Search

In the current most accepted global geopotential model, EGM2008, there are often data gaps in the source data used to compute the model over inland water. As a result, EGM2008 may be less reliable over lakes. Satellite altimetry has the potential to estimate gravity anomalies and update EGM2008 over lakes. Here, we evaluate the first attempt to extract gravity anomalies from ICESat-2 laser altimetry over several medium (100–1000 km 2 ) and large (>1000 km 2 ) lakes and compare them with conventional radar altimetry from CryoSat-2 and SARAL to investigate the performance of ICESat-2 for gravity determination over lakes. Aerial gravimetry from the GRAV-D project over the United States are utilized as the best estimate of the gravity field over the lakes. Gravity determination from altimetry is done using Fast Fourier Techniques (FFT) within a remove-restore geoid-to-gravity approach. The resulting altimetry derived gravity anomalies are then compared to the EGM2008 geoid over each lake with respect to GRAV-D. 18 lakes with area ranging from 108 km 2 to 82,220 km 2 across the United States were considered. Overall, gravity determination from ICESat-2 provides more reliable estimates than the other two radar altimetry missions. For all considered lakes, the performance of ICESat-2, measured in terms of standard deviation with GRAV-D, is comparable or better than the EGM2008 field over the same lake. Lake Pend Orielle is the best performing case, in which the standard deviation of the ICESat-2 derived gravity field is 2.14 mGal and the standard deviation of the EGM2008 gravity field is 2.66 mGal with respect to the GRAV-D measurements. Over Lake Tahoe, which is surrounded by mountainous terrain, ICESat-2 performs comparably to EGM2008 and captures clear gravity signal related to the lake's bathymetry, whereas CryoSat-2 produces very unstable results. The method presented here for deriving gravity anomalies from altimetry applied to ICESat-2 laser altimetry data produces results that validate in supplement to the GRAV-D project over medium to large lakes in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Salmonella infections are significant causes of foodborne outbreaks in the European Union. This study investigates a sudden increase in gastroenteritis patients in the hospital district of Central Finland in June 2021. The primary aim was to study the outbreak's magnitude and source of the outbreak. Methods and Results: Epidemiological, microbiological, environmental and traceback investigations were conducted. Over 700 persons fell ill during the outbreak caused by Salmonella Typhimurium associated with a daycare lunch. Similar S. Typhimurium was found in the patients and a vegetable mix containing iceberg lettuce, cucumber and peas served during lunch. The traceback investigation revealed that the batch information of vegetables from the wholesaler was not complete. The wholesaler had received quality complaints about the iceberg lettuce from the central kitchen. The manufacturer did not test the suspected batch for Salmonella since the production plant had given a certificate declaring it Salmonella negative. Conclusions: The most suspect ingredient was one batch of iceberg lettuce due to quality complaints. The lettuce had not been served in two daycare centres without cases. We recommend that in order to enable thorough microbiological investigation, institutional kitchens store the food samples separately as part of the internal quality control and that food items should always be tested when Salmonella contamination in an outbreak is suspected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the availability of more than 9 years of Cryosat-2, it is possible to revisit polar ocean tides, which have traditionally been difficult to determine from satellite altimetry. The SAMOSA+ physical retracker is a stable retracker developed particularly for Cryosat-2. Being a physical retracker, it enables the determination of the sea state bias. Correcting for the sea state bias enables more reliable sea level estimates compared with traditional empirical retrackers used before. Cryosat-2 data have been analyzed for residual ocean tides to the FES2014 ocean tide model in the Arctic Ocean and Antarctic Ocean using the response formalism. We utilize data from the sub-cycle of Cryosat-2, which follows a repeating pattern of approximately 28.33 days. This sub-repeat period makes it an advantageous alias period for the majority of significant constituents. This allowed for the estimation and mapping of the major tidal constituents in the open ocean and also in floating ice shelves from data extracted from leads in the sea ice. A novel empirical ocean tide model designed specifically for the polar region, DTU22, is introduced. Our findings reveal substantial enhancements in semi-diurnal tides within the Arctic Ocean and improvement in diurnal constituents within the Southern Ocean. In the Southern Ocean, the diurnal constituents are particularly improved using the empirical model by more than a factor of two to around 3 cm for both constituents compared with FES2014b. These outcomes underscore the significance of incorporating the reprocessed and retracted Cryosat-2 data into tidal modeling, highlighting its pivotal role in advancing the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new mean sea surface (MSS) from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) called DTU21MSS for referencing sea-level anomalies from satellite altimetry is introduced in this paper, and a suite of evaluations are performed. One of the reasons for updating the existing mean sea surface is the fact that during the last 6 years, nearly 3 times as many data have been made available by space agencies, resulting in more than 15 years of altimetry from long-repeat orbits (LROs) or geodetic missions. This includes the two interleaved long-repeat cycles of Jason-2 with a systematic cross-track distance as low as 4 km. A new processing chain with updated filtering and editing has been implemented for the DTU21MSS. This way, the DTU21MSS has been computed from 2 Hz altimetry in contrast to the former DTU15MSS and DTU18MSS which were computed from 1 Hz altimetry. The