysis (V2.0 release)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, J. P.; Wentz, F. J.; Hoffman, R. N.; Atlas, R. M.

2016-02-01

Ocean vector wind is a valuable climate data record (CDR) useful in observing and monitoring changes in climate and air-sea interactions. Ocean surface wind stress influences such processes as heat, moisture, and momentum fluxes between the atmosphere and ocean, driving ocean currents and forcing ocean circulation. The Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) ocean vector wind analysis is a quarter-degree, six-hourly global ocean wind analysis product created using the variational analysis method (VAM) [Atlas et al., 1996; Hoffman et al., 2003]. The CCMP V1.1 wind product is a highly-esteemed, widely-used data set containing the longest gap-free record of satellite-based ocean vector wind data (July 1987 to June 2012). CCMP V1.1 was considered a "first-look" data set that used the most-timely, albeit preliminary, releases of satellite, in situ, and modeled ECMWF-Operational wind background fields. The authors have been working with the original producers of CCMP V1.1 to create an updated, improved, and consistently-reprocessed CCMP V2.0 ocean vector wind analysis data set. With Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) having recently updated all passive microwave satellite instrument calibrations and retrievals to the RSS Version-7 RTM standard, the reprocessing of the CCMP data set into a higher-quality CDR using inter-calibrated satellite inputs became feasible. In addition to the use of SSM/I, SSMIS, TRMM TMI, QuikSCAT, AMSRE, and WindSat instruments, AMSR2, GMI, and ASCAT have been also included in the CCMP V2.0 data set release, which has now been extended to the beginning of 2015. Additionally, the background field has been updated to use six-hourly, quarter-degree ERA-Interim wind vector inputs, and the quality-checks on the in situ data have been carefully reviewed and improved. The goal of the release of the CCMP V2.0 ocean wind vector analysis product is to serve as a merged ocean wind vector data set for climate studies. Diligent effort has been made by the authors to minimize systematic and spurious sources of error. The authors will present a complete discussion of upgrades made to the CCMP V2.0 data set, as well as present validation work that has been completed on the CCMP V2.0 wind analysis product.

A CERES-like Cloud Property Climatology Using AVHRR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnis, P.; Bedka, K. M.; Yost, C. R.; Trepte, Q.; Bedka, S. T.; Sun-Mack, S.; Doelling, D.

2015-12-01

Clouds affect the climate system by modulating the radiation budget and distributing precipitation. Variations in cloud patterns and properties are expected to accompany changes in climate. The NASA Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project developed an end-to-end analysis system to measure broadband radiances from a radiometer and retrieve cloud properties from collocated high-resolution MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to generate a long-term climate data record of clouds and clear-sky properties and top-of-atmosphere radiation budget. The first MODIS was not launched until 2000, so the current CERES record is only 15 years long at this point. The core of the algorithms used to retrieve the cloud properties from MODIS is based on the spectral complement of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), which has been aboard a string of satellites since 1978. The CERES cloud algorithms were adapted for application to AVHRR data and have been used to produce an ongoing CERES-like cloud property and surface temperature product that includes an initial narrowband-based radiation budget. This presentation will summarize this new product, which covers nearly 37 years, and its comparability with cloud parameters from CERES, CALIPSO, and other satellites. Examples of some applications of this dataset are given and the potential for generating a long-term radiation budget CDR is also discussed.

Evaluation of DVD-R for Archival Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Michael D.; Hyon, Jason J.

2000-01-01

For more than a decade, CD-ROM and CD-R have provided an unprecedented level of reliability, low cost and cross-platform compatibility to support federal data archiving and distribution efforts. However, it should be remembered that years of effort were required to achieve the standardization that has supported the growth of the CD industry. Incompatibilities in the interpretation of the ISO-9660 standard on different operating systems had to be dealt with, and the imprecise specifications in the Orange Book Part n and Part Hi led to incompatibilities between CD-R media and CD-R recorders. Some of these issues were presented by the authors at Optical Data Storage '95. The major current problem with the use of CD technology is the growing volume of digital data that needs to be stored. CD-ROM collections of hundreds of volumes and CD-R collections of several thousand volumes are becoming almost too cumbersome to be useful. The emergence of Digital Video Disks Recorder (DVD-R) technology promises to reduce the number of discs required for archive applications by a factor of seven while providing improved reliability. It is important to identify problem areas for DVD-R media and provide guidelines to manufacturers, file system developers and users in order to provide reliable data storage and interchange. The Data Distribution Laboratory (DDL) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory began its evaluation of DVD-R technology in early 1998. The initial plan was to obtain a DVD-Recorder for preliminary testing, deploy reader hardware to user sites for compatibility testing, evaluate the quality and longevity of DVD-R media and develop proof-of-concept archive collections to test the reliability and usability of DVD-R media and jukebox hardware.

The Climate Potentials and Side-Effects of Large-Scale terrestrial CO2 Removal - Insights from Quantitative Model Assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boysen, L.; Heck, V.; Lucht, W.; Gerten, D.

2015-12-01

Terrestrial carbon dioxide removal (tCDR) through dedicated biomass plantations is considered as one climate engineering (CE) option if implemented at large-scale. While the risks and costs are supposed to be small, the effectiveness depends strongly on spatial and temporal scales of implementation. Based on simulations with a dynamic global vegetation model (LPJmL) we comprehensively assess the effectiveness, biogeochemical side-effects and tradeoffs from an earth system-analytic perspective. We analyzed systematic land-use scenarios in which all, 25%, or 10% of natural and/or agricultural areas are converted to tCDR plantations including the assumption that biomass plantations are established once the 2°C target is crossed in a business-as-usual climate change trajectory. The resulting tCDR potentials in year 2100 include the net accumulated annual biomass harvests and changes in all land carbon pools. We find that only the most spatially excessive, and thus undesirable, scenario would be capable to restore the 2° target by 2100 under continuing high emissions (with a cooling of 3.02°C). Large-scale biomass plantations covering areas between 1.1 - 4.2 Gha would produce a climate reduction potential of 0.8 - 1.4°C. tCDR plantations at smaller scales do not build up enough biomass over this considered period and the potentials to achieve global warming reductions are substantially lowered to no more than 0.5-0.6°C. Finally, we demonstrate that the (non-economic) costs for the Earth system include negative impacts on the water cycle and on ecosystems, which are already under pressure due to both land use change and climate change. Overall, tCDR may lead to a further transgression of land- and water-related planetary boundaries while not being able to set back the crossing of the planetary boundary for climate change. tCDR could still be considered in the near-future mitigation portfolio if implemented on small scales on wisely chosen areas.

Beyond MODIS: Developing an aerosol climate data record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, R. C.; Mattoo, S.; Munchak, L. A.; Patadia, F.; Laszlo, I.; Holz, R.

2013-12-01

As defined by the National Research Council, a climate data record (CDR) is a time series of measurements of sufficient length, consistency, and continuity to determine climate variability and change. As one of our most pressing research questions concerns changes in global direct aerosol radiative forcing (DARF), creating an aerosol CDR is of high importance. To reduce our uncertainties in DARF, we need uncertainty in global aerosol optical depth (AOD) reduced to ×0.02 or better, or about 10% of global mean AOD (~0.15-0.20). To quantify aerosol trends with significance, we also need a stable time series at least 20-30 years. By this Fall-2013 AGU meeting, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) has been flying on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites for 14 years and 11.5 years, respectively. During this time, we have fine-tuned the aerosol retrieval algorithms and data processing protocols, resulting in a well characterized product of aerosol optical depth (AOD). MODIS AOD has been extensively compared to ground-based sunphotometer data, showing per-retrieval expected error (EE) of ×(0.03 + 5%) over ocean, and has been generally adopted as a robust and stable environmental data record (EDR). With the 2011 launch of the Visible and Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard Suomi-NPP, we have begun a new aerosol time series. The VIIRS AOD product has stabilized to the point where, compared to ground-based AERONET sunphotometer, the VIIRS AOD is within similar EE envelope as MODIS. Thus, if VIIRS continues to perform as expected, it too can provide a robust and stable aerosol EDR. What will it take to stitch MODIS and VIIRS into a robust aerosol CDR? Based on the recent experience of MODIS 'Collection 6' development, there are many details of aerosol retrieval that each lead to ×0.01 uncertainties in global AOD. These include 'radiative transfer' assumptions such as calculations for gas absorption and sea-level Rayleigh optical depth, 'decision making' assumptions such as cloud masking and pixel selection, as well as 'retrieval' assumptions such as aerosol type, and surface reflectance model. Also there are instrument issues such as calibration and geo-location, which even on the level of 1-2%, will lead to 10% error in retrieved AOD. At this point, however, many of these issues have been solved, or are being quantified for MODIS and VIIRS. In the past year, we created a generic dark-target aerosol retrieval algorithm, which can be applied to MODIS, VIIRS, or any other sensor with a similar set of wavelength bands. We applied the same radiative transfer codes for creating lookup tables, the same protocols for deriving non-aerosol assumptions, and the same criteria for cloud masking. Although there are still inconsistencies to work out, this generic algorithm is being applied to selected months having VIIRS/MODIS overlap. Comparing to AERONET, and with each other, we quantify the statistical agreement between MODIS and VIIRS, both for the official algorithms run on each sensor, as well as for our generic algorithm run on both.

Creating a consistent dark-target aerosol optical depth record from MODIS and VIIRS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, R. C.; Mattoo, S.; Munchak, L. A.; Patadia, F.; Holz, R.

2014-12-01

To answer fundamental questions about our changing climate, we must quantify how aerosols are changing over time. This is a global question that requires regional characterization, because in some places aerosols are increasing and in others they are decreasing. Although NASA's Moderate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensors have provided quantitative information about global aerosol optical depth (AOD) for more than a decade, the creation of an aerosol climate data record (CDR) requires consistent multi-decadal data. With the Visible and Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard Suomi-NPP, there is potential to continue the MODIS aerosol time series. Yet, since the operational VIIRS aerosol product is produced by a different algorithm, it is not suitable to continue MODIS to create an aerosol CDR. Therefore, we have applied the MODIS Dark-target (DT) algorithm to VIIRS observations, taking into account the slight differences in wavelengths, resolutions and geometries between the two sensors. More specifically, we applied the MODIS DT algorithm to a dataset known as the Intermediate File Format (IFF), created by the University of Wisconsin. The IFF is produced for both MODIS and VIIRS, with the idea that a single (MODIS-like or ML) algorithm can be run either dataset, which can in turn be compared to the MODIS Collection 6 (M6) retrieval that is run on standard MODIS data. After minimizing or characterizing remaining differences between ML on MODIS-IFF (or ML-M) and M6, we have performed apples-to-apples comparison between ML-M and ML on VIIRS IFF (ML-V). Examples of these comparisons include time series of monthly global mean, monthly and seasonal global maps at 1° resolution, and collocations as compared to AERONET. We concentrate on the overlapping period January 2012 through June 2014, and discuss some of the remaining discrepancies between the ML-V and ML-M datasets.

Calibrating Historical IR Sensors Using GEO, and AVHRR Infrared Tropical Mean Calibration Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scarino, Benjamin; Doelling, David R.; Minnis, Patrick; Gopalan, Arun; Haney, Conor; Bhatt, Rajendra

2014-01-01

Long-term, remote-sensing-based climate data records (CDRs) are highly dependent on having consistent, wellcalibrated satellite instrument measurements of the Earth's radiant energy. Therefore, by making historical satellite calibrations consistent with those of today's imagers, the Earth-observing community can benefit from a CDR that spans a minimum of 30 years. Most operational meteorological satellites rely on an onboard blackbody and space looks to provide on-orbit IR calibration, but neither target is traceable to absolute standards. The IR channels can also be affected by ice on the detector window, angle dependency of the scan mirror emissivity, stray-light, and detector-to-detector striping. Being able to quantify and correct such degradations would mean IR data from any satellite imager could contribute to a CDR. Recent efforts have focused on utilizing well-calibrated modern hyper-spectral sensors to intercalibrate concurrent operational IR imagers to a single reference. In order to consistently calibrate both historical and current IR imagers to the same reference, however, another strategy is needed. Large, well-characterized tropical-domain Earth targets have the potential of providing an Earth-view reference accuracy of within 0.5 K. To that effort, NASA Langley is developing an IR tropical mean calibration model in order to calibrate historical Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments. Using Meteosat-9 (Met-9) as a reference, empirical models are built based on spatially/temporally binned Met-9 and AVHRR tropical IR brightness temperatures. By demonstrating the stability of the Met-9 tropical models, NOAA-18 AVHRR can be calibrated to Met-9 by matching the AVHRR monthly histogram averages with the Met-9 model. This method is validated with ray-matched AVHRR and Met-9 biasdifference time series. Establishing the validity of this empirical model will allow for the calibration of historical AVHRR sensors to within 0.5 K, and thereby establish a climate-quality IR data record.

Collateral transgression of planetary boundaries due to climate engineering by terrestrial carbon dioxide removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heck, Vera; Donges, Jonathan F.; Lucht, Wolfgang

2016-10-01

The planetary boundaries framework provides guidelines for defining thresholds in environmental variables. Their transgression is likely to result in a shift in Earth system functioning away from the relatively stable Holocene state. As the climate system is approaching critical thresholds of atmospheric carbon, several climate engineering methods are discussed, aiming at a reduction of atmospheric carbon concentrations to control the Earth's energy balance. Terrestrial carbon dioxide removal (tCDR) via afforestation or bioenergy production with carbon capture and storage are part of most climate change mitigation scenarios that limit global warming to less than 2 °C. We analyse the co-evolutionary interaction of societal interventions via tCDR and the natural dynamics of the Earth's carbon cycle. Applying a conceptual modelling framework, we analyse how the degree of anticipation of the climate problem and the intensity of tCDR efforts with the aim of staying within a "safe" level of global warming might influence the state of the Earth system with respect to other carbon-related planetary boundaries. Within the scope of our approach, we show that societal management of atmospheric carbon via tCDR can lead to a collateral transgression of the planetary boundary of land system change. Our analysis indicates that the opportunities to remain in a desirable region within carbon-related planetary boundaries only exist for a small range of anticipation levels and depend critically on the underlying emission pathway. While tCDR has the potential to ensure the Earth system's persistence within a carbon-safe operating space under low-emission pathways, it is unlikely to succeed in a business-as-usual scenario.

Using the cost distribution report in estimating private sector payments: what adjustments should researchers make?

PubMed

Nugent, Gary; Grippen, Glen; Parris, Y C; Mitchell, Mary

2003-06-01

To reapportion Veterans Health Administration (VA) annual expenditures into benefit categories for comparison with estimated payments by private sector providers. Total expenditures for six VA medical centers for federal fiscal year 1999 were reapportioned by benefit category using the cost distribution report (CDR). Health benefit categories were based on those of health care insurers. Cost reapportionment was based on CDR data and reviews of source accounting and payroll documents. Actual expenditures for many benefits can be accurately identified and reapportioned using CDR data, but other expenditures were not identifiable in the CDR and required inspection of source documents. Inpatient expenditures amounting to $75,110,094 US dollars and outpatient expenditures amounting to $73,594,284 US dollars were reapportioned into other benefit categories, primarily professional fees. Expenditures for some VA benefits could not be identified because of differences in accounting and clinical practice between the VA and the community. Revisions to bring the CDR more in line with private sector payment categories would improve effectiveness for internal VA analyses and external expenditure comparisons. CDR revisions would require changes in recording some clinical workload (eg, rehabilitation and extended care) and classifying residential and domiciliary programs separate from inpatient care. Benefits that were not assigned expenditures for comparison with payments represent a potential liability if the VA were to purchase health care services in the marketplace. Variation among hospitals on expenditures not clearly identified in the CDR was significant and raises questions about the effectiveness of capitated budget methodologies using either the CDR or the decision support system.

Between Scylla and Charybdis: Delayed mitigation narrows the passage between large-scale CDR and high costs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strefler, Jessica; Bauer, Nico; Kriegler, Elmar; Popp, Alexander; Giannousakis, Anastasis; Edenhofer, Ottmar

2018-04-01

There are major concerns about the sustainability of large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies. It is therefore an urgent question to what extent CDR will be needed to implement the long term ambition of the Paris Agreement. Here we show that ambitious near term mitigation significantly decreases CDR requirements to keep the Paris climate targets within reach. Following the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) until 2030 makes 2 °C unachievable without CDR. Reducing 2030 emissions by 20% below NDC levels alleviates the trade-off between high transitional challenges and high CDR deployment. Nevertheless, transitional challenges increase significantly if CDR is constrained to less than 5 Gt CO2 a‑1 in any year. At least 8 Gt CO2 a‑1 CDR are necessary in the long term to achieve 1.5 °C and more than 15 Gt CO2 a‑1 to keep transitional challenges in bounds.

Analysis of CrIS-ATMS Data Using an AIRS Science Team Version 6 - Like Retrieval Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Susskind, Joel; Kouvaris, Louis C.

2013-01-01

CrIS/ATMS is flying on NPP and is scheduled to fly on JPSS-1. CrIS/ATMS has roughly equivalent capabilities to AIRS/AMSU. The AIRS Science Team Version 6 retrieval algorithm is currently producing very high quality level-3 Climate Data Records (CDR's) that will be critical for understanding climate processes AIRS CDRs should eventually cover the period September 2002 through at least 2020. CrIS/ATMS is the only scheduled follow on to AIRS AMSU. I have been asked by Ramesh Kakar if CrIS/ATMS can be counted on to adequately continue the AIRS/AMSU CDRs beyond 2020, or is something better needed? This research is being done to answer that question. A minimum requirement to obtain a yes answer is that CrIS/ATMS be analyzed using an AIRS Version 6 - like algorithm. NOAA is currently generating CrIS/ATMS products using 2 algorithms: IDPS and NUCAPS

The Economics of Carbon Dioxide Removal: The Case against Free Disposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keller, D. P.; Rickels, W.; Quaas, M.; Oschlies, A.; Reith, F.

2016-12-01

Facing the challenge to keep the average global temperature increase below 2°C and to limit long-term climate change, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Carbon Dioxide Removal, CDR) and disposing of it in non-atmospheric carbon reservoirs is becoming increasingly necessary. The social cost of removing carbon into the terrestrial biosphere (e.g. by afforestation) or the ocean (e.g. by spreading olivine in coastal areas) arises from carbon-cycle feedbacks and saturation effects. Yet they are ignored in existing economic studies on CDR. Neglecting non-atmospheric social cost results in inconsistent estimates with regard to the share and timing of CDR measures in climate policy. Here, we use an intermediate-complexity earth system model, the University of Victoria (UVic) model, to calibrate a dynamic economic model, capturing the temperature feedback and saturation effect of terrestrial carbon uptake and the saturation effect of oceanic carbon uptake to obtain an improved understanding of the net social carbon value of terrestrial and oceanic CDR. We show that planning horizons beyond the year 2100 are required to properly reflect long-term scarcity issues of non-atmospheric carbon reservoirs in current carbon prices and that neglecting non-atmospheric social cost results in too low abatement efforts and in turn in too large and earlier application of CDR measures than if applied optimally. The figure shows the carbon prices for the different carbon reservoirs in the year 2100 in dependence of the planning horizon (for a climate policy aiming to limit global mean temperature increase to 2°C). The difference between the atmospheric and the non-atmospheric carbon prices indicates the benefits of the different CDR options.

Trade-offs for food production, nature conservation and climate limit the terrestrial carbon dioxide removal potential.

PubMed

Boysen, Lena R; Lucht, Wolfgang; Gerten, Dieter

2017-10-01

Large-scale biomass plantations (BPs) are a common factor in climate mitigation scenarios as they promise double benefits: extracting carbon from the atmosphere and providing a renewable energy source. However, their terrestrial carbon dioxide removal (tCDR) potentials depend on important factors such as land availability, efficiency of capturing biomass-derived carbon and the timing of operation. Land availability is restricted by the demands of future food production depending on yield increases and population growth, by requirements for nature conservation and, with respect to climate mitigation, avoiding unfavourable albedo changes. We integrate these factors in one spatially explicit biogeochemical simulation framework to explore the tCDR opportunity space on land available after these constraints are taken into account, starting either in 2020 or 2050, and lasting until 2100. We find that assumed future needs for nature protection and food production strongly limit tCDR potentials. BPs on abandoned crop and pasture areas (~1,300 Mha in scenarios of either 8.0 billion people and yield gap reductions of 25% until 2020 or 9.5 billion people and yield gap reductions of 50% until 2050) could, theoretically, sequester ~100 GtC in land carbon stocks and biomass harvest by 2100. However, this potential would be ~80% lower if only cropland was available or ~50% lower if albedo decreases were considered as a factor restricting land availability. Converting instead natural forest, shrubland or grassland into BPs could result in much larger tCDR potentials ̶ but at high environmental costs (e.g. biodiversity loss). The most promising avenue for effective tCDR seems to be improvement of efficient carbon utilization pathways, changes in dietary trends or the restoration of marginal lands for the implementation of tCDR. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Satellite-based Monitoring of global Precipitation using the PERSIANN system: from Weather- to Climate-scales with some application examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Switzer, A.; Yap, W.; Lauro, F.; Gouramanis, C.; Dominey-Howes, D.; Labbate, M.

2016-12-01

This presentation provides an overview of the PERSIANN precipitation products from the near real time high-resolution (4km, 30 min) PERSIANN-CCS to the most recent 34+-year PERSIANN-CDR (25km, daily). It is widely believed that the hydrologic cycle has been intensifying due to global warming and the frequency and the intensity of hydrologic extremes has also been increasing. Using the long-term historical global high resolution (daily, 0.25 degree) PERSIANN-CDR dataset covering over three decades from 1983 to the present day, we assess changes in global precipitation across different spatial scales. Our results show differences in trends, depending on which spatial scale is used, highlighting the importance of spatial scale in trend analysis. In addition, while there is an easily observable increasing global temperature trend, the global precipitation trend results created by the PERSIANN-CDR dataset used in this study are inconclusive. In addition, we use PERSIANN-CDR to assess the performance of the 32 CMIP5 models in terms of extreme precipitation indices in various continent-climate zones. The assessment can provide a guide for both model developers to target regions and processes that are not yet fully captured in certain climate types, and for climate model output users to be able to select the models and/or the study areas that may best fit their applications of interest.

Satellite-based Monitoring of global Precipitation using the PERSIANN system: from Weather- to Climate-scales with some application examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorooshian, S.; Nguyen, P.; Hsu, K. L.

2017-12-01

This presentation provides an overview of the PERSIANN precipitation products from the near real time high-resolution (4km, 30 min) PERSIANN-CCS to the most recent 34+-year PERSIANN-CDR (25km, daily). It is widely believed that the hydrologic cycle has been intensifying due to global warming and the frequency and the intensity of hydrologic extremes has also been increasing. Using the long-term historical global high resolution (daily, 0.25 degree) PERSIANN-CDR dataset covering over three decades from 1983 to the present day, we assess changes in global precipitation across different spatial scales. Our results show differences in trends, depending on which spatial scale is used, highlighting the importance of spatial scale in trend analysis. In addition, while there is an easily observable increasing global temperature trend, the global precipitation trend results created by the PERSIANN-CDR dataset used in this study are inconclusive. In addition, we use PERSIANN-CDR to assess the performance of the 32 CMIP5 models in terms of extreme precipitation indices in various continent-climate zones. The assessment can provide a guide for both model developers to target regions and processes that are not yet fully captured in certain climate types, and for climate model output users to be able to select the models and/or the study areas that may best fit their applications of interest.

A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Relationship Between Near-Surface Air Temperature and Satellite Land Surface Temperatures Using 17 Years of Data from the ATSR Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghent, D.; Good, E.; Bulgin, C.; Remedios, J. J.

2017-12-01

Surface temperatures (ST) over land have traditionally been measured at weather stations. There are many parts of the globe with very few stations, e.g. across much of Africa, leading to gaps in ST datasets, affecting our understanding of how ST is changing, and the impacts of extreme events. Satellites can provide global ST data but these observations represent how hot the land ST (LST; including the uppermost parts of e.g. trees, buildings) is to touch, whereas stations measure the air temperature just above the surface (T2m). Satellite LST data may only be available in cloud-free conditions and data records are frequently <10-15 years in length. Consequently, satellite LST data have not yet featured widely in climate studies. In this study, the relationship between clear-sky satellite LST and all-sky T2m is characterised in space and time using >17 years of data. The analysis uses a new monthly LST climate data record (CDR) based on the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) series, which has been produced within the European Space Agency GlobTemperature project. The results demonstrate the dependency of the global LST-T2m differences on location, land cover, vegetation and elevation. LSTnight ( 10 pm local solar time) is found to be closely coupled with minimum T2m (Tmin) and the two temperatures generally consistent to within ±5 °C (global median LSTnight- Tmin= 1.8 °C, interquartile range = 3.8 °C). The LSTday ( 10 am local time)-maximum T2m (Tmax) variability is higher because LST is strongly influenced by insolation and surface regime (global median LSTday-Tmax= -0.1 °C, interquartile range = 8.1 °C). Correlations for both temperature pairs are typically >0.9 outside of the tropics. A crucial aspect of this study is a comparison between the monthly global anomaly time series of LST and CRUTEM4 T2m. The time series agree remarkably well, with a correlation of 0.9 and 90% of the CDR anomalies falling within the T2m 95% confidence limits (see figure). This analysis provides independent verification of the 1995-2012 T2m anomaly time series, suggesting that LST can provide a complementary perspective on global ST change. The results presented give justification for increasing use of satellite LST data in climate and weather science, both as an independent variable, and to augment T2m data acquired at weather stations.

Future Flight Opportunities and Calibration Protocols for CERES: Continuation of Observations in Support of the Long-Term Earth Radiation Budget Climate Data Record

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Priestley, Kory J.; Smith, George L.

2010-01-01

The goal of the Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) project is to provide a long-term record of radiation budget at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA), within the atmosphere, and at the surface with consistent cloud and aerosol properties at climate accuracy. CERES consists of an integrated instrument-algorithm validation science team that provides development of higher-level products (Levels 1-3) and investigations. It involves a high level of data fusion, merging inputs from 25 unique input data sources to produce 18 CERES data products. Over 90% of the CERES data product volume involves two or more instruments. Continuation of the Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) Climate Data Record (CDR) has been identified as critical in the 2007 NRC Decadal Survey, the Global Climate Observing System WCRP report, and in an assessment titled Impacts of NPOESS Nunn-McCurdy Certification on Joint NASA-NOAA Climate Goals . Five CERES instruments have flown on three different spacecraft: TRMM, EOS-Terra and EOS-Aqua. In response, NASA, NOAA and NPOESS have agreed to fly the existing CERES Flight Model (FM-5) on the NPP spacecraft in 2011 and to procure an additional CERES Sensor with modest upgrades for flight on the JPSS C1 spacecraft in 2014, followed by a CERES follow-on sensor for flight in 2018. CERES is a scanning broadband radiometer that measures filtered radiance in the SW (0.3-5 m), total (TOT) (0.3-200 m) and WN (8-12 m) regions. Pre-launch calibration is performed on each Flight Model to meet accuracy requirements of 1% for SW and 0.5% for outgoing LW observations. Ground to flight or in-flight changes are monitored using protocols employing onboard and vicarious calibration sources. Studies of flight data show that SW response can change dramatically due to optical contamination. with greatest impact in blue-to UV radiance, where tungsten lamps are largely devoid of output. While science goals remain unchanged for ERB Climate Data Record, it is now understood that achieving these goals is more difficult for two reasons. The first is an increased understanding of the dynamics of the Earth/atmosphere system which demonstrates that separation of natural variability from anthropogenic change on decadal time scales requires observations with higher accuracy and stabilit

Detecting False Positives in Multielement Designs: Implications for Brief Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartlett, Sara M.; Rapp, John T.; Henrickson, Marissa L.

2011-01-01

The authors assessed the extent to which multielement designs produced false positives using continuous duration recording (CDR) and interval recording with 10-s and 1-min interval sizes. Specifically, they created 6,000 graphs with multielement designs that varied in the number of data paths, and the number of data points per data path, using a…

Using Call Detail Records for Modeling Coastal Recreation Behavior

EPA Science Inventory

Call data records (CDR) are data from cellular phone networks that can be used to understand human mobility or where people go spatially. They can be used to estimate visitation to an area such as a coastal access point for a given time window, as well as provide information on t...

Precipitation estimates and comparison of satellite rainfall data to in situ rain gauge observations to further develop the watershed-modeling capabilities for the Lower Mekong River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dandridge, C.; Lakshmi, V.; Sutton, J. R. P.; Bolten, J. D.

2017-12-01

This study focuses on the lower region of the Mekong River Basin (MRB), an area including Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. This region is home to expansive agriculture that relies heavily on annual precipitation over the basin for its prosperity. Annual precipitation amounts are regulated by the global monsoon system and therefore vary throughout the year. This research will lead to improved prediction of floods and management of floodwaters for the MRB. We compare different satellite estimates of precipitation to each other and to in-situ precipitation estimates for the Mekong River Basin. These comparisons will help us determine which satellite precipitation estimates are better at predicting precipitation in the MRB and will help further our understanding of watershed-modeling capabilities for the basin. In this study we use: 1) NOAA's PERSIANN daily 0.25° precipitation estimate Climate Data Record (CDR), 2) NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) daily 0.25° estimate, and 3) NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) daily 0.1 estimate and 4) 488 in-situ stations located in the lower MRB provide daily precipitation estimates. The PERSIANN CDR precipitation estimate was able to provide the longest data record because it is available from 1983 to present. The TRMM precipitation estimate is available from 2000 to present and the GPM precipitation estimates are available from 2015 to present. It is for this reason that we provide several comparisons between our precipitation estimates. Comparisons were done between each satellite product and the in-situ precipitation estimates based on geographical location and date using the entire available data record for each satellite product for daily, monthly, and yearly precipitation estimates. We found that monthly PERSIANN precipitation estimates were able to explain up to 90% of the variability in station precipitation depending on station location.

UC Irvine CHRS RainSphere - a new user friendly tool for analyzing global remotely sensed rainfall estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, P.; Sorooshian, S.; Hsu, K. L.; Gao, X.; AghaKouchak, A.; Braithwaite, D.; Thorstensen, A. R.; Ashouri, H.; Tran, H.; Huynh, P.; Palacios, T.

2016-12-01

Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS), University of California, Irvine has recently developed the CHRS RainSphere (hosted at http://rainsphere.eng.uci.edu) for scientific studies and applications using the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks - Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR, Ashouri et al. 2015). PERSIANN-CDR is a long-term (33+ years) high-resolution (daily, 0.25 degree) global satellite precipitation dataset which is useful for climatological studies and water resources applications. CHRS RainSphere has functionalities allowing users to visualize and query spatiotemporal statistics of global daily satellite precipitation for the past three decades. With a couple of mouse-clicks, users can easily obtain a report of time series, spatial plots, and basic trend analysis of rainfall for various spatial domains of interest such as location, watershed, basin, political division and country for yearly, monthly, monthly by year or daily. Mann-Kendall test is implemented on CHRS RainSphere for statistically investigating whether there is a significant increasing/decreasing rainfall trend at a location or over a specific spatial domain. CHRS RainSphere has a range of capabilities and should appeal to a broad spectrum of users including climate scientists, water resources managers and planners, and engineers. CHRS RainSphere can also be a useful educational tool for the general public to investigate climate change and variability. The video tutorial on CHRS RainSphere is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI2-f88iGlY&feature=youtu.be. A demonstration of CHRS RainSphere will be included in the presentation.

A spatiotemporal analysis of the relationship between near-surface air temperature and satellite land surface temperatures using 17 years of data from the ATSR series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Good, Elizabeth J.; Ghent, Darren J.; Bulgin, Claire E.; Remedios, John J.

2017-09-01

The relationship between satellite land surface temperature (LST) and ground-based observations of 2 m air temperature (T2m) is characterized in space and time using >17 years of data. The analysis uses a new monthly LST climate data record (CDR) based on the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer series, which has been produced within the European Space Agency GlobTemperature project (http://www.globtemperature.info/). Global LST-T2m differences are analyzed with respect to location, land cover, vegetation fraction, and elevation, all of which are found to be important influencing factors. LSTnight ( 10 P.M. local solar time, clear-sky only) is found to be closely coupled with minimum T2m (Tmin, all-sky) and the two temperatures generally consistent to within ±5°C (global median LSTnight-Tmin = 1.8°C, interquartile range = 3.8°C). The LSTday ( 10 A.M. local solar time, clear-sky only)-maximum T2m (Tmax, all-sky) variability is higher (global median LSTday-Tmax = -0.1°C, interquartile range = 8.1°C) because LST is strongly influenced by insolation and surface regime. Correlations for both temperature pairs are typically >0.9 outside of the tropics. The monthly global and regional anomaly time series of LST and T2m—which are completely independent data sets—compare remarkably well. The correlation between the data sets is 0.9 for the globe with 90% of the CDR anomalies falling within the T2m 95% confidence limits. The results presented in this study present a justification for increasing use of satellite LST data in climate and weather science, both as an independent variable, and to augment T2m data acquired at meteorological stations.

ECOSYSTEM IMPACTS OF GEOENGINEERING: A Review for Developing a Science Plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Russell, Lynn M.; Rasch, Philip J.; Mace, Georgina

2012-06-01

Geoengineering methods are intended to reduce the magnitude of climate change. Climate change in some regions is already having demonstrable effects on ecosystem structure and functioning. Two different types of geoengineering activities have been proposed: carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which includes a range of engineered and biological processes to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, and solar radiation management (SRM, or sunlight reflection methods), whereby a small percentage of sunlight is reflected back into space to offset warming from greenhouse gases. In this review, we evaluate some of the possible impacts of CDR and SRM on the physical climatemore » and their subsequent influence on ecosystems, including the risks and uncertainties associated with new kinds of purposeful perturbations to Earth. Specifically, we find evidence that, if implemented successfully, some CDR methods and continue use of some SRM methods) could alleviate some of the deleterious ecosystem impacts associated with climate changes that might occur in the foreseeable future.« less

Large uncertainties in observed daily precipitation extremes over land

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herold, Nicholas; Behrangi, Ali; Alexander, Lisa V.

2017-01-01

We explore uncertainties in observed daily precipitation extremes over the terrestrial tropics and subtropics (50°S-50°N) based on five commonly used products: the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) dataset, the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre-Full Data Daily (GPCC-FDD) dataset, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) multi-satellite research product (T3B42 v7), the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR), and the Global Precipitation Climatology Project's One-Degree Daily (GPCP-1DD) dataset. We use the precipitation indices R10mm and Rx1day, developed by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices, to explore the behavior of "moderate" and "extreme" extremes, respectively. In order to assess the sensitivity of extreme precipitation to different grid sizes we perform our calculations on four common spatial resolutions (0.25° × 0.25°, 1° × 1°, 2.5° × 2.5°, and 3.75° × 2.5°). The impact of the chosen "order of operation" in calculating these indices is also determined. Our results show that moderate extremes are relatively insensitive to product and resolution choice, while extreme extremes can be very sensitive. For example, at 0.25° × 0.25° quasi-global mean Rx1day values vary from 37 mm in PERSIANN-CDR to 62 mm in T3B42. We find that the interproduct spread becomes prominent at resolutions of 1° × 1° and finer, thus establishing a minimum effective resolution at which observational products agree. Without improvements in interproduct spread, these exceedingly large observational uncertainties at high spatial resolution may limit the usefulness of model evaluations. As has been found previously, resolution sensitivity can be largely eliminated by applying an order of operation where indices are calculated prior to regridding. However, this approach is not appropriate when true area averages are desired (e.g., for model evaluations).

Global Sea Surface Temperature: A Harmonized Multi-sensor Time-series from Satellite Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merchant, C. J.

2017-12-01

This paper presents the methods used to obtain a new global sea surface temperature (SST) dataset spanning the early 1980s to the present, intended for use as a climate data record (CDR). The dataset provides skin SST (the fundamental measurement) and an estimate of the daily mean SST at depths compatible with drifting buoys (adjusting for skin and diurnal variability). The depth SST provided enables the CDR to be used with in situ records and centennial-scale SST reconstructions. The new SST timeseries is as independent as possible from in situ observations, and from 1995 onwards is harmonized to an independent satellite reference (namely, SSTs from the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (Advanced ATSR)). This maximizes the utility of our new estimates of variability and long-term trends in interrogating previous datasets tied to in situ observations. The new SSTs include full resolution (swath, level 2) data, single-sensor gridded data (level 3, 0.05 degree latitude-longitude grid) and a multi-sensor optimal analysis (level 4, same grid). All product levels are consistent. All SSTs have validated uncertainty estimates attached. The sensors used include all Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers from NOAA-6 onwards and the ATSR series. AVHRR brightness temperatures (BTs) are calculated from counts using a new in-flight re-calibration for each sensor, ultimately linked through to the AATSR BT calibration by a new harmonization technique. Artefacts in AVHRR BTs linked to varying instrument temperature, orbital regime and solar contamination are significantly reduced. These improvements in the AVHRR BTs (level 1) translate into improved cloud detection and SST (level 2). For cloud detection, we use a Bayesian approach for all sensors. For the ATSRs, SSTs are derived with sufficient accuracy and sensitivity using dual-view coefficients. This is not the case for single-view AVHRR observations, for which a physically based retrieval is employed, using a hybrid maximum a posteriori / maximum likelihood retrieval, which optimises retrieval uncertainty and SST sensitivity for climate applications. Validation results will be presented along with examples of the variability and trends in SST evident in the dataset.

Pathfinder Sea Surface Temperature Climate Data Record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker-Yeboah, S.; Saha, K.; Zhang, D.; Casey, K. S.

2016-02-01

Global sea surface temperature (SST) fields are important in understanding ocean and climate variability. The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) develops and maintains a high resolution, long-term, climate data record (CDR) of global satellite SST. These SST values are generated at approximately 4 km resolution using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments aboard NOAA polar-orbiting satellites going back to 1981. The Pathfinder SST algorithm is based on the Non-Linear SST algorithm using the modernized NASA SeaWiFS Data Analysis System (SeaDAS). Coefficients for this SST product were generated using regression analyses with co-located in situ and satellite measurements. Previous versions of Pathfinder included level 3 collated (L3C) products. Pathfinder Version 5.3 includes level 2 pre-processed (L2P), level 3 Uncollated (L3C), and L3C products. Notably, the data were processed in the cloud using Amazon Web Services and are made available through all of the modern web visualization and subset services provided by the THREDDS Data Server, the Live Access Server, and the OPeNDAP Hyrax Server.In this version of Pathfinder SST, anomalous hot-spots at land-water boundaries are better identified and the dataset includes updated land masks and sea ice data over the Antarctic ice shelves. All quality levels of SST values are generated, giving the user greater flexibility and the option to apply their own cloud-masking procedures. Additional improvements include consistent cloud tree tests for NOAA-07 and NOAA-19 with respect to the other sensors, improved SSTs in sun glint areas, and netCDF file format improvements to ensure consistency with the latest Group for High Resolution SST (GHRSST) requirements. This quality controlled satellite SST field is a reference environmental data record utilized as a primary resource of SST for numerous regional and global marine efforts.

Classification of maltreatment-related mortality by Child Death Review teams: How reliable are they?

PubMed

Parrish, Jared W; Schnitzer, Patricia G; Lanier, Paul; Shanahan, Meghan E; Daniels, Julie L; Marshall, Stephen W

2017-05-01

Accurate estimation of the incidence of maltreatment-related child mortality depends on reliable child fatality review. We examined the inter-rater reliability of maltreatment designation for two Alaskan Child Death Review (CDR) panels. Two different multidisciplinary CDR panels each reviewed a series of 101 infant and child deaths (ages 0-4 years) in Alaska. Both panels independently reviewed identical medical, autopsy, law enforcement, child welfare, and administrative records for each death utilizing the same maltreatment criteria. Percent agreement for maltreatment was 64.7% with a weighted Kappa of 0.61 (95% CI 0.51, 0.70). Across maltreatment subtypes, agreement was highest for abuse (69.3%) and lowest for negligence (60.4%). Discordance was higher if the mother was unmarried or a smoker, if residence was rural, or if there was a family history of child protective services report(s). Incidence estimates did not depend on which panel's data were used. There is substantial room for improvement in the reliability of CDR panel assessment of maltreatment related mortality. Standardized decision guidance for CDR panels may improve the reliability of their data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detecting false positives in multielement designs: implications for brief assessments.

PubMed

Bartlett, Sara M; Rapp, John T; Henrickson, Marissa L

2011-11-01

The authors assessed the extent to which multielement designs produced false positives using continuous duration recording (CDR) and interval recording with 10-s and 1-min interval sizes. Specifically, they created 6,000 graphs with multielement designs that varied in the number of data paths, and the number of data points per data path, using a random number generator. In Experiment 1, the authors visually analyzed the graphs for the occurrence of false positives. Results indicated that graphs depicting only two sessions for each condition (e.g., a control condition plotted with multiple test conditions) produced the highest percentage of false positives for CDR and interval recording with 10-s and 1-min intervals. Conversely, graphs with four or five sessions for each condition produced the lowest percentage of false positives for each method. In Experiment 2, they applied two new rules, which were intended to decrease false positives, to each graph that depicted a false positive in Experiment 1. Results showed that application of new rules decreased false positives to less than 5% for all of the graphs except for those with two data paths and two data points per data path. Implications for brief assessments are discussed.

Rarefaction Wave Eliminator Concepts For A Large Blast/Thermal Simulator.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-02-01

hard copies of the pressure-time records. Final data process- ing was completed with the computer, printer , and plotter. Plots of pressure- time records...F ATTN: Prof 0. Zinke Fayetteville, AR 72701 Cdr, CRDC, AMCCOM ATTI: 4O-SPS-IL University of California PM=-J Lawrence Livermore Lab SOM-RSP-A ATTN

Sensing Urban Patterns with Antenna Mappings: The Case of Santiago, Chile †

PubMed Central

Graells-Garrido, Eduardo; Peredo, Oscar; García, José

2016-01-01

Mobile data has allowed us to sense urban dynamics at scales and granularities not known before, helping urban planners to cope with urban growth. A frequently used kind of dataset are Call Detail Records (CDR), used by telecommunication operators for billing purposes. Being an already extracted and processed dataset, it is inexpensive and reliable. A common assumption with respect to geography when working with CDR data is that the position of a device is the same as the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) it is connected to. Because the city is divided into a square grid, or by coverage zones approximated by Voronoi tessellations, CDR network events are assigned to corresponding areas according to BTS position. This geolocation may suffer from non negligible error in almost all cases. In this paper we propose “Antenna Virtual Placement” (AVP), a method to geolocate mobile devices according to their connections to BTS, based on decoupling antennas from its corresponding BTS according to its physical configuration (height, downtilt, and azimuth). We use AVP applied to CDR data as input for two different tasks: first, from an individual perspective, what places are meaningful for them? And second, from a global perspective, how to cluster city areas to understand land use using floating population flows? For both tasks we propose methods that complement or improve prior work in the literature. Our proposed methods are simple, yet not trivial, and work with daily CDR data from the biggest telecommunication operator in Chile. We evaluate them in Santiago, the capital of Chile, with data from working days from June 2015. We find that: (1) AVP improves city coverage of CDR data by geolocating devices to more city areas than using standard methods; (2) we find important places (home and work) for a 10% of the sample using just daily information, and recreate the population distribution as well as commuting trips; (3) the daily rhythms of floating population allow to cluster areas of the city, and explain them from a land use perspective by finding signature points of interest from crowdsourced geographical information. These results have implications for the design of applications based on CDR data like recommendation of places and routes, retail store placement, and estimation of transport effects from pollution alerts. PMID:27428979

Sensing Urban Patterns with Antenna Mappings: The Case of Santiago, Chile.

PubMed

Graells-Garrido, Eduardo; Peredo, Oscar; García, José

2016-07-15

Mobile data has allowed us to sense urban dynamics at scales and granularities not known before, helping urban planners to cope with urban growth. A frequently used kind of dataset are Call Detail Records (CDR), used by telecommunication operators for billing purposes. Being an already extracted and processed dataset, it is inexpensive and reliable. A common assumption with respect to geography when working with CDR data is that the position of a device is the same as the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) it is connected to. Because the city is divided into a square grid, or by coverage zones approximated by Voronoi tessellations, CDR network events are assigned to corresponding areas according to BTS position. This geolocation may suffer from non negligible error in almost all cases. In this paper we propose "Antenna Virtual Placement" (AVP), a method to geolocate mobile devices according to their connections to BTS, based on decoupling antennas from its corresponding BTS according to its physical configuration (height, downtilt, and azimuth). We use AVP applied to CDR data as input for two different tasks: first, from an individual perspective, what places are meaningful for them? And second, from a global perspective, how to cluster city areas to understand land use using floating population flows? For both tasks we propose methods that complement or improve prior work in the literature. Our proposed methods are simple, yet not trivial, and work with daily CDR data from the biggest telecommunication operator in Chile. We evaluate them in Santiago, the capital of Chile, with data from working days from June 2015. We find that: (1) AVP improves city coverage of CDR data by geolocating devices to more city areas than using standard methods; (2) we find important places (home and work) for a 10% of the sample using just daily information, and recreate the population distribution as well as commuting trips; (3) the daily rhythms of floating population allow to cluster areas of the city, and explain them from a land use perspective by finding signature points of interest from crowdsourced geographical information. These results have implications for the design of applications based on CDR data like recommendation of places and routes, retail store placement, and estimation of transport effects from pollution alerts.

Assessing the fitness-for-purpose of satellite multi-mission ocean color climate data records: A protocol applied to OC-CCI chlorophyll-a data.

PubMed

Mélin, F; Vantrepotte, V; Chuprin, A; Grant, M; Jackson, T; Sathyendranath, S

2017-12-15

In this work, trend estimates are used as indicators to compare the multi-annual variability of different satellite chlorophyll- a (Chl a ) data and to assess the fitness-for-purpose of multi-mission Chl a products as climate data records (CDR). Under the assumption that single-mission products are free from spurious temporal artifacts and can be used as benchmark time series, multi-mission CDRs should reproduce the main trend patterns observed by single-mission series when computed over their respective periods. This study introduces and applies quantitative metrics to compare trend distributions from different data records. First, contingency matrices compare the trend diagnostics associated with two satellite products when expressed in binary categories such as existence, significance and signs of trends. Contingency matrices can be further summarized by metrics such as Cohen's κ index that rates the overall agreement between the two distributions of diagnostics. A more quantitative measure of the discrepancies between trends is provided by the distributions of differences between trend slopes. Thirdly, maps of the level of significance P of a t -test quantifying the degree to which two trend estimates differ provide a statistical, spatially-resolved, evaluation. The proposed methodology is applied to the multi-mission Ocean Colour-Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) Chl a data. The agreement between trend distributions associated with OC-CCI data and single-mission products usually appears as good as when single-mission products are compared. As the period of analysis is extended beyond 2012 to 2015, the level of agreement tends to be degraded, which might be at least partly due to the aging of the MODIS sensor on-board Aqua. On the other hand, the trends displayed by the OC-CCI series over the short period 2012-2015 are very consistent with those observed with VIIRS. These results overall suggest that the OC-CCI Chl a data can be used for multi-annual time series analysis (including trend detection), but with some caution required if recent years are included, particularly in the central tropical Pacific. The study also recalls the challenges associated with creating a multi-mission ocean color data record suitable for climate research.

The dynamic of tuberculosis case finding in the era of the public–private mix strategy for tuberculosis control in Central Java, Indonesia

PubMed Central

Reviono, Reviono; Setianingsih, Wahyu; Damayanti, Kusmadewi Eka; Ekasari, Ratna

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: The public–private mix (PPM) strategy has strengthened tuberculosis care and control in many countries. Indonesia, a country with a high tuberculosis burden, has a low tuberculosis case detection rate (CDR), despite PPM implementation in 2003. The PPM in Indonesia involves primary healthcare centers, hospitals, and specialized chest clinics. The long-term impact of the strategy is unknown. Objective: We aimed to explore the case detection achievements of the tuberculosis program since PPM implementation in Central Java in 2003. Methods: This retrospective cohort study covered the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2014. The data from tuberculosis patients treated in all health facilities in Central Java implementing directly observed treatment short-course, recorded via a standardized form, were analyzed after being validated by the Office of Health of Central Java Province. We evaluated the CDR, case notification rate, and total number of cases, using linear regression to analyze the temporal trends of those indicators in the phases of PPM implementation. Results: The CDR increased during the initial phase (2000–2005), decreased during the mid-phase (2006–2009), and increased slightly during the late phase (2010–2014), ranging from 13 to 61.72. These trends were observed despite a steady increase in the number of participating healthcare facilities. The regression analysis showed that the CDR of referral institutions contributed the most to the total CDR of Central Java Province. Many of the smear-negative tuberculosis cases recorded at primary healthcare centers may have been smear positive; this probable misclassification could have been partially avoided if more specific and sensitive diagnostic tools were available. Conclusions: The CDR remains below the national target (70%). Early awareness of a negative trend in certain program indicators is important to ensure program sustainability. Careful observation of the indicator pattern will secure the long-term success of the program. PMID:28766465

The dynamic of tuberculosis case finding in the era of the public-private mix strategy for tuberculosis control in Central Java, Indonesia.

PubMed

Reviono, Reviono; Setianingsih, Wahyu; Damayanti, Kusmadewi Eka; Ekasari, Ratna

2017-01-01

The public-private mix (PPM) strategy has strengthened tuberculosis care and control in many countries. Indonesia, a country with a high tuberculosis burden, has a low tuberculosis case detection rate (CDR), despite PPM implementation in 2003. The PPM in Indonesia involves primary healthcare centers, hospitals, and specialized chest clinics. The long-term impact of the strategy is unknown.  We aimed to explore the case detection achievements of the tuberculosis program since PPM implementation in Central Java in 2003. This retrospective cohort study covered the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2014. The data from tuberculosis patients treated in all health facilities in Central Java implementing directly observed treatment short-course, recorded via a standardized form, were analyzed after being validated by the Office of Health of Central Java Province. We evaluated the CDR, case notification rate, and total number of cases, using linear regression to analyze the temporal trends of those indicators in the phases of PPM implementation. The CDR increased during the initial phase (2000-2005), decreased during the mid-phase (2006-2009), and increased slightly during the late phase (2010-2014), ranging from 13 to 61.72. These trends were observed despite a steady increase in the number of participating healthcare facilities. The regression analysis showed that the CDR of referral institutions contributed the most to the total CDR of Central Java Province. Many of the smear-negative tuberculosis cases recorded at primary healthcare centers may have been smear positive; this probable misclassification could have been partially avoided if more specific and sensitive diagnostic tools were available. The CDR remains below the national target (70%). Early awareness of a negative trend in certain program indicators is important to ensure program sustainability. Careful observation of the indicator pattern will secure the long-term success of the program.

A quantitative evaluation of the public response to climate engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, Malcolm J.; Teagle, Damon A. H.; Feetham, Pamela M.

2014-02-01

Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations continue to increase, with CO2 passing 400 parts per million in May 2013. To avoid severe climate change and the attendant economic and social dislocation, existing energy efficiency and emissions control initiatives may need support from some form of climate engineering. As climate engineering will be controversial, there is a pressing need to inform the public and understand their concerns before policy decisions are taken. So far, engagement has been exploratory, small-scale or technique-specific. We depart from past research to draw on the associative methods used by corporations to evaluate brands. A systematic, quantitative and comparative approach for evaluating public reaction to climate engineering is developed. Its application reveals that the overall public evaluation of climate engineering is negative. Where there are positive associations they favour carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over solar radiation management (SRM) techniques. Therefore, as SRM techniques become more widely known they are more likely to elicit negative reactions. Two climate engineering techniques, enhanced weathering and cloud brightening, have indistinct concept images and so are less likely to draw public attention than other CDR or SRM techniques.

Exploring the reversibility of marine climate change impacts in temperature overshoot scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zickfeld, K.; Li, X.; Tokarska, K.; Kohfeld, K. E.

2017-12-01

Artificial carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere has been proposed as a measure for mitigating climate change and restoring the climate system to a `safe' state after overshoot. Previous studies have demonstrated that the changes in surface air temperature due to anthropogenic CO2 emissions can be reversed through CDR, while some oceanic properties, for example thermosteric sea level rise, show a delay in their response to CDR. This research aims to investigate the reversibility of changes in ocean conditions after implementation of CDR with a focus on ocean biogeochemical properties. To achieve this, we analyze climate model simulations based on two sets of emission scenarios. We first use RCP2.6 and its extension until year 2300 as the reference scenario and design several temperature and cumulative CO2 emissions "overshoot" scenarios based on other RCPs, which represents cases with less ambitious mitigation policies in the near term that temporarily exceed the 2 °C target adopted by the Paris Agreement. In addition, we use a set of emission scenarios with a reference scenario limiting warming to 1.5°C in the long term and two overshoot scenarios. The University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model (UVic ESCM), a climate model of intermediate complexity, is forced with these emission scenarios. We compare the response of select ocean variables (seawater temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen) in the overshoot scenarios to that in the respective reference scenario at the time the same amount of cumulative emissions is achieved. Our results suggest that the overshoot and subsequent return to a reference CO2 cumulative emissions level would leave substantial impacts on the marine environment. Although the changes in global mean sea surface variables (temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen) are largely reversible, global mean ocean temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH differ significantly from those in the reference scenario. Large ocean areas exhibit temperature increase and pH and dissolved oxygen decrease relative to the reference scenario without cumulative CO2 emissions overshoot. Furthermore, our results show that the higher the level of overshoot, the lower the reversibility of changes in the marine environment.

Cerebellar degeneration-related proteins 2 and 2-like are present in ovarian cancer in patients with and without Yo antibodies.

PubMed

Raspotnig, Margrethe; Haugen, Mette; Thorsteinsdottir, Maria; Stefansson, Ingunn; Salvesen, Helga B; Storstein, Anette; Vedeler, Christian A

2017-11-01

Cerebellar degeneration-related protein 2 (CDR2) has been presumed to be the main antigen for the onconeural antibody Yo, which is strongly associated with ovarian cancer and paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD). Recent data show that Yo antibodies also target the CDR2-like protein (CDR2L). We, therefore, examined the expression of CDR2 and CDR2L in ovarian cancer tissue from patients with and without Yo antibodies and from various other cancerous and normal human tissues. Ovarian cancer tissue and serum samples from 16 patients were included in the study (four with anti-Yo and PCD, two with anti-Yo without PCD, five with only CDR2L antibodies, and five without onconeural antibodies). Clinical data were available for all patients. The human tissues were examined by western blot and immunohistochemistry using rabbit CDR2 and CDR2L antibodies. Ovarian cancers from all 16 patients expressed CDR2 and CDR2L proteins. Both proteins were also present in normal and cancer tissue from mammary tissue, kidney, ovary, prostate, and testis. CDR2L is present in ovarian cancers from patients with and without Yo antibodies as was shown previously for CDR2. In addition, both CDR2 and CDR2L proteins are more widely expressed than previously thought, both in normal and cancerous tissues.

Landsat surface reflectance quality assurance extraction (version 1.7)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, J.W.; Starbuck, M.J.; Jenkerson, Calli B.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Land Remote Sensing Program is developing an operational capability to produce Climate Data Records (CDRs) and Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) from the Landsat Archive to support a wide variety of science and resource management activities from regional to global scale. The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is charged with prototyping systems and software to generate these high-level data products. Various USGS Geographic Science Centers are charged with particular ECV algorithm development and (or) selection as well as the evaluation and application demonstration of various USGS CDRs and ECVs. Because it is a foundation for many other ECVs, the first CDR in development is the Landsat Surface Reflectance Product (LSRP). The LSRP incorporates data quality information in a bit-packed structure that is not readily accessible without postprocessing services performed by the user. This document describes two general methods of LSRP quality-data extraction for use in image processing systems. Helpful hints for the installation and use of software originally developed for manipulation of Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) produced through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observing System are first provided for users who wish to extract quality data into separate HDF files. Next, steps follow to incorporate these extracted data into an image processing system. Finally, an alternative example is illustrated in which the data are extracted within a particular image processing system.

Loss of a mammalian circular RNA locus causes miRNA deregulation and affects brain function.

PubMed

Piwecka, Monika; Glažar, Petar; Hernandez-Miranda, Luis R; Memczak, Sebastian; Wolf, Susanne A; Rybak-Wolf, Agnieszka; Filipchyk, Andrei; Klironomos, Filippos; Cerda Jara, Cledi Alicia; Fenske, Pascal; Trimbuch, Thorsten; Zywitza, Vera; Plass, Mireya; Schreyer, Luisa; Ayoub, Salah; Kocks, Christine; Kühn, Ralf; Rosenmund, Christian; Birchmeier, Carmen; Rajewsky, Nikolaus

2017-09-22

Hundreds of circular RNAs (circRNAs) are highly abundant in the mammalian brain, often with conserved expression. Here we show that the circRNA Cdr1as is massively bound by the microRNAs (miRNAs) miR-7 and miR-671 in human and mouse brains. When the Cdr1as locus was removed from the mouse genome, knockout animals displayed impaired sensorimotor gating-a deficit in the ability to filter out unnecessary information-which is associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Electrophysiological recordings revealed dysfunctional synaptic transmission. Expression of miR-7 and miR-671 was specifically and posttranscriptionally misregulated in all brain regions analyzed. Expression of immediate early genes such as Fos , a direct miR-7 target, was enhanced in Cdr1as -deficient brains, providing a possible molecular link to the behavioral phenotype. Our data indicate an in vivo loss-of-function circRNA phenotype and suggest that interactions between Cdr1as and miRNAs are important for normal brain function. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Ratcheting ambition to limit warming to 1.5 °C–trade-offs between emission reductions and carbon dioxide removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holz, Christian; Siegel, Lori S.; Johnston, Eleanor; Jones, Andrew P.; Sterman, John

2018-06-01

Mitigation scenarios to limit global warming to 1.5 °C or less in 2100 often rely on large amounts of carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which carry significant potential social, environmental, political and economic risks. A precautionary approach to scenario creation is therefore indicated. This letter presents the results of such a precautionary modelling exercise in which the models C-ROADS and En-ROADS were used to generate a series of 1.5 °C mitigation scenarios that apply increasingly stringent constraints on the scale and type of CDR available. This allows us to explore the trade-offs between near-term stringency of emission reductions and assumptions about future availability of CDR. In particular, we find that regardless of CDR assumptions, near-term ambition increase (‘ratcheting’) is required for any 1.5 °C pathway, making this letter timely for the facilitative, or Talanoa, dialogue to be conducted by the UNFCCC in 2018. By highlighting the difference between net and gross reduction rates, often obscured in scenarios, we find that mid-term gross CO2 emission reduction rates in scenarios with CDR constraints increase to levels without historical precedence. This in turn highlights, in addition to the need to substantially increase CO2 reduction rates, the need to improve emission reductions for non-CO2 greenhouse gases. Further, scenarios in which all or part of the CDR is implemented as non-permanent storage exhibit storage loss emissions, which partly offset CDR, highlighting the importance of differentiating between net and gross CDR in scenarios. We find in some scenarios storage loss trending to similar values as gross CDR, indicating that gross CDR would have to be maintained simply to offset the storage losses of CO2 sequestered earlier, without any additional net climate benefit.

Unprecedented rates of land-use transformation in modeled climate change mitigation pathways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, P. A.; Field, C. B.; Lobell, D. B.; Sanchez, D.; Mach, K. J.

2017-12-01

Integrated assessment models (IAMs) generate climate change mitigation scenarios consistent with global temperature targets. To limit warming to 2°, stylized cost-effective mitigation pathways rely on extensive deployments of carbon dioxide (CO2) removal (CDR) technologies, including multi-gigatonne yearly carbon removal from the atmosphere through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and afforestation/reforestation. These assumed CDR deployments keep ambitious temperature limits in reach, but associated rates of land-use transformation have not been evaluated. For IAM scenarios from the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, we compare rates of modeled land-use conversion to recent observed commodity crop expansions. In scenarios with a likely chance of limiting warming to 2° in 2100, the rate of energy cropland expansion supporting BECCS exceeds past commodity crop rates by several fold. In some cases, mitigation scenarios include abrupt reversal of deforestation, paired with massive afforestation/reforestation. Specifically, energy cropland in <2° scenarios expands, on average, by 8.2 Mha yr-1 and 11.7% p.a. across scenarios. This rate exceeds, by more than 3-fold, the observed expansion of soybean, the most rapidly expanding commodity crop. If energy cropland instead increases at rates equal to recent soybean and oil palm expansions, the scale of CO2 removal possible with BECCS is 2.6 to 10-times lower, respectively, than the deployments <2° IAM scenarios rely upon in 2100. IAM mitigation pathways may favor multi-gigatonne biomass-based CDR given undervalued sociopolitical and techno-economic deployment barriers. Heroic modeled rates for land-use transformation imply that large-scale biomass-based CDR is not an easy solution to the climate challenge.

CERES FM-5 on the NPP Spacecraft: Continuing the Earth Radiation Budget Climate Data Record

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Priestly, Kory; Smith, G. Louis

2009-01-01

The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Flight Model-5 (FM-5) instrument will fly on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft, which has a launch-readiness date in June, 2010. This mission will continue the critical Earth Radiation Budget Climate Data Record (CDR) begun by the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) instruments in the mid 1980 s and continued by the CERES instruments currently flying on the EOS Terra and Aqua spacecraft. Ground calibrations have been completed for FM-5 and the instrument has been delivered for integration to the spacecraft Rigorous pre-launch ground calibration is performed on each CERES unit to achieve an accuracy goal of 1% for SW flux and 0.5% for outgoing LW flux. Any ground to flight or in-flight changes in radiometer response is monitored using a protocol employing both onboard and vicarious calibration sources and experiments. Recent studies of FM-1 through FM-4 data have shown that the SW response of space based broadband radiometers can change dramatically due to optical contamination. With these changes having most impact on optical response to blue-to UV radiance, where tungsten lamps are largely devoid of output, such changes are hard to monitor accurately using existing on-board sources. This paper outlines the lessons learned on the existing CERES sensors from 30+ years of flight experience and presents a radiometric protocol to be implemented on the FM-5 instrument to ensure that its performance exceeds the stated calibration and stability goals.

Mapping ENSO: Precipitation for the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, E.; Price, J.; Kruk, M. C.; Luchetti, N.; Marra, J. J.

2015-12-01

The United States Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) are highly susceptible to extreme precipitation events such as drought and flooding, which directly affect their freshwater availability. Precipitation distribution differs by sub-region, and is predominantly influenced by phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Forecasters currently rely on ENSO climatologies from sparse in situ station data to inform their precipitation outlooks. This project provided an updated ENSO-based climatology of long-term precipitation patterns for each USAPI Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) using the NOAA PERSIANN Climate Data Record (CDR). This data provided a 30-year record (1984-2015) of daily precipitation at 0.25° resolution, which was used to calculate monthly, seasonal, and yearly precipitation. Results indicated that while the PERSIANN precipitation accurately described the monthly, seasonal, and annual trends, it under-predicted the precipitation on the islands. Additionally, maps showing percent departure from normal (30 year average) were made for each three month season based on the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) for five ENSO phases (moderate-strong El Niño and La Niña, weak El Niño and La Niña, and neutral). Local weather service offices plan on using these results and maps to better understand how the different ENSO phases influence precipitation patterns.

Impacts devalue the potential of large-scale terrestrial CO2 removal through biomass plantations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boysen, L. R.; Lucht, W.; Gerten, D.; Heck, V.

2016-09-01

Large-scale biomass plantations (BPs) are often considered a feasible and safe climate engineering proposal for extracting carbon from the atmosphere and, thereby, reducing global mean temperatures. However, the capacity of such terrestrial carbon dioxide removal (tCDR) strategies and their larger Earth system impacts remain to be comprehensively studied—even more so under higher carbon emissions and progressing climate change. Here, we use a spatially explicit process-based biosphere model to systematically quantify the potentials and trade-offs of a range of BP scenarios dedicated to tCDR, representing different assumptions about which areas are convertible. Based on a moderate CO2 concentration pathway resulting in a global mean warming of 2.5 °C above preindustrial level by the end of this century—similar to the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5—we assume tCDR to be implemented when a warming of 1.5 °C is reached in year 2038. Our results show that BPs can slow down the progression of increasing cumulative carbon in the atmosphere only sufficiently if emissions are reduced simultaneously like in the underlying RCP4.5 trajectory. The potential of tCDR to balance additional, unabated emissions leading towards a business-as-usual pathway alike RCP8.5 is therefore very limited. Furthermore, in the required large-scale applications, these plantations would induce significant trade-offs with food production and biodiversity and exert impacts on forest extent, biogeochemical cycles and biogeophysical properties.

Implementation of Child Death Review in the Netherlands: results of a pilot study.

PubMed

Gijzen, Sandra; Hilhorst, Michaëla I; L'Hoir, Monique P; Boere-Boonekamp, Magda M; Need, Ariana

2016-07-08

Child mortality in the Netherlands declined gradually in the past decades. In total 1130 children and youth aged 0 to 19 years died in 2014 (i.e. 29.4 per 100,000 live births). A better understanding of the background and the circumstances surrounding the death of children as well as the manner and cause of death may lead to preventive measures. Child Death Review (CDR) is a method to systematically analyze child deaths by a multidisciplinary team to identify avoidable factors that may have contributed to the death and to give directions for prevention. CDR could be an addition to further reduce avoidable child deaths in the Netherlands. The purpose of this study is to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the pilot-implementation of CDR in a Dutch region. The results are translated in recommendations for future implementation of the CDR method in the Netherlands. Children who lived in the pilot region and died aged 29 days after birth until 2 years were, after parental consent, included for reviewing by a regional CDR team. Eighteen logs and seven transcribed records of CDR meetings concerning 6 deceased children were analyzed using Atlas ti. The SWOT framework was used to identify important themes. The most important strengths identified were the expertise of and cooperation within the CDR team and the available materials. An important weakness was the poor cooperation of some professional groups. The fact that parents and professionals endorse the objective of CDR was an important opportunity. The lack of statutory basis was a threat. Many obstacles need to be taken away before large-scale implementation of CDR in the Netherlands becomes possible. The most important precondition for implementation is the acceptance among professionals and the statutory basis of the CDR method.

Extending the NOAA SBUV(/2) Ozone Profile Record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frith, S. M.; Wild, J.; Long, C. S.

2017-12-01

Since the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 and its subsequent agreements banning anthropogenic ozone depleting substances (ODS) the climate community has been anticipating the ability to detect the recovery of the ozone layer. This recovery is complicated by climate changes associated with the increase of CO2 in the both the troposphere and stratosphere. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has generated a long term total column and profile ozone climate data record (CDR) based on the SBUV and SBUV/2 on Nimbus 7 and the NOAA Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES): NOAA-9, -11, -14, -16, -17, -18 and -19 spanning 38 years from 1978 to 2016. This dataset uses observations from a single instrument for each time period and an adjustment scheme to remove inter-satellite differences. The last of these SBUV/2 instruments resides on NOAA-19 launched in 2009, and with drifting equatorial crossing time will soon loose latitudinal coverage, and be impacted by an increasing solar zenith angle. The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) instrument has replaced the SBUV/2 as the primary ozone monitoring instrument at NOAA. It is taking observations on the Suomi-NPOESS Preparatory Project (S-NPP) satellite which was launched in 2011 and will be on future JPSS satellites. JPSS-1 is expected to be launched in late 2017, and later JPSS satellites will additionally carry the OMPS instrument. Reprocessed OMPS Nadir Profile (NP) and Nadir Mapper (NM) level 2 data has been made available by NESDIS/STAR covering the period from 2012 through 2016. The OMPS NP has been characterized and calibrated to be very similar to the SBUV/2. Results of extending the SBUV(/2) dataset with ozone profile data from OMPS will be reviewed. Stability of ozone recovery trend estimates using these datasets will be explored using the Hockey Stick approach of Reinsel (2002) near-globally (50N-50S), tropically and at mid-latitudes. Seasonality of the trend results will be examined. Reinsel, G.C., et al Journal of Geophys. Res., 107, p4078 (2002).

Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Basic Information

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA collects information on the types and quantities of chemicals produced in the U.S under the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirements. This fact sheet outlines key information about CDR, including what data are collected and how the data are used.

TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Toll Manufacturing

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides information on existing Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) regulations to persons who are involved in toll manufacturing of chemical substances which may be subject to the CDR rule.

Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Chemicals Snapshot

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides a brief overview of the chemical manufacturing, processing, and use information collected for the 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. Users do not have access to the complete CDR data set and should draw conclusions with care.

TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Byproducts Reporting for the Printed Circuit Board Industry

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides information on existing Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule requirements related to byproducts reporting by persons who manufacture printed circuit boards and may be subject to CDR.

Chemical Data Reporting Byproduct and Recycling Scenarios

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document addresses a series of 18 industry scenarios and questions related to EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. The primary goal of this document is to help the regulated community comply with the requirements of the CDR rule.

Dysregulated miR-671-5p / CDR1-AS / CDR1 / VSNL1 axis is involved in glioblastoma multiforme.

PubMed

Barbagallo, Davide; Condorelli, Angelo; Ragusa, Marco; Salito, Loredana; Sammito, Mariangela; Banelli, Barbara; Caltabiano, Rosario; Barbagallo, Giuseppe; Zappalà, Agata; Battaglia, Rosalia; Cirnigliaro, Matilde; Lanzafame, Salvatore; Vasquez, Enrico; Parenti, Rosalba; Cicirata, Federico; Di Pietro, Cinzia; Romani, Massimo; Purrello, Michele

2016-01-26

MiR-671-5p is encoded by a gene localized at 7q36.1, a region amplified in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most malignant brain cancer. To investigate whether expression of miR-671-5p were altered in GBM, we analyzed biopsies from a cohort of forty-five GBM patients and from five GBM cell lines. Our data show significant overexpression of miR-671-5p in both biopsies and cell lines. By exploiting specific miRNA mimics and inhibitors, we demonstrated that miR-671-5p overexpression significantly increases migration and to a less extent proliferation rates of GBM cells. Through a combined in silico and in vitro approach, we identified CDR1-AS, CDR1, VSNL1 as downstream miR-671-5p targets in GBM. Expression of these genes significantly decreased both in GBM biopsies and cell lines and negatively correlated with that of miR-671-5p. Based on our data, we propose that the axis miR-671-5p / CDR1-AS / CDR1 / VSNL1 is functionally altered in GBM cells and is involved in the modification of their biopathological profile.

The Day-1 GPM Combined Precipitation Algorithm: IMERG

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huffman, G. J.; Bolvin, D. T.; Braithwaite, D.; Hsu, K.; Joyce, R.; Kidd, C.; Sorooshian, S.; Xie, P.

2012-12-01

The Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (IMERG) algorithm will provide the at-launch combined-sensor precipitation dataset being produced by the U.S. GPM Science Team. IMERG is being developed as a unified U.S. algorithm that takes advantage of strengths in three current U.S. algorithms: - the TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), which addresses inter-satellite calibration of precipitation estimates and monthly scale combination of satellite and gauge analyses; - the CPC Morphing algorithm with Kalman Filtering (KF-CMORPH), which provides quality-weighted time interpolation of precipitation patterns following storm motion; and - the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks using a Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS), which provides a neural-network-based scheme for generating microwave-calibrated precipitation estimates from geosynchronous infrared brightness temperatures, and filters out some non-raining cold clouds. The goal is to provide a long-term, fine-scale record of global precipitation from the entire constellation of precipitation-relevant satellite sensors, with input from surface precipitation gauges. The record will begin January 1998 at the start of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and extend as GPM records additional data. Although homogeneity is considered desirable, the use of diverse and evolving data sources works against the strict long-term homogeneity that characterizes a Climate Data Record (CDR). This talk will briefly review the design requirements for IMERG, including multiple runs at different latencies (most likely around 4 hours, 12 hours, and 2 months after observation time), various intermediate data fields as part of the IMERG data file, and the plans to bring up IMERG with calibration by TRMM initially, transitioning to GPM when its individual-sensor precipitation algorithms are fully functional. Then we will present some early examples of IMERG data products and compare them with existing products to illustrate how the design of IMERG affects the overall performance of the algorithm.

Understanding the Effectiveness of Carbon Dioxide Removal to Reduce the Impacts of Climate Change.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, V.; Tett, S. F.; Brander, M.

2017-12-01

The current Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement suggest exceeding the emissions budgets corresponding to the below 2°C and 1.5°C temperature targets. To address this the future application of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is proposed to recapture excess emissions at a later time, so keeping the total net emissions within budget. This assumes that the climate change impact of CO2 emitted now can be fully compensated by a matched CO2 removal in the future. However, the impacts from this pathway of emissions budget overshoot and subsequent recapture may differ from those resulting from a pathway where emissions are held within budget with no temporary overshoot. These pathway dependent impacts could give rise to different climatic and societal futures despite the total net emissions being the same. Using a low resolution fully coupled Earth System Model with an interactive carbon cycle, we present an investigation into the pathway dependence of climate change impacts and how these relate to the scale and duration of the emissions budget overshoot and subsequent recapture. From this we discuss the effectiveness of CDR in avoiding climate change impacts relative to more immediate emissions reductions. We consider how this relative effectiveness might be reflected in GHG accounting methods and national GHG accounts, and explore the implications for Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, where holding temperatures to the targets is recognised to "significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change".

The complementarity-determining region sequences in IgY antivenom hypervariable regions.

PubMed

da Rocha, David Gitirana; Fernandez, Jorge Hernandez; de Almeida, Claudia Maria Costa; da Silva, Claudia Letícia; Magnoli, Fabio Carlos; da Silva, Osmair Élder; da Silva, Wilmar Dias

2017-08-01

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "Development of IgY antibodies against anti-snake toxins endowed with highly lethal neutralizing activity" (da Rocha et al., 2017) [1]. Complementarity-determining region (CDR) sequences are variable antibody (Ab) sequences that respond with specificity, duration and strength to identify and bind to antigen (Ag) epitopes. B lymphocytes isolated from hens immunized with Bitis arietans (Ba) and anti- Crotalus durissus terrificus (Cdt) venoms and expressing high specificity, affinity and toxicity neutralizing antibody titers were used as DNA sources. The VLF1, CDR1, CDR2, VLR1 and CDR3 sequences were validated by BLASTp, and values corresponding to IgY V L and V H anti-Ba or anti-Cdt venoms were identified, registered [ Gallus gallus IgY Fv Light chain (GU815099)/ Gallus gallus IgY Fv Heavy chain (GU815098)] and used for molecular modeling of IgY scFv anti-Ba. The resulting CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3 sequences were combined to construct the three - dimensional structure of the Ab paratope.