new DTU21MSS is computed over the same 20-year averaging time from 1 January 1993 to 31 December 2012 with a well-specified central time of 1 January 2003 and is available from 10.11583/DTU.19383221.v1 (Andersen, 2022). Cryosat-2 employs synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and SAR interferometric (SARin) modes in a large part of the Arctic Ocean due to the presence of sea ice. For SAR- and SARin-mode data we applied the SAMOSA + physical retracking to make it compatible with the physical retracker used for conventional low-resolution-mode data in other parts of the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radar satellite altimeters enable the determination of the mean sea surface to centimeter accuracy, which can be degraded in coastal areas because of the lack of valid altimetry observations due to land contamination and the altimeter footprint size. In 2018, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched ICESat-2, a laser altimetry mission equipped with the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, providing measurements every 0.7 m in the along-track direction. Taking into account the complexity of the Norwegian coastline, this study aims to evaluate coastal observations from ICESat-2 in order to use it to update the existing mean sea surface for Norway, NMBU18. We, therefore, determined the mean sea surface using only ICESat-2 observations and compared it with mean sea level observations from 23 permanent tide gauges along the entire coast and 21 temporary tide gauges in Norway's largest and deepest fjord, Sognefjorden. We also included two global mean sea surface models and NMBU18 for comparison. The results have shown that ICESat-2 is indeed able to provide more valid observations in the coastal zone, which can be used to improve the mean sea surface model, especially along the coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks are complex machine learning models that have shown promising results in analyzing high-dimensional data such as those collected from medical examinations. Such models have the potential to provide fast and accurate medical diagnoses. However, the high complexity makes deep neural networks and their predictions difficult to understand. Providing model explanations can be a way of increasing the understanding of "black box" models and building trust. In this work, we applied transfer learning to develop a deep neural network to predict sex from electrocardiograms. Using the visual explanation method Grad-CAM, heat maps were generated from the model in order to understand how it makes predictions. To evaluate the usefulness of the heat maps and determine if the heat maps identified electrocardiogram features that could be recognized to discriminate sex, medical doctors provided feedback. Based on the feedback, we concluded that, in our setting, this mode of explainable artificial intelligence does not provide meaningful information to medical doctors and is not useful in the clinic. Our results indicate that improved explanation techniques that are tailored to medical data should be developed before deep neural networks can be applied in the clinic for diagnostic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine factors influencing the primary stability of dental implants when stabilized in over-sized osteotomies using a calcium phosphate-based adhesive cement was the objective. Methods: Using implant removal torque measurements as a surrogate for primary stability, we examined the influence of implant design features (diameter, surface area, and thread design), along with cement gap size and curing time, on the resulting primary implant stability. Results: Removal torque values scaled with implant surface area and increasing implant diameters. Cement gap size did not alter the median removal torque values; however, larger gaps were associated with an increased spread of the measured values. Among the removal torque values measured, all were found to be above 32 Ncm which is an insertion torque threshold value commonly recommended for immediate loading protocols. Conclusion: The adhesive cement show potential for offering primary implant stability for different dental implant designs. In this study, the primary parameters influencing the measured removal torque values were the implant surface area and diameter. As the liquid cement prevents the use of insertion torque, considering the relationship between insertion and removal torque, removal torque can be considered a reliable surrogate for primary implant stability for bench and pre-clinical settings. Clinical relevance: At present, the primary stability of dental implants is linked to the quality of the host bone, the drill protocol, and the specific implant design. The adhesive cement might find applications in future clinical settings for enhancing primary stability of implants under circumstances where this cannot be achieved conventionally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new Mean Sea Surface (MSS) called DTU21MSS for referencing sea level anomalies from satellite altimetry is introduced in this paper and a suite of evaluations are performed. One of the reasons for updating the existing Mean Sea Surface is the fact, that during the last 6 years nearly three times as much data have been made available by the space agencies, resulting in more than 15 years of altimetry from Long Repeat Orbits or Geodetic Missions. This includes the two interleaved long repeat cycles of Jason-2 with a systematic cross-track distance as low as 4 km. A new processing chain with updated filtering and editing has been implemented for DTU21MSS. This way, the DTU21MSS has been computed from 2Hz altimetry in contrast to the former DTU15MSS/DTU18MSS which were computed from 1 Hz altimetry. The new DTU21MSS is computed over the same 20-year averaging time from 1993.01.01 to 2012.12.31 with a well-specified central time of 2003.01.01 and is available from the following site; https://doi.org/10.11583/DTU.19383221.v1, Andersen, 2022) Cryosat-2 employs SAR and SARin modes in a large part of the Arctic Ocean due to the presence of sea ice. For SAR and SARin mode data we applied the SAMOSA+ physical retracking in