Multimedia Health Records: user-centered design approach for a multimedia uploading service.

PubMed

Plazzotta, Fernando; Mayan, John C; Storani, Fernando D; Ortiz, Juan M; Lopez, Gastón E; Gimenez, Gastón M; Luna, Daniel R

2015-01-01

Multimedia elements add value to text documents by transmitting information difficult to express in words. In healthcare, many professional and services keep this elements in their own repositories. This brings the problem of information fragmentation in different silos which hinder its access to other healthcare professionals. On the other hand patients have clinical data of their own in different formats generated in different healthcare organizations which is not accessible to professionals within our healthcare network. This paper describes the design, development and implementation processes of a service which allows media elements to be loaded in a patient clinical data repository (CDR) either through an electronic health record by professionals (EHR) or through a personal health record (PHR) by patients, in order to avoid fragmentation of the information.

Clock drawing test in elderly individuals with different education levels: correlation with clinical dementia rating.

PubMed

Cecato, Juliana Francisca; Fiorese, Bruna; Montiel, José Maria; Bartholomeu, Daniel; Martinelli, José Eduardo

2012-12-01

The aim of this study was to describe the performance in Clock Drawing Test (CDT) of the elderly individuals assessed in a geriatric clinic, with at least 1 year of schooling, comparing with other groups with higher education and with Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) levels. The study also aims to correlate the results of CDT and other used diagnostic tests for dementia by CDR levels, providing additional validity evidence to the CDT. Cross-sectional study with 426 elderly individuals, >60 years old and at least 1 year of education. All participants searched for medical assistance at Geriatric and Gerontology Ambulatory of Jundiaí city, in Brazil. The community-dwelling outpatients previously undergone a detailed clinical examination and neuropsychological evaluation: Cambrigde Cognitive Examination (CAMCOG), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), andCDT. To differentiate data from diagnostic groups based on CDR, it Kruskal-Wallis test was used. Pearson statistics were calculated to compare data from CDT and CDR. The statistical analyses were 2-tailed and were considered significant when P < .05. Regarding CDT, groups with more years of schooling showed similar means in CDR = 0 and CDR = 0.5 and in CDR = 1 and CDR = 2. Shulman and Sunderland scale were high score in groups with more years of education and above of cutoff points in all CDT score. On the contrary, in Mendez scale we did not observed similar means. Otherwise, in the group with less years of schooling greater means differences in the CDT were observed. The CDT did not show a strong correlation with MMSE and CAMCOG, both important instruments in Brazilian population to investigate dementia. For elderly individuals with high education levels, the CDT did not seem to be a good test to detect cognitive impairment.

Dysregulated miR-671-5p / CDR1-AS / CDR1 / VSNL1 axis is involved in glioblastoma multiforme

PubMed Central

Salito, Loredana; Sammito, Mariangela; Banelli, Barbara; Caltabiano, Rosario; Barbagallo, Giuseppe; Zappalà, Agata; Battaglia, Rosalia; Cirnigliaro, Matilde; Lanzafame, Salvatore; Vasquez, Enrico; Parenti, Rosalba; Cicirata, Federico; Di Pietro, Cinzia; Romani, Massimo; Purrello, Michele

2016-01-01

MiR-671-5p is encoded by a gene localized at 7q36.1, a region amplified in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most malignant brain cancer. To investigate whether expression of miR-671-5p were altered in GBM, we analyzed biopsies from a cohort of forty-five GBM patients and from five GBM cell lines. Our data show significant overexpression of miR-671-5p in both biopsies and cell lines. By exploiting specific miRNA mimics and inhibitors, we demonstrated that miR-671-5p overexpression significantly increases migration and to a less extent proliferation rates of GBM cells. Through a combined in silico and in vitro approach, we identified CDR1-AS, CDR1, VSNL1 as downstream miR-671-5p targets in GBM. Expression of these genes significantly decreased both in GBM biopsies and cell lines and negatively correlated with that of miR-671-5p. Based on our data, we propose that the axis miR-671-5p / CDR1-AS / CDR1 / VSNL1 is functionally altered in GBM cells and is involved in the modification of their biopathological profile. PMID:26683098

Performance of Optimally Merged Multisatellite Precipitation Products Using the Dynamic Bayesian Model Averaging Scheme Over the Tibetan Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yingzhao; Hong, Yang; Chen, Yang; Yang, Yuan; Tang, Guoqiang; Yao, Yunjun; Long, Di; Li, Changmin; Han, Zhongying; Liu, Ronghua

2018-01-01

Accurate estimation of precipitation from satellites at high spatiotemporal scales over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) remains a challenge. In this study, we proposed a general framework for blending multiple satellite precipitation data using the dynamic Bayesian model averaging (BMA) algorithm. The blended experiment was performed at a daily 0.25° grid scale for 2007-2012 among Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42RT and 3B42V7, Climate Prediction Center MORPHing technique (CMORPH), and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR). First, the BMA weights were optimized using the expectation-maximization (EM) method for each member on each day at 200 calibrated sites and then interpolated to the entire plateau using the ordinary kriging (OK) approach. Thus, the merging data were produced by weighted sums of the individuals over the plateau. The dynamic BMA approach showed better performance with a smaller root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 6.77 mm/day, higher correlation coefficient of 0.592, and closer Euclid value of 0.833, compared to the individuals at 15 validated sites. Moreover, BMA has proven to be more robust in terms of seasonality, topography, and other parameters than traditional ensemble methods including simple model averaging (SMA) and one-outlier removed (OOR). Error analysis between BMA and the state-of-the-art IMERG in the summer of 2014 further proved that the performance of BMA was superior with respect to multisatellite precipitation data merging. This study demonstrates that BMA provides a new solution for blending multiple satellite data in regions with limited gauges.

The efficacy of using computer-aided detection (CAD) for detection of breast cancer in mammography screening: a systematic review.

PubMed

Henriksen, Emilie L; Carlsen, Jonathan F; Vejborg, Ilse Mm; Nielsen, Michael B; Lauridsen, Carsten A

2018-01-01

Background Early detection of breast cancer (BC) is crucial in lowering the mortality. Purpose To present an overview of studies concerning computer-aided detection (CAD) in screening mammography for early detection of BC and compare diagnostic accuracy and recall rates (RR) of single reading (SR) with SR + CAD and double reading (DR) with SR + CAD. Material and Methods PRISMA guidelines were used as a review protocol. Articles on clinical trials concerning CAD for detection of BC in a screening population were included. The literature search resulted in 1522 records. A total of 1491 records were excluded by abstract and 18 were excluded by full text reading. A total of 13 articles were included. Results All but two studies from the SR vs. SR + CAD group showed an increased sensitivity and/or cancer detection rate (CDR) when adding CAD. The DR vs. SR + CAD group showed no significant differences in sensitivity and CDR. Adding CAD to SR increased the RR and decreased the specificity in all but one study. For the DR vs. SR + CAD group only one study reported a significant difference in RR. Conclusion All but two studies showed an increase in RR, sensitivity and CDR when adding CAD to SR. Compared to DR no statistically significant differences in sensitivity or CDR were reported. Additional studies based on organized population-based screening programs, with longer follow-up time, high-volume readers, and digital mammography are needed to evaluate the efficacy of CAD.

CDR2L Antibodies: A New Player in Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration

PubMed Central

Eichler, Tilo W.; Totland, Cecilie; Haugen, Mette; Qvale, Tor H.; Mazengia, Kibret; Storstein, Anette; Haukanes, Bjørn I.; Vedeler, Christian A.

2013-01-01

Objective Yo antibodies are associated with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD). We have characterized Yo sera by measuring CDR2 and CDR2L antibodies and the localization of their antigens. Methods Forty-two Yo sera from patients with paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS), 179 sera from ovarian and 114 sera from breast cancer patients without PNS and 100 blood donors were screened for CDR2 and CDR2L antibodies by radioactive immune assay (RIA). Fluorescence microscopy was also used to determine the presence of CDR2 or CDR2L antibodies by staining of HeLa cells transfected with CDR2 or CDR2L fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP). Confocal microscopy was further used to localize the CDR2 and CDR2L proteins. Results RIA showed that 36 of the 42 Yo positive sera contained CDR2 and CDR2L antibodies whereas 6 sera contained only CDR2 antibodies. Five of the ovarian cancer patients had CDR2L antibodies and 4 of the breast cancer patients had either CDR2 or CDR2L antibodies. Only patients with both antibodies had PCD. RIA and staining of transfected cells showed similar results. Yo antibodies were not present in the 100 blood donors. Confocal microscopy showed that CDR2 and CDR2L were localized to the cytoplasm, whereas CDR2L was also present on the cell membrane. Interpretation Yo sera usually contain CDR2 and CDR2L antibodies and both antibodies are associated with PCD. Since only CDR2L is localized to the cell membrane it is likely that CDR2L antibodies may be of primary pathogenic importance for the development of PCD. PMID:23823982

Application of distance-dependent resolution compensation and post-reconstruction filtering for myocardial SPECT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutton, Brian F.; Lau, Yiu H.

1998-06-01

Compensation for distance-dependent resolution can be directly incorporated in maximum likelihood reconstruction. Our objective was to examine the effectiveness of this compensation using either the standard expectation maximization (EM) algorithm or an accelerated algorithm based on use of ordered subsets (OSEM). We also investigated the application of post-reconstruction filtering in combination with resolution compensation. Using the MCAT phantom, projections were simulated for data, including attenuation and distance-dependent resolution. Projection data were reconstructed using conventional EM and OSEM with subset size 2 and 4, with/without 3D compensation for detector response (CDR). Also post-reconstruction filtering (PRF) was performed using a 3D Butterworth filter of order 5 with various cutoff frequencies (0.2-). Image quality and reconstruction accuracy were improved when CDR was included. Image noise was lower with CDR for a given iteration number. PRF with cutoff frequency greater than improved noise with no reduction in recovery coefficient for myocardium but the effect was less when CDR was incorporated in the reconstruction. CDR alone provided better results than use of PRF without CDR. Results suggest that using CDR without PRF, and stopping at a small number of iterations, may provide sufficiently good results for myocardial SPECT. Similar behaviour was demonstrated for OSEM.

Staging dementia using Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes scores: a Texas Alzheimer's research consortium study.

PubMed

O'Bryant, Sid E; Waring, Stephen C; Cullum, C Munro; Hall, James; Lacritz, Laura; Massman, Paul J; Lupo, Philip J; Reisch, Joan S; Doody, Rachelle

2008-08-01

The Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SOB) score is commonly used, although the utility regarding this score in staging dementia severity is not well established. To investigate the effectiveness of CDR-SOB scores in staging dementia severity compared with the global CDR score. Retrospective study. Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium minimum data set cohort. A total of 1577 participants (110 controls, 202 patients with mild cognitive impairment, and 1265 patients with probable Alzheimer disease) were available for analysis. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated from a derivation sample to determine optimal cutoff scores and ranges, which were then applied to the validation sample. Optimal ranges of CDR-SOB scores corresponding to the global CDR scores were 0.5 to 4.0 for a global score of 0.5, 4.5 to 9.0 for a global score of 1.0, 9.5 to 15.5 for a global score of 2.0, and 16.0 to 18.0 for a global score of 3.0. When applied to the validation sample, kappa scores ranged from 0.86 to 0.94 (P < .001 for all), with 93.0% of the participants falling within the new staging categories. The CDR-SOB score compares well with the global CDR score for dementia staging. Owing to the increased range of values, the CDR-SOB score offers several advantages over the global score, including increased utility in tracking changes within and between stages of dementia severity. Interpretive guidelines for CDR-SOB scores are provided.

A clinical data repository enhances hospital infection control.

PubMed Central

Samore, M.; Lichtenberg, D.; Saubermann, L.; Kawachi, C.; Carmeli, Y.

1997-01-01

We describe the benefits of a relational database of hospital clinical data (Clinical Data Repository; CDR) for an infection control program. The CDR consists of > 40 Sybase tables, and is directly accessible for ad hoc queries by members of the infection control unit who have been granted privileges for access by the Information Systems Department. The data elements and functional requirements most useful for surveillance of nosocomial infections, antibiotic use, and resistant organisms are characterized. Specific applications of the CDR are presented, including the use of automated definitions of nosocomial infection, graphical monitoring of resistant organisms with quality control limits, and prospective detection of inappropriate antibiotic use. Hospital surveillance and quality improvement activities are significantly benefited by the availability of a querable set of tables containing diverse clinical data. PMID:9357588

Instructions for the 2012 TSCA Chemical Data Reporting

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document, which pertains to EPA CDR reporting during 2012, updates guidance issued for reporting in 2006 to incorporate instructions relevant to 2012 reporting. It provides detailed information and examples to in reporting under the CDR rule.

Chemicals Reported for the 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) in Alphabetical Order

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

For the 2012 CDR, 7,674 unique chemicals were reported by manufacturers (including importers).Chemicals are listed in alphabetical order by CA Index Name (for non-confidential chemicals) or by generic chemical name.

TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Articles

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides guidance on classifying articles under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and determining the applicability of EPA’s articles exclusion policy for purposes of the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. The primary goal of this document is to help the regulated community comply with the requirements of the CDR rule.

Blue laser inorganic write-once media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Bing-Mau; Yeh, Ru-Lin

2004-09-01

With the advantages of low cost, portability and compliance with ROM disc, write once disk has become the most popular storage media for computer and audio/video application. In addition, write once media, like CD-R and DVD-/+ R, are used to store permanent or nonalterable information, such as financial data transitions, legal documentation, and medical data. Several write once recording materials, such as TeO[1], TeOPd[2] and Si/Cu [3] have been proposed to realize inorganic write once media. Moreover, we propose AlSi alloy [4] to be used for recording layer of write once media. It had good recording properties in DVD system although the reflectivity is too low to be used for DVD-R disk. In this paper, we report the further results in blue laser system, such as the static and dynamic characteristics of write once media.

Templated electrochemical deposition of zirconia thin films on "recordable CDs.".

PubMed

Yu, Hua-Zhong; Rowe, Aaron W; Waugh, Damien M

2002-11-15

In this paper, we describe a practical method of using gold films constructed from recordable compact disks (CD-Rs) as simple, inexpensive, and micropatterned conductive substrates for the fabrication of inorganic material microstructures. Extending from their application for the fabrication of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) reported recently, bare and SAM-modified CD-R gold substrates have been used for template-directed electrodeposition of zirconia (ZrO2) thin films (i.e., the controlled formation of zirconia thin films on the different areas of the prefabricated, micrometer mountain-valley CD-R gold substrate surfaces). The present results demonstrate that the variation of the functional groups of the selected SAMs combined with electrodynamic control can be very successful to "customize" the formation and microstructure of functional inorganic thin films, which hold promise for modern technological applications.

We Don't Need a "Geoengineering" Research Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldeira, K.

2011-12-01

Most approaches commonly labeled as 'geoengineering' can be divided into two categories: approaches that attempt to reduce the change in atmospheric composition caused by anthropogenic emissions (commonly labeled CDR, for Carbon Dioxide Removal), and approaches that attempt to reduce the change in climate caused by changes in atmospheric composition (commonly labeled SRM, for Sunlight Reflection Methods or Solar Radiation Management). CDR is relatively uncontroversial (apart from ocean fertilization), and the primary issues are typically cost, effectiveness, local environmental consequences, and verification. In contrast, SRM has provoked much controversy, because large-scale SRM deployments necessarily would affect everyone on this planet. Several proposals have been tabled for SRM-specific or geoengineering-specific research and governance structures, treating SRM or geoengineering research as a thing apart. We should instead view CDR and SRM research as part of a broader continuum of activities aimed at understanding Earth system dynamics and reducing risks associated with climate change. The scope of existing research efforts should be broadened so that CDR and SRM approaches are, at this stage in development, treated as an extension of what we are already doing. What is 'geoengineering research'? A primary need at this time is for expansion of scope of and funding for existing climate-related research efforts. For examples: Scientists studying the role of aerosols in clouds or stratospheric processes can expand the domain of concern to consider effects of intentionally introduced aerosols (and not just natural aerosols and aerosols we introduce as a byproduct of civilization's normal functioning). Scientists studying effects of land-surface change on global and regional climates can expand the domain of concern beyond inadvertent effects to consider effects of land-surface changes undertaken with the intent to affect these climates. Research programs aimed at removing carbon dioxide from power plant flue gases can be broadened to consider industrial approaches to remove carbon dioxide that has already been released to the atmosphere. There appears to be little need for new overarching research structures or institutions at this time for activities for which there are no plans for deployment. Defining the scope of reference of 'geoengineering' and related terms (eg, 'geoengineering experiment') is a linguistic distraction and a waste of time. We should focus instead on substantive issues of primary concern. If our goal is to reduce risk from scientific experiments, then let's develop approaches aimed at governing risky experiments. Governance efforts can be aimed at eliminating unjustified risk independently of whether some people might want to apply labels like 'geoengineering' to those activities. We do not need 'a geoengineering research program'. We need to expand existing research programs to consider a broader range of activities and conditions. We do not need efforts to govern 'geoengineering experiments' although we may need efforts to govern scientific experiments that pose unjustified risks. Let's focus on gaining knowledge and managing risks, and not let our brains be addled by emotionally-charged language.

An analysis of redactions in Canada’s Common Drug Review Clinical Review Reports and how they relate to the patients’ voice

PubMed Central

Soprovich, Allison; El Kurdi, Sylvia; Eurich, Dean T

2017-01-01

Importance Canada’s Common Drug Review (CDR) evaluates drug data from published and unpublished research, as well as input from patient groups, to recommend provincial coverage. Currently, the CDR process gives manufacturers the opportunity to redact information in the final publicly available report. Patients often have strong feelings regarding the efficacy, harms, health-related quality of life (HRQL), and cost associated with the drugs under review and their redacted data. Highlighting Canada’s approach will hopefully build on the growing international concern regarding transparency of clinical study data. Objective The purpose was to objectively examine and classify completed, publicly available CDR-Clinical Review Reports (CRR) for redactions, and compare them to the patients’ reported interests as patient-centred outcomes. Methods Two independent reviewers searched for and examined publicly available CDR-CRR from November 2013-September 2016 through the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) on-line database. Both reviewers separately classified the redactions and patient-reported interests into the following categories: efficacy, harms, HRQL and costs. All discrepancies were rectified by consensus involving a third reviewer. Results Fifty-two completed CDR-CRR were reviewed. 48 (92%) included patient-reported interests and 40 (77%) had redactions classified in the following categories: efficacy (75%), costs (48%), harms (38%), HRQL (23%). 89% of redactions were outcomes identified as patient-reported interests (69% efficacy, 42% harms, 36% cost, 33% HRQL). When examining drug characteristics, biological agents were statistically associated with increased odds of redactions with respect to either efficacy (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 11.6) or harms (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.02 to 12.4) compared with non-biological agents. Conclusions Whether data from the CDR-CRR used in the decision-making should be fully disclosed to the public is controversial. Our findings suggest clinical data (efficacy, harms, HRQL) matters to patients and should be publicly available within the CDR-CRR. Canada trails Europe and the USA regarding the transparency of clinical study data. This lack of transparency relates to the patient voice, and limits movement towards patient-centred care and patient-engaged research, restricting real-world value measurement. PMID:28893743

An analysis of redactions in Canada's Common Drug Review Clinical Review Reports and how they relate to the patients' voice.

PubMed

Soprovich, Allison; El Kurdi, Sylvia; Eurich, Dean T

2017-09-11

Canada's Common Drug Review (CDR) evaluates drug data from published and unpublished research, as well as input from patient groups, to recommend provincial coverage. Currently, the CDR process gives manufacturers the opportunity to redact information in the final publicly available report. Patients often have strong feelings regarding the efficacy, harms, health-related quality of life (HRQL), and cost associated with the drugs under review and their redacted data. Highlighting Canada's approach will hopefully build on the growing international concern regarding transparency of clinical study data. The purpose was to objectively examine and classify completed, publicly available CDR-Clinical Review Reports (CRR) for redactions, and compare them to the patients' reported interests as patient-centred outcomes. Two independent reviewers searched for and examined publicly available CDR-CRR from November 2013-September 2016 through the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) on-line database. Both reviewers separately classified the redactions and patient-reported interests into the following categories: efficacy, harms, HRQL and costs. All discrepancies were rectified by consensus involving a third reviewer. Fifty-two completed CDR-CRR were reviewed. 48 (92%) included patient-reported interests and 40 (77%) had redactions classified in the following categories: efficacy (75%), costs (48%), harms (38%), HRQL (23%). 89% of redactions were outcomes identified as patient-reported interests (69% efficacy, 42% harms, 36% cost, 33% HRQL). When examining drug characteristics, biological agents were statistically associated with increased odds of redactions with respect to either efficacy (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 11.6) or harms (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.02 to 12.4) compared with non-biological agents. Whether data from the CDR-CRR used in the decision-making should be fully disclosed to the public is controversial. Our findings suggest clinical data (efficacy, harms, HRQL) matters to patients and should be publicly available within the CDR-CRR. Canada trails Europe and the USA regarding the transparency of clinical study data. This lack of transparency relates to the patient voice, and limits movement towards patient-centred care and patient-engaged research, restricting real-world value measurement. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The Structured Interview & Scoring Tool-Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (SIST-M): development, reliability, and cross-sectional validation of a brief structured clinical dementia rating interview.

PubMed

Okereke, Olivia I; Copeland, Maura; Hyman, Bradley T; Wanggaard, Taylor; Albert, Marilyn S; Blacker, Deborah

2011-03-01

The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and CDR Sum-of-Boxes can be used to grade mild but clinically important cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer disease. However, sensitive clinical interview formats are lengthy. To develop a brief instrument for obtaining CDR scores and to assess its reliability and cross-sectional validity. Using legacy data from expanded interviews conducted among 347 community-dwelling older adults in a longitudinal study, we identified 60 questions (from a possible 131) about cognitive functioning in daily life using clinical judgment, inter-item correlations, and principal components analysis. Items were selected in 1 cohort (n=147), and a computer algorithm for generating CDR scores was developed in this same cohort and re-run in a replication cohort (n=200) to evaluate how well the 60 items retained information from the original 131 items. Short interviews based on the 60 items were then administered to 50 consecutively recruited older individuals, with no symptoms or mild cognitive symptoms, at an Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Clinical Dementia Rating scores based on short interviews were compared with those from independent long interviews. In the replication cohort, agreement between short and long CDR interviews ranged from κ=0.65 to 0.79, with κ=0.76 for Memory, κ=0.77 for global CDR, and intraclass correlation coefficient for CDR Sum-of-Boxes=0.89. In the cross-sectional validation, short interview scores were slightly lower than those from long interviews, but good agreement was observed for global CDR and Memory (κ≥0.70) as well as for CDR Sum-of-Boxes (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.73). The Structured Interview & Scoring Tool-Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center is a brief, reliable, and sensitive instrument for obtaining CDR scores in persons with symptoms along the spectrum of mild cognitive change.

The 5-year cost-effectiveness of two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion or cervical disc replacement: a Markov analysis.

PubMed

Overley, Samuel C; McAnany, Steven J; Brochin, Robert L; Kim, Jun S; Merrill, Robert K; Qureshi, Sheeraz A

2018-01-01

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and cervical disc replacement (CDR) are both acceptable surgical options for the treatment of cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy. To date, there are limited economic analyses assessing the relative cost-effectiveness of two-level ACDF versus CDR. The purpose of this study was to determine the 5-year cost-effectiveness of two-level ACDF versus CDR. The study design is a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data. Patients in the Prestige cervical disc investigational device exemption (IDE) study who underwent either a two-level CDR or a two-level ACDF were included in the study. The outcome measures were cost and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). A Markov state-transition model was used to evaluate data from the two-level Prestige cervical disc IDE study. Data from the 36-item Short Form Health Survey were converted into utilities using the short form (SF)-6D algorithm. Costs were calculated from the payer perspective. QALYs were used to represent effectiveness. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) was performed using a Monte Carlo simulation. The base-case analysis, assuming a 40-year-old person who failed appropriate conservative care, generated a 5-year cost of $130,417 for CDR and $116,717 for ACDF. Cervical disc replacement and ACDF generated 3.45 and 3.23 QALYs, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated to be $62,337/QALY for CDR. The Monte Carlo simulation validated the base-case scenario. Cervical disc replacement had an average cost of $130,445 (confidence interval [CI]: $108,395-$152,761) with an average effectiveness of 3.46 (CI: 3.05-3.83). Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion had an average cost of $116,595 (CI: $95,439-$137,937) and an average effectiveness of 3.23 (CI: 2.84-3.59). The ICER was calculated at $62,133/QALY with respect to CDR. Using a $100,000/QALY willingness to pay (WTP), CDR is the more cost-effective strategy and would be selected 61.5% of the time by the simulation. Two-level CDR and ACDF are both cost-effective strategies at 5 years. Neither strategy was found to be more cost-effective with an ICER greater than the $50,000/QALY WTP threshold. The assumptions used in the analysis were strongly validated with the results of the PSA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Examples and Case Studies for the 2012 Chemical Data Reporting

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents examples and case studies to help you in reporting for 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR), formerly known as Inventory Update Reporting (IUR).EPA designed these examples to illustrate the new reporting requirements, which were published as part of the CDR Rule (published August 16, 2011), and to address general reporting issues from the 2006 IUR.

Staging Dementia Using Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes Scores

PubMed Central

O'Bryant, Sid E.; Waring, Stephen C.; Cullum, C. Munro; Hall, James; Lacritz, Laura; Massman, Paul J.; Lupo, Philip J.; Reisch, Joan S.; Doody, Rachelle

2012-01-01

Background The Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SOB) score is commonly used, although the utility regarding this score in staging dementia severity is not well established. Obiective To investigate the effectiveness of CDRSOB scores in staging dementia severity compared with the global CDR score. Design Retrospective study. Setting Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium minimum data set cohort. Participants A total of 1577 participants (110 controls, 202 patients with mild cognitive impairment, and 1265 patients with probable Alzheimer disease) were available for analysis. Main Outcome Measures Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated from a derivation sample to determine optimal cutoff scores and ranges, which were then applied to the validation sample. Results Optimal ranges of CDR-SOB scores corresponding to the global CDR scores were 0.5 to 4.0 for a global score of 0.5, 4.5 to 9.0 for a global score of 1.O, 9.5 to 15.5 for a global score of 2.0, and 16.0 to 18.0 for a global score of 3.0. When applied to the validation sample, κ scores ranged from 0.86 to 0.94 (P <.001 for all), with 93.0% of the participants falling within the new staging categories. Conclusions The CDR-SOB score compares well with the global CDR score for dementia staging. Owing to the increased range of values, the CDR-SOB score offers several advantages over the global score, including increased utility in tracking changes within and between stages of dementia severity. Interpretive guidelines for CDR-SOB scores are provided. PMID:18695059

A Bayesian hierarchical model for mortality data from cluster-sampling household surveys in humanitarian crises.

PubMed

Heudtlass, Peter; Guha-Sapir, Debarati; Speybroeck, Niko

2018-05-31

The crude death rate (CDR) is one of the defining indicators of humanitarian emergencies. When data from vital registration systems are not available, it is common practice to estimate the CDR from household surveys with cluster-sampling design. However, sample sizes are often too small to compare mortality estimates to emergency thresholds, at least in a frequentist framework. Several authors have proposed Bayesian methods for health surveys in humanitarian crises. Here, we develop an approach specifically for mortality data and cluster-sampling surveys. We describe a Bayesian hierarchical Poisson-Gamma mixture model with generic (weakly informative) priors that could be used as default in absence of any specific prior knowledge, and compare Bayesian and frequentist CDR estimates using five different mortality datasets. We provide an interpretation of the Bayesian estimates in the context of an emergency threshold and demonstrate how to interpret parameters at the cluster level and ways in which informative priors can be introduced. With the same set of weakly informative priors, Bayesian CDR estimates are equivalent to frequentist estimates, for all practical purposes. The probability that the CDR surpasses the emergency threshold can be derived directly from the posterior of the mean of the mixing distribution. All observation in the datasets contribute to the estimation of cluster-level estimates, through the hierarchical structure of the model. In a context of sparse data, Bayesian mortality assessments have advantages over frequentist ones already when using only weakly informative priors. More informative priors offer a formal and transparent way of combining new data with existing data and expert knowledge and can help to improve decision-making in humanitarian crises by complementing frequentist estimates.

Ubiquitous-Severance Hospital Project: Implementation and Results

PubMed Central

Chang, Bung-Chul; Kim, Young-A; Kim, Jee Hea; Jung, Hae Kyung; Kang, Eun Hae; Kang, Hee Suk; Lee, Hyung Il; Kim, Yong Ook; Yoo, Sun Kook; Sunwoo, Ilnam; An, Seo Yong; Jeong, Hye Jeong

2010-01-01

Objectives The purpose of this study was to review an implementation of u-Severance information system with focus on electronic hospital records (EHR) and to suggest future improvements. Methods Clinical Data Repository (CDR) of u-Severance involved implementing electronic medical records (EMR) as the basis of EHR and the management of individual health records. EHR were implemented with service enhancements extending to the clinical decision support system (CDSS) and expanding the knowledge base for research with a repository for clinical data and medical care information. Results The EMR system of Yonsei University Health Systems (YUHS) consists of HP integrity superdome servers using MS SQL as a database management system and MS Windows as its operating system. Conclusions YUHS is a high-performing medical institution with regards to efficient management and customer satisfaction; however, after 5 years of implementation of u-Severance system, several limitations with regards to expandability and security have been identified. PMID:21818425

Ubiquitous-severance hospital project: implementation and results.

PubMed

Chang, Bung-Chul; Kim, Nam-Hyun; Kim, Young-A; Kim, Jee Hea; Jung, Hae Kyung; Kang, Eun Hae; Kang, Hee Suk; Lee, Hyung Il; Kim, Yong Ook; Yoo, Sun Kook; Sunwoo, Ilnam; An, Seo Yong; Jeong, Hye Jeong

2010-03-01

The purpose of this study was to review an implementation of u-Severance information system with focus on electronic hospital records (EHR) and to suggest future improvements. Clinical Data Repository (CDR) of u-Severance involved implementing electronic medical records (EMR) as the basis of EHR and the management of individual health records. EHR were implemented with service enhancements extending to the clinical decision support system (CDSS) and expanding the knowledge base for research with a repository for clinical data and medical care information. The EMR system of Yonsei University Health Systems (YUHS) consists of HP integrity superdome servers using MS SQL as a database management system and MS Windows as its operating system. YUHS is a high-performing medical institution with regards to efficient management and customer satisfaction; however, after 5 years of implementation of u-Severance system, several limitations with regards to expandability and security have been identified.

Anti-CDR3 Therapy for B-Cell Malignancies

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-01

are happy to summarize substantial completion of Task 3. Fig 3 shows a schematic of an M13 phage displaying a single chain Fv. The Tomlinson I phage...the M13 bacteriophage displaying a single chain Fv fused with one copy of the pIII protein. HC LC T A G CDR3 CDR2 CDR1 CDR2 CDR3 CDR1 p

The effects of cognitive rehabilitation on Alzheimer's dementia patients' cognitive assessment reference diagnosis system performance based on level of cognitive functioning.

PubMed

Hwang, Jung-Ha; Cha, Hyun-Gyu; Cho, Hyuk-Shin

2015-09-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to apply cognitive rehabilitation according to Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients' level of cognitive functioning to compare changes in Cognitive Assessment Reference Diagnosis System performance and present standards for effective intervention. [Subjects] Subjects were 30 inpatients diagnosed with AD. Subjects were grouped by Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) class (CDR-0.5, CDR-1, or CDR-2, n = 10 per group), which is based on level of cognitive functioning, and cognitive rehabilitation was applied for 50 minutes per day, five days per week, for four weeks. [Methods] After cognitive rehabilitation intervention, CARDS tests were conducted to evaluate memory. [Results] Bonferroni tests comparing the three groups revealed that the CDR-0.5 and CDR-1 groups showed significant increases in Delayed 10 word-list, Delayed 10 object-list, Recognition 10 object, and Recent memory performance compared to the CDR-2 group. In addition, the CDR-0.5 group showed significant decreases in Recognition 10 word performance compared to the CDR-1 group. [Conclusion] Cognitive rehabilitation, CDR-0.5 or CDR-1 subjects showed significantly greater memory improvements than CDR-2 subjects. Moreover, was not effective for CDR-2 subjects.

“Noncognitive” symptoms of early Alzheimer disease

PubMed Central

Masters, Mary Clare; Morris, John C.

2015-01-01

Objectives: To observe the natural time course of noncognitive symptoms before the onset of symptomatic Alzheimer disease dementia. Methods: Using the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set from September 2005 to March 2013, data from cognitively normal individuals who were aged 50 years or older at first visit and had subsequent follow-up were analyzed. Survival analyses were used to examine the development of particular symptoms relative to each other on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q), Functional Activities Questionnaire, and Geriatric Depression Scale, and to compare the development of individual symptoms for persons who did and did not receive a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) >0 (indicating abnormal cognition) during the follow-up period. Results: The order of symptom occurrence on the NPI-Q was similar for participants who remained at CDR 0 and for those who received a CDR >0 over the follow-up period, although the time to most NPI-Q symptoms was faster for participants who received a CDR >0 (p < 0.001). With the exception of memory, Geriatric Depression Scale symptoms reported by both CDR groups were similar. Conclusions: We found a significantly earlier presence of positive symptoms on the NPI-Q in cognitively normal patients who subsequently developed CDR >0. Among participants with no depression symptoms at baseline, results suggest that depressive symptoms may increase with aging regardless of incipient dementia. Such findings begin to delineate the noncognitive course of Alzheimer disease dementia in the preclinical stages. Future research must further elucidate the correlation between noncognitive changes and distinct dementia subtypes. PMID:25589671

Deep Sea Memory of High Atmospheric CO2 Concentration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathesius, Sabine; Hofmann, Matthias; Caldeira, Ken; Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim

2015-04-01

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere has been proposed as a powerful measure to mitigate global warming and ocean acidification. Planetary-scale interventions of that kind are often portrayed as "last-resort strategies", which need to weigh in if humankind keeps on enhancing the climate-system stock of CO2. Yet even if CDR could restore atmospheric CO2 to substantially lower concentrations, would it really qualify to undo the critical impacts of past emissions? In the study presented here, we employed an Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity (EMIC) to investigate how CDR might erase the emissions legacy in the marine environment, focusing on pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen. Against a background of a world following the RCP8.5 emissions path ("business-as-usual") for centuries, we simulated the effects of two massive CDR interventions with CO2 extraction rates of 5 GtC yr-1 and 25 GtC yr-1, respectively, starting in 2250. We found that the 5 GtC yr-1 scheme would have only minor ameliorative influence on the oceans, even after several centuries of application. By way of contrast, the extreme 25 GtC yr-1 scheme eventually leads to tangible improvements. However, even with such an aggressive measure, past CO2 emissions leave a substantial legacy in the marine environment within the simulated period (i.e., until 2700). In summary, our study demonstrates that anthropogenic alterations of the oceans, caused by continued business-as-usual emissions, may not be reversed on a multi-centennial time scale by the most aspirational geoengineering measures. We also found that a transition from the RCP8.5 state to the state of a strong mitigation scenario (RCP2.6) is not possible, even under the assumption of extreme extraction rates (25 GtC yr-1). This is explicitly demonstrated by simulating additional scenarios, starting CDR already in 2150 and operating until the atmospheric CO2 concentration reaches 280 ppm and 180 ppm, respectively. The simulated massive CDR interventions eventually bring down the global mean pH value to the RCP2.6 level, yet cannot restore a similarly homogenous distribution - while the pH of the upper ocean returns to the preindustrial value or even exceed it (in the 180 ppm scenario), the deep ocean remains acidified. The deep ocean is out of contact with the atmosphere and therefore unreachable by atmospheric CDR. Our results suggest that the proposition that the marine consequences of early emissions reductions are comparable to those of delayed reductions plus CDR is delusive and that a policy that allows for emitting CO2 today in the hopes of removing it tomorrow is bound to generate substantial regrets.

Progression of Alzheimer disease as measured by Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes scores

PubMed Central

Williams, Monique M.; Storandt, Martha; Roe, Catherine M.; Morris, John C.

2013-01-01

Background This study examined rates of dementia progression as ascertained by the Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes (CDR-SB) for symptomatic Alzheimer disease (sAD) and assessed participant characteristics as predictors of CDR-SB progression. Methods Participants (n = 792) were enrolled in longitudinal studies at an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, received a diagnosis of sAD with a global CDR of 0.5 (n = 466) or 1 (n = 326), and had at least one follow-up assessment. Progression in CDR-SB over time as a function of baseline global CDR was examined. Results A longitudinal increase (p<.0001) in CDR-SB was observed. The annual rate of change in CDR-SB scores was 1.43 (SE=.05) in the CDR 0.5 sample and 1.91 (SE=.07) in the CDR 1 sample. For participants followed from the beginning of the CDR stage, time to progression to a higher global CDR was longer for individuals who were CDR 0.5 (3.75 years; 95% CI 3.18-4.33) than those who were CDR 1 at baseline (2.98 years; 95%CI 2.75-3.22). In the total CDR 0.5 sample, the significant predictors of progression to the next global CDR stage (p<.01) were age at first sAD diagnosis and apolipoprotein E4 genotype. Conclusions The study findings are relevant to sAD clinical trial design and accurate, reliable ascertainment of the effect of disease-modifying treatments. PMID:22858530

Using cell phone location to assess misclassification errors in air pollution exposure estimation.

PubMed

Yu, Haofei; Russell, Armistead; Mulholland, James; Huang, Zhijiong

2018-02-01

Air pollution epidemiologic and health impact studies often rely on home addresses to estimate individual subject's pollution exposure. In this study, we used detailed cell phone location data, the call detail record (CDR), to account for the impact of spatiotemporal subject mobility on estimates of ambient air pollutant exposure. This approach was applied on a sample with 9886 unique simcard IDs in Shenzhen, China, on one mid-week day in October 2013. Hourly ambient concentrations of six chosen pollutants were simulated by the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model fused with observational data, and matched with detailed location data for these IDs. The results were compared with exposure estimates using home addresses to assess potential exposure misclassification errors. We found the misclassifications errors are likely to be substantial when home location alone is applied. The CDR based approach indicates that the home based approach tends to over-estimate exposures for subjects with higher exposure levels and under-estimate exposures for those with lower exposure levels. Our results show that the cell phone location based approach can be used to assess exposure misclassification error and has the potential for improving exposure estimates in air pollution epidemiology studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Significant Differences in Physicochemical Properties of Human Immunoglobulin Kappa and Lambda CDR3 Regions.

PubMed

Townsend, Catherine L; Laffy, Julie M J; Wu, Yu-Chang Bryan; Silva O'Hare, Joselli; Martin, Victoria; Kipling, David; Fraternali, Franca; Dunn-Walters, Deborah K

2016-01-01

Antibody variable regions are composed of a heavy and a light chain, and in humans, there are two light chain isotypes: kappa and lambda. Despite their importance in receptor editing, the light chain is often overlooked in the antibody literature, with the focus being on the heavy chain complementarity-determining region (CDR)-H3 region. In this paper, we set out to investigate the physicochemical and structural differences between human kappa and lambda light chain CDR regions. We constructed a dataset containing over 29,000 light chain variable region sequences from IgM-transcribing, newly formed B cells isolated from human bone marrow and peripheral blood. We also used a published human naïve dataset to investigate the CDR-H3 properties of heavy chains paired with kappa and lambda light chains and probed the Protein Data Bank to investigate the structural differences between kappa and lambda antibody CDR regions. We found that kappa and lambda light chains have very different CDR physicochemical and structural properties, whereas the heavy chains with which they are paired do not differ significantly. We also observed that the mean CDR3 N nucleotide addition in the kappa, lambda, and heavy chain gene rearrangements are correlated within donors but can differ between donors. This indicates that terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase may work with differing efficiencies between different people but the same efficiency in the different classes of immunoglobulin chain within one person. We have observed large differences in the physicochemical and structural properties of kappa and lambda light chain CDR regions. This may reflect different roles in the humoral immune response.

Significant Differences in Physicochemical Properties of Human Immunoglobulin Kappa and Lambda CDR3 Regions

PubMed Central

Townsend, Catherine L.; Laffy, Julie M. J.; Wu, Yu-Chang Bryan; Silva O’Hare, Joselli; Martin, Victoria; Kipling, David; Fraternali, Franca; Dunn-Walters, Deborah K.

2016-01-01

Antibody variable regions are composed of a heavy and a light chain, and in humans, there are two light chain isotypes: kappa and lambda. Despite their importance in receptor editing, the light chain is often overlooked in the antibody literature, with the focus being on the heavy chain complementarity-determining region (CDR)-H3 region. In this paper, we set out to investigate the physicochemical and structural differences between human kappa and lambda light chain CDR regions. We constructed a dataset containing over 29,000 light chain variable region sequences from IgM-transcribing, newly formed B cells isolated from human bone marrow and peripheral blood. We also used a published human naïve dataset to investigate the CDR-H3 properties of heavy chains paired with kappa and lambda light chains and probed the Protein Data Bank to investigate the structural differences between kappa and lambda antibody CDR regions. We found that kappa and lambda light chains have very different CDR physicochemical and structural properties, whereas the heavy chains with which they are paired do not differ significantly. We also observed that the mean CDR3 N nucleotide addition in the kappa, lambda, and heavy chain gene rearrangements are correlated within donors but can differ between donors. This indicates that terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase may work with differing efficiencies between different people but the same efficiency in the different classes of immunoglobulin chain within one person. We have observed large differences in the physicochemical and structural properties of kappa and lambda light chain CDR regions. This may reflect different roles in the humoral immune response. PMID:27729912

Research for assessment, not deployment, of Climate Engineering: The German Research Foundation's Priority Program SPP 1689

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oschlies, Andreas; Klepper, Gernot

2017-01-01

The historical developments are reviewed that have led from a bottom-up responsibility initiative of concerned scientists to the emergence of a nationwide interdisciplinary Priority Program on the assessment of Climate Engineering (CE) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Given the perceived lack of comprehensive and comparative appraisals of different CE methods, the Priority Program was designed to encompass both solar radiation management (SRM) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) ideas and to cover the atmospheric, terrestrial, and oceanic realm. First, key findings obtained by the ongoing Priority Program are summarized and reveal that, compared to earlier assessments such as the 2009 Royal Society report, more detailed investigations tend to indicate less efficiency, lower effectiveness, and often lower safety. Emerging research trends are discussed in the context of the recent Paris agreement to limit global warming to less than two degrees and the associated increasing reliance on negative emission technologies. Our results show then when deployed at scales large enough to have a significant impact on atmospheric CO2, even CDR methods such as afforestation—often perceived as "benign"—can have substantial side effects and may raise severe ethical, legal, and governance issues. We suppose that before being deployed at climatically relevant scales, any negative emission or CE method will require careful analysis of efficiency, effectiveness, and undesired side effects.

Cumulative Delivery Rate after Providing Full Reimbursement In Vitro Fertilization Programme: A 6-Years Survey

PubMed Central

Vrtacnik, Urban; Vrtacnik Bokal, Eda

2014-01-01

Since 1983, Slovenia has been offering well-established, successful, and fully reimbursed IVF programme to infertile couples. On the grounds of data gathered at the Slovenian IVF units we aimed to determine whether the fully accessible IVF treatment system can provide notable success considering cumulative delivery rate (cDR). Longitudinal analysis of getting cDR was performed in 810 IVF cycles of 395 couples who for the first time attended the IVF programme in year 2006 and were followed until year 2012. We calculated the actual and the optimistic cDR. In women aged <38 years the actual cDR was 54% and optimistic DR was 83%, respectively. In women aged ≥38 years the actual cDR was 24 % and optimistic cDR was 27%. These results enable us to report that prospects of the treatment for the women aged <38 years, if they undergo all 6 available IVF cycles, are very positive and quite comparable to the chances of spontaneous conception. Even in older patients it is beneficial to repeat the IVF procedures. Therefore we consider the existing infertility treatment system in Slovenia as an example of good medical practice with high level of beneficence offered to the patients. PMID:24734248

Carbon Dioxide Removal and Conversion to Ocean Alkalinity: Why and How

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rau, G. H.

2014-12-01

Drastic reduction in anthropogenic CO2 emissions is the most obvious way to stabilize atmospheric CO2. However, there is growing risk that effective emissions reduction policies and technologies will not engage soon enough to avoid significant CO2-induced climate and ocean acidification impacts. This realization has lead to increased interest (e.g., IPCC AR5, 2014; NRC/NAS, 2014) in the possibility of pro-actively increasing CO2 removal (CDR) from the atmosphere above the 55% of our emissions that are already removed from air by natural land and ocean processes. While a variety of biotic, abiotic, and hybrid CDR methods have been proposed, those involving geochemistry have much to recommend them. These methods employ the same geochemical reactions that naturally and effectively remove excess planetary CO2 and neutralize ocean acidity on geologic time scales. These reactions proceed when the hydrosphere, acidified by excess air CO2, contacts and reacts with carbonate and silicate minerals (>90% of the Earth's crust), producing dissolved bicarbonates and carbonates, i.e., ocean alkalinity. This alkalinity is eventually removed and the excess carbon stored via carbonate precipitation. So while the importance and global effectiveness of such reactions are not in question, it remains to be seen if this very slow, natural CDR could be safely and cost-effectively accelerated to help manage air CO2 levels on human rather than geologic time scales. Various terrestrial and marine, geochemistry-based CDR methods will be reviewed including: 1) the addition of minerals to soils and the ocean, 2) removal of CO2 from waste streams, esp. from biomass energy, via wet mineral contacting, and 3) the production and use of mineral derivatives, e.g. oxides or hydroxides, as CDR agents. The additional potential environmental benefits (e.g., reversal of ocean carbonate saturation loss) and impacts (e.g., increased mineral extraction), as well as potential economics will also be discussed.

Relationship between global severity of patients with Alzheimer's disease and costs of care in Spain; results from the co-dependence study in Spain.

PubMed

Darbà, J; Kaskens, L; Lacey, L

2015-11-01

The objectives of this analysis were to examine how patients' global severity with Alzheimer's disease (AD) relates to costs of care and explore the incremental effects of global severity measured by the clinical dementia rating (CDR) scale on these costs for patients in Spain. The Codep-EA study is an 18-multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study among patients (343) with AD according to the CDR score and their caregivers in Spain. The data obtained included (in addition to clinical measures) also socio-demographic data concerning the patient and its caregiver. Cost analyses were based on resource use for medical care, social care, caregiver productivity losses, and informal caregiver time reported in the resource utilization in dementia (RUD). Lite instrument and a complementary questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis was used to model the effects of global severity and other socio-demographic and clinical variables on cost of care. The mean (standard deviation) costs per patient over 6 months for direct medical, social care, indirect and informal care costs, were estimated at €1,028.1 (1,655.0), €843.8 (2,684.8), €464.2 (1,639.0) and €33,232.2 (30,898.9), respectively. Dementia severity, as having a CDR score 0.5, 2, or 3 with CDR score 1 being the reference group were all independently and significantly associated with informal care costs. Whereas having a CDR score of 2 was also significantly related with social care costs, a CDR score of 3 was associated with most cost components including direct medical, social care, and total costs, all compared to the reference group. The costs of care for patients with AD in Spain are substantial, with informal care accounting for the greatest part. Dementia severity, measured by CDR score, showed that with increasing severity of the disease, direct medical, social care, informal care and total costs augmented.

The Manchester Acute Coronary Syndromes (MACS) decision rule for suspected cardiac chest pain: derivation and external validation

PubMed Central

Body, Richard; Carley, Simon; McDowell, Garry; Pemberton, Philip; Burrows, Gillian; Cook, Gary; Lewis, Philip S; Smith, Alexander; Mackway-Jones, Kevin

2014-01-01

Objective We aimed to derive and validate a clinical decision rule (CDR) for suspected cardiac chest pain in the emergency department (ED). Incorporating information available at the time of first presentation, this CDR would effectively risk-stratify patients and immediately identify: (A) patients for whom hospitalisation may be safely avoided; and (B) high-risk patients, facilitating judicious use of resources. Methods In two sequential prospective observational cohort studies at heterogeneous centres, we included ED patients with suspected cardiac chest pain. We recorded clinical features and drew blood on arrival. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) (death, prevalent or incident acute myocardial infarction, coronary revascularisation or new coronary stenosis >50%) within 30 days. The CDR was derived by logistic regression, considering reliable (κ>0.6) univariate predictors (p<0.05) for inclusion. Results In the derivation study (n=698) we derived a CDR including eight variables (high sensitivity troponin T; heart-type fatty acid binding protein; ECG ischaemia; diaphoresis observed; vomiting; pain radiation to right arm/shoulder; worsening angina; hypotension), which had a C-statistic of 0.95 (95% CI 0.93 to 0.97) implying near perfect diagnostic performance. On external validation (n=463) the CDR identified 27.0% of patients as ‘very low risk’ and potentially suitable for discharge from the ED. 0.0% of these patients had prevalent acute myocardial infarction and 1.6% developed MACE (n=2; both coronary stenoses without revascularisation). 9.9% of patients were classified as ‘high-risk’, 95.7% of whom developed MACE. Conclusions The Manchester Acute Coronary Syndromes (MACS) rule has the potential to safely reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and facilitate judicious use of high dependency resources. PMID:24780911

Anosognosia and Its Relation to Psychiatric Symptoms in Early-Onset Alzheimer Disease.

PubMed

Yoon, Bora; Shim, Yong S; Hong, Yun Jeong; Choi, Seong Hye; Park, Hee Kyung; Park, Sun Ah; Jeong, Jee Hyang; Yoon, Soo Jin; Yang, Dong-Won

2017-05-01

We investigated differences in the prevalence of anosognosia and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) characteristics according to disease severity in patients with early-onset Alzheimer disease (EOAD). We recruited 616 patients with EOAD. We subdivided participants into 2 groups based on the presence or absence of anosognosia and then again by Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. We compared the differences in the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) scores according to anosognosia and disease severity. The percentage of patients with anosognosia in each CDR group steadily increased as the CDR rating increased (CDR 0.5 8.6% vs CDR 1 13.6% vs CDR 2 26.2%). The NPI total score was significantly higher in patients with anosognosia in the CDR 0.5 and 1 groups; by contrast, it had no association in the CDR 2 group. Frontal lobe functions were associated with anosognosia only in the CDR 0.5 and 1 groups. After stratification by CDR, in the CDR 0.5 group, the prevalence of agitation ( P = .040) and appetite ( P = .013) was significantly higher in patients with anosognosia. In the CDR 1 group, patients with anosognosia had a significantly higher prevalence of delusions ( P = .032), hallucinations ( P = .048), and sleep disturbances ( P = .047). In the CDR 2 group, we found no statistical difference in the frequency of symptoms between patients with and without anosognosia. These results confirm that the prevalence of anosognosia as well as the individual NPS and cognitive functions associated with it differ according to EOAD severity.

eCDRweb User Guide–Primary Support

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents the user guide for the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics’ (OPPT) e-CDR web tool. E-CDRweb is the electronic, web-based tool provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the submission of Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) information. This document is the user guide for the Primary Support user of the e-CDRweb tool.

eCDRweb User Guide–Primary Authorized Official

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents the user guide for the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics’ (OPPT) e-CDRweb tool. E-CDRweb is the electronic, web-based tool provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the submission of Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) information. This document is the user guide for the Primary Authorized Official (AO) user of the e-CDR webtool

eCDRweb User Guide–Secondary Support

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents the user guide for the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics’ (OPPT) e-CDR web tool. E-CDRweb is the electronic, web-based tool provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the submission of Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) information. This document is the user guide for the Secondary Support user of the e-CDRweb tool.

Rocks, Rain, and Climate: a GIFT Workshop for Teachers in Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passow, M. J.; Krusche, N.; Carneiro, C. D.

2010-12-01

Classroom teachers and university professors from two continents joined to learn about “Rocks, Rain, and Climate” in the GIFT (Geophysical Information For Teachers) Workshop at the Meeting of the Americas, held in Foz de Iguaçu (Iguassu Falls), Brazil, 8 - 9 August 2010. GIFT workshops have long been part of the AGU Fall Meetings, but among “the pioneers” from this program were the first GIFT in South America and the first GIFT presented in Portuguese and English. Its success will provide a model for future teacher-professor-researcher professional development in Brazil. The two-day course opened with overviews of the “Geology and Relief of South America” from C.D.R. Carneiro and the “Weather and Climate in South America” from Michelle R. Reboita (Federal University of Itajubá/UNIFEI). M.J. Passow organized a discussion about the “Challenges to Teaching about Climate Change,” followed by an exchange among the participants about their teaching experiences. The first day ended with a presentation by Antonio Carlos Alves Carvalho (Ministry of Education) about governmental initiatives to enhance distance learning and educational technology across the country to provide greater access to quality resources for all students and teachers. On the second day, Rachel Albrecht (Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies of the National Space Research Institute/CPTEC-INPE) described her research using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)satellite precipitation data. M.J. Passow explained additional classroom applications of satellite data for studying precipitation and other patterns in the Tropics. C.D.R. Carneiro then discussed current research into “Weathering, Rocks, and the Carbon Cycle.” In the final session, Maria Assunção Faus da Silva Dias (University of São Paulo/USP)explained creation and educational uses of mathematical models to study the evolution of climate, especially as it relates to the hydrologic cycle. Participants included secondary school teachers and university professors from Brazil, Argentina, and the USA. Insights gained from developing this international GIFT program will be shared, including strengths, weaknesses, and attendee feedback. Archived versions of the slide shows and other resources (mostly in Portuguese, with some English) are available on http://www.earth2class.org and other websites created by the organizers for further dissemination. A bilingual paper by MJ Passow, “TRMM: Bringing remote sensing of precipitation into your classroom,” is part of Terræ Didatica, v. 6, iss. 1 (2010), available at http://www.ige.unicamp.br/terraedidatica/.

Genome resequencing and transcriptome profiling reveal structural diversity and expression patterns of constitutive disease resistance genes in Huanglongbing-tolerant Poncirus trifoliata and its hybrids

PubMed Central

Rawat, Nidhi; Kumar, Brajendra; Albrecht, Ute; Du, Dongliang; Huang, Ming; Yu, Qibin; Zhang, Yi; Duan, Yong-Ping; Bowman, Kim D; Gmitter, Fred G; Deng, Zhanao

2017-01-01

Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most destructive bacterial disease of citrus worldwide. While most citrus varieties are susceptible to HLB, Poncirus trifoliata, a close relative of Citrus, and some of its hybrids with Citrus are tolerant to HLB. No specific HLB tolerance genes have been identified in P. trifoliata but recent studies have shown that constitutive disease resistance (CDR) genes were expressed at much higher levels in HLB-tolerant Poncirus hybrids and the expression of CDR genes was modulated by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the pathogen of HLB. The current study was undertaken to mine and characterize the CDR gene family in Citrus and Poncirus and to understand its association with HLB tolerance in Poncirus. We identified 17 CDR genes in two citrus genomes, deduced their structures, and investigated their phylogenetic relationships. We revealed that the expansion of the CDR family in Citrus seems to be due to segmental and tandem duplication events. Through genome resequencing and transcriptome sequencing, we identified eight CDR genes in the Poncirus genome (PtCDR1-PtCDR8). The number of SNPs was the highest in PtCDR2 and the lowest in PtCDR7. Most of the deletion and insertion events were observed in the UTR regions of Citrus and Poncirus CDR genes. PtCDR2 and PtCDR8 were in abundance in the leaf transcriptomes of two HLB-tolerant Poncirus genotypes and were also upregulated in HLB-tolerant, Poncirus hybrids as revealed by real-time PCR analysis. These two CDR genes seem to be good candidate genes for future studies of their role in citrus-CLas interactions. PMID:29152310

Analysis of the CDR3 length repertoire and the diversity of TCR alpha chain in human peripheral blood T lymphocytes.

PubMed

Yao, Xin Sheng; Diao, Ying; Sun, Wan Bang; Luo, Jun Min; Qin, Ming; Tang, Xian Ying

2007-06-01

Analysis of complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) length of T lymphocyte receptors (TCRs) by immunoscope spectratyping technique has been used successfully to investigate the diversity of TCR in autoimmune diseases and infection diseases. In this study, we investigated the patterns of CDR3 length distribution for all 32 TCR AV gene families in human peripheral blood lymphocytes of four normal volunteers by the immunoscope spectratyping technique. It was found that PCR products exhibited an obscure band on 1.5% agarose gel electrophoresis. Each TCR AV family exhibited more than 8 bands on 6% sequencing gel electrophoresis. The CDR3 spectratyping of all TCR AV families showed a standard Gaussian distribution with different CDR3 length, and the expression frequency of CDR3 was similar among the gene families. Most of CDR3 in TCR AV family recombine in frame. However, some of the CDR3 showed out-of frame gene rearrangement. Additionally, we found that in some of TCR AV families there were 18 amino acid discrepancies between the longest CDR3 and shortest CDR3. These results may be helpful to further study the recombination mechanism of human TCR genes, the TCR CDR3 gene repertoire, and the repertoire drift in health people and disease state.

MODIS-Derived Terrestrial Primary Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Maosheng; Running, Steven; Heinsch, Faith Ann; Nemani, Ramakrishna

Temporal and spatial changes in terrestrial biological productivity have a large impact on humankind because terrestrial ecosystems not only create environments suitable for human habitation, but also provide materials essential for survival, such as food, fiber and fuel. A recent study estimated that consumption of terrestrial net primary production (NPP; a list of all the acronyms is available in the appendix at the end of the chapter) by the human population accounts for about 14-26% of global NPP (Imhoff et al. 2004). Rapid global climate change is induced by increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration, especially CO2, which results from human activities such as fossil fuel combustion and deforestation. This directly impacts terrestrial NPP, which continues to change in both space and time (Melillo et al. 1993; Prentice et al. 2001; Nemani et al. 2003), and ultimately impacts the well-being of human society (Milesi et al. 2005). Additionally, substantial evidence show that the oceans and the biosphere, especially terrestrial ecosystems, currently play a major role in reducing the rate of the atmospheric CO2 increase (Prentice et al. 2001; Schimel et al. 2001). NPP is the first step needed to quantify the amount of atmospheric carbon fixed by plants and accumulated as biomass. Continuous and accurate measurements of terrestrial NPP at the global scale are possible using satellite data. Since early 2000, for the first time, the MODIS sensors onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, have operationally provided scientists with near real-time global terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) and net photosynthesis (PsnNet) data. These data are provided at 1 km spatial resolution and an 8-day interval, and annual NPP covers 109,782,756 km2 of vegetated land. These GPP, PsnNet and NPP products are collectively known as MOD17 and are part of a larger suite of MODIS land products (Justice et al. 2002), one of the core Earth System or Climate Data Records (ESDR or CDR).

e-CDRweb User Guide – Secondary Authorized Official

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents the user guide for the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics’ (OPPT) e-CDRweb tool. E-CDRweb is the electronic, web-based tool provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the submission of Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) information. This document is the user guide for the Secondary Authorized Official (AO) user of the e-CDR web tool.

Uses of monoclonial antibody 8H9

DOEpatents

Cheung, Nai-Kong V.

2015-06-23

This invention provides an antibody that binds the same antigen as that of monoclonal antibody 8H9, wherein the heavy chain CDR (Complementary Determining Region)1 comprises NYDIN, heavy chain CDR2 comprises WIFPGDGSTQY, heavy chain CDR3 comprises QTTATWFAY, and the light chain CDR1 comprises RASQSISDYLH, light chain CDR2 comprises YASQSIS, and light chain CDR3 comprises QNGHSFPLT. In another embodiment, there is provided a polypeptide that binds the same antigen as that of monoclonal antibody 8H9, wherein the polypeptide comprises NYDIN, WIFPGDGSTQY, QTTATWFAY, RASQSISDYLH, YASQSIS, and QNGHSFPLT.

Landsat Surface Reflectance Climate Data Records

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2014-01-01

Landsat Surface Reflectance Climate Data Records (CDRs) are high level Landsat data products that support land surface change studies. Climate Data Records, as defined by the National Research Council, are a time series of measurements with sufficient length, consistency, and continuity to identify climate variability and change. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is using the valuable 40-year Landsat archive to create CDRs that can be used to document changes to Earth’s terrestrial environment.

Automating Electronic Clinical Data Capture for Quality Improvement and Research: The CERTAIN Validation Project of Real World Evidence.

PubMed

Devine, Emily Beth; Van Eaton, Erik; Zadworny, Megan E; Symons, Rebecca; Devlin, Allison; Yanez, David; Yetisgen, Meliha; Keyloun, Katelyn R; Capurro, Daniel; Alfonso-Cristancho, Rafael; Flum, David R; Tarczy-Hornoch, Peter

2018-05-22

The availability of high fidelity electronic health record (EHR) data is a hallmark of the learning health care system. Washington State's Surgical Care Outcomes and Assessment Program (SCOAP) is a network of hospitals participating in quality improvement (QI) registries wherein data are manually abstracted from EHRs. To create the Comparative Effectiveness Research and Translation Network (CERTAIN), we semi-automated SCOAP data abstraction using a centralized federated data model, created a central data repository (CDR), and assessed whether these data could be used as real world evidence for QI and research. Describe the validation processes and complexities involved and lessons learned. Investigators installed a commercial CDR to retrieve and store data from disparate EHRs. Manual and automated abstraction systems were conducted in parallel (10/2012-7/2013) and validated in three phases using the EHR as the gold standard: 1) ingestion, 2) standardization, and 3) concordance of automated versus manually abstracted cases. Information retrieval statistics were calculated. Four unaffiliated health systems provided data. Between 6 and 15 percent of data elements were abstracted: 51 to 86 percent from structured data; the remainder using natural language processing (NLP). In phase 1, data ingestion from 12 out of 20 feeds reached 95 percent accuracy. In phase 2, 55 percent of structured data elements performed with 96 to 100 percent accuracy; NLP with 89 to 91 percent accuracy. In phase 3, concordance ranged from 69 to 89 percent. Information retrieval statistics were consistently above 90 percent. Semi-automated data abstraction may be useful, although raw data collected as a byproduct of health care delivery is not immediately available for use as real world evidence. New approaches to gathering and analyzing extant data are required.

A novel architecture of recovered data comparison for high speed clock and data recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Susan; Li, Fei; Wang, Zhigong; Cui, Hongliang

2005-05-01

A clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit is one of the crucial blocks in high-speed serial link communication systems. The data received in these systems are asynchronous and noisy, requiring that a clock be extracted to allow synchronous operations. Furthermore, the data must be "retimed" so that the jitter accumulated during transmission is removed. This paper presents a novel architecture of CDR, which is very tolerant to long sequences of serial ones or zeros and also robust to occasional long absence of transitions. The design is based on the fact that a basic clock recovery having a clock recovery circuit (CRC) and a data decision circuit separately would generate a high jitter clock when the received non-return-to-zero (NRZ) data with long sequences of ones or zeros. To eliminate this drawback, the proposed architecture incorporates a data circuit decision circuit within the phase-locked loop (PLL) CRC. Other than this, a new phase detector (PD) is also proposed, which was easy to accomplish and robust at high speed. This PD is functional with a random input and automatically turns to disable during both the locked state and long absence of transitions. The voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is also designed delicately to suppress the jitter. Due to the high stability, the jitter is highly reduced when the loop is locked. The simulation results of such CDR working at 1.25Gb/s particularly for 1000BASE-X Gigabit Ethernet by using TSMC 0.25μm technology are presented to prove the feasibility of this architecture. One more CDR based on edge detection architecture is also built in the circuit for performance comparisons.

75 FR 23227 - Initial Patent Applications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-03

... subject line of the message. Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan K. Fawcett. Mail: Susan K... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information should be directed to the attention of... Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) or Compact Disk-Recordables (CD-R) to submit patent applications...

Expedition One CDR Shepherd in Node 1/Unity module

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-16

STS98-E-5287 (16 February 2001) --- Astronaut William M. (Bill) Shepherd, Expedition One commander, participates in a parting chat with some astronaut visitors (out of frame), about to conclude their time on the outpost. The scene was recorded with a digital still camera during farewells in the Unity node.

Quantitative Proteomics Reveals the Regulatory Networks of Circular RNA CDR1as in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

PubMed

Yang, Xue; Xiong, Qian; Wu, Ying; Li, Siting; Ge, Feng

2017-10-06

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a class of widespread endogenous RNAs, play crucial roles in diverse biological processes and are potential biomarkers in diverse human diseases and cancers. Cerebellar-degeneration-related protein 1 antisense RNA (CDR1as), an oncogenic circRNA, is involved in human tumorigenesis and is dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying CDR1as functions in HCC remain unclear. Here we explored the functions of CDR1as and searched for CDR1as-regulated proteins in HCC cells. A quantitative proteomics strategy was employed to globally identify CDR1as-regulated proteins in HCC cells. In total, we identified 330 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) upon enhanced CDR1as expression in HepG2 cells, indicating that they could be proteins regulated by CDR1as. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that many DEPs were involved in cell proliferation and the cell cycle. Further functional studies of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) found that CDR1as exerts its effects on cell proliferation at least in part through the regulation of EGFR expression. We further confirmed that CDR1as could inhibit the expression of microRNA-7 (miR-7). EGFR is a validated target of miR-7; therefore, CDR1as may exert its function by regulating EGFR expression via targeting miR-7 in HCC cells. Taken together, we revealed novel functions and underlying mechanisms of CDR1as in HCC cells. This study serves as the first proteome-wide analysis of a circRNA-regulated protein in cells and provides a reliable and highly efficient method for globally identifying circRNA-regulated proteins.

Awareness of disease in dementia: Development of a multidimensional rating scale.

PubMed

Dourado, Marcia; Marinho, Valeska; Soares, Cláudia; Engelhardt, Eliasz; Laks, Jerson

2007-01-01

To describe the development of the Assessment Scale of Psychosocial Impact of the Diagnosis of Dementia (ASPIDD), a multidimensional scale to evaluate awareness of disease in dementia. The development of this scale was conducted in four steps. In step one, questions were drawn up after a review of the literature. The second step involved the suggestions offered by a neurologist regarding the skills considered important for the scale. The third step involved the re-writing and review of the domains and questions in the scale followed by a semantic evaluation performed by two independent psychiatrists. Step four consisted of the preliminary study aimed at evaluating the applicability of the ASPIDD. In the semantic evaluation only minor changes were proposed. The preliminary sample had 52 patients, comprising 23 CDR 1 (male=9; female=14) and 29 CDR2 (male=13; female=16).Mean age of patients was 69.7±5.51(CDR1) and 73.6±9.4 (CDR2), and age at onset was 66.4±5.7 years (CDR1) and 68.3±9.3 year (CDR2).Mean schooling was 9.0±4.3 years (CDR1) and 8.8±4.4 years (CDR2). Mean MMSE was 21.0±3.3(CDR1) and 17.6±3.5(CDR2).Mean Cornell was 4.8±2.3(CDR1) and 4.2±1.9 (CDR2). The patient and caregiver dyads were aware of problems, mainly of those related to social, family and affective relations. The higher rates of discrepant responses were found on the awareness of cognitive deficits and changes in ADL. The ASPIDD is a multidimensional instrument to assess awareness of disease among AD patients.

Awareness of disease in dementia: Development of a multidimensional rating scale

PubMed Central

Dourado, Marcia; Marinho, Valeska; Soares, Cláudia; Engelhardt, Eliasz; Laks, Jerson

2007-01-01

Objective To describe the development of the Assessment Scale of Psychosocial Impact of the Diagnosis of Dementia (ASPIDD), a multidimensional scale to evaluate awareness of disease in dementia. Method The development of this scale was conducted in four steps. In step one, questions were drawn up after a review of the literature. The second step involved the suggestions offered by a neurologist regarding the skills considered important for the scale. The third step involved the re-writing and review of the domains and questions in the scale followed by a semantic evaluation performed by two independent psychiatrists. Step four consisted of the preliminary study aimed at evaluating the applicability of the ASPIDD. Results In the semantic evaluation only minor changes were proposed. The preliminary sample had 52 patients, comprising 23 CDR 1 (male=9; female=14) and 29 CDR2 (male=13; female=16).Mean age of patients was 69.7±5.51(CDR1) and 73.6±9.4 (CDR2), and age at onset was 66.4±5.7 years (CDR1) and 68.3±9.3 year (CDR2).Mean schooling was 9.0±4.3 years (CDR1) and 8.8±4.4 years (CDR2). Mean MMSE was 21.0±3.3(CDR1) and 17.6±3.5(CDR2).Mean Cornell was 4.8±2.3(CDR1) and 4.2±1.9 (CDR2). The patient and caregiver dyads were aware of problems, mainly of those related to social, family and affective relations. The higher rates of discrepant responses were found on the awareness of cognitive deficits and changes in ADL. Conclusion The ASPIDD is a multidimensional instrument to assess awareness of disease among AD patients. PMID:29213371

Near Real-Time Call Detail Record ETL Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochinwala, Munir; Panagos, Euthimios

Telecommunication companies face significant business challenges as they strive to reduce subscriber churn and increase average revenue per user (ARPU) by offering new services and incorporating new functionality into existing services. The increased number of service offerings and available functionality result in an ever growing volume of call detail records (CDRs). For many services (e.g., pre-paid), CDRs need to be processed and analyzed in near real-time for several reasons, including charging, on-line subscriber access to their accounts, and analytics for predicting subscriber usage and preventing fraudulent activity. In this paper, we describe the challenges associated with near real-time extract, transform, and load (ETL) of CDR data warehouse flows for supporting both the operational and business intelligence needs of telecommunication services, and we present our approach to addressing these challenges.

Updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the performance of risk prediction rules in children and young people with febrile neutropenia.

PubMed

Phillips, Robert S; Lehrnbecher, Thomas; Alexander, Sarah; Sung, Lillian

2012-01-01

Febrile neutropenia is a common and potentially life-threatening complication of treatment for childhood cancer, which has increasingly been subject to targeted treatment based on clinical risk stratification. Our previous meta-analysis demonstrated 16 rules had been described and 2 of them subject to validation in more than one study. We aimed to advance our knowledge of evidence on the discriminatory ability and predictive accuracy of such risk stratification clinical decision rules (CDR) for children and young people with cancer by updating our systematic review. The review was conducted in accordance with Centre for Reviews and Dissemination methods, searching multiple electronic databases, using two independent reviewers, formal critical appraisal with QUADAS and meta-analysis with random effects models where appropriate. It was registered with PROSPERO: CRD42011001685. We found 9 new publications describing a further 7 new CDR, and validations of 7 rules. Six CDR have now been subject to testing across more than two data sets. Most validations demonstrated the rule to be less efficient than when initially proposed; geographical differences appeared to be one explanation for this. The use of clinical decision rules will require local validation before widespread use. Considerable uncertainty remains over the most effective rule to use in each population, and an ongoing individual-patient-data meta-analysis should develop and test a more reliable CDR to improve stratification and optimise therapy. Despite current challenges, we believe it will be possible to define an internationally effective CDR to harmonise the treatment of children with febrile neutropenia.

Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Performance of Risk Prediction Rules in Children and Young People with Febrile Neutropenia

PubMed Central

Phillips, Robert S.; Lehrnbecher, Thomas; Alexander, Sarah; Sung, Lillian

2012-01-01

Introduction Febrile neutropenia is a common and potentially life-threatening complication of treatment for childhood cancer, which has increasingly been subject to targeted treatment based on clinical risk stratification. Our previous meta-analysis demonstrated 16 rules had been described and 2 of them subject to validation in more than one study. We aimed to advance our knowledge of evidence on the discriminatory ability and predictive accuracy of such risk stratification clinical decision rules (CDR) for children and young people with cancer by updating our systematic review. Methods The review was conducted in accordance with Centre for Reviews and Dissemination methods, searching multiple electronic databases, using two independent reviewers, formal critical appraisal with QUADAS and meta-analysis with random effects models where appropriate. It was registered with PROSPERO: CRD42011001685. Results We found 9 new publications describing a further 7 new CDR, and validations of 7 rules. Six CDR have now been subject to testing across more than two data sets. Most validations demonstrated the rule to be less efficient than when initially proposed; geographical differences appeared to be one explanation for this. Conclusion The use of clinical decision rules will require local validation before widespread use. Considerable uncertainty remains over the most effective rule to use in each population, and an ongoing individual-patient-data meta-analysis should develop and test a more reliable CDR to improve stratification and optimise therapy. Despite current challenges, we believe it will be possible to define an internationally effective CDR to harmonise the treatment of children with febrile neutropenia. PMID:22693615

Preparing Electronic Clinical Data for Quality Improvement and Comparative Effectiveness Research: The SCOAP CERTAIN Automation and Validation Project

PubMed Central

Devine, Emily Beth; Capurro, Daniel; van Eaton, Erik; Alfonso-Cristancho, Rafael; Devlin, Allison; Yanez, N. David; Yetisgen-Yildiz, Meliha; Flum, David R.; Tarczy-Hornoch, Peter

2013-01-01

Background: The field of clinical research informatics includes creation of clinical data repositories (CDRs) used to conduct quality improvement (QI) activities and comparative effectiveness research (CER). Ideally, CDR data are accurately and directly abstracted from disparate electronic health records (EHRs), across diverse health-systems. Objective: Investigators from Washington State’s Surgical Care Outcomes and Assessment Program (SCOAP) Comparative Effectiveness Research Translation Network (CERTAIN) are creating such a CDR. This manuscript describes the automation and validation methods used to create this digital infrastructure. Methods: SCOAP is a QI benchmarking initiative. Data are manually abstracted from EHRs and entered into a data management system. CERTAIN investigators are now deploying Caradigm’s Amalga™ tool to facilitate automated abstraction of data from multiple, disparate EHRs. Concordance is calculated to compare data automatically to manually abstracted. Performance measures are calculated between Amalga and each parent EHR. Validation takes place in repeated loops, with improvements made over time. When automated abstraction reaches the current benchmark for abstraction accuracy - 95% - itwill ‘go-live’ at each site. Progress to Date: A technical analysis was completed at 14 sites. Five sites are contributing; the remaining sites prioritized meeting Meaningful Use criteria. Participating sites are contributing 15–18 unique data feeds, totaling 13 surgical registry use cases. Common feeds are registration, laboratory, transcription/dictation, radiology, and medications. Approximately 50% of 1,320 designated data elements are being automatically abstracted—25% from structured data; 25% from text mining. Conclusion: In semi-automating data abstraction and conducting a rigorous validation, CERTAIN investigators will semi-automate data collection to conduct QI and CER, while advancing the Learning Healthcare System. PMID:25848565

Model-Based Assessment of the CO2 Sequestration Potential of Coastal Ocean Alkalinization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, E. Y.; Koeve, W.; Keller, D. P.; Oschlies, A.