order to make it compatible with the physical retracker used for conventional Low-Resolution Mode data in other parts of the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) global high-resolution elevation measurements, it is possible to distinguish individual surface ocean waves. With the vast majority of ocean surveying missions using radar satellites, ICESat-2 observations are an important addition to ocean surveys. ICESat-2 can also provide additional observations not possible with radar. In this paper, we consolidate the ICESat-2 ocean observations by comparing the significant wave height (SWH) with coincident CryoSat-2 radar observations during the CRYO2ICE campaign from August 2020 to August 2021. We use 136 orbit segments, constrained to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans as well as the Bering Sea, to compare observations to show the level of agreement between these systems. Three models based on ICESat-2 are used in the comparison: the standard ocean data output (ATL12), a method of modeling the individual surface waves using the geolocated photons and, functioning as a baseline, an approach using the standard deviation of the ocean surface. We find the following correlations between the SWHs from the models and the SWHs from CryoSat-2: 0.97 for ATL12, 0.95 for the observed waves model, and 0.97 for the standard deviation model. In the same comparison, we find mean differences relative to the observed SWHs for each model, as well as errors, which increase as the SWH increases. The SWH observed from ICESat-2 is found to agree with observations from CryoSat-2, with limitations due to changes in the sea state between the satellite observations. Observing the individual surface waves from ICESat-2 can therefore provide additional observed properties of the sea state that can be used alongside other global observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we use seven years of Cryosat-2 data to improve Mean Sea Surface (MSS) and also to estimate Mean Dynamic Topography (MDT) around Australia. Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) map, obtained from Cryosat-2 data, shows substantial spatial striping effects in the areas where annual signal has considerable amplitudes. This signal causes shifts among the SLAs acquired from adjacent tracks since they have collected at different times of the year. In order to mitigate these effects, we used Topex/Poseidon and follow on missions to estimate the seasonal signals in the Cryosat-2 data points. MSS C2 is then estimated by (1) removing these signals from SLAs, (2) averaging in a 0.1° × 0.1° grid cells, and (3) finally adding them to the DTUMSS13. The resultant surface shows good agreement with the MSS estimated by Jason-1 and Jason-2 data in altimetry nominal points. MDT C2 is also estimated in the study area using the MSS C2 and the geoid. It is in good agreement with two widely used global MDT models although showing higher values due to the effect of sea-level rise. When compared to the estimated MDT in tide gauge stations using geodetic data, MDT C2 statistically performs better than the global models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 27 years of high precision satellite altimetry enables analysis of recent changes in global mean sea level (GMSL). Several previous studies present estimates of the trend and acceleration in GMSL; however, all are exclusively performed with data from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2 and Jason-3 missions (TPJ data). In this study we extend the altimetry record in both time and space by including independent data from the ERS-1, ERS-2, Envisat and CryoSat-2 missions (ESA data). This increases the time-series to span more than 27 years (1991.7–2019.0) and the spatial coverage is extended from ± 66° to ± 82° latitude. Another advantage of the ESA data is that it is independent of the issues associated with the TOPEX altimeter which introduce a significant uncertainty to the first part of the record. GMSL based on ESA data on the 1991–2019 period within ± 82° latitude exhibit an acceleration of 0.095 ± 0.009 mm/yr2. The corresponding value for the TPJ data is 0.080 ± 0.008 mm/yr2 for the 1993–2019 period and within ± 66° latitude. The ERS-1 satellite was launched shortly after the large Pinatubo eruption in 1991. The satellite observes a decrease of 6 mm in GMSL during the first 1.7 years until the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon. The distribution of sea level acceleration across the global ocean is highly similar between the ESA and TPJ dataset. In the Pacific Ocean regional sea level acceleration patterns seem related to the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) whereas around Greenland a clear negative acceleration is seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new mean dynamic ocean topography product based on the improved geoid model, derived in the Optimal Geoid for Modelling Ocean Circulation (OGMOC) project supported by the European Space Agency. This geoid model is based on the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite missions combined with the newer DTU15GRA altimetric surface gravity and it was optimized to eliminate artificial features common for other geoid models such as striations and orange skin. Subsequently, the model has been augmented using the EIGEN-6C4 coefficients to harmonic degree 2160. The new geodetic mean dynamic ocean topography model DTU17MDT has been derived using this geoid model and the DTU15MSS mean sea surface, with the quasi-gaussian filter optimized to best fit velocities of oceanographic drifting buoys. The new model improves the resolution of important details of the ocean circulation. Finally, the drifter data were integrated into the model to refine its spatial resolution. The new topography product DTU17cMDT, combining the wealth of information from satellite gravity and altimetry and drifters, is rich with more features of the ocean surface circulation. In particular, as shown in the case of the Gulf Stream off the east coast of Florida, DTU17cMDT improves description of the western boundary currents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most remote and inaccessible