2017-12-01

The potential of coastal ocean alkalinization (COA), a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) climate engineering strategy that chemically increases ocean carbon uptake and storage, is investigated with an Earth system model of intermediate complexity. The CDR potential and possible environmental side effects are estimated for various COA deployment scenarios, assuming olivine as the alkalinity source in ice-free coastal waters (about 8.6% of the global ocean's surface area), with dissolution rates being a function of grain size, ambient seawater temperature, and pH. Our results indicate that for a large-enough olivine deployment of small-enough grain sizes (10 µm), atmospheric CO2 could be reduced by more than 800 GtC by the year 2100. However, COA with coarse olivine grains (1000 µm) has little CO2 sequestration potential on this time scale. Ambitious CDR with fine olivine grains would increase coastal aragonite saturation Ω to levels well beyond those that are currently observed. When imposing upper limits for aragonite saturation levels (Ωlim) in the grid boxes subject to COA (Ωlim = 3.4 and 9 chosen as examples), COA still has the potential to reduce atmospheric CO2 by 265 GtC (Ωlim = 3.4) to 790 GtC (Ωlim = 9) and increase ocean carbon storage by 290 Gt (Ωlim = 3.4) to 913 Gt (Ωlim = 9) by year 2100.

Satellite-based climate data records of surface solar radiation from the CM SAF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trentmann, Jörg; Cremer, Roswitha; Kothe, Steffen; Müller, Richard; Pfeifroth, Uwe

2017-04-01

The incoming surface solar radiation has been defined as an essential climate variable by GCOS. Long term monitoring of this part of the earth's energy budget is required to gain insights on the state and variability of the climate system. In addition, climate data sets of surface solar radiation have received increased attention over the recent years as an important source of information for solar energy assessments, for crop modeling, and for the validation of climate and weather models. The EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) is deriving climate data records (CDRs) from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite instruments. Within the CM SAF these CDRs are accompanied by operational data at a short time latency to be used for climate monitoring. All data from the CM SAF is freely available via www.cmsaf.eu. Here we present the regional and the global climate data records of surface solar radiation from the CM SAF. The regional climate data record SARAH (Surface Solar Radiation Dataset - Heliosat, doi: 10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/SARAH/V002) is based on observations from the series of Meteosat satellites. SARAH provides 30-min, daily- and monthly-averaged data of the effective cloud albedo, the solar irradiance (incl. spectral information), the direct solar radiation (horizontal and normal), and the sunshine duration from 1983 to 2015 for the full view of the Meteosat satellite (i.e, Europe, Africa, parts of South America, and the Atlantic ocean). The data sets are generated with a high spatial resolution of 0.05° allowing for detailed regional studies. The global climate data record CLARA (CM SAF Clouds, Albedo and Radiation dataset from AVHRR data, doi: 10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/CLARA_AVHRR/V002) is based on observations from the series of AVHRR satellite instruments. CLARA provides daily- and monthly-averaged global data of the solar irradiance (SIS) from 1982 to 2015 with a spatial resolution of 0.25°. In addition to the solar surface radiation also the longwave surface radiation as well as surface albedo and numerous cloud properties are provided in CLARA. Here we provide an overview of the climate data records of the surface solar radiation and present the results of the quality assessment of both climate data records against available surface reference observations, e.g., from the BSRN and the GEBA data archive.

Practical experience using speleothem data in multi-proxy climate reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, N.

2009-04-01

Speleothem records have clear potential to extend and sharpen our understanding of past climate change. Many speleothem records feature both high sample resolution and precision age models, characteristics generally available only in tree-ring records, among terrestrial climate proxies. Speleothem records also avoid some processes that add uncertainty to the interpretation of biological proxy records. At the same time, model results suggest that even if speleothems did provide long and perfect records of meteoric water isotope concentrations, it would not be always be obvious how to interpret the isotopic fluctuations unambiguously in terms of precipitation or temperature variability. Other uncertainties can arise from local hydrologic and speleothem growth processes, as well as sampling and calibration uncertainties. Similar comments apply to other sorts of speleothem-derived records, e.g., verve thickness. These issues of interpretation are especially important in cases where data availability makes calibration to local climate data problematic and when past climate conditions limit the relevance of such calibrations. The presentation will focus broadly on the use of speleothem records together with other sorts of proxy records either to get a general idea of climatic change during some period, or for more formal climate field reconstruction. Examples from few such efforts will be given. Results from simulations with models incorporating stable water isotopes will be discussed, with consideration of what the results imply about the climatic interpretation of speleothem isotope records. The views will be those a climate scientist trying to make better use of speleothem data, a perspective which will highlight 1) where climate researchers would benefit from better understanding of isotope and speleothem processes, and 2) what steps that speleothem researchers could take to tighten the physical interpretation of their records. Convergence on these points will allow us to take better take advantage of the precision and spatial distribution of speleothem records offer for the understanding of past climate.

The Manchester Acute Coronary Syndromes (MACS) decision rule for suspected cardiac chest pain: derivation and external validation.

PubMed

Body, Richard; Carley, Simon; McDowell, Garry; Pemberton, Philip; Burrows, Gillian; Cook, Gary; Lewis, Philip S; Smith, Alexander; Mackway-Jones, Kevin

2014-09-15

We aimed to derive and validate a clinical decision rule (CDR) for suspected cardiac chest pain in the emergency department (ED). Incorporating information available at the time of first presentation, this CDR would effectively risk-stratify patients and immediately identify: (A) patients for whom hospitalisation may be safely avoided; and (B) high-risk patients, facilitating judicious use of resources. In two sequential prospective observational cohort studies at heterogeneous centres, we included ED patients with suspected cardiac chest pain. We recorded clinical features and drew blood on arrival. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) (death, prevalent or incident acute myocardial infarction, coronary revascularisation or new coronary stenosis >50%) within 30 days. The CDR was derived by logistic regression, considering reliable (κ>0.6) univariate predictors (p<0.05) for inclusion. In the derivation study (n=698) we derived a CDR including eight variables (high sensitivity troponin T; heart-type fatty acid binding protein; ECG ischaemia; diaphoresis observed; vomiting; pain radiation to right arm/shoulder; worsening angina; hypotension), which had a C-statistic of 0.95 (95% CI 0.93 to 0.97) implying near perfect diagnostic performance. On external validation (n=463) the CDR identified 27.0% of patients as 'very low risk' and potentially suitable for discharge from the ED. 0.0% of these patients had prevalent acute myocardial infarction and 1.6% developed MACE (n=2; both coronary stenoses without revascularisation). 9.9% of patients were classified as 'high-risk', 95.7% of whom developed MACE. The Manchester Acute Coronary Syndromes (MACS) rule has the potential to safely reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and facilitate judicious use of high dependency resources. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Cognitive changes after parathyroidectomy in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism.

PubMed

Chou, Fong-Fu; Chen, Jin-Bor; Hsieh, Kun-Chou; Liou, Chia-Wei

2008-04-01

Cognitive impairment was frequently reported in uremic patients with dialysis, but improvements of cognition after parathyroidectomy for symptomatic secondary hyperparathyroidism have never been reported before. Thirty-nine patients, who were successfully operated on with total parathyroidectomy plus autotransplantation were enrolled. Twenty-three dialysis patients, age >50 years, who had a serum level of intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) greater than 650 pg/ml, and who did not undergo parathyroidectomy were selected as the control group. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and the clinical dementia rating (CDR) test were administered to all patients. Before the operation, educational level, symptoms of bone pain, skin itching, general weakness and insomnia were recorded and serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase (Alk-ptase), iPTH, aluminum, and hemoglobin were measured in the study and control groups. At 12-week postoperatively, serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, Alk-ptase, iPTH, and aluminum were measured again and at 16-week postoperatively, the MMSE and the CDR test were administered again. In the control group, both MMSE and CDR test were administered again after the period or 16-week. Serum calcium level was only significant difference (p = 0.002), whereas clinical symptoms, gender, etiologies of secondary hyperparathyroidism, duration of dialysis, educational level, age, and serum levels of phosphorus, Alk-ptase, iPTH, aluminum, and hemoglobin were not significantly different between the two groups. The educational level was the only factor affecting MMSE scores (p = 0.003). In the study group, at 12-week postoperatively, symptoms improved significantly, serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, Alk-ptase, iPTH, and aluminum decreased significantly, and at 16-week postoperatively, MMSE scores increased from 25 +/- 5 (mean +/- SD) to 26 +/- 5 (p < 0.001) and CDR scales decreased significantly (p < 0.001). Neither MMSE scores nor CDR scales of the control group changed significantly after the 16-week period. Parathyroidectomy for symptomatic secondary hyperparathyroidism can improve cognition.

Grassroots Environmentalism in Vietnam: How Communities Can Initiate Change

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-01

5d. PROJECT NUMBER Boll, Christian D., CDR, USN 5e. TASK NUMBER Paper Advisor: Prof. William McDonald 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7...number of IGO environmental funds that are administered by the World Bank . The Climate Investment Fund, for example, sponsors a number of projects in...Distribution is unlimited. Reference: DOD Directive 5230.24 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES A paper submitted to the Naval War College faculty in partial

CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing) Highlights.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-10-01

ATTN: AMCRE-C/Ms. Jean Lamb C dr, ATTN: ANCRM-P/Mr. Jerry Gibson Cdr, ATTN: AMCQA-E/Mr. Billings Cdr, ATTN: AMXAM-TL/Technical Library US Army...Sands Missile Range, ATTN: STEWS -TE-TL/Technical Library Cdr, US Military Academy, ATTN: LTC Lanse Leach - - . Cdr, Yuma Proving Grounds, ATTN

Paediatric suicide in the USA: analysis of the National Child Death Case Reporting System.

PubMed

Trigylidas, Theodore E; Reynolds, Eliza M; Teshome, Getachew; Dykstra, Heather K; Lichenstein, Richard

2016-08-01

Suicide is a leading cause of death among youths. The relationship between mental health, psychosocial factors and youth suicidality needs further analysis. To describe paediatric suicide in the USA and the impact of mental health and substance abuse using the National Child Death Review Case Reporting System (CDR-CRS). To identify psychosocial correlates contributing to suicide and whether these factors are more common among individuals with history of mental illness or substance abuse. Deidentified data (CDR-CRS) from 2004 to 2012 was obtained from 29 participating states. Demographic data and psychosocial correlates, including age, gender, cause of death, history of mental illness and/or substance abuse, school concerns, previous suicide attempts and family history of suicide, were collected. A total of 2850 suicides were identified. Mean age was 15.6±1.9 years; (range 7-21 years) 73.6% male and 65.1% Caucasian. The leading causes of death were asphyxia (50.2%) and weapon/firearm (36.5%). Among all subjects, 25.5% had history of mental illness and 19.0% had history of substance abuse. 60.0% had no report of mental illness or substance abuse. Subjects with both mental illness and substance abuse were more likely to have school concerns (OR=4.1 (p<0.001)), previous suicide attempts (OR=4.2 (p<0.001)) and a family history of suicide (OR=3.2 (p<0.001)) compared with subjects without those characteristics. Most suicide records in the CDR-CRS had no indication of mental illness or substance abuse. The youth with mental-illness/substance-abuse issues were more likely to have other compounding psychosocial correlates that may be warning signs of suicide. 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/

Aerosol Indirect Effect on Warm Clouds over Eastern China Using Combined CALIOP and MODIS Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jianping; Wang, Fu; Huang, Jingfeng; Li, Xiaowen

2015-04-01

Aerosol, one of key components of the climate system, is highly variable, both temporally and spatially. It often exerts great influences on the cloud-precipitation chain processes by serving as CCN/IN, altering cloud microphysics and its life cycle. Yet, the aerosol indirect effect on clouds remains largely unknown, because the initial changes in clouds due to aerosols may be enhanced or dampened by such feedback processes as modified cloud dynamics, or evaporation of the smaller droplets due to the competition for water vapor. In this study, we attempted to quantify the aerosol effects on warm cloud over eastern China, based on near-simultaneous retrievals from MODIS/AQUA, CALIOP/CALIPSO and CPR/CLOUDSAT during the period 2006 to 2010. The seasonality of aerosol from ground-based PM10 is quite different from that estimated from MODIS AOD. This result is corroborated by lower level profile of aerosol occurrence frequency from CALIOP, indicating the significant role CALIOP could play in aerosol-cloud interaction. The combined use of CALIOP and CPR facilitate the process to exactly determine the (vertical) position of warm cloud relative to aerosol, out of six scenarios in terms of aerosol-cloud mixing status in terms of aerosol-cloud mixing status, which shows as follows: AO (Aerosol only), CO (Cloud only), SASC (Single aerosol-single cloud), SADC (single aerosol-double cloud), DASC (double aerosol-single cloud), and others. Results shows that about 54% of all the cases belong to mixed status, among all the collocated aerosol-cloud cases. Under mixed condition, a boomerang shape is observed, i.e., reduced cloud droplet radius (CDR) is associated with increasing aerosol at moderate aerosol pollution (AOD<0.4), becoming saturated at AOD of 0.5, followed by an increase in CDR with aerosol. In contrast, there is no such boomerang shape found for (aerosol-cloud) separated cases. We categorize dataset into warm-season and cold-season subsets to figure out how the boomerang shape varies with season. For moderate aerosol loading (AOD<0.4), the effect on the droplet size for the "Mixed" cases is greater during cold season (denoted by a large slope), as compared with that during warm season. It is likely associated with an increase in the emission of light absorbing aerosol like smoke (black carbon), mainly caused by coal-fired heating during the cold season in China. As expected, the sensitivity of CDR to AOD is much weaker for "Separated" cases, irrespective of warm or cold seasons, indicating no real aerosol indirect effect occurring in this case. In contrast, for heavy aerosol loading (AOD>0.4), an increasing CDR with AOD can be seen in "Mixed" scenario during the warm season. Conversely, a closer look at the responses of CDR during the cold season shows that CDR decreases with AOD, although the strength is not much large. Therefore, we argue that cloud droplet size decreases with aerosol loading during cold season, irrespective of moderate or heavy atmospheric pollution. Finally, we discuss the possible factors that may influence the aerosol indirect effects on warm clouds investigated here. For instance, aerosol-cloud interaction conundrum might be affected by aerosol humidification, which is the case for MODIS AOD during warm seasons. But this issue can be partly overcome by categorizing dataset into warm-season and cold-season subsets, representing different ambient humidity condition in the atmosphere. The different boomerang shapes observed during various seasons, particularly after transition zone due to droplet saturation effect, have great implications for climate forcing by aerosol in eastern China.

Structural classification of CDR-H3 revisited: a lesson in antibody modeling.

PubMed

Kuroda, Daisuke; Shirai, Hiroki; Kobori, Masato; Nakamura, Haruki

2008-11-15

Among the six complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) in the variable domains of an antibody, the third CDR of the heavy chain (CDR-H3), which lies in the center of the antigen-binding site, plays a particularly important role in antigen recognition. CDR-H3 shows significant variability in its length, sequence, and structure. Although difficult, model building of this segment is the most critical step in antibody modeling. Since our first proposal of the "H3-rules," which classify CDR-H3 structure based on amino acid sequence, the number of experimentally determined antibody structures has increased. Here, we revise these H3-rules and propose an improved classification scheme for CDR-H3 structure modeling. In addition, we determine the common features of CDR-H3 in antibody drugs as well as discuss the concept of "antibody druggability," which can be applied as an indicator of antibody evaluation during drug discovery.

Beyond CDR-grafting: Structure-guided humanization of framework and CDR regions of an anti-myostatin antibody.

PubMed

Apgar, James R; Mader, Michelle; Agostinelli, Rita; Benard, Susan; Bialek, Peter; Johnson, Mark; Gao, Yijie; Krebs, Mark; Owens, Jane; Parris, Kevin; St Andre, Michael; Svenson, Kris; Morris, Carl; Tchistiakova, Lioudmila

2016-10-01

Antibodies are an important class of biotherapeutics that offer specificity to their antigen, long half-life, effector function interaction and good manufacturability. The immunogenicity of non-human-derived antibodies, which can be a major limitation to development, has been partially overcome by humanization through complementarity-determining region (CDR) grafting onto human acceptor frameworks. The retention of foreign content in the CDR regions, however, is still a potential immunogenic liability. Here, we describe the humanization of an anti-myostatin antibody utilizing a 2-step process of traditional CDR-grafting onto a human acceptor framework, followed by a structure-guided approach to further reduce the murine content of CDR-grafted antibodies. To accomplish this, we solved the co-crystal structures of myostatin with the chimeric (Protein Databank (PDB) id 5F3B) and CDR-grafted anti-myostatin antibody (PDB id 5F3H), allowing us to computationally predict the structurally important CDR residues as well as those making significant contacts with the antigen. Structure-based rational design enabled further germlining of the CDR-grafted antibody, reducing the murine content of the antibody without affecting antigen binding. The overall "humanness" was increased for both the light and heavy chain variable regions.

Beyond CDR-grafting: Structure-guided humanization of framework and CDR regions of an anti-myostatin antibody

PubMed Central

Apgar, James R.; Mader, Michelle; Agostinelli, Rita; Benard, Susan; Bialek, Peter; Johnson, Mark; Gao, Yijie; Krebs, Mark; Owens, Jane; Parris, Kevin; St. Andre, Michael; Svenson, Kris; Morris, Carl; Tchistiakova, Lioudmila

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Antibodies are an important class of biotherapeutics that offer specificity to their antigen, long half-life, effector function interaction and good manufacturability. The immunogenicity of non-human-derived antibodies, which can be a major limitation to development, has been partially overcome by humanization through complementarity-determining region (CDR) grafting onto human acceptor frameworks. The retention of foreign content in the CDR regions, however, is still a potential immunogenic liability. Here, we describe the humanization of an anti-myostatin antibody utilizing a 2-step process of traditional CDR-grafting onto a human acceptor framework, followed by a structure-guided approach to further reduce the murine content of CDR-grafted antibodies. To accomplish this, we solved the co-crystal structures of myostatin with the chimeric (Protein Databank (PDB) id 5F3B) and CDR-grafted anti-myostatin antibody (PDB id 5F3H), allowing us to computationally predict the structurally important CDR residues as well as those making significant contacts with the antigen. Structure-based rational design enabled further germlining of the CDR-grafted antibody, reducing the murine content of the antibody without affecting antigen binding. The overall “humanness” was increased for both the light and heavy chain variable regions. PMID:27625211

Overexpression of pigeonpea stress-induced cold and drought regulatory gene (CcCDR) confers drought, salt, and cold tolerance in Arabidopsis

PubMed Central

Tamirisa, Srinath; Vudem, Dashavantha Reddy; Khareedu, Venkateswara Rao

2014-01-01

A potent cold and drought regulatory protein-encoding gene (CcCDR) was isolated from the subtractive cDNA library of pigeonpea plants subjected to drought stress. CcCDR was induced by different abiotic stress conditions in pigeonpea. Overexpression of CcCDR in Arabidopsis thaliana imparted enhanced tolerance against major abiotic stresses, namely drought, salinity, and low temperature, as evidenced by increased biomass, root length, and chlorophyll content. Transgenic plants also showed increased levels of antioxidant enzymes, proline, and reducing sugars under stress conditions. Furthermore, CcCDR-transgenic plants showed enhanced relative water content, osmotic potential, and cell membrane stability, as well as hypersensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA) as compared with control plants. Localization studies confirmed that CcCDR could enter the nucleus, as revealed by intense fluorescence, indicating its possible interaction with various nuclear proteins. Microarray analysis revealed that 1780 genes were up-regulated in CcCDR-transgenics compared with wild-type plants. Real-time PCR analysis on selected stress-responsive genes, involved in ABA-dependent and -independent signalling networks, revealed higher expression levels in transgenic plants, suggesting that CcCDR acts upstream of these genes. The overall results demonstrate the explicit role of CcCDR in conferring multiple abiotic stress tolerance at the whole-plant level. The multifunctional CcCDR seems promising as a prime candidate gene for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in diverse plants. PMID:24868035

The effect of parental factors in children with large cup-to-disc ratios.

PubMed

Park, Hae-Young Lopilly; Ha, Min Ji; Shin, Sun Young

2017-01-01

To investigate large cup-to-disc ratios (CDR) in children and to determine the relationship between parental CDR and clinical characteristics associated with glaucoma. Two hundred thirty six children aged 6 to 12 years with CDR ≥ 0.6 were enrolled in this study. Subjects were classified into two groups based on parental CDR: disc suspect children with disc suspect (CDR ≥0.6) parents and disc suspect children without disc suspect parents. Ocular variables were compared between the two groups. Of the 236 disc suspect children, 100 (42.4%) had at least one disc suspect parent. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was higher in disc suspect children with disc suspect parents (16.52±2.66 mmHg) than in disc suspect children without disc suspect parents (14.38±2.30 mmHg, p = 0.023). In the group with disc suspect parents, vertical CDR significantly correlated with IOP (R = -0.325, p = 0.001), average retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness (R = -0.319, p = 0.001), rim area (R = -0.740, p = 0.001), and cup volume (R = 0.499, p = 0.001). However, spherical equivalent (R = 0.333, p = 0.001), AL (R = -0.223, p = 0.009), and disc area (R = 0.325, p = 0.001) significantly correlated with vertical CDR in disc suspect children without disc suspect parents, in contrast to those with disc suspect parents. Larger vertical CDR was associated with the presence of disc suspect parents (p = 0.001), larger disc area (p = 0.001), thinner rim area (p = 0.001), larger average CDR (p = 0.001), and larger cup volume (p = 0.021). Family history of large CDR was a significant factor associated with large vertical CDR in children. In children with disc suspect parents, there were significant correlations between IOP and average RNFL thickness and vertical CDR.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses a cyclic-di-GMP-regulated adhesin to reinforce the biofilm extracellular matrix

PubMed Central

Borlee, Bradley R; Goldman, Aaron D; Murakami, Keiji; Samudrala, Ram; Wozniak, Daniel J; Parsek, Matthew R

2010-01-01

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the principal pathogen of cystic fibrosis patients, forms antibiotic-resistant biofilms promoting chronic colonization of the airways. The extracellular (EPS) matrix is a crucial component of biofilms that provides the community multiple benefits. Recent work suggests that the secondary messenger, cyclic-di-GMP, promotes biofilm formation. An analysis of factors specifically expressed in P. aeruginosa under conditions of elevated c-di-GMP, revealed functions involved in the production and maintenance of the biofilm extracellular matrix. We have characterized one of these components, encoded by the PA4625 gene, as a putative adhesin and designated it cdrA. CdrA shares structural similarities to extracellular adhesins that belong to two-partner secretion systems. The cdrA gene is in a two gene operon that also encodes a putative outer membrane transporter, CdrB. The cdrA gene encodes a 220 KDa protein that is predicted to be rod-shaped protein harbouring a β-helix structural motif. Western analysis indicates that the CdrA is produced as a 220 kDa proprotein and processed to 150 kDa before secretion into the extracellular medium. We demonstrated that cdrAB expression is minimal in liquid culture, but is elevated in biofilm cultures. CdrAB expression was found to promote biofilm formation and auto-aggregation in liquid culture. Aggregation mediated by CdrA is dependent on the Psl polysaccharide and can be disrupted by adding mannose, a key structural component of Psl. Immunoprecipitation of Psl present in culture supernatants resulted in co-immunoprecipitation of CdrA, providing additional evidence that CdrA directly binds to Psl. A mutation in cdrA caused a decrease in biofilm biomass and resulted in the formation of biofilms exhibiting decreased structural integrity. Psl-specific lectin staining suggests that CdrA either cross-links Psl polysaccharide polymers and/or tethers Psl to the cells, resulting in increased biofilm structural stability. Thus, this study identifies a key protein structural component of the P. aeruginosa EPS matrix. PMID:20088866

In vitro biomechanical comparison after fixed- and mobile-core artificial cervical disc replacement versus fusion

PubMed Central

Lou, Jigang; Li, Yuanchao; Wang, Beiyu; Meng, Yang; Wu, Tingkui; Liu, Hao

2017-01-01

Abstract In vitro biomechanical analysis after cervical disc replacement (CDR) with a novel artificial disc prosthesis (mobile core) was conducted and compared with the intact model, simulated fusion, and CDR with a fixed-core prosthesis. The purpose of this experimental study was to analyze the biomechanical changes after CDR with a novel prosthesis and the differences between fixed- and mobile-core prostheses. Six human cadaveric C2–C7 specimens were biomechanically tested sequentially in 4 different spinal models: intact specimens, simulated fusion, CDR with a fixed-core prosthesis (Discover, DePuy), and CDR with a mobile-core prosthesis (Pretic-I, Trauson). Moments up to 2 Nm with a 75 N follower load were applied in flexion–extension, left and right lateral bending, and left and right axial rotation. The total range of motion (ROM), segmental ROM, and adjacent intradiscal pressure (IDP) were calculated and analyzed in 4 different spinal models, as well as the differences between 2 disc prostheses. Compared with the intact specimens, the total ROM, segmental ROM, and IDP at the adjacent segments showed no significant difference after arthroplasty. Moreover, CDR with a mobile-core prosthesis presented a little higher values of target segment (C5/6) and total ROM than CDR with a fixed-core prosthesis (P > .05). Besides, the difference in IDP at C4/5 after CDR with 2 prostheses was without statistical significance in all the directions of motion. However, the IDP at C6/7 after CDR with a mobile-core prosthesis was lower than CDR with a fixed-core prosthesis in flexion, extension, and lateral bending, with significant difference (P < .05), but not under axial rotation. CDR with a novel prosthesis was effective to maintain the ROM at the target segment and did not affect the ROM and IDP at the adjacent segments. Moreover, CDR with a mobile-core prosthesis presented a little higher values of target segment and total ROM, but lower IDP at the inferior adjacent segment than CDR with a fixed-core prosthesis. PMID:29019902

XML Schema Guide for Primary CDR Submissions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents the extensible markup language (XML) schema guide for the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics’ (OPPT) e-CDRweb tool. E-CDRweb is the electronic, web-based tool provided by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the submission of Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) information. This document provides the user with tips and guidance on correctly using the version 1.7 XML schema. Please note that the order of the elements must match the schema.

A better understanding of POLDER's cloud droplet size retrieval: impact of cloud horizontal inhomogeneity and directional sampling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shang, H.; Chen, L.; Bréon, F.-M.; Letu, H.; Li, S.; Wang, Z.; Su, L.

2015-07-01

The principles of the Polarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectance (POLDER) cloud droplet size retrieval requires that clouds are horizontally homogeneous. Nevertheless, the retrieval is applied by combining all measurements from an area of 150 km × 150 km to compensate for POLDER's insufficient directional sampling. Using the POLDER-like data simulated with the RT3 model, we investigate the impact of cloud horizontal inhomogeneity and directional sampling on the retrieval, and then analyze which spatial resolution is potentially accessible from the measurements. Case studies show that the sub-scale variability in droplet effective radius (CDR) can mislead both the CDR and effective variance (EV) retrievals. Nevertheless, the sub-scale variations in EV and cloud optical thickness (COT) only influence the EV retrievals and not the CDR estimate. In the directional sampling cases studied, the retrieval is accurate using limited observations and is largely independent of random noise. Several improvements have been made to the original POLDER droplet size retrieval. For example, the measurements in the primary rainbow region (137-145°) are used to ensure accurate large droplet (> 15 μm) retrievals and reduce the uncertainties caused by cloud heterogeneity. We apply the improved method using the POLDER global L1B data for June 2008, the new CDR results are compared with the operational CDRs. The comparison show that the operational CDRs tend to be underestimated for large droplets. The reason is that the cloudbow oscillations in the scattering angle region of 145-165° are weak for cloud fields with CDR > 15 μm. Lastly, a sub-scale retrieval case is analyzed, illustrating that a higher resolution, e.g., 42 km × 42 km, can be used when inverting cloud droplet size parameters from POLDER measurements.

T cell receptor repertoires of mice and humans are clustered in similarity networks around conserved public CDR3 sequences

PubMed Central

Madi, Asaf; Poran, Asaf; Shifrut, Eric; Reich-Zeliger, Shlomit; Greenstein, Erez; Zaretsky, Irena; Arnon, Tomer; Laethem, Francois Van; Singer, Alfred; Lu, Jinghua; Sun, Peter D; Cohen, Irun R; Friedman, Nir

2017-01-01

Diversity of T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires, generated by somatic DNA rearrangements, is central to immune system function. However, the level of sequence similarity of TCR repertoires within and between species has not been characterized. Using network analysis of high-throughput TCR sequencing data, we found that abundant CDR3-TCRβ sequences were clustered within networks generated by sequence similarity. We discovered a substantial number of public CDR3-TCRβ segments that were identical in mice and humans. These conserved public sequences were central within TCR sequence-similarity networks. Annotated TCR sequences, previously associated with self-specificities such as autoimmunity and cancer, were linked to network clusters. Mechanistically, CDR3 networks were promoted by MHC-mediated selection, and were reduced following immunization, immune checkpoint blockade or aging. Our findings provide a new view of T cell repertoire organization and physiology, and suggest that the immune system distributes its TCR sequences unevenly, attending to specific foci of reactivity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22057.001 PMID:28731407

Mapping Precipitation in the Lower Mekong River Basin and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshmi, V.; Sutton, J. R. P.; Bolten, J. D.

2017-12-01

Mapping and quantifying precipitation across varying temporal and spatial scales is of utmost importance in understanding, monitoring, and predicting flooding and drought. While there exists many in-situ precipitation gages that can accurately estimate precipitation in a given location, there are still many areas that lack in-situ gages. Many of these locations do not have precipitation gages because they are rural and/or topographically complex. The purpose of our research was to compare different remotely sensed satellite precipitation estimates with in-situ estimates across topographically complex and rural terrain within the United States Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) and the Lower Mekong River Basin (LMRB). We utilize the publicly available Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN) Climate Data Record (CDR) from NOAA and two remotely sensed precipitation products from NASA; the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM). These precipitation estimates were compared with each other and to the available in-situ precipitation estimates from station gages. We also utilize NASA Landsat data to determine the land cover types of these study areas. Using the precipitation estimates, topography, and the land cover of the study areas, we were able to show areas experiencing differing amounts of rainfall and their agreement with in-situ estimates. Additionally, we study the seasonal and spatial trends in precipitation. These analyses can be used to help understand areas that are experience frequent flood or drought.

Airport Traffic Conflict Detection and Resolution Algorithm Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Denise R.; Chartrand, Ryan C.; Wilson, Sara R.; Commo, Sean A.; Ballard, Kathryn M.; Otero, Sharon D.; Barker, Glover D.

2016-01-01

Two conflict detection and resolution (CD&R) algorithms for the terminal maneuvering area (TMA) were evaluated in a fast-time batch simulation study at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center. One CD&R algorithm, developed at NASA, was designed to enhance surface situation awareness and provide cockpit alerts of potential conflicts during runway, taxi, and low altitude air-to-air operations. The second algorithm, Enhanced Traffic Situation Awareness on the Airport Surface with Indications and Alerts (SURF IA), was designed to increase flight crew awareness of the runway environment and facilitate an appropriate and timely response to potential conflict situations. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the performance of the aircraft-based CD&R algorithms during various runway, taxiway, and low altitude scenarios, multiple levels of CD&R system equipage, and various levels of horizontal position accuracy. Algorithm performance was assessed through various metrics including the collision rate, nuisance and missed alert rate, and alert toggling rate. The data suggests that, in general, alert toggling, nuisance and missed alerts, and unnecessary maneuvering occurred more frequently as the position accuracy was reduced. Collision avoidance was more effective when all of the aircraft were equipped with CD&R and maneuvered to avoid a collision after an alert was issued. In order to reduce the number of unwanted (nuisance) alerts when taxiing across a runway, a buffer is needed between the hold line and the alerting zone so alerts are not generated when an aircraft is behind the hold line. All of the results support RTCA horizontal position accuracy requirements for performing a CD&R function to reduce the likelihood and severity of runway incursions and collisions.

Expression of the CDR1 efflux pump in clinical Candida albicans isolates is controlled by a negative regulatory element

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaur, Naseem Akhtar; Manoharlal, Raman; Saini, Preeti

2005-06-24

Resistance to azole antifungal drugs in clinical isolates of the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans is often caused by constitutive overexpression of the CDR1 gene, which encodes a multidrug efflux pump of the ABC transporter superfamily. To understand the relevance of a recently identified negative regulatory element (NRE) in the CDR1 promoter for the control of CDR1 expression in the clinical scenario, we investigated the effect of mutation or deletion of the NRE on CDR1 expression in two matched pairs of azole-sensitive and resistant clinical isolates of C. albicans. Expression of GFP or lacZ reporter genes from the wild typemore » CDR1 promoter was much higher in the azole-resistant C. albicans isolates than in the azole-susceptible isolates, reflecting the known differences in CDR1 expression in these strains. Deletion or mutation of the NRE resulted in enhanced reporter gene expression in azole-sensitive strains, but did not further increase the already high CDR1 promoter activity in the azole-resistant strains. In agreement with these findings, electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed a reduced binding to the NRE of nuclear extracts from the resistant C. albicans isolates as compared with extracts from the sensitive isolates. These results demonstrate that the NRE is involved in maintaining CDR1 expression at basal levels and that this repression is overcome in azole-resistant clinical C. albicans isolates, resulting in constitutive CDR1 overexpression and concomitant drug resistance.« less

Association between late-onset depression and incident dementia in Chinese older persons.

PubMed

Tam, C W C; Lam, L C W

2013-12-01

OBJECTIVE. Previous studies have shown that depression is a precursor / prodrome or susceptible state for the development of dementia. This study aimed to examine the relationship between late-onset depression and subsequent cognitive and functional decline in a cohort of non-demented older Chinese persons at their 2-year follow-up and investigate for possible predictors of cognitive decline. METHODS. A total of 81 depressed subjects and 468 non-depressed community controls were recruited. RESULTS. Subjects with late-onset depression showed significantly more incident Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale decline (odds ratio = 3.87, 95% confidence interval = 2.23-6.70) and dementia (odds ratio = 3.44, 95% confidence interval = 1.75-6.77) than those without depression. A higher proportion of depressed CDR 0 subjects had CDR and functional decline than their non-depressed counterparts. Depressed CDR 0.5 subjects had significantly higher rates of functional decline and lower rates of improvement in CDR than their non-depressed counterparts. CONCLUSION. Diagnosis of depression was a robust predictor of incident very mild dementia (i.e. CDR of 0.5) and depression severity was a predictor of progression to dementia from CDR of 0.5. The association between depression and the risk of CDR decline and dementia was observed in non-demented Chinese subjects. Depression was also associated with persistent mild cognitive deficits in CDR 0.5 subjects.

Construction of a scFv Library with Synthetic, Non-combinatorial CDR Diversity.

PubMed

Bai, Xuelian; Shim, Hyunbo

2017-01-01

Many large synthetic antibody libraries have been designed, constructed, and successfully generated high-quality antibodies suitable for various demanding applications. While synthetic antibody libraries have many advantages such as optimized framework sequences and a broader sequence landscape than natural antibodies, their sequence diversities typically are generated by random combinatorial synthetic processes which cause the incorporation of many undesired CDR sequences. Here, we describe the construction of a synthetic scFv library using oligonucleotide mixtures that contain predefined, non-combinatorially synthesized CDR sequences. Each CDR is first inserted to a master scFv framework sequence and the resulting single-CDR libraries are subjected to a round of proofread panning. The proofread CDR sequences are assembled to produce the final scFv library with six diversified CDRs.

A comparison of high-resolution pollen-inferred climate data from central Minnesota, USA, to 19th century US military fort climate data and tree-ring inferred climate reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

St Jacques, J.; Cumming, B. F.; Sauchyn, D.; Vanstone, J. R.; Dickenson, J.; Smol, J. P.

2013-12-01

A vital component of paleoclimatology is the validation of paleoclimatological reconstructions. Unfortunately, there is scant instrumental data prior to the 20th century available for this. Hence, typically, we can only do long-term validation using other proxy-inferred climate reconstructions. Minnesota, USA, with its long military fort climate records beginning in 1820 and early dense network of climate stations, offers a rare opportunity for proxy validation. We compare a high-resolution (4-year), millennium-scale, pollen-inferred paleoclimate record derived from varved Lake Mina in central Minnesota to early military fort records and dendroclimatological records. When inferring a paleoclimate record from a pollen record, we rely upon the pollen-climate relationship being constant in time. However, massive human impacts have significantly altered vegetation; and the relationship between modern instrumental climate data and the modern pollen rain becomes altered from what it was in the past. In the Midwest, selective logging, fire suppression, deforestation and agriculture have strongly influenced the modern pollen rain since Euro-American settlement in the mid-1800s. We assess the signal distortion introduced by using the conventional method of modern post-settlement pollen and climate calibration sets to infer climate at Lake Mina from pre-settlement pollen data. Our first February and May temperature reconstructions are based on a pollen dataset contemporaneous with early settlement to which corresponding climate data from the earliest instrumental records has been added to produce a 'pre-settlement' calibration set. The second February and May temperature reconstructions are based on a conventional 'modern' pollen-climate dataset from core-top pollen samples and modern climate normals. The temperature reconstructions are then compared to the earliest instrumental records from Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and it is shown that the reconstructions based on the pre-settlement calibration set give much more credible reconstructions. We then compare the temperature reconstructions based upon the two calibration sets for AD 1116-2002. Significant signal flattening and bias exist when using the conventional modern pollen-climate calibration set rather than the pre-settlement pollen-climate calibration set, resulting in an overestimation of Little Ice Age monthly mean temperatures of 0.5-1.5 oC. Therefore, regional warming from anthropogenic global warming is significantly underestimated when using the conventional method of building pollen-climate calibration sets. We also compare the Lake Mina pollen-inferred effective moisture record to early 19th century climate data and to a four-century tree-ring inferred moisture reconstruction based upon sites in Minnesota and the Dakotas. This comparison shows that regional tree-ring reconstructions are biased towards dry conditions and record wet periods poorly relative to high-resolution pollen reconstructions, giving a false impression of regional aridity. It also suggests that varve chronologies should be based upon cross-dating to ensure a more accurate chronology.

XML Schema Guide for Secondary CDR Submissions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents the extensible markup language (XML) schema guide for the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics’ (OPPT) e-CDRweb tool. E-CDRweb is the electronic, web-based tool provided by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the submission of Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) information. This document provides the user with tips and guidance on correctly using the version 1.1 XML schema for the Joint Submission Form. Please note that the order of the elements must match the schema.

Evaluating Navy’s Funded Graduate Education Program. A Return-on-Investment Framework

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

decisionmaking, and increased retention. Some of this value can be monetized , and costs and benefits to the Navy can be estimated using enhanced...support of LCDR Claude McRoberts, CAPT Karen Emmel, CDR Darin Evenson, CAPT John Coronado, CDR Rob Tortora, CAPT Richard Moyer, LCDR Joseph Scott...step is to monetize the data on education effects by assigning values to the education outcomes predicted in step two and calculating an annual

The T-cell receptor beta chain CDR3 region of BV8S1/BJ1S5 transcripts in type 1 diabetes.

PubMed

Naserke, H E; Durinovic-Bellò, I; Seidel, D; Ziegler, A G

1996-01-01

We recently described the T-cell receptor (TCR) beta chain CDR3 motif S-SDRLG-NQPQH (BV8S1-BJ1S5) in an islet-specific T-cell clone (K2.12) from a type 1 diabetic patient (AS). A similar motif (RLGNQ) was also reported in a T-cell clone of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice by others. In order to determine the frequency of our motif in selected and unselected T-cell populations, we cloned and sequenced the CDR3 region of BV8S1-BJ1S5 transcripts. These transcripts were derived from unstimulated peripheral blood T lymphocytes from two type 1 diabetic patients (AS and FS) and their non-diabetic sibling (WS), as well as from an islet-specific T-cell line of one of the patients. In addition, we compared the structure and composition of the CDR3 region in BV8S1-BJ1S5 transcripts from peripheral blood T cells between the patients and their non-diabetic sibling (>50 sequences each). We found that 30% of the islet-specific T-cell line cDNA clones expressed the entire sequence-motif, whereas it was absent in the clones of unstimulated peripheral blood T cells from both patients and their non-diabetic sibling. The average length of the CDR3 region was shorter in the patients (mean AS 9.9, FS 9.9, versus WS 10.7, p = 0.0037) and the number of inserted nucleotides in N nucleotide addition at the DJ-junction lower (mean AS 3.5, FS 3. 2, versus WS 5.2, P = <10(-4)) as compared with their non-diabetic sibling. Moreover, the pattern of amino acid usage in the CDR3 region was dissimilar at positions 5 and 6, where polar amino acids predominated in both diabetic siblings. In contrast, basic amino acids are preferentially used at position 5 in the clones of the non-diabetic sibling. These data provide information on the general structure of the TCR(BV8S1-BJ1S5) CDR3 region in type 1 diabetes and may indicate differences in the amino and nucleic acid composition of the TCR beta chain CDR3 region between two type 1 diabetic patients and their non-diabetic sibling.

Multiplexed Immunoassay Panel Identifies Novel CSF Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis and Prognosis

PubMed Central

Craig-Schapiro, Rebecca; Kuhn, Max; Xiong, Chengjie; Pickering, Eve H.; Liu, Jingxia; Misko, Thomas P.; Perrin, Richard J.; Bales, Kelly R.; Soares, Holly; Fagan, Anne M.; Holtzman, David M.

2011-01-01

Background Clinicopathological studies suggest that Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology begins ∼10–15 years before the resulting cognitive impairment draws medical attention. Biomarkers that can detect AD pathology in its early stages and predict dementia onset would, therefore, be invaluable for patient care and efficient clinical trial design. We utilized a targeted proteomics approach to discover novel cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers that can augment the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy of current leading CSF biomarkers (Aβ42, tau, p-tau181). Methods and Findings Using a multiplexed Luminex platform, 190 analytes were measured in 333 CSF samples from cognitively normal (Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR] 0), very mildly demented (CDR 0.5), and mildly demented (CDR 1) individuals. Mean levels of 37 analytes (12 after Bonferroni correction) were found to differ between CDR 0 and CDR>0 groups. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses revealed that small combinations of a subset of these markers (cystatin C, VEGF, TRAIL-R3, PAI-1, PP, NT-proBNP, MMP-10, MIF, GRO-α, fibrinogen, FAS, eotaxin-3) enhanced the ability of the best-performing established CSF biomarker, the tau/Aβ42 ratio, to discriminate CDR>0 from CDR 0 individuals. Multiple machine learning algorithms likewise showed that the novel biomarker panels improved the diagnostic performance of the current leading biomarkers. Importantly, most of the markers that best discriminated CDR 0 from CDR>0 individuals in the more targeted ROC analyses were also identified as top predictors in the machine learning models, reconfirming their potential as biomarkers for early-stage AD. Cox proportional hazards models demonstrated that an optimal panel of markers for predicting risk of developing cognitive impairment (CDR 0 to CDR>0 conversion) consisted of calbindin, Aβ42, and age. Conclusions/Significance Using a targeted proteomic screen, we identified novel candidate biomarkers that complement the best current CSF biomarkers for distinguishing very mildly/mildly demented from cognitively normal individuals. Additionally, we identified a novel biomarker (calbindin) with significant prognostic potential. PMID:21526197

Workshop on Bridging Satellite Climate Data Gaps.

PubMed

Cooksey, Catherine; Datla, Raju

2011-01-01

Detecting the small signals of climate change for the most essential climate variables requires that satellite sensors make highly accurate and consistent measurements. Data gaps in the time series (such as gaps resulting from launch delay or failure) and inconsistencies in radiometric scales between satellites undermine the credibility of fundamental climate data records, and can lead to erroneous analysis in climate change detection. To address these issues, leading experts in Earth observations from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), and academia assembled at the National Institute of Standards and Technology on December 10, 2009 for a workshop to prioritize strategies for bridging and mitigating data gaps in the climate record. This paper summarizes the priorities for ensuring data continuity of variables relevant to climate change in the areas of atmosphere, land, and ocean measurements and the recommendations made at the workshop for overcoming planned and unplanned gaps in the climate record.

Candida Drug Resistance Protein 1, a Major Multidrug ATP Binding Cassette Transporter of Candida albicans, Translocates Fluorescent Phospholipids in a Reconstituted System†

PubMed Central

Shukla, Sudhanshu; Rai, Versha; Saini, Preeti; Banerjee, Dibyendu; Menon, Anant K.; Prasad, Rajendra

2008-01-01

Candida albicans drug resistance protein 1 (Cdr1p), an ATP-dependent drug efflux pump, contributes to multidrug resistance in Candida-infected immunocompromised patients. Previous cell-based assays suggested that Cdr1p also acts as a phospholipid translocator. To investigate this, we reconstituted purified Cdr1p into sealed membrane vesicles. Comparison of the ATPase activities of sealed and permeabilized proteoliposomes indicated that Cdr1p was asymmetrically reconstituted such that ~70% of the molecules had their ATP binding sites accessible to the extravesicular space. Fluorescent glycerophospholipids were incorporated into the outer leaflet of the proteoliposomes, and their transport into the inner leaflet was tracked with a quenching assay using membrane-impermeant dithionite. We observed ATP-dependent transport of the fluorescent lipids into the inner leaflet of the vesicles. With ~6 molecules of Cdr1p per vesicle on average, the half-time to reach the maximal extent of transport was ~15 min. Transport was reduced in vesicles reconstituted with Cdr1p variants with impaired ATPase activity and could be competed out to different levels by a molar excess of drugs such as fluconazole and miconazole that are known to be effluxed by Cdr1p. Transport was not affected by ampicillin, a compound that is not effluxed by Cdr1p. Our results suggest a direct link between the ability of Cdr1p to translocate fluorescent phospholipids and efflux drugs. We note that only a few members of the ABC superfamily of Candida have a well-defined role as drug exporters; thus, lipid translocation mediated by Cdr1p could reflect its cellular function. PMID:17924650

Overlapping hotspots in CDRs are critical sites for V region diversification.

PubMed

Wei, Lirong; Chahwan, Richard; Wang, Shanzhi; Wang, Xiaohua; Pham, Phuong T; Goodman, Myron F; Bergman, Aviv; Scharff, Matthew D; MacCarthy, Thomas

2015-02-17

Activation-induced deaminase (AID) mediates the somatic hypermutation (SHM) of Ig variable (V) regions that is required for the affinity maturation of the antibody response. An intensive analysis of a published database of somatic hypermutations that arose in the IGHV3-23*01 human V region expressed in vivo by human memory B cells revealed that the focus of mutations in complementary determining region (CDR)1 and CDR2 coincided with a combination of overlapping AGCT hotspots, the absence of AID cold spots, and an abundance of polymerase eta hotspots. If the overlapping hotspots in the CDR1 or CDR2 did not undergo mutation, the frequency of mutations throughout the V region was reduced. To model this result, we examined the mutation of the human IGHV3-23*01 biochemically and in the endogenous heavy chain locus of Ramos B cells. Deep sequencing revealed that IGHV3-23*01 in Ramos cells accumulates AID-induced mutations primarily in the AGCT in CDR2, which was also the most frequent site of mutation in vivo. Replacing the overlapping hotspots in CDR1 and CDR2 with neutral or cold motifs resulted in a reduction in mutations within the modified motifs and, to some degree, throughout the V region. In addition, some of the overlapping hotspots in the CDRs were at sites in which replacement mutations could change the structure of the CDR loops. Our analysis suggests that the local sequence environment of the V region, and especially of the CDR1 and CDR2, is highly evolved to recruit mutations to key residues in the CDRs of the IgV region.

Assessment of Volumetric-Modulated Arc Therapy for Constant and Variable Dose Rates

PubMed Central

De Ornelas-Couto, Mariluz; Mihaylov, Ivaylo; Dogan, Nesrin

2017-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the effects of dose rate on volumetric-modulated arc therapy plans to determine optimal dose rates for prostate and head and neck (HN) cases. Materials and Methods: Ten prostate and ten HN cases were retrospectively studied. For each case, seven plans were generated: one variable dose rate (VDR) and six constant dose rate (CDR) (100–600 monitor units [MUs]/min) plans. Prescription doses were: 80 Gy to planning target volume (PTV) for the prostate cases, and 70, 60, and 54 Gy to PTV1, PTV2, and PTV3, respectively, for HN cases. Plans were normalized to 95% of the PTV and PTV1, respectively, with the prescription dose. Plans were assessed using Dose-Volume-Histogram metrics, homogeneity index, conformity index, MUs, and delivery time. Results: For the prostate cases, significant differences were found for rectum D35 between VDR and all CDR plans, except CDR500. Furthermore, VDR was significantly different than CDR100 and 200 for bladder D50. Delivery time for all CDR plans and MUs for CDR400–600 were significantly higher when compared to VDR. HN cases showed significant differences between VDR and CDR100, 500 and 600 for D2 to the cord and brainstem. Significant differences were found for delivery time and MUs for all CDR plans, except CDR100 for number of MUs. Conclusion: The most significant differences were observed in delivery time and number of MUs. All-in-all, the best CDR for prostate cases was found to be 300 MUs/min and 200 or 300 MUs/min for HN cases. However, VDR plans are still the choice in terms of MU efficiency and plan quality. PMID:29296033

A Sensemaking Visualization Tool with Military Doctrinal Elements

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

LeadUnderstand CDR / Staff ART / Science In short, we need to develop an integrated approach for the understanding (framing) and visualizing, describing...directing, assessing, and reframing of unified operations. Staff Running Estimates t ff i i Visualize CDR / Staff ART / Science •Planning guidance...Planning guidance •Cdr ’s Intent Describe CDR / Staff ART / Science •Plans & Orders •Preparation •Plans & Orders •Preparation •Execution WF

Sieve-based coreference resolution enhances semi-supervised learning model for chemical-induced disease relation extraction.

PubMed

Le, Hoang-Quynh; Tran, Mai-Vu; Dang, Thanh Hai; Ha, Quang-Thuy; Collier, Nigel

2016-07-01

The BioCreative V chemical-disease relation (CDR) track was proposed to accelerate the progress of text mining in facilitating integrative understanding of chemicals, diseases and their relations. In this article, we describe an extension of our system (namely UET-CAM) that participated in the BioCreative V CDR. The original UET-CAM system's performance was ranked fourth among 18 participating systems by the BioCreative CDR track committee. In the Disease Named Entity Recognition and Normalization (DNER) phase, our system employed joint inference (decoding) with a perceptron-based named entity recognizer (NER) and a back-off model with Semantic Supervised Indexing and Skip-gram for named entity normalization. In the chemical-induced disease (CID) relation extraction phase, we proposed a pipeline that includes a coreference resolution module and a Support Vector Machine relation extraction model. The former module utilized a multi-pass sieve to extend entity recall. In this article, the UET-CAM system was improved by adding a 'silver' CID corpus to train the prediction model. This silver standard corpus of more than 50 thousand sentences was automatically built based on the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) database. We evaluated our method on the CDR test set. Results showed that our system could reach the state of the art performance with F1 of 82.44 for the DNER task and 58.90 for the CID task. Analysis demonstrated substantial benefits of both the multi-pass sieve coreference resolution method (F1 + 4.13%) and the silver CID corpus (F1 +7.3%).Database URL: SilverCID-The silver-standard corpus for CID relation extraction is freely online available at: https://zenodo.org/record/34530 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.34530). © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Chemical Data Reporting

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) site provides information on reporting requirements under TSCA's Chemical Data Reporting Rule. The site provides instruction to data submitters on how to report and enable users to download the reported information.

Generation and analysis of the improved human HAL9/10 antibody phage display libraries.

PubMed

Kügler, Jonas; Wilke, Sonja; Meier, Doris; Tomszak, Florian; Frenzel, André; Schirrmann, Thomas; Dübel, Stefan; Garritsen, Henk; Hock, Björn; Toleikis, Lars; Schütte, Mark; Hust, Michael

2015-02-19

Antibody phage display is a proven key technology that allows the generation of human antibodies for diagnostics and therapy. From naive antibody gene libraries - in theory - antibodies against any target can be selected. Here we describe the design, construction and characterization of an optimized antibody phage display library. The naive antibody gene libraries HAL9 and HAL10, with a combined theoretical diversity of 1.5×10(10) independent clones, were constructed from 98 healthy donors using improved phage display vectors. In detail, most common phagemids employed for antibody phage display are using a combined His/Myc tag for detection and purification. We show that changing the tag order to Myc/His improved the production of soluble antibodies, but did not affect antibody phage display. For several published antibody libraries, the selected number of kappa scFvs were lower compared to lambda scFvs, probably due to a lower kappa scFv or Fab expression rate. Deletion of a phenylalanine at the end of the CL linker sequence in our new phagemid design increased scFv production rate and frequency of selected kappa antibodies significantly. The HAL libraries and 834 antibodies selected against 121 targets were analyzed regarding the used germline V-genes, used V-gene combinations and CDR-H3/-L3 length and composition. The amino acid diversity and distribution in the CDR-H3 of the initial library was retrieved in the CDR-H3 of selected antibodies showing that all CDR-H3 amino acids occurring in the human antibody repertoire can be functionally used and is not biased by E. coli expression or phage selection. Further, the data underline the importance of CDR length variations. The highly diverse universal antibody gene libraries HAL9/10 were constructed using an optimized scFv phagemid vector design. Analysis of selected antibodies revealed that the complete amino acid diversity in the CDR-H3 was also found in selected scFvs showing the functionality of the naive CDR-H3 diversity.

The Process of Sensemaking in Complex Human Endeavors

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

encompassing Joint, Interagency, and Multinational capabilities. The Art and Science of Battle Command LeadUnderstand CDR / Staff ART / Science In short, we...operations. Staff Running Estimates t ff i i Visualize CDR / Staff ART / Science •Planning guidance •Planning guidance •Cdr ’s Intent Describe CDR...Staff ART / Science •Plans & Orders •Preparation •Plans & Orders •Preparation •Execution WF • Intelligence •Maneuver •Fire Support • Protection

U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, 1973-1982: A Case Study in Successful Peacetime Military Reform

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-01-01

Member LTC Yvonne Doll, M.S...Tarpley, Cdr, US Army Infantry Center; Donn A. Starry, Cdr, US Army Armor Center; CG LeVan, Cdr, US Army Air Defense Center; William J. Maddox , Cdr, US...Ott, LeVan, Starry, Parfitt, Myer, and Maddox entitled “Field Manuals,” 10 October 1974, in DePuy Papers, MHI. 107DePuy, Letter to General Fred C

Efficient Planning of Wind-Optimal Routes in North Atlantic Oceanic Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodionova, Olga; Sridhar, Banavar

2017-01-01

The North Atlantic oceanic airspace (NAT) is crossed daily by more than a thousand flights, which are greatly affected by strong jet stream air currents. Several studies devoted to generating wind-optimal (WO) aircraft trajectories in the NAT demonstrated great efficiency of such an approach for individual flights. However, because of the large separation norms imposed in the NAT, previously proposed WO trajectories induce a large number of potential conflicts. Much work has been done on strategic conflict detection and resolution (CDR) in the NAT. The work presented here extends previous methods and attempts to take advantage of the NAT traffic structure to simplify the problem and improve the results of CDR. Four approaches are studied in this work: 1) subdividing the existing CDR problem into sub-problems of smaller sizes, which are easier to handle; 2) more efficient data reorganization within the considered time period; 3) problem localization, i.e. concentrating the resolution effort in the most conflicted regions; 4) applying CDR to the pre-tactical decision horizon (a couple of hours in advance). Obtained results show that these methods efficiently resolve potential conflicts at the strategic and pre-tactical levels by keeping the resulting trajectories close to the initial WO ones.

The three-dimensional structure of a T-cell antigen receptor V alpha V beta heterodimer reveals a novel arrangement of the V beta domain.

PubMed Central

Housset, D; Mazza, G; Grégoire, C; Piras, C; Malissen, B; Fontecilla-Camps, J C

1997-01-01

The crystal structure of a mouse T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) Fv fragment complexed to the Fab fragment of a specific anti-clonotypic antibody has been determined to 2.6 A resolution. The polypeptide backbone of the TCR V alpha domain is very similar to those of other crystallographically determined V alphas, whereas the V beta structure is so far unique among TCR V beta domains in that it displays a switch of the c" strand from the inner to the outer beta-sheet. The beta chain variable region of this TCR antigen-binding site is characterized by a rather elongated third complementarity-determining region (CDR3beta) that packs tightly against the CDR3 loop of the alpha chain, without leaving any intervening hydrophobic pocket. Thus, the conformation of the CDR loops with the highest potential diversity distinguishes the structure of this TCR antigen-binding site from those for which crystallographic data are available. On the basis of all these results, we infer that a significant conformational change of the CDR3beta loop found in our TCR is required for binding to its cognate peptide-MHC ligand. PMID:9250664

Continuous Dual Resetting of the Immune Repertoire as a Basic Principle of the Immune System Function.

PubMed

Balzar, Silvana

2017-01-01

Idiopathic chronic inflammatory conditions (ICIC) such as allergy, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and various autoimmune conditions are a worldwide health problem. Understanding the pathogenesis of ICIC is essential for their successful therapy and prevention. However, efforts are hindered by the lack of comprehensive understanding of the human immune system function. In line with those efforts, described here is a concept of stochastic continuous dual resetting (CDR) of the immune repertoire as a basic principle that governs the function of immunity. The CDR functions as a consequence of system's thermodynamically determined intrinsic tendency to acquire new states of inner equilibrium and equilibrium against the environment. Consequently, immune repertoire undergoes continuous dual (two-way) resetting: against the physiologic continuous changes of self and against the continuously changing environment. The CDR-based dynamic concept of immunity describes mechanisms of self-regulation, tolerance, and immunosenescence, and emphasizes the significance of immune system's compartmentalization in the pathogenesis of ICIC. The CDR concept's relative simplicity and concomitantly documented congruency with empirical, clinical, and experimental data suggest it may represent a plausible theoretical framework to better understand the human immune system function.

Continuing the Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Climate Data Record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coddington, O.; Pilewskie, P.; Kopp, G.; Richard, E. C.; Sparn, T.; Woods, T. N.

2017-12-01

Radiative energy from the Sun establishes the basic climate of the Earth's surface and atmosphere and defines the terrestrial environment that supports all life on the planet. External solar variability on a wide range of scales ubiquitously affects the Earth system, and combines with internal forcings, including anthropogenic changes in greenhouse gases and aerosols, and natural modes such as ENSO, and volcanic forcing, to define past, present, and future climates. Understanding these effects requires continuous measurements of total and spectrally resolved solar irradiance that meet the stringent requirements of climate-quality accuracy and stability over time. The current uninterrupted 39-year total solar irradiance (TSI) climate data record is the result of several overlapping instruments flown on different missions. Measurement continuity, required to link successive instruments to the existing data record to discern long-term trends makes this important climate data record susceptible to loss in the event of a gap in measurements. While improvements in future instrument accuracy will reduce the risk of a gap, the 2017 launch of TSIS-1 ensures continuity of the solar irradiance record into the next decade. There are scientific and programmatic motivations for addressing the challenges of maintaining the solar irradiance data record beyond TSIS-1. The science rests on well-founded requirements of establishing a trusted climate observing network that can monitor trends in fundamental climate variables. Programmatically, the long-term monitoring of solar irradiance must be balanced within the broader goals of NASA Earth Science. New concepts for a low-risk, cost efficient observing strategy is a priority. New highly capable small spacecraft, low-cost launch vehicles and a multi-decadal plan to provide overlapping TSI and SSI data records are components of a low risk/high reliability plan with lower annual cost than past implementations. This paper provides the justification for prioritizing solar irradiance observations and plans for extending the record into the next two decades that adheres to the rigors of quantifiable methods for meeting objectives.

Development of the expressed Ig CDR-H3 repertoire is marked by focusing of constraints in length, amino acid use, and charge that are first established in early B cell progenitors.

PubMed

Ivanov, Ivaylo I; Schelonka, Robert L; Zhuang, Yingxin; Gartland, G Larry; Zemlin, Michael; Schroeder, Harry W

2005-06-15

To gain insight into the mechanisms that regulate the development of the H chain CDR3 (CDR-H3), we used the scheme of Hardy to sort mouse bone marrow B lineage cells into progenitor, immature, and mature B cell fractions, and then performed sequence analysis on V(H)7183-containing Cmu transcripts. The essential architecture of the CDR-H3 repertoire observed in the mature B cell fraction F was already established in the early pre-B cell fraction C. These architectural features include V(H) gene segment use preference, D(H) family usage, J(H) rank order, predicted structures of the CDR-H3 base and loop, and the amino acid composition and average hydrophobicity of the CDR-H3 loop. With development, the repertoire was focused by eliminating outliers to what appears to be a preferred repertoire in terms of length, amino acid composition, and average hydrophobicity. Unlike humans, the average length of CDR-H3 increased during development. The majority of this increase came from enhanced preservation of J(H) sequence. This was associated with an increase in the prevalence of tyrosine. With an accompanying increase in glycine, a shift in hydrophobicity was observed in the CDR-H3 loop from near neutral in fraction C (-0.08 +/- 0.03) to mild hydrophilic in fraction F (-0.17 +/- 0.02). Fundamental constraints on the sequence and structure of CDR-H3 are thus established before surface IgM expression.

Collimator optimization and collimator-detector response compensation in myocardial perfusion SPECT using the ideal observer with and without model mismatch and an anthropomorphic model observer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghaly, Michael; Links, Jonathan M.; Frey, Eric C.

2016-03-01

The collimator is the primary factor that determines the spatial resolution and noise tradeoff in myocardial perfusion SPECT images. In this paper, the goal was to find the collimator that optimizes the image quality in terms of a perfusion defect detection task. Since the optimal collimator could depend on the level of approximation of the collimator-detector response (CDR) compensation modeled in reconstruction, we performed this optimization for the cases of modeling the full CDR (including geometric, septal penetration and septal scatter responses), the geometric CDR, or no model of the CDR. We evaluated the performance on the detection task using three model observers. Two observers operated on data in the projection domain: the Ideal Observer (IO) and IO with Model-Mismatch (IO-MM). The third observer was an anthropomorphic Channelized Hotelling Observer (CHO), which operated on reconstructed images. The projection-domain observers have the advantage that they are computationally less intensive. The IO has perfect knowledge of the image formation process, i.e. it has a perfect model of the CDR. The IO-MM takes into account the mismatch between the true (complete and accurate) model and an approximate model, e.g. one that might be used in reconstruction. We evaluated the utility of these projection domain observers in optimizing instrumentation parameters. We investigated a family of 8 parallel-hole collimators, spanning a wide range of resolution and sensitivity tradeoffs, using a population of simulated projection (for the IO and IO-MM) and reconstructed (for the CHO) images that included background variability. We simulated anterolateral and inferior perfusion defects with variable extents and severities. The area under the ROC curve was estimated from the IO, IO-MM, and CHO test statistics and served as the figure-of-merit. The optimal collimator for the IO had a resolution of 9-11 mm FWHM at 10 cm, which is poorer resolution than typical collimators used for MPS. When the IO-MM and CHO used a geometric or no model of the CDR, the optimal collimator shifted toward higher resolution than that obtained using the IO and the CHO with full CDR modeling. With the optimal collimator, the IO-MM and CHO using geometric modeling gave similar performance to full CDR modeling. Collimators with poorer resolution were optimal when CDR modeling was used. The agreement of rankings between the IO-MM and CHO confirmed that the IO-MM is useful for optimization tasks when model mismatch is present due to its substantially reduced computational burden compared to the CHO.

Hydro-Climatic Data Network (HCDN) Streamflow Data Set, 1874-1988

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slack, James Richard; Lumb, Alan M.; Landwehr, Jurate Maciunas

1993-01-01

The potential consequences of climate change to continental water resources are of great concern in the management of those resources. Critically important to society is what effect fluctuations in the prevailing climate may have on hydrologic conditions, such as the occurrence and magnitude of floods or droughts and the seasonal distribution of water supplies within a region. Records of streamflow that are unaffected by artificial diversions, storage, or other works of man in or on the natural stream channels or in the watershed can provide an account of hydrologic responses to fluctuations in climate. By examining such records given known past meteorologic conditions, we can better understand hydrologic responses to those conditions and anticipate the effects of postulated changes in current climate regimes. Furthermore, patterns in streamflow records can indicate when a change in the prevailing climate regime may have occurred in the past, even in the absence of concurrent meteorologic records. A streamflow data set, which is specifically suitable for the study of surface-water conditions throughout the United States under fluctuations in the prevailing climatic conditions, has been developed. This data set, called the Hydro-Climatic Data Network, or HCDN, consists of streamflow records for 1,659 sites throughout United States and its Territories. Records cumulatively span the period 1874 through 1988, inclusive, and represent a total of 73,231 water years of information. Development of the HCDN Data Set: Records for the HCDN were obtained through a comprehensive search of the extensive surface- water data holdings of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which are contained in the USGS National Water Storage and Retrieval System (WATSTORE). All streamflow discharge records in WATSTORE through September 30, 1988, were examined for inclusion in the HCDN in accordance with strictly defined criteria of measurement accuracy and natural conditions. No reconstructed records of 'natural flow' were permitted, nor was any record extended or had missing values 'filled in' using computational algorithms. If the streamflow at a station was judged to be free of controls for only a part of the entire period of record that is available for the station, then only that part was included in the HCDN, but only if it was of sufficient length (generally 20 years) to warrant inclusion. In addition to the daily mean discharge values, complete station identification information and basin characteristics were retrieved from WATSTORE for inclusion in the HCDN. Statistical characteristics, including the monthly mean discharge, as well as the annual mean, minimum and maximum discharge values, were derived for the records in the HCDN data set. For a full description of the development and content of the Hydro-Climatic Data Network, please take a look at the HCDN Report.

CDR3 analysis of TCR Vβ repertoire of CD8⁺ T cells from chickens infected with Eimeria maxima.

PubMed

Ren, Chao; Yin, Guangwen; Qin, Mei; Suo, Jingxia; Lv, Qiyao; Xie, Li; Wang, Yunzhou; Huang, Xiaoxi; Chen, Yuchen; Liu, Xianyong; Suo, Xun

2014-08-01

CD8(+) T cells play a major role in the immune protection of host against the reinfection of Eimeria maxima, the most immunogenic species of eimerian parasites in chickens. To explore the dominant complementarity-determining regions 3 (CDR3) of CD8(+) T cell populations induced by the infection of this parasite, sequence analysis was performed in this study for CDR3 of CD8(+) T cells from E. maxima infected chickens. After 5 days post the third or forth infection, intraepithelial lymphocytes were isolated from the jejunum of bird. CD3(+)CD8(+) T cells were sorted and subjected to total RNA isolation and cDNA preparation. PCR amplification and cloning of the loci between Vβ1 and Cβ was conducted for the subsequent sequencing of CDR3 of T cell receptor (TCR). After the forth infection, 2 birds exhibited two same frequent TCR CDR3 sequences, i.e., AKQDWGTGGYSNMI and AGRVLNIQY; while the third bird showed two different frequent TCR CDR3 sequences, AKQGARGHTPLN and AKQDIEVRGPNTPLN. No frequent CDR3 sequence was detected from uninfected birds, though AGRVLNIQY was also found in two uninfected birds. Our result preliminarily demonstrates that frequent CDR3 sequences may exist in E. maxima immunized chickens, encouraging the mining of the immunodominant CD8(+) T cells against E. maxima infection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Overcoming the heterologous bias: An in vivo functional analysis of multidrug efflux transporter, CgCdr1p in matched pair clinical isolates of Candida glabrata

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Puri, Nidhi; Manoharlal, Raman; Sharma, Monika

2011-01-07

Research highlights: {yields} First report to demonstrate an in vivo expression system of an ABC multidrug transporter CgCdr1p of C. glabrata. {yields} First report on the structure and functional characterization of CgCdr1p. {yields} Functional conservation of divergent but typical residues of CgCdr1p. {yields} CgCdr1p elicits promiscuity towards substrates and has a large drug binding pocket with overlapping specificities. -- Abstract: We have taken advantage of the natural milieu of matched pair of azole sensitive (AS) and azole resistant (AR) clinical isolates of Candida glabrata for expressing its major ABC multidrug transporter, CgCdr1p for structure and functional analysis. This was accomplishedmore » by tagging a green fluorescent protein (GFP) downstream of ORF of CgCDR1 and integrating the resultant fusion protein at its native chromosomal locus in AS and AR backgrounds. The characterization confirmed that in comparison to AS isolate, CgCdr1p-GFP was over-expressed in AR isolates due to its hyperactive native promoter and the GFP tag did not affect its functionality in either construct. We observed that in addition to Rhodamine 6 G (R6G) and Fluconazole (FLC), a recently identified fluorescent substrate of multidrug transporters Nile Red (NR) could also be expelled by CgCdr1p. Competition assays with these substrates revealed the presence of overlapping multiple drug binding sites in CgCdr1p. Point mutations employing site directed mutagenesis confirmed that the role played by unique amino acid residues critical to ATP catalysis and localization of ABC drug transporter proteins are well conserved in C. glabrata as in other yeasts. This study demonstrates a first in vivo novel system where over-expression of GFP tagged MDR transporter protein can be driven by its own hyperactive promoter of AR isolates. Taken together, this in vivo system can be exploited for the structure and functional analysis of CgCdr1p and similar proteins wherein the arte-factual concerns encountered in using heterologous systems are totally excluded.« less

Challenges of coordinating global climate observations - Role of satellites in climate monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richter, C.

2017-12-01

Global observation of the Earth's atmosphere, ocean and land is essential for identifying climate variability and change, and for understanding their causes. Observation also provides data that are fundamental for evaluating, refining and initializing the models that predict how the climate system will vary over the months and seasons ahead, and that project how climate will change in the longer term under different assumptions concerning greenhouse gas emissions and other human influences. Long-term observational records have enabled the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to deliver the message that warming of the global climate system is unequivocal. As the Earth's climate enters a new era, in which it is forced by human activities, as well as natural processes, it is critically important to sustain an observing system capable of detecting and documenting global climate variability and change over long periods of time. High-quality climate observations are required to assess the present state of the ocean, cryosphere, atmosphere and land and place them in context with the past. The global observing system for climate is not a single, centrally managed observing system. Rather, it is a composite "system of systems" comprising a set of climate-relevant observing, data-management, product-generation and data-distribution systems. Data from satellites underpin many of the Essential Climate Variables(ECVs), and their historic and contemporary archives are a key part of the global climate observing system. In general, the ECVs will be provided in the form of climate data records that are created by processing and archiving time series of satellite and in situ measurements. Early satellite data records are very valuable because they provide unique observations in many regions which were not otherwise observed during the 1970s and which can be assimilated in atmospheric reanalyses and so extend the satellite climate data records back in time.

Unexpected effects of azole transporter inhibitors on antifungal susceptibility in Candida glabrata and other pathogenic Candida species

PubMed Central

Nagayoshi, Yohsuke; Shimamura, Shintaro; Nakayama, Hironobu; Minematsu, Asuka; Yamauchi, Shunsuke; Takazono, Takahiro; Nakamura, Shigeki; Yanagihara, Katsunori; Kohno, Shigeru; Mukae, Hiroshi; Izumikawa, Koichi

2017-01-01

The pathogenic fungus Candida glabrata is often resistant to azole antifungal agents. Drug efflux through azole transporters, such as Cdr1 and Cdr2, is a key mechanism of azole resistance and these genes are under the control of the transcription factor Pdr1. Recently, the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor clorgyline was shown to inhibit the azole efflux pumps, leading to increased azole susceptibility in C. glabrata. In the present study, we have evaluated the effects of clorgyline on susceptibility of C. glabrata to not only azoles, but also to micafungin and amphotericin B, using wild-type and several mutant strains. The addition of clorgyline to the culture media increased fluconazole susceptibility of a C. glabrata wild-type strain, whereas micafungin and amphotericin B susceptibilities were markedly decreased. These phenomena were also observed in other medically important Candida species, including Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, and Candida krusei. Expression levels of CDR1, CDR2 and PDR1 mRNAs and an amount of Cdr1 protein in the C. glabrata wild-type strain were highly increased in response to the treatment with clorgyline. However, loss of Cdr1, Cdr2, Pdr1, and a putative clorgyline target (Fms1), which is an ortholog of human MAO-A, or overexpression of CDR1 did not affect the decreased susceptibility to micafungin and amphotericin B in the presence of clorgyline. The presence of other azole efflux pump inhibitors including milbemycin A4 oxime and carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone also decreased micafungin susceptibility in C. glabrata wild-type, Δcdr1, Δcdr2, and Δpdr1 strains. These findings suggest that azole efflux pump inhibitors increase azole susceptibility but concurrently induce decreased susceptibility to other classes of antifungals independent of azole transporter functions. PMID:28700656

Unexpected effects of azole transporter inhibitors on antifungal susceptibility in Candida glabrata and other pathogenic Candida species.

PubMed

Nagayoshi, Yohsuke; Miyazaki, Taiga; Shimamura, Shintaro; Nakayama, Hironobu; Minematsu, Asuka; Yamauchi, Shunsuke; Takazono, Takahiro; Nakamura, Shigeki; Yanagihara, Katsunori; Kohno, Shigeru; Mukae, Hiroshi; Izumikawa, Koichi

2017-01-01

The pathogenic fungus Candida glabrata is often resistant to azole antifungal agents. Drug efflux through azole transporters, such as Cdr1 and Cdr2, is a key mechanism of azole resistance and these genes are under the control of the transcription factor Pdr1. Recently, the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor clorgyline was shown to inhibit the azole efflux pumps, leading to increased azole susceptibility in C. glabrata. In the present study, we have evaluated the effects of clorgyline on susceptibility of C. glabrata to not only azoles, but also to micafungin and amphotericin B, using wild-type and several mutant strains. The addition of clorgyline to the culture media increased fluconazole susceptibility of a C. glabrata wild-type strain, whereas micafungin and amphotericin B susceptibilities were markedly decreased. These phenomena were also observed in other medically important Candida species, including Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, and Candida krusei. Expression levels of CDR1, CDR2 and PDR1 mRNAs and an amount of Cdr1 protein in the C. glabrata wild-type strain were highly increased in response to the treatment with clorgyline. However, loss of Cdr1, Cdr2, Pdr1, and a putative clorgyline target (Fms1), which is an ortholog of human MAO-A, or overexpression of CDR1 did not affect the decreased susceptibility to micafungin and amphotericin B in the presence of clorgyline. The presence of other azole efflux pump inhibitors including milbemycin A4 oxime and carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone also decreased micafungin susceptibility in C. glabrata wild-type, Δcdr1, Δcdr2, and Δpdr1 strains. These findings suggest that azole efflux pump inhibitors increase azole susceptibility but concurrently induce decreased susceptibility to other classes of antifungals independent of azole transporter functions.

Fundamental characteristics of the expressed immunoglobulin VH and VL repertoire in different canine breeds in comparison with those of humans and mice.

PubMed

Steiniger, Sebastian C J; Dunkle, William E; Bammert, Gary F; Wilson, Thomas L; Krishnan, Abhiram; Dunham, Steven A; Ippolito, Gregory C; Bainbridge, Graeme

2014-05-01

Complementarity determining regions (CDR) are responsible for binding antigen and provide substantial diversity to the antibody repertoire, with VH CDR3 of the immunoglobulin variable heavy (VH) domain playing a dominant role. In this study, we examined 1200 unique canine VH and 500 unique variable light (VL) sequences of large and small canine breeds derived from peripheral B cells. Unlike the human and murine repertoire, the canine repertoire is heavily dominated by the Canis lupus familiaris IGHV1 subgroup, evolutionarily closest to the human IGHV3 subgroup. Our studies clearly show that the productive canine repertoire of all analyzed breeds shows similarities to both human and mouse; however, there are distinct differences in terms of VH CDR3 length and amino acid paratope composition. In comparison with the human and murine antibody repertoire, canine VH CDR3 regions are shorter in length than the human counterparts, but longer than the murine VH CDR3. Similar to corresponding human and mouse VH CDR3, the amino acids at the base of the VH CDR3 loop are strictly conserved. For identical CDR positions, there were significant changes in chemical paratope composition. Similar to human and mouse repertoires, the neutral amino acids tyrosine, glycine and serine dominate the canine VH CDR3 interval (comprising 35%) although the interval is nonetheless relatively depleted of tyrosine when compared to human and mouse. Furthermore, canine VH CDR3 displays an overrepresentation of the neutral amino acid threonine and the negatively charged aspartic acid while proline content is similar to that in the human repertoire. In general, the canine repertoire shows a bias towards small, negatively charged amino acids. Overall, this analysis suggests that functional canine therapeutic antibodies can be obtained from human and mouse sequences by methods of speciation and affinity maturation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards Consistent Aerosol and Cloud Climate Data Records from the Along Track Scanning Radiometer instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, G.

2015-12-01

The ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) programme has provided a mechanism for the production of new long-term data records of essential climate variables (ECVs) defined by WMO Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). These include consistent cloud (from the MODIS, AVHRR, ATSR-2 and AATSR instruments) and aerosol (from ATSR-2 and AATSR) products produced using the Optimal Retrieval of Aerosol and Cloud (ORAC) scheme. This talk will present an overview of the newly produced ORAC cloud and aerosol datasets, their evaluation and a joint aerosol-cloud product produced for the 1995-2012 ATSR-2-AATSR data record.

A new clustering of antibody CDR loop conformations

PubMed Central

North, Benjamin; Lehmann, Andreas; Dunbrack, Roland L.

2010-01-01

Previous analyses of the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of antibodies have focused on a small number of “canonical” conformations for each loop. This is primarily the result of the work of Chothia and colleagues, most recently in 1997. Because of the widespread utility of antibodies, we have revisited the clustering of conformations of the six CDR loops with the much larger amount of structural information currently available. In this work, we were careful to use a high-quality data set by eliminating low-resolution structures and CDRs with high B-factors or high conformational energies. We used a distance function based on directional statistics and an effective clustering algorithm using affinity propagation. With this data set of over 300 non-redundant antibody structures, we were able to cover 28 CDR-length combinations (e.g., L1 length 11, or “L1-11” in our nomenclature) for L1, L2, L3, H1 and H2. The Chothia analysis covered only 20 CDR-lengths. Only four of these had more than one conformational cluster, of which two could easily be distinguished by gene source (mouse/human; κ/λ) and one purely by the presence and positions of Pro residues (L3-9). Thus using the Chothia analysis does not require the complicated set of “structure-determining residues” that is often assumed. Of our 28 CDR-lengths, 15 of them have multiple conformational clusters including ten for which Chothia had only one canonical class. We have a total of 72 clusters for the non-H3 CDRs; approximately 85% of the non-H3 sequences can be assigned to a conformational cluster based on gene source and/or sequence. We found that earlier predictions of “bulged” vs. “non-bulged” conformations based on the presence or absence of anchor residues Arg/Lys94 and Asp101 of H3 have not held up, since all four combinations lead to a majority of conformations that are bulged. Thus the earlier analyses have been significantly enhanced by the increased data. We believe the new classification will lead to improved methods for antibody structure prediction and design. PMID:21035459

Impact of cloud horizontal inhomogeneity and directional sampling on the retrieval of cloud droplet size by the POLDER instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shang, H.; Chen, L.; Bréon, F. M.; Letu, H.; Li, S.; Wang, Z.; Su, L.

2015-11-01

The principles of cloud droplet size retrieval via Polarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectance (POLDER) requires that clouds be horizontally homogeneous. The retrieval is performed by combining all measurements from an area of 150 km × 150 km to compensate for POLDER's insufficient directional sampling. Using POLDER-like data simulated with the RT3 model, we investigate the impact of cloud horizontal inhomogeneity and directional sampling on the retrieval and analyze which spatial resolution is potentially accessible from the measurements. Case studies show that the sub-grid-scale variability in droplet effective radius (CDR) can significantly reduce valid retrievals and introduce small biases to the CDR (~ 1.5 μm) and effective variance (EV) estimates. Nevertheless, the sub-grid-scale variations in EV and cloud optical thickness (COT) only influence the EV retrievals and not the CDR estimate. In the directional sampling cases studied, the retrieval using limited observations is accurate and is largely free of random noise. Several improvements have been made to the original POLDER droplet size retrieval. For example, measurements in the primary rainbow region (137-145°) are used to ensure retrievals of large droplet (> 15 μm) and to reduce the uncertainties caused by cloud heterogeneity. We apply the improved method using the POLDER global L1B data from June 2008, and the new CDR results are compared with the operational CDRs. The comparison shows that the operational CDRs tend to be underestimated for large droplets because the cloudbow oscillations in the scattering angle region of 145-165° are weak for cloud fields with CDR > 15 μm. Finally, a sub-grid-scale retrieval case demonstrates that a higher resolution, e.g., 42 km × 42 km, can be used when inverting cloud droplet size distribution parameters from POLDER measurements.

Trypanosoma cruzi persistence in the native heart is associated with high-grade myocarditis, but not with Chagas' disease reactivation after heart transplantation.

PubMed

Benvenuti, Luiz A; Roggério, Alessandra; Nishiya, Anna S; Campos, Silvia V; Fiorelli, Alfredo I; Levi, José E

2014-07-01

Chagas' disease reactivation (CDR) after heart transplantation (HTx) is characterized by relapse of the infectious disease, with direct detection of Trypanosoma cruzi parasites in blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or tissues. We investigated whether a detailed pathologic examination of the explanted heart at HTx with evaluation of myocarditis and parasitic persistence or load in the myocardium could be useful to identify patients at high risk of CDR. The native hearts of 18 chagasic patients who presented CDR after HTx (CDR+ group) were compared with the native hearts of 16 chagasic patients who never presented CDR in a follow-up of at least 18 months after HTx (CDR- group). The intensity of myocarditis was evaluated semiquantitatively. Parasite persistence/load in the myocardium was investigated through immunohistochemistry for T cruzi antigens and by qualitative and quantitative real-time PCR for T cruzi DNA. The rate of high-grade myocarditis, parasite persistence, and the median of parasitic load and parasitic load/10(6) cells in the CDR+ group were 83.3%, 77.8%, 8.43 × 10(-3), and 9.890, respectively, whereas in the CDR- group the values were 87.5%, 50%, 7.49×10(-3), and 17.800. There was no statistical difference between the groups. High-grade myocarditis was present in all 22 samples (100%) with parasite persistence and in 7 of 12 samples (58.3%) with no parasite persistence (p = 0.003). Although associated with high-grade myocarditis, T cruzi parasite persistence in the myocardium of the native heart is not associated with the occurrence of CDR after HTx. Copyright © 2014 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The SIST-M: Predictive validity of a brief structured Clinical Dementia Rating interview

PubMed Central

Okereke, Olivia I.; Pantoja-Galicia, Norberto; Copeland, Maura; Hyman, Bradley T.; Wanggaard, Taylor; Albert, Marilyn S.; Betensky, Rebecca A.; Blacker, Deborah

2011-01-01

Background We previously established reliability and cross-sectional validity of the SIST-M (Structured Interview and Scoring Tool–Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center), a shortened version of an instrument shown to predict progression to Alzheimer disease (AD), even among persons with very mild cognitive impairment (vMCI). Objective To test predictive validity of the SIST-M. Methods Participants were 342 community-dwelling, non-demented older adults in a longitudinal study. Baseline Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) ratings were determined by either: 1) clinician interviews or 2) a previously developed computer algorithm based on 60 questions (of a possible 131) extracted from clinician interviews. We developed age+gender+education-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models using CDR-sum-of-boxes (CDR-SB) as the predictor, where CDR-SB was determined by either clinician interview or algorithm; models were run for the full sample (n=342) and among those jointly classified as vMCI using clinician- and algorithm-based CDR ratings (n=156). We directly compared predictive accuracy using time-dependent Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. Results AD hazard ratios (HRs) were similar for clinician-based and algorithm-based CDR-SB: for a 1-point increment in CDR-SB, respective HRs (95% CI)=3.1 (2.5,3.9) and 2.8 (2.2,3.5); among those with vMCI, respective HRs (95% CI) were 2.2 (1.6,3.2) and 2.1 (1.5,3.0). Similarly high predictive accuracy was achieved: the concordance probability (weighted average of the area-under-the-ROC curves) over follow-up was 0.78 vs. 0.76 using clinician-based vs. algorithm-based CDR-SB. Conclusion CDR scores based on items from this shortened interview had high predictive ability for AD – comparable to that using a lengthy clinical interview. PMID:21986342

Energy-efficient human body communication receiver chipset using wideband signaling scheme.

PubMed

Song, Seong-Jun; Cho, Namjun; Kim, Sunyoung; Yoo, Hoi-Jun

2007-01-01

This paper presents an energy-efficient wideband signaling receiver for communication channels using the human body as a data transmission medium. The wideband signaling scheme with the direct-coupled interface provides the energy-efficient transmission of multimedia data around the human body. The wideband signaling receiver incorporates with a receiver AFE exploiting wideband symmetric triggering technique and an all-digital CDR circuit with quadratic sampling technique. The AFE operates at 10-Mb/s data rate with input sensitivity of -27dBm and the operational bandwidth of 200-MHz. The CDR recovers clock and data of 2-Mb/s at a bit error rate of 10(-7). The receiver chipset consumes only 5-mW from a 1-V supply, thereby achieving the bit energy of 2.5-nJ/bit.

Is volumetric modulated arc therapy with constant dose rate a valid option in radiation therapy for head and neck cancer patients?

PubMed

Didona, Annamaria; Lancellotta, Valentina; Zucchetti, Claudio; Panizza, Bianca Moira; Frattegiani, Alessandro; Iacco, Martina; Di Pilato, Anna Concetta; Saldi, Simonetta; Aristei, Cynthia

2018-01-01

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) improves dose distribution in head and neck (HN) radiation therapy. Volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), a new form of IMRT, delivers radiation in single or multiple arcs, varying dose rates (VDR-VMAT) and gantry speeds, has gained considerable attention. Constant dose rate VMAT (CDR-VMAT) associated with a fixed gantry speed does not require a dedicated linear accelerator like VDR-VMAT. The present study explored the feasibility, efficiency and delivery accuracy of CDR-VMAT, by comparing it with IMRT and VDR-VMAT in treatment planning for HN cancer. Step and shoot IMRT (SS-IMRT), CDR-VMAT and VDR-VMAT plans were created for 15 HN cancer patients and were generated by Pinnacle 3 TPS (v 9.8) using 6 MV photon energy. Three PTVs were defined to receive respectively prescribed doses of 66 Gy, 60 Gy and 54 Gy, in 30 fractions. Organs at risk (OARs) included the mandible, spinal cord, brain stem, parotids, salivary glands, esophagus, larynx and thyroid. SS-IMRT plans were based on 7 co-planar beams at fixed gantry angles. CDR-VMAT and VDR-VMAT plans, generated by the SmartArc module, used a 2-arc technique: one clockwise from 182° to 178° and the other one anti-clockwise from 178° to 182°. Comparison parameters included dose distribution to PTVs ( D mean , D 2% , D 50% , D 95% , D 98% and Homogeneity Index), maximum or mean doses to OARs, specific dose-volume data, the monitor units and treatment delivery times. Compared with SS-IMRT, CDR-VMAT significantly reduced the maximum doses to PTV1 and PTV2 and significantly improved all PTV3 parameters, except D 98% and D 95% . It significantly spared parotid and submandibular glands and was associated with a lower D mean to the larynx. Compared with VDR-VMAT, CDR-VMAT was linked to a significantly better D mean , to the PTV3 but results were worse for the parotids, left submandibular gland, esophagus and mandible. Furthermore, the D mean to the larynx was also worse. Compared with SS-IMRT and VDR-VMAT, CDR-VMAT was associated with higher average monitor unit values and significantly shorter average delivery times. CDR-VMAT appeared to be a valid option in Radiation Therapy Centers that lack a dedicated linear accelerator for volumetric arc therapy with variable dose-rates and gantry velocities, and are unwilling or unable to sanction major expenditure at present but want to adopt volumetric techniques.

Characterization of AVHRR global cloud detection sensitivity based on CALIPSO-CALIOP cloud optical thickness information: demonstration of results based on the CM SAF CLARA-A2 climate data record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karlsson, Karl-Göran; Håkansson, Nina

2018-02-01

The sensitivity in detecting thin clouds of the cloud screening method being used in the CM SAF cloud, albedo and surface radiation data set from AVHRR data (CLARA-A2) cloud climate data record (CDR) has been evaluated using cloud information from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) onboard the CALIPSO satellite. The sensitivity, including its global variation, has been studied based on collocations of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and CALIOP measurements over a 10-year period (2006-2015). The cloud detection sensitivity has been defined as the minimum cloud optical thickness for which 50 % of clouds could be detected, with the global average sensitivity estimated to be 0.225. After using this value to reduce the CALIOP cloud mask (i.e. clouds with optical thickness below this threshold were interpreted as cloud-free cases), cloudiness results were found to be basically unbiased over most of the globe except over the polar regions where a considerable underestimation of cloudiness could be seen during the polar winter. The overall probability of detecting clouds in the polar winter could be as low as 50 % over the highest and coldest parts of Greenland and Antarctica, showing that a large fraction of optically thick clouds also remains undetected here. The study included an in-depth analysis of the probability of detecting a cloud as a function of the vertically integrated cloud optical thickness as well as of the cloud's geographical position. Best results were achieved over oceanic surfaces at mid- to high latitudes where at least 50 % of all clouds with an optical thickness down to a value of 0.075 were detected. Corresponding cloud detection sensitivities over land surfaces outside of the polar regions were generally larger than 0.2 with maximum values of approximately 0.5 over the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula. For polar land surfaces the values were close to 1 or higher with maximum values of 4.5 for the parts with the highest altitudes over Greenland and Antarctica. It is suggested to quantify the detection performance of other CDRs in terms of a sensitivity threshold of cloud optical thickness, which can be estimated using active lidar observations. Validation results are proposed to be used in Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulation Package (COSP) simulators for cloud detection characterization of various cloud CDRs from passive imagery.

Chemical Data Reporting - Previously Collected Data

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA now refers to the Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) rule as the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule. This change was effective with the publication of the Inventory Update Reporting Modifications; Chemical Data Reporting Final Rule in August 2011.

CD-REST: a system for extracting chemical-induced disease relation in literature.

PubMed

Xu, Jun; Wu, Yonghui; Zhang, Yaoyun; Wang, Jingqi; Lee, Hee-Jin; Xu, Hua

2016-01-01

Mining chemical-induced disease relations embedded in the vast biomedical literature could facilitate a wide range of computational biomedical applications, such as pharmacovigilance. The BioCreative V organized a Chemical Disease Relation (CDR) Track regarding chemical-induced disease relation extraction from biomedical literature in 2015. We participated in all subtasks of this challenge. In this article, we present our participation system Chemical Disease Relation Extraction SysTem (CD-REST), an end-to-end system for extracting chemical-induced disease relations in biomedical literature. CD-REST consists of two main components: (1) a chemical and disease named entity recognition and normalization module, which employs the Conditional Random Fields algorithm for entity recognition and a Vector Space Model-based approach for normalization; and (2) a relation extraction module that classifies both sentence-level and document-level candidate drug-disease pairs by support vector machines. Our system achieved the best performance on the chemical-induced disease relation extraction subtask in the BioCreative V CDR Track, demonstrating the effectiveness of our proposed machine learning-based approaches for automatic extraction of chemical-induced disease relations in biomedical literature. The CD-REST system provides web services using HTTP POST request. The web services can be accessed fromhttp://clinicalnlptool.com/cdr The online CD-REST demonstration system is available athttp://clinicalnlptool.com/cdr/cdr.html. Database URL:http://clinicalnlptool.com/cdr;http://clinicalnlptool.com/cdr/cdr.html. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

CD4 molecules with a diversity of mutations encompassing the CDR3 region efficiently support human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoprotein-mediated cell fusion.

PubMed Central

Broder, C C; Berger, E A

1993-01-01

The third complementarity-determining region (CDR3) within domain 1 of the human CD4 molecule has been suggested to play a critical role in membrane fusion mediated by the interaction of CD4 with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein. To analyze in detail the role of CDR3 and adjacent regions in the fusion process, we used cassette mutagenesis to construct a panel of 30 site-directed mutations between residues 79 and 96 of the full-length CD4 molecule. The mutant proteins were transiently expressed by using recombinant vaccinia virus vectors and were analyzed for cell surface expression, recombinant gp120-binding activity, and overall structural integrity as assessed by reactivity with a battery of anti-CD4 monoclonal antibodies. Cells expressing the CD4 mutants were assayed for their ability to form syncytia when mixed with cells expressing the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. Surprisingly in view of published data from others, most of the mutations had little effect on syncytium-forming activity. Normal fusion was observed in 21 mutants, including substitution of human residues 85 to 95 with the corresponding sequences from either chimpanzee, rhesus, or mouse CD4; a panel of Ser-Arg double insertions after each residue from 86 to 91; and a number of other charge, hydrophobic, and proline substitutions and insertions within this region. The nine mutants that showed impaired fusion all displayed defective gp120 binding and disruption of overall structural integrity. In further contrast with results of other workers, we observed that transformant human cell lines expressing native chimpanzee or rhesus CD4 efficiently formed syncytia when mixed with cells expressing the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. These data refute the conclusion that certain mutations in the CDR3 region of CD4 abolish cell fusion activity, and they suggest that a wide variety of sequences can be functionally tolerated in this region, including those from highly divergent mammalian species. Syncytium formation mediated by several of the CDR3 mutants was partially or completely resistant to inhibition by the CDR3-directed monoclonal antibody L71, suggesting that the corresponding epitope is not directly involved in the fusion process.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS) Images PMID:8419649

CD4 molecules with a diversity of mutations encompassing the CDR3 region efficiently support human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoprotein-mediated cell fusion.

PubMed

Broder, C C; Berger, E A

1993-02-01

The third complementarity-determining region (CDR3) within domain 1 of the human CD4 molecule has been suggested to play a critical role in membrane fusion mediated by the interaction of CD4 with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein. To analyze in detail the role of CDR3 and adjacent regions in the fusion process, we used cassette mutagenesis to construct a panel of 30 site-directed mutations between residues 79 and 96 of the full-length CD4 molecule. The mutant proteins were transiently expressed by using recombinant vaccinia virus vectors and were analyzed for cell surface expression, recombinant gp120-binding activity, and overall structural integrity as assessed by reactivity with a battery of anti-CD4 monoclonal antibodies. Cells expressing the CD4 mutants were assayed for their ability to form syncytia when mixed with cells expressing the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. Surprisingly in view of published data from others, most of the mutations had little effect on syncytium-forming activity. Normal fusion was observed in 21 mutants, including substitution of human residues 85 to 95 with the corresponding sequences from either chimpanzee, rhesus, or mouse CD4; a panel of Ser-Arg double insertions after each residue from 86 to 91; and a number of other charge, hydrophobic, and proline substitutions and insertions within this region. The nine mutants that showed impaired fusion all displayed defective gp120 binding and disruption of overall structural integrity. In further contrast with results of other workers, we observed that transformant human cell lines expressing native chimpanzee or rhesus CD4 efficiently formed syncytia when mixed with cells expressing the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. These data refute the conclusion that certain mutations in the CDR3 region of CD4 abolish cell fusion activity, and they suggest that a wide variety of sequences can be functionally tolerated in this region, including those from highly divergent mammalian species. Syncytium formation mediated by several of the CDR3 mutants was partially or completely resistant to inhibition by the CDR3-directed monoclonal antibody L71, suggesting that the corresponding epitope is not directly involved in the fusion process.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Expedition One CDR and Flight Engineer in Node 1/Unity module

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-16

STS98-E-5291 (16 February 2001) --- Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev (left), Expedition One flight engineer representing the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, and astronaut William M. (Bill) Shepherd, Expedition One commander, look toward their astronaut visitors (out of frame), about to conclude their time on the outpost. The scene was recorded with a digital still camera during farewells in the Unity node.

NASA Webworldwind: Multidimensional Virtual Globe for Geo Big Data Visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brovelli, M. A.; Hogan, P.; Prestifilippo, G.; Zamboni, G.

2016-06-01

In this paper, we presented a web application created using the NASA WebWorldWind framework. The application is capable of visualizing n-dimensional data using a Voxel model. In this case study, we handled social media data and Call Detailed Records (CDR) of telecommunication networks. These were retrieved from the "BigData Challenge 2015" of Telecom Italia. We focused on the visualization process for a suitable way to show this geo-data in a 3D environment, incorporating more than three dimensions. This engenders an interactive way to browse the data in their real context and understand them quickly. Users will be able to handle several varieties of data, import their dataset using a particular data structure, and then mash them up in the WebWorldWind virtual globe. A broad range of public use this tool for diverse purposes is possible, without much experience in the field, thanks to the intuitive user-interface of this web app.

Genetic alterations and tumor immune attack in Yo paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration.

PubMed

Small, Mathilde; Treilleux, Isabelle; Couillault, Coline; Pissaloux, Daniel; Picard, Géraldine; Paindavoine, Sandrine; Attignon, Valery; Wang, Qing; Rogemond, Véronique; Lay, Stéphanie; Ray-Coquard, Isabelle; Pfisterer, Jacobus; Joly, Florence; Du Bois, Andreas; Psimaras, Dimitri; Bendriss-Vermare, Nathalie; Caux, Christophe; Dubois, Bertrand; Honnorat, Jérôme; Desestret, Virginie

2018-04-01

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degenerations with anti-Yo antibodies (Yo-PCD) are rare syndromes caused by an auto-immune response against neuronal antigens (Ags) expressed by tumor cells. However, the mechanisms responsible for such immune tolerance breakdown are unknown. We characterized 26 ovarian carcinomas associated with Yo-PCD for their tumor immune contexture and genetic status of the 2 onconeural Yo-Ags, CDR2 and CDR2L. Yo-PCD tumors differed from the 116 control tumors by more abundant T and B cells infiltration occasionally organized in tertiary lymphoid structures harboring CDR2L protein deposits. Immune cells are mainly in the vicinity of apoptotic tumor cells, revealing tumor immune attack. Moreover, contrary to un-selected ovarian carcinomas, 65% of our Yo-PCD tumors presented at least one somatic mutation in Yo-Ags, with a predominance of missense mutations. Recurrent gains of the CDR2L gene with tumor protein overexpression were also present in 59% of Yo-PCD patients. Overall, each Yo-PCD ovarian carcinomas carried at least one genetic alteration of Yo-Ags. These data demonstrate an association between massive infiltration of Yo-PCD tumors by activated immune effector cells and recurrent gains and/or mutations in autoantigen-encoding genes, suggesting that genetic alterations in tumor cells trigger immune tolerance breakdown and initiation of the auto-immune disease.

Global Trends in Chlorophyll Concentration Observed with the Satellite Ocean Colour Data Record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melin, F.; Vantrepotte, V.; Chuprin, A.; Grant, M.; Jackson, T.; Sathyendranath, S.

2016-08-01

To detect climate change signals in the data records derived from remote sensing of ocean colour, combining data from multiple missions is required, which implies that the existence of inter-mission differences be adequately addressed prior to undertaking trend studies. Trend distributions associated with merged products are compared with those obtained from single-mission data sets in order to evaluate their suitability for climate studies. Merged products originally developed for operational applications such as near-real time distribution (GlobColour) do not appear to be proper climate data records, showing large parts of the ocean with trends significantly different from trends obtained with SeaWiFS, MODIS or MERIS. On the other hand, results obtained from the Climate Change Initiative (CCI) data are encouraging, showing a good consistency with single-mission products.

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics.

PubMed

Liu, Jianfang; Lichtenberg, Tara; Hoadley, Katherine A; Poisson, Laila M; Lazar, Alexander J; Cherniack, Andrew D; Kovatich, Albert J; Benz, Christopher C; Levine, Douglas A; Lee, Adrian V; Omberg, Larsson; Wolf, Denise M; Shriver, Craig D; Thorsson, Vesteinn; Hu, Hai

2018-04-05

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pyrotechnic Panel Minutes. Volume 13, Numbers 518-579

DTIC Science & Technology

1946-11-01

fron 5.3.1*6 to 29.10.1*6. Lt. Cdr. M. P. Price , (D.M.O.) from 13.7.1*6. Mr. P. Trier, R.N. (D.N.O.) from 1.1*.1*6. Lt. Col. 0. H...34. Aluminium Cases. Designs and Production . 538 Bomb, Practice, A/C) 10_lb. Nk.IV, Flame. Leakage Test. 539 S.3.432 filling for dockets...Signal and Target Practice. Climatic Trials: Abolition of T7ar Production Permits. DS 82227/1 3 Minute _ , . , PJ. No. SubJect 544

Climatic Variations in Tropical West African Rainfall and the Implications for Military Planners

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

perturbation pressure isobars. There is a ridge in (a) and a trough in (b) at the equator and to the east of the forcing region. Note that the pressure...Climatology course project team), CDR Eric Buch (C6F Oceanographer), Mr. Samson Brand (NRL Monterey), VADM Paul Gaffney (ret.), Prof. Russell Elsberry, LT...pressure isobars. There is a ridge in (a) and a trough in (b) at the equator and to the east of the forcing region. Note that the pressure to the west

The Quaternary fossil-pollen record and global change

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grimm, E.C.

Fossil pollen provide one of the most valuable records of vegetation and climate change during the recent geological past. Advantages of the fossil-pollen record are that deposits containing fossil pollen are widespread, especially in areas having natural lakes, that fossil pollen occurs in continuous stratigraphic sequences spanning millennia, and that fossil pollen occurs in quantitative assemblages permitting a multivariate approach for reconstructing past vegetation and climates. Because of stratigraphic continuity, fossil pollen records climate cycles on a wide range of scales, from annual to the 100 ka Milankovitch cycles. Receiving particular emphasis recently are decadal to century scale changes, possiblemore » from the sediments of varved lakes, and late Pleistocene events on a 5--10 ka scale possibly correlating with the Heinrich events in the North Atlantic marine record or the Dansgaard-Oeschger events in the Greenland ice-core record. Researchers have long reconstructed vegetation and climate by qualitative interpretation of the fossil-pollen record. Recently quantitative interpretation has developed with the aid of large fossil-pollen databases and sophisticated numerical models. In addition, fossil pollen are important climate proxy data for validating General Circulation Models, which are used for predicting the possible magnitude future climate change. Fossil-pollen data also contribute to an understanding of ecological issues associated with global climate change, including questions of how and how rapidly ecosystems might respond to abrupt climate change.« less

BCR CDR3 length distributions differ between blood and spleen and between old and young patients, and TCR distributions can be used to detect myelodysplastic syndrome

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pickman, Yishai; Dunn-Walters, Deborah; Mehr, Ramit

2013-10-01

Complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) is the most hyper-variable region in B cell receptor (BCR) and T cell receptor (TCR) genes, and the most critical structure in antigen recognition and thereby in determining the fates of developing and responding lymphocytes. There are millions of different TCR Vβ chain or BCR heavy chain CDR3 sequences in human blood. Even now, when high-throughput sequencing becomes widely used, CDR3 length distributions (also called spectratypes) are still a much quicker and cheaper method of assessing repertoire diversity. However, distribution complexity and the large amount of information per sample (e.g. 32 distributions of the TCRα chain, and 24 of TCRβ) calls for the use of machine learning tools for full exploration. We have examined the ability of supervised machine learning, which uses computational models to find hidden patterns in predefined biological groups, to analyze CDR3 length distributions from various sources, and distinguish between experimental groups. We found that (a) splenic BCR CDR3 length distributions are characterized by low standard deviations and few local maxima, compared to peripheral blood distributions; (b) healthy elderly people's BCR CDR3 length distributions can be distinguished from those of the young; and (c) a machine learning model based on TCR CDR3 distribution features can detect myelodysplastic syndrome with approximately 93% accuracy. Overall, we demonstrate that using supervised machine learning methods can contribute to our understanding of lymphocyte repertoire diversity.

An initial assessment of the consumer demand roundtable: Results and promise.

PubMed

Barker, Dianne C; Gutman, Marjorie A; Gordon, Sara R

2010-03-01

An initial assessment of the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative's (NTCC) 2005-2007 Consumer Demand Roundtable (CDR) was conducted in 2008 to assess the results and products of CDR, and to offer recommendations to guide ongoing NTCC efforts to expand the demand, reach, and use of effective tobacco-cessation treatments. The evaluation was a small, retrospective, descriptive study, primarily using in-depth telephone interviews, supplemented by a review of CDR agendas, products, and web-based participant surveys. A sample of 30 tobacco-cessation leaders who had participated in at least one CDR meeting or conference was interviewed in May and June of 2008. Specific products implemented or influenced by CDR were identified, and organized by its six core strategies. Almost all respondents reported that the CDR was successful in its first goal to generate new ways of thinking about increasing demand for chronically underused evidence-based quit-smoking treatment, providing concrete examples of ways they had infused CDR concepts into the work of their organizations. The development of new products and communication messages suggested some progress in meeting the goal of identifying and catalyzing feasible innovations in treatment design, promotion, research, practice, and policy. Results suggest that the CDR, conceived as a "think tank" for the tobacco-cessation field, made sizable progress, especially in shifting the field to a new way of thinking. Continued leadership, funding, and proactive, sustained communication are needed to ensure these new innovations are further tested, implemented, and sustained. A longer-term follow-up evaluation to measure this impact is recommended. 2010 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthesizing US Colonial Climate: Available Data and a "Proxy Adjustment" Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zalzal, K. S.; Munoz-Hernandez, A.; Arrigo, J. S.

2008-12-01

Climate and its variability is a primary driver of hydrologic systems. A paucity of instrumental data makes reconstructing seventeenth- and eighteenth-century climatic conditions along the Northeast corridor difficult, yet this information is necessary if we are to understand the conditions, changes and interactions society had with hydrosystems during this first period of permanent European settlement. For this period (approx. 1600- 1800) there are instrumental records for some regions such as annual temperature and precipitation data for Philadelphia beginning in 1738; Cambridge, Mass., from 1747-1776; and temperature for New Haven, Conn., from 1780 to 1800. There are also paleorecords, including tree-rings analyses and sediment core examinations of pollen and overwash deposits, and historical accounts of extreme weather events. Our analyses of these data show that correlating even the available data is less than straightforward. To produce a "best track" climate record, we introduce a new method of "paleoadjustment" as a means to characterize climate statistical properties as opposed to a strict reconstruction. Combining the instrumented record with the paleorecord, we estimated two sets of climate forcings to use in colonial hydrology study. The first utilized a recent instrumented record (1817-1917) from Baltimore, Md, statistically adjusted in 20-year windows to match trends in the paleorecords and anecdotal evidence from the Middle Colonies and Chesapeake Bay region. The second was a regression reconstruction for New England using climate indices developed from journal records and the Cambridge, Mass., instrumental record. The two climate reconstructions were used to compute the annual potential water yield over the 200-year period of interest. A comparison of these results allowed us to make preliminary conclusions regarding the effect of climate on hydrology during the colonial period. We contend that an understanding of historical hydrology will improve our ability to predict and react to changes in global water resources.

Health technology assessment of new drugs for rare disorders in Canada: impact of disease prevalence and cost.

PubMed

Rawson, Nigel S B

2017-03-23

Authors from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) presented an analysis of submissions to the Common Drug Review (CDR) between 2004 and February 3, 2016 for drugs for rare disorders (disorders with a prevalence of <50 per 100,000). The aim of this analysis was to examine the same CDR submissions to evaluate whether the negative reimbursement recommendation rate, clinical evidence of efficacy and statements concerning the drug's cost in the CDR reports varied with the prevalence of the disorder treated by the drug grouped into three decreasing categories: <50 to >10, ≤10 to >1, and ≤1 per 100,000. As the prevalence of the treated disorder decreased, the median daily cost of the drug, the negative recommendation rate and the proportion of submissions with statements in the CDR reports highlighting the cost of the drug increased, while the proportion of submissions with acceptable evidence of clinical efficacy decreased. Moreover, although the CADTH authors reported that only two submissions received a negative recommendation due to a "lack of cost-effectiveness/high cost," high cost was mentioned in the CDR reports of 15 drugs with negative recommendations, all for disorders with a prevalence of ≤10 per 100,000. The aggregated analysis of CDR submissions for drugs for disorders with wide ranging prevalence rates concealed information of concern to patients. The negative reimbursement recommendation rate and the significance of cost in the CDR assessments increased as the prevalence of the treated disorder decreased. Since 2012, the manner in which high cost drugs for rare disorders have been dealt with by the CDR has changed. Cost has ceased to be a factor in negative recommendations but is included in criteria accompanying positive recommendations. This trend is associated with the integration of the CDR process with the system for price negotiation between public drug plans and pharmaceutical companies.

Repertoire Analysis of Antibody CDR-H3 Loops Suggests Affinity Maturation Does Not Typically Result in Rigidification

PubMed Central

Jeliazkov, Jeliazko R.; Sljoka, Adnan; Kuroda, Daisuke; Tsuchimura, Nobuyuki; Katoh, Naoki; Tsumoto, Kouhei; Gray, Jeffrey J.

2018-01-01

Antibodies can rapidly evolve in specific response to antigens. Affinity maturation drives this evolution through cycles of mutation and selection leading to enhanced antibody specificity and affinity. Elucidating the biophysical mechanisms that underlie affinity maturation is fundamental to understanding B-cell immunity. An emergent hypothesis is that affinity maturation reduces the conformational flexibility of the antibody’s antigen-binding paratope to minimize entropic losses incurred upon binding. In recent years, computational and experimental approaches have tested this hypothesis on a small number of antibodies, often observing a decrease in the flexibility of the complementarity determining region (CDR) loops that typically comprise the paratope and in particular the CDR-H3 loop, which contributes a plurality of antigen contacts. However, there were a few exceptions and previous studies were limited to a small handful of cases. Here, we determined the structural flexibility of the CDR-H3 loop for thousands of recent homology models of the human peripheral blood cell antibody repertoire using rigidity theory. We found no clear delineation in the flexibility of naïve and antigen-experienced antibodies. To account for possible sources of error, we additionally analyzed hundreds of human and mouse antibodies in the Protein Data Bank through both rigidity theory and B-factor analysis. By both metrics, we observed only a slight decrease in the CDR-H3 loop flexibility when comparing affinity matured antibodies to naïve antibodies, and the decrease was not as drastic as previously reported. Further analysis, incorporating molecular dynamics simulations, revealed a spectrum of changes in flexibility. Our results suggest that rigidification may be just one of many biophysical mechanisms for increasing affinity. PMID:29545810

Ibuprofen reverts antifungal resistance on Candida albicans showing overexpression of CDR genes.

PubMed

Ricardo, Elisabete; Costa-de-Oliveira, Sofia; Dias, Ana Silva; Guerra, José; Rodrigues, Acácio Gonçalves; Pina-Vaz, Cidália

2009-06-01

Several mechanisms may be associated with Candida albicans resistance to azoles. Ibuprofen was described as being able to revert resistance related to efflux activity in Candida. The aim of this study was to uncover the molecular base of antifungal resistance in C. albicans clinical strains that could be reverted by ibuprofen. Sixty-two clinical isolates and five control strains of C. albicans were studied: the azole susceptibility phenotype was determined according to the Clinical Laboratory for Standards Institute, M27-A2 protocol and minimal inhibitory concentration values were recalculated with ibuprofen (100 microg mL(-1)); synergistic studies between fluconazole and FK506, a Cdr1p inhibitor, were performed using an agar disk diffusion assay and were compared with ibuprofen results. Gene expression was quantified by real-time PCR, with and without ibuprofen, regarding CDR1, CDR2, MDR1, encoding for efflux pumps, and ERG11, encoding for azole target protein. A correlation between susceptibility phenotype and resistance gene expression profiles was determined. Ibuprofen and FK506 showed a clear synergistic effect when combined with fluconazole. Resistant isolates reverting to susceptible after incubation with ibuprofen showed CDR1 and CDR2 overexpression especially of the latter. Conversely, strains that did not revert displayed a remarkable increase in ERG11 expression along with CDR genes. Ibuprofen did not alter resistance gene expression significantly (P>0.05), probably acting as a Cdrp blocker.

Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS) Project Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlisle, Candace; Wedge, Ronnice; Wu, Dong; Stello, Harry; Robinson, Renee

2015-01-01

The main objective of the Total and Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS) is to acquire measurements to determine the direct and indirect effects of solar radiation on climate. TSIS total solar irradiance measurements will extend a 37-year long uninterrupted measurement record of incoming solar radiation, the dominant energy source driving the Earths climate and the most precise indicator of changes in the Suns energy output. TSIS solar spectral irradiance measurements will determine the regions of the Earths multi-layered atmosphere that are affected by solar variability, from which the solar forcing mechanisms causing changes in climate can be quantified. TSIS includes two instruments: the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) and the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM), integrated into a single payload. The TSIS TIM and SIM instruments are upgraded versions of the two instruments that are flying on the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) mission launched in January 2003. TSIS was originally planned for the nadir-pointing National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) spacecraft. The TSIS instrument passed a Critical Design Review (CDR) for NPOESS in December 2009. In 2010, TSIS was re-planned for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Polar Free Flyer (PFF). The TSIS TIM, SIM, and associated electronics were built, tested, and successfully completed pre-ship review as of December 2013.In early 2014, NOAA and NASA agreed to fly TSIS on the International Space Station (ISS). In the FY16 Presidents Budget, NASA assumes responsibility for the TSIS mission on ISS. The TSIS project includes requirements, interface, design, build and test of the TSIS payload, including an updated pointing system, for accommodation on the ISS. It takes advantage of the prior development of the TSIS sensors and electronics. The International Space Station (ISS) program contributions include launch services and robotic installation of the TSIS payload onto an ISS Express Logistics Carrier, mission operations, and communications. Total and Spectral solar irradiance data products will be produced, calibrated, and made publically available through the Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).The NASA GSFC TSIS project at GSFC is responsible for project management, system engineering, safety and mission assurance, and engineering oversight for the TSIS payload. The TSIS project has contracted with the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) for the design, development and testing of TSIS, support for ISS integration, science operations of the TSIS instrument, data processing, data evaluation and delivery to the GES DISC. TSIS will be delivered to Kennedy Space Center for integration in 2017, with launch and installation onto ISS planned for late 2017-early 2018. After a 90-day check-out period, NASA plans five years of TSIS operations.

Fish-eye view of STS-112 CDR Ashby on forward flight deck

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-10-18

STS112-347-001 (18 October 2002) --- A “fish-eye” lens on a 35mm camera records astronaut Jeffrey S. Ashby, STS-112 mission commander, at the commander’s station on the forward flight deck of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Ashby, attired in his shuttle launch and entry suit, looks over a checklist prior to the entry phase of the flight.

CDR Altman and MS Massimino in airlock prior to EVA 4

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-07

STS109-E-5688 (7 March 2002) --- Astronaut Scott D. Altman, mission commander, assists astronaut Michael J. Massimino, mission specialist, with suit-donning tasks prior to the STS-109 mission's fourth space walk (EVA-4). Astronauts Massimino and James H. Newman went on to install the new Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

77 FR 73457 - Nominations for Membership on the Ocean Research Advisory Panel

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-10

... submitted via email to CDR Stephen D. Martin, US Navy, at stephen[email protected] . Contact Information...; or CDR Stephen D. Martin, telephone 703- 696-4395. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ORAP is a statutorily... email to CDR Stephen Martin ( stephen[email protected] ) no later than 5:00 p.m. EST, January 31, 2013...

Intelligence and Electronic Warfare (IEW) Streamlining Project. Volume 2. Directives and Related Study Documents. Revision

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-11-18

CDR INSCOM FT BELVOIR VA//IACG/IALOfa// INfO Nd DA WASH DC// DAHO -FDZ/DALO-SNIC/DANI-PI// CDR AMC ALEXANDRIA VA//AIICLG/AHCLG-SID// CDR CECON FT...Nondevelopmental Items (COTS/NDI) communications for more than 22 years. The explosion of technology has provided new capabilities and has challenged the

TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Imported Articles

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides guidance and sample reporting scenarios on the reporting exemption for the import of a chemical substance as part of an article, for purposes of the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule.

TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Reporting for Electricity Generating Sites

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides information on existing Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule requirements related to the reporting of chemical substances manufactured during operations conducted at electricity generating sites, such as utilities.

Synthesizing late Holocene paleoclimate reconstructions: Lessons learned, common challenges, and implications for future research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodysill, J. R.

2017-12-01

Proxy-based reconstructions provide vital information for developing histories of environmental and climate changes. Networks of spatiotemporal paleoclimate information are powerful tools for understanding dynamical processes within the global climate system and improving model-based predictions of the patterns and magnitudes of climate changes at local- to global-scales. Compiling individual paleoclimate records and integrating reconstructed climate information in the context of an ensemble of multi-proxy records, which are fundamental for developing a spatiotemporal climate data network, are hindered by challenges related to data and information accessibility, chronological uncertainty, sampling resolution, climate proxy type, and differences between depositional environments. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) North American Holocene Climate Synthesis Working Group has been compiling and integrating multi-proxy paleoclimate data as part of an ongoing effort to synthesize Holocene climate records from North America. The USGS North American Holocene Climate Synthesis Working Group recently completed a late Holocene hydroclimate synthesis for the North American continent using several proxy types from a range of depositional environments, including lakes, wetlands, coastal marine, and cave speleothems. Using new age-depth relationships derived from the Bacon software package, we identified century-scale patterns of wetness and dryness for the past 2000 years with an age uncertainty-based confidence rating for each proxy record. Additionally, for highly-resolved North American lake sediment records, we computed average late Holocene sediment deposition rates and identified temporal trends in age uncertainty that are common to multiple lakes. This presentation addresses strengths and challenges of compiling and integrating data from different paleoclimate archives, with a particular focus on lake sediments, which may inform and guide future paleolimnological studies.

[Preparation of anti-hCG single domain antibody by antibody grafting technique using an antigen-binding peptide].

PubMed

Peng, Jing; Wang, Qiong; Cheng, Xiaoling; Liu, Mengwen; Wang, Mei; Xin, Huawei

2018-04-25

We used the antibody grafting technology to prepare anti-hCG single-domain antibodies on the basis of antigen-binding peptide to simplify the single-domain antibody preparation process and improving the biochemical stability of peptide. By using a universal single-domain antibody backbone (cAbBCII10), CDR1 or CDR3 was replaced by the hCG-binding peptide, and the grafted antibody gene sequences were synthesized and cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET30a(+) in fusion with a C-terminal sfGFP gene, i.e. pET30a-(His6)-cAbBCII10-CDR1/hCGBP1-sfGFP and pET30a-(His6)-cAbBCII10-CDR3/hCGBP3-sfGFP. The recombinant plasmids were transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3), and the fusion proteins were induced by IPTG. Highly soluble recombinant fusion proteins were obtained and purified by Ni-NTA affinity column. SDS-PAGE confirmed the purified protein as the target protein. The antigen-antibody binding assay showed that both the CDR1 and CDR3 grafted antibodies have hCG-binding activities. While the titers of the two grafted antibodies were similar, the binding affinity of CDR3 grafted antibody was higher than that of CDR1 grafted protein (about 2-3 times). The grafted antibodies retained the relatively high biochemical stability of the single-domain antibody backbone and were relatively thermostable and alkaline tolerant. The obtained antibodies also had a relatively high antigen-binding specificity to hCG. This study provided a reliable experimental basis for further optimization of anti-hCG single domain antibody by antibody grafting technology using antigen-binding peptide.

Determinants and Heritability of Intraocular Pressure and Cup-to-Disc Ratio in a Defined Older Population

PubMed Central

Chang, Ta C.; Congdon, Nathan G.; Wojciechowski, Robert; Muñoz, Beatriz; Gilbert, Donna; Chen, Ping; Friedman, David S.; West, Sheila K.

2011-01-01

Purpose To investigate the heritability of intraocular pressure (IOP) and cup-to-disc ratio (CDR) in an older well-defined population. Design Family-based cohort study. Participants Through the population-based Salisbury Eye Evaluation study, we recruited 726 siblings (mean age, 74.7 years) in 284 sibships. Methods Intraocular pressure and CDR were measured bilaterally for all participants. The presence or absence of glaucoma was determined by a glacuoma specialist for all probands on the basis of visual field, optic nerve appearance, and history. The heritability of IOP was calculated as twice the residual between-sibling correlation of IOP using linear regression and generalized estimating equations after adjusting for age, gender, mean arterial pressure, race, self-reported diabetes status, and history of systemic steroid use. The heritability of CDR was calculated using the same model and adjustments as above, while also adjusting for IOP. Main Outcome Measures Heritability and determinants of IOP and CDR, and impact of siblings’ glaucoma status on IOP and CDR. Results We estimated the heritability to be 0.29 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.12–0.46) for IOP and 0.56 (95% CI, 0.35–0.76) for CDR in this population. Mean IOP in siblings of glaucomatous probands was statistically significantly higher than in siblings of normal probands (mean difference, 1.02 mmHg; P = 0.017). The mean CDR in siblings of glaucomatous probands was 0.07 (or 19%) larger than in siblings of glaucoma suspect referrals (P = 0.045) and siblings of normal probands (P = 0.004). Conclusions In this elderly population, we found CDR to be highly heritable and IOP to be moderately heritable. On average, siblings of glaucoma patients had higher IOPs and larger CDRs than siblings of nonglaucomatous probands. PMID:15939473

Iron fertilisation and century-scale effects of open ocean dissolution of olivine in a simulated CO2 removal experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hauck, Judith; Köhler, Peter; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter; Völker, Christoph

2016-02-01

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches are efforts to reduce the atmospheric CO2 concentration. Here we use a marine carbon cycle model to investigate the effects of one CDR technique: the open ocean dissolution of the iron-containing mineral olivine. We analyse the maximum CDR potential of an annual dissolution of 3 Pg olivine during the 21st century and focus on the role of the micro-nutrient iron for the biological carbon pump. Distributing the products of olivine dissolution (bicarbonate, silicic acid, iron) uniformly in the global surface ocean has a maximum CDR potential of 0.57 gC/g-olivine mainly due to the alkalinisation of the ocean, with a significant contribution from the fertilisation of phytoplankton with silicic acid and iron. The part of the CDR caused by ocean fertilisation is not permanent, while the CO2 sequestered by alkalinisation would be stored in the ocean as long as alkalinity is not removed from the system. For high CO2 emission scenarios the CDR potential due to the alkalinity input becomes more efficient over time with increasing ocean acidification. The alkalinity-induced CDR potential scales linearly with the amount of olivine, while the iron-induced CDR saturates at 113 PgC per century (on average ˜ 1.1 PgC yr-1) for an iron input rate of 2.3 Tg Fe yr-1 (1% of the iron contained in 3 Pg olivine). The additional iron-related CO2 uptake occurs in the Southern Ocean and in the iron-limited regions of the Pacific. Effects of this approach on surface ocean pH are small (\\lt 0.01).

Fundamental characteristics of the immunoglobulin VH repertoire of chickens in comparison with those of humans, mice, and camelids.

PubMed

Wu, Leeying; Oficjalska, Katarzyna; Lambert, Matthew; Fennell, Brian J; Darmanin-Sheehan, Alfredo; Ní Shúilleabháin, Deirdre; Autin, Bénédicte; Cummins, Emma; Tchistiakova, Lioudmila; Bloom, Laird; Paulsen, Janet; Gill, Davinder; Cunningham, Orla; Finlay, William J J

2012-01-01

Examination of 1269 unique naive chicken V(H) sequences showed that the majority of positions in the framework (FW) regions were maintained as germline, with high mutation rates observed in the CDRs. Many FW mutations could be clearly related to the modulation of CDR structure or the V(H)-V(L) interface. CDRs 1 and 2 of the V(H) exhibited frequent mutation in solvent-exposed positions, but conservation of common structural residues also found in human CDRs at the same positions. In comparison with humans and mice, the chicken CDR3 repertoire was skewed toward longer sequences, was dominated by small amino acids (G/S/A/C/T), and had higher cysteine (chicken, 9.4%; human, 1.6%; and mouse, 0.25%) but lower tyrosine content (chicken, 9.2%; human, 16.8%; and mouse 26.4%). A strong correlation (R(2) = 0.97) was observed between increasing CDR3 length and higher cysteine content. This suggests that noncanonical disulfides are strongly favored in chickens, potentially increasing CDR stability and complexity in the topology of the combining site. The probable formation of disulfide bonds between CDR3 and CDR1, FW2, or CDR2 was also observed, as described in camelids. All features of the naive repertoire were fully replicated in the target-selected, phage-displayed repertoire. The isolation of a chicken Fab with four noncanonical cysteines in the V(H) that exhibits 64 nM (K(D)) binding affinity for its target proved these constituents to be part of the humoral response, not artifacts. This study supports the hypothesis that disulfide bond-constrained CDR3s are a structural diversification strategy in the restricted germline v-gene repertoire of chickens.

Chemical Data Reporting rule (CDR)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This dataset contains information on chemicals that company's produce domestically or import into the United States during the principal reporting year. For the 2012 submission period, reporters provided 2011 manufacturing, processing, and use data and 2010 production volume data for their reportable chemical substances.

Initial Concept for Terminal Area Conflict Detection, Alerting, and Resolution Capability On or Near the Airport Surface, Version 2.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otero, Sharon D.; Barker, Glover D.; Jones, Denise R.

2013-01-01

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concept for 2025 envisions the movement of large numbers of people and goods in a safe, efficient, and reliable manner. The NextGen will remove many of the constraints in the current air transportation system, support a wider range of operations, and deliver an overall system capacity up to 3 times that of current operating levels. In order to achieve the NextGen vision, research is necessary in the areas of surface traffic optimization, maximum runway capacity, reduced runway occupancy time, simultaneous single runway operations, and terminal area conflict prevention, among others. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is conducting Collision Avoidance for Airport Traffic (CAAT) research to develop technologies, data, and guidelines to enable Conflict Detection and Resolution (CD&R) in the Airport Terminal Maneuvering Area (ATMA) under current and emerging NextGen operating concepts. The term ATMA was created to reflect the fact that the CD&R concept area of operation is focused near the airport within the terminal maneuvering area. In the following, an initial concept for an aircraft-based method for CD&R in the ATMA is presented. This method is based upon previous NASA work in CD&R for runway incursion prevention, the Runway Incursion Prevention System (RIPS).

A complete, multi-level conformational clustering of antibody complementarity-determining regions

PubMed Central

Nikoloudis, Dimitris; Pitts, Jim E.

2014-01-01

Classification of antibody complementarity-determining region (CDR) conformations is an important step that drives antibody modelling and engineering, prediction from sequence, directed mutagenesis and induced-fit studies, and allows inferences on sequence-to-structure relations. Most of the previous work performed conformational clustering on a reduced set of structures or after application of various structure pre-filtering criteria. In this study, it was judged that a clustering of every available CDR conformation would produce a complete and redundant repertoire, increase the number of sequence examples and allow better decisions on structure validity in the future. In order to cope with the potential increase in data noise, a first-level statistical clustering was performed using structure superposition Root-Mean-Square Deviation (RMSD) as a distance-criterion, coupled with second- and third-level clustering that employed Ramachandran regions for a deeper qualitative classification. The classification of a total of 12,712 CDR conformations is thus presented, along with rich annotation and cluster descriptions, and the results are compared to previous major studies. The present repertoire has procured an improved image of our current CDR Knowledge-Base, with a novel nesting of conformational sensitivity and specificity that can serve as a systematic framework for improved prediction from sequence as well as a number of future studies that would aid in knowledge-based antibody engineering such as humanisation. PMID:25071986

Thal Amyloid Stages Do Not Significantly Impact the Correlation Between Neuropathological Change and Cognition in the Alzheimer Disease Continuum.

PubMed

Serrano-Pozo, Alberto; Qian, Jing; Muzikansky, Alona; Monsell, Sarah E; Montine, Thomas J; Frosch, Matthew P; Betensky, Rebecca A; Hyman, Bradley T

2016-06-01

The 2012 neuropathological criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) summarize the extent of AD neuropathological change with an ABC score, which is a composite of the Thal stage of amyloid deposition (A), the Braak stage of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) (B), and the CERAD neuritic plaque score (C). NFTs and neuritic plaques are well-established contributors to cognitive impairment, but whether the Thal amyloid stage independently predicts antemortem cognition remains unknown. We used the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center autopsy data set to build adjacent-categories logit regression models with CDR-SOB and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores as cognitive outcome variables. Increasing CERAD scores were independently associated with higher CDR-SOB scores, whereas increasing Braak NFT stages predicted both higher CDR-SOB and lower MMSE scores. Increasing Thal amyloid stages were not significantly independently associated with either outcome measure. Increasing ABC scores predicted higher CDR-SOB and lower MMSE scores. These results raise the possibility that Thal amyloid stages do not substantially contribute to predicting antemortem cognition compared to CERAD neuritic plaque scores and Braak NFT stages, and suggest that the diffuse amyloid deposits participating in the assignment of Thal amyloid stages are neutral with respect to clinically detectable cognitive and functional changes. © 2016 American Association of Neuropathologists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical Data Reporting: Factors to Consider When Using the Database

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) database provides non-confidential information on the manufacture, import, processing, and use of chemicals in commerce at national and regional levels. This fact sheet highlights factors to consider.

Creating Fidelitious Climate Data Records from Meteosat First Generation Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quast, Ralf; Govaerts, Yves; Ruthrich, Frank; Giering, Ralf; Roebeling, Rob

2016-08-01

A novel method for reconstructing the spectral response function of the Meteosat visible (VIS) channels is presented and applied to the Meteosat-10 Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) high-resolution visible (HRV) channel as the first real-world benchmark. The method incorporates advanced radiative transfer modelling and inverse modelling techniques. Once established, EUMETSAT will use the reconstructed spectral response and uncertainty information to increase the calibration accuracy of Meteosat First Generation VIS observations, which will provide the basis for the Fidelity and Uncertainty in Climate data records from Earth Observations (FIDUCEO) Horizon 2020 project to produce new fundamental (reflectance) and thematic (albedo and aerosol) climate data records.

The impact of legally restricted embryo transfer and reimbursement policy on cumulative delivery rate after treatment with assisted reproduction technology.

PubMed

Peeraer, K; Debrock, S; Laenen, A; De Loecker, P; Spiessens, C; De Neubourg, D; D'Hooghe, T M

2014-02-01

What is the impact of the Belgian legislation (1 July 2003), coupling reimbursement of six assisted reproduction technology (ART) cycles per patient to restricted embryo transfer policy, on cumulative delivery rate (CDR) per patient? The introduction of Belgian legislation in ART had no negative impact on the CDR per patient based on realistic estimates within six cycles or 36 months. The introduction of Belgian legislation limiting the number of embryos for transfer resulted in a reduction of the multiple pregnancy rate (MPR) per cycle by 50%. A retrospective cohort study with a study group after implementation of the new ART legislation (July 2003 to June 2006) and the control group, before legislation (July 1999 to June 2002). CDR was compared in an academic tertiary setting between a study group after legislation (n = 795 patients, 1927 fresh and 383 frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles) and a control group before legislation (n = 463 patients, 876 fresh and 185 FET cycles) within six cycles or 36 months, delivery or discontinuation of treatment. The CDR was estimated using life table analysis considering pessimistic, optimistic and realistic scenarios and compared after adjustment for confounding variables. In the realistic scenario we included information on embryo quality to define the prognosis of each patient discontinuing treatment. In the realistic scenario, CDR within 36 months was comparable (all ages, P = 0.221) in study group (60.8%) and control group (65.6%), as well as in different age groups (<36 years, P = 0.242; 36-39 years, P = 0.851; 40-42 years, P = 0.840). In the realistic scenario applied to six cycles, we found lower CDRs in the study group than in the control group within the two first cycles (all ages, P = 0.009; <36 years, P = 0.007) but no difference in CDRs between the two groups within the four subsequent cycles (all ages P = 0.232; <36 years, P = 0.198). The CDR within six cycles was 60 and 65.3% for study group and control group, respectively, for all ages, and 65.8 and 70.4%, respectively, in the subgroup younger than 36 years. In women ≥36 years, CDR within six cycles was comparable in both groups (36-39 years, 43% in study versus 44.4% in control group, P = 0.730; 40-42 years, 21% in study versus 23% in control group, P = 0.786). A retrospective cohort study design was the only way to study the impact of legislation on CDR. Owing to the retrospective nature of this analysis over a long period of time, our data are potentially influenced by improvements in techniques and therefore improved success rates in ART over time. This 'Belgian model' can now be considered for application worldwide in countries with the aim to reduce the main ART side effect (high MPR) and its associated costs without a negative effect on the main intended effect (high CDR). The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. No funding was obtained for this study.

Automated detection of kinks from blood vessels for optic cup segmentation in retinal images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, D. W. K.; Liu, J.; Lim, J. H.; Li, H.; Wong, T. Y.

2009-02-01

The accurate localization of the optic cup in retinal images is important to assess the cup to disc ratio (CDR) for glaucoma screening and management. Glaucoma is physiologically assessed by the increased excavation of the optic cup within the optic nerve head, also known as the optic disc. The CDR is thus an important indicator of risk and severity of glaucoma. In this paper, we propose a method of determining the cup boundary using non-stereographic retinal images by the automatic detection of a morphological feature within the optic disc known as kinks. Kinks are defined as the bendings of small vessels as they traverse from the disc to the cup, providing physiological validation for the cup boundary. To detect kinks, localized patches are first generated from a preliminary cup boundary obtained via level set. Features obtained using edge detection and wavelet transform are combined using a statistical approach rule to identify likely vessel edges. The kinks are then obtained automatically by analyzing the detected vessel edges for angular changes, and these kinks are subsequently used to obtain the cup boundary. A set of retinal images from the Singapore Eye Research Institute was obtained to assess the performance of the method, with each image being clinically graded for the CDR. From experiments, when kinks were used, the error on the CDR was reduced to less than 0.1 CDR units relative to the clinical CDR, which is within the intra-observer variability of 0.2 CDR units.

Neuropsychological Test Selection for Cognitive Impairment Classification: A Machine Learning Approach

PubMed Central

Williams, Jennifer A.; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen; Cook, Diane J.

2016-01-01

Introduction Reducing the amount of testing required to accurately detect cognitive impairment is clinically relevant. The aim of this research was to determine the fewest number of clinical measures required to accurately classify participants as healthy older adult, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia using a suite of classification techniques. Methods Two variable selection machine learning models (i.e., naive Bayes, decision tree), a logistic regression, and two participant datasets (i.e., clinical diagnosis, clinical dementia rating; CDR) were explored. Participants classified using clinical diagnosis criteria included 52 individuals with dementia, 97 with MCI, and 161 cognitively healthy older adults. Participants classified using CDR included 154 individuals CDR = 0, 93 individuals with CDR = 0.5, and 25 individuals with CDR = 1.0+. Twenty-seven demographic, psychological, and neuropsychological variables were available for variable selection. Results No significant difference was observed between naive Bayes, decision tree, and logistic regression models for classification of both clinical diagnosis and CDR datasets. Participant classification (70.0 – 99.1%), geometric mean (60.9 – 98.1%), sensitivity (44.2 – 100%), and specificity (52.7 – 100%) were generally satisfactory. Unsurprisingly, the MCI/CDR = 0.5 participant group was the most challenging to classify. Through variable selection only 2 – 9 variables were required for classification and varied between datasets in a clinically meaningful way. Conclusions The current study results reveal that machine learning techniques can accurately classifying cognitive impairment and reduce the number of measures required for diagnosis. PMID:26332171

Prevalence and prognosis of prodromal Alzheimer's disease as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography in a community: reanalysis from the Osaki-Tajiri Project.

PubMed

Meguro, Kenichi; Akanuma, Kyoko; Meguro, Mitsue; Yamaguchi, Satoshi; Ishii, Hiroshi; Tashiro, Manabu

2016-03-01

Dubois et al. proposed the criteria for prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD) to detect dementia in its very early stage. Because detection requires magnetic resonance imaging and (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (PET), the prevalence and prognosis have not been fully investigated. Our database included 346 healthy participants (Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) 0), 119 with questionable dementia (CDR 0.5), and 32 dementia participants (CDR 1+) and was applied to investigate the prevalence of prodromal AD. Forty-four CDR 0.5 participants (37%) were randomly selected to undergo (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET. The same percentage was applied to select 128 CDR 0 and 12 CDR 1 + participants (total: n = 184) to calculate the prevalence. A neuroradiologist classified the PET images in a blinded manner based on the criteria of Silverman et al. Participants were considered to have prodromal AD if they exhibited 'parietal/temporal +/- frontal hypometabolism' (PET) with hippocampal atrophy (magnetic resonance imaging). Eighteen CDR 0.5 participants (40.9%) met the criteria for prodromal AD, which was a prevalence rate of 9.8% among older adults aged ≥ 65 years. Thirteen prodromal AD participants (72%) converted to AD during the 5-year follow-up period. The concept and criteria for prodromal AD are useful for predicting which subjects in a community will convert to AD. © 2015 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2015 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Functional Consequences of Complementarity-determining Region Deactivation in a Multifunctional Anti-nucleic Acid Antibody*

PubMed Central

Lee, Jiyeon; Kim, Hye-Jin; Roh, Jooho; Seo, Youngsil; Kim, Minjae; Jun, Hye-Ryeong; Pham, Chuong D.; Kwon, Myung-Hee

2013-01-01

Many murine monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies (Abs) derived from mice models for systemic lupus erythematosus have additional cell-penetration and/or nucleic acid-hydrolysis properties. Here, we examined the influence of deactivating each complementarity-determining region (CDR) within a multifunctional anti-nucleic acid antibody (Ab) that possesses these activities, the catalytic 3D8 single chain variable fragment (scFv). CDR-deactivated 3D8 scFv variants were generated by replacing all of the amino acids within each CDR with Gly/Ser residues. The structure of 3D8 scFv accommodated single complete CDR deactivations. Different functional activities of 3D8 scFv were affected differently depending on which CDR was deactivated. The only exception was CDR1, located within the light chain (LCDR1); deactivation of LCDR1 abolished all of the functional activities of 3D8 scFv. A hybrid Ab, HW6/3D8L1, in which the LCDR1 from an unrelated Ab (HW6) was replaced with the LCDR1 from 3D8, acquired all activities associated with the 3D8 scFv. These results suggest that the activity of a multifunctional 3D8 scFv Ab can be modulated by single complete CDR deactivation and that the LCDR1 plays a crucial role in maintaining Ab properties. This study presents a new approach for determining the role of individual CDRs in multifunctional Abs with important implications for the future of Ab engineering. PMID:24155236

Ocean acidification in a geoengineering context

PubMed Central

Williamson, Phillip; Turley, Carol

2012-01-01

Fundamental changes to marine chemistry are occurring because of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Ocean acidity (H+ concentration) and bicarbonate ion concentrations are increasing, whereas carbonate ion concentrations are decreasing. There has already been an average pH decrease of 0.1 in the upper ocean, and continued unconstrained carbon emissions would further reduce average upper ocean pH by approximately 0.3 by 2100. Laboratory experiments, observations and projections indicate that such ocean acidification may have ecological and biogeochemical impacts that last for many thousands of years. The future magnitude of such effects will be very closely linked to atmospheric CO2; they will, therefore, depend on the success of emission reduction, and could also be constrained by geoengineering based on most carbon dioxide removal (CDR) techniques. However, some ocean-based CDR approaches would (if deployed on a climatically significant scale) re-locate acidification from the upper ocean to the seafloor or elsewhere in the ocean interior. If solar radiation management were to be the main policy response to counteract global warming, ocean acidification would continue to be driven by increases in atmospheric CO2, although with additional temperature-related effects on CO2 and CaCO3 solubility and terrestrial carbon sequestration. PMID:22869801

Satellite-based trends of solar radiation and cloud parameters in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfeifroth, Uwe; Bojanowski, Jedrzej S.; Clerbaux, Nicolas; Manara, Veronica; Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo; Trentmann, Jörg; Walawender, Jakub P.; Hollmann, Rainer

2018-04-01

Solar radiation is the main driver of the Earth's climate. Measuring solar radiation and analysing its interaction with clouds are essential for the understanding of the climate system. The EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) generates satellite-based, high-quality climate data records, with a focus on the energy balance and water cycle. Here, multiple of these data records are analyzed in a common framework to assess the consistency in trends and spatio-temporal variability of surface solar radiation, top-of-atmosphere reflected solar radiation and cloud fraction. This multi-parameter analysis focuses on Europe and covers the time period from 1992 to 2015. A high correlation between these three variables has been found over Europe. An overall consistency of the climate data records reveals an increase of surface solar radiation and a decrease in top-of-atmosphere reflected radiation. In addition, those trends are confirmed by negative trends in cloud cover. This consistency documents the high quality and stability of the CM SAF climate data records, which are mostly derived independently from each other. The results of this study indicate that one of the main reasons for the positive trend in surface solar radiation since the 1990's is a decrease in cloud coverage even if an aerosol contribution cannot be completely ruled out.

Expanding research capabilities with sea ice climate records for analysis of long-term climate change and short-term variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, D. J.; Meier, W. N.

2008-12-01

Recent sea ice analysis is leading to predictions of a sea ice-free summertime in the Arctic within 20 years, or even sooner. Sea ice topics, such as concentration, extent, motion, and age, are predominately studied using satellite data. At the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), passive microwave sea ice data sets provide timely assessments of seasonal-scale variability as well as consistent long-term climate data records. Such data sets are crucial to understanding changes and assessing their impacts. Noticeable impacts of changing sea ice conditions on native cultures and wildlife in the Arctic region are now being documented. With continued deterioration in Arctic sea ice, global economic impacts will be seen as new shipping routes open. NSIDC is at the forefront of making climate data records available to address the changes in sea ice and its global impacts. By focusing on integrated data sets, NSIDC leads the way by broadening the studies of sea ice beyond the traditional cryospheric community.

Improved Predictions of the Geographic Distribution of Invasive Plants Using Climatic Niche Models.

PubMed

Ramírez-Albores, Jorge E; Bustamante, Ramiro O; Badano, Ernesto I

2016-01-01

Climatic niche models for invasive plants are usually constructed with occurrence records taken from literature and collections. Because these data neither discriminate among life-cycle stages of plants (adult or juvenile) nor the origin of individuals (naturally established or man-planted), the resulting models may mispredict the distribution ranges of these species. We propose that more accurate predictions could be obtained by modelling climatic niches with data of naturally established individuals, particularly with occurrence records of juvenile plants because this would restrict the predictions of models to those sites where climatic conditions allow the recruitment of the species. To test this proposal, we focused on the Peruvian peppertree (Schinus molle), a South American species that has largely invaded Mexico. Three climatic niche models were constructed for this species using high-resolution dataset gathered in the field. The first model included all occurrence records, irrespective of the life-cycle stage or origin of peppertrees (generalized niche model). The second model only included occurrence records of naturally established mature individuals (adult niche model), while the third model was constructed with occurrence records of naturally established juvenile plants (regeneration niche model). When models were compared, the generalized climatic niche model predicted the presence of peppertrees in sites located farther beyond the climatic thresholds that naturally established individuals can tolerate, suggesting that human activities influence the distribution of this invasive species. The adult and regeneration climatic niche models concurred in their predictions about the distribution of peppertrees, suggesting that naturally established adult trees only occur in sites where climatic conditions allow the recruitment of juvenile stages. These results support the proposal that climatic niches of invasive plants should be modelled with data of naturally established individuals because this improves the accuracy of predictions about their distribution ranges.

Improved Predictions of the Geographic Distribution of Invasive Plants Using Climatic Niche Models

PubMed Central

Ramírez-Albores, Jorge E.; Bustamante, Ramiro O.

2016-01-01

Climatic niche models for invasive plants are usually constructed with occurrence records taken from literature and collections. Because these data neither discriminate among life-cycle stages of plants (adult or juvenile) nor the origin of individuals (naturally established or man-planted), the resulting models may mispredict the distribution ranges of these species. We propose that more accurate predictions could be obtained by modelling climatic niches with data of naturally established individuals, particularly with occurrence records of juvenile plants because this would restrict the predictions of models to those sites where climatic conditions allow the recruitment of the species. To test this proposal, we focused on the Peruvian peppertree (Schinus molle), a South American species that has largely invaded Mexico. Three climatic niche models were constructed for this species using high-resolution dataset gathered in the field. The first model included all occurrence records, irrespective of the life-cycle stage or origin of peppertrees (generalized niche model). The second model only included occurrence records of naturally established mature individuals (adult niche model), while the third model was constructed with occurrence records of naturally established juvenile plants (regeneration niche model). When models were compared, the generalized climatic niche model predicted the presence of peppertrees in sites located farther beyond the climatic thresholds that naturally established individuals can tolerate, suggesting that human activities influence the distribution of this invasive species. The adult and regeneration climatic niche models concurred in their predictions about the distribution of peppertrees, suggesting that naturally established adult trees only occur in sites where climatic conditions allow the recruitment of juvenile stages. These results support the proposal that climatic niches of invasive plants should be modelled with data of naturally established individuals because this improves the accuracy of predictions about their distribution ranges. PMID:27195983

Smoothing of millennial scale climate variability in European Loess (and other records)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeeden, Christian; Obreht, Igor; Hambach, Ulrich; Veres, Daniel; Marković, Slobodan B.; Lehmkuhl, Frank

2017-04-01

Millennial scale climate variability is seen in various records of the northern hemisphere in the last glacial cycle, and their expression represents a correlation tool beyond the resolution of e.g. luminescence dating. Highest (correlative) dating accuracy is a prerequisite of comparing different geoarchives, especially when related to archaeological findings. Here we attempt to constrain the timing of loess geoarchives representing the environmental context of early humans in south-eastern Europe, and discuss the challenge of dealing with smoothed records. In this contribution, we present rock magnetic and grain size data from the Rasova loess record in the Lower Danube basin (Romania), showing millennial scale climate variability. Additionally, we summarize similar data from the Lower and Middle Danube Basins. A comparison of these loess data and reference records from Greenland ice cores and the Mediterranean-Black Sea region indicates a rather unusual expression of millennial scale climate variability recorded in loess. To explain the observed patterns, we experiment with low-pass filters of reference records to simulate a signal smoothing by natural processes such as e.g. bioturbation and pervasive diagenesis. Low-pass filters avoid high frequency oscillations and focus on the longer period (lower frequency) variability, here using cut-off periods from 1-15 kyr. In our opinion low-pass filters represent simple models for the expression of millennial scale climate variability in low sedimentation environments, and in sediments where signals are smoothed by e.g. bioturbation and/or diagenesis. Using different low-pass filter thresholds allows us to (a) explain observed patterns and their relation to millennial scale climate variability, (b) propose these filtered/smoothed signals as correlation targets for records lacking millennial scale recording, but showing smoothed climate variability on supra-millennial scales, and (c) determine which time resolution specific (loess) records can reproduce. Comparing smoothed records to reference data may be a step forward especially for last glacial stratigraphies, where millennial scale patterns are certainly present but not directly recorded in some geoarchives. Interestingly, smoothed datasets from Greenland and the Black Sea-Mediterranean region are most similar in the last ca. 15 ka and again from ca. 30-50 ka. During the cold phase from ca. 30-15 ka records show dissimilarities, challenging robust correlative time scales in this age range. A potential explanation may be related to the expansion of Northern European and Alpine ice sheets influencing atmospheric systems in the North Atlantic and Eurasian regions and thus leading to regionally and temporally differentiated climatic responses.

Growing C-D-R (Cedar): Working the Intersections of Interest Convergence and Whiteness as Property in the Affirmative Action Legal Debate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson Dorsey, Dana N.; Venzant Chambers, Terah T.

2014-01-01

In this article we extend Bell's work on interest convergence by using Harris' work on whiteness as property to articulate a cycle of interest convergence, interest divergence, and imperialistic reclamation, or convergence-divergence-reclamation (C-D-R, pronounced "cedar"). We then apply the C-D-R cycle lens to the evolution of federal…

Structural analysis, selection, and ontogeny of the shark new antigen receptor (IgNAR): identification of a new locus preferentially expressed in early development.