regions in the world, the sea level in the Arctic is still today in large parts uncertain. Sea level estimates from GRACE and satellite altimetry show disagreements in areas of the Arctic while only few in-situ measurements are present to validate satellite products. By using an independent in-situ based dataset of hydrographic data (DTUSteric), this study compares different available datasets from GRACE and altimetry. The best agreement (R = 0.76) is reached between the combination of DTUSteric and the JPL Mascon solution and the altimetry product from Centre of Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM). A large residual signal is found in the East Siberian Sea, an area with no in-situ observations and in general uncertain satellite observations. The spatial correlation coefficients ranging from 0.32 to 0.76 reflects a large number of unknowns and uncertainties, with coarse GRACE resolution, extensive interpolation and lack of in-situ data in parts of the Arctic Ocean and uncertainty of the altimetric products being the largest sources of error. In general, we recommended that satellite observations are used carefully in the Arctic. Even this study shows that steric estimates from in-situ observations to some extent can explain the gap between GRACE and altimetry, the observed sea level trend in significant regions of the Arctic cannot be validated with in-situ hydrographic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing bathymetry map of the Arctic is a compilation of ship soundings and digitized contours. Due to the presence of all‐year sea ice, costly operations and political restrictions, dense and full coverage of the Arctic is not possible, leaving huge gaps between the existing surveys. In this paper, we make use of the existing Arctic bathymetry IBCAOv3 and invert Arctic bathymetry from the recent altimetric gravity model DTU17, whose accuracy is improved significantly with revised data processing strategy. The long and short wavelength components are preserved from IBCAOv3. The band‐pass‐filtering function proposed by Smith and Sandwell (1994, https://doi.org/10.1029/94JB00988) is adapted for the Arctic by reducing the cutoff wavelength. The predicted bathymetry is within 100 m on 85.8% of the grid nodes, when compared to the IBCAOv3. The consistency of the prediction is validated with two independent profiles from Healy cruises conducted in 2016 over the Chukchi Cap. A questionable valley in the IBCAOv3 is detected with gravity and at this spot, bathymetry predicted from gravity is consistent with independent multibeam soundings. The gravity‐inverted bathymetry could be combined with ship soundings for the next generation of Arctic bathymetry map. Key Points: The first ever Arctic bathymetry inverted from DTU17 gravity anomalies is presentedGood agreement between the ship soundings and inverted bathymetry is achieved [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Water surface elevation (WSE) is an essential quantity for water resource monitoring and hydrodynamic modeling. Satellite altimetry has provided data for inland water bodies. The height that is derived from altimetry measurement is ellipsoidal height. In order to convert the ellipsoidal height to orthometric height, which has physical meaning, accurate estimates of the geoid are needed. This paper evaluates the suitability of geodetic altimetric measurements for improvement of global geoid models over a large lake in the Tibetan Plateau. CryoSat-2 and SARAL/AltiKa are used to derive the high-frequency geoid correction. A validation of the local geoid correction is performed with data from in-situ observations, a laser altimetry satellite (ICESat), a Ka-band radar altimetry satellite (SARAL) and a SAR radar altimetry satellite (Sentinel-3). Results indicate that the geodetic altimetric dataset can capture the high-resolution geoid information. By applying local geoid correction, the precision of ICESat, SARAL and Sentinel-3 retrievals are significantly improved. We conclude that using geodetic altimetry to correct for local geoid residual over large lakes significantly decreases the uncertainty of WSE estimates. These results also indicate the potential of geodetic altimetry missions to determine local geoid residual with centimeter-level accuracy, which can be used to improve global and regional geopotential models. Highlights • CryoSat-2 has very noisy measurements over rapidly changing topography. • Geodetic CryoSat-2 & AltiKa are used to derive a short-wavelength geoid correction. • The precision of ICESat, AltiKa and Sentinel-3 retrievals are significantly improved. • Geodetic altimetry can be incorporated to improve geopotential models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a self-consistent one-electron scheme for calculating ground-state properties of large systems with complex boundaries. It is based on linear muffin-tin orbitals (LMTO’s) and the density functional formalism in its local approximation. A multiple-κ LMTO basis set is used. No shape approximations, neither for the potential nor for the charge density, are made. Outside the spheres the charge density is fitted to a series of atom-centered Hankel functions and the two- and three-center integrals used for the overlap and Hamiltonian matrices, as well as for the charge density fit, are performed analytically. Inside the spheres the non-muffin-tin part of the charge density is treated by spherical-harmonics expansions. It is shown how the method can be applied to helical polymers. Test calculations on the N2 molecule are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ocean mean dynamic topography (MDT) is the surface representation of the ocean circulation. The MDT may be determined by the ocean approach, which involves temporal averaging of numerical ocean circulation model information, or by the geodetic approach, wherein the MDT is derived using the ellipsoidal height of the mean sea surface (MSS), or mean sea level (MSL) minus the geoid as the geoid. The ellipsoidal height of the MSS might be estimated either by satellite or coastal tide gauges by connecting the tide gauge datum to the Earth-centred reference frame. In this article we present a novel