PubMed

Diaz, Marilyn; Stanfield, Robyn L; Greenberg, Andrew S; Flajnik, Martin F

2002-10-01

The new antigen receptor (IgNAR) family has been detected in all elasmobranch species so far studied and has several intriguing structural and functional features. IgNAR protein, found in both transmembrane and secretory forms, is a dimer of heavy chains with no associated light chains, with each chain of the dimer having a single free and flexible V region. Four rearrangement events (among 1V, 3D, and 1J germline genes) generate an expressed NAR V gene, resulting in long and diverse CDR3 regions that contain cysteine residues. IgNAR mutation frequency is very high and "selected" mutations are found only in genes encoding the secreted form, suggesting that the primary repertoire is entirely CDR3-based. Here we further analyzed the two IgNAR types, "type 1" having one cysteine in CDR3 and "type 2" with an even number (two or four) of CDR3 cysteines, and discovered that placement of the disulfide bridges in the IgNAR V domain differentially influences the selection of mutations in CDR1 and CDR2. Ontogenetic analyses showed that IgNAR sequences from young animals were infrequently mutated, consistent with the paradigm that the shark immune system must become mature before high levels of mutation accompanied with selection can occur. Nevertheless, also in agreement with the idea that the IgNAR repertoire is entirely CDR3-based, but unlike studies in most other vertebrates, N-region diversity is present in expressed IgNAR clones at birth. During the investigation of this early IgNAR repertoire we serendipitously detected a third type of IgNAR gene that is expressed in all neonatal tissues; later in life its expression is perpetuated only in the epigonal organ, a tissue recently shown to be a (the?) primary lymphoid tissue in elasmobranchs. This "type 3" IgNAR gene still undergoes three rearrangement events (two D regions are "germline-joined"), yet CDR3 sequences were exactly of the same length and very similar sequence, suggesting that "type 3" CDR3s are selected early in ontogeny, perhaps by a self-ligand.

TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Reporting Manufactured Chemical Substances from Metal Mining and Related Activities

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides guidance on the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule requirements related to the reporting of mined metals, intermediates, and byproducts manufactured during metal mining and related activities.

On the Reprocessing and Reanalysis of Observations for Climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Kennedy, John; Dee, Dick; ONeill, Alan

2012-01-01

The long observational record is critical to our understanding of the Earth s climate, but most observing systems were not developed with a climate objective in mind. As a result, tremendous efforts have gone into assessing and reprocessing the data records to improve their usefulness in climate studies. Many challenges remain, such as tracking the improvement of processing algorithms and limited spatial coverage. Reanalyses have fostered significant research, yet reliable global trends in many physical fields are not yet attainable, despite significant advances in data assimilation and numerical modeling. Communication of the strengths, limitations and uncertainties of reprocessed observations and reanalysis data, not only among the community of developers, but also with the extended research community, including the new generations of researchers and the decision makers is crucial for further advancement of the observational data records. WCRP provides the means to bridge the different motivating objectives on which national efforts focus.

Ice Core Records of Recent Northwest Greenland Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osterberg, E. C.; Wong, G. J.; Ferris, D.; Lutz, E.; Howley, J. A.; Kelly, M. A.; Axford, Y.; Hawley, R. L.

2014-12-01

Meteorological station data from NW Greenland indicate a 3oC temperature rise since 1990, with most of the warming occurring in fall and winter. According to remote sensing data, the NW Greenland ice sheet (GIS) and coastal ice caps are responding with ice mass loss and margin retreat, but the cryosphere's response to previous climate variability is poorly constrained in this region. We are developing multi-proxy records (lake sediment cores, ice cores, glacial geologic data, glaciological models) of Holocene climate change and cryospheric response in NW Greenland to improve projections of future ice loss and sea level rise in a warming climate. As part of our efforts to develop a millennial-length ice core paleoclimate record from the Thule region, we collected and analyzed snow pit samples and short firn cores (up to 21 m) from the coastal region of the GIS (2Barrel site; 76.9317o N, 63.1467o W, 1685 m el.) and the summit of North Ice Cap (76.938o N, 67.671o W, 1273 m el.) in 2011, 2012 and 2014. The 2Barrel ice core record has statistically significant relationships with regional spring and fall Baffin Bay sea ice extent, summertime temperature, and annual precipitation. Here we evaluate relationships between the 2014 North Ice Cap firn core glaciochemical record and climate variability from regional instrumental stations and reanalysis datasets. We compare the coastal North Ice Cap record to more inland records from 2Barrel, Camp Century and NEEM to evaluate spatial and elevational gradients in recent NW Greenland climate change.

Patterns and Potential Drivers of a Seasonal Glacial Sediment Plume derived from Landsat CDR Data, Lake Clark, Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baughman, C. A.; Jones, B. M.; Bartz, K. K.; Young, D. B.; Zimmerman, C. E.

2015-12-01

Lake Clark is large freshwater lake in Southcentral Alaska. Central to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Lake Clark is an important nursery lake for sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska, the most productive wild salmon fishery in the world. Lake Clark water clarity is seasonally influenced by a dynamic glacier fed sediment plume. We reconstructed lake-wide water clarity for Lake Clark using the Landsat TM and ETM+ Climate Data Record archive. Our study period consisted of May - October for 1985-2015. We found 151 (98 partial- and 53 whole-lake) Landsat scenes that captured the lake and/or sediment plume. Water clarity fluctuated on an annual basis with specific conditions common to certain months. Plume development and peak turbidity dates could be estimated for a number of years and mid-season gyres appear to represent wind-induced mixing of lake water. Our results showed short term (sub-decadal) trends in water clarity but little to no long term trend between 1991 and 2014. We did, however, detect interannual variation that exhibited a non-significant (r2 = 0.20) but positive correlation (r = 0.20) with regional mean summer air temperature and found the month of May exhibited a significant positive trend (r2 = 0.68, p-value = 0.02) in turbidity between 2000 and 2014. These results are important because reductions in water clarity within Alaska lake systems as a result of increased glacial runoff have been shown to reduce salmon production via reduced abundance of preferred prey items of juvenile salmon, such as zooplankton and macroinvertebrates.

The diversity of H3 loops determines the antigen-binding tendencies of antibody CDR loops.

PubMed

Tsuchiya, Yuko; Mizuguchi, Kenji

2016-04-01

Of the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of antibodies, H3 loops, with varying amino acid sequences and loop lengths, adopt particularly diverse loop conformations. The diversity of H3 conformations produces an array of antigen recognition patterns involving all the CDRs, in which the residue positions actually in contact with the antigen vary considerably. Therefore, for a deeper understanding of antigen recognition, it is necessary to relate the sequence and structural properties of each residue position in each CDR loop to its ability to bind antigens. In this study, we proposed a new method for characterizing the structural features of the CDR loops and obtained the antigen-binding ability of each residue position in each CDR loop. This analysis led to a simple set of rules for identifying probable antigen-binding residues. We also found that the diversity of H3 loop lengths and conformations affects the antigen-binding tendencies of all the CDR loops. © 2016 The Protein Society.

Functional human antibody CDR fusions as long-acting therapeutic endocrine agonists.

PubMed

Liu, Tao; Zhang, Yong; Liu, Yan; Wang, Ying; Jia, Haiqun; Kang, Mingchao; Luo, Xiaozhou; Caballero, Dawna; Gonzalez, Jose; Sherwood, Lance; Nunez, Vanessa; Wang, Danling; Woods, Ashley; Schultz, Peter G; Wang, Feng

2015-02-03

On the basis of the 3D structure of a bovine antibody with a well-folded, ultralong complementarity-determining region (CDR), we have developed a versatile approach for generating human or humanized antibody agonists with excellent pharmacological properties. Using human growth hormone (hGH) and human leptin (hLeptin) as model proteins, we have demonstrated that functional human antibody CDR fusions can be efficiently engineered by grafting the native hormones into different CDRs of the humanized antibody Herceptin. The resulting Herceptin CDR fusion proteins were expressed in good yields in mammalian cells and retain comparable in vitro biological activity to the native hormones. Pharmacological studies in rodents indicated a 20- to 100-fold increase in plasma circulating half-life for these antibody agonists and significantly extended in vivo activities in the GH-deficient rat model and leptin-deficient obese mouse model for the hGH and hLeptin antibody fusions, respectively. These results illustrate the utility of antibody CDR fusions as a general and versatile strategy for generating long-acting protein therapeutics.

Aspects of quality insurance in digitizing historical climate data in Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mächel, H.; Behrends, J.; Kapala, A.

2010-09-01

This contribution presents some of the problems and offers solutions regarding the digitization of historical meteorological data, and explains the need for verification and quality control. For the assessment of changes in climate extremes, long-term and complete observational records with a high temporal resolution are needed. However, in most countries, including Germany, such climate data are rare. Therefore, in 2005, the German Weather Service launched a project to inventory and digitize historical daily climatic records in cooperation with the Meteorological Institute of the University of Bonn. Experience with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) show that it is only of very limited use, as even printed tables (e.g. yearbooks) are not sufficiently recognized (10-20% error). In hand-written records, the recognition rate is about 50%. By comparing daily and monthly values, it is possible to auto-detect errors, but they can not be automatically corrected, since there is often more than one error per month. These erroneous data must then be controlled manually on an individual basis, which is significantly more error-prone than direct manual input. Therefore, both precipitation and climate station data are digitized manually. The time required to digitize one year of precipitation data (including the recording of daily precipitation amount and type, snow amount and type, and weather events such as thunder storms, fog, etc.) is equivalent to about five hours for one year of data. This involves manually typing, reformatting and quality control of the digitized data, as well as creating a digital photograph. For climate stations with three observations per day, the working time is 30-50 hours for one year of data, depending on the number of parameters and the condition of the documents. Several other problems occur when creating the digital records from historical observational data, some of which are listed below. Older records often used varying units and different conventions. For example, a value of 100 was added to the observed temperatures to avoid negative values. Furthermore, because standardization of the observations was very low when measurements began up to 200 years ago, the data often reflect a greater part of non-climatic influences. Varying daily observation times make it difficult to calculate a representative daily value. Even unconventional completed tables cost labor and requires experienced and trained staff. Data homogenization as well as both manual and automatic quality control may address some of these problems.

Nineteenth Century Long-Term Instrumental Records, Examples From the Southeastern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mock, C. J.

2001-12-01

Early instrumental records in the United States, defined as those operating before 1892 which is regarded the period prior to the modern climate record, provide a longer perspective of climatic variability at decadal and interannual timescales. Such reconstructions also provide a means of verification for other proxy data. This paper provides a American perspective of historical climatic research, emphasizing the urgent need to properly evaluate data quality and provide necessary corrections to make them compatible with the modern record. Different fixed observation times, different practices of weather instrument exposures, and statistical methods for calibration are the main issues in applying corrections and conducting proper climatic interpretations. I illustrate several examples on methodologies of this historical climatic research, focusing on the following in the Southeastern United States: daily reconstructed temperature time-series centered on Charleston SC and Natchez MS back to the late eighteenth century, and precipitation frequency reconstructions during the antebellum period for the Gulf Coast and coastal Southeast Atlantic states. Results indicate several prominent extremes unprecedented as compared to the modern record, such as the widespread warm winter of 1827-28, and the severe cold winters of 1856 and 1857. The reconstructions also yield important information concerning responses to past ENSO events, the PNA, NAO, and the PDO, particularly when compared with instrumental data from other regions. A high potential also exists for applying the climate reconstructions to assess historical climatic impacts on society in the Southeast, such as to understand climatic linkages to famous case studies of Yellow Fever epidemics and severe drought.

The Dynamics of Change: Regeneration of the Indonesian Army.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-11-15

Army Special Forces (KOPASSANDHA): COI1U11a11Idl MG Yogic Suardi Memet * it(B) CCL, W ismuy Ar i.-j MU11,1IL101 A (N4) Deputy Commander *MG Soedjasmin0...KLTG Yogic Suardi Memet Cdr KODAM, VI/Cdr Special Forces Cdr KOWILHAN II BG S. Momon HI. Ad ip)Utro) Unknown Chi Army F iulaaic L’uia’ BC IP1

Nurse Corps Training Importance Survey Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-06-01

Midwifery , and Psychiatry: CDR Mary Goeden NC, USN, CDR Candace Curlee NC, USN, and LCDR Phillip Harrison NC, USN. Dr. Alexander M. Gottesman and CDR...Corps subspecialty advisors to the Surgeon General for Orthopedics, Nurse Midwifery , and Psychiatry. It was mailed to a population of approximately...and analgesic drugs X 57. Identify common orthopedic injectables X ’Performed by less than 50% of staff nurses NC TIS 63 B - II. ADDITIONAL TRAINING

Increased Activity of [gamma]-Glutamylcysteine Synthetase in Tomato Cells Selected for Cadmium Tolerance.

PubMed

Chen, J.; Goldsbrough, P. B.

1994-09-01

Two cell lines of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill cv VFNT-Cherry) were systematically compared for their capacity to tolerate cadmium. Unselected CdS cells died in the presence of 0.3 mM CdCl2. CdR6-0 cells, which were selected from CdS, survived and grew in medium supplemented with 0.3 mM CdCl2. Growth of CdR6-0 cells under this condition was accompanied by synthesis of cadmium-binding phytochelatins and maintenance of cellular glutathione (GSH) levels. CdR6-0 cells also exhibited increased tolerance to buthionine sulfoximine, in both the presence and absence of 0.1 mM CdCl2. The specific activity of [gamma]-glutamylcysteine synthetase (EC 6.3.2.2) was approximately 2-fold higher in CdR6-0 cells than in CdS cells, whereas there was no difference between cell lines in specific activity of GSH synthetase (EC 6.3.2.3). Increased activity of the first enzyme of GSH biosynthesis in CdR6-0 cells, presumably a result of selection for increased cadmium tolerance, provides an enhanced capacity to synthesize GSH and to maintain the production of phytochelatins in response to cadmium. This adaptation may contribute to the enhanced cadmium tolerance of CdR6-0 cells.

Incidence of dementia and cause of death in elderly Japanese emigrants to Brazil before World War II.

PubMed

Meguro, Kenichi; Chubaci, Rosa Y S; Meguro, Mitsue; Kawamorida, Kazumi; Goto, Nobuko; Caramelli, Paulo

2011-01-01

In 1997 we examined the prevalence of dementia among the Japanese elderly immigrants living in the São Paulo metropolitan area (n=166). Herein, we followed up on these subjects for causes of death and dementia incidence. We were able to contact 108 subjects: 54 were already dead. The most common cause of death was cardiac disease. For dementia, 31.6% of the dead subjects were found to have developed dementia before they died, and 20.8 % of the living subjects were demented. As for the baseline the clinical dementia rating (CDR), 20.8 % of CDR 0 and 50.0 % of CDR 0.5 subjects developed dementia in the dead group; whereas in the living group, 23.9 % of CDR 0 and 52.6 % of CDR 0.5 developed dementia. As a whole, the incidence was 34.2 ‰ per 1000 person-years. Cardiac disease as the most common cause of death was probably due to the higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus. Compared with the previous study, the lower incidence of dementia from the CDR 0.5 group may have been due to a higher mortality rate. This is the first study on the incidence of dementia in elderly Japanese immigrants in Brazil. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Converging evolution leads to near maximal junction diversity through parallel mechanisms in B and T cell receptors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benichou, Jennifer I. C.; van Heijst, Jeroen W. J.; Glanville, Jacob; Louzoun, Yoram

2017-08-01

T and B cell receptor (TCR and BCR) complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) genetic diversity is produced through multiple diversification and selection stages. Potential holes in the CDR3 repertoire were argued to be linked to immunodeficiencies and diseases. In contrast with BCRs, TCRs have practically no Dβ germline genetic diversity, and the question emerges as to whether they can produce a diverse CDR3 repertoire. In order to address the genetic diversity of the adaptive immune system, appropriate quantitative measures for diversity and large-scale sequencing are required. Such a diversity method should incorporate the complex diversification mechanisms of the adaptive immune response and the BCR and TCR loci structure. We combined large-scale sequencing and diversity measures to show that TCRs have a near maximal CDR3 genetic diversity. Specifically, TCR have a larger junctional and V germline diversity, which starts more 5‧ in Vβ than BCRs. Selection decreases the TCR repertoire diversity, but does not affect BCR repertoire. As a result, TCR is as diverse as BCR repertoire, with a biased CDR3 length toward short TCRs and long BCRs. These differences suggest parallel converging evolutionary tracks to reach the required diversity to avoid holes in the CDR3 repertoire.

An anti-hapten camelid antibody reveals a cryptic binding site with significant energetic contributions from a nonhypervariable loop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fanning, Sean W.; Horn, James R.

2014-03-05

Conventional anti-hapten antibodies typically bind low-molecular weight compounds (haptens) in the crevice between the variable heavy and light chains. Conversely, heavy chain-only camelid antibodies, which lack a light chain, must rely entirely on a single variable domain to recognize haptens. While several anti-hapten VHHs have been generated, little is known regarding the underlying structural and thermodynamic basis for hapten recognition. Here, an anti-methotrexate VHH (anti-MTX VHH) was generated using grafting methods whereby the three complementarity determining regions (CDRs) were inserted onto an existing VHH framework. Thermodynamic analysis of the anti-MTX VHH CDR1-3 Graft revealed a micromolar binding affinity, while themore » crystal structure of the complex revealed a somewhat surprising noncanonical binding site which involved MTX tunneling under the CDR1 loop. Due to the close proximity of MTX to CDR4, a nonhypervariable loop, the CDR4 loop sequence was subsequently introduced into the CDR1-3 graft, which resulted in a dramatic 1000-fold increase in the binding affinity. Crystal structure analysis of both the free and complex anti-MTX CDR1-4 graft revealed CDR4 plays a significant role in both intermolecular contacts and binding site conformation that appear to contribute toward high affinity binding. Additionally, the anti-MTX VHH possessed relatively high specificity for MTX over closely related compounds aminopterin and folate, demonstrating that VHH domains are capable of binding low-molecular weight ligands with high affinity and specificity, despite their reduced interface.« less

Ten-year incidence of dementia in a rural elderly US community population: the MoVIES Project.

PubMed

Ganguli, M; Dodge, H H; Chen, P; Belle, S; DeKosky, S T

2000-03-14

To determine incidence rates by age, sex, and education of overall dementia and probable/ possible AD in a largely rural community. Ten-year prospective study of a randomly selected community sample aged 65+; biennial cognitive screening followed by standardized clinical evaluation. Incidence rates were estimated for overall dementia (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed., revised, criteria and Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR]) and for probable/possible AD (National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria). The cohort consisted of 1,298 individuals free of dementia at study entry. Among these, 199 incident (new) cases of overall (all-cause) dementia with CDR stage > or = 0.5, including 110 with CDR > or = 1, were detected during follow-up. Among the incident cases, 153 (76.9%) had probable/ possible AD. Age-specific incidence rates are reported for all dementia and for probable/possible AD, by sex and CDR stage. Among all-cause dementias with CDR = 0.5, controlling for age and education, men had a higher incidence rate than women. In the same group, those with less than high school education had significantly higher incidence rates than those with more education. Rates did not vary significantly by sex or education for probable/possible AD or for dementia with CDR > or = 1. Incidence rates of all dementias and of AD increased with age; men and those with lesser education had higher rates of possible/incipient dementia (CDR = 0.5) in this community. Potential explanations for these sex and education effects are discussed.

Identification of type IV collagen exposure as a molecular imaging target for early detection of thoracic aortic dissection

PubMed Central

Xu, Ke; Xu, Chen; Zhang, Yanzhenzi; Qi, Feiran; Yu, Bingran; Li, Ping; Jia, Lixin; Li, Yulin; Xu, Fu-jian; Du, Jie

2018-01-01

Thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is an aggressive and life-threatening vascular disease and there is no effective means of early diagnosis of dissection. Type IV collagen (Col-IV) is a major component of the sub-endothelial basement membrane, which is initially exposed followed by endothelial injury as early-stage event of TAD. So, we want to build a noninvasive diagnostic method to detect early dissection by identifying the exposed Col-IV via MRI. Methods: Col-IV-targeted magnetic resonance/ fluorescence dual probe (Col-IV-DOTA-Gd-rhodamine B; CDR) was synthesized by amide reaction and coordination reaction. Flow cytometry analysis was used to evaluate the cell viability of SMC treated with CDR and fluorescence assays were used to assess the Col-IV targeting ability of CDR in vitro. We then examined the sensitivity and specificity of CDR at different stages of TAD via MRI and bioluminescence imaging in vivo. Results: The localization of Col-IV (under the intima) was observed by histology images. CDR bound specifically to Col-IV-expressing vascular smooth muscle cells and BAPN-induced dissected aorta. The CDR signal was co-detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and bioluminescence imaging as early as 2 weeks after BAPN administration (pre-dissection stage). The ability to detect rupture of dissected aorta was indicated by a strong normalized signal enhancement (NSE) in vivo. Moreover, NSE was negatively correlated with the time of dissection rupture after BAPN administration (r2 = 0.8482). Conclusion: As confirmed by in vivo studies, the CDR can identify the exposed Col-IV in degenerated aorta to monitor the progress of aortic dissection from the early stage to the rupture via MRI. Thus, CDR-enhanced MRI proposes a potential method for dissection screening, and for monitoring disease progression and therapeutic response. PMID:29290819

Hydro-climatic data network (HCDN); a U.S. Geological Survey streamflow data set for the United States for the study of climate variations, 1874-1988

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slack, J.R.; Landwehr, Jurate Maciunas

1992-01-01

Records of streamflow can provide an account of climatic variation over a hydrologic basin. The ability to do so is conditioned on the absence of confounding factors that diminish the climate signal. A national data set of streamflow records that are relatively free of confounding anthropogenic influences has been developed for the purpose of studying the variation in surface-water conditions throughout the United States. Records in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Storage and Retrieval System (WATSTORE) data base for active and discontinued streamflow gaging stations through water year 1988 (that is, through September 30, 1988) were reviewed jointly with data specialists in each USGS District office. The resulting collection of stations, each with its respective period of record satisfying the qualifying criteria, is called the Hydro-Climatic Data Network, or HCDN. The HCDN consists of 1,659 sites throughout the United States and its territories, totaling 73,231 water years of daily mean discharge values. For each station in the HCDN, information necessary for its identification, along with any qualifying comments about the available record and a set of descriptive watershed characteristics are provided in tabular format in this report, both on paper and on computer disk (enclosed). For each station in the HCDN, the appropriate daily mean discharge values were compiled, and statistical characteristics, including monthly mean discharges and annual mean, minimum and maximum discharges, were derived. The discharge data values are provided in a companion report.

A preindustrial to present record of SST from Darwin Island, Galápagos: constraining Eastern Pacific decadal variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jimenez, G.; Cole, J. E.; Vetter, L.; Thompson, D. M.; Tudhope, A. W.

2017-12-01

Climate reconstructions from sub-seasonally resolved corals have greatly enhanced our understanding of climate variability related to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, few such records exist from the Eastern Pacific, which experiences the greatest ENSO-related variance in sea surface temperature (SST). Therefore, climate patterns and mechanisms in the region remain unclear, particularly on decadal to multidecadal timescales. Here, we present a new, bimonthly-resolved δ18O-SST reconstruction from a Darwin Island coral, in the northern Galápagos archipelago. Comparison with Sr/Ca data from the same coral demonstrates that δ18O values in the core dominantly track SST, as is expected in areas with low-magnitude sea surface salinity changes such as the Galápagos. Spanning 2015 to approximately 1800 CE, our record thus represents the longest sub-seasonally resolved SST reconstruction bridging the pre-industrial era to the present day in the Eastern Pacific. This time span and resolution is ideal for identifying climatic processes on a range of timescales: the presence of modern data allows us to calibrate the record using satellite datasets, while several decades of data preceding the onset of greenhouse warming enables comparison between natural and anthropogenic climate forcings. Together with other reconstructions from the region, we use the record to establish a baseline of (ENSO-related) Eastern Pacific interannual and decadal variability and assess evidence for climate emergence and trends. Preliminary evidence suggests increased decadal variability during the latter half of the twentieth century, as well as a secular warming trend of approximately 0.1°C/decade, in agreement with other Eastern Pacific coral records. Finally, we explore the applications of coral δ13C values in reconstructing regional upwelling. Our record contributes to constraining the pre- to post-industrial climate history of the Eastern Pacific and provides insight into natural versus forced climate variability in the region.

Developing a Toolkit for Model Evaluation Using Speleothem Isotope Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comas-Bru, L.; Deininger, M.; Harrison, S.

2017-12-01

Speleothems can provide high-resolution records of changes in both climate and atmospheric composition. These records have the potential to be used to document regional changes in mean climate and climate variability on annual to centennial timescales. They can also be used to refine our understanding of regional changes in climate forcings, such as dust and volcanic aerosols, through time. Many climate models now explicitly include isotopic tracers, and thus the isotopic records from speleothems can be used for model evaluation. Previous attempts to compile speleothem data have not provided a globally-comprehensive synthesis, nor have they provided assessments of measurement, chronological or interpretation uncertainties. SISAL (Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis) is a new community-based working groupsponsored by Past Global Changes (PAGES) to synthesise the 500+speleothem isotopic records available globallyand develop a public-accessdatabase, that can be used both to explore past climate changes and in model evaluation. This presentation will showcase preliminary syntheses for the Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka), the mid-Holocene (6 ka) and the Last Millennium (850-1850 CE).

On the design of paleoenvironmental data networks for estimating large-scale patterns of climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kutzbach, J. E.; Guetter, P. J.

1980-09-01

Guidelines are determined for the spatial density and location of climatic variables (temperature and precipitation) that are appropriate for estimating the continental- to hemispheric-scale pattern of atmospheric circulation (sea-level pressure). Because instrumental records of temperature and precipitation simulate the climatic information that is contained in certain paleoenvironmental records (tree-ring, pollen, and written-documentary records, for example), these guidelines provide useful sampling strategies for reconstructing the pattern of atmospheric circulation from paleoenvironmental records. The statistical analysis uses a multiple linear regression model. The sampling strategies consist of changes in site density (from 0.5 to 2.5 sites per million square kilometers) and site location (from western North American sites only to sites in Japan, North America, and western Europe) of the climatic data. The results showed that the accuracy of specification of the pattern of sea-level pressure: (1) is improved if sites with climatic records are spread as uniformly as possible over the area of interest; (2) increases with increasing site density-at least up to the maximum site density used in this study; (3) is improved if sites cover an area that extends considerably beyond the limits of the area of interest. The accuracy of specification was lower for independent data than for the data that were used to develop the regression model; some skill was found for almost all sampling strategies.

In-situ databases and comparison of ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) products with precursor data, towards an integrated approach for ocean colour validation and climate studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brotas, Vanda; Valente, André; Couto, André B.; Grant, Mike; Chuprin, Andrei; Jackson, Thomas; Groom, Steve; Sathyendranath, Shubha

2014-05-01

Ocean colour (OC) is an Oceanic Essential Climate Variable, which is used by climate modellers and researchers. The European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative project, is the ESA response for the need of climate-quality satellite data, with the goal of providing stable, long-term, satellite-based ECV data products. The ESA Ocean Colour CCI focuses on the production of Ocean Colour ECV uses remote sensing reflectances to derive inherent optical properties and chlorophyll a concentration from ESA's MERIS (2002-2012) and NASA's SeaWiFS (1997 - 2010) and MODIS (2002-2012) sensor archives. This work presents an integrated approach by setting up a global database of in situ measurements and by inter-comparing OC-CCI products with pre-cursor datasets. The availability of in situ databases is fundamental for the validation of satellite derived ocean colour products. A global distribution in situ database was assembled, from several pre-existing datasets, with data spanning between 1997 and 2012. It includes in-situ measurements of remote sensing reflectances, concentration of chlorophyll-a, inherent optical properties and diffuse attenuation coefficient. The database is composed from observations of the following datasets: NOMAD, SeaBASS, MERMAID, AERONET-OC, BOUSSOLE and HOTS. The result was a merged dataset tuned for the validation of satellite-derived ocean colour products. This was an attempt to gather, homogenize and merge, a large high-quality bio-optical marine in situ data, as using all datasets in a single validation exercise increases the number of matchups and enhances the representativeness of different marine regimes. An inter-comparison analysis between OC-CCI chlorophyll-a product and satellite pre-cursor datasets was done with single missions and merged single mission products. Single mission datasets considered were SeaWiFS, MODIS-Aqua and MERIS; merged mission datasets were obtained from the GlobColour (GC) as well as the Making Earth Science Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs). OC-CCI product was found to be most similar to SeaWiFS record, and generally, the OC-CCI record was most similar to records derived from single mission than merged mission initiatives. Results suggest that CCI product is a more consistent dataset than other available merged mission initiatives. In conclusion, climate related science, requires long term data records to provide robust results, OC-CCI product proves to be a worthy data record for climate research, as it combines multi-sensor OC observations to provide a >15-year global error-characterized record.

Case Study: Applying OpenEHR Archetypes to a Clinical Data Repository in a Chinese Hospital.

PubMed

Min, Lingtong; Wang, Li; Lu, Xudong; Duan, Huilong

2015-01-01

openEHR is a flexible and scalable modeling methodology for clinical information and has been widely adopted in Europe and Australia. Due to the reasons of differences in clinical process and management, there are few research projects involving openEHR in China. To investigate the feasibility of openEHR methodology for clinical information modelling in China, this paper carries out a case study to apply openEHR archetypes to Clinical Data Repository (CDR) in a Chinese hospital. The results show that a set of 26 archetypes are found to cover all the concepts used in the CDR. Of all these, 9 (34.6%) are reused without change, 10 are modified and/or extended, and 7 are newly defined. The reasons for modification, extension and newly definition have been discussed, including granularity of archetype, metadata-level versus data-level modelling, and the representation of relationships between archetypes.

Assesing the temporal and spatial performance of satellite-based rainfall estimates across the complex topographical and climatic gradients of Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zambrano-Bigiarini, Mauricio; Nauditt, Alexandra; Birkel, Christian; Verbist, Koen; Ribbe, Lars

2017-04-01

Accurate representation of the real spatio-temporal variability of catchment rainfall inputs is currently severely limited. Moreover, spatially interpolated catchment precipitation is subject to large uncertainties, particularly in developing countries and regions which are difficult to access. Recently, satellite-based rainfall estimates (SRE) provide an unprecedented opportunity for a wide range of hydrological applications, from water resources modelling to monitoring of extreme events such as droughts and floods. This study attempts to exhaustively evaluate -for the first time- the suitability of seven state-of-the-art SRE products (TMPA 3B42v7, CHIRPSv2, CMORPH, PERSIANN-CDR, PERSIAN-CCS-adj, MSWEPv1.1 and PGFv3) over the complex topography and diverse climatic gradients of Chile. Different temporal scales (daily, monthly, seasonal, annual) are used in a point-to-pixel comparison between precipitation time series measured at 366 stations (from sea level to 4600 m a.s.l. in the Andean Plateau) and the corresponding grid cell of each SRE (rescaled to a 0.25° grid if necessary). The modified Kling-Gupta efficiency was used to identify possible sources of systematic errors in each SRE. In addition, five categorical indices (PC, POD, FAR, ETS, fBIAS) were used to assess the ability of each SRE to correctly identify different precipitation intensities. Results revealed that most SRE products performed better for the humid South (36.4-43.7°S) and Central Chile (32.18-36.4°S), in particular at low- and mid-elevation zones (0-1000 m a.s.l.) compared to the arid northern regions and the Far South. Seasonally, all products performed best during the wet seasons autumn and winter (MAM-JJA) compared to summer (DJF) and spring (SON). In addition, all SREs were able to correctly identify the occurrence of no rain events, but they presented a low skill in classifying precipitation intensities during rainy days. Overall, PGFv3 exhibited the best performance everywhere and for all time scales, which can be clearly attributed to its bias-correction procedure using 217 stations from Chile. Good results were also obtained by the research products CHIRPSv2, TMPA 3B42v7 and MSWEPv1.1, while CMORPH, PERSIANN-CDR and the real-time PERSIANN-CCS-adj were less skillful in representing observed rainfall. While PGFv3 (currently available up to 2010) might be used in Chile for historical analyses and calibration of hydrological models, the high spatial resolution, low latency and long data records of CHIRPS and TMPA 3B42v7 (in transition to IMERG) show promising potential to be used in meteorological studies and water resources assessments. We finally conclude that despite improvements of most SRE products, a site-specific assessment is still needed before any use in catchment-scale hydrological studies.

Temporal and spatial evaluation of satellite-based rainfall estimates across the complex topographical and climatic gradients of Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zambrano-Bigiarini, Mauricio; Nauditt, Alexandra; Birkel, Christian; Verbist, Koen; Ribbe, Lars

2017-03-01

Accurate representation of the real spatio-temporal variability of catchment rainfall inputs is currently severely limited. Moreover, spatially interpolated catchment precipitation is subject to large uncertainties, particularly in developing countries and regions which are difficult to access. Recently, satellite-based rainfall estimates (SREs) provide an unprecedented opportunity for a wide range of hydrological applications, from water resources modelling to monitoring of extreme events such as droughts and floods.This study attempts to exhaustively evaluate - for the first time - the suitability of seven state-of-the-art SRE products (TMPA 3B42v7, CHIRPSv2, CMORPH, PERSIANN-CDR, PERSIAN-CCS-Adj, MSWEPv1.1, and PGFv3) over the complex topography and diverse climatic gradients of Chile. Different temporal scales (daily, monthly, seasonal, annual) are used in a point-to-pixel comparison between precipitation time series measured at 366 stations (from sea level to 4600 m a.s.l. in the Andean Plateau) and the corresponding grid cell of each SRE (rescaled to a 0.25° grid if necessary). The modified Kling-Gupta efficiency was used to identify possible sources of systematic errors in each SRE. In addition, five categorical indices (PC, POD, FAR, ETS, fBIAS) were used to assess the ability of each SRE to correctly identify different precipitation intensities.Results revealed that most SRE products performed better for the humid South (36.4-43.7° S) and Central Chile (32.18-36.4° S), in particular at low- and mid-elevation zones (0-1000 m a.s.l.) compared to the arid northern regions and the Far South. Seasonally, all products performed best during the wet seasons (autumn and winter; MAM-JJA) compared to summer (DJF) and spring (SON). In addition, all SREs were able to correctly identify the occurrence of no-rain events, but they presented a low skill in classifying precipitation intensities during rainy days. Overall, PGFv3 exhibited the best performance everywhere and for all timescales, which can be clearly attributed to its bias-correction procedure using 217 stations from Chile. Good results were also obtained by the research products CHIRPSv2, TMPA 3B42v7 and MSWEPv1.1, while CMORPH, PERSIANN-CDR, and the real-time PERSIANN-CCS-Adj were less skillful in representing observed rainfall. While PGFv3 (currently available up to 2010) might be used in Chile for historical analyses and calibration of hydrological models, the high spatial resolution, low latency and long data records of CHIRPS and TMPA 3B42v7 (in transition to IMERG) show promising potential to be used in meteorological studies and water resource assessments. We finally conclude that despite improvements of most SRE products, a site-specific assessment is still needed before any use in catchment-scale hydrological studies.

Building a Rich Community-Contributed Phenology Dataset: Lessons Learned from Winegrapes in California’s Napa Valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cahill, K. N.; Cayan, D. R.; Dettinger, M.

2009-12-01

In the wine industry of California’s Napa Valley, there is great community interest in using legacy and modern observations of grapevine phenological stages to track trends in both phenology and climate. Although management such as changing pruning and winemaking preferences can affect phenological records, grapevines can serve as sensitive climate indicators. In collaboration with a local vintners’ organization, we conducted an outreach campaign to solicit contributions of climate and phenological data from winegrowers and winemakers. We received nearly 10,000 phenological records dating from 1940 to the present, including data on budbreak, bloom, véraison (color change), and harvest dates for 68 minor grape varieties (15% of the data) and 10 major varieties (85% of the data). Compiling a unified database from records collected by different individuals in different ways presented a challenge, and we developed several new approaches to using data from our newly compiled records to develop empirical corrections to standardize observations across the dataset. The time series of phenological observations, along with a companion set of regional climate observations, reveal, expectedly, a strong linkage to seasonal temperature and, unexpectedly, a significant association with winter precipitation. The series of harvest timing reports contains influences of both management and climate. We will also present lessons learned on data management, confidentiality, and science-stakeholder partnerships relevant for others interested in conducting community phenological partnerships.

High-resolution pCO2 reconstruction across the early Cenozoic greenhouse and late Cenozoic icehouse climates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Y.; Schubert, B.

2016-12-01

Historical data and ice core records provide the best-constrained data on global temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO2), which can be used to calculate short-term estimates of climate sensitivity. These data, however, may not be representative of longer timescales and represent a period of Earth history when pCO2 and global temperatures were relatively low; recent work suggests that climate sensitivity may change under different climate states and timescales. Here we present a new high-resolution pCO2 reconstruction for the early (65 to 50 Ma) and late (30 to 0 Ma) Cenozoic using a proxy based on changes in carbon isotope fractionation in C3 land plants. This work uses widely available carbon isotope data from various terrestrial organic substrates to produce a nearly continuous record of pCO2. This record identifies both large-scale trends (e.g., the early Cenozoic is characterized by higher pCO2 than the late Cenozoic), as well as transient, highly elevated pCO2 during the early Eocene hyperthermals. We discuss the uncertainties associated with this new pCO2 reconstruction, which include the effects of precipitation, plant community shifts, and source effects on the δ13C record. Additionally, uncertainty associated with the correlation in time between δ13C estimates of atmospheric CO2 and the terrestrial δ13C of organic matter is included in the error propagation. Comparison of the new pCO2 record to existing global average temperature records based on the δ18O value of well-preserved marine foraminifera can yield new insight into Earth system climate sensitivity across a wide range of climate states and timescales.

Crystal Structure of the Neutralizing Llama VHH D7 and Its Mode of HIV-1 gp120 Interaction

PubMed Central

Hinz, Andreas; Lutje Hulsik, David; Forsman, Anna; Koh, Willie Wee-Lee; Belrhali, Hassan; Gorlani, Andrea; de Haard, Hans; Weiss, Robin A.; Verrips, Theo; Weissenhorn, Winfried

2010-01-01

HIV-1 entry into host cells is mediated by the sequential binding of the envelope glycoprotein gp120 to CD4 and a chemokine receptor. Antibodies binding to epitopes overlapping the CD4-binding site on gp120 are potent inhibitors of HIV entry, such as the llama heavy chain antibody fragment VHH D7, which has cross-clade neutralizing properties and competes with CD4 and mAb b12 for high affinity binding to gp120. We report the crystal structure of the D7 VHH at 1.5 Å resolution, which reveals the molecular details of the complementarity determining regions (CDR) and substantial flexibility of CDR3 that could facilitate an induced fit interaction with gp120. Structural comparison of CDRs from other CD4 binding site antibodies suggests diverse modes of interaction. Mutational analysis identified CDR3 as a key component of gp120 interaction as determined by surface plasmon resonance. A decrease in affinity is directly coupled to the neutralization efficiency since mutations that decrease gp120 interaction increase the IC50 required for HIV-1 IIIB neutralization. Thus the structural study identifies the long CDR3 of D7 as the key determinant of interaction and HIV-1 neutralization. Furthermore, our data confirm that the structural plasticity of gp120 can accommodate multiple modes of antibody binding within the CD4 binding site. PMID:20463957

A fresh look at the Last Glacial Maximum using Paleoclimate Data Assimilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malevich, S. B.; Tierney, J. E.; Hakim, G. J.; Tardif, R.

2017-12-01

Quantifying climate conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum ( 21ka) can help us to understand climate responses to forcing and climate states that are poorly represented in the instrumental record. Paleoclimate proxies may be used to estimate these climate conditions, but proxies are sparsely distributed and possess uncertainties from environmental and biogeochemical processes. Alternatively, climate model simulations provide a full-field view, but may predict unrealistic climate states or states not faithful to proxy records. Here, we use data assimilation - combining climate proxy records with a theoretical understanding from climate models - to produce field reconstructions of the LGM that leverage the information from both data and models. To date, data assimilation has mainly been used to produce reconstructions of climate fields through the last millennium. We expand this approach in order to produce a climate fields for the Last Glacial Maximum using an ensemble Kalman filter assimilation. Ensemble samples were formed from output from multiple models including CCSM3, CESM2.1, and HadCM3. These model simulations are combined with marine sediment proxies for upper ocean temperature (TEX86, UK'37, Mg/Ca and δ18O of foraminifera), utilizing forward models based on a newly developed suite of Bayesian proxy system models. We also incorporate age model and radiocarbon reservoir uncertainty into our reconstructions using Bayesian age modeling software. The resulting fields show familiar patterns based on comparison with previous proxy-based reconstructions, but additionally reveal novel patterns of large-scale shifts in ocean-atmosphere dynamics, as the surface temperature data inform upon atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns.

STS-98 CDR and Expedition One Flight Engineer say goodbye

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-16

STS98-E-5295 (16 February 2001) --- Astronaut Kenneth D. Cockrell (left), STS-98 mission commander, participates in farewells with Expedition One crew members. Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev (right foreground), Expedition One flight engineer, is one of three crew members who will stay behind for several weeks prior to return to Earth. Astronauts Mark L. Polansky, STS-98 pilot, and Robert L. Curbeam, mission specialist, are also pictured. The scene was recorded with a digital still camera.

Past climate variability and change in the Arctic and at high latitudes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alley, Richard B.; Brigham-Grette, Julie; Miller, Gifford H.; Polyak, Leonid; ,; ,; ,

2009-01-01

Paleoclimate records play a key role in our understanding of Earth's past and present climate system and in our confidence in predicting future climate changes. Paleoclimate data help to elucidate past and present active mechanisms of climate change by placing the short instrumental record into a longer term context and by permitting models to be tested beyond the limited time that instrumental measurements have been available.

Comparison of the incidence of patient-reported post-operative dysphagia between ACDF with a traditional anterior plate and artificial cervical disc replacement.

PubMed

Yang, Yi; Ma, Litai; Liu, Hao; Liu, Yilian; Hong, Ying; Wang, Beiyu; Ding, Chen; Deng, Yuxiao; Song, Yueming; Liu, Limin

2016-09-01

Compared with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), cervical disc replacement (CDR) has provided satisfactory clinical results. The incidence of post-operative dysphagia between ACDF with a traditional anterior plate and CDR remains controversial. Considering the limited studies and knowledge in this area, a retrospective study focusing on post-operative dysphagia was conducted. The Bazaz grading system was used to assess the severity of dysphagia at post-operative intervals including 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 24 months respectively. The Chi-square test, Student t-test, Mann-Whitney U tests and Ordinal Logistic regression were used for data analysis when appropriate. Statistical significance was accepted at a probability value of <0.05. Two hundred and thirty-one patients in the CDR group and one hundred and fifty-eight patients in Plate group were included in this study. The total incidences of dysphagia in the CDR and plate group were 36.58% and 60.43% at one week, 29.27% and 38.85% at one month, 21.95% and 31.65% at three months, 6.83% and 17.99% at six months, 5.85% and 14.39% at 12 months, and 4.39% and 10.07% at the final follow-up respectively (All P<0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). Ordinal Logistic regression analysis showed that female patients, two-level surgery, C4/5 surgery, and anterior cervical plating were significant risk factors for post-operative dysphagia (all P<0.05). Comparing ACDF with a plate, CDR with a Prestige LP can significantly reduce both transient and persistent post-operative dysphagia. Female patients, two-level surgery, C4/5 surgery and anterior cervical plating were associated with a higher incidence of dysphagia. Future prospective, randomized, controlled studies are needed to further validate these findings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predictors of functional disability in mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

PubMed

van Rossum, M E; Koek, H L

2016-08-01

Knowledge about factors predicting functional disability in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia would help health care providers to identify those patients who are at high risk of functional disability. Previous research is scarce and focused on only a small number of possible predictors. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of functional disability in patients with MCI and dementia. Cross-sectional cohort study. Data from patients who visited a memory clinic between 2011 and 2015 were evaluated. The Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) was used to assess functional disability. Patients diagnosed with MCI or dementia and with a DAD score available were included. This led to the inclusion of 474 patients. Univariate analyses with a broad range of variables were performed to detect factors that had a significant relationship to the DAD score. Age, gender and variables with a p-value of 0.1 or lower in the univariate analyses were taken into a multivariable analysis. This multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine which variables were independently associated with the DAD score. Our multivariable model explained 42% of the variance in the DAD score. Independent predictors of the DAD score were age (B=0.03, 95%CI=0.002-0.05), gender (B=-0.43, 95%CI=-0.78 to -0.07), score on the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) (B=1.53, 95%CI=1.07-1.99 for CDR 1, B=2.93, 95%CI=2.28-3.58 for CDR 2, B=3.96, 95%CI=2.65-5.27 for CDR 3) and level of physical activity (B=0.56, 95%CI=0.05-1.07). Older age, male gender, higher CDR score and lower levels of physical activity are independent predictors of functional disability in MCI and dementia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regulation of the CgPdr1 Transcription Factor from the Pathogen Candida glabrata ▿

PubMed Central

Paul, Sanjoy; Schmidt, Jennifer A.; Moye-Rowley, W. Scott

2011-01-01

Candida glabrata is an opportunistic human pathogen that is increasingly associated with candidemia, owing in part to the intrinsic and acquired high tolerance the organism exhibits for the important clinical antifungal drug fluconazole. This elevated fluconazole resistance often develops through gain-of-function mutations in the zinc cluster-containing transcriptional regulator C. glabrata Pdr1 (CgPdr1). CgPdr1 induces the expression of an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter-encoding gene, CgCDR1. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two CgPdr1 homologues called ScPdr1 and ScPdr3. These factors control the expression of an ABC transporter-encoding gene called ScPDR5, which encodes a homologue of CgCDR1. Loss of the mitochondrial genome (ρ0 cell) or overexpression of the mitochondrial enzyme ScPsd1 induces ScPDR5 expression in a strictly ScPdr3-dependent fashion. ScPdr3 requires the presence of a transcriptional Mediator subunit called Gal11 (Med15) to fully induce ScPDR5 transcription in response to ρ0 signaling. ScPdr1 does not respond to either ρ0 signals or ScPsd1 overproduction. In this study, we employed transcriptional fusions between CgPdr1 target promoters, like CgCDR1, to demonstrate that CgPdr1 stimulates gene expression via binding to elements called pleiotropic drug response elements (PDREs). Deletion mapping and electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that a single PDRE in the CgCDR1 promoter was capable of supporting ρ0-induced gene expression. Removal of one of the two ScGal11 homologues from C. glabrata caused a major defect in drug-induced expression of CgCDR1 but had a quantitatively minor effect on ρ0-stimulated transcription. These data demonstrate that CgPdr1 appears to combine features of ScPdr1 and ScPdr3 to produce a transcription factor with chimeric regulatory properties. PMID:21131438

Quality aspects of the Wegener Center multi-satellite GPS radio occultation record OPSv5.6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angerer, Barbara; Ladstädter, Florian; Scherllin-Pirscher, Barbara; Schwärz, Marc; Steiner, Andrea K.; Foelsche, Ulrich; Kirchengast, Gottfried

2017-12-01

The demand for high-quality atmospheric data records, which are applicable in climate studies, is undisputed. Using such records requires knowledge of the quality and the specific characteristics of all contained data sources. The latest version of the Wegener Center (WEGC) multi-satellite Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) record, OPSv5.6, provides globally distributed upper-air satellite data of high quality, usable for climate and other high-accuracy applications. The GPS RO technique has been deployed in several satellite missions since 2001. Consistency among data from these missions is essential to create a homogeneous long-term multi-satellite climate record. In order to enable a qualified usage of the WEGC OPSv5.6 data set we performed a detailed analysis of satellite-dependent quality aspects from 2001 to 2017. We present the impact of the OPSv5.6 quality control on the processed data and reveal time-dependent and satellite-specific quality characteristics. The highest quality data are found for MetOp (Meteorological Operational satellite) and GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment). Data from FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (Formosa Satellite mission-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate) are also of high quality. However, comparatively large day-to-day variations and satellite-dependent irregularities need to be taken into account when using these data. We validate the consistency among the various satellite missions by calculating monthly mean temperature deviations from the multi-satellite mean, including a correction for the different sampling characteristics. The results are highly consistent in the altitude range from 8 to 25 km, with mean temperature deviations less than 0.1 K. At higher altitudes the OPSv5.6 RO temperature record is increasingly influenced by the characteristics of the bending angle initialization, with the amount of impact depending on the receiver quality.

The Scatterometer Climate Record Pathfinder: Tools for Climate Change Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, D. G.; Jensen, M. A.

2001-12-01

While originally designed for wind measurement over the ocean, scatterometers have proven to be very effective in monitoring land cover and ice conditions as well. Scatterometer data is being operationally used for iceberg tracking and sea ice extent mapping. The frequent, global measurements make the instrument particularly well suited for global monitoring and the long-time series of scatterometer measurements dating back to SASS provide a valuable baseline for studies of climate change. For this reason the NASA Scatterometer Climate Record Pathfinder (SCP) project is generating a climate data record from the series of historic and ongoing, and approved scatterometer missions. Selected data is currently available from the SCP at URL http://www.scp.byu.edu/ in the form of resolution-enhanced backscatter image time series. A variety of tools for analyzing the image time series have been developed. The application of QuikSCAT data to climate change in Greenland and sea ice motion in the Arctic is illustrated. By comparing QuikSCAT with NSCAT and SASS data, long-term scatterometer-observed changes in Greenland are related to annual variations in melt extent and snow accumulation. Qu ikSCAT sampling enables high spatial resolution evaluation of the diurnal melt cycle. We demonstrate the value of the scatterometer data to augment passive microwave measurements by using PCA. The scatterometer data plays a key role in helping to discriminate physical changes in the Greenland firn from surface temperature effects.

The limits to global-warming mitigation by terrestrial carbon removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boysen, Lena R.; Lucht, Wolfgang; Gerten, Dieter; Heck, Vera; Lenton, Timothy M.; Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim

2017-05-01

Massive near-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction is a precondition for staying "well below 2°C" global warming as envisaged by the Paris Agreement. Furthermore, extensive terrestrial carbon dioxide removal (tCDR) through managed biomass growth and subsequent carbon capture and storage is required to avoid temperature "overshoot" in most pertinent scenarios. Here, we address two major issues: First, we calculate the extent of tCDR required to "repair" delayed or insufficient emissions reduction policies unable to prevent global mean temperature rise of 2.5°C or even 4.5°C above pre-industrial level. Our results show that those tCDR measures are unable to counteract "business-as-usual" emissions without eliminating virtually all natural ecosystems. Even if considerable (Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 [RCP4.5]) emissions reductions are assumed, tCDR with 50% storage efficiency requires >1.1 Gha of the most productive agricultural areas or the elimination of >50% of natural forests. In addition, >100 MtN/yr fertilizers would be needed to remove the roughly 320 GtC foreseen in these scenarios. Such interventions would severely compromise food production and/or biosphere functioning. Second, we reanalyze the requirements for achieving the 160-190 GtC tCDR that would complement strong mitigation action (RCP2.6) in order to avoid 2°C overshoot anytime. We find that a combination of high irrigation water input and/or more efficient conversion to stored carbon is necessary. In the face of severe trade-offs with society and the biosphere, we conclude that large-scale tCDR is not a viable alternative to aggressive emissions reduction. However, we argue that tCDR might serve as a valuable "supporting actor" for strong mitigation if sustainable schemes are established immediately.

Farnesol-Induced Apoptosis in Candida albicans Is Mediated by Cdr1-p Extrusion and Depletion of Intracellular Glutathione

PubMed Central

Zhu, Jingsong; Krom, Bastiaan P.; Sanglard, Dominique; Intapa, Chaidan; Dawson, Clinton C.; Peters, Brian M.; Shirtliff, Mark E.; Jabra-Rizk, Mary Ann

2011-01-01

Farnesol is a key derivative in the sterol biosynthesis pathway in eukaryotic cells previously identified as a quorum sensing molecule in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Recently, we demonstrated that above threshold concentrations, farnesol is capable of triggering apoptosis in C. albicans. However, the exact mechanism of farnesol cytotoxicity is not fully elucidated. Lipophilic compounds such as farnesol are known to conjugate with glutathione, an antioxidant crucial for cellular detoxification against damaging compounds. Glutathione conjugates act as substrates for ATP-dependent ABC transporters and are extruded from the cell. To that end, this current study was undertaken to validate the hypothesis that farnesol conjugation with intracellular glutathione coupled with Cdr1p-mediated extrusion of glutathione conjugates, results in total glutathione depletion, oxidative stress and ultimately fungal cell death. The combined findings demonstrated a significant decrease in intracellular glutathione levels concomitant with up-regulation of CDR1 and decreased cell viability. However, addition of exogenous reduced glutathione maintained intracellular glutathione levels and enhanced viability. In contrast, farnesol toxicity was decreased in a mutant lacking CDR1, whereas it was increased in a CDR1-overexpressing strain. Further, gene expression studies demonstrated significant up-regulation of the SOD genes, primary enzymes responsible for defense against oxidative stress, with no changes in expression in CDR1. This is the first study describing the involvement of Cdr1p-mediated glutathione efflux as a mechanism preceding the farnesol-induced apoptotic process in C. albicans. Understanding of the mechanisms underlying farnesol-cytotoxicity in C. albicans may lead to the development of this redox-cycling agent as an alternative antifungal agent. PMID:22205973

Overexpression of MDR-1 and CDR-2 genes in fluconazole resistance of Candida albicans isolated from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis.

PubMed

Khosravi Rad, K; Falahati, M; Roudbary, M; Farahyar, S; Nami, S

2016-12-01

Candida albicans ( C. albicans ) is an opportunistic fungus that can colonize women's mucosal epithelial cell surfaces, causing vulvovaginitis in specific circumstances. The major genes contributing to drug resistance in C. albicans are the candida drug resistance ( CDR ) and multi drug resistance ( MDR ) genes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the CDR-2 and MDR-1 gene expression patterns in C. albicans strains isolated from patients with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. In this study, 40 isolates of fluconazole-resistant C. albicans were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar. These isolates were collected from women with vulvovaginitis who were referred to a clinic in Tehran, Iran, and transferred to a mycology laboratory. Then, RNA was extracted from the isolates using phenol-chloroform and glass beads, and the complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthetized. To detect the semi-quantitative expression of CDR-2 and MDR-1 genes, the reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) technique was performed using specific primers. Our findings indicated that of the 40 C. albicans isolates, 35 (87.5%) strains were positive for mRNA of the CDR-2 gene, 32 (80%) strains expressed mRNA of the MDR-1 gene, and 30 (75%) strains were confirmed to express mRNA of both the CDR-2 and MDR-1 genes simultaneously using the RT-PCR assay. According to the obtained results, the expression rates of CDR-2 and MDR-1 genes were high in fluconazole-resistant C. albicans isolates, which can cause treatments to fail and result in chronic infections. Inhibiting these important genes using novel or natural agents can help with the treatment of chronic and recurrent vaginitis.

Procedures in child deaths in The Netherlands: a comparison with child death review.

PubMed

Gijzen, Sandra; Petter, Jessica; L'Hoir, Monique P; Boere-Boonekamp, Magda M; Need, Ariana

2017-01-01

Child Death Review (CDR) is a method in which every child death is systematically and multidisciplinary examined to (1) improve death statistics, (2) identify factors that give direction for prevention, (3) translate the results into possible interventions, and (4) support families. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent procedures of organizations involved in the (health) care for children in The Netherlands cover these four objectives of CDR. Organizations in the Eastern part of The Netherlands and Dutch umbrella organizations involved in child (health) care were asked to provide their protocols, guidelines or other working agreements that describe their activities and responsibilities in case of a child's death. Eighteen documents and nine interview reports were made available. For the analyses we used scorecards for each CDR objective. The procedures of Perined, the National Cot Death Study Group, Dutch Cot Death Foundation and Child Protection Service cover the largest part of the objectives of CDR. Organizations pay most attention to the translation of results into possible interventions. Family support gets the least attention in protocols, guidelines and other working agreements. Dutch organizations separately cover parts of CDR. When the procedures of organizations are combined, all CDR objectives are covered in the response to only specific groups of child deaths, i.e., perinatal deaths, Sudden Unexpected Deaths in Infants and fatal child abuse cases. Further research into the conditions that are needed for an optimal implementation of CDR in The Netherlands is necessary. This research should also evaluate the recently implemented NODOK procedure (Further Examination of the Causes of death in Children), directed to investigate unexplained deaths in minors 0-18 years old.

Overcoming the heterologous bias: an in vivo functional analysis of multidrug efflux transporter, CgCdr1p in matched pair clinical isolates of Candida glabrata.

PubMed

Puri, Nidhi; Manoharlal, Raman; Sharma, Monika; Sanglard, Dominique; Prasad, Rajendra

2011-01-07

We have taken advantage of the natural milieu of matched pair of azole sensitive (AS) and azole resistant (AR) clinical isolates of Candida glabrata for expressing its major ABC multidrug transporter, CgCdr1p for structure and functional analysis. This was accomplished by tagging a green fluorescent protein (GFP) downstream of ORF of CgCDR1 and integrating the resultant fusion protein at its native chromosomal locus in AS and AR backgrounds. The characterization confirmed that in comparison to AS isolate, CgCdr1p-GFP was over-expressed in AR isolates due to its hyperactive native promoter and the GFP tag did not affect its functionality in either construct. We observed that in addition to Rhodamine 6 G (R6G) and Fluconazole (FLC), a recently identified fluorescent substrate of multidrug transporters Nile Red (NR) could also be expelled by CgCdr1p. Competition assays with these substrates revealed the presence of overlapping multiple drug binding sites in CgCdr1p. Point mutations employing site directed mutagenesis confirmed that the role played by unique amino acid residues critical to ATP catalysis and localization of ABC drug transporter proteins are well conserved in C. glabrata as in other yeasts. This study demonstrates a first in vivo novel system where over-expression of GFP tagged MDR transporter protein can be driven by its own hyperactive promoter of AR isolates. Taken together, this in vivo system can be exploited for the structure and functional analysis of CgCdr1p and similar proteins wherein the artefactual concerns encountered in using heterologous systems are totally excluded. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tree ring imprints of long-term changes in climate in western Himalaya, India.

PubMed

Yadav, R R

2009-11-01

Tree-ring analyses from semi-arid to arid regions in western Himalaya show immense potential for developing millennia long climate records. Millennium and longer ring-width chronologies of Himalayan pencil juniper (Juniperus polycarpos), Himalayan pencil cedar (Cedrus deodara) and Chilgoza pine (Pinus gerardiana) have been developed from different sites in western Himalaya. Studies conducted so far on various conifer species indicate strong precipitation signatures in ring-width measurement series. The paucity of weather records from stations close to tree-ring sampling sites poses diffi culty in calibrating tree-ring data against climate data especially precipitation for its strong spatial variability in mountain regions. However, for the existence of strong coherence in temperature, even in data from distant stations, more robust temperature reconstructions representing regional and hemispheric signatures have been developed. Tree-ring records from the region indicate multi-century warm and cool anomalies consistent with the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age anomalies. Signifi cant relationships noted between mean premonsoon temperature over the western Himalaya and ENSO features endorse utility of climate records from western Himalayan region in understanding long-term climate variability and attribution of anthropogenic impact.

Anti-CDR3 Therapy for B-Cell Malignancies

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

1-5 in the report). The "Tomlinson" human antibody phage library will be used to pan for antibodies that bind these target CDR3s and not the parent...selection of phage to a test antigen. Successful expression will lead directly to the selection of CDR3-specific antibody-encoding phage : from which we... phage that bind to the purified candidate antibody and not to irrelevant antibodies. Phage are from single chain Fv library. Sequence phage that

Hypertension is associated with cognitive decline in elderly people at high risk for dementia.

PubMed

Wysocki, Michael; Luo, Xiaodong; Schmeidler, James; Dahlman, Karen; Lesser, Gerson T; Grossman, Hillel; Haroutunian, Vahram; Beeri, Michal Schnaider

2012-02-01

Cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension (HTN) have been shown to increase the risk of Alzheimer disease. The current study investigated whether individuals with HTN are more susceptible to increased cognitive decline and whether the influence of HTN on cognitive decline varied as a function of dementia severity. A total of 224 nursing home and assisted living residents, with a mean age of 84.9 (±7.6) years, were assessed longitudinally with Mini Mental State Exams (MMSEs) and Clinical Dementia Ratings (CDR). Baseline dementia status was defined by the CDR score. As described in , MMSE scores in persons with HTN and questionable dementia (CDR = 0.5) declined significantly faster than nonhypertensive questionably demented persons. Hypertensive participants did not decline significantly faster than nonhypertensive participants in persons with intact cognition (CDR = 0) or frank dementia (CDR ≥ 1). These results suggest an increased risk of subsequent cognitive decline in hypertensive individuals who are especially vulnerable to developing dementia and raises the possibility that avoiding or controlling HTN might reduce the rate of cognitive decline in cognitively vulnerable individuals, potentially delaying their conversion to full-fledged dementia.

Corrigendum to ;Diurnal dynamics of minor and trace elements in stream water draining Dongkemadi Glacier on the Tibetan Plateau and its environmental implications; [J. Hydrol. 541 (2016) 1104-1118

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiangying; He, Xiaobo; Kang, Shichang; Mika, Sillanpää; Ding, Yongjian; Han, Tianding; Wu, Qingbai; Yu, Zhongbo

2017-12-01

The authors regret: At the Dongkemadi Glacier (DG) basin, daily and annual meltwater discharge at gauging section S1 should be corrected. Namely, annual discharge should be 2.74 × 107 m3 throughout 1 June to 30 September of 2013. Thus, variation in solute exports is controlled by changes in discharge and specific solute concentration (Fig. 9), and the estimated solute export, cation denudation rates (CDR) and discharge-normalized CDR are 417 tons, 185 Σ∗meq+m-2 and 189 Σ∗meq+m-3 (with annual specific discharge of 0.98 m) respectively in 2013 (Table 4). In comparison, the CDR at the DG basin is within the scope of previously published CDR (94-4200 Σ∗meq+m-2) from glacial catchments (Hodson et al., 2010). The discharge-normalized CDR is lower than the rates from most glacial catchments, but is higher than those from Mittivakkat (Greenland), S Cascade (N American) and Lewis River (Arctic) (Yde et al., 2004, 2014; Hodson et al., 2000, 2010).

Recent climate warming drives ecological change in a remote high-Arctic lake.

PubMed

Woelders, Lineke; Lenaerts, Jan T M; Hagemans, Kimberley; Akkerman, Keechy; van Hoof, Thomas B; Hoek, Wim Z

2018-05-01

The high Arctic is the fastest warming region on Earth, evidenced by extreme near-surface temperature increase in non-summer seasons, recent rapid sea ice decline and permafrost melting since the early 1990's. Understanding the impact of climate change on the sensitive Arctic ecosystem to climate change has so far been hampered by the lack of time-constrained, high-resolution records and by implicit climate data analyses. Here, we show evidence of sharp growth in freshwater green algae as well as distinct diatom assemblage changes since ~1995, retrieved from a high-Arctic (80 °N) lake sediment record on Barentsøya (Svalbard). The proxy record approaches an annual to biennial resolution. Combining remote sensing and in-situ climate data, we show that this ecological change is concurrent with, and is likely driven by, the atmospheric warming and a sharp decrease in the length of the sea ice covered period in the region, and throughout the Arctic. Moreover, this research demonstrates the value of palaeoclimate records in pristine environments for supporting and extending instrumental records. Our results reinforce and extend observations from other sites that the high Arctic has already undergone rapid ecological changes in response to on-going climate change, and will continue to do so in the future.

Global climatic trends as revealed by the recorded data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ellsaesser, H.W.; MacCracken, M.C.; Walton, J.J.

Recent results from climate models have led to the prediction that a global warming due to increasing atmospheric CO/sub 2/ is now imminent, if it has not already occurred. In an effort to develop more definitive information on this question, a detailed review has been conducted of prior efforts to unravel climatic change from the various types of recorded observational data available. Most of the more definitive of the prior analyses: along with evaluative comments by the various authors: have been assembled herein. There appears little doubt that the average surface air temperature of at least northern hemisphere has beenmore » increasing since the beginning of recorded data with most of the warming occurring in a brief period circa 1920. The fragmentary early data suggest significant cooling prior to 1883 such that 25--50% of the subsequent warming may represent a return to earlier levels. Whether the overall warming constitutes a climate change remains an unresolved problem, as does the cause of the warming.« less

Bayesian hierarchical models for regional climate reconstructions of the last glacial maximum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weitzel, Nils; Hense, Andreas; Ohlwein, Christian

2017-04-01

Spatio-temporal reconstructions of past climate are important for the understanding of the long term behavior of the climate system and the sensitivity to forcing changes. Unfortunately, they are subject to large uncertainties, have to deal with a complex proxy-climate structure, and a physically reasonable interpolation between the sparse proxy observations is difficult. Bayesian Hierarchical Models (BHMs) are a class of statistical models that is well suited for spatio-temporal reconstructions of past climate because they permit the inclusion of multiple sources of information (e.g. records from different proxy types, uncertain age information, output from climate simulations) and quantify uncertainties in a statistically rigorous way. BHMs in paleoclimatology typically consist of three stages which are modeled individually and are combined using Bayesian inference techniques. The data stage models the proxy-climate relation (often named transfer function), the process stage models the spatio-temporal distribution of the climate variables of interest, and the prior stage consists of prior distributions of the model parameters. For our BHMs, we translate well-known proxy-climate transfer functions for pollen to a Bayesian framework. In addition, we can include Gaussian distributed local climate information from preprocessed proxy records. The process stage combines physically reasonable spatial structures from prior distributions with proxy records which leads to a multivariate posterior probability distribution for the reconstructed climate variables. The prior distributions that constrain the possible spatial structure of the climate variables are calculated from climate simulation output. We present results from pseudoproxy tests as well as new regional reconstructions of temperatures for the last glacial maximum (LGM, ˜ 21,000 years BP). These reconstructions combine proxy data syntheses with information from climate simulations for the LGM that were performed in the PMIP3 project. The proxy data syntheses consist either of raw pollen data or of normally distributed climate data from preprocessed proxy records. Future extensions of our method contain the inclusion of other proxy types (transfer functions), the implementation of other spatial interpolation techniques, the use of age uncertainties, and the extension to spatio-temporal reconstructions of the last deglaciation. Our work is part of the PalMod project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Science (BMBF).

Analysis of impact/impulse noise for predicting noise induced hearing loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vipperman, Jeffrey S.; Prince, Mary M.; Flamm, Angela M.

2003-04-01

Studies indicate that the statistical properties and temporal structure of the sound signal are important in determining the extent of hearing hazard. As part of a pilot study to examine hearing conservation program effectiveness, NIOSH collected noise samples of impact noise sources in an automobile stamping plant, focusing on jobs with peak sound levels (Lpk) of greater than 120 dB. Digital tape recordings of sounds were collected using a Type I Precision Sound Level Meter and microphone connected to a DAT tape recorder. The events were archived and processed as .wav files to extract single events of interest on CD-R media and CD audio media. A preliminary analysis of sample wavelet files was conducted to characterize each event using metrics such as the number of impulses per unit time, the repetition rate or temporal pattern of these impulses, index of peakedness, crest factor, kurtosis, coefficient of kurtosis, rise time, fall time, and peak time. The spectrum, duration, and inverse of duration for each waveform were also computed. Finally, the data were evaluated with the Auditory Hazard Assessment Algorithm (AHAAH). Improvements to data collection for a future study examining different strategies for evaluating industrial noise exposure will be discussed.

On the Reprocessing and Reanalysis of Observations for Climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Kennedy, John; Dee, Dick; Allan, R.; O'Neill, Alan

2013-01-01

The long observational record is critical to our understanding of the Earths climate, but most observing systems were not developed with a climate objective in mind. As a result, tremendous efforts have gone into assessing and reprocessing the data records to improve their usefulness in climate studies. The purpose of this paper is to both review recent progress in reprocessing and reanalyzing observations, and to summarize the challenges that must be overcome in order to improve our understanding of climate and variability. Reprocessing improves data quality through more scrutiny and improved retrieval techniques for individual observing systems, while reanalysis merges many disparate observations with models through data assimilation, yet both aim to provide an climatology of Earth processes. Many challenges remain, such as tracking the improvement of processing algorithms and limited spatial coverage. Reanalyses have fostered significant research, yet reliable global trends in many physical fields are not yet attainable, despite significant advances in data assimilation and numerical modeling. Oceanic reanalyses have made significant advances in recent years, but will only be discussed here in terms of progress toward integrated Earth system analyses. Climate data sets are generally adequate for process studies and large-scale climate variability. Communication of the strengths, limitations and uncertainties of reprocessed observations and reanalysis data, not only among the community of developers, but also with the extended research community, including the new generations of researchers and the decision makers is crucial for further advancement of the observational data records. It must be emphasized that careful investigation of the data and processing methods are required to use the observations appropriately.

Seasonal climate variability in historical and prehistorical times deduced from varved lake sediments: Calibration of records from Lakes Woseriner See and Tiefer See

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czymzik, Markus; Kienel, Ulrike; Dreibrodt, Stefan; Brauer, Achim

2013-04-01

Societies are susceptible to the effects of even short-term climate variations on water supply, health, and agricultural productivity. However, understanding of human-climate interactions is limited due to the lack of high-resolution climate records in space and time. Varved lake sediments provide long time-series of seasonal climate variability directly from populated areas that can be compared to historical and archeological records. Calibration against meteorological data enables process-based insights into sediment deposition within the lake that can be extrapolated into the past using transfer functions. Lakes Woseriner See (53°40'N/12°2'E; 37 m asl.) and Tiefer See (53°23'N/13°97'E, 65 m asl.) in northeastern Germany are located only 35 km apart. Situated within the former settlement areas, the lakes are well suited for studying climate influences on society related to the Neolithic Funnelbeaker culture or the Slavic colonization. Sub-recent annual laminations allow to establish climate proxy data-series at seasonal resolution that can be calibrated against the long meteorological record from the nearby City of Schwerin. Seasonal climate proxy data-series covering the last 90 years have been obtained from short sediment cores applying a combination of microfacies analyses, X-ray fluorescence scanning (µ-XRF), and varve counting. Main sediment microfacies in both lakes are endogenic calcite varves comprising calcite and organic layer couplets of varying thickness, diatom layers, and dispersed detrital grains. Calibration against meteorological data indicates that variations in sediment layer thickness and composition are not stationary through time but influenced by inter-annual variations in meteorological conditions.

Iranian speleothems: Investigating Quaternary climate variability in semi-arid Western Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carolin, Stacy; Morgan, Jacob; Peckover, Emily; Walker, Richard; Henderson, Gideon; Rowe, Peter; Andrews, Julian; Ersek, Vasile; Sloan, Alastair; Talebian, Morteza; Fattahi, Morteza; Nezamdoust, Javad

2016-04-01

Rapid population growth and limited water supply has highlighted the need for vigorous water resource management practices in the semi-arid regions of Western Asia. One significant unknown in this discussion is the future change in rainfall amount due to the consequential effects of today's greenhouse gas forcing on the regional climate system. Currently, there is little paleoclimate proxy data in Western Asia to extend climate records beyond the limits of the instrumental period, leaving scant evidence to investigate the system's response to various climate forcings on different timescales. Here we present a synthesis of speleothem climate records across northern Iran, from the wetter climate of the Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges to the dry northeast, in order to investigate the magnitude of past climate variability and the forcings responsible. The stalagmites collected from the west and north-central mountain ranges, areas with ~200-400mm mean annual precipitation mostly falling within the fall-winter-spring months, all demonstrate growth limited to the interglacial periods of the Quaternary. We present overlapping Holocene stable isotope records with a complementary trace element record to assist in interpreting the isotopic variability. One of the records is sampled at <4yr resolution and spans 3.7-5.3 kyBP, a contested period of catastrophic droughts that allegedly eradicated civilizations in areas of the near East. Imposed upon decadal-scale variability, the record reveals a 1,000-yr gradual trend toward enriched stable oxygen isotope values, interpreted as a trend toward drier conditions, which ends with an abrupt 300-yr cessation in growth beginning at 4.3 kyBP, coincident with the so-called 4.2 kyBP drought event. From the northeast Iranian plateau, we present a new stalagmite record that spans the penultimate deglaciation and Stages 5e-5a. This region presently receives limited rain annually (~100-300mm/yr, regularly falling between November and May), and the record presented is one of the first speleothem climate records to span a deglaciation in West Asia. To improve our interpretation of the speleothem climate proxy timeseries, we use multiple decades of Tehran GNIP data, meteorological data, and isotope-equipped climate model outputs to investigate the large-scale mechanisms forcing isotopic variations in rainwater across northern Iran. We also examine possible transformation of water isotopes during the transition through the karst aquifer based on site properties, measured dripwater isotopes, and simple model experiments.

Adding Semantics and OPM Ontology for the Provenance of Multi-sensor Merged Climate Data Records. Now What About Reproducibility?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hua, H.; Wilson, B. D.; Manipon, G.; Pan, L.; Fetzer, E.

2011-12-01

Multi-decadal climate data records are critical to studying climate variability and change. These often also require merging data from multiple instruments such as those from NASA's A-Train that contain measurements covering a wide range of atmospheric conditions and phenomena. Multi-decadal climate data record of water vapor measurements from sensors on A-Train, operational weather, and other satellites are being assembled from existing data sources, or produced from well-established methods published in peer-reviewed literature. However, the immense volume and inhomogeneity of data often requires an "exploratory computing" approach to product generation where data is processed in a variety of different ways with varying algorithms, parameters, and code changes until an acceptable intermediate product is generated. This process is repeated until a desirable final merged product can be generated. Typically the production legacy is often lost due to the complexity of processing steps that were tried along the way. The data product information associated with source data, processing methods, parameters used, intermediate product outputs, and associated materials are often hidden in each of the trials and scattered throughout the processing system(s). We will discuss methods to help users better capture and explore the production legacy of the data, metadata, ancillary files, code, and computing environment changes used during the production of these merged and multi-sensor data products. By leveraging existing semantic and provenance tools, we can capture sufficient information to enable users to track, perform faceted searches, and visualize the provenance of the products and processing lineage. We will explore if sufficient provenance information can be captured to enable science reproducibility of these climate data records.

VIIRS Product Evaluation at the Ocean PEATE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patt, Frederick S.; Feldman, Gene C.

2010-01-01

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) mission will support the continuation of climate records generated from NASA missions. The NASA Science Data Segment (SDS) relies upon discipline-specific centers of expertise to evaluate the NPP data products for suitability as climate data records, The Ocean Product Evaluation and Analysis Tool Element (PEATE) will build upon Well established NASA capabilities within the Ocean Color program in order to evaluate the NPP Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Ocean Color and Chlorophyll data products. The specific evaluation methods will support not only the evaluation of product quality but also the sources of differences with existing data records.

Blue Hill Observatory Sunshine - Assessment of Climate Signals in the Longest Continuous Meteorological Record in North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magee, N. B.; Finocchio, P.; Melaas, E. K.; Iacono, M. J.

2014-12-01

The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory occupies a unique place in the history of the American Meteorological Society and the development of atmospheric science. Through its 129-year history, the Observatory has been operated by founder Abbott Lawrence Rotch (1861-1912), Harvard University, and the National Weather Service, and it is presently run by the non-profit Blue Hill Observatory Science Center. While daily temperature and precipitation records are available through the National Climatic Data Center, they do not include the full record of sunshine duration data that were measured using a Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder. We have recently digitized the Observatory's original daily sunshine archives, and now present the first full collection and analysis of sunshine records extending from 1889 to the present. This data set is unique and salient to modern climate research because the collection represents the earliest and longest continuous measurements of insolation outside of Western Europe. Together the record provides an unprecedented glimpse into regional climate features, as well as important links between global phenomena and regional climate. Analysis reveals long-term fluctuations of cloud-cover and solar radiation, including signals of regional industrialization, global-dimming, volcanic eruptions, the 11-Year Solar Cycle, and the El Niño Southern Oscillation. Shorter period fluctuations include evidence of an intricate annual pattern of sunshine duration and correlations with the Arctic Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, and galactic cosmic rays.

A Bat's-Eye View of Holocene Climate Change in the Southwest: Resolving Ambiguities in Cave Isotopic Records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, J. E.; Truebe, S. A.; Harrington, M. D.; Woodhead, J. D.; Overpeck, J. T.; Hlohowskyj, S.; Henderson, G. M.

2015-12-01

In dry environments, speleothems provide an outstanding archive of information on past climate change, particularly since lakes are typically absent or intermittent. Speleothem stable isotopes are widely used for climate reconstruction, but the isotope-climate relationship is complex in arid-region precipitation, and within-cave processes further complicate climate interpretations. Our isotope results from 3 southeastern Arizona caves, spanning the past 3.5-12 kyr, collectively indicate a weakening monsoon from 7kyr to present. These records exhibit substantial multidecadal-multicentury variability that is sometimes shared, and sometimes independent among caves. Strategies to overcome ambiguities in isotope records include long-term monitoring of cave dripwaters, multi-site comparisons, and multiproxy measurements. Monthly dripwater measurements from two caves spanning several years highlight substantial seasonal biases that create distinct differences in the climate sensitivity of individual cave records. These biases can lead to lack of correlation between records, but also creates opportunities for seasonally specific moisture reconstructions. New preliminary analyses suggest that elemental data can help to unravel the multivariate signal contained in speleothem oxygen isotope records.

Paleoecology and high-resolution paleohydrology of a kettle peatland in upper Michigan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Booth, Robert K.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Gray, Catherine E. D.

2004-01-01

We investigated the developmental and hydrological history of a Sphagnum-dominated, kettle peatland in Upper Michigan using testate amoebae, plant macrofossils, and pollen. Our primary objective was to determine if the paleohydrological record of the peatland represents a record of past climate variability at subcentennial to millennial time scales. To assess the role of millennial-scale climate variability on peatland paleohydrology, we compared the timing of peatland and upland vegetation changes. To investigate the role of higher-frequency climate variability on peatland paleohydrology, we used testate amoebae to reconstruct a high-resolution, hydrologic history of the peatland for the past 5100 years, and compared this record to other regional records of paleoclimate and vegetation. Comparisons revealed coherent patterns of hydrological, vegetational, and climatic changes, suggesting that peatland paleohydrology responded to climate variability at millennial to sub-centennial time scales. Although ombrotrophic peatlands have been the focus of most high-resolution peatland paleoclimate research, paleohydrological records from Sphagnum-dominated, closed-basin peatlands record high-frequency and low-magnitude climatic changes and thus represent a significant source of unexplored paleoclimate data.

Facile Affinity Maturation of Antibody Variable Domains Using Natural Diversity Mutagenesis

PubMed Central

Tiller, Kathryn E.; Chowdhury, Ratul; Li, Tong; Ludwig, Seth D.; Sen, Sabyasachi; Maranas, Costas D.; Tessier, Peter M.

2017-01-01

The identification of mutations that enhance antibody affinity while maintaining high antibody specificity and stability is a time-consuming and laborious process. Here, we report an efficient methodology for systematically and rapidly enhancing the affinity of antibody variable domains while maximizing specificity and stability using novel synthetic antibody libraries. Our approach first uses computational and experimental alanine scanning mutagenesis to identify sites in the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) that are permissive to mutagenesis while maintaining antigen binding. Next, we mutagenize the most permissive CDR positions using degenerate codons to encode wild-type residues and a small number of the most frequently occurring residues at each CDR position based on natural antibody diversity. This mutagenesis approach results in antibody libraries with variants that have a wide range of numbers of CDR mutations, including antibody domains with single mutations and others with tens of mutations. Finally, we sort the modest size libraries (~10 million variants) displayed on the surface of yeast to identify CDR mutations with the greatest increases in affinity. Importantly, we find that single-domain (VHH) antibodies specific for the α-synuclein protein (whose aggregation is associated with Parkinson’s disease) with the greatest gains in affinity (>5-fold) have several (four to six) CDR mutations. This finding highlights the importance of sampling combinations of CDR mutations during the first step of affinity maturation to maximize the efficiency of the process. Interestingly, we find that some natural diversity mutations simultaneously enhance all three key antibody properties (affinity, specificity, and stability) while other mutations enhance some of these properties (e.g., increased specificity) and display trade-offs in others (e.g., reduced affinity and/or stability). Computational modeling reveals that improvements in affinity are generally not due to direct interactions involving CDR mutations but rather due to indirect effects that enhance existing interactions and/or promote new interactions between the antigen and wild-type CDR residues. We expect that natural diversity mutagenesis will be useful for efficient affinity maturation of a wide range of antibody fragments and full-length antibodies. PMID:28928732

Computerized visuo-spatial memory test as a supplementary screening test for dementia.

PubMed

Maki, Yohko; Yoshida, Hiroshi; Yamaguchi, Haruyasu

2010-06-01

To prepare for a super-aging society, effective dementia screening tests are required. The most salient deficit appearing from the early stages of dementia/Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a deterioration in memory. The Hasegawa Dementia Scale-revised (HDS-R) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) are widely used in Japan to screen for dementia. Both place an emphasis on memory function, but neither examines visuo-spatial memory (VSM) function, even though VSM deficits are a sensitive marker for the detection of conversion to dementia. Furthermore, brief tests of VSM that are appropriate for screening have not been standardized. Thus, in the present study, we devised a brief, computer-aided short-term VSM test. Sixty-six aged people were evaluated. Using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), it was found that 29 could be considered normal controls (NC; CDR 0), 10 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI; CDR 0.5), 15 had mild dementia (CDR 1), and 12 had moderate to severe dementia (CDR 2-3). The VSM test estimated how many locations each subject could memorize. Several numbered circles were shown on a monitor and subjects were required to memorize the location of these circles sequentially. After the numbers on the circles on the screen had disappeared, the subjects were required to indicate the circles in ascending order. A touch panel screen was used for this test to make it easier. The HDS-R was applied to subjects with MCI and dementia. The mean (+/-SD) VSM score in subjects with MCI (5.70 +/- 0.96) was significantly lower than that in NC subjects (6.69 +/- 0.82), but significantly higher than that in subjects classified as CDR 1 (4.67 +/- 0.87). There was no significant difference in VSM scores between subjects classified as CDR 1 and CDR 2-3 (3.80 +/- 0.80). There was a moderate significant correlation between VSM and HDS-R scores. In the present study, the VSM test detected differences in VSM function among NC subjects and subjects with MCI and mild dementia. The software program for the VSM test is distributed for free so that it can be widely used.

Enhanced weathering strategies for cooling the planet and saving coral reefs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beerling, D. J.; Taylor, L.; Quirk, J.; Thorley, R.; Kharecha, P. A.; Hansen, J. E.; Ridgwell, A. J.; Lomas, M.; Banwart, S. A.

2014-12-01

Acceleration of the chemical weathering sink for atmospheric CO2 via distribution of pulverized silicate rocks across terrestrial landscapes has been proposed as a macro-engineering Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) scheme, but its effectiveness and response to ongoing global change is poorly understood. We employ a detailed spatially resolved weathering model driven by two ensemble Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) projections of 21st Century climate (RCP8.5 and RCP4.5) to assess enhanced weathering and examine feedbacks on atmospheric CO2 and ocean carbonate biogeochemistry. Atmospheric CO2 reduction of ~100-260 ppm by year 2100, the range depending mainly on rock composition, is obtained by spreading 5 kg m-2 yr-1 over 20 Mkm2 tropical weathering 'hotspots'. Ocean acidification is neutralized in RCP4.5 and ameliorated in RCP8.5 due to enhanced land-ocean export of weathered alkalinity products and reduced CO2 forcings, and the aragonite saturation state of surface oceans is raised to >3.5, thus avoiding likely extinction of coral reef ecosystems. We suggest that accelerated weathering has substantial potential to help limit global warming and benefits to marine life not obtained from other CDR approaches, but major issues of cost, social acceptability, and potential unanticipated consequences should encourage urgent efforts to phase down fossil fuel emissions.

CDR Altman and PLT Carey in airlock

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-07

STS109-E-5672 (7 March 2002) --- Astronauts Scott D. Altman, mission commander, and Duane G. Carey, pilot, have remained inside Columbia's crew cabin all week while four crewmates have performed a series of space walks. However, the duo, seen here on the shuttle's flight deck, has had sparse leisure time, performing various interior duties in support of the extravehicular activity (EVA) designed for the servicing and upgrading of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

Use of electronic health record structured text and its payoffs. The approach and barriers to using structured text in EHR to document care encounters.

PubMed

Benge, James; Beach, Thomas; Gladding, Connie; Maestas, Gail

2008-01-01

The Military Health System (MHS) deployed its electronic health record (EHR), AHLTA to Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) around the world. This paper focuses on the approach and barriers to using structured text in AHLTA to document care encounters and illustrates the direct correlation between the use of structured text and achievement of expected benefits. AHLTA uses commercially available products, a health data dictionary and standardized medical terminology, enabling the capture of structured computable data. With structured text stored in the AHLTA Clinical Data Repository (CDR), the MHS has seen a return on its EHR investment with improvements in the accuracy and completeness of coding and the documentation of care provided. Determining the aspects of documentation where structured text is most beneficial, as well as the degree of structured text needed has been a significant challenge. This paper describes how the economic value framework aligns the enterprise strategic objectives with the EHR investment features, performance metrics and expected benefits. The framework analyses focus on return on investment calculations, baseline assessment and post-implementation benefits validation. Cost avoidance, revenue enhancements and operational improvements, such as evidence-based medicine and medical surveillance can be directly attributed to use structured text.

TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Chemical Substances which are the Subject of Certain TSCA Actions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides guidance for people who may be subject to the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule on how their requirements for reporting for 2016 may be affected when chemical substances are the subject of certain TSCA actions.

Reconstruction of mass balance variations for Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand, 1913 to 1989

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Woo, Mingko Woo; Fitzharris, B.B.

1992-11-01

A model of mass balance is constructed for the Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of New Zealand. It uses daily data from a nearby, but short-record climate station. The model is extended back to 1913 by creating hybrid climate data from a long-record, but more distant, climate station. Its monthly data provide long-term temperature and precipitation trends, and daily fluctuations are simulated using a stochastic approach that is tuned to the characteristics of the short-record station. The glacier model provides estimates of equilibrium-line altitudes which are in reasonable agreement with those observed, and variations of cumulative mass balancemore » that correspond with patterns of advance and retreat of the glacier terminus.« less

Synergistic activity of magnolol with azoles and its possible antifungal mechanism against Candida albicans.

PubMed

Sun, L-M; Liao, K; Liang, S; Yu, P-H; Wang, D-Y

2015-04-01

The goal of this study was to investigate the synergic effects between magnolol and azoles, and the potential antifungal mechanisms. Microdilution checkerboard, time-kill and agar diffusion assay were employed to evaluate the synergic effects between magnolol and fluconazole (FLC). Magnolol significantly decreased the efflux of rhodamine 123 (Rh123), leading to greater intracellular accumulation of Rh123 in Candida albicans cells. Compared to the Candida drug resistance (cdr) 2 or multidrug resistance (mdr) 1 deletion mutant, the growth of cdr1 strain was most sensitive to magnolol exposure. In the presence of magnolol, MDR1 overexpressing cells were sensitive to FLC, whereas CDR1 and CDR2 overexpressing cells displayed tolerance to FLC. Magnolol treatment correlated with up-regulation of transporter and ergosterol biosynthesis pathway genes, analyzed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The ergosterol content of C. albicansSC5314 was significantly decreased after magnolol exposure. Magnolol synergizes with azoles for targeting of C. albicans by inducing a higher intracellular content of antifungals, by tapping into the competitive effect of ABC transporter Cdr1p substrates, and enhancing the effect by targeting of the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway. Our results provide the first evidence that magnolol may function as a Cdr1p substrate and as an inhibitor of ergosterol biosynthesis. This function can thus be exploited in combination with azoles to reverse multidrug resistance of C. albicans strains. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Linguistic Adaptation of the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale for a Spanish-Speaking Population

PubMed Central

Oquendo-Jiménez, Ilia; Mena, Rafaela; Antoun, Mikhail D.; Wojna, Valerie

2012-01-01

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia worldwide. In Hispanic populations there are few validated tests for the accurate identification and diagnosis of AD. The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale is an internationally recognized questionnaire used to stage dementia. This study's objective was to develop a linguistic adaptation of the CDR for the Puerto Rican population. Methods The linguistic adaptation consisted of the evaluation of each CDR question (item) and the questionnaire's instructions, for similarities in meaning (semantic equivalence), relevance of content (content equivalence), and appropriateness of the questionnaire's format and measuring technique (technical equivalence). A focus group methodology was used to assess cultural relevance, clarity, and suitability of the measuring technique in the Argentinean version of the CDR for use in a Puerto Rican population. Results A total of 27 semantic equivalence changes were recommended in four categories: higher than 6th grade level of reading, meaning, common use, and word preference. Four content equivalence changes were identified, all focused on improving the applicability of the test questions to the general population's concept of street addresses and common dietary choices. There were no recommendations for changes in the assessment of technical equivalence. Conclusions We developed a linguistically adapted CDR instrument for the Puerto Rican population, preserving the semantic, content, and technical equivalences of the original version. Further studies are needed to validate the CDR instrument with the staging of Alzheimer's disease in the Puerto Rican population. PMID:20496524

Anterior surgical management of single-level cervical disc disease: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

PubMed

Lewis, Daniel J; Attiah, Mark A; Malhotra, Neil R; Burnett, Mark G; Stein, Sherman C

2014-12-01

Cost-effectiveness analysis with decision analysis and meta-analysis. To determine the relative cost-effectiveness of anterior cervical discectomy with fusion (with autograft, allograft, or spacers), anterior cervical discectomy without fusion (ACD), and cervical disc replacement (CDR) for the treatment of 1-level cervical disc disease. There is debate as to the optimal anterior surgical strategy to treat single-level cervical disc disease. Surgical strategies include 3 techniques of anterior cervical discectomy with fusion (autograft, allograft, or spacer-assisted fusion), ACD, and CDR. Several controlled trials have compared these treatments but have yielded mixed results. Decision analysis provides a structure for making a quantitative comparison of the costs and outcomes of each treatment. A literature search was performed and yielded 156 case series that fulfilled our search criteria describing nearly 17,000 cases. Data were abstracted from these publications and pooled meta-analytically to estimate the incidence of various outcomes, including index-level and adjacent-level reoperation. A decision analytic model calculated the expected costs in US dollars and outcomes in quality-adjusted life years for a typical adult patient with 1-level cervical radiculopathy subjected to each of the 5 approaches. At 5 years postoperatively, patients who had undergone ACD alone had significantly (P < 0.001) more quality-adjusted life years (4.885 ± 0.041) than those receiving other treatments. Patients with ACD also exhibited highly significant (P < 0.001) differences in costs, incurring the lowest societal costs ($16,558 ± $539). Follow-up data were inadequate for comparison beyond 5 years. The results of our decision analytic model indicate advantages for ACD, both in effectiveness and costs, over other strategies. Thus, ACD is a cost-effective alternative to anterior cervical discectomy with fusion and CDR in patients with single-level cervical disc disease. Definitive conclusions about degenerative changes after ACD and adjacent-level disease after CDR await longer follow-up. 4.

Use of Product Listing Agreements by Canadian Provincial Drug Benefit Plans

PubMed Central

Friesen, Melissa K.; Thomson, Paige A.; Daw, Jamie R.

2013-01-01

Background: Product listing agreements (PLAs) between drug manufacturers and drug plans are increasingly common worldwide. Use of PLAs by Canadian provinces has not previously been documented. Methods: We collected data from all provinces on funding and PLA use for 25 drugs that were reviewed by the Common Drug Review (CDR) in 2010 or 2011 and funded by at least one province as of May 2012. We measured correlations between coverage and PLA use, and CDR recommendations and PLA use. Results: The number of drugs from our sample funded by provinces ranged from three in Prince Edward Island to 21 in Ontario. PLA use ranged from zero in Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador to 20 in Ontario. The correlation between drugs funded and PLAs used by each province was statistically significant (r=0.57, p=0.04); excluding Ontario, however, the correlation was not significant (r=0.10, p=0.40). There was a stronger correlation between the number of provinces funding a drug and the number using PLAs among the subset of drugs with negative CDR recommendations (r=0.87, p<0.01) versus those with positive recommendations (r=0.52, p=0.03). Of the 12 drugs sampled with a negative CDR recommendation, 10 were funded with a PLA in at least one province. Interpretation: There is wide interprovincial variation in PLA use and evidence that PLAs may be used to fund drugs that are not otherwise cost-effective. If global pricing strategies are making PLAs necessary, Canadian governments should collaborate to improve the equity, transparency and effectiveness of PLAs across provinces. PMID:23968637

Tropical Pacific climate during the Medieval Climate Anomaly: progress and pitfalls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobb, K. M.; Westphal, N.; Charles, C.; Sayani, H. R.; Edwards, R. L.; Cheng, H.; Grothe, P. R.; Chen, T.; Hitt, N. T.; O'Connor, G.; Atwood, A. R.

2016-12-01

A vast trove of paleoclimate records indicates that the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; 900-1200AD) was characterized by relative warmth throughout the Northern Hemisphere and significant hydroclimate anomalies - particularly well-resolved over North America - that posed a challenge to human populations. The global-scale nature of the climate anomalies has driven speculation that the tropical Pacific, with its rich spectrum of natural variability and far-reaching impact, may have undergone a prolonged reorganization during the MCA. While some key records from across the tropical Pacific document significant changes in temperature and/or hydrology, a dynamically-consistent picture of the MCA tropical Pacific climate state has proven elusive. In particular, there are few if any robust paleoclimate constraints from the central Pacific, where even modest changes in ocean temperature translate into distinct patterns of global atmospheric teleconnections. Here, we present a new collection of fossil coral multi-proxy records from Christmas Island (2N, 157W) that provide robust constraints on both temperature and hydrological changes during the MCA. We employ both modern coral data, instrumental climate data, and climate model output in developing a framework for quantifying the uncertainties associated with the new fossil coral data. In doing so, we illustrate the clear benefits of modern environmental monitoring campaigns that inform the generation of paleoclimate pseudo-proxies.

A synthesis of sedimentary records of Australian environmental change during the last 2000 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyler, J. J.; Karoly, D. J.; Gell, P.; Goodwin, I. D.

2013-12-01

Our understanding of Southern Hemispheric climate variability on multidecadal to multicentennial timescales is limited by a scarcity of quantitative, highly resolved climate records, a problem which is particularly manifest in Australia. To date there are no quantitative, annually resolved records from within continental Australia which extend further back in time than the most recent c. 300 years [Neukom and Gergis, 2012; PAGES 2k Consortium, 2013]. By contrast, a number of marine, lake, peat and speleothem sedimentary records exist, some of which span multiple millennia at sub-decadal resolution. Here we report a database of existing sedimentary records of environmental change in Australia [Freeman et al., 2011], of which 25 have sample resolutions < 100 years/sample and which span > 500 years in duration. The majority of these records are located in southeastern Australia, providing an invaluable resource with which to examine regional scale climate and environmental change. Although most of the records can not be quantitatively related to climate variability, Empirical Orthogonal Functions coupled with Monte Carlo iterative age modelling, demonstrate coherent patterns of environmental and ecological change. This coherency, as well as comparisons with a limited number of quantitative records, suggests that regional hydroclimatic changes were responsible for the observed patterns. Here, we discuss the implications of these findings with respect to Southern Hemisphere climate during the last 2000 years. In addition, we review the progress and potential of ongoing research in the region. References: Freeman, R., I. D. Goodwin, and T. Donovan (2011), Paleoclimate data synthesis and data base for the reconstruction of climate variability and impacts in NSW over the past 2000 years., Climate Futures Technical Report, 1/2011, 50 pages. Neukom, R., and J. Gergis (2012), Southern Hemisphere high-resolution palaeoclimate records of the last 2000 years, Holocene, 22(5), 501-524, doi:10.1177/0959683611427335. PAGES 2k Consortium (2013), Continental-scale temperature variability during the past two millennia, Nature Geoscience, 6, 339-346.

Directed evolution of human T cell receptor CDR2 residues by phage display dramatically enhances affinity for cognate peptide-MHC without increasing apparent cross-reactivity

PubMed Central

Dunn, Steven M.; Rizkallah, Pierre J.; Baston, Emma; Mahon, Tara; Cameron, Brian; Moysey, Ruth; Gao, Feng; Sami, Malkit; Boulter, Jonathan; Li, Yi; Jakobsen, Bent K.

2006-01-01

The mammalian α/β T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire plays a pivotal role in adaptive immunity by recognizing short, processed, peptide antigens bound in the context of a highly diverse family of cell-surface major histocompatibility complexes (pMHCs). Despite the extensive TCR–MHC interaction surface, peptide-independent cross-reactivity of native TCRs is generally avoided through cell-mediated selection of molecules with low inherent affinity for MHC. Here we show that, contrary to expectations, the germ line-encoded complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of human TCRs, namely the CDR2s, which appear to contact only the MHC surface and not the bound peptide, can be engineered to yield soluble low nanomolar affinity ligands that retain a surprisingly high degree of specificity for the cognate pMHC target. Structural investigation of one such CDR2 mutant implicates shape complementarity of the mutant CDR2 contact interfaces as being a key determinant of the increased affinity. Our results suggest that manipulation of germ line CDR2 loops may provide a useful route to the production of high-affinity TCRs with therapeutic and diagnostic potential. PMID:16600963

High-Speed Burst-Mode Clock and Data Recovery Circuits for Multiaccess Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shastri, Bhavin J.

Optical multiaccess networks, and specifically passive optical networks (PONs) are considered to be the most promising technologies for the deployment of fiber-to-the-premises/home/user (FTTx) to solve the problem of limited bandwidth in local area networks with a low-cost solution and a guaranteed quality of service. In a PON, multiple users share the fiber infrastructure in a point-to-multipoint (P2MP) network. This topology introduce optical path delays which inherently cause the data packets to undergo amplitude variations up to 20 dB and phase variations from --2pi to +2pi rad--burst-mode traffic. Consequently, this creates new challenges for the design and test of optical receivers front-ends and clock and data recovery circuits (CDRs), in particular, burst-mode CDRs (BM-CDRs). The research presented in this thesis investigates BM-CDRs, both theoretically and experimentally. We demonstrate two novel BM-CDR architectures. These BM-CDRs achieve error-free operation [bit error rate (BER) <10e--10] while providing instantaneous (0 preamble bit) clock phase acquisition for any phase step (+/-2pi rad) between successive bursts. Instantaneous phase acquisition improves the physical efficiency of upstream PON traffic, and increases the effective throughput of the system by raising the information rate. Our eloquent, scalable BM-CDR architectures leverage the design of low complexity commercial electronics providing a cost-effective solution for PONs. The first BM-CDR (rated at 5 Gb/s) is based on phase-tracking time domain oversampling (semiblind) CDR operated at 2x the bit rate and a clock phase aligner (CPA) that makes use of a phase picking algorithm. The second BM-CDR (rate at 10 Gb/s) is based on semiblind space domain oversampling and employs a phase-tracking CDR with multiphase clocks at the bit rate and a CPA with a novel phase picking algorithm. We experimentally demonstrate these BM-CDRs in optical test beds and study the effect of channel-impairments in: (1) 5 Gb/s time-division multiplexing gigabit PON 20-km uplink; (2) 2.5 Gb/s overlapped subcarrier-multiplexing wavelength-division multiplexed PON 20-km uplink; (3) 1.25 Gb/s 1300-km deployed fiber link spanning Montreal--Quebec City and back; and (4) 622 Mb/s in a 7-user spectral amplitude-coded optical code-division multiple access 20-km PON uplink. We also provide a theoretical framework to model and analyze BM-CDRs. We develop a unified probabilistic theory of BM-CDRs based on semiblind oversampling techniques in either the time or space domain. This theory has also been generalized for conventional CDRs and Nx-oversampling CDRs. Based on this theory, we perform a comprehensive theoretical analysis to quantify the performance of the proposed BM-CDRs in terms of the BER and packet loss ratio to assess the tradeoffs between various parameters, and compare the results experimentally to validate the theoretical model. This analysis coupled with the experimental results will refine theoretical models PONs, and provide input for establishing realistic power budgets.

Pollen reconstructions, tree-rings and early climate data from Minnesota, USA: a cautionary tale of bias and signal attentuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

St-Jacques, J. M.; Cumming, B. F.; Smol, J. P.; Sauchyn, D.

2015-12-01

High-resolution proxy reconstructions are essential to assess the rate and magnitude of anthropogenic global warming. High-resolution pollen records are being critically examined for the production of accurate climate reconstructions of the last millennium, often as extensions of tree-ring records. Past climate inference from a sedimentary pollen record depends upon the stationarity of the pollen-climate relationship. However, humans have directly altered vegetation, and hence modern pollen deposition is a product of landscape disturbance and climate, unlike in the past with its dominance of climate-derived processes. This could cause serious bias in pollen reconstructions. In the US Midwest, direct human impacts have greatly altered the vegetation and pollen rain since Euro-American settlement in the mid-19th century. Using instrumental climate data from the early 1800s from Fort Snelling (Minnesota), we assessed the bias from the conventional method of inferring climate from pollen assemblages in comparison to a calibration set from pre-settlement pollen assemblages and the earliest instrumental climate data. The pre-settlement calibration set provides more accurate reconstructions of 19th century temperature than the modern set does. When both calibration sets are used to reconstruct temperatures since AD 1116 from a varve-dated pollen record from Lake Mina, Minnesota, the conventional method produces significant low-frequency (centennial-scale) signal attenuation and positive bias of 0.8-1.7 oC, resulting in an overestimation of Little Ice Age temperature and an underestimation of anthropogenic warming. We also compared the pollen-inferred moisture reconstruction to a four-century tree-ring-inferred moisture record from Minnesota and Dakotas, which shows that the tree-ring reconstruction is biased towards dry conditions and records wet periods relatively poorly, giving a false impression of regional aridity. The tree-ring chronology also suggests varve chronology problems. It remains to be explored how widespread this landscape disturbance problem is when conventional pollen-based inference methods are used, and consequently how seriously regional manifestations of global warming might have been underestimated with traditional pollen-based techniques.

Table of Comparison of 2012 CDR v 2006 IUR Definitions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In forming 40 CFR 711, EPA sought to simplify the definition section and remove unnecessary duplication of regulatory terms. This table is a comparison of 2006 IUR Definitions and 2012 CDR Definitions.

Net Ecosystem Production and Actionable Negative Emissions Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeCicco, J. M.; Heo, J.

2016-12-01

Negative emissions strategies, designed to increase the rate at which carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases are removed from the atmosphere, are an important aspect of broader strategies for mitigating climate change. Not only is CO2 the dominant greenhouse gas and the one most intimately tied to existing commercial energy use, but it is also part of the global carbon cycle. On the order of 200 PgC•yr-1 circulates between the atmosphere and the major carbon stocks of the terrestrial biosphere, oceans and geosphere. Anthropogenic flows of roughly 10 PgC•yr-1 from fossil fuel use and 1 PgC•yr-1 from land-use change significantly exceed the Earth's natural carbon sink, and this imbalance causes the buildup of carbon in the atmosphere. In addition to strategies for reducing CO2 emissions, increasing negative emissions through carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is crucial for reducing carbon cycle imbalance in the near term as well as meeting long-term goals such as a 2°C limit. Terrestrial carbon management is important for both reducing emissions and enhancing sinks. Photosynthesis in terrestrial ecosystems is the form of CDR that is now most actionable, referring to mechanisms that can be economically implemented at meaningful scales without technology breakthroughs. Net ecosystem production (NEP) is a crucial metric for guiding CDR involving the terrestrial biosphere, including options such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and other forms of bio-based mitigation. We derive the necessary conditions for effective implementation of this category of negative emissions measures, emphasizing the importance of NEP measurement, baselines and appropriate methods of carbon accounting. We present a method for quantitative spatio-temporal analysis of land-use and land-cover changes for estimating landscape-scale NEP; provide a preliminary baseline NEP estimate for the continental United States; apply the method to reveal a cautionary tale regarding NEP and biofuel production; and discuss the implications for negative emissions research and public policy going forward.

Water-the Nation's Fundamental Climate Issue A White Paper on the U.S. Geological Survey Role and Capabilities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lins, Harry F.; Hirsch, Robert M.; Kiang, Julie

2010-01-01

Of all the potential threats posed by climatic variability and change, those associated with water resources are arguably the most consequential for both society and the environment (Waggoner, 1990). Climatic effects on agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, energy, and industry are strongly influenced by climatic effects on water. Thus, understanding changes in the distribution, quantity and quality of, and demand for water in response to climate variability and change is essential to planning for and adapting to future climatic conditions. A central role of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with respect to climate is to document environmental changes currently underway and to develop improved capabilities to predict future changes. Indeed, a centerpiece of the USGS role is a new Climate Effects Network of monitoring sites. Measuring the climatic effects on water is an essential component of such a network (along with corresponding effects on terrestrial ecosystems). The USGS needs to be unambiguous in communicating with its customers and stakeholders, and with officials at the Department of the Interior, that although modeling future impacts of climate change is important, there is no more critical role for the USGS in climate change science than that of measuring and describing the changes that are currently underway. One of the best statements of that mission comes from a short paper by Ralph Keeling (2008) that describes the inspiration and the challenges faced by David Keeling in operating the all-important Mauna Loa Observatory over a period of more than four decades. Ralph Keeling stated: 'The only way to figure out what is happening to our planet is to measure it, and this means tracking changes decade after decade and poring over the records.' There are three key ideas that are important to the USGS in the above-mentioned sentence. First, to understand what is happening requires measurement. While models are a tool for learning and testing our understanding, they are not a substitute for observations. The second key idea is that measurement needs to be done over a period of many decades. When viewing hydrologic records over time scales of a few years to a few decades, trends commonly appear. However, when viewed in the context of many decades to centuries, these short-term trends are recognized as being part of much longer term oscillations. Thus, while we might want to initiate monitoring of important aspects of our natural resources, the data that will prove to be most useful in the next few years are those records that already have long-term continuity. USGS streamflow and groundwater level data are excellent examples of such long-term records. These measured data span many decades, follow standard protocols for collection and quality assurance, and are stored in a database that provides access to the full period of record. The third point from the Keeling quote relates to the notion of ?poring over the records.? Important trends will not generally jump off the computer screen at us. Thoughtful analyses are required to get past a number of important but confounding influences in the record, such as the role of seasonal variation, changes in water management, or influences of quasi-periodic phenomena, such as El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) or the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). No organization is better situated to pore over the records than the USGS because USGS scientists know the data, quality-assure the data, understand the factors that influence the data, and have the ancillary information on the watersheds within which the data are collected. To fulfill the USGS role in understanding climatic variability and change, we need to continually improve and strengthen two of our key capabilities: (1) preserving continuity of long-term water data collection and (2) analyzing and interpreting water data to determine how the Nation's water resources are changing. Understanding change in water resources

An effective online data monitoring and saving strategy for large-scale climate simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xian, Xiaochen; Archibald, Rick; Mayer, Benjamin

Large-scale climate simulation models have been developed and widely used to generate historical data and study future climate scenarios. These simulation models often have to run for a couple of months to understand the changes in the global climate over the course of decades. This long-duration simulation process creates a huge amount of data with both high temporal and spatial resolution information; however, how to effectively monitor and record the climate changes based on these large-scale simulation results that are continuously produced in real time still remains to be resolved. Due to the slow process of writing data to disk,more » the current practice is to save a snapshot of the simulation results at a constant, slow rate although the data generation process runs at a very high speed. This study proposes an effective online data monitoring and saving strategy over the temporal and spatial domains with the consideration of practical storage and memory capacity constraints. Finally, our proposed method is able to intelligently select and record the most informative extreme values in the raw data generated from real-time simulations in the context of better monitoring climate changes.« less

An effective online data monitoring and saving strategy for large-scale climate simulations

DOE PAGES

Xian, Xiaochen; Archibald, Rick; Mayer, Benjamin; ...

2018-01-22

Large-scale climate simulation models have been developed and widely used to generate historical data and study future climate scenarios. These simulation models often have to run for a couple of months to understand the changes in the global climate over the course of decades. This long-duration simulation process creates a huge amount of data with both high temporal and spatial resolution information; however, how to effectively monitor and record the climate changes based on these large-scale simulation results that are continuously produced in real time still remains to be resolved. Due to the slow process of writing data to disk,more » the current practice is to save a snapshot of the simulation results at a constant, slow rate although the data generation process runs at a very high speed. This study proposes an effective online data monitoring and saving strategy over the temporal and spatial domains with the consideration of practical storage and memory capacity constraints. Finally, our proposed method is able to intelligently select and record the most informative extreme values in the raw data generated from real-time simulations in the context of better monitoring climate changes.« less

Patients With Very Mild Dementia May Confuse Objective Cognitive Impairments With Subjective Physical Health of Quality of Life: The Tome City Project in Japan.

PubMed

Kasai, Mari; Meguro, Kenichi

2018-01-01

Many elderly people with cognitive dysfunction may observe a decrease in their health levels and quality of life (QOL). The basic concept of QOL consists of several categories including physical functions and mental health. The QOL domain that is most important for elderly people is physical health and, to a lesser extent, psychological health, social relationships, and/ or the environment. Our aim was to explore the relationships between the subjective measure of QOL, an abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) scale, and the objective measure of impairment, Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), among elderly people in a community. Totally, 178 community dwellers aged 75 years and above agreed to participate and completed the WHOQOL-BREF; 66 (32 males, 34 females) scored a CDR of 0 (healthy), 86 (33, 53) scored a CDR of 0.5 (questionable dementia or very mild dementia), and 26 (12, 14) scored a CDR of 1 and above (dementia). According to Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis (significance level, p < 0.05), the physical domain of the WHOQOL-BREF had significant statistical negative correlations with all CDR subscales. The CDR subscale of memory impairment had a significant statistical negative correlation with the WHOQOL-BREF subscales of the physical ( r = -0.151, p = 0.044) and psychological ( r = -0.232, p < 0.002) domains. The CDR subscale of home and hobbies impairment had significant statistical negative correlations with all WHOQOL-BREF subscales including the physical ( r = -0.226, p = 0.002), psychological ( r = -0.226, p = 0.002), social ( r = -0.167, p = 0.026), and environmental ( r = -0.204, p = 0.006) domains. Patients with very mild dementia may confuse cognitive impairment and physical disabilities. In the future, we need to systematically combine memory clinics and all departments related to the elderly for the successful early detection and rehabilitation of, and long-term care for, dementia.

Digital I and C system upgrade integration technique

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, H. W.; Shih, C.; Wang, J. R.

2012-07-01

This work developed an integration technique for digital I and C system upgrade, the utility can replace the I and C systems step by step systematically by this method. Inst. of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) developed a digital Instrumentation and Control (I and C) replacement integration technique on the basis of requirement of the three existing nuclear power plants (NPPs), which are Chin-Shan (CS) NPP, Kuo-Sheng (KS) NPP, and Maanshan (MS) NPP, in Taiwan, and also developed the related Critical Digital Review (CDR) Procedure. The digital I and C replacement integration technique includes: (I) Establishment of Nuclear Power Plant Digitalmore » Replacement Integration Guideline, (2) Preliminary Investigation on I and C System Digitalization, (3) Evaluation on I and C System Digitalization, and (4) Establishment of I and C System Digitalization Architectures. These works can be a reference for performing I and C system digital replacement integration of the three existing NPPs of Taiwan Power Company (TPC). A CDR is the review for a critical system digital I and C replacement. The major reference of this procedure is EPRI TR- 1011710 (2005) 'Handbook for Evaluating Critical Digital Equipment and Systems' which was published by the Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI). With this document, INER developed a TPC-specific CDR procedure. Currently, CDR becomes one of the policies for digital I and C replacement in TPC. The contents of this CDR procedure include: Scope, Responsibility, Operation Procedure, Operation Flow Chart, CDR review items. The CDR review items include the comparison of the design change, Software Verification and Validation (SVandV), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Evaluation of Diversity and Defense-in-depth (D3), Evaluation of Watchdog Timer, Evaluation of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Evaluation of Grounding for System/Component, Seismic Evaluation, Witness and Inspection, Lessons Learnt from the Digital I and C Failure Events. A solid review can assure the quality of the digital I and C system replacement. (authors)« less

Patients With Very Mild Dementia May Confuse Objective Cognitive Impairments With Subjective Physical Health of Quality of Life: The Tome City Project in Japan

PubMed Central

Kasai, Mari; Meguro, Kenichi

2018-01-01

Many elderly people with cognitive dysfunction may observe a decrease in their health levels and quality of life (QOL). The basic concept of QOL consists of several categories including physical functions and mental health. The QOL domain that is most important for elderly people is physical health and, to a lesser extent, psychological health, social relationships, and/ or the environment. Our aim was to explore the relationships between the subjective measure of QOL, an abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) scale, and the objective measure of impairment, Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), among elderly people in a community. Totally, 178 community dwellers aged 75 years and above agreed to participate and completed the WHOQOL-BREF; 66 (32 males, 34 females) scored a CDR of 0 (healthy), 86 (33, 53) scored a CDR of 0.5 (questionable dementia or very mild dementia), and 26 (12, 14) scored a CDR of 1 and above (dementia). According to Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis (significance level, p < 0.05), the physical domain of the WHOQOL-BREF had significant statistical negative correlations with all CDR subscales. The CDR subscale of memory impairment had a significant statistical negative correlation with the WHOQOL-BREF subscales of the physical (r = -0.151, p = 0.044) and psychological (r = -0.232, p < 0.002) domains. The CDR subscale of home and hobbies impairment had significant statistical negative correlations with all WHOQOL-BREF subscales including the physical (r = -0.226, p = 0.002), psychological (r = -0.226, p = 0.002), social (r = -0.167, p = 0.026), and environmental (r = -0.204, p = 0.006) domains. Patients with very mild dementia may confuse cognitive impairment and physical disabilities. In the future, we need to systematically combine memory clinics and all departments related to the elderly for the successful early detection and rehabilitation of, and long-term care for, dementia. PMID:29706921

Poster — Thur Eve — 36: Implementation of constant dose rate and gantry speed arc therapy(CDR-CAS-IMAT) for thoracic esophageal carcinoma on Varian 23EX

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Ruohui; Department of Medical Physics, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University; Fan, Xiaomei

2014-08-15

Objective: The purpose of this study is to propose an alternative planning approach for VMAT using constant dose rate and gantry speed arc therapy(CDR-CAS-IMAT) implementation on conventional Linac Varian 23EX and used IMRT as a benchmark to evaluate the performance. Methods and materials: Eighteen patients with thoracic esophageal carcinoma who were previously treated with IMRT on Varian 23EX were retrospectively planned for CDR-CAS-IMAT plans. Dose prescription was set to 60 Gy to PTVs in 30 fractions. The planning objectives for PTVs and OAR were corresponding with the IMRT plans. Dose to the PTVs and OAR were compared to IMRT withmore » respect to plan quality, MU, treatment time and delivery accuracy. Results: CDR-CAS-IMAT plans led to equivalent or superior plan quality as compared to IMRT, PTV's CI relative increased 16.2%, while small deviations were observed on minimum dose for PTV. Volumes in the cord receiving 40Gy were increased from 3.6% with IMRT to 7.0%. Treatment times were reduced significantly with CDR-CAS-IMAT(mean 85.7s vs. 232.1s, p < .05), however, MU increased by a factor of 1.3 and lung V10/5/3.5/aver were relative increase 6.7%,12%,17.9%,4.2%, respectively. And increased the E-P low dose area volume decreased the hight dose area. There were no significant difference in Delta4 measurements results between both planning techniques. Conclusion: CDR-CAS-IMAT plans can be implemented smoothly and quickly into a busy cancer center, which improved PTV CI and reduces treatment time but increased the MU and low dose irradiated area. An evaluation of weight loss must be performed during treatment for CDR-CAS-IMAT patients.« less

Assessment of Satellite Radiometry in the Visible Domain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melin, Frederick; Franz, Bryan A.

2014-01-01

Marine reflectance and chlorophyll-a concentration are listed among the Essential Climate Variables by the Global Climate Observing System. To contribute to climate research, the satellite ocean color data records resulting from successive missions need to be consistent and well characterized in terms of uncertainties. This chapter reviews various approaches that can be used for the assessment of satellite ocean color data. Good practices for validating satellite products with in situ data and the current status of validation results are illustrated. Model-based approaches and inter-comparison techniques can also contribute to characterize some components of the uncertainty budget, while time series analysis can detect issues with the instrument radiometric characterization and calibration. Satellite data from different missions should also provide a consistent picture in scales of variability, including seasonal and interannual signals. Eventually, the various assessment approaches should be combined to create a fully characterized climate data record from satellite ocean color.

A modern plant-climate research dataset for modelling eastern North American plant taxa.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzales, L. M.; Grimm, E. C.; Williams, J. W.; Nordheim, E. V.

2008-12-01

Continental-scale modern pollen-climate data repositories are a primary data source for paleoclimate reconstructions. However, these repositories can contain artifacts, such as records from different depositional environment and replicate records, that can influence the observed pollen-climate relationships as well as the paleoclimate reconstructions derived from these relationships. In this paper, we address the issues related to these artifacts as we define the methods used to create a research dataset from the North American Modern Pollen Database (Whitmore et al., 2005). Additionally, we define the methods used to select the environmental variables that are best for modeling regional pollen-climate relationships from the research dataset. Because the depositional environment determines the relative strengths of the local and regional pollen signals, combining data from different depositional environments results in pollen abundances that can be influenced by the local pollen signal. Replicate records in pollen-climate datasets can skew pollen-climate relationships by causing an over- or under- representation of pollen abundances in climate space. When these two artifacts are combined, the errors introduced into pollen-climate relationship modeling are compounded. The research dataset we present consists of 2,613 records in eastern North America, of which 70.9% are lacustrine sites. We demonstrate that this new research database improves upon the modeling of regional pollen-climate relationships for eastern North American taxa. The research dataset encompasses the majority of the temperature and mean summer precipitation ranges of the NAMPD's climatic range and 40% of its mean winter precipitation range. NAMPD sites with higher winter precipitation are located along the northwestern coast of North America where a rainshadow effect produces abundant winter precipitation. We present our analysis of the research dataset for use in paleoclimate reconstructions, and recommend that mean winter and summer temperature and precipitation variables be used for pollen-climate relationship modeling.

Globally Gridded Satellite observations for climate studies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knapp, K.R.; Ansari, S.; Bain, C.L.; Bourassa, M.A.; Dickinson, M.J.; Funk, Chris; Helms, C.N.; Hennon, C.C.; Holmes, C.D.; Huffman, G.J.; Kossin, J.P.; Lee, H.-T.; Loew, A.; Magnusdottir, G.

2011-01-01

Geostationary satellites have provided routine, high temporal resolution Earth observations since the 1970s. Despite the long period of record, use of these data in climate studies has been limited for numerous reasons, among them that no central archive of geostationary data for all international satellites exists, full temporal and spatial resolution data are voluminous, and diverse calibration and navigation formats encumber the uniform processing needed for multisatellite climate studies. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) set the stage for overcoming these issues by archiving a subset of the full-resolution geostationary data at ~10-km resolution at 3-hourly intervals since 1983. Recent efforts at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center to provide convenient access to these data include remapping the data to a standard map projection, recalibrating the data to optimize temporal homogeneity, extending the record of observations back to 1980, and reformatting the data for broad public distribution. The Gridded Satellite (GridSat) dataset includes observations from the visible, infrared window, and infrared water vapor channels. Data are stored in Network Common Data Format (netCDF) using standards that permit a wide variety of tools and libraries to process the data quickly and easily. A novel data layering approach, together with appropriate satellite and file metadata, allows users to access GridSat data at varying levels of complexity based on their needs. The result is a climate data record already in use by the meteorological community. Examples include reanalysis of tropical cyclones, studies of global precipitation, and detection and tracking of the intertropical convergence zone.

Mucosal CCR1 gene expression as a marker of molecular activity in Crohn's disease: preliminary data.

PubMed

Dobre, Maria; Mănuc, Teodora Ecaterina; Milanesi, Elena; Pleşea, Iancu Emil; Ţieranu, Eugen Nicolae; Popa, Caterina; Mănuc, Mircea; Preda, Carmen Monica; Ţieranu, Ioana; Diculescu, Mihai Mircea; Ionescu, Elena Mirela; Becheanu, Gabriel

2017-01-01

A series of mechanisms of immune response, inflammation and apoptosis have been demonstrated to contribute to the appearance and evolution of Crohn's disease (CD) through the overexpression of several cytokines and chemokines in a susceptible host. The aim of this study was to identify the differences in gene expression profiles analyzing a panel of candidate genes in the mucosa from patients with active CD (CD-A), patients in remission (CD-R), and normal controls. Nine individuals were enrolled in the study: six CD patients (three with active lesions, three with mucosal healing) and three controls without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) seen on endoscopy. All the individuals underwent mucosal biopsy during colonoscopy. Gene expression levels of 84 genes previously associated with CD were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array. Ten genes out of 84 were found significantly differentially expressed in CD-A (CCL11, CCL25, DEFA5, GCG, IL17A, LCN2, REG1A, STAT3, MUC1, CCR1) and eight genes in CD-R (CASP1, IL23A, STAT1, STAT3, TNF, CCR1, CCL5, and HSP90B1) when compared to controls. A quantitative gene expression analysis revealed that CCR1 gene was more expressed in CD-A than in CD-R. Our data suggest that CCR1 gene may be a putative marker of molecular activity of Crohn's disease. Following these preliminary data, a confirmation in larger cohort studies could represent a useful method in order to identify new therapeutic targets.

Quantitative Metrics for Provenance in the Global Change Information System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherman, R. A.; Tipton, K.; Elamparuthy, A.

2017-12-01

The Global Change Information System (GCIS) is an open-source web-based resource to provide traceable provenance for government climate information, particularly the National Climate Assessment and other climate science reports from the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Since 2014, GCIS has been adding and updating information and linking records to make the system as complete as possible for the key reports. Our total count of records has grown to well over 20,000, but until recently there hasn't been an easy way to measure how well all those records were serving the mission of providing provenance. The GCIS team has recently established quantitative measures of whether each record has sufficient metadata and linkages to be useful for users of our featured climate reports. We will describe our metrics and show how they can be used to guide future development of GCIS and aid users of government climate data.

Distinct Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns for Apparent Motion Processing in School-Aged Children.

PubMed

Campbell, Julia; Sharma, Anu

2016-01-01

Measures of visual cortical development in children demonstrate high variability and inconsistency throughout the literature. This is partly due to the specificity of the visual system in processing certain features. It may then be advantageous to activate multiple cortical pathways in order to observe maturation of coinciding networks. Visual stimuli eliciting the percept of apparent motion and shape change is designed to simultaneously activate both dorsal and ventral visual streams. However, research has shown that such stimuli also elicit variable visual evoked potential (VEP) morphology in children. The aim of this study was to describe developmental changes in VEPs, including morphological patterns, and underlying visual cortical generators, elicited by apparent motion and shape change in school-aged children. Forty-one typically developing children underwent high-density EEG recordings in response to a continuously morphing, radially modulated, circle-star grating. VEPs were then compared across the age groups of 5-7, 8-10, and 11-15 years according to latency and amplitude. Current density reconstructions (CDR) were performed on VEP data in order to observe activated cortical regions. It was found that two distinct VEP morphological patterns occurred in each age group. However, there were no major developmental differences between the age groups according to each pattern. CDR further demonstrated consistent visual generators across age and pattern. These results describe two novel VEP morphological patterns in typically developing children, but with similar underlying cortical sources. The importance of these morphological patterns is discussed in terms of future studies and the investigation of a relationship to visual cognitive performance.

Distinct Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns for Apparent Motion Processing in School-Aged Children

PubMed Central

Campbell, Julia; Sharma, Anu

2016-01-01

Measures of visual cortical development in children demonstrate high variability and inconsistency throughout the literature. This is partly due to the specificity of the visual system in processing certain features. It may then be advantageous to activate multiple cortical pathways in order to observe maturation of coinciding networks. Visual stimuli eliciting the percept of apparent motion and shape change is designed to simultaneously activate both dorsal and ventral visual streams. However, research has shown that such stimuli also elicit variable visual evoked potential (VEP) morphology in children. The aim of this study was to describe developmental changes in VEPs, including morphological patterns, and underlying visual cortical generators, elicited by apparent motion and shape change in school-aged children. Forty-one typically developing children underwent high-density EEG recordings in response to a continuously morphing, radially modulated, circle-star grating. VEPs were then compared across the age groups of 5–7, 8–10, and 11–15 years according to latency and amplitude. Current density reconstructions (CDR) were performed on VEP data in order to observe activated cortical regions. It was found that two distinct VEP morphological patterns occurred in each age group. However, there were no major developmental differences between the age groups according to each pattern. CDR further demonstrated consistent visual generators across age and pattern. These results describe two novel VEP morphological patterns in typically developing children, but with similar underlying cortical sources. The importance of these morphological patterns is discussed in terms of future studies and the investigation of a relationship to visual cognitive performance. PMID:27445738

SU-E-T-421: Feasibility Study of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy with Constant Dose Rate for Endometrial Cancer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, R; Wang, J

2014-06-01

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility, efficiency, and delivery accuracy of volumetric modulated arc therapy with constant dose rate (VMAT-CDR) for whole-pelvic radiotherapy (WPRT) of endometrial cancer. Methods: The nine-Field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), VMAT with variable dose-rate (VMAT-VDR), and VMAT-CDR plans were created for 9 patients with endometrial cancer undergoing WPRT. The dose distribution of planning target volume (PTV), organs at risk (OARs), and normal tissue (NT) were compared. The monitor units (MUs) and treatment delivery time were also evaluated. For each VMAT-CDR plan, a dry Run was performed to assess the dosimetric accuracy with MatriXX from IBA. Results: Compared withmore » IMRT, the VMAT-CDR plans delivered a slightly greater V20 of the bowel, bladder, pelvis bone, and NT, but significantly decreased the dose to the high-dose region of the rectum and pelvis bone. The MUs Decreased from 1105 with IMRT to 628 with VMAT-CDR. The delivery time also decreased from 9.5 to 3.2 minutes. The average gamma pass rate was 95.6% at the 3%/3 mm criteria with MatriXX pretreatment verification for 9 patients. Conclusion: VMAT-CDR can achieve comparable plan quality with significant shorter delivery time and smaller number of MUs compared with IMRT for patients with endometrial cancer undergoing WPRT. It can be accurately delivered and be an alternative to IMRT on the linear accelerator without VDR capability. This work is supported by the grant project, National Natural; Science Foundation of China (No. 81071237)« less

Solar and Climate Variation Relationships Analyzed from Chile Tree Ring Width Time Series (1587 - 1994 A.D.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigozo, Nr; Nordemann, Djr; Faria, Hh; Echer, E.; Vieira, Lea; Prestes, A.

This work presents a study of the relations between solar and climate variations during the last four centuries by spectral analysis of tree ring index and sunspot number time series. Trees used for this study were Pilgerodendron cupressoides from Glaciar Pio XI, in Chile. The spectral analysis of tree ring index shows that 11, 22 and 80 year periodicities of the solar cycle were present in this tree ring data with 0.95 confidence level. This result suggests a solar modulation of climate variations, as recorded by the tree ring growth. Short-term variations, between 2 - 7 years, are also present in tree ring data. Therefore spectral analysis clearly shows that both, solar and climate factors, are recorded in the tree ring data.

Reversal of efflux mediated antifungal resistance underlies synergistic activity of two monoterpenes with fluconazole.

PubMed

Ahmad, Aijaz; Khan, Amber; Manzoor, Nikhat

2013-01-23

Thymol (THY) and carvacrol (CARV), the principal chemical components of thyme oil have long been known for their wide use in medicine due to antimicrobial and disinfectant properties. This study, however, draws attention to a possible synergistic antifungal effect of these monoterpenes with azole antimycotic-fluconazole. Resistance to azoles in Candida albicans involves over-expression of efflux-pump genes MDR1, CDR1, CDR2 or mutations and over-expression of target gene ERG11. The inhibition of drug efflux pumps is considered a feasible strategy to overcome clinical antifungal resistance. To put forward this approach, we investigated the combination effects of these monoterpenes and FLC against 38 clinically obtained FLC-sensitive, and eleven FLC-resistant Candida isolates. Synergism was observed with combinations of THY-FLC and CARV-FLC evaluated by checkerboard microdilution method and nature of the interactions was calculated by FICI. In addition, antifungal activity was assessed using agar-diffusion and time-kill curves. The drug efflux activity was determined using two dyes, Rhodamine6G (R6G) and fluorescent Hoechst 33342. No significant differences were observed in dye uptakes between FLC-susceptible and resistant isolates, incubated in glucose free buffer. However, a significantly higher efflux was recorded in FLC-resistant isolates when glucose was added. Both monoterpenes inhibited efflux by 70-90%, showing their high potency to block drug transporter pumps. Significant differences, in the expression levels of CDR1 and MDR1, induced by monoterpenes revealed reversal of FLC-resistance. The selectively fungicidal characteristics and ability to restore FLC susceptibility in resistant isolates signify a promising candidature of THY and CARV as antifungal agents in combinational treatments for candidiasis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Triglycerides are negatively correlated with cognitive function in nondemented aging adults.

PubMed

Parthasarathy, Vishnu; Frazier, Darvis T; Bettcher, Brianne M; Jastrzab, Laura; Chao, Linda; Reed, Bruce; Mungas, Dan; Weiner, Michael; DeCarli, Charles; Chui, Helena; Kramer, Joel H

2017-09-01

Vascular risk factors like hyperlipidemia may adversely affect brain function. We hypothesized that increased serum triglycerides are associated with decreased executive function and memory in nondemented elderly subjects. We also researched possible vascular mediators and white matter microstructure as assessed with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Participants were 251 nondemented elderly adults (54% male) with a mean age of 78 (SD = 6.4; range: 62-94) years and a mean education of 15.6 (SD = 2.9; range: 8-23) years. Fasting blood samples were used to detect serum triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels along with ApoE4 status. DTI was used to determine whole brain fractional anisotropy (FA). Composite executive and memory scores were derived from item response theory. Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scores provided informant-based measures of daily functioning. Triglyceride levels were inversely correlated with executive function, but there was no relationship with memory. Controlling for age, gender, and education did not affect this correlation. This relationship persisted after controlling for vascular risk factors like LDL, total cholesterol, CDR and ApoE4 status. Lastly, adding whole-brain FA to the model did not affect the correlation between triglycerides and executive function. Triglyceride levels are inversely correlated with executive function in nondemented elderly adults after controlling for age, education, gender, total cholesterol, LDL, ApoE4 status, CDR, and white-matter microstructure. The fact that the effect of triglycerides on cognition was not clearly mediated by vascular risks or cerebrovascular injury raises questions about widely held assumptions of how triglycerides might impact cognition function. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Globally Gridded Satellite (GridSat) Observations for Climate Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knapp, Kenneth R.; Ansari, Steve; Bain, Caroline L.; Bourassa, Mark A.; Dickinson, Michael J.; Funk, Chris; Helms, Chip N.; Hennon, Christopher C.; Holmes, Christopher D.; Huffman, George J.;

Holocene climate variability in Texas, USA: An integration of existing paleoclimate data and modeling with a new, high-resolution speleothem record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Corinne I.; Banner, Jay L.; Musgrove, MaryLynn

2015-11-01

Delineating the climate processes governing precipitation variability in drought-prone Texas is critical for predicting and mitigating climate change effects, and requires the reconstruction of past climate beyond the instrumental record. We synthesize existing paleoclimate proxy data and climate simulations to provide an overview of climate variability in Texas during the Holocene. Conditions became progressively warmer and drier transitioning from the early to mid Holocene, culminating between 7 and 3 ka (thousand years ago), and were more variable during the late Holocene. The timing and relative magnitude of Holocene climate variability, however, is poorly constrained owing to considerable variability among the different records. To help address this, we present a new speleothem (NBJ) reconstruction from a central Texas cave that comprises the highest resolution proxy record to date, spanning the mid to late Holocene. NBJ trace-element concentrations indicate variable moisture conditions with no clear temporal trend. There is a decoupling between NBJ growth rate, trace-element concentrations, and δ18O values, which indicate that (i) the often direct relation between speleothem growth rate and moisture availability is likely complicated by changes in the overlying ecosystem that affect subsurface CO2 production, and (ii) speleothem δ18O variations likely reflect changes in moisture source (i.e., proportion of Pacific-vs. Gulf of Mexico-derived moisture) that appear not to be linked to moisture amount.

Estimating north pacific summer sea-level pressure back to 1600 using proxy climate records from China and North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiangding; Lough, J. M.

1987-03-01

Sea-level pressure variations over the North Pacific Ocean influence the surface climate conditions of China and western North America. Documentary records of precipitation in China data back to the mid-15th century, and a well-replicated network of tree-ring chronologies from western North America dates to the early 17th century. These proxy climate records are used separately and together to estimate sea-level pressure variations over the North Pacific back to 1600 A.D. The models are calibrated over the period 1899 to 1950 and verified over the independent period, 1951 to 1963. The best estimates, derived from predictors in China and western North America, calibrate 44.7 % of summer sea-level pressure variance. The study demonstrates the potential of combining different proxy data sources to derive estimates of past climate.

Fact Sheet: Reporting After Changes to Company Ownership or Legal Identity

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides information for persons who may be subject to the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule about issues related to changes to company ownership or legal identity which may affect reporting for 2016.

A Performance Assessment of an Airborne Separation Assistance System Using Realistic Complex Traffic Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Jeremy C.; Bussink, Frank J. L.

2008-01-01

This paper presents the results from a study that investigates the performance of a tactical Airborne Separation Assistance System (ASAS) in en route airspace, under varying demand levels, with realistic traffic flows. The ASAS concept studied here allows flight crews of equipped aircraft to perform separation from other air traffic autonomously. This study addresses the tactical aspects of an ASAS using aircraft state data (i.e. position and velocity) to detect and resolve projected conflicts. In addition, use of a conflict prevention system helps ASAS-equipped aircraft avoid maneuvers that may cause new conflicts. ASAS-capable aircraft are equipped with satellite-based navigation and Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) for transmission and receipt of aircraft state data. In addition to tactical conflict detection and resolution (CD&R), a complete, integrated ASAS is likely to incorporate a strategic CD&R component with a longer look-ahead time, using trajectory intent information. A system-wide traffic flow management (TFM) component, located at the FAA command center helps aircraft to avoid regions of excessive traffic density and complexity. A Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), as used today is the system of last resort. This integrated approach avoids sole reliance on the use of the tactical CD&R studied here, but the tactical component remains a critical element of the complete ASAS. The focus of this paper is to determine to what extent the proposed tactical component of ASAS alone can maintain aircraft separation at demand levels up to three times that of current traffic. The study also investigates the effect of mixing ASAS-equipped aircraft with unequipped aircraft (i.e. current day) that do not have the capability to self-separate. Position and velocity data for unequipped aircraft needs to be available to ASASequipped. Most likely, for this future concept, state data would be available from instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft, equipped with at least ADS-B transmission capability. The objective is to reduce the number of losses of separation to a minimum and investigate the limits of tactical-only CD&R. Thus, the objective is not, expressly, to achieve zero losses of separation with tactical ASAS because this is one component of an integrated ASAS.

Comparison Of In Situ Soil Moisture Measurements: An Examination of the Neutron and Dielectric Measurements within the Illinois Climate Network

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The continuity of soil moisture time series data is crucial for climatic research. Yet, a common problem for continuous data series is the changing of sensors, not only as replacements are necessary, but as technologies evolve. The Illinois Climate Network has one of the longest data records of soi...

Lower sulfurtransferase detoxification rates of cyanide in konzo-A tropical spastic paralysis linked to cassava cyanogenic poisoning.

PubMed

Kambale, K J; Ali, E R; Sadiki, N H; Kayembe, K P; Mvumbi, L G; Yandju, D L; Boivin, M J; Boss, G R; Stadler, D D; Lambert, W E; Lasarev, M R; Okitundu, L A; Mumba Ngoyi, D; Banea, J P; Tshala-Katumbay, D D

2017-03-01

Using a matched case-control design, we sought to determine whether the odds of konzo, a distinct spastic paraparesis associated with food (cassava) cyanogenic exposure in the tropics, were associated with lower cyanide detoxification rates (CDR) and malnutrition. Children with konzo (N=122, 5-17 years of age) were age- and sex-matched with presumably healthy controls (N=87) and assessed for motor and cognition performances, cyanogenic exposure, nutritional status, and cyanide detoxification rates (CDR). Cyanogenic exposure was ascertained by thiocyanate (SCN) concentrations in plasma (P-SCN) and urine (U-SCN). Children with a height-for-age z-score (HAZNCHS)<-2 were classified as nutritionally stunted. CDR was measured as time required to convert cyanide to SCN, and expressed as ms/μmol SCN/mg protein or as mmolSCN/ml plasma/min. Mean (SD) U-SCN in children with konzo was 521.9 (353.6) μmol/l and was, significantly higher than 384.6 (223.7) μmol/l in those without konzo. Conditional regression analysis of data for age- and sex- matched case-control pairs showed that konzo was associated with stunting (OR: 5.8; 95% CI: 2.7-12.8; p<0.01; N=83 paired groups) and higher U-SCN (OR: 1.1; 95% CI: 1.02-1.20 per 50-μmol increase in U-SCN; p=0.02; N=47 paired groups). After adjusting for stunting and U-SCN, the odds of developing konzo was reduced by 63% (95% CI: 11-85%, p=0.03; N=41 paired groups) for each 5mmol SCN/(ml plasma/min)-increase in CDR. Linear regression analysis indicated a significant association between BOT-2 or KABC-II scores and both the HAZNCHS z-score and the U-SCN concentration, but not the CDR. Our findings provide evidence in support of interventions to remove cyanogenic compounds from cassava prior to human consumption or, peharps, enhance the detoxification of cyanide in those relying on the cassava as the main source of food. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lower sulfurtransferase detoxification rates of cyanide in konzo—A tropical spastic paralysis linked to cassava cyanogenic poisoning

PubMed Central

Kambale, K.J.; Ali, E.R.; Sadiki, N.H.; Kayembe, K.P.; Mvumbi, L.G.; Yandju, D.L.; Boivin, M.J.; Boss, G.R.; Stadler, D.D.; Lambert, W.E.; Lasarev, M.R.; Okitundu, L.A.; Ngoyi, D. Mumba; Banea, J.P.; Tshala-Katumbay, D.D.

2016-01-01

Using a matched case-control design, we sought to determine whether the odds of konzo, a distinct spastic paraparesis associated with food (cassava) cyanogenic exposure in the tropics, were associated with lower cyanide detoxification rates (CDR) and malnutrition. Children with konzo (N= 122, 5–17 years of age) were age- and sex-matched with presumably healthy controls (N = 87) and assessed for motor and cognition performances, cyanogenic exposure, nutritional status, and cyanide detoxification rates (CDR). Cyanogenic exposure was ascertained by thiocyanate (SCN) concentrations in plasma (P-SCN) and urine (U-SCN). Children with a height-for-age z-score (HAZNCHS) < −2 were classified as nutritionally stunted. CDR was measured as time required to convert cyanide to SCN, and expressed as ms/μmol SCN/mg protein or as mmolSCN/ml plasma/min. Mean (SD) U-SCN in children with konzo was 521.9 (353.6) μmol/l and was, significantly higher than 384.6 (223.7) μmol/l in those without konzo. Conditional regression analysis of data for age- and sex- matched case-control pairs showed that konzo was associated with stunting (OR: 5.8; 95% CI: 2.7–12.8; p <0.01; N = 83 paired groups) and higher U-SCN (OR: 1.1; 95% CI: 1.02–1.20 per 50-μmol increase in U-SCN; p = 0.02; N = 47 paired groups). After adjusting for stunting and U-SCN, the odds of developing konzo was reduced by 63% (95% CI: 11–85%, p = 0.03; N = 41 paired groups) for each 5 mmol SCN/(ml plasma/min)-increase in CDR. Linear regression analysis indicated a significant association between BOT-2 or KABC-II scores and both the HAZNCHS z-score and the U-SCN concentration, but not the CDR. Our findings provide evidence in support of interventions to remove cyanogenic compounds from cassava prior to human consumption or, peharps, enhance the detoxification of cyanide in those relying on the cassava as the main source of food. PMID:27246648

Climate Trends and Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Change in Zambia.

PubMed

Mulenga, Brian P; Wineman, Ayala; Sitko, Nicholas J

2017-02-01

A number of studies use meteorological records to analyze climate trends and assess the impact of climate change on agricultural yields. While these provide quantitative evidence on climate trends and the likely effects thereof, they incorporate limited qualitative analysis of farmers' perceptions of climate change and/or variability. The present study builds on the quantitative methods used elsewhere to analyze climate trends, and in addition compares local narratives of climate change with evidence found in meteorological records in Zambia. Farmers offer remarkably consistent reports of a rainy season that is growing shorter and less predictable. For some climate parameters-notably, rising average temperature-there is a clear overlap between farmers' observations and patterns found in the meteorological records. However, the data do not support the perception that the rainy season used to begin earlier, and we generally do not detect a reported increase in the frequency of dry spells. Several explanations for these discrepancies are offered. Further, we provide policy recommendations to help farmers adapt to climate change/variability, as well as suggestions to shape future climate change policies, programs, and research in developing countries.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Molecular Mimicry between Anti-dsDNA CDR3 Idiotype, Microbial and Self Peptides-As Antigens for Th Cells.

PubMed

Aas-Hanssen, Kristin; Thompson, Keith M; Bogen, Bjarne; Munthe, Ludvig A

2015-01-01

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is marked by a T helper (Th) cell-dependent B cell hyperresponsiveness, with frequent germinal center reactions, and gammaglobulinemia. A feature of SLE is the finding of IgG autoantibodies specific for dsDNA. The specificity of the Th cells that drive the expansion of anti-dsDNA B cells is unresolved. However, anti-microbial, anti-histone, and anti-idiotype Th cell responses have been hypothesized to play a role. It has been entirely unclear if these seemingly disparate Th cell responses and hypotheses could be related or unified. Here, we describe that H chain CDR3 idiotypes from IgG(+) B cells of lupus mice have sequence similarities with both microbial and self peptides. Matched sequences were more frequent within the mutated CDR3 repertoire and when sequences were derived from lupus mice with expanded anti-dsDNA B cells. Analyses of histone sequences showed that particular histone peptides were similar to VDJ junctions. Moreover, lupus mice had Th cell responses toward histone peptides similar to anti-dsDNA CDR3 sequences. The results suggest that Th cells in lupus may have multiple cross-reactive specificities linked to the IgVH CDR3 Id-peptide sequences as well as similar DNA-associated protein motifs.

Amyloid-β--associated clinical decline occurs only in the presence of elevated P-tau.

PubMed

Desikan, Rahul S; McEvoy, Linda K; Thompson, Wesley K; Holland, Dominic; Brewer, James B; Aisen, Paul S; Sperling, Reisa A; Dale, Anders M

2012-06-01

To elucidate the relationship between the 2 hallmark proteins of Alzheimer disease (AD), amyloid-(Aβ) and tau, and clinical decline over time among cognitively normal older individuals. A longitudinal cohort of clinically and cognitively normal older individuals assessed with baseline lumbar puncture and longitudinal clinical assessments. Research centers across the United States and Canada. We examined 107 participants with a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) of 0 at baseline examination. Using linear mixed effects models, we investigated the relationship between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) phospho-tau 181 (p-tau(181p)),CSF Aβ(1-42), and clinical decline as assessed using longitudinal change in global CDR, CDR-Sum of Boxes, and the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale. We found a significant relationship between decreased CSF Aβ(1-42) and longitudinal change in global CDR,CDR-Sum of Boxes, and Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale in individuals with elevated CSFp-tau(181p). In the absence of CSF p-tau(181p), the effect of CSF Aβ(1-42) on longitudinal clinical decline was not significantly different from 0. In cognitively normal older individuals,A-associated clinical decline during a mean of 3 years may occur only in the presence of ongoing downstream neurodegeneration.

Is it feasible to estimate radiosonde biases from interlaced measurements?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kremser, Stefanie; Tradowsky, Jordis S.; Rust, Henning W.; Bodeker, Greg E.

2018-05-01

Upper-air measurements of essential climate variables (ECVs), such as temperature, are crucial for climate monitoring and climate change detection. Because of the internal variability of the climate system, many decades of measurements are typically required to robustly detect any trend in the climate data record. It is imperative for the records to be temporally homogeneous over many decades to confidently estimate any trend. Historically, records of upper-air measurements were primarily made for short-term weather forecasts and as such are seldom suitable for studying long-term climate change as they lack the required continuity and homogeneity. Recognizing this, the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN) has been established to provide reference-quality measurements of climate variables, such as temperature, pressure, and humidity, together with well-characterized and traceable estimates of the measurement uncertainty. To ensure that GRUAN data products are suitable to detect climate change, a scientifically robust instrument replacement strategy must always be adopted whenever there is a change in instrumentation. By fully characterizing any systematic differences between the old and new measurement system a temporally homogeneous data series can be created. One strategy is to operate both the old and new instruments in tandem for some overlap period to characterize any inter-instrument biases. However, this strategy can be prohibitively expensive at measurement sites operated by national weather services or research institutes. An alternative strategy that has been proposed is to alternate between the old and new instruments, so-called interlacing, and then statistically derive the systematic biases between the two instruments. Here we investigate the feasibility of such an approach specifically for radiosondes, i.e. flying the old and new instruments on alternating days. Synthetic data sets are used to explore the applicability of this statistical approach to radiosonde change management.

Student Borrowing in America: Metrics, Demographics, Default Aversion Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kesterman, Frank

2006-01-01

The use of Cohort Default Rate (CDR) as the primary measure of student loan defaults among undergraduates was investigated. The study used data extracted from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), quantitative analysis of Likert-scale survey responses from 153 student financial aid professionals on proposed changes to present metrics and…

Validation of PI-RADS version 2 for the detection of prostate cancer.

PubMed

Hofbauer, Sebastian L; Kittner, Beatrice; Maxeiner, Andreas; Heckmann, Robin; Reimann, Maximillian; Wiemer, Laura; Asbach, Patrick; Haas, Matthias; Penzkofer, Tobias; Stephan, Carsten; Friedersdorff, Frank; Fuller, Florian; Miller, Kurt; Cash, Hannes

2018-05-04

The second version of the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADSv2) was introduced in 2015 to standardize the interpretation and reporting of multiparametric prostate magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI). Recently, low cancer detection rates (CDR) for PI-RADSv2 category 4 lesions were reported. Therefore the aim of the study was to evaluate the CDR of PI-RADSv2 in a large prospective cohort. The study included 704 consecutive men with primary or prior negative biopsies who underwent MRI/ultrasound fusion-guided targeted biopsy (TB) and 10-core systematic prostate biopsy (SB) between September 2015 and May 2017. All lesions were rated according to PI-RADSv2 and lesions with PI-RADSv2 category ≥ 3 were biopsied. An ISUP (International Society of Urological Pathology) score of 2 or greater (i.e. Gleason 3+4 or greater) was defined as clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa). The overall CDR for PI-RADSv2 categories 3, 4, and 5 was 39%, 72%, and 91% for all PCa, and 23%, 49%, and 77% for all csPCa, respectively. Fifty-nine (16%) clinically significant tumors would have been missed if only TB was performed. The PI-RADSv2 score was significantly associated with the presence of PCa (p<0.001), the presence of csPCa (p<0.001), and the ISUP grading (p<0.001). PI-RADSv2 is significantly associated with the presence of csPCa. The CDR for PI-RADSv2 category 4 lesions was considerably higher than previously reported. When performing TB, the combination with a SB still warrants the highest detection of csPCa. Copyright © 2018 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Combining select neuropsychological assessment with blood-based biomarkers to detect mild Alzheimer's disease: a molecular neuropsychology approach.

PubMed

Edwards, Melissa; Balldin, Valerie Hobson; Hall, James; O'Bryant, Sid

2014-01-01

Current work has sought to establish a rapid and cost effective means of screening for Alzheimer's disease (AD) with the most recent findings showing utility of integrating blood-based biomarkers with cognitive measures. The current project sought to create a combined biomarker-cognitive profile to detect mild AD. Data was analyzed from 266 participants (129 AD cases [Early AD n = 93; Very Early AD n = 36]; 137 controls) enrolled in the Texas Alzheimer's Research and Care Consortium (TARCC). Non-fasting serum samples were collected from each participant and assayed via a multi-plex biomarker assay platform using electrochemiluminescence. Logistic Regression was utilized to detect early AD using two serum biomarkers (TNFα and IL7), demographic information (age), and one neuropsychological measure (Clock 4-point) as predictor variable. Disease severity was determined via Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale global scores. In the total sample (all levels of CDR scores), the combination of biomarkers, cognitive test score, and demographics yielded the obtained sensitivity (SN) of 0.94, specificity (SP) of 0.90, and an overall accuracy of 0.92. When examining early AD cases (i.e.m CDR = 0.5-1), the biomarker-cognitive profile yielded SN of 0.94, SP of 0.85, and an overall accuracy of 0.91. When restricted to very early AD cases (i.e., CDR = 0.5), the biomarker-cognitive profile yielded SN of 0.97 and SP of 0.72, with an overall accuracy of 0.91. The combination of demographics, two biomarkers, and one cognitive test created a biomarker-cognitive profile that was highly accurate in detecting the presence of AD, even in the very early stages.