approach to improve the coastal MDT, where the solution is based on both satellite altimetry and tide gauge data using new set of 302 tide gauges with ellipsoidal heights through the SONEL network. The approach was evaluated for the Northeast Atlantic coast where a dense network of GNSS-surveyed tide gauges is available. The typical misfit between tide gauge and satellite or oceanographic MDT was found to be around 9 cm. This misfit was found to be mainly due to small scale geoid errors. Similarly, we found, that a single tide gauge places only weak constraints on the coastal dynamic topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High frequency electrical stimulation (HFS) of the skin induces increased pinprick sensitivity in the surrounding unconditioned skin. The aim of the present study was to investigate the contribution of A-fiber nociceptors to this increased pinprick sensitivity. For this we assessed if the perception and brain responses elicited by low-intensity intra-epidermal electrical stimulation (IES), a method preferentially activating Aδ-fiber nociceptors, are increased in the area of HFS-induced increased pinprick sensitivity. HFS was delivered to one of the two forearms of seventeen healthy volunteers. Mechanical pinprick stimulation and IES were delivered at both arms before HFS (T0), 20 minutes after HFS (T1) and 45 minutes after HFS (T2). In all participants, HFS induced an increase in pinprick perception at the HFS-treated arm, adjacent to the site of HFS. This increase was significant at both T1 and T2. HFS did not affect the percept elicited by IES, but did enhance the magnitude of the N2 wave of IES-evoked brain potentials, both at T1 and at T2. Our results show that HFS induces a long-lasting enhancement of the N2 wave elicited by IES in the area of secondary hyperalgesia, indicating that HFS enhances the responsiveness of the central nervous system to nociceptive A-fiber input. However, we found no evidence that HFS affects the perception elicited by IES, which may suggest that the population of nociceptors that mediate the perception elicited by IES do not contribute to HFS-induced increased pinprick sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) is a 37-residue peptide hormone, which upon misfolding changes from the physiologically active monomer into pathological amyloid fibril aggregates in the pancreas of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. During this process, the insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells are damaged; however, the underlying mechanism of this mode of cytotoxicity remains elusive. It is known that anionic lipids accelerate amyloid fibril formation, implicating the importance of the cellular membrane in the process, and that a pH close to the level in the β-cell secretory granules (pH 5.5) inhibits amyloid fibril formation. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we have investigated the membrane-associated monomer state of α-helical hIAPP, analyzed specific interactions of hIAPP with a mixed anionic-zwitterionic lipid membrane and examined the influence of pH on the structure and dynamics of hIAPP and its interaction with the membrane. We find that hIAPP primarily interacts with the membrane by forming favorable interactions between anionic lipids and the positively charged residues in the N-terminal part of the peptide. Rationalizing experimental findings, the simulations show that the N-terminal part of the peptide interacts with the membrane in the lipid headgroup region. At neutral pH, the C-terminal part of the peptide, which contains the residues that initiate fibril formation, displays a highly dynamic, unfolded state, which interacts with the membrane significantly less than the N-terminal part. Such an unfolded form can be proposed to contribute to the acceleration of fibril formation. At low pH, protonation of His18 mediates a stronger interaction of the C-terminal part with the membrane, resulting in the immobilization of the C-terminal part on the membrane surface that might constitute a mechanism by which low pH inhibits fibril formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organophosphate pesticide (OP) malathion is highly toxic to freshwater invertebrates, including the cladoceran Daphnia magna, a widely used test organism in ecotoxicology. To assess whether toxic effects of malathion are driven primarily by exposure concentration or exposure duration, D. magna was pulse exposed to equivalent integrated doses (duration × concentration): 3 h × 16 μg/L, 24 h × 2 μg/L, and 48 h × 1 μg/L. After recovery periods of 3 h, 24 h, and 48 h, the toxicity of malathion on different biological levels in D. magna was examined by analyzing the following endpoints: survival and immobilization; enzyme activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterase (CbE), and glutathione S-transferase (GST); and AChE gene expression. The results showed no difference in survival among equivalent integrated doses. Adverse sublethal effects were driven by exposure concentration rather than pulse duration. Specifically, short pulse exposure to a high concentration of malathion resulted in more immobilized daphnids, lower AChE and CbE activities, and a higher transcript level of AChE gene compared with long pulse exposure to low concentration. The expression of the AChE gene was up-regulated, indicating a compensatory mechanism to cope with enzyme inhibition. The study shows the need for obtaining a better understanding of the processes underlying toxicity under realistic exposure scenarios, so this can be taken into account in environmental risk assessment of pesticides. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:394-404. © 2015 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currentenhanced sampling molecular dynamics methods for studyinglarge conformational changes in proteins suffer from certain limitations.These include, among others, the need for user defined collectivevariables, the prerequisite of both start and end point structuresof the conformational change, and the need for a priori knowledgeof the amount by which to boost specific parts of the potential. Inthis paper, a framework is proposed for a molecular dynamics methodfor studying ligand-induced conformational changes, in which the nonbondedinteractions between the ligand and the protein are used to calculatea biasing force. The method requires only a single input structure,and does not entail the use of collective variables. We provide aproof-of-concept for accelerating conformational changes in threesimple test molecules, as well as promising results for two proteinsknown to undergo domain closure upon ligand binding. For the ribose-bindingprotein, backbone root-mean-square deviations as low as 0.75 Åcompared to the crystal structure of the closed conformation are obtainedwithin 50 ns simulations, whereas no domain closures are observedin unbiased simulations. A skewed closed structure is obtained forthe glutamine-binding protein at high bias values, indicating thatspecific protein–ligand interactions might suppress importantprotein–protein interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of CryoSat-2/SIRAL altimetry for river level monitoring is investigated by using river levels retrieved from Ganges and Brahmaputra. A key concern for the CryoSat-2 orbit has been its long repeat period of 369 days, which is usually undesirable for river and lake monitoring. However, the results from the method developed in this study involving virtual stations show that the CryoSat-2 data can indeed be used for such monitoring by utilizing the high spatial coverage and the sub-cycle period of 30 days. The results show that it is possible to capture the peak flow occurring during late summer due to monsoonal precipitation and the melting of snow in the Himalayas. The evaluation of CryoSat-2 river levels is performed by comparing with Envisat data in terms of annual signals and amplitudes. The obtained annual amplitudes agree well with the Envisat data, although CryoSat-2 exhibit larger differences. For five virtual stations in the Brahmaputra River, the mean difference between the obtained amplitudes is ~ 10 cm, whereas the mean phase difference is less than 2.7 days. A virtual station in the Ganges River shows a phase difference of around 5 days and a difference in amplitude of 2 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human transforming growth factor β-induced protein (TGFBIp) is involved in several types of corneal dystrophies where protein aggregation and amyloid fibril formation severely impair vision. Most disease-causing mutations are located in the last of four homologous fasciclin-1 (FAS1) domains of the protein, and it has been shown that when isolated, the fourth FAS1 domain (FAS1-4) mimics the behavior of full-length TGFBIp. In this study, we use molecular dynamics simulations and principal component analysis to study the wild-type FAS1-4 domain along with three disease-causing mutations (R555W, R555Q, and A546T) to decipher any internal difference in dynamical properties of the domains that may explain their varied stabilities and aggregation properties. In addition, we use a protein-protein docking method in combination with chemical cross-linking experiments and mass spectrometry of the cross-linked species to obtain information about interaction faces between identical FAS1-4 domains. The results show that the pathogenic mutations A546T and R555W affect the packing in the hydrophobic core of FAS1-4 in different directions. We further show that the FAS1-4 monomers associate using their β-rich regions, consistent with peptides observed to be part of the amyloid fibril core in lattice corneal dystrophy patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we seek an appropriate selection of tide gauges for Arctic Ocean sea-level reconstruction based on a combination of empirical criteria and statistical properties (leverages). Tide gauges provide the only in situ observations of sea level prior to the altimetry era. However, tide gauges are sparse, of questionable quality, and occasionally contradictory in their sea-level estimates. Therefore, it is essential to select the gauges very carefully. In this study, we have established a reconstruction based on empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) of sea-level variations for the period 1950–2010 for the Arctic Ocean, constrained by tide gauge records, using the basic approach of Church et al. (2004). A major challenge is the sparsity of both satellite and tide gauge data beyond what can be covered with interpolation, necessitating a time-variable selection of tide gauges and the use of an ocean circulation model to provide gridded time series of sea level. As a surrogate for satellite altimetry, we have used the Drakkar ocean model to yield the EOFs. We initially evaluate the tide gauges through empirical criteria to reject obvious outlier gauges. Subsequently, we evaluate the “influence” of each Arctic tide gauge on the EOF-based reconstruction through the use of statistical leverage and use this as an indication in selecting appropriate tide gauges, in order to procedurally identify poor-quality data while still including as much data as possible. To accommodate sparse or contradictory tide gauge data, careful preprocessing and regularization of the reconstruction model are found to make a substantial difference to the quality of the reconstruction and the ability to select appropriate tide gauges for a reliable reconstruction. This is an especially important consideration for the Arctic, given the limited amount of data available. Thus, such a tide gauge selection study can be considered a precondition for further studies of Arctic sea-level reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) model is used in animal pain research to quantify nociception. The aim of this study was to evaluate the NWR evoked by repeated stimulations in healthy, non-medicated standing sheep. Repeated electrical stimulations were applied at 5 Hz for 2 s to the digital nerves of the right thoracic and the pelvic limbs of 25 standing sheep. The stimulation intensities applied were fractions (0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 and 1) of the individual previously determined nociceptive threshold (I t ) after single stimulation. Surface-electromyographic activity (EMG) was recorded from the deltoid, the