Analysis of the binding loops configuration and surface adaptation of different crystallized single-domain antibodies in response to various antigens.

PubMed

Al Qaraghuli, Mohammed M; Ferro, Valerie A

2017-04-01

Monoclonal antibodies have revolutionized the biomedical field through their ubiquitous utilization in different diagnostics and therapeutic applications. Despite this widespread use, their large size and structural complexity have limited their versatility in specific applications. The antibody variable region that is responsible for binding antigen is embodied within domains that can be rescued individually as single-domain antibody (sdAb) fragments. Because of the unique characteristics of sdAbs, such as low molecular weight, high physicochemical stability, and the ability to bind antigens inaccessible to conventional antibodies, they represent a viable alternative to full-length antibodies. Consequently, 149 crystal structures of sdAbs, originating from human (VH), camelids (VHH), or sharks (VNAR), were retrieved from the Protein Data Bank, and their structures were compared. The 3 types of sdAbs displayed complementarity determining regions (CDRs) with different lengths and configurations. CDR3 of the VHH and VNAR domains were dominated by pleated and extended orientations, respectively. Although VNAR showed the smallest average molecular weight and molecular surface area compared with VHH and VH antibodies. However, the solvent accessible surface area measurements of the 3 tested sdAbs types were very similar. All the antihapten VHH antibodies showed pleated CDR3, which were sufficient to create a binding pocket to accommodate haptens (methotrexate and azo dyes) in terms of shape and electrostatic potential. The sdAbs that recognized lysozyme showed more diversity in their CDR3 orientation to enable them to recognize various topographies of lysozyme. Subsequently, the three sdAb classes were different in size and surface area and have shown distinguishable ability to optimize their CDR length and orientation to recognize different antigen classes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Failure to Obtain Computed Tomography Imaging in Head Trauma: A Review of Relevant Case Law.

PubMed

Lindor, Rachel A; Boie, Eric T; Campbell, Ronna L; Hess, Erik P; Sadosty, Annie T

2015-12-01

The objectives were to describe lawsuits against providers for failing to order head computed tomography (CT) in cases of head trauma and to determine the potential effects of available clinical decision rules (CDRs) on each lawsuit. The authors collected jury verdicts, settlements, and court opinions regarding alleged malpractice for failure to order head CT in the setting of head trauma from 1972 through February 2014 from an online legal research tool (WestlawNext). Data were abstracted onto a standardized data form. The performance of five CDRs was evaluated. Sixty relevant cases were identified (52 adult, eight children). Of 48 cases with known outcomes, providers were found negligent in 10 cases (six adult, four pediatric), settled in 11 cases (nine adult, two pediatric), and were found not liable in 27 cases. In all 10 cases in which providers were found negligent, every applicable CDR studied would have indicated the need for head CT. In all eight cases involving children, the applicable CDR would have suggested the need for head CT or observation. A review of legal cases reported in a major online legal research system revealed 60 lawsuits in which providers were sued for failing to order head CTs in cases of head trauma. In all cases in which providers were found negligent, CT imaging or observation would have been indicated by every applicable CDR. © 2015 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Cdr. Wilcutt reads documents at the command station

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-02-25

STS089-362-010 (22-31 Jan. 1998) --- Astronaut Terrence W. (Terry) Wilcutt, STS-89 mission commander, peruses data on a checklist at the commander's station on the port side of the space shuttle Endeavour's flight deck. Photo credit: NASA

Surface Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet Derived from Paleoclimate Reanalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badgeley, J.; Steig, E. J.; Hakim, G. J.; Anderson, J.; Tardif, R.

2017-12-01

Modeling past ice-sheet behavior requires independent knowledge of past surface mass balance. Though models provide useful insight into ice-sheet response to climate forcing, if past climate is unknown, then ascertaining the rate and extent of past ice-sheet change is limited to geological and geophysical constraints. We use a novel data-assimilation framework developed under the Last Millennium Reanalysis Project (Hakim et al., 2016) to reconstruct past climate over ice sheets with the intent of creating an independent surface mass balance record for paleo ice-sheet modeling. Paleoclimate data assimilation combines the physics of climate models and the time series evidence of proxy records in an offline, ensemble-based approach. This framework allows for the assimilation of numerous proxy records and archive types while maintaining spatial consistency with known climate dynamics and physics captured by the models. In our reconstruction, we use the Community Climate System Model version 4, CMIP5 last millennium simulation (Taylor et al., 2012; Landrum et al., 2013) and a nearly complete database of ice core oxygen isotope records to reconstruct Holocene surface temperature and precipitation over the Greenland Ice Sheet on a decadal timescale. By applying a seasonality to this reconstruction (from the TraCE-21ka simulation; Liu et al., 2009), our reanalysis can be used in seasonally-based surface mass balance models. Here we discuss the methods behind our reanalysis and the performance of our reconstruction through prediction of unassimilated proxy records and comparison to paleoclimate reconstructions and reanalysis products.

Monthly mean global satellite data sets available in CCM history tape format

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurrell, James W.; Campbell, G. Garrett

1992-01-01

Satellite data for climate monitoring have become increasingly important over the past decade, especially with increasing concern for inadvertent antropogenic climate change. Although most satellite based data are of short record, satellites can provide the global coverage that traditional meteorological observations network lack. In addition, satellite data are invaluable for the validation of climate models, and they are useful for many diagnostic studies. Herein, several satellite data sets were processed and transposed into 'history tape' format for use with the Community Climate Model (CCM) modular processor. Only a few of the most widely used and best documented data sets were selected at this point, although future work will expand the number of data sets examined as well as update the archived data sets. An attempt was made to include data of longer record and only monthly averaged data were processed. For studies using satellite data over an extended period, it is important to recognize the impact of changes in instrumentation, drift in instrument calibration, errors introduced by retrieval algorithms and other sources of errors such as those resulting from insufficient space and/or time sampling.

Expressions of climate perturbations in western Ugandan crater lake sediment records during the last 1000 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, K.; Ryves, D. B.; Anderson, N. J.; Bryant, C. L.; Tyler, J. J.

2014-08-01

Equatorial East Africa has a complex regional patchwork of climate regimes, sensitive to climate fluctuations over a variety of temporal and spatial scales during the late Holocene. Understanding how these changes are recorded in and interpreted from biological and geochemical proxies in lake sedimentary records remains a key challenge to answering fundamental questions regarding the nature, spatial extent and synchroneity of climatic changes seen in East African palaeo-records. Using a paired lake approach, where neighbouring lakes share the same geology, climate and landscape, it might be expected that the systems will respond similarly to external climate forcing. Sediment cores from two crater lakes in western Uganda spanning the last ~1000 years were examined to assess diatom community responses to late Holocene climate and environmental changes, and to test responses to multiple drivers using redundancy analysis (RDA). These archives provide annual to sub-decadal records of environmental change. Lakes Nyamogusingiri and Kyasanduka appear to operate as independent systems in their recording of a similar hydrological response signal via distinct diatom records. However, whilst their fossil diatom records demonstrate an individualistic, indirect response to external (e.g. climatic) drivers, the inferred lake levels show similar overall trends and reflect the broader patterns observed in Uganda and across East Africa. The lakes appear to be sensitive to large-scale climatic perturbations, with evidence of a dry Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; ca. AD 1000-1200). The diatom record from Lake Nyamogusingiri suggests a drying climate during the main phase of the Little Ice Age (LIA) (ca. AD 1600-1800), whereas the diatom response from the shallower Lake Kyasanduka is more complex (with groundwater likely playing a key role), and may be driven more by changes in silica and other nutrients, rather than by lake level. The sensitivity of these two Ugandan lakes to regional climate drivers breaks down in ca. AD 1800, when major changes in the ecosystems appear to be a response to increasing cultural impacts within the lake catchments, although both proxy records appear to respond to the drought recorded across East Africa in the mid-20th century. The data highlight the complexity of diatom community responses to external drivers (climate or cultural), even in neighbouring, shallow freshwater lakes. This research also illustrates the importance of, and the need to move towards, a multi-lake, multi-proxy landscape approach to understanding regional hydrological change which will allow for rigorous testing of climate reconstructions, climate forcing and ecosystem response models.

Studying Weather and Climate Using Atmospheric Retrospective Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosilovich, M. G.

2014-12-01

Over the last 35 years, tremendous amounts of satellite observations of the Earth's atmosphere have been collected along side the much longer and diverse record of in situ measurements. The satellite data records have disparate qualities, structure and uncertainty which make comparing weather from the 80s and 2000s a challenging prospect. Likewise, in-situ data records lack complete coverage of the earth in both space and time. Atmospheric reanalyses use the observations with numerical models and data assimilation to produce continuous and consistent weather data records for periods longer than decades. The result is a simplified data format with a relatively straightforward learning curve that includes many more variables available (through the modeling component of the system), but driven by a full suite of observational data. The simplified data format allows introduction into weather and climate data analysis. Some examples are provided from undergraduate meteorology program internship projects. We will present the students progression through the projects from their initial understanding and competencies to some final results and the skills learned along the way. Reanalyses are a leading research tool in weather and climate, but can also provide an introductory experience as well, allowing students to develop an understanding of the physical system while learning basic programming and analysis skills.

The Interfaces Between Historical, Paleo-, and Modern Climatology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mock, C. J.

2011-12-01

Historical climatology, commonly defined as the study of reconstructing past climates from documentary and early instrumental data, has routinely utilized data within the last several hundred years down to sub-daily temporal resolution prior to the advent of "modern" instrumental records beginning in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Historical climate reconstruction methods generally share similar aspects conducted in both paleoclimate reconstruction and modern climatology, given the need to quantify, calibrate, and conduct careful data quality assessments. Although some studies have integrated historical climatic studies with other high resolution paleoclimatic proxies, very few efforts have integrated historical data with modern "systematic" climate networks to further examine spatial and temporal patterns of climate variability. This presentation describes historical climate examples of how such data can be integrated within modern climate timescales, including examples of documentary data on tropical cyclones from the Western Pacific and Atlantic Basins, colonial records from Belize and Constantinople, ship logbooks in the Western Arctic, plantation diaries from the American Southeast, and newspaper data from the Fiji Islands and Bermuda. Some results include a unique wet period in Belize and active tropical cyclone periods in the Western and South Pacific in the early 20th century - both are not reflected in conventional modern climate datasets. Documentary data examples demonstrate high feasibility in further understanding extreme weather events at daily timeframes such as false spring/killing frost episodes and hydrological extremes in southeastern North America. Recent unique efforts also involve community participation, secondary education, and web- based volunteer efforts to digitize and archive historical weather and climate information.

Immune repertoire: A potential biomarker and therapeutic for hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed

Han, Yingxin; Li, Hongmei; Guan, Yanfang; Huang, Jian

2016-09-01

The immune repertoire (IR) refers to the sum of B cells and T cells with functional diversity in the circulatory system of one individual at any given time. Immune cells, which reside within microenvironments and are responsible for protecting the human body, include T cells, B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. These dedicated immune cells have a characteristic structure and function. T and B cells are the main lymphocytes and are responsible for cellular immunity and humoral immunity, respectively. The T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR) are composed of multiple peptide chains with antigen specificity. The amino acid composition and sequence order are more diverse in the complementarity-determining regions (including CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3) of each peptide chain, allowing a vast library of TCRs and BCRs. IR research is becoming increasingly focused on the study of CDR3 diversity. Deep profiling of CDR3s using high-throughput sequencing is a powerful approach for elucidating the composition and distribution of the CDR3s in a given sample, with in-depth information at the sequence level. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world. To identify novel biomarkers for diagnosis and drug targets for therapeutic interventions, several groups attempted to describe immune repertoire characteristics of the liver in the physiological environment or/and pathological conditions. This paper reviews the recent progress in IR research on human diseases, including hepatocellular carcinoma, attempting to depict the relationships between hepatocellular carcinogenesis and the IR, and discusses the possibility of IR as a potential biomarker and therapeutic for hepatocellular carcinoma. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

SU-F-T-344: Commissioning Constant Dose Rate VMAT in the Raystation Treatment Planning System for a Varian Clinac IX

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pursley, J; Gueorguiev, G; Prichard, H

Purpose: To demonstrate the commissioning of constant dose rate volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in the Raystation treatment planning system for a Varian Clinac iX with Exact couch. Methods: Constant dose rate (CDR) VMAT is an option in the Raystation treatment planning system, enabling VMAT delivery on Varian linacs without a RapidArc upgrade. Raystation 4.7 was used to commission CDR-VMAT for a Varian Clinac iX. Raystation arc model parameters were selected to match machine deliverability characteristics. A Varian Exact couch model was added to Raystation 4.7 and commissioned for use in VMAT optimization. CDR-VMAT commissioning checks were performed on themore » linac, including patient-specific QA measurements for 10 test patients using both the ArcCHECK from Sun Nuclear Corporation and COMPASS from IBA Dosimetry. Multi-criteria optimization (MCO) in Raystation was used for CDR-VMAT planning. Results: Raystation 4.7 generated clinically acceptable and deliverable CDR-VMAT plans for the Varian Clinac. VMAT plans were optimized including a model of the Exact couch with both rails in the out positions. CDR-VMAT plans generated with MCO in Raystation were dosimetrically comparable to Raystation MCO-generated IMRT plans. Patient-specific QA measurements with the ArcCHECK on the couch showed good agreement with the treatment planning system prediction. Patient-specific, structure-specific, multi-statistical parameter 3D QA measurements with gantry-mounted COMPASS also showed good agreement. Conclusion: Constant dose rate VMAT was successfully modeled in Raystation 4.7 for a Varian Clinac iX, and Raystation’s multicriteria optimization generated constant dose rate VMAT plans which were deliverable and dosimetrically comparable to IMRT plans.« less

The Unusual Genetics and Biochemistry of Bovine Immunoglobulins.

PubMed

Stanfield, Robyn L; Haakenson, Jeremy; Deiss, Thaddeus C; Criscitiello, Michael F; Wilson, Ian A; Smider, Vaughn V

2018-01-01

Antibodies are the key circulating molecules that have evolved to fight infection by the adaptive immune system of vertebrates. Typical antibodies of most species contain six complementarity-determining regions (CDRs), where the third CDR of the heavy chain (CDR H3) has the greatest diversity and often makes the most significant contact with antigen. Generally, the process of V(D)J recombination produces a vast repertoire of antibodies; multiple V, D, and J gene segments recombine with additional junctional diversity at the V-D and D-J joints, and additional combinatorial possibilities occur through heavy- and light-chain pairing. Despite these processes, the overall structure of the resulting antibody is largely conserved, and binding to antigen occurs predominantly through the CDR loops of the immunoglobulin V domains. Bovines have deviated from this general paradigm by having few VH regions and thus little germline combinatorial diversity, but their antibodies contain long CDR H3 regions, with substantial diversity generated through somatic hypermutation. A subset of the repertoire comprises antibodies with ultralong CDR H3s, which can reach over 70 amino acids in length. Structurally, these unusual antibodies form a β-ribbon "stalk" and disulfide-bonded "knob" that protrude far from the antibody surface. These long CDR H3s allow cows to mount a particularly robust immune response when immunized with viral antigens, particularly to broadly neutralizing epitopes on a stabilized HIV gp140 trimer, which has been a challenge for other species. The unusual genetics and structural biology of cows provide for a unique paradigm for creation of immune diversity and could enable generation of antibodies against especially challenging targets and epitopes. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of the dementia assessment sheet for community-based integrated care system.

PubMed

Awata, Shuichi; Sugiyama, Mika; Ito, Kae; Ura, Chiaki; Miyamae, Fumiko; Sakuma, Naoko; Niikawa, Hirotoshi; Okamura, Tsuyoshi; Inagaki, Hiroki; Ijuin, Mutsuo

2016-03-01

A series of our studies on the development of the Dementia Assessment Sheet for Community-based Integrated Care System 21-items (DASC-21) were reviewed. Study 1: to examine the distribution of scores and internal reliability of DASC-21, trained nurses and researchers visited the homes of 1341 participants aged 65 years and older and living in the community. The nurses interviewed the participants and, when possible, their family members, to complete the DASC-21. Then, the Mini-Mental State Examination was carried out to select the participants of study 2. Study 2: to examine the concurrent and discriminant validity, experienced psychiatrists and psychologists, who were blind to the findings of study 1, visited the homes of 131 subjects who were selected from the participants of study 1 and completed the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Cronbach's coefficient alpha of the DASC-21 was 0.808-0.950. Scores of the DASC-21 significantly correlated with CDR total and box scores, Mini-Mental State Examination and Frontal Assessment Battery. In an analysis of variance, CDR had the main effect on the score of the DASC-21. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the DASC-21 had sufficient discriminatory ability between dementia (CDR1+) and non-dementia (CDR0 or CDR0.5; area under the curve = 0.804-0.895). When using a cut-off point of 30/31, sensitivity was 83.3-94.1% and specificity was 77.3-86.4%. The DASC-21 has sufficient reliability and validity as a tool to evaluate impairments in daily functioning and in cognitive functions, to detect dementia, and to assess the severity of dementia in the community. © 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Cine film replacement: digital archival requirements and remaining obstacles.

PubMed

Holmes, D R; Wondrow, M A; Bell, M R; Nissen, S E; Cusma, J T

1998-07-01

The acceptance of the Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) standard and the Compact Disk-Recordable (CD-R) as the interchange medium have been critical developments for laboratories that need to move forward on the cine replacement front, while at the same time retain a means to communicate with other centers. One remaining essential component which has not been satisfactorily addressed is the issue of how digital image data should be archived within an institution. Every laboratory must consider the diverse issues which affect the choice of a digital archiving system. These factors include technical and economic issues, along with the clinical routines prevailing in their laboratory. A complete understanding of the issues will lead to the formulation of multiple options which may prove acceptable and will help to overcome the last obstacle which remains for the complete replacement of cine film in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.

Climate variability and human impact in South America during the last 2000 years: synthesis and perspectives from pollen records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flantua, S. G. A.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Vuille, M.; Behling, H.; Carson, J. F.; Gosling, W. D.; Hoyos, I.; Ledru, M. P.; Montoya, E.; Mayle, F.; Maldonado, A.; Rull, V.; Tonello, M. S.; Whitney, B. S.; González-Arango, C.

2016-02-01

An improved understanding of present-day climate variability and change relies on high-quality data sets from the past 2 millennia. Global efforts to model regional climate modes are in the process of being validated against, and integrated with, records of past vegetation change. For South America, however, the full potential of vegetation records for evaluating and improving climate models has hitherto not been sufficiently acknowledged due to an absence of information on the spatial and temporal coverage of study sites. This paper therefore serves as a guide to high-quality pollen records that capture environmental variability during the last 2 millennia. We identify 60 vegetation (pollen) records from across South America which satisfy geochronological requirements set out for climate modelling, and we discuss their sensitivity to the spatial signature of climate modes throughout the continent. Diverse patterns of vegetation response to climate change are observed, with more similar patterns of change in the lowlands and varying intensity and direction of responses in the highlands. Pollen records display local-scale responses to climate modes; thus, it is necessary to understand how vegetation-climate interactions might diverge under variable settings. We provide a qualitative translation from pollen metrics to climate variables. Additionally, pollen is an excellent indicator of human impact through time. We discuss evidence for human land use in pollen records and provide an overview considered useful for archaeological hypothesis testing and important in distinguishing natural from anthropogenically driven vegetation change. We stress the need for the palynological community to be more familiar with climate variability patterns to correctly attribute the potential causes of observed vegetation dynamics. This manuscript forms part of the wider LOng-Term multi-proxy climate REconstructions and Dynamics in South America - 2k initiative that provides the ideal framework for the integration of the various palaeoclimatic subdisciplines and palaeo-science, thereby jump-starting and fostering multidisciplinary research into environmental change on centennial and millennial timescales.

Long-Term Daily and Monthly Climate Records from Stations Across the Contiguous United States (U.S.Historical Climatology Network) (NDP-019)

DOE Data Explorer

Menne, M. J. [National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Williams, Jr., C. N. [National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Vose, R. S. [National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

2016-01-01

The United States Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) is a high-quality data set of daily and monthly records of basic meteorological variables from 1218 observing stations across the 48 contiguous United States. Daily data include observations of maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation amount, snowfall amount, and snow depth; monthly data consist of monthly-averaged maximum, minimum, and mean temperature and total monthly precipitation. Most of these stations are U.S. Cooperative Observing Network stations located generally in rural locations, while some are National Weather Service First-Order stations that are often located in more urbanized environments. The USHCN has been developed over the years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) to assist in the detection of regional climate change. Furthermore, it has been widely used in analyzing U.S. climte. The period of record varies for each station. USHCN stations were chosen using a number of criteria including length of record, percent of missing data, number of station moves and other station changes that may affect data homogeneity, and resulting network spatial coverage. Collaboration between NCDC and CDIAC on the USHCN project dates to the 1980s (Quinlan et al. 1987). At that time, in response to the need for an accurate, unbiased, modern historical climate record for the United States, the Global Change Research Program of the U.S. Department of Energy and NCDC chose a network of 1219 stations in the contiguous United States that would become a key baseline data set for monitoring U.S. climate. This initial USHCN data set contained monthly data and was made available free of charge from CDIAC. Since then it has been comprehensively updated several times [e.g., Karl et al. (1990) and Easterling et al. (1996)]. The initial USHCN daily data set was made available through CDIAC via Hughes et al. (1992) and contained a 138-station subset of the USHCN. This product was updated by Easterling et al. (1999) and expanded to include 1062 stations. In 2009 the daily USHCN dataset was expanded to include all 1218 stations in the USHCN.

Late Holocene droughts in the Fertile Crescent recorded in a speleothem from northern Iraq

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flohr, Pascal; Fleitmann, Dominik; Zorita, Eduardo; Sadekov, Aleksey; Cheng, Hai; Bosomworth, Matt; Edwards, Lawrence; Matthews, Wendy; Matthews, Roger

2017-02-01

Droughts have had large impacts on past and present societies. High-resolution paleoclimate data are essential to place recent droughts in a meaningful historical context and to predict regional future changes with greater accuracy. Such records, however, are very scarce in the Middle East in general, and the Fertile Crescent in particular. Here we present a 2400 year long speleothem-based multiproxy record from Gejkar Cave in northern Iraq. Oxygen and carbon isotopes and magnesium are faithful recorders of effective moisture. The new Gejkar record not only shows that droughts in 1998-2000 and 2007-2010, which have been argued to be a contributing factor to Syrian civil war, were extreme compared to the current mean climate, but they were also superimposed on a long-term aridification trend that already started around or before 950 C.E. (Common Era). This long-term trend is not captured by tree ring records and climate models, emphasizing the importance of using various paleoclimate proxy data to evaluate and improve climate models and to correctly inform policy makers about future hydroclimatic changes in this drought-prone region.

Subtropical Climate Variability since the Last Glacial Maximum from Speleothem Precipitation Reconstructions in Florida

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polk, J.; van Beynen, P.; DeLong, K. L.; Asmerom, Y.; Polyak, V. J.

2017-12-01

Teleconnections between the tropical-subtropical regions of the Americas since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), particularly the Mid- to Late-Holocene, and high-resolution proxy records refining climate variability over this period continue to receive increasing attention. Here, we present a high-resolution, precisely dated speleothem record spanning multiple periods of time since the LGM ( 30 ka) for the Florida peninsula. The data indicate that the amount effect plays a significant role in determining the isotopic signal of the speleothem calcite. Collectively, the records indicate distinct differences in climate in the region between the LGM, Mid-Holocene, and Late Holocene, including a progressive shift in ocean composition and precipitation isotopic values through the period, suggesting Florida's sensitivity to regional and global climatic shifts. Comparisons between speleothem δ18O values and Gulf of Mexico marine records reveal a strong connection between the Gulf region and the terrestrial subtropical climate in the Late Holocene, while the North Atlantic's influence is clear in the earlier portions of the record. Warmer sea surface temperatures correspond to enhanced evaporation, leading to more intense atmospheric convection in Florida, and thereby modulating the isotopic composition of rainfall above the cave. These regional signals in climate extend from the subtropics to the tropics, with a clear covariance between the speleothem signal and other proxy records from around the region, as well as global agreement during the LGM period with other records. These latter connections appear to be driven by changes in the mean position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and time series analysis of the δ18O values reveals significant multidecadal periodicities in the record, which are evidenced by agreement with the AMV and other multidecadal influences (NAO and PDO) likely having varying influence throughout the period of record. The climate variability recorded in our record suggests complex responses to major and abrupt shifts during these periods, likely due to Florida's subtropical location and the influence of multiple climate forcing mechanisms in the region.

Similarity regularized sparse group lasso for cup to disc ratio computation.

PubMed

Cheng, Jun; Zhang, Zhuo; Tao, Dacheng; Wong, Damon Wing Kee; Liu, Jiang; Baskaran, Mani; Aung, Tin; Wong, Tien Yin

2017-08-01

Automatic cup to disc ratio (CDR) computation from color fundus images has shown to be promising for glaucoma detection. Over the past decade, many algorithms have been proposed. In this paper, we first review the recent work in the area and then present a novel similarity-regularized sparse group lasso method for automated CDR estimation. The proposed method reconstructs the testing disc image based on a set of reference disc images by integrating the similarity between testing and the reference disc images with the sparse group lasso constraints. The reconstruction coefficients are then used to estimate the CDR of the testing image. The proposed method has been validated using 650 images with manually annotated CDRs. Experimental results show an average CDR error of 0.0616 and a correlation coefficient of 0.7, outperforming other methods. The areas under curve in the diagnostic test reach 0.843 and 0.837 when manual and automatically segmented discs are used respectively, better than other methods as well.

Establishment of cell lines from adult T-cell leukemia cells dependent on negatively charged polymers.

PubMed

Kagami, Yoshitoyo; Uchiyama, Susumu; Kato, Harumi; Okada, Yasutaka; Seto, Masao; Kinoshita, Tomohiro

2017-07-05

Growing adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) cells in vitro is difficult. Here, we examined the effects of static electricity in the culture medium on the proliferation of ATLL cells. Six out of 10 ATLL cells did not proliferate in vitro and thus had to be cultured in a medium containing negatively charged polymers. In the presence of poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA) or chondroitin sulfate (CDR), cell lines (HKOX3-PGA, HKOX3-CDR) were established from the same single ATLL case using interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, and feeder cells expressing OX40L (OX40L + HK). Dextran sulfate inhibited growth in both HKOX3 cell lines. Both PGA and OX40L + HK were indispensable for HKOX3-PGA growth, but HKOX3-CDR could proliferate in the presence of CDR or OX40L + HK alone. Thus, the specific action of each negatively charged polymer promoted the growth of specific ATLL cells in vitro.

Humanization of Antibodies Using Heavy Chain Complementarity-determining Region 3 Grafting Coupled with in Vitro Somatic Hypermutation*

PubMed Central

Bowers, Peter M.; Neben, Tamlyn Y.; Tomlinson, Geoffery L.; Dalton, Jennifer L.; Altobell, Larry; Zhang, Xue; Macomber, John L.; Wu, Betty F.; Toobian, Rachelle M.; McConnell, Audrey D.; Verdino, Petra; Chau, Betty; Horlick, Robert A.; King, David J.

2013-01-01

A method for simultaneous humanization and affinity maturation of monoclonal antibodies has been developed using heavy chain complementarity-determining region (CDR) 3 grafting combined with somatic hypermutation in vitro. To minimize the amount of murine antibody-derived antibody sequence used during humanization, only the CDR3 region from a murine antibody that recognizes the cytokine hβNGF was grafted into a nonhomologous human germ line V region. The resulting CDR3-grafted HC was paired with a CDR-grafted light chain, displayed on the surface of HEK293 cells, and matured using in vitro somatic hypermutation. A high affinity humanized antibody was derived that was considerably more potent than the parental antibody, possessed a low pm dissociation constant, and demonstrated potent inhibition of hβNGF activity in vitro. The resulting antibody contained half the heavy chain murine donor sequence compared with the same antibody humanized using traditional methods. PMID:23355464

On data processing required to derive mobility patterns from passively-generated mobile phone data

PubMed Central

Wang, Feilong; Chen, Cynthia

2018-01-01

Passively-generated mobile phone data is emerging as a potential data source for transportation research and applications. Despite the large amount of studies based on the mobile phone data, only a few have reported the properties of such data, and documented how they have processed the data. In this paper, we describe two types of common mobile phone data: Call Details Record (CDR) data and sightings data, and propose a data processing framework and the associated algorithms to address two key issues associated with the sightings data: locational uncertainty and oscillation. We show the effectiveness of our proposed methods in addressing these two issues compared to the state of art algorithms in the field. We also demonstrate that without proper processing applied to the data, the statistical regularity of human mobility patterns—a key, significant trait identified for human mobility—is over-estimated. We hope this study will stimulate more studies in examining the properties of such data and developing methods to address them. Though not as glamorous as those directly deriving insights on mobility patterns (such as statistical regularity), understanding properties of such data and developing methods to address them is a fundamental research topic on which important insights are derived on mobility patterns. PMID:29398790

Pacific northwest vowels: A Seattle neighborhood dialect study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingle, Jennifer K.; Wright, Richard; Wassink, Alicia

2005-04-01

According to current literature a large region encompassing nearly the entire west half of the U.S. belongs to one dialect region referred to as Western, which furthermore, according to Labov et al., ``... has developed a characteristic but not unique phonology.'' [http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono-atlas/NationalMap/NationalMap.html] This paper will describe the vowel space of a set of Pacific Northwest American English speakers native to the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Wash. based on the acoustical analysis of high-quality Marantz CDR 300 recordings. Characteristics, such as low back merger and [u] fronting will be compared to findings by other studies. It is hoped that these recordings will contribute to a growing number of corpora of North American English dialects. All participants were born in Seattle and began their residence in Ballard between ages 0-8. They were recorded in two styles of speech: individually reading repetitions of a word list containing one token each of 10 vowels within carrier phrases, and in casual conversation for 40 min with a partner matched in age, gender, and social mobility. The goal was to create a compatible data set for comparison with current acoustic studies. F1 and F2 and vowel duration from LPC spectral analysis will be presented.

TSCA Section 21 Petition for Section 8(a) Partial Exemption

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This petition requests EPA to amend the TSCA Section 8 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) partially exempted chemical list set forth in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulations at 40 C.F.R. Section 711.6(b)(1).

Holocene climate variability in Texas, USA: An integration of existing paleoclimate data and modeling with a new, high-resolution speleothem record

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wong, Corinne I.; Banner, Jay L.; Musgrove, MaryLynn

2015-01-01

Delineating the climate processes governing precipitation variability in drought-prone Texas is critical for predicting and mitigating climate change effects, and requires the reconstruction of past climate beyond the instrumental record. We synthesize existing paleoclimate proxy data and climate simulations to provide an overview of climate variability in Texas during the Holocene. Conditions became progressively warmer and drier transitioning from the early to mid Holocene, culminating between 7 and 3 ka (thousand years ago), and were more variable during the late Holocene. The timing and relative magnitude of Holocene climate variability, however, is poorly constrained owing to considerable variability among the different records. To help address this, we present a new speleothem (NBJ) reconstruction from a central Texas cave that comprises the highest resolution proxy record to date, spanning the mid to late Holocene. NBJ trace-element concentrations indicate variable moisture conditions with no clear temporal trend. There is a decoupling between NBJ growth rate, trace-element concentrations, and δ18O values, which indicate that (i) the often direct relation between speleothem growth rate and moisture availability is likely complicated by changes in the overlying ecosystem that affect subsurface CO2 production, and (ii) speleothem δ18O variations likely reflect changes in moisture source (i.e., proportion of Pacific-vs. Gulf of Mexico-derived moisture) that appear not to be linked to moisture amount.

Climate change streamflow scenarios designed for critical period water resources planning studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamlet, A. F.; Snover, A. K.; Lettenmaier, D. P.

2003-04-01

Long-range water planning in the United States is usually conducted by individual water management agencies using a critical period planning exercise based on a particular period of the observed streamflow record and a suite of internally-developed simulation tools representing the water system. In the context of planning for climate change, such an approach is flawed in that it assumes that the future climate will be like the historic record. Although more sophisticated planning methods will probably be required as time goes on, a short term strategy for incorporating climate uncertainty into long-range water planning as soon as possible is to create alternate inputs to existing planning methods that account for climate uncertainty as it affects both supply and demand. We describe a straight-forward technique for constructing streamflow scenarios based on the historic record that include the broad-based effects of changed regional climate simulated by several global climate models (GCMs). The streamflow scenarios are based on hydrologic simulations driven by historic climate data perturbed according to regional climate signals from four GCMs using the simple "delta" method. Further data processing then removes systematic hydrologic model bias using a quantile-based bias correction scheme, and lastly, the effects of random errors in the raw hydrologic simulations are removed. These techniques produce streamflow scenarios that are consistent in time and space with the historic streamflow record while incorporating fundamental changes in temperature and precipitation from the GCM scenarios. Planning model simulations based on these climate change streamflow scenarios can therefore be compared directly to planning model simulations based on the historic record of streamflows to help planners understand the potential impacts of climate uncertainty. The methods are currently being tested and refined in two large-scale planning exercises currently being conducted in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the US, and the resulting streamflow scenarios will be made freely available on the internet for a large number of sites in the PNW to help defray the costs of including climate change information in other studies.

Climate during the Roman and early-medieval periods in North-western Europe: a review of climate reconstructions from terrestrial archives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichelmann, Dana F. C.; Gouw-Bouman, Marjolein T. I. J.; Hoek, Wim Z.; van Lanen, Rowin J.; Stouthamer, Esther; Jansma, Esther

2016-04-01

High-resolution palaeoclimate reconstructions are essential to identify possible influences of climate variability on landscape evolution and landscape-related cultural changes (e.g., shifting settlement patterns and long-distance trade relations). North-western Europe is an ideal research area for comparison between climate variability and cultural transitions given its geomorphological diversity and the significant cultural changes that took place in this region during the last two millennia (e.g., the decline of the Roman Empire and the transition to medieval kingdoms). Compared to more global climate records, such as ice cores and marine sediments, terrestrial climate proxies have the advantage of representing a relatively short response time to regional climatic change. Furthermore for this region large quantity of climate reconstructions is available covering the last millennium, whereas for the first millennium AD only few high resolution climate reconstructions are available. We compiled climate reconstructions for sites in North-western Europe from the literature and its underlying data. All these reconstructions cover the time period of AD 1 to 1000. We only selected data with an annual to decadal resolution and a minimum resolution of 50 years. This resulted in 18 climate reconstructions from different archives such as chironomids (1), pollen (4), Sphagnum cellulose (1), stalagmites (6), testate amoebae (4), and tree-rings (2). The compilation of the different temperature reconstructions shows similar trends in most of the records. Colder conditions since AD 300 for a period of approximately 400 years and warmer conditions after AD 700 become apparent. A contradicting signal is found before AD 300 with warmer conditions indicated by most of the records but not all. This is likely the result of the use of different proxies, reflecting temperatures linked to different seasons. The compilation of the different precipitation reconstructions also show similar trends. Dry periods are indicated by all records around AD 400 and 600, although precipitation records do not show the same spatial continuity as the temperature proxies. This study shows that clear climate changes occurred over North-western Europe in the period between AD 300 and 700, which are partly reflected by changes in seasonality.

Initial Concept for Terminal Area Conflict Detection, Alerting, and Resolution Capability on or Near the Airport Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, David F.; Otero, Sharon D.; Barker, Glover D.; Jones, Denise R.

2009-01-01

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concept for 2025 envisions the movement of large numbers of people and goods in a safe, efficient, and reliable manner. The NextGen will remove many of the constraints in the current air transportation system, support a wider range of operations, and deliver an overall system capacity up to 3 times that of current operating levels. In order to achieve the NextGen vision, research is necessary in the areas of surface traffic optimization, maximum runway capacity, reduced runway occupancy time, simultaneous single runway operations, and terminal area conflict prevention, among others. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is conducting Collision Avoidance for Airport Traffic (CAAT) research to develop technologies, data, and guidelines to enable Conflict Detection and Resolution (CD&R) in the Airport Terminal Maneuvering Area (ATMA) under current and emerging NextGen operating concepts. In this report, an initial concept for an aircraft-based method for CD&R in the ATMA is presented. This method is based upon previous NASA work in CD&R for runway incursion prevention, the Runway Incursion Prevention System (RIPS). CAAT research is conducted jointly under NASA's Airspace Systems Program, Airportal Project and the Aviation Safety Program, Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck Project.

Asteroid Bennu Temperature Maps for OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft and Instrument Thermal Analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Michael K.; Emery, Josh; Delbo, Marco

2014-01-01

A thermophysical model has been developed to generate asteroid Bennu surface temperature maps for OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and instrument thermal design and analyses at the Critical Design Review (CDR). Two-dimensional temperature maps for worst hot and worst cold cases are used in Thermal Desktop to assure adequate thermal design margins. To minimize the complexity of the Bennu geometry in Thermal Desktop, it is modeled as a sphere instead of the radar shape. The post-CDR updated thermal inertia and a modified approach show that the new surface temperature predictions are more benign. Therefore the CDR Bennu surface temperature predictions are conservative.

Trading-off emission reduction, carbon capture and geoengineering to reach the Paris agreement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasser, T.; Boucher, O.; Lecocq, F.; Obersteiner, M.

2017-12-01

We explore virtually all possible future pathways that respect the Paris agreement, with an innovative modeling framework. We show that immediate and extreme mitigation of CO2 and non-CO2 species alike, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and/or solar radiation management (SRM) technologies are required. We analyze the tradeoffs between these solutions. We generate thousands of temperature change pathways that extend historical records, stay below 2°C, and aim at 1.5°C in the long run. Non-CO2 forcings are generated likewise. With a simple model of the Earth system, we then back-calculate anthropogenic CO2 emissions compatible with these pathways. Other key global variables such as ocean acidity, sea level and permafrost thaw are also simulated. From this large ensemble of fully consistent scenarios, we analyze subsets that meet certain criteria: physical targets, emission levels, technology use, or any combination thereof. We show that staying below 1.5°C is feasible if CO2 emissions peak before 2025 and non-CO2 forcings are also reduced to zero. In case of a positive long-term non-CO2 forcing (a mitigation floor), CDR is necessary. Alternatively, emissions can peak later and/or higher if SRM is allowed. For pathways overshooting 1.5°C, results depend on the overshoot's size and length. Because of thawing permafrost, virtually all overshoot pathways require CDR, unless non-CO2 species (possibly SRM) are cooling the system at the time of peak temperature. When considering additional physical targets, which can be relevant for preserving ecosystems, the space of allowable pathways is systematically reduced. Especially: limiting ocean acidification rules out SRM. The nationally determined contributions (NDCs) indicate that reaching even the strictest interpretation of the agreement is feasible. However, if SRM is ruled out and only a reasonable amount of CDR is allowed, NDCs are compatible with very few of our pathways (≈5%). If a mitigation floor is added on top of that, virtually no pathways remain (<1%). We conclude that, in its strictest interpretation, the Paris agreement relies heavily on currently non-existent (and potentially harmful) technologies. In a looser interpretation, these technologies may not be needed, although the window of opportunity is closing extremely fast.

Precise dating of Dansgaard-Oeschger climate oscillations in western Europe from stalagmite data.

PubMed

Genty, D; Blamart, D; Ouahdi, R; Gilmour, M; Baker, A; Jouzel, J; Van-Exter, Sandra

2003-02-20

The signature of Dansgaard-Oeschger events--millennial-scale abrupt climate oscillations during the last glacial period--is well established in ice cores and marine records. But the effects of such events in continental settings are not as clear, and their absolute chronology is uncertain beyond the limit of (14)C dating and annual layer counting for marine records and ice cores, respectively. Here we present carbon and oxygen isotope records from a stalagmite collected in southwest France which have been precisely dated using 234U/230Th ratios. We find rapid climate oscillations coincident with the established Dansgaard-Oeschger events between 83,000 and 32,000 years ago in both isotope records. The oxygen isotope signature is similar to a record from Soreq cave, Israel, and deep-sea records, indicating the large spatial scale of the climate oscillations. The signal in the carbon isotopes gives evidence of drastic and rapid vegetation changes in western Europe, an important site in human cultural evolution. We also find evidence for a long phase of extremely cold climate in southwest France between 61.2 +/- 0.6 and 67.4 +/- 0.9 kyr ago.

Emergency Fuels Technology

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-06-01

starting and running in multifuel engines. D. FEF for Ground Turbine Engines Operation of the simple-cycle, gas-turbine engine is based on the Brayton or...MR R LAYNE) CAMERON STATION WASHINGTON DC 20362 ALEXANDRIA VA 22314 CDR CDR DAVID TAYLOR NAVAL SHIP R&D CTR MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS SUPPORT CODE 2830

Statistical framework for evaluation of climate model simulations by use of climate proxy data from the last millennium - Part 1: Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sundberg, R.; Moberg, A.; Hind, A.

2012-08-01

A statistical framework for comparing the output of ensemble simulations from global climate models with networks of climate proxy and instrumental records has been developed, focusing on near-surface temperatures for the last millennium. This framework includes the formulation of a joint statistical model for proxy data, instrumental data and simulation data, which is used to optimize a quadratic distance measure for ranking climate model simulations. An essential underlying assumption is that the simulations and the proxy/instrumental series have a shared component of variability that is due to temporal changes in external forcing, such as volcanic aerosol load, solar irradiance or greenhouse gas concentrations. Two statistical tests have been formulated. Firstly, a preliminary test establishes whether a significant temporal correlation exists between instrumental/proxy and simulation data. Secondly, the distance measure is expressed in the form of a test statistic of whether a forced simulation is closer to the instrumental/proxy series than unforced simulations. The proposed framework allows any number of proxy locations to be used jointly, with different seasons, record lengths and statistical precision. The goal is to objectively rank several competing climate model simulations (e.g. with alternative model parameterizations or alternative forcing histories) by means of their goodness of fit to the unobservable true past climate variations, as estimated from noisy proxy data and instrumental observations.

A High-Resolution Record of Holocene Climate Variability from a Western Canadian Coastal Inlet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dallimore, A.; Thomson, R. E.; Enkin, R. J.; Kulikov, E. A.; Bertram, M. A.; Wright, C. A.; Southon, J. R.; Barrie, J. V.; Baker, J.; Pienitz, R.; Calvert, S. E.; Chang, A. S.; Pedersen, T. F.

2004-12-01

Conditions within the Pacific Ocean have a major effect on the climate of northwestern North America. High resolution records of present and past northeast Pacific climate are revealed in our multi-disciplinary study of annually laminated marine sediments from anoxic coastal inlets of British Columbia. Past climate conditions for the entire Holocene are recorded in the sediment record contained in a 40 meter, annually laminated marine sediment core taken in Effingham Inlet, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, from the French ship the Marion Dufresne, as part of the international IMAGES program. By combining our eight year continuous instrument record of modern coastal ocean dynamics and climate with high-resolution analysis of depositional processes, we have been able to develop proxy measurements of past climatic and oceanographic changes on annual to millennial time scales. Results indicate that regional climate has oscillated on a variety of time scales throughout the Holocene. At times, climatic change has been dramatically rapid. We are also developing digital methods for statistical time-series analyses of physical sediment properties through the Holocene in order to obtain a more objective quantitative approach for detecting cyclicity in our data. Results of the time series analysis of lamination thickness reveals statistically significant spectral peaks of climate scale variability at established decadal to century time scales. These in turn may be related to solar cycles and quasi-cyclical ocean processes such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. However, the annually laminated time series are periodically interrupted by massive mud intervals which are related to bottom currents and at times paleo-seismic events, illustrating the need for a full understanding of modern oceanographic and sedimentation processes, so an accurate proxy record of past climate can be established.

Disturbed social recognition and impaired risk judgement in older residents with mild cognitive impairment after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011: the Tome Project.

PubMed

Akanuma, Kyoko; Nakamura, Kei; Meguro, Kenichi; Chiba, Masanori; Gutiérrez Ubeda, Sergio Ramón; Kumai, Keiichi; Kato, Yuka; Oonuma, Jiro; Kasai, Mari; Nakatsuka, Masahiro; Seki, Takashi; Tomita, Hiroaki

2016-11-01

After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, we investigated the safety of residents in the affected communities. Most of the people requiring help were elderly and had previously been assessed as Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) 0.5 (i.e. as having mild cognitive impairment (MCI)). We examined how well they understood the television news and whether they could make appropriate decisions. This community-based study of dementia and difficulties following a disaster started in Tome, northern Japan. The subjects were 188 randomly selected older residents who underwent CDR, blood tests, magnetic resonance imaging, and cognitive tests, including an original visual risk cognition task. They were shown NHK news broadcasts from the day of the earthquake to determine whether they could understand the content. Neither the CDR 0 (healthy) nor the CDR 0.5 (MCI) subjects fully understood the television news. Some subjects did not recognize the danger of aftershocks and engaged in risky behaviour. CDR 0.5 subjects who exhibited such behaviour scored lower on the visual risk cognition task. It is noteworthy that television news is difficult to understand, even for healthy older adults. We found that MCI subjects had particular difficulties due to the disaster and suggest that risk cognition could be evaluated using visually presented materials. © 2016 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2016 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Digital radiography of crush thoracic trauma in the Sichuan earthquake

PubMed Central

Dong, Zhi-Hui; Shao, Heng; Chen, Tian-Wu; Chu, Zhi-Gang; Deng, Wen; Tang, Si-Shi; Chen, Jing; Yang, Zhi-Gang

2011-01-01

AIM: To investigate the features of crush thoracic trauma in Sichuan earthquake victims using chest digital radiography (CDR). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 772 CDR of 417 females and 355 males who had suffered crush thoracic trauma in the Sichuan earthquake. Patient age ranged from 0.5 to 103 years. CDR was performed between May 12, 2008 and June 7, 2008. We looked for injury to the thoracic cage, pulmonary parenchyma and the pleura. RESULTS: Antero-posterior (AP) and lateral CDR were obtained in 349 patients, the remaining 423 patients underwent only AP CDR. Thoracic cage fractures, pulmonary contusion and pleural injuries were noted in 331 (42.9%; 95% CI: 39.4%-46.4%), 67 and 135 patients, respectively. Of the 256 patients with rib fractures, the mean number of fractured ribs per patient was 3. Rib fractures were mostly distributed from the 3rd through to the 8th ribs and the vast majority involved posterior and lateral locations along the rib. Rib fractures had a significant positive association with non-rib thoracic fractures, pulmonary contusion and pleural injuries (P < 0.001). The number of rib fractures and pulmonary contusions were significant factors associated with patient death. CONCLUSION: Earthquake-related crush thoracic trauma has the potential for multiple fractures. The high number of fractured ribs and pulmonary contusions were significant factors which needed appropriate medical treatment. PMID:22132298

Interpretation of multi-wavelength-retrieved cloud droplet effective radii in terms of cloud vertical inhomogeneity based on water cloud simulations using a spectral-bin microphysics cloud model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsui, T. N.; Suzuki, K.; Nakajima, T. Y.; Matsumae, Y.

2011-12-01

Clouds play an import role in energy balance and climate changes of the Earth. IPCC AR4, however, pointed out that cloud feedback is still the large source of uncertainty in climate estimates. In the recent decade, the new satellites with the active instruments (e.g. Cloudsat) represented a new epoch in earth observations. The active remote sensing is powerful for illustrating the vertical structures of clouds, but the passive remote sensing from satellite images also contribute to better understating of cloud system. For instance, Nakajima et al. (2010a) and Suzuki et al. (2010) illustrated transition of cloud growth, from cloud droplet to drizzle to rain, using the combine analysis of the cloud droplet size retrieved from passive images (MODIS) and the reflectivity profiles from Cloudsat. Furthermore, EarthCARE that is a new satellite launched years later is composed of not only the active but also passive instruments for the combined analysis. On the other hands, the methods to retrieve the advanced information of cloud properties are also required because many imagers have been operated and are now planned (e.g. GCOM-C/SGLI), and have the advantages such as wide observation width and more observation channels. Cloud droplet effective radius (CDR) and cloud optical thickness (COT) can be retrieved using a non-water-absorbing band (e.g. 0.86μm) and a water-absorbing band (1.6, 2.1, 3.7μm) of imagers under the assumptions such as the log-normal droplet size distribution and the plane-parallel cloud structure. However, the differences between three retrieved CDRs using 1.6, 2.1 or 3.7μm (R16, R21 and R37) are found in the satellite observations. Several studies pointed out that vertical/horizontal inhomogeneity of cloud structure, difference of penetration depth of water-absorbing bands, multi-modal droplet distribution and/or 3-D radiative transfer effect cause the CDR differences. In other words, the advanced information of clouds may lie hidden in the differences. Nakajima et al. (2010b) investigated the impact of the differences sensitivities to particle size and the penetration depth in an attempt to explain the CDR differences found in by using a simple two-layer cloud model with the bi-modal size distribution functions. Their results showed the sensitivity differences between 1.6, 2.1 and 3.7μm bands to droplet sizes and their vertical stratification. In this study, we further investigate the impact of the vertical inhomogeneity structure including the drizzle by using a spectral-bin microphysics cloud model. We apply the 1-D radiative transfer computation to the numerical cloud fields generated by the cloud model, and retrieve the CDRs from the reflectances thus simulated at each band. We then compare the statistics of these retrieved CDRs with the CDRs obtained from MODIS observations and derive the sensitivity functions of the retrieved CDRs to the particle size and the optical depth from the sets of the droplet distribution functions predicted by the model and the retrieved CDRs. This study is an attempt to interpret the CDR differences in terms of the cloud vertical structure and the cloud particle growth processes.

BRILIA: Integrated Tool for High-Throughput Annotation and Lineage Tree Assembly of B-Cell Repertoires.

PubMed

Lee, Donald W; Khavrutskii, Ilja V; Wallqvist, Anders; Bavari, Sina; Cooper, Christopher L; Chaudhury, Sidhartha

2016-01-01

The somatic diversity of antigen-recognizing B-cell receptors (BCRs) arises from Variable (V), Diversity (D), and Joining (J) (VDJ) recombination and somatic hypermutation (SHM) during B-cell development and affinity maturation. The VDJ junction of the BCR heavy chain forms the highly variable complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3), which plays a critical role in antigen specificity and binding affinity. Tracking the selection and mutation of the CDR3 can be useful in characterizing humoral responses to infection and vaccination. Although tens to hundreds of thousands of unique BCR genes within an expressed B-cell repertoire can now be resolved with high-throughput sequencing, tracking SHMs is still challenging because existing annotation methods are often limited by poor annotation coverage, inconsistent SHM identification across the VDJ junction, or lack of B-cell lineage data. Here, we present B-cell repertoire inductive lineage and immunosequence annotator (BRILIA), an algorithm that leverages repertoire-wide sequencing data to globally improve the VDJ annotation coverage, lineage tree assembly, and SHM identification. On benchmark tests against simulated human and mouse BCR repertoires, BRILIA correctly annotated germline and clonally expanded sequences with 94 and 70% accuracy, respectively, and it has a 90% SHM-positive prediction rate in the CDR3 of heavily mutated sequences; these are substantial improvements over existing methods. We used BRILIA to process BCR sequences obtained from splenic germinal center B cells extracted from C57BL/6 mice. BRILIA returned robust B-cell lineage trees and yielded SHM patterns that are consistent across the VDJ junction and agree with known biological mechanisms of SHM. By contrast, existing BCR annotation tools, which do not account for repertoire-wide clonal relationships, systematically underestimated both the size of clonally related B-cell clusters and yielded inconsistent SHM frequencies. We demonstrate BRILIA's utility in B-cell repertoire studies related to VDJ gene usage, mechanisms for adenosine mutations, and SHM hot spot motifs. Furthermore, we show that the complete gene usage annotation and SHM identification across the entire CDR3 are essential for studying the B-cell affinity maturation process through immunosequencing methods.

Unintentional asphyxia, SIDS, and medically explained deaths: a descriptive study of outcomes of child death review (CDR) investigations following sudden unexpected death in infancy.

PubMed

Garstang, Joanna; Ellis, Catherine; Griffiths, Frances; Sidebotham, Peter

2016-12-01

A comprehensive child death review (CDR) program was introduced in England and Wales in 2008, but as yet data have only been analyzed at a local level, limiting the learning from deaths. The aim of this study is to describe the profile of causes and risk factors for sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) as determined by the new CDR program. This was a descriptive outcome study using data from child death overview panel Form C for SUDI cases dying during 2010-2012 in the West Midlands region of England. The main outcome measures were: cause of death, risk factors and potential preventability of death, and determination of deaths probably due to unintentional asphyxia. Data were obtained for 65/70 (93 %) SUDI cases. 20/65 (31 %) deaths were initially categorized as due to medical causes; 21/65 (32 %) as SIDS; and 24/65 (37 %) as undetermined. Reanalysis suggested that 2/21 SIDS and 7/24 undetermined deaths were probably due to unintentional asphyxia, with 6 of these involving co-sleeping and excessive parental alcohol consumption. Deaths classified as "undetermined" had significantly higher total family and environmental risk factor scores (mean 2.6, 95 % CI 2.0-3.3) compared to those classified as SIDS (mean 1.6, 95 % CI 1.2-1.9), or medical causes for death (mean 1.1, 95 % CI 0.8-1.3). 9/20 (47 %) of medical deaths, 19/21 (90 %) SIDS, and 23/24 (96 %) undetermined deaths were considered to be potentially preventable. There were inadequacies in medical provision identified in 5/20 (25 %) of medically explained deaths. The CDR program results in detailed information about risk factors for SUDI cases but failed to recognize deaths probably due to unintentional asphyxia. The misclassification of probable unintentional asphyxial deaths and SIDS as "undetermined deaths" is likely to limit learning from these deaths and inhibit prevention strategies. Many SUDI occurred in families with mental illness, substance misuse and chaotic lifestyles and most in unsafe sleep environments. This knowledge could be used to better target safe sleep advice for vulnerable families and prevent SUDI in the future.

The Latin American Challenge and Army Hispanic Soldier Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-02-18

FLA MG Edward Baca, TAG, New Mexico National Guard, New Mexico MG Belisario Flores, Asst AG, Air National Guard, Texas RA Diego Hernandez , Roosevelt...Marc A. Cisneros, Div Arty Cdr, Ft Hood, TX COL Samuel Malave-Garcia, Port Cdr, Rotterdam, Neth COL(ARNG Ret) Gustavo Leon, Former ARNG Senior Advisor

Model Development and Replication: Introducing and Sustaining Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garland, Corinne W.

2005-01-01

This article describes the three-decade experience in model development and replication and in introducing and sustaining organization change of Child Development Resources (CDR), of Williamsburg, Virginia. CDR provides an integrated system of services for children with disabilities and developmental delays as well as for children who are at risk.…

Low-resolution Australasian palaeoclimate records of the last 2000 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixon, Bronwyn C.; Tyler, Jonathan J.; Lorrey, Andrew M.; Goodwin, Ian D.; Gergis, Joëlle; Drysdale, Russell N.

2017-10-01

Non-annually resolved palaeoclimate records in the Australasian region were compiled to facilitate investigations of decadal to centennial climate variability over the past 2000 years. A total of 675 lake and wetland, geomorphic, marine, and speleothem records were identified. The majority of records are located near population centres in southeast Australia, in New Zealand, and across the maritime continent, and there are few records from the arid regions of central and western Australia. Each record was assessed against a set of a priori criteria based on temporal resolution, record length, dating methods, and confidence in the proxy-climate relationship over the Common Era. A subset of 22 records met the criteria and were endorsed for subsequent analyses. Chronological uncertainty was the primary reason why records did not meet the selection criteria. New chronologies based on Bayesian techniques were constructed for the high-quality subset to ensure a consistent approach to age modelling and quantification of age uncertainties. The primary reasons for differences between published and reconstructed age-depth models were the consideration of the non-singular distribution of ages in calibrated 14C dates and the use of estimated autocorrelation between sampled depths as a constraint for changes in accumulation rate. Existing proxies and reconstruction techniques that successfully capture climate variability in the region show potential to address spatial gaps and expand the range of climate variables covering the last 2000 years in the Australasian region. Future palaeoclimate research and records in Australasia could be greatly improved through three main actions: (i) greater data availability through the public archiving of published records; (ii) thorough characterisation of proxy-climate relationships through site monitoring and climate sensitivity tests; and (iii) improvement of chronologies through core-top dating, inclusion of tephra layers where possible, and increased date density during the Common Era.

A continuous latitudinal energy balance model to explore non-uniform climate engineering strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonetti, F.; McInnes, C. R.

2016-12-01

Current concentrations of atmospheric CO2 exceed measured historical levels in modern times, largely attributed to anthropogenic forcing since the industrial revolution. The required decline in emissions rates has never been achieved leading to recent interest in climate engineering for future risk-mitigation strategies. Climate engineering aims to offset human-driven climate change. It involves techniques developed both to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere (Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) methods) and to counteract the radiative forcing that it generates (Solar Radiation Management (SRM) methods). In order to investigate effects of SRM technologies for climate engineering, an analytical model describing the main dynamics of the Earth's climate has been developed. The model is a time-dependent Energy Balance Model (EBM) with latitudinal resolution and allows for the evaluation of non-uniform climate engineering strategies. A significant disadvantage of climate engineering techniques involving the management of solar radiation is regional disparities in cooling. This model offers an analytical approach to design multi-objective strategies that counteract climate change on a regional basis: for example, to cool the Artic and restrict undesired impacts at mid-latitudes, or to control the equator-to-pole temperature gradient. Using the Green's function approach the resulting partial differential equation allows for the computation of the surface temperature as a function of time and latitude when a 1% per year increase in the CO2 concentration is considered. After the validation of the model through comparisons with high fidelity numerical models, it will be used to explore strategies for the injection of the aerosol precursors in the stratosphere. In particular, the model involves detailed description of the optical properties of the particles, the wash-out dynamics and the estimation of the radiative cooling they can generate.

A new long sediment record from Padul, southern Spain records orbital- and suborbital-scale environmental and climate changes during the middle and late Quaternary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jimenez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Camuera, Jon; Ramos-Roman, Maria J.; Toney, Jaime L.; Anderson, R. Scott; Jimenez-Espejo, Francisco J.; Kaufman, Darrell; Bright, Jordon; Webster, Cole

2017-04-01

Long paleoenvironmental records are necessary in order to understand recurrent climatic or paleoenvironmental changes occurring with a certain periodicity (i.e., glacial-interglacial cycles). In this respect, the Padul peat bog has one of the best available records of Pleistocene sediments in semiarid Southern Europe. The sedimentary sequence is more than 100 m thick and has been used to study palaeoenvironmental change for the past ca. 1 Ma. Since the 1960s several cores have already been taken from this basin showing oscillations in many proxies (pollen, organic geochemistry and sedimentation) related with paleoclimatic and paleohydrological changes. However, a more detailed and higher resolution study, using new dating and analytical techniques (AMS 14C, AAR, continuous XRF-scanning, high-resolution pollen analysis and geochemistry), needs to be done in such an interesting site. Here we present preliminary paleoenvironmental data from a new sediment core, Padul-15-05, which shows significant changes in the environment and lake sedimentation, probably related with glacial-interglacial climate dynamics during the past ca. 300,000 years. These data confirm that orbital- as well as suborbital-scale variability (i.e., Heinrich, D-O events) are recorded in the studied core. This unique record thus has very high potential for paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions for, at least, the two last climatic cycles in this semiarid Mediterranean area.

Snpp CrIS Instrumental Status and Raw Data Record Quality Since the Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, X.; Han, Y.; Sun, N.; Weng, F.; Wang, L.; Chen, Y.; Tremblay, D. A.

2014-12-01

The SNPP CrIS (cross-track infrared sounder) has been in service for more than two years. As the first operational interferometric hyper-spectral sounder onboard the new-generation polar-orbit meteorological satellite, CrIS's instrumental performance and data quality are widely concerned. NOAA/NESDIS/STAR CrIS Cal/Val team have been actively involved since the beginning of the mission. An intact record of the CrIS instrumental performance and raw data record (RDR) has been established. In this presentation, the continuous records of some critical indicators such as noise, gain, laser wavelength drifting and many other parameters related to the internal thermal status, are presented. It is found that the hardware performance is extremely stable in the past two years and the degradation is very small. These features make CrIS a great candidate for long-term climate studies. Moreover, the completeness of RDR data is another advantage of taking CrIS for climate studies. NOAA/NESDIS/STAR has recorded all of the CrIS RDR data since the launch and has been dedicated to improving the data quality.

Traumatic brain injury history and progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease.

PubMed

LoBue, Christian; Woon, Fu L; Rossetti, Heidi C; Hynan, Linda S; Hart, John; Cullum, C Munro

2018-05-01

To examine whether history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with more rapid progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Data from 2,719 subjects with MCI were obtained from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. TBI was categorized based on presence (TBI+) or absence (TBI-) of reported TBI with loss of consciousness (LOC) without chronic deficit occurring >1 year prior to diagnosis of MCI. Survival analyses were used to determine if a history of TBI predicted progression from MCI to AD up to 8 years. Random regression models were used to examine whether TBI history also predicted rate of decline on the Clinical Dementia Rating scale Sum of Boxes score (CDR-SB) among subjects who progress to AD. Across 8 years, TBI history was not significantly associated with progression from MCI to a diagnosis of AD in unadjusted (HR = 0.80; 95% CI [0.63, 1.01]; p = .06) and adjusted (p = .15) models. Similarly, a history of TBI was a nonsignificant predictor for rate of decline on CDR-SB among subjects who progressed to AD (b = 0.15, p = .38). MCI was, however, diagnosed a mean of 2.6 years earlier (p < .001) in TBI+ subjects compared with the TBI- group. A history of TBI with LOC was not associated with progression from MCI to AD, but was linked to an earlier age of MCI diagnosis. These findings add to a growing literature suggesting that TBI might reduce the threshold for onset of MCI and certain neurodegenerative conditions, but appears unrelated to progression from MCI to AD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI): towards a 14 Year Data Record and Applications in the Air Quality and Climate Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levelt, P.; Joiner, J.; Tamminen, J.; Veefkind, P.; Bhartia, P. K.; Court, A. J.; Vlemmix, T.

2017-12-01

Keywords: emission monitoring, air quality, climate, atmospheric composition The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), launched on board of NASA's EOS-Aura spacecraft on July 15, 2004, provides unique contributions to the monitoring of the ozone layer, air quality and climate from space. With a data record of 13 years, OMI provides the longest NO2 and SO2 record from space, which is essential to understand the changes to emissions globally. The combination of urban scale resolution (13 x 24 km2 in nadir) and daily global coverage proved to be key features for the air quality community. Due to the operational Very Fast Delivery (VFD / direct readout) and Near Real Time (NRT) availability of the data, OMI also plays an important role in the early developments of operational services in the atmospheric chemistry domain. For example, OMI data is currently used operationally for improving air quality forecasts, for inverting high-resolution emission maps, the UV forecast and for volcanic plume warning systems for aviation. An overview of air quality applications, emission inventory inversions and trend analyses based on the OMI data record will be presented. An outlook will be given on the potentials of augmenting this record with the high resolution air quality measurements of TROPOMI (3,5 x 7 km2) and new satellite instrumentation entering the imaging domain, such as the TROPOLITE instrument ( 1 x 1 km2). Potential of imaging type of NO2 measurements in the the climate and air quality domain will be given, most notably on the use of high resolution NO2 measurements for pin-pointing anthropogenic CO2 emissions.

Reconstruction of spatio-temporal temperature from sparse historical records using robust probabilistic principal component regression

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tipton, John; Hooten, Mevin B.; Goring, Simon

2017-01-01

Scientific records of temperature and precipitation have been kept for several hundred years, but for many areas, only a shorter record exists. To understand climate change, there is a need for rigorous statistical reconstructions of the paleoclimate using proxy data. Paleoclimate proxy data are often sparse, noisy, indirect measurements of the climate process of interest, making each proxy uniquely challenging to model statistically. We reconstruct spatially explicit temperature surfaces from sparse and noisy measurements recorded at historical United States military forts and other observer stations from 1820 to 1894. One common method for reconstructing the paleoclimate from proxy data is principal component regression (PCR). With PCR, one learns a statistical relationship between the paleoclimate proxy data and a set of climate observations that are used as patterns for potential reconstruction scenarios. We explore PCR in a Bayesian hierarchical framework, extending classical PCR in a variety of ways. First, we model the latent principal components probabilistically, accounting for measurement error in the observational data. Next, we extend our method to better accommodate outliers that occur in the proxy data. Finally, we explore alternatives to the truncation of lower-order principal components using different regularization techniques. One fundamental challenge in paleoclimate reconstruction efforts is the lack of out-of-sample data for predictive validation. Cross-validation is of potential value, but is computationally expensive and potentially sensitive to outliers in sparse data scenarios. To overcome the limitations that a lack of out-of-sample records presents, we test our methods using a simulation study, applying proper scoring rules including a computationally efficient approximation to leave-one-out cross-validation using the log score to validate model performance. The result of our analysis is a spatially explicit reconstruction of spatio-temporal temperature from a very sparse historical record.

Phenological cues intrinsic in indigenous knowledge systems for forecasting seasonal climate in the Delta State of Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitchett, Jennifer M.; Ebhuoma, Eromose

2018-06-01

Shifts in the timing of phenological events in plants and animals are cited as one of the most robust bioindicators of climate change. Much effort has thus been placed on the collection of phenological datasets, the quantification of the rates of phenological shifts and the association of these shifts with recorded meteorological data. These outputs are of value both in tracking the severity of climate change and in facilitating more robust management approaches in forestry and agriculture to changing climatic conditions. However, such an approach requires meteorological and phenological records spanning multiple decades. For communities in the Delta State of Nigeria, small-scale farming communities do not have access to meteorological records, and the dissemination of government issued daily to seasonal forecasts has only taken place in recent years. Their ability to survive inter-annual to inter-decadal climatic variability and longer-term climatic change has thus relied on well-entrenched indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). An analysis of the environmental cues that are used to infer the timing and amount of rainfall by farmers from three communities in the Delta State reveals a reliance on phenological events, including the croaking of frogs, the appearance of red millipedes and the emergence of fresh rubber tree and cassava leaves. These represent the first recorded awareness of phenology within the Delta State of Nigeria, and a potentially valuable source of phenological data. However, the reliance of these indicators is of concern given the rapid phenological shifts occurring in response to climate change.

Phenological cues intrinsic in indigenous knowledge systems for forecasting seasonal climate in the Delta State of Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitchett, Jennifer M.; Ebhuoma, Eromose

2017-12-01

Shifts in the timing of phenological events in plants and animals are cited as one of the most robust bioindicators of climate change. Much effort has thus been placed on the collection of phenological datasets, the quantification of the rates of phenological shifts and the association of these shifts with recorded meteorological data. These outputs are of value both in tracking the severity of climate change and in facilitating more robust management approaches in forestry and agriculture to changing climatic conditions. However, such an approach requires meteorological and phenological records spanning multiple decades. For communities in the Delta State of Nigeria, small-scale farming communities do not have access to meteorological records, and the dissemination of government issued daily to seasonal forecasts has only taken place in recent years. Their ability to survive inter-annual to inter-decadal climatic variability and longer-term climatic change has thus relied on well-entrenched indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). An analysis of the environmental cues that are used to infer the timing and amount of rainfall by farmers from three communities in the Delta State reveals a reliance on phenological events, including the croaking of frogs, the appearance of red millipedes and the emergence of fresh rubber tree and cassava leaves. These represent the first recorded awareness of phenology within the Delta State of Nigeria, and a potentially valuable source of phenological data. However, the reliance of these indicators is of concern given the rapid phenological shifts occurring in response to climate change.

Phenological cues intrinsic in indigenous knowledge systems for forecasting seasonal climate in the Delta State of Nigeria.

PubMed

Fitchett, Jennifer M; Ebhuoma, Eromose

2018-06-01

Shifts in the timing of phenological events in plants and animals are cited as one of the most robust bioindicators of climate change. Much effort has thus been placed on the collection of phenological datasets, the quantification of the rates of phenological shifts and the association of these shifts with recorded meteorological data. These outputs are of value both in tracking the severity of climate change and in facilitating more robust management approaches in forestry and agriculture to changing climatic conditions. However, such an approach requires meteorological and phenological records spanning multiple decades. For communities in the Delta State of Nigeria, small-scale farming communities do not have access to meteorological records, and the dissemination of government issued daily to seasonal forecasts has only taken place in recent years. Their ability to survive inter-annual to inter-decadal climatic variability and longer-term climatic change has thus relied on well-entrenched indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). An analysis of the environmental cues that are used to infer the timing and amount of rainfall by farmers from three communities in the Delta State reveals a reliance on phenological events, including the croaking of frogs, the appearance of red millipedes and the emergence of fresh rubber tree and cassava leaves. These represent the first recorded awareness of phenology within the Delta State of Nigeria, and a potentially valuable source of phenological data. However, the reliance of these indicators is of concern given the rapid phenological shifts occurring in response to climate change.

How will we ensure the long-term sea ice data record continues?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stroeve, J. C.; Kaleschke, L.

2017-12-01

The multi-channel satellite passive microwave record has been of enormous benefit to the science community and society at large since the late 1970s. Starting with the launch of the Nimbus-7 Scanning Multi-Channel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) in October 1978, and continuing with the launch of a series of Special Sensor Microwave Imagers (SSM/Is) in June 1987 by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), places previously difficult to monitor year-round, such as the polar regions, came to light. Together these sensors have provided nearly 4 decades of climate data records on the state of sea ice cover over the ocean and snow on land. This data has also been used to map melt extent on the large ice sheets, timing of snow melt onset over land and sea ice. Application also extend well beyond the polar regions, mapping important climate variables, such as soil moisture content, oceanic wind speed, rainfall, water vapor, cloud liquid water and total precipitable water. Today the current SSMIS operational satellite (F18) is 7 years old and there is no follow-on mission planned by the DMSP. With the end of the SSMI family of Sensors, will the polar regions once again be in the dark? Other sensors that may contribute to the long-term data record include the JAXA AMSR2 (5 years old as of May 2017), the Chinese Fen-Yung-3 and the Russian Meteor-N2. Scatterometry and L-band radiometry from SMOS and NASA's SMOS may also provide some potential means of extending the sea ice extent data record, as well as future sensors by the DoD, JAXA and ESA. However, this will require considerable effort to intercalibrate the different sensors to ensure consistency in the long-term data record. Differences in measurement approach, frequency and spatial resolution make this a non-trivial matter. The passive microwave sea ice extent data record is one of the longest and most consistent climate data records available. It provides daily monitoring of one of the most striking changes in our climate system, the loss of the Arctic sea ice cover. A series of replacement sensors is urgently needed, preferably at higher spatial resolution to better delineate the ice edge for marine applications such as ship routing.

O the Interpretation of Climatic Change from the Fossil Record: Climatic Change in Central and Eastern United States for the Past 2000 Years Estimated from Pollen Data.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gajewski, Konrad J.

Pollen records from varved-lake sediments at seven locations in the northeastern United States record late Holocene climate changes over the past 1000-2000 years. Simplification of pollen diagrams by principal component analysis documents that climate changes affect vegetation at all sites, and not just at "sensitive" sites or ecotones. All seven pollen records show a long-term trend, medium frequency oscillations and higher frequency fluctuations. The between-site similarity of the trend and the coherency of the medium frequency oscillations demonstrates the importance of climate forcing to vegetation change at these scales. Response of vegetation to a climatic change is quite rapid, and depends not only on the nature of the climate fluctuation, but also on the pre-existing state of the vegetation. Multiple regression and canonical correlation techniques were used to calculate calibration functions from a spatial network of modern pollen and climate data. When analyzed at comparable scales, the spatial distribution of pollen assemblages in northeastern United States are related both to summer temperature and annual precipitation. Although summer temperature and annual precipitation are coupled, this coupling is not so strong as to negate the use of univariate calibration models. Over the 2000-year period of time, a gradual summer cooling of about 1.0(DEGREES)C/1000 years has occurred. Superimposed on the long-term trend are medium frequency temperature fluctuations of amplitude about 0.5(DEGREES)C that persist for several centuries. Annual precipitation is relatively constant, except for a period of increased rainfall from 600 years ago to the present in southern Maine.

Testing the Sun-climate Connection with Paleoclimate Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crowley, Thomas J.; Howard, Matthew K.

1990-01-01

If there is a significant sun-climate connection, it should be detectable in high-resolution paleoclimate records. Of particular interest is the last few thousand years, where we have both indices of solar variability (C-14 and Be-10) and climate variations (alpine glaciers, tree rings, ice cores, corals, etc.). Although there are a few exceptions, statistical analyses of solar and climate records generally indicates a flickering relationship between the two -- sometimes it seems to be present, sometimes not. The most repeatable solar climate periods occur at approx. 120 and approx. 56 yrs, although there is also evidence for approx. 420 and approx. 200 yrs. power in some records. However, coherence between solar and climate spectra is usually low, and occurrence of solar spectra in climate records is sometimes dependent on choice of analysis program. These results suggest in general a relatively weak sun-climate link on time scales of decades to centuries. This conclusion is consistent with previous studies and with the observation that inferred climate fluctuations of 1.0 to 1.5 C on this time scale would require solar constant variations of approximately 0.5 to 1.0 percent. This change in forcing is almost an order of magnitude greater than observed changes over the last solar cycle and appears to be on the far-outer limit of acceptable changes for a Maunder Minimum-type event.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, R; Bai, W; Chi, Z

Purpose: Postoperative cervical cancer patients with large target volume and the target shape is concave, treatmented with static intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is time consuming. The purpose of this study is to investigate using constant dose rate and gantry speed arc therapy(CDR-CAS-IMAT) on conventional linear accelrator, by comparing with the IMRT technology to evaluate the performance of CDR-CAS-IMAT on postoperative cervical cancer patients. Methods: 18 cervical cancer patients treated with IMRT on Varian 23IX were replanted using CDR-CAS-IMAT. The plans were generated on Oncentra v4.1 planning system, PTV was prescribed to 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions. Plans were evaluated based onmore » the ability to meet the dose volume histogram. The homogeneity index (HI), conformity index (CI) of target volume, the dose of organs at risk, radiation delivery time and monitor units were also compared. SPSS 19.0 software paired T-test analysis was carried out on the two sets of data. Results: Compared with the IMRT plans PTV’s CI (t= 3.85, P =0.001), CTV’s CI, HI, D90, D95, D98, V95, V98, V100 (t=4.21, −3.18, 2.13, 4.65, 7.79, 2.29, 6.00, 2.13, p=0.001, 0.005, 0.049, 0.000, 0.000, 0.035, 0.000, 0.049), and cord D2 and rectum V40 (t=−2.65, −2.47, p= P =0.017, 0.025), and treatment time and MU (t=−36.0, −6.26, P =0.000, 0.000) were better than that of IMRT group. But the IMRT plans in terms of decreasing bladder V50, bowel V30 (t=2.14, 3.00, P =0.048, 0.008) and low dose irradiation volume were superior to that of CDR-CAS-IMAT plans. There were no significant differences in other statistical index. Conclusion: Cervical cancer patients with CDR-CAS-IMAT on Varian Clinical 23IX can get equivalent or superior dose distribution compared with the IMRT technology. IMAT have much less treatment time and MU can reduce the uncertainty factor and patient discomfort in treatment. This work was supported by the Medical Science Foundation of the health department of Hebei Province (No. 20130253)« less

Department of Defense In-House RDT&E Activities. Management Analysis Report: Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-10-30

HOUSTON, TX "CDR. COL BASIL A. PRUITT, JR. SCI DIR. DR. AUTHUR D. MASON PROGRAM DATA BY FISCAL YEAR (MILLION S) PROGRAM 1986 1986 (ACTUAL) (ACT * EST...METHODF, & MATERIALS. ESTAB HEALTH HAZARD DATA BASES. ... CURRENT IMPORTANT PROGRAMS SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH PROJECTS INCLUDE PESTICIDE DISPERSAL UNIT

A complementarity-determining region synthetic peptide acts as a miniantibody and neutralizes human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in vitro.

PubMed Central

Levi, M; Sällberg, M; Rudén, U; Herlyn, D; Maruyama, H; Wigzell, H; Marks, J; Wahren, B

1993-01-01

A complementarity-determining region (CDR) of the mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb) F58 was constructed with specificity to a neutralization-inducing region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The mAb has its major reactivity to the amino acid sequence I--GPGRA in the V3 viral envelope region. All CDRs including several framework amino acids were synthesized from the sequence deduced by cloning and sequencing mAb F58 heavy- and light-chain variable domains. Peptides derived from the third heavy-chain domain (CDR-H3) alone or in combination with the other CDR sequences competed with F58 mAb for the V3 region. The CDR-H3 peptide was chemically modified by cyclization and then inhibited HIV-1 replication as well as syncytium formation by infected cells. Both the homologous IIIB viral strain to which the F58 mAb was induced and the heterologous SF2 strain were inhibited. This synthetic peptide had unexpectedly potent antiviral activity and may be a potential tool for treatment of HIV-infected persons. PMID:7685100

Spatial-temporal analysis of climate variations in mid-17th through 19th centuries in East China and the possible relationships with Monsoon climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, K. H. E.; Wang, P. K.; Liao, Y. C.; Lee, S. Y.; Tan, P.

2016-12-01

IPCC AR5 has revealed more frequent extreme climate events and higher climate variability in the near future. Regardless of all the improvements, East Asia monsoon climate is still less understood and/or poorly projected due partly to insufficient records. Most areas of the Asian region lack sufficient observational records to draw conclusions about trends in annual precipitation over the past century (i.e. WGIAR5 Chapter 2). Precipitation trends, including extremes, are characterized by strong variability, with both increasing and decreasing observed in different parts and seasons of Asia. Understanding the variations of the monsoon climate in historical time may bring significant insights to reveal its spatial and temporal patterns embedded in the atmospheric dynamics at different decadal or centennial scales. This study presents some preliminary research results of high resolution climate reconstruction, in both time and space coverage, in east China, by using RCEC historical climate dataset that is developed under interdisciplinary collaboration led by Research Center for Environmental Changes at Academia Sinica, Taiwan. The present research results are derived from chronological meteorological records in the RCEC dataset in Qing dynasty labeling mid-17th to 19th centuries. In total, the dataset comprises more than 1,300 cities/counties in China that has had more than sixty thousands meteorological records in the period. The analysis comprises three parts. Firstly, the frequency of extreme temperature, precipitation, drought, and flood in every recorded cities/counties were computed to depicting climate variabilities in northeast, central-east and southeast China. Secondly, the multivariate regression model was conducted to estimate the coefficients among the climatic index (temperature, precipitation, and drought). It is found that the temperature and wet-dry characteristics have great seasonal and yearly variations; northeast China compared with central-east or southeast tends to have higher variability. Thirdly, those data was used to conduct empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis to decompose possible mechanisms that might have cause changes in East Asia monsoon regime during the time period. The reconstructed data were also compared against paleoclimate simulation.

Climate and climate variability of the wind power resources in the Great Lakes region of the United States

Treesearch

X. Li; S. Zhong; X. Bian; W.E. Heilman

2010-01-01

The climate and climate variability of low-level winds over the Great Lakes region of the United States is examined using 30 year (1979-2008) wind records from the recently released North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), a three-dimensional, high-spatial and temporal resolution, and dynamically consistent climate data set. The analyses focus on spatial distribution...

Extending the soil moisture record of the climate reference network with machine learning

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil moisture estimation is crucial for agricultural decision-support and a key component of hydrological and climatic research. Unfortunately, quality-controlled soil moisture time series data are uncommon before the most recent decade. However, time series data for precipitation are accessible at ...

Effects of education on very mild dementia among Chinese people in Hong Kong: potential mediators in the Cantonese Mini-Mental State Examination tasks.

PubMed

Tse, C S; Chang, J F; Leung, Grace T Y; Fung, Ada W T; Hau, K T; Chiu, Helen F K; Lam, Linda C W

2013-01-01

In Hong Kong, older Chinese adults generally have a low level of education. This study examined the effect of education on very mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), as quantified by Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale (CDR 0.5 versus 0), in a Chinese community. The Cantonese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (C-MMSE) was used to estimate cognitive abilities that were related to the level of education, and that in turn serve as protective factors for AD. A total of 788 community-dwelling older adults (383 CDR 0 and 405 CDR 0.5) were recruited in this cross-sectional study, which was derived from a population-based prevalence project. The participants' number of years of education and C-MMSE scores were used to predict their CDR scores using logistic regression and the mediation effects of C-MMSE scores were analyzed. Consistent with previous studies, the chance of being rated as having very mild AD increased with age, but decreased with years of education, among the older adult community of Hong Kong. The effect of education on very mild dementia was weakened substantially when C-MMSE scores were included as mediating variables. The findings indicate that the protective effects of education on dementia were mediated by an enhancement of older adults' performance on some C-MMSE items, including attention and orientation to time and place.

Digital breast tomosynthesis for breast cancer screening and diagnosis in women with dense breasts - a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Phi, Xuan-Anh; Tagliafico, Alberto; Houssami, Nehmat; Greuter, Marcel J W; de Bock, Geertruida H

2018-04-03

This study aimed to systematically review and to meta-analyse the accuracy of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) versus digital mammography (DM) in women with mammographically dense breasts in screening and diagnosis. Two independent reviewers identified screening or diagnostic studies reporting at least one of four outcomes (cancer detection rate-CDR, recall rate, sensitivity and specificity) for DBT and DM in women with mammographically dense breasts. Study quality was assessed using QUADAS-2. Meta-analysis of CDR and recall rate used a random effects model. Summary ROC curve summarized sensitivity and specificity. Sixteen studies were included (five diagnostic; eleven screening). In diagnosis, DBT increased sensitivity (84%-90%) versus DM alone (69%-86%) but not specificity. DBT improved CDR versus DM alone (RR: 1.16, 95% CI 1.02-1.31). In screening, DBT + DM increased CDR versus DM alone (RR: 1.33, 95% CI 1.20-1.47 for retrospective studies; RR: 1.52, 95% CI 1.08-2.11 for prospective studies). Recall rate was significantly reduced by DBT + DM in retrospective studies (RR: 0.72, 95% CI 0.64-0.80) but not in two prospective studies (RR: 1.12, 95% CI 0.76-1.63). In women with mammographically dense breasts, DBT+/-DM increased CDR significantly (versus DM) in screening and diagnosis. In diagnosis, DBT+/-DM increased sensitivity but not specificity. The effect of DBT + DM on recall rate in screening dense breasts varied between studies.

γδ T cell receptors recognize the non-classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule T22 via conserved anchor residues in a MHC peptide-like fashion.

PubMed

Sandstrom, Andrew; Scharf, Louise; McRae, Gabrielle; Hawk, Andrew J; Meredith, Stephen C; Adams, Erin J

2012-02-17

The molecular mechanisms by which γδ T cells recognize ligand remain a mystery. The non-classical MHC molecule T22 represents the best characterized ligand for murine γδ T cells, with a motif (W … EGYEL) present in the γδ T cell receptor complementary-determining region 3δ (CDR3δ) loop mediating γδ T cell recognition of this molecule. Produced through V(D)J recombination, this loop is quite diverse, with different numbers and chemical types of amino acids between Trp and EGYEL, which have unknown functional consequences for T22 recognition. We have investigated the biophysical and structural effects of CDR3δ loop diversity, revealing a range of affinities for T22 but a common thermodynamic pattern. Mutagenesis of these CDR3δ loops defines the key anchor residues involved in T22 recognition as W … EGYEL, similar to those found for the G8 CDR3δ loop, and demonstrates that spacer residues modulate but are not required for T22 recognition. Comparison of the location of these residues in the T22 interface reveals a striking similarity to peptide anchor residues in classically presented MHC peptides, with the key Trp residue of the CDR3δ motif completing the deficient peptide-binding groove of T22. This suggests that γδ T cell recognition of T22 utilizes the conserved ligand-presenting nature of the MHC fold.

Feasibility study of volumetric modulated arc therapy with constant dose rate for endometrial cancer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Ruijie; Wang, Junjie, E-mail: junjiewang47@yahoo.com; Xu, Feng

2013-10-01

To investigate the feasibility, efficiency, and delivery accuracy of volumetric modulated arc therapy with constant dose rate (VMAT-CDR) for whole-pelvic radiotherapy (WPRT) of endometrial cancer. The nine-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), VMAT with variable dose-rate (VMAT-VDR), and VMAT-CDR plans were created for 9 patients with endometrial cancer undergoing WPRT. The dose distribution of planning target volume (PTV), organs at risk (OARs), and normal tissue (NT) were compared. The monitor units (MUs) and treatment delivery time were also evaluated. For each VMAT-CDR plan, a dry run was performed to assess the dosimetric accuracy with MatriXX from IBA. Compared with IMRT, the VMAT-CDRmore » plans delivered a slightly greater V{sub 20} of the bowel, bladder, pelvis bone, and NT, but significantly decreased the dose to the high-dose region of the rectum and pelvis bone. The MUs decreased from 1105 with IMRT to 628 with VMAT-CDR. The delivery time also decreased from 9.5 to 3.2 minutes. The average gamma pass rate was 95.6% at the 3%/3 mm criteria with MatriXX pretreatment verification for 9 patients. VMAT-CDR can achieve comparable plan quality with significant shorter delivery time and smaller number of MUs compared with IMRT for patients with endometrial cancer undergoing WPRT. It can be accurately delivered and be an alternative to IMRT on the linear accelerator without VDR capability.« less

Ramifications of a potential gap in passive microwave data for the long-term sea ice climate record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meier, W.; Stewart, J. S.

2017-12-01

The time series of sea ice concentration and extent from passive microwave sensors is one of the longest satellite-derived climate records and the significant decline in Arctic sea ice extent is one of the most iconic indicators of climate change. However, this continuous and consistent record is under threat due to the looming gap in passive microwave sensor coverage. The record started in late 1978 with the launch of the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and has continued with a series of Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager and Sounder (SSMIS) instruments on U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. The data from the different sensors are intercalibrated at the algorithm level by adjusting algorithm coefficients so that the output sea ice data is as consistent as possible between the older and the newer sensor. A key aspect in constructing the time series is to have at least two sensors operating simultaneously so that data from the older and newer sensor can be obtained from the same locations. However, with recent losses of the DMSP F19 and F20, the remaining SSMIS sensors are all well beyond their planned mission lifetime. This means that risk of failure is not small and is increasing with each day of operation. The newest passive microwave sensor, the JAXA Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2 (AMSR2), is a potential contributor to the time series (though it too is now beyond it's planned 5-year mission lifetime). However, AMSR2's larger antenna and higher spatial resolution presents a challenge in integrating its data with the rest of the sea ice record because the ice edge is quite sensitive to the sensor resolution, which substantially affects the total sea ice extent and area estimates. This will need to be adjusted for if AMSR2 is used to continue the time series. Here we will discuss efforts at NSIDC to integrate AMSR2 estimates into the sea ice climate record if needed. We will also discuss potential contingency plans, such as using operational sea ice charts, to fill any gaps. This would allow the record to continue, but the consistency of the time series will be degraded because the ice charts use human analysis and differing sources, amounts and quality of input data, which makes them sub-optimal for long-term climate records.

The Copernicus programme and its Climate Change Service (C3S): a European answer to Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinty, Bernard; Thepaut, Jean-Noel; Dee, Dick

2016-07-01

In November 2014, The European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) signed an agreement with the European Commission to deliver two of the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme Services on the Commission's behalf. The ECMWF delivered services - the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) - will bring a consistent standard to how we measure and predict atmospheric conditions and climate change. They will maximise the potential of past, current and future earth observations - ground, ocean, airborne, satellite - and analyse these to monitor and predict atmospheric conditions and in the future, climate change. With the wealth of free and open data that the services provide, they will help business users to assess the impact of their business decisions and make informed choices, delivering a more energy efficient and climate aware economy. These sound investment decisions now will not only stimulate growth in the short term, but reduce the impact of climate change on the economy and society in the future. C3S is in its proof of concept phase and through its climate data store will provide global and regional climate data reanalyses; multi-model seasonal forecasts; customisable visual data to enable examination of wide range of scenarios and model the impact of changes; access to all the underlying data, including climate data records from various satellite and in-situ observations. In addition, C3S will provide key indicators on climate change drivers (such as carbon dioxide) and impacts (such as reducing glaciers). The aim of these indicators will be to support European adaptation and mitigation policies in a number of economic sectors. The presentation will provide an overview of this newly created Service, its various components and activities, and a roadmap towards achieving a fully operational European Climate Service at the horizon 2019-2020. It will focus on the requirements for quality-assured Observation Gridded Products to establish an operational delivery of a series of gridded long-term Climate Data Records (CDRs) of Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), along with associated input data and uncertainty estimation.

Effect of the herbal formulation Jianpijiedu on the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in rats with hepatocellular carcinoma and subjected to food restriction combined with laxative.

PubMed

Sun, Baoguo; Meng, Jun; Xiang, Ting; Zhang, Lei; Deng, Liuxiang; Chen, Yan; Luo, Haoxuan; Yang, Zhangbin; Chen, Zexiong; Zhang, Shijun

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Chinese herbal formulation Jianpijiedu (JPJD) in a rat model of orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma (OHC). The tumor-bearing rats underwent food restriction combined with laxative (FRL) treatment in order to model the nutritional and digestive symptoms of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, the study aimed to elucidate the effect of JPJD on the T cell receptor Vβ-chain complementarity-determining region 3 (TCRVβCDR3) repertoire and the underlying mechanism. The FRL rat model was established by alternate-day food restriction and the oral administration of Glauber's salt (sodium sulfate), based on which the OHC model was then established. Subsequently, the FRL-OHC induced animals received JPJD or thymopentin-5 (TP5) for 17 days. Differences in the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in the rat thymus, liver and hepatocellular carcinoma tissues were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. Compared with the FRL-OHC model animals without any treatment, those treated with JPJD exhibited significantly inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma growth (P<0.05), reduced weight loss (P<0.01) and stable visceral indices (P<0.05). Furthermore, the JPJD treatment appeared to improve Simpsons diversity index (Ds) values and the quasi-Gaussian distribution rate of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in the thymus, liver and hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. However, no anti-hepatoma effects were evident in the rats treated with TP5. In addition, TP5 increased the Ds values and the quasi-Gaussian distribution rate of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues compared with those in the JPJD-treated group. The anti-hepatoma effects of JPJD in FRL-OHC-induced animals may be due to the promotion of the Ds values of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire.

Effect of the herbal formulation Jianpijiedu on the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in rats with hepatocellular carcinoma and subjected to food restriction combined with laxative

PubMed Central

SUN, BAOGUO; MENG, JUN; XIANG, TING; ZHANG, LEI; DENG, LIUXIANG; CHEN, YAN; LUO, HAOXUAN; YANG, ZHANGBIN; CHEN, ZEXIONG; ZHANG, SHIJUN

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Chinese herbal formulation Jianpijiedu (JPJD) in a rat model of orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma (OHC). The tumor-bearing rats underwent food restriction combined with laxative (FRL) treatment in order to model the nutritional and digestive symptoms of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, the study aimed to elucidate the effect of JPJD on the T cell receptor Vβ-chain complementarity-determining region 3 (TCRVβCDR3) repertoire and the underlying mechanism. The FRL rat model was established by alternate-day food restriction and the oral administration of Glauber's salt (sodium sulfate), based on which the OHC model was then established. Subsequently, the FRL-OHC induced animals received JPJD or thymopentin-5 (TP5) for 17 days. Differences in the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in the rat thymus, liver and hepatocellular carcinoma tissues were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. Compared with the FRL-OHC model animals without any treatment, those treated with JPJD exhibited significantly inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma growth (P<0.05), reduced weight loss (P<0.01) and stable visceral indices (P<0.05). Furthermore, the JPJD treatment appeared to improve Simpsons diversity index (Ds) values and the quasi-Gaussian distribution rate of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in the thymus, liver and hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. However, no anti-hepatoma effects were evident in the rats treated with TP5. In addition, TP5 increased the Ds values and the quasi-Gaussian distribution rate of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues compared with those in the JPJD-treated group. The anti-hepatoma effects of JPJD in FRL-OHC-induced animals may be due to the promotion of the Ds values of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire. PMID:26997998

HIV-1 gp140 epitope recognition is influenced by immunoglobulin DH gene segment sequence

PubMed Central

Wang, Yuge; Kapoor, Pratibha; Parks, Robert; Silva-Sanchez, Aaron; Alam, S. Munir; Verkoczy, Laurent; Liao, Hua-Xin; Zhuang, Yingxin; Burrows, Peter; Levinson, Michael; Elgavish, Ada; Cui, Xiangqin; Haynes, Barton F.; Schroeder, Harry

2015-01-01

Complementarity determining region 3 of the immunoglobulin (Ig) H chain (CDR-H3) lies at the center of the antigen binding site where it often plays a decisive role in antigen recognition and binding. Amino acids encoded by the diversity (DH) gene segment are the main component of CDR-H3. Each DH has the potential to rearrange into one of six DH reading frames (RFs), each of which exhibits a characteristic amino acid hydrophobicity signature that has been conserved among jawed vertebrates by natural selection. A preference for use of RF1 promotes the incorporation of tyrosine into CDR-H3 while suppressing the inclusion of hydrophobic or charged amino acids. To test the hypothesis that these evolutionary constraints on DH sequence influence epitope recognition, we used mice with a single DH that has been altered to preferentially use RF2 or inverted RF1. B cells in these mice produce a CDR-H3 repertoire that is enriched for valine or arginine in place of tyrosine. We serially immunized this panel of mice with gp140 from HIV-1 JR-FL isolate and then used ELISA or peptide microarray to assess antibody binding to key or overlapping HIV-1 envelope epitopes. By ELISA, serum reactivity to key epitopes varied by DH sequence. By microarray, sera with Ig CDR-H3s enriched for arginine bound to linear peptides with a greater range of hydrophobicity, but had a lower intensity of binding than sera containing Ig CDR-H3s enriched for tyrosine or valine. We conclude that patterns of epitope recognition and binding can be heavily influenced by DH germline sequence. This may help explain why antibodies in HIV infected patients must undergo extensive somatic mutation in order to bind to specific viral epitopes and achieve neutralization. PMID:26687685

Mechanism of action of tetrandrine, a natural inhibitor of Candida albicans drug efflux pumps.

PubMed

Zhang, Hong; Gao, Aili; Li, Fengxia; Zhang, Gehua; Ho, Hon In; Liao, Wanqing

2009-05-01

Synergistic effects have previously been observed for a natural compound, tetrandrine (TET), with fluconazole (FLC) in vitro and in the treatment of Candida albicans-infected mice. To investigate the mechanisms of these synergistic effects, 16 strains of C. albicans from the same parent but with different FLC sensitivities were examined using flow cytometry and fluorescent spectrophotometry. Rhodamine 123 (Rh123)-positive cells and intracellular Rh123 fluorescence intensity were determined in accumulation/efflux experiments involving no or a noncytotoxic dose of TET. Total RNA extracted from each strain was used to compare the expressions of drug efflux pump genes in FLC-susceptible, -susceptible dose-dependent, and -resistant strains before and 24 h after TET administration. Accumulation experiments determined that mean percentages of Rh123-positive cells were 26.65% (TET-free) and 70.99% (TET 30 microg/ml), and mean respective intracellular Rh123 fluorescence intensities were 11.34 and 18.00. Efflux experiments showed that percentages of Rh123-positive cells were 1.79% (TET free) and 42.57% (TET 30 microg/ml), respectively, and respective mean intracellular Rh123 fluorescence intensities were 0.74 and 2.19. Differences in MDR1, FLU1, CDR1, and CDR2 expression levels in the absence of TET were statistically significant (p<0.05) between FLC-susceptible, -susceptible dose-dependent, and -resistant strains. Compared with TET-free conditions, 24 h TET-treated strains showed statistically different (p<0.05) expression of MDR1 (FLC-resistant strain), FLU1 (FLC-susceptible dose-dependent and -resistant strains), and CDR1 and CDR2 (FLC-susceptible, -susceptible dose-dependent, and -resistant strains). Thus TET can inhibit the C. albicans drug efflux system and reduce drug efflux. Its mechanism of action is related to the inhibition of expression of the drug efflux pump genes MDR1, FLU1, CDR1, and CDR2.

The long view: Causes of climate change over the instrumental period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegerl, G. C.; Schurer, A. P.; Polson, D.; Iles, C. E.; Bronnimann, S.

2016-12-01

The period of instrumentally recorded data has seen remarkable changes in climate, with periods of rapid warming, and periods of stagnation or cooling. A recent analysis of the observed temperature change from the instrumental record confirms that most of the warming recorded since the middle of the 20rst century has been caused by human influences, but shows large uncertainty in separating greenhouse gas from aerosol response if accounting for model uncertainty. The contribution by natural forcing and internal variability to the recent warming is estimated to be small, but becomes more important when analysing climate change over earlier or shorter time periods. For example, the enigmatic early 20th century warming was a period of strong climate anomalies, including the US dustbowl drought and exceptional heat waves, and pronounced Arctic warming. Attribution results suggests that about half of the global warming 1901-1950 was forced by greenhouse gases increases, with an anomalously strong contribution by climate variability, and contributions by natural forcing. Long term variations in circulation are important for some regional climate anomalies. Precipitation is important for impacts of climate change and precipitation changes are uncertain in models. Analysis of the instrumental record suggests a human influence on mean and heavy precipitation, and supports climate model estimates of the spatial pattern of precipitation sensitivity to warming. Broadly, and particularly over ocean, wet regions are getting wetter and dry regions are getting drier. In conclusion, the historical record provides evidence for a strong response to external forcings, supports climate models, and raises questions about multi-decadal variability.

Southern Arizona hydroclimate over the last 3000 years: a comparison of speleothem elemental data and climate model simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, J.; Harrington, M. D.; Cole, J. E.; Drysdale, R.; Woodhead, J. D.; Fasullo, J.; Stevenson, S.; Otto-Bliesner, B. L.; Overpeck, J. T.; Edwards, R. L.; Henderson, G. M.

2017-12-01

Understanding long-term hydroclimate is particularly important in semiarid regions where prolonged droughts may be exacerbated by a warming climate. In many regions, speleothem trace elements correlate with regional wet and dry climate signals. In the drought-prone Southwestern US (SW), wet and dry episodes are strongly influenced by seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and teleconnections to remote forcing. Here, we address the need for seasonal moisture reconstructions using paleoclimate and climate model approaches. First, we present a high-resolution (sub-annual) record of speleothem trace elements spanning the last 3000 years from Fort Huachuca Cave, AZ, to investigate the variability of regional seasonal precipitation and sustained regional droughts. In a principal component (PC) analysis of the speleothem, trace elements associated with wet (Sr, Ba) and dry (P, Y, Zn) episodes load strongly and inversely, and the associated PC signals correlate with local gridded precipitation data over the last 50 years (R > 0.6, p < 0.1). These results suggest that the elemental signals provide a seasonal moisture record for Southern Arizona. We use the record to examine the frequency and timing of extreme droughts in the region and compare the speleothem record's frequency domain characteristics with other regional moisture records and with climate model output. The speleothem record demonstrates strong low-frequency variability with pronounced multi-decadal dry periods, a feature notably lacking in drought metrics from simulations of the last millennium. We also examine the seasonal SW precipitation response to modes of climate variability and external forcings, including volcanic eruptions, in both the speleothem record and the Community Earth System Model's Last Millennium Ensemble (CESM-LME). Notably, ENSO and volcanic forcing have a discernable effect on SW seasonal precipitation in model simulations, particularly when the two processes combine to shift the position of the ITCZ. This integrated analysis of paleodata with climate model results will help us identify and explain discrepancies between these information sources and improve stakeholders' ability to anticipate and prepare for future drought.

Evidence for Pacific Climate Regime Shifts as Preserved in a Southeast Alaska Ice Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porter, S. E.; Mosley-Thompson, E. S.; Thompson, L. G.

2012-12-01

Climate modes emanating from the Pacific sector have far-reaching effects across the globe. The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) reflects anomalies in the sea surface temperature and pressure fields over the tropical Pacific, but climate implications from these anomalies extend to monsoon regions of Asia to North America and even Europe. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) explains sea surface temperature anomalies in the North Pacific sector and influences the long-term behavior of the ENSO cycle as well as the storm track over North America expressed as the Pacific/North American Pattern (PNA). The impacts of both climate change and drastically reduced Arctic sea ice cover on these teleconnection patterns are poorly understood, and with little knowledge about their past behavior, predicting the changes in these climate modes is extremely difficult. An ice core from the col between Mt. Bona and Mt. Churchill in southeast Alaska provides an opportunity to examine the PDO prior to both the start of instrumental records and the more recent effects of anthropogenic climate change. The Bona-Churchill records of isotopic, dust, and chemical composition are compared to nearby meteorological station and 20th century reanalysis data to evaluate their strength as climate recorders. Climate indices such as the PDO and PNA, along with indices created to describe the strength and position of the Aleutian Low and Siberian High, are incorporated into the analysis to determine if proxy relationships are altered under different climate regimes. Satellite records of sea ice extent within the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, when compared to the Bona-Churchill data, show a distinct change in behavior in the mid-1990s possibly in response to the temporary negative shift in the PDO. This behavioral shift is explored and placed into a broader climate context to determine whether similar events have occurred in the past or if this shift is unique to a rapidly warming Arctic.

Variable dose rate single-arc IMAT delivered with a constant dose rate and variable angular spacing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Grace; Earl, Matthew A.; Yu, Cedric X.

2009-11-01

Single-arc intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT) has gained worldwide interest in both research and clinical implementation due to its superior plan quality and delivery efficiency. Single-arc IMAT techniques such as the Varian RapidArc™ deliver conformal dose distributions to the target in one single gantry rotation, resulting in a delivery time in the order of 2 min. The segments in these techniques are evenly distributed within an arc and are allowed to have different monitor unit (MU) weightings. Therefore, a variable dose-rate (VDR) is required for delivery. Because the VDR requirement complicates the control hardware and software of the linear accelerators (linacs) and prevents most existing linacs from delivering IMAT, we propose an alternative planning approach for IMAT using constant dose-rate (CDR) delivery with variable angular spacing. We prove the equivalence by converting VDR-optimized RapidArc plans to CDR plans, where the evenly spaced beams in the VDR plan are redistributed to uneven spacing such that the segments with larger MU weighting occupy a greater angular interval. To minimize perturbation in the optimized dose distribution, the angular deviation of the segments was restricted to <=± 5°. This restriction requires the treatment arc to be broken into multiple sectors such that the local MU fluctuation within each sector is reduced, thereby lowering the angular deviation of the segments during redistribution. The converted CDR plans were delivered with a single gantry sweep as in the VDR plans but each sector was delivered with a different value of CDR. For four patient cases, including two head-and-neck, one brain and one prostate, all CDR plans developed with the variable spacing scheme produced similar dose distributions to the original VDR plans. For plans with complex angular MU distributions, the number of sectors increased up to four in the CDR plans in order to maintain the original plan quality. Since each sector was delivered with a different dose rate, extra mode-up time (xMOT) was needed between the transitions of the successive sectors during delivery. On average, the delivery times of the CDR plans were approximately less than 1 min longer than the treatment times of the VDR plans, with an average of about 0.33 min of xMOT per sector transition. The results have shown that VDR may not be necessary for single-arc IMAT. Using variable angular spacing, VDR RapidArc plans can be implemented into the clinics that are not equipped with the new VDR-enabled machines without compromising the plan quality or treatment efficiency. With a prospective optimization approach using variable angular spacing, CDR delivery times can be further minimized while maintaining the high delivery efficiency of single-arc IMAT treatment.

Agenda for the September 13 and 14, 2017 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Inorganic Byproducts Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Meeting

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is the agenda for the EPA's public meeting for a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee) under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act (NRA) as indicated in a FRN of 12/15/16 and required by section 8(a)(6) of the Lautenberg Act.

Continuity of Climate Data Records derived from Microwave Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mears, C. A.; Wentz, F. J.; Brewer, M.; Meissner, T.; Ricciardulli, L.

2017-12-01

Remote Sensing Systems (www.remss.com) has been producing and distributing microwave climate data products from microwave imagers (SSMI, TMI, AMSR, WindSat, GMI, Aquarius, SMAP) over the global oceans since the launch of the first SSMI in 1987. Interest in these data products has been significant as researchers around the world have downloaded the approximate equivalent of 1 million satellite years of processed data. Users, including NASA, NOAA, US National Laboratories, US Navy, UK Met, ECMWF, JAXA, JMA, CMC, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, as well as many hundreds of other agencies and universities routinely access these microwave data products. The quality of these data records has increased as more observations have become available and inter-calibration techniques have improved. The impending end of missions for WindSat, AMSR-2, and the remaining SSMIs will have significant impact on the quality and continuity of long term microwave climate data records. In addition to the problem of reduced numbers of observations, there is a real danger of losing overlapping observations. Simultaneous operation of satellites, especially when the observations are at similar local crossing times, provides a significant benefit in the effort to inter-calibrate satellites to yield accurate and stable long-term records. The end of WindSat and AMSR-2 will leave us without microwave SSTs in cold water, as there will be no microwave imagers with C-band channels. Microwave SSTs have a crucial advantage over IR SSTs, which is not able to measure SST in clouds or if aerosols are present. The gap in ocean wind vectors will be somewhat mitigated as the European ASCAT C-band scatterometer mission on MetOp is continuing. Nonetheless, the anticipated cease of several microwave satellite radiometers retrieving ocean winds in the coming years will lead to a significant gap in temporal coverage. Atmospheric water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rain rate are all important climate variables whose long-term records will inevitably degrade as the microwave imagery constellation fades.

DayRec: An Interface for Exploring United States Record-Maximum/Minimum Daily Temperatures

DOE Data Explorer

Kaiser, Dale [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2015-01-01

Like politics, you might say that all climate is local. As researchers seek to help the public better understand climate and climate change, a sensible approach would include helping people know more about changes in their own backyards. High and low temperatures are something that all of us pay attention to each day; when they are extreme (flirting with or setting records) they generate tremendous interest, largely because of the potential for significant impacts on human health, the environment, and built infrastructure. Changes through time in record high and low temperatures (extremes) are also an important manifestation of climate change (Sect. 3.8 in Trenberth et al. 2007; Peterson et al. 2008; Peterson et al. 2012). Meehl et al. (2009) found that currently, about twice as many high temperature records are being set as low temperature records over the conterminous U.S. (lower 48 states) as a whole. As the climate warms further, this ratio is expected to multiply, mainly because when the whole temperature distribution for a location or region shifts, it changes the "tails" of the distribution (in the case of warming this means fewer extreme cold temperatures and more extreme hot temperatures; see Page 2, Figure ES.1 of Karl et al. 2008). The Meehl et al. (2009) findings were covered pretty well by the online media, but, as is the case for all types of scientifc studies, it's safe to say that most of the public are not aware of these basic findings, and they would benefit from additional ways to get climate extremes information for their own areas and assess it. One such way is the National Climatic Data Center's (NCDC) U.S. Records Look-Up page. But how do most people typically hear about their area's high and low temperature records? Likely via the evening news, when their local on-air meteorologist notes the high/low for the day at a nearby airport then gives the years when the all-time high and low for the date were set (perhaps not at that same airport). The year of the record is an interesting bit of information on its own but it doesn't do much to place things in context. What about the local history of record temperatures and how things may be changing? Here we present a daily temperature records data product that we hope will serve the scientist and non-scientist alike in exploring and analyzing high and low temperature records and trends at hundreds of locations across the U.S.

Climate variability and human impact on the environment in South America during the last 2000 years: synthesis and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flantua, S. G. A.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Vuille, M.; Behling, H.; Carson, J. F.; Gosling, W. D.; Hoyos, I.; Ledru, M. P.; Montoya, E.; Mayle, F.; Maldonado, A.; Rull, V.; Tonello, M. S.; Whitney, B. S.; González-Arango, C.

2015-07-01

An improved understanding of present-day climate variability and change relies on high-quality data sets from the past two millennia. Global efforts to reconstruct regional climate modes are in the process of validating and integrating paleo-proxies. For South America, however, the full potential of vegetation records for evaluating and improving climate models has hitherto not been sufficiently acknowledged due to its unknown spatial and temporal coverage. This paper therefore serves as a guide to high-quality pollen records that capture environmental variability during the last two millennia. We identify the pollen records with the required temporal characteristics for PAGES-2 ka climate modelling and we discuss their sensitivity to the spatial signature of climate modes throughout the continent. Diverse patterns of vegetation response to climate change are observed, with more similar patterns of change in the lowlands and varying intensity and direction of responses in the highlands. Pollen records display local scale responses to climate modes, thus it is necessary to understand how vegetation-climate interactions might diverge under variable settings. Additionally, pollen is an excellent indicator of human impact through time. Evidence for human land use in pollen records is useful for archaeological hypothesis testing and important in distinguishing natural from anthropogenically driven vegetation change. We stress the need for the palynological community to be more familiar with climate variability patterns to correctly attribute the potential causes of observed vegetation dynamics. The LOTRED-SA-2 k initiative provides the ideal framework for the integration of the various paleoclimatic sub-disciplines and paleo-science, thereby jumpstarting and fostering multi-disciplinary research into environmental change on centennial and millennial time scales.

Extensive plasma cell infiltration with crystal IgG inclusions and mutated IgV(H) gene in an osteoarthritis patient with lymphoplasmacellular synovitis. A case report.

PubMed

Magalhães, Raquel; Gehrke, Thorsten; Souto-Carneiro, Maria M; Kriegsmann, Jörg; Krenn, Veit

2002-01-01

The presence of immunoglobulin crystal inclusions in plasma cells from plasmacytomas and B-NHLs (linked to overstimulation and overproduction) has been frequently reported. Our case describes a lymphoplasmacellular synovitis in a patient with osteoarthritis (OA) showing an unusually high plasma cell infiltration and for the first time crystals in plasma cells. Using immunohistochemistry. these crystals were identified as being IgG with a balanced lambda/kappa ratio. IgV(H) gene analysis (n = 5 clones) showed that they were somatically mutated (R/S of CDR > 3): in one case, an insertion of 9 nucleotides on the CDR2 region was observed. High R/S values in the CDR indicated antigen selectivity and affinity (4/5). Since no germinal centers could be detected and the analyzed B cells showed antigen selectivity, it may be concluded that already antigenically activated B cells migrated into the synovium and locally differentiated into plasma cells, leading to the extensive infiltration observed. Rheumatoid fibroblasts were shown to support terminal B cell differentiation. Our data suggests that the ability of fibroblasts to activate B cells is not only restricted to RA, but also occurs in OA. The intense plasma cell infiltration contributed to further cartilage damage by altering the microenvironment of the nourishing synovial tissue or by the local production of pathogenic autoantibodies.

Small-scale variations of climate change in mountainous forested terrain - a regional study from H.J. Andrews Long Term Ecological Research site in Oregon, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honzakova, Katerina; Hoffmann, Peter; Jones, Julia; Thomas, Christoph

2017-04-01

There has been conflicting evidence as to whether high elevations are experiencing more pronounced climate warming than lower elevations in mountainous regions. In this study we analyze temperature records from H.J. Andrews Long Term Ecological Research, Oregon, USA and several nearby areas, comprising together 28 stations located in Cascade Mountains. The data, starting in 1958, are first checked for quality and homogenized using the Standard Normal Homogeneity Test. As a reference, composite climate time series based on the Global Historic Climate Network is created and together with cross-referencing against station records used to correct breaks and shifts in the data. In the next step, we investigate temperature patterns of the study site from 1958 to 2016 and compare them for valley and hill stations. In particular, we explore seasonality and inter-annual variability of the records and trends of the last day of frost. Additionally, 'cold' sums (positive and negative) are calculated to obtain a link between temperature and ecosystems' responses (such as budbreaks). So far, valley stations seem to be more prone to climate change than ridge or summit stations, contrary to current thinking. Building on previous knowledge, we attempt to provide physical explanations for the temperature records, focusing on wind patterns and associated phenomena such as cold air drainage and pooling. To aid this we analyze wind speed and direction data available for some of the stations since 1996, including seasonality and inter-annual variability of the observed flows.

Gradual onset and recovery of the Younger Dryas abrupt climate event in the tropics.

PubMed

Partin, J W; Quinn, T M; Shen, C-C; Okumura, Y; Cardenas, M B; Siringan, F P; Banner, J L; Lin, K; Hu, H-M; Taylor, F W

2015-09-02

Proxy records of temperature from the Atlantic clearly show that the Younger Dryas was an abrupt climate change event during the last deglaciation, but records of hydroclimate are underutilized in defining the event. Here we combine a new hydroclimate record from Palawan, Philippines, in the tropical Pacific, with previously published records to highlight a difference between hydroclimate and temperature responses to the Younger Dryas. Although the onset and termination are synchronous across the records, tropical hydroclimate changes are more gradual (>100 years) than the abrupt (10-100 years) temperature changes in the northern Atlantic Ocean. The abrupt recovery of Greenland temperatures likely reflects changes in regional sea ice extent. Proxy data and transient climate model simulations support the hypothesis that freshwater forced a reduction in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, thereby causing the Younger Dryas. However, changes in ocean overturning may not produce the same effects globally as in Greenland.

Two Centuries of Climate Variability From a Gulf of Papua Coral Confirms a Coherent, Widespread Multidecadal Signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, J. E.; Lough, J.; Reed, E. V.; Schrag, D. P.

2016-12-01

The Indo-Pacific warm pool is intimately involved with large-scale climate variability on seasonal to secular time scales. The lack of long instrumental observations in this region has motivated paleoclimatic analyses using diverse proxy data sources. We present here new multicentury paleoclimate records from a Gulf of Papua coral that capture past variability with a Pacific-wide signature. We have developed stable isotope, Sr/Ca, skeletal density, and luminescence data from a coral core recovered at Bramble Cay, Australia (9°S, 144°E). The geochemical records span CE 1775-1993 and are dominated by low-frequency (decade-century scale) variability that is consistent with records from other proxies in the same region, and with other coral records from far-flung sites across the southwest Pacific. Unlike in many Pacific coral records, we observe no strong trend towards warmer conditions. Although skeletal density bands are clearly visible, they show inconsistent seasonal phasing with the geochemical tracers of sea surface temperature (SST; Sr/Ca and oxygen isotope content), and skeletal density does not correlate with these tracers on longer time scales. In this coral, density banding must be controlled by a more complex mix of internal and/or external factors. Luminescent banding and reconstructed salinity provide similar histories, suggesting a common hydroclimatic signal with significant variability at periods of decades and longer. The strong low-frequency behavior in these new climate records of SST and hydroclimate, from a remote region of the Indo-Pacific, confirms an important source of internal climate variability, on a poorly documented time scale, from a region with far-reaching climatic importance.

Ocean-Ice Sheet Interactions in the Norwegian Sea and Teleconnections to Low Latitude Hydrology and Atmospheric Circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brendryen, J.; Hannisdal, B.; Haaga, K. A.; Haflidason, H.; Castro, D. D.; Grasmo, K. J.; Sejrup, H. P.; Edwards, R. L.; Cheng, H.; Kelly, M. J.; Lu, Y.

2016-12-01

Abrupt millennial scale climatic events known as Dansgaard-Oeschger events are a defining feature of the Quaternary climate system dynamics in the North Atlantic and beyond. We present a high-resolution multi-proxy record of ocean-ice sheet interactions in the Norwegian Sea spanning the interval between 50 and 150 ka BP. A comparison with low latitude records indicates a very close connection between the high northern latitude ocean-ice sheet interactions and large scale changes in low latitude atmospheric circulation and hydrology even on sub-millennial scales. The records are placed on a common precise radiometric chronology based on correlations to U/Th dated speleothem records from China and the Alps. This enables a comparison of the records to orbital and other climatically important parameters such as U/Th dated sea-level data from corals and speleothems. We explore the drive-response relationships in these coupled systems with the information transfer (IT) and the convergent cross mapping (CCM) analytical techniques. These methods employ conceptually different approaches to detect the relative strength and directionality of potentially chaotic and nonlinearly coupled systems. IT is a non-parametric measure of information transfer between data records based on transfer entropy, while CCM relies on delay reconstructions using Takens' theorem. This approach enables us to address how the climate system processes interact and how this interaction is affected by external forcing from for example greenhouse gases and orbital variability.

Coral based-ENSO/IOD related climate variability in Indonesia: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yudawati Cahyarini, Sri; Henrizan, Marfasran

2018-02-01

Indonesia is located in the prominent site to study climate variability as it lies between Pacific and Indian Ocean. It has consequences to the regional climate in Indonesia that its climate variability is influenced by the climate events in the Pacific oceans (e.g. ENSO) and in the Indian ocean (e.g. IOD), and monsoon as well as Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). Northwestern monsoon causes rainfall in the region of Indonesia, while reversely Southwestern monsoon causes dry season around Indonesia. The ENSO warm phase called El Nino causes several droughts in Indonesian region, reversely the La Nina causes flooding in some regions in Indonesia. However, the impact of ENSO in Indonesia is different from one place to the others. Having better understanding on the climate phenomenon and its impact to the region requires long time series climate data. Paleoclimate study which provides climate data back into hundreds to thousands even to million years overcome this requirement. Coral Sr/Ca can provide information on past sea surface temperature (SST) and paired Sr/Ca and δ18O may be used to reconstruct variations in the precipitation balance (salinity) at monthly to annual interannual resolution. Several climate studies based on coral geochemical records in Indonesia show that coral Sr/Ca and δ18O from Indonesian records SST and salinity respectively. Coral Sr/Ca from inshore Seribu islands complex shows more air temperature rather than SST. Modern coral from Timor shows the impact of ENSO and IOD to the saliniy and SST is different at Timor sea. This result should be taken into account when interpreting Paleoclimate records over Indonesia. Timor coral also shows more pronounced low frequency SST variability compared to the SST reanalysis (model). The longer data of low frequency variability will improve the understanding of warming trend in this climatically important region.

Perception of Climate Risk among Rural Farmers in Vietnam: Consistency within Households and with the Empirical Record.

PubMed

Cullen, Alison C; Anderson, C Leigh

2017-03-01

Rural farmers in Vietnamese communes perceive climate risk and potential impacts on livelihood within a complex context that may influence individual and household decisions. In a primary survey of 1,145 residents of the Thach Ha district of Ha Tinh province, we gathered data regarding perception about stability in climate, potential risks to livelihood, demographic characteristics, orientation toward risk, and interest in expanding economic activity. Temporal analysis of meteorological and economic indicator data forms an empirical basis for comparison with human perception. We ask the basic question: Are rural farmers' perceptions of climate consistent with the historical record and reproducible within households? We find that respondents do perceive climate anomalies, with some anchoring on recent extreme events as revealed by climate observational data, and further that spouses disproportionately share perceptions relative to randomly simulated pairings. To put climate-related risk perception in a larger context, we examine patterns across a range of risks to livelihood faced by farmers (livestock disease, pests, markets, health), using dimension reduction techniques. We find that our respondents distinguish among potential causes of low economic productivity, with substantial emphasis on climate-related impacts. They do not express uniform concern across risks, but rather average patterns reveal common modes and distinguish climate concern. Still, among those expressing concern about climate-related risks to livelihood we do not find an association with expressed intention to pursue changes in economic activity as a risk management response. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

PAGES-Powell North America 2k database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKay, N.

2014-12-01

Syntheses of paleoclimate data in North America are essential for understanding long-term spatiotemporal variability in climate and for properly assessing risk on decadal and longer timescales. Existing reconstructions of the past 2,000 years rely almost exclusively on tree-ring records, which can underestimate low-frequency variability and rarely extend beyond the last millennium. Meanwhile, many records from the full spectrum of paleoclimate archives are available and hold the potential of enhancing our understanding of past climate across North America over the past 2000 years. The second phase of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) North America 2k project began in 2014, with a primary goal of assembling these disparate paleoclimate records into a unified database. This effort is currently supported by the USGS Powell Center together with PAGES. Its success requires grassroots support from the community of researchers developing and interpreting paleoclimatic evidence relevant to the past 2000 years. Most likely, fewer than half of the published records appropriate for this database are publicly archived, and far fewer include the data needed to quantify geochronologic uncertainty, or to concisely describe how best to interpret the data in context of a large-scale paleoclimatic synthesis. The current version of the database includes records that (1) have been published in a peer-reviewed journal (including evidence of the record's relationship to climate), (2) cover a substantial portion of the past 2000 yr (>300 yr for annual records, >500 yr for lower frequency records) at relatively high resolution (<50 yr/observation), and (3) have reasonably small and quantifiable age uncertainty. Presently, the database includes records from boreholes, ice cores, lake and marine sediments, speleothems, and tree rings. This poster presentation will display the site locations and basic metadata of the records currently in the database. We invite anyone with interest in participating in the project to visit the poster or contact the author to help identify and assimilate relevant records that have not yet been included. The goal is to develop a comprehensive and open-access resource that will serve the diverse community interested in the climate of the Common Era in North America.

Deriving a sea surface temperature record suitable for climate change research from the along-track scanning radiometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merchant, C. J.; Llewellyn-Jones, D.; Saunders, R. W.; Rayner, N. A.; Kent, E. C.; Old, C. P.; Berry, D.; Birks, A. R.; Blackmore, T.; Corlett, G. K.; Embury, O.; Jay, V. L.; Kennedy, J.; Mutlow, C. T.; Nightingale, T. J.; O'Carroll, A. G.; Pritchard, M. J.; Remedios, J. J.; Tett, S.

We describe the approach to be adopted for a major new initiative to derive a homogeneous record of sea surface temperature for 1991 2007 from the observations of the series of three along-track scanning radiometers (ATSRs). This initiative is called (A)RC: (Advanced) ATSR Re-analysis for Climate. The main objectives are to reduce regional biases in retrieved sea surface temperature (SST) to less than 0.1 K for all global oceans, while creating a very homogenous record that is stable in time to within 0.05 K decade-1, with maximum independence of the record from existing analyses of SST used in climate change research. If these stringent targets are achieved, this record will enable significantly improved estimates of surface temperature trends and variability of sufficient quality to advance questions of climate change attribution, climate sensitivity and historical reconstruction of surface temperature changes. The approach includes development of new, consistent estimators for SST for each of the ATSRs, and detailed analysis of overlap periods. Novel aspects of the approach include generation of multiple versions of the record using alternative channel sets and cloud detection techniques, to assess for the first time the effect of such choices. There will be extensive effort in quality control, validation and analysis of the impact on climate SST data sets. Evidence for the plausibility of the 0.1 K target for systematic error is reviewed, as is the need for alternative cloud screening methods in this context.

The FORBIO Climate data set for climate analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delvaux, C.; Journée, M.; Bertrand, C.

2015-06-01

In the framework of the interdisciplinary FORBIO Climate research project, the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium is in charge of providing high resolution gridded past climate data (i.e. temperature and precipitation). This climate data set will be linked to the measurements on seedlings, saplings and mature trees to assess the effects of climate variation on tree performance. This paper explains how the gridded daily temperature (minimum and maximum) data set was generated from a consistent station network between 1980 and 2013. After station selection, data quality control procedures were developed and applied to the station records to ensure that only valid measurements will be involved in the gridding process. Thereafter, the set of unevenly distributed validated temperature data was interpolated on a 4 km × 4 km regular grid over Belgium. The performance of different interpolation methods has been assessed. The method of kriging with external drift using correlation between temperature and altitude gave the most relevant results.

BRepertoire: a user-friendly web server for analysing antibody repertoire data.

PubMed

Margreitter, Christian; Lu, Hui-Chun; Townsend, Catherine; Stewart, Alexander; Dunn-Walters, Deborah K; Fraternali, Franca

2018-04-14

Antibody repertoire analysis by high throughput sequencing is now widely used, but a persisting challenge is enabling immunologists to explore their data to discover discriminating repertoire features for their own particular investigations. Computational methods are necessary for large-scale evaluation of antibody properties. We have developed BRepertoire, a suite of user-friendly web-based software tools for large-scale statistical analyses of repertoire data. The software is able to use data preprocessed by IMGT, and performs statistical and comparative analyses with versatile plotting options. BRepertoire has been designed to operate in various modes, for example analysing sequence-specific V(D)J gene usage, discerning physico-chemical properties of the CDR regions and clustering of clonotypes. Those analyses are performed on the fly by a number of R packages and are deployed by a shiny web platform. The user can download the analysed data in different table formats and save the generated plots as image files ready for publication. We believe BRepertoire to be a versatile analytical tool that complements experimental studies of immune repertoires. To illustrate the server's functionality, we show use cases including differential gene usage in a vaccination dataset and analysis of CDR3H properties in old and young individuals. The server is accessible under http://mabra.biomed.kcl.ac.uk/BRepertoire.

New directions in hydro-climatic histories: observational data recovery, proxy records and the atmospheric circulation reconstructions over the earth (ACRE) initiative in Southeast Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williamson, Fiona; Allan, Rob; Switzer, Adam D.; Chan, Johnny C. L.; Wasson, Robert James; D'Arrigo, Rosanne; Gartner, Richard

2015-12-01

The value of historic observational weather data for reconstructing long-term climate patterns and the detailed analysis of extreme weather events has long been recognized (Le Roy Ladurie, 1972; Lamb, 1977). In some regions however, observational data has not been kept regularly over time, or its preservation and archiving has not been considered a priority by governmental agencies. This has been a particular problem in Southeast Asia where there has been no systematic country-by-country method of keeping or preserving such data, the keeping of data only reaches back a few decades, or where instability has threatened the survival of historic records. As a result, past observational data are fragmentary, scattered, or even absent altogether. The further we go back in time, the more obvious the gaps. Observational data can be complimented however by historical documentary or proxy records of extreme events such as floods, droughts and other climatic anomalies. This review article highlights recent initiatives in sourcing, recovering, and preserving historical weather data and the potential for integrating the same with proxy (and other) records. In so doing, it focuses on regional initiatives for data research and recovery - particularly the work of the international Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth's (ACRE) Southeast Asian regional arm (ACRE SEA) - and the latter's role in bringing together disparate, but interrelated, projects working within this region. The overarching goal of the ACRE SEA initiative is to connect regional efforts and to build capacity within Southeast Asian institutions, agencies and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) to improve and extend historical instrumental, documentary and proxy databases of Southeast Asian hydroclimate, in order to contribute to the generation of high-quality, high-resolution historical hydroclimatic reconstructions (reanalyses) and, to build linkages with humanities researchers working on issues in environmental and climatic history in the region. Thus, this article also highlights the inherent value of multi/cross/inter-disciplinary projects in providing better syntheses and understanding of human and environmental/climatic variability and change.

A 30+ Year AVHRR LAI and FAPAR Climate Data Record: Algorithm Description, Validation, and Case Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Claverie, Martin; Matthews, Jessica L.; Vermote, Eric F.; Justice, Christopher O.

2016-01-01

In- land surface models, which are used to evaluate the role of vegetation in the context ofglobal climate change and variability, LAI and FAPAR play a key role, specifically with respect to thecarbon and water cycles. The AVHRR-based LAIFAPAR dataset offers daily temporal resolution,an improvement over previous products. This climate data record is based on a carefully calibratedand corrected land surface reflectance dataset to provide a high-quality, consistent time-series suitablefor climate studies. It spans from mid-1981 to the present. Further, this operational dataset is availablein near real-time allowing use for monitoring purposes. The algorithm relies on artificial neuralnetworks calibrated using the MODIS LAI/FAPAR dataset. Evaluation based on cross-comparisonwith MODIS products and in situ data show the dataset is consistent and reliable with overalluncertainties of 1.03 and 0.15 for LAI and FAPAR, respectively. However, a clear saturation effect isobserved in the broadleaf forest biomes with high LAI (greater than 4.5) and FAPAR (greater than 0.8) values.

The Green Sahara: Climate Change, Hydrologic History and Human Occupation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blom, Ronald G.; Farr, Tom G.; Feynmann, Joan; Ruzmaikin, Alexander; Paillou, Philippe

2009-01-01

Archaeology can provide insight into interactions of climate change and human activities in sensitive areas such as the Sahara, to the benefit of both disciplines. Such analyses can help set bounds on climate change projections, perhaps identify elements of tipping points, and provide constraints on models. The opportunity exists to more precisely constrain the relationship of natural solar and climate interactions, improving understanding of present and future anthropogenic forcing. We are beginning to explore the relationship of human occupation of the Sahara and long-term solar irradiance variations synergetic with changes in atmospheric-ocean circulation patterns. Archaeological and climate records for the last 12 K years are gaining adequate precision to make such comparisons possible. We employ a range of climate records taken over the globe (e.g. Antarctica, Greenland, Cariaco Basin, West African Ocean cores, records from caves) to identify the timing and spatial patterns affecting Saharan climate to compare with archaeological records. We see correlation in changing ocean temperature patterns approx. contemporaneous with drying of the Sahara approx. 6K years BP. The role of radar images and other remote sensing in this work includes providing a geographically comprehensive geomorphic overview of this key area. Such coverage is becoming available from the Japanese PALSAR radar system, which can guide field work to collect archaeological and climatic data to further constrain the climate change chronology and link to models. Our initial remote sensing efforts concentrate on the Gilf Kebir area of Egypt.

Fire, Climate, and Human Activity: A Combustive Combination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kehrwald, N. M.; Battistel, D.; Argiriadis, E.; Barbante, C.; Barber, L. B.; Fortner, S. K.; Jasmann, J.; Kirchgeorg, T.; Zennaro, P.

2017-12-01

Ice and lake core records demonstrate that fires caused by human activity can dominate regional biomass burning records in the Common Era. These major increases in fires are often associated with extensive land use change such as an expansion in agriculture. Regions with few humans, relatively stable human populations and/or unvarying land use often have fire histories that are dominated by climate parameters such as temperature and precipitation. Here, we examine biomass burning recorded in ice cores from northern Greenland (NEEM, (77°27'N; 51°3.6'W), Alaska (Juneau Icefield, 58° 35' N; 134° 29'W) and East Antarctica (EPICA DOME C; 75°06'S; 123°21'E), along with New Zealand lake cores to investigate interactions between climate, fire and human activity. Biomarkers such as levoglucosan, and its isomers mannosan and galactosan, can only be produced by cellulose combustion and therefore are specific indicators of past fire activity archived in ice and lake cores. These fire histories add another factor to climate proxies from the same core, and provide a comparison to regional fire syntheses from charcoal records and climate models. For example, fire data from the JSBACH-Spitfire model for the past 2000 years demonstrates that a climate-only scenario would not increase biomass burning in high northern latitudes for the past 2000 years, while NEEM ice core and regional pollen records demonstrate both increased fire activity and land use change that may be ascribed to human activity. Additional biomarkers such as fecal sterols in lake sediments can determine when people were in an area, and can help establish if an increased human presence in an area corresponds with intensified fire activity. This combination of specific biomarkers, other proxy data, and model output can help determine the relative impact of humans versus climate factors on regional fire activity.

Top of Atmosphere Radiation MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record within the Climate Monitoring SAF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbain, Manon; Clerbaux, Nicolas; Ipe, Alessandro; Tornow, Florian; Hollmann, Rainer; Baudrez, Edward; Velazquez Blazquez, Almudena; Moreels, Johan; Trentmann, Jörg

2017-04-01

The CM SAF Top of Atmosphere (TOA) Radiation MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record provides a homogeneous satellite-based climatology of the TOA Reflected Solar (TRS) and Emitted Thermal (TET) radiation in all-sky conditions. The continuous monitoring of these two components of the Earth Radiation Budget is of prime importance to study climate variability and change. The Meteosat Visible and InfraRed Imager (MVIRI - from 1983 until 2004) and the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI - from 2004 onward) on board the Meteosat First and Second Generation satellites are combined to generate a long Thematic Climate Data Record (TCDR). Combining MVIRI and SEVIRI allows an unprecedented temporal (30 minutes / 15 minutes) and spatial (2.5 km / 3 km) resolution compared to the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) products. This is a step forward as it helps to increase the knowledge of the diurnal cycle and the small-scale spatial variations of radiation. The MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record covers a 32 years time period from 1 February 1983 to 30 April 2015. The TOA radiation products are provided as daily mean, monthly mean and monthly averages of the hourly integrated values (diurnal cycle). To ensure consistency with other CM SAF products, the data is provided on a regular grid at a spatial resolution of 0.05 degrees (i.e. about 5.5 km) and covers the region between +/- 70° longitude and +/- 70° latitude. Validation of the MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record has been performed by intercomparison with several references such as the CERES products (EBAF, SYN1deg-Day and SYN1deg-M3Hour), the HIRS OLR Climate Data Record (Daily and Monthly), the reconstructed ERBS WFOV-CERES (or DEEP-C) dataset and the ISCCP FD products. CERES is considered as the best reference from March 2000 onward. The quality of the early part of the Data Record is verified against the other references. In general, the stability of all the TOA radiation products is estimated to be better than 4 W.m-2 (max-min) and no significant transition or jump between satellites and generations of instruments is observed. Most of the products also fulfill the accuracy requirements that were defined in the CM SAF Product Requirement Document. Finally, a few examples of possible applications of the MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record will be presented as well as some indicative analysis results (such as trend analysis).

USGS Hydro-Climatic Data Network 2009 (HCDN-2009)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lins, Harry F.

2012-01-01

After nearly two decades of use without undergoing a systematic revalidation, questions have arisen as to whether many of the original stations still maintain their climate-sensitive status or even remain operational, as some are known to have closed. Some watersheds had been altered to the point that stations no longer meet the minimal disturbance criteria set forth in the original HCDN report. In addition, some sites that did not qualify as HCDN sites in 1988 (the last year of data evaluation) because their records were too short now have sufficiently long streamflow records for climate-sensitivity studies. Accordingly, a review of the existing network was initiated in 2009 in order to drop old stations and add new ones as appropriate.

Cognitive decline and brain volume loss are signatures of cerebral Aβ deposition identified with PIB

PubMed Central

Storandt, Martha; Mintun, Mark A.; Head, Denise; Morris, John C.

2009-01-01

Objective To examine the relation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) levels in cerebral cortex with structural brain integrity and cognitive performance in older people with a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) of 0 (cognitively normal). Methods The relations between mean cortical [11C] PIB binding potential values, proportional to the density of fibrillar Aβ binding sites in the brain, concurrent regional brain volumes as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, and both concurrent and longitudinal (up to 19 years) cognitive performance in multiple domains were examined in 135 CDR 0 individuals aged 65 to 88 years. Results Elevated cerebral Aβ levels, in some cases comparable to that seen in individuals with Alzheimer's disease, were observed in 29 CDR 0 individuals. Significantly smaller regional volumes in the hippocampus, temporal neocortex, anterior cingulate, and posterior cingulate were observed in these CDR 0 individuals with elevated Aβ levels. Concurrent cognitive performance was unrelated to Aβ levels but was related to regional brain volumes with the exception of caudate. Longitudinal cognitive decline was associated with elevated Aβ levels and decreased hippocampal volume. Decline was not limited to episodic memory but included working memory and visuospatial abilities as well. Interpretation [11C] PIB, an in vivo measure of cerebral amyloidosis, is associated with regionally specific brain atrophy cross-sectionally and a pattern of longitudinal cognitive decline in multiple cognitive domains that occurs prior to the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer' disease. These findings contribute to the understanding of the cognitive and structural consequences of Aβ levels in CDR 0 older adults. PMID:20008651

T cells to a dominant epitope of GAD65 express a public CDR3 motif.

PubMed

Quinn, Anthony; McInerney, Marcia; Huffman, Donald; McInerney, Brigid; Mayo, Stella; Haskins, Kathryn; Sercarz, Eli

2006-06-01

Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice spontaneously develop autoimmune diabetes, and serve as a model for type 1 diabetes (T1D) and natural autoimmunity. T cell responses to the pancreatic islet antigen glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) can be detected in the spleens of young prediabetic NOD mice, which display a unique MHC class II molecule. Here, we report that a distinct TcR beta chain and CDR3 motif are utilized by all NOD mice in response to a dominant determinant on GAD65, establishing a public repertoire in the spontaneous autoimmunity to an important islet cell antigen. GAD65 530-543 (p530)-reactive T cells preferentially utilize the Vbeta4, Dbeta2.1 and Jbeta2.7 gene segments, with a CDR3 that is characterized by a triad of amino acids, DWG, preceded by a polar residue. In addition, we used CDR3 length spectratyping, CDR3-specific reverse transcriptase-PCR and direct TcR sequencing to show that the TcR beta chain structural patterns associated with p530-specific T cells consistently appeared in the islets of young NOD mice with insulitis, but not in the inflamed islets of streptozotocin-treated C57BL/6 mice, or in inflamed NOD salivary glands. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate that a public T cell repertoire is used in spontaneous autoimmunity to a dominant self-determinant. These findings suggest that defined clonotypes and repertoires may be preferentially selected in haplotypes predisposed to spontaneous autoimmunity.

Analysis of brief language tests in the detection of cognitive decline and dementia

PubMed Central

Radanovic, Marcia; Carthery-Goulart, Maria Teresa; Charchat-Fichman, Helenice; Herrera Jr., Emílio; Lima, Edson Erasmo Pereira; Smid, Jerusa; Porto, Cláudia Sellitto; Nitrini, Ricardo

2007-01-01

Lexical access difficulties are frequent in normal aging and initial stages of dementia.Verbal fluency tests are valuable to detect cognitive decline, evidencing lexico-semantic and executive dysfunction. Objectives To establish which language tests can contribute in detecting dementia and to verify schooling influence on subject performance. Method 74 subjects: 33 controls, 17 Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) 0.5 and 24 (Brief Cognitive Battery - BCB e Boston Naming Test - BNT) 1 were compared in tests of semantic verbal fluency (animal and fruit), picture naming (BCB and BNT) and the language items of Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results There were significant differences between the control group and both CDR 0.5 and CDR 1 in all tests. Cut-off scores were: 11 and 10 for animal fluency, 8 for fruit fluency (in both), 8 and 9 for BCB naming. The CDR 0.5 group performed better than the CDR 1 group only in animal fluency. Stepwise multiple regression revealed fruit fluency, animal fluency and BCB naming as the best discriminators between patients and controls (specificity: 93.8%; sensitivity: 91.3%). In controls, comparison between illiterates and literates evidenced schooling influence in all tests, except for fruit fluency and BCB naming. In patients with dementia, only fruit fluency was uninfluenced by schooling. Conclusion The combination of verbal fluency tests in two semantic categories along with a simple picture naming test is highly sensitive in detecting cognitive decline. Comparison between literate and illiterate subjects shows a lesser degree of influence of schooling on the selected tests, thus improving discrimination between low performance and incipient cognitive decline. PMID:29213366

Wealth and under-nourishment among married women in two impoverished nations: evidence from Burkina Faso and Congo Democratic Republic.

PubMed

Adebowale, Ayo Stephen; Palamuleni, Martin Enoch; Odimegwu, Clifford Obby

2015-02-08

Burkina Faso (BF) and Congo Democratic Republic (CDR) are among the top-ten poverty and hunger stricken countries globally. The influence of poverty and hunger on health is enormous. The objectives of the study are to; examine the association between poverty and nutritional status, it also identified socio-demographic and health related mediating factors that contribute to the relationship between poverty and poor nutritional status. The study focused on married or cohabiting women aged 15-49 years and utilized 2010 and 2007 DHS dataset from BF and CDR respectively. Mean age of the women in BF and CDR were 34.4 ± 9.3 and 34.7 ± 9.0 years respectively. About 19.4% and 18.4% of the poor were malnourished as against 7.7% and 9.7% of the rich women in BF and CDR respectively. Obesity and overweight were more prominent among the rich than the poor. Higher prevalence of under-nourish women was found among the older than the younger women in BF. In the countries, the prevalence of malnutrition was significantly higher among women; in the rural areas, with no formal education, anaemic and those who are not working. Multivariate analysis revealed that in the countries, the risk of under-nourishment was significantly higher among poor and middle class than the rich women despite controlling for confounding variables. Undernourished women were more common among the poor and those with no formal education. Programs that target nutrition of women of reproductive age should be strengthened in BF and CDR.

Gridded sunshine duration climate data record for Germany based on combined satellite and in situ observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walawender, Jakub; Kothe, Steffen; Trentmann, Jörg; Pfeifroth, Uwe; Cremer, Roswitha

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study is to create a 1 km2 gridded daily sunshine duration data record for Germany covering the period from 1983 to 2015 (33 years) based on satellite estimates of direct normalised surface solar radiation and in situ sunshine duration observations using a geostatistical approach. The CM SAF SARAH direct normalized irradiance (DNI) satellite climate data record and in situ observations of sunshine duration from 121 weather stations operated by DWD are used as input datasets. The selected period of 33 years is associated with the availability of satellite data. The number of ground stations is limited to 121 as there are only time series with less than 10% of missing observations over the selected period included to keep the long-term consistency of the output sunshine duration data record. In the first step, DNI data record is used to derive sunshine hours by applying WMO threshold of 120 W/m2 (SDU = DNI ≥ 120 W/m2) and weighting of sunny slots to correct the sunshine length between two instantaneous image data due to cloud movement. In the second step, linear regression between SDU and in situ sunshine duration is calculated to adjust the satellite product to the ground observations and the output regression coefficients are applied to create a regression grid. In the last step regression residuals are interpolated with ordinary kriging and added to the regression grid. A comprehensive accuracy assessment of the gridded sunshine duration data record is performed by calculating prediction errors (cross-validation routine). "R" is used for data processing. A short analysis of the spatial distribution and temporal variability of sunshine duration over Germany based on the created dataset will be presented. The gridded sunshine duration data are useful for applications in various climate-related studies, agriculture and solar energy potential calculations.

Proposed biopsy performance benchmarks for MRI based on an audit of a large academic center.

PubMed

Sedora Román, Neda I; Mehta, Tejas S; Sharpe, Richard E; Slanetz, Priscilla J; Venkataraman, Shambhavi; Fein-Zachary, Valerie; Dialani, Vandana

2018-05-01

Performance benchmarks exist for mammography (MG); however, performance benchmarks for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are not yet fully developed. The purpose of our study was to perform an MRI audit based on established MG and screening MRI benchmarks and to review whether these benchmarks can be applied to an MRI practice. An IRB approved retrospective review of breast MRIs was performed at our center from 1/1/2011 through 12/31/13. For patients with biopsy recommendation, core biopsy and surgical pathology results were reviewed. The data were used to derive mean performance parameter values, including abnormal interpretation rate (AIR), positive predictive value (PPV), cancer detection rate (CDR), percentage of minimal cancers and axillary node negative cancers and compared with MG and screening MRI benchmarks. MRIs were also divided by screening and diagnostic indications to assess for differences in performance benchmarks amongst these two groups. Of the 2455 MRIs performed over 3-years, 1563 were performed for screening indications and 892 for diagnostic indications. With the exception of PPV2 for screening breast MRIs from 2011 to 2013, PPVs were met for our screening and diagnostic populations when compared to the MRI screening benchmarks established by the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) 5 Atlas ® . AIR and CDR were lower for screening indications as compared to diagnostic indications. New MRI screening benchmarks can be used for screening MRI audits while the American College of Radiology (ACR) desirable goals for diagnostic MG can be used for diagnostic MRI audits. Our study corroborates established findings regarding differences in AIR and CDR amongst screening versus diagnostic indications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Feature selection using a one dimensional naïve Bayes' classifier increases the accuracy of support vector machine classification of CDR3 repertoires.

PubMed

Cinelli, Mattia; Sun, Yuxin; Best, Katharine; Heather, James M; Reich-Zeliger, Shlomit; Shifrut, Eric; Friedman, Nir; Shawe-Taylor, John; Chain, Benny

2017-04-01

Somatic DNA recombination, the hallmark of vertebrate adaptive immunity, has the potential to generate a vast diversity of antigen receptor sequences. How this diversity captures antigen specificity remains incompletely understood. In this study we use high throughput sequencing to compare the global changes in T cell receptor β chain complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3β) sequences following immunization with ovalbumin administered with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or CFA alone. The CDR3β sequences were deconstructed into short stretches of overlapping contiguous amino acids. The motifs were ranked according to a one-dimensional Bayesian classifier score comparing their frequency in the repertoires of the two immunization classes. The top ranking motifs were selected and used to create feature vectors which were used to train a support vector machine. The support vector machine achieved high classification scores in a leave-one-out validation test reaching >90% in some cases. The study describes a novel two-stage classification strategy combining a one-dimensional Bayesian classifier with a support vector machine. Using this approach we demonstrate that the frequency of a small number of linear motifs three amino acids in length can accurately identify a CD4 T cell response to ovalbumin against a background response to the complex mixture of antigens which characterize Complete Freund's Adjuvant. The sequence data is available at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/?term¼SRP075893 . The Decombinator package is available at github.com/innate2adaptive/Decombinator . The R package e1071 is available at the CRAN repository https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/e1071/index.html . b.chain@ucl.ac.uk. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Multiproxy records of Holocene climate and glacier variability from sediment cores in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweinsberg, A. D.; Licciardi, J. M.; Rodbell, D. T.; Stansell, N.; Tapia, P. M.

2012-12-01

Sediments contained in glacier-fed lakes and bogs provide continuous high-resolution records of glacial activity, and preserve multiproxy evidence of Holocene climate change. Tropical glacier fluctuations offer critical insight on regional paleoclimatic trends and controls, however, continuous sediment records of past tropical climates are limited. Recent cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure ages of moraine sequences in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru (13°20'S latitude) reveal a glacial culmination during the early Holocene and a less extensive glaciation coincident with the Little Ice Age of the Northern Hemisphere. Here we supplement the existing 10Be moraine chronology with the first continuous records of multiproxy climate data in this mountain range from sediment cores recovered from bogs in direct stratigraphic contact with 10Be-dated moraines. Radiocarbon-dated sedimentological changes in a 2-meter long bog core reveal that the Holocene is characterized by alternating inorganic and organic-rich laminae, suggesting high-frequency climatic variability. Carbon measurements, bulk density, and bulk sedimentation rates are used to derive a record of clastic sediment flux that serves as a proxy indicator of former glacier activity. Preliminary analyses of the bog core reveal approximately 70 diatom taxa that indicate both rheophilic and lentic environments. Initial results show a general decrease in magnetic susceptibility and clastic flux throughout the early to mid-Holocene, which suggests an interval of deglaciation. An episode of high clastic flux from 3.8 to 2.0 ka may reflect a late Holocene glacial readvance. Volcanic glass fragments and an anomalous peak in magnetic susceptibility may correspond to the historical 1600 AD eruption of Huaynaputina. Ten new bog and lake sediment cores were collected during the 2012 field expedition and analytical measurements are underway. Ongoing efforts are focused on analyzing diatom assemblage data, developing detailed records of biogenic silica, clastic sediment flux, and magnetic susceptibility, and augmenting the 10Be moraine chronology with precise limiting radiocarbon ages to provide a more comprehensive assessment of regional climate and environmental indicators. These new paleoclimatic records will fill a large geographic gap in available proxy data and contribute toward a more complete understanding of Holocene climate variability in southern Peru. In addition, the basal radiocarbon ages being developed from sediments in contact with 10Be-dated moraines will place limits on the cosmogenic 10Be production rate in the high Andes.

Improving the soil moisture data record of the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) and Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil moisture estimates are valuable for hydrologic modeling, drought prediction and management, climate change analysis, and agricultural decision support. However, in situ measurements of soil moisture have only become available within the past few decades with additional sensors being installed ...

A 500 year climate reconstruction of Southwest Germany based on documentary and direct data with a special focus on high resolute reconstructed extreme rain events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dostal, P.; Seidel, J.; Imbery, F.

2010-09-01

A 500 year climate reconstruction of Southwest Germany based on documentary and direct data with a special focus on high resolute reconstructed extreme rain events Against the background of an increasing world population and the changes that this is causing to the earth, the increasing industrialisation resulting in more emissions of greenhouse gases, it is indispensable to differentiate between natural and anthropogenic climate changes. This applies equally to global as well as regional climates. Due to the fact, that the weather data measurement series in the upper Rhine valley go back a maximum of 150 years, it is not possible to use this data to grasp long term climate fluctuations. For example, the current climate is integrated in long scale climate cycles which last thousands of years. To describe these changes accurately, it is necessary to reconstruct the climate beyond that of instrumental series measurements. With the application of direct and indirect data (proxy data) a climate reconstruction will be attempted for the area of region TriRhena. With the application of documentary data it is possible to reconstruct the climate prior to instrumental measurements. These historical records are made up of, for e.g. weather descriptions, information about the wine harvest and other agricultural products, as well as their price fluctuations. Using this data it is possible to calculate meteorological parameters creating an index of air temperature and precipitation values. Climate is an integration of weather and therefore its worth to set the focus also on single interesting weather events. Especially extreme events can contribute to the thesis "learning from the past for a better future". Aim of the research is to identify and apply extreme flood events of the past 500 years as a basis for further analysis like a contribution to improve current flood hazard maps. The data which will be presented were extracted from historical records such as local annuals and chronologies from 1500-1900 and supplemented by instrumental observations since 1755.