femoral biceps or the peroneus tertius muscles. The repeated stimulation threshold (RS I t ) was reached if at least one stimulus in the train was followed by a reflex with a minimal root-mean-square-amplitude (RMS A ) of 20 μV. The behavioural reaction following each series of stimulations was scored on a scale from 0 (no reaction) to 5 (vigorous whole-body reaction). For the deltoid muscle, RS I t was 2.3 mA (1.6–3 mA) with a reaction score of 2 (1–2) and at a fraction of 0.6 (0.5–0.8) × I t . For the biceps femoris muscle, RS I t was 2.9 mA (2.6–4 mA) with a reaction score of 1 (1–2) at a fraction of and 0.55 (0.4–0.7) × I t while for the peroneus tertius muscle RS I t was 3 mA (2.8–3.5 mA) with a reaction score of 1 (1–2) and at a fraction of 0.8 (0.8–0.95) × I t . Both, RMS A and reaction scores increased significantly with increasing stimulation intensities in all muscles (p < 0.001). The repeated application of electrical stimuli led to temporal summation of nociceptive inputs and therefore a reduction of the stimulus intensity evoking a withdrawal reaction in healthy, standing sheep. Data achieved in this study can now serve as reference for further clinical or experimental applications of the model in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For ocean and climate research, it is essential to get long-term altimetric sea level data that is as accurate as possible. However, the accuracy of the altimetric data is frequently degraded in the interior of the Arctic Ocean due to the presence of seasonal or permanent sea ice. We have reprocessed ERS-1/2/Envisat satellite altimetry to develop an improved 20-year sea level dataset for the Arctic Ocean. We have developed both an along-track dataset and three-day gridded sea level anomaly (SLA) maps from September 1992 to April 2012. A major improvement in data coverage was gained by tailoring the standard altimetric editing criteria to Arctic conditions. The new reprocessed data has significant increased data coverage with between 4 and 10 times the amount of data in regions such as the Beaufort Gyre region compared with AVISO and RADS datasets. This allows for a more accurate estimation of sea level changes from satellite altimetry in the Arctic Ocean. The reprocessed dataset exhibit a mean sea level trend of 2.1 ± 1.3 mm/year (without Glacial Isostatic Adjustment correction) covering the Arctic Ocean between 66°N and 82°N with significant higher spatial coherency in the ice-covered regions than the RADS and DUACS datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses a study analyzing impact of unusual eccentric exercise (ECC) bouts on blood flow of muscles and electromyographic (EMG) signal from exercises of anterior muscle. Topics discussed include measurements of changes in blood flow to muscles while performing, ECC on tibialis anterior muscle, and changes in pattern of blood flow as a result of vasodilation of muscular veins and oxygen content.

SAR waveforms from Cryosat-2 are processed using primary peak empirical retrackers to determine the sea surface height in the Arctic. The empirical retrackers investigated are based on the combination of the traditional OCOG (Offset Center of Gravity) and threshold methods with primary peak extraction. The primary peak retrackers involve the application of retracking algorithms on just the primary peak of the waveform instead of the complete reflected waveform. These primary peak empirical retrackers are developed for Cryosat-2 SAR data. This is the first time SAR data in the Arctic are processed using such primary peak retrackers. The sea surface heights determined are compared with the sea surface heights generated by the ESA Retracker as available in the Cryosat-2 Level-2 dataset from 2012. Performance of the primary peak retrackers is also compared with the traditional OCOG, threshold and five parameter beta retrackers. In the case of SAR-lead data, it is concluded that the proposed primary peak retrackers work better as compared with the traditional retrackers (OCOG, threshold, five parameter beta) as well as the ESA Retracker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low energy availability (LEA) describes a state where the energy intake is insufficient to cover the energy costs of both exercise energy expenditure and basal physiological body functions. LEA has been associated with various physiological consequences, such as reproductive dysfunction. However, the effect of LEA on skeletal muscle protein synthesis in females performing exercise training is still poorly understood. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to investigate the impact of LEA on daily integrated myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle protein synthesis in trained females. Thirty eumenorrheic females were matched based on training history and randomized to undergo 10 days of LEA (25 kcal · kg fat‐free mass (FFM)−1 · day−1) or optimal energy availability (OEA, 50 kcal · kg FFM−1 · day−1). Before the intervention, both groups underwent a 5‐day 'run‐in' period with OEA. All foods were provided throughout the experimental period with a protein content of 2.2 g kg lean mass−1 · day−1. A standardized, supervised combined resistance and cardiovascular exercise training programme was performed over the experimental period. Daily integrated muscle protein synthesis was measured by deuterium oxide (D2O) consumption along with changes in body composition, resting metabolic rate, blood biomarkers and 24 h nitrogen balance. We found that LEA reduced daily integrated myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle protein synthesis compared with OEA. Concomitant reductions were observed in lean mass, urinary nitrogen balance, free androgen index, thyroid hormone concentrations and resting metabolic rate following LEA. These results highlight that LEA may negatively affect skeletal muscle adaptations in females performing exercise training. Key points: Low energy availability (LEA) with potential health and performance impairments is widespread among female athletes.We investigated the impact of 10 days of LEA on daily integrated myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle protein synthesis in young, trained females.We show that LEA impairs myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle protein synthesis in trained females performing exercise training.These findings suggest that LEA may have negative consequences for skeletal muscle adaptations and highlight the importance of ensuring adequate energy availability in female athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lively methodological debate together with organisational adjustments has dominated the international discussion on development evaluation in the last decade. Less discussed have been the evaluation processes, from procurement of consultants to the completion of evaluations, where many donors have used the same 'system' with only minor adjustments for many years. A key question is whether this 'system' is still 'fit for purpose' in view of the increasing complexity of many development interventions. This article presents three perspectives on development evaluation processes - the 'independence perspective', the 'transaction cost perspective' and the 'political economy perspective' - and argues that in particular the 'political economy perspective' constitutes a relevant perspective in analyses of evaluation processes. It is concluded that evaluation processes should be designed to reflect the specific characteristics of the individual evaluations, but also that more analysis and experimentation are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of repeated bouts of eccentric exercise on the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) threshold, a measure of sensitivity in the spinal nociceptive system. Methods: Sixteen healthy students (age 25.7 ± 0.6 years, BMI 24.8 ± 1 kg m) participated in this randomized, controlled, crossover study. Two identical bouts of high-intensity eccentric exercises were performed on the tibialis anterior muscle 7 days apart. Control sessions involving no exercise were performed 4 weeks apart the exercise sessions. Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) and the NWR threshold were recorded before, immediately after, and 1 day after both bouts of exercise. Results: Pressure pain thresholds decreased significantly at two of the muscle belly sites on the day after initial bout compared with baseline. NWR threshold decreased by 25 ± 4 % immediately after initial bout and by 30 ± 5 % the next day ( p < 0.05) as an indication of generalized pain hypersensitivity. On the contrary, no changes were found in both pain thresholds after second bout of eccentric exercise indicating that both localized and generalized pain sensitivity were normalized. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study for the first time documented that an initial bout of unaccustomed high-intensity eccentric exercise, which results in muscle soreness can induce central sensitization. A repeated bout of exercise, however, facilitates inherent protective spinal mechanisms against the development of muscle soreness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Studies have indicated systemic treatment with strontium (Sr) as a potential route to increase bone quality and formation around osseointegrating implants. However, adverse effects are linked to such treatment. In this study we present a surface modification method designed for sustained local release of Sr from implants. The four groups used were prepared by a magnetron co-sputtering process and selected on the basis of Sr release data. The composition, morphology and mechanical stability of the coatings were analyzed and the Sr release profiles were investigated in vitro by washout experiments. Mesenchymal stem cells were cultured on the different coatings to evaluate potential cytotoxic effects and the effect on cellular proliferation. No indication of toxicity was found. A rodent study demonstrated a significant increase in direct bone-to-implant contact and peri-implant bone volume, for several of the groups, four weeks after implantation when compared to a Grade 4 titanium reference group. Median values of bone-to-implant contact and new bone formation was found to be 19% and 53%, respectively, for the best group compared to 0% for both parameters with respect to the Grade 4 titanium reference. The results indicate that this method may have applications within the orthopedic and dental industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The differences between coastal altimetry and sea level time series of tide gauges in between March 1993 and December 2009 are used to estimate the rates of vertical land motion at three tide gauge locations along the southwestern coasts of Turkey. The CTOH/LEGOS along-track coastal altimetry retrieves altimetric sea level anomalies closer to the coast than the standard along-track altimetry products. However, the use of altimetry very close to the coast is not found to improve the results. On the contrary, the gridded and interpolated AVISO merged product exhibits the best agreement with tide gauge data as it provides the smoothest variability both in space and time compared with along track altimetry data. The Antalya gauge to the south (in the Mediterranean Sea) and the Mentes/Izmir gauge to the west (in the Aegean Sea) both show subsidence while the Bodrum tide gauge to the south (in the Aegean Sea) shows no significant vertical land motion. The results are compared and assessed with three independent geophysical vertical land motion estimates like from GPS. The GIA effect in the region is negligible. The VLM estimates from altimetry and tide gauge data are in good agreement both with GPS derived vertical velocity estimates and those inferred from geological and archaeological investigations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Accurate sea level trend determination is fundamentally related to calibration of both the instrument as well as to investigate if there are linear trends in the set of standard geophysical and range corrections applied to the sea level observations. Long term changes in range corrections can leak into the observed sea level record and be interpreted as part of the sea level trend. Particularly if these exhibit anomalous trend close to the satellite calibration sites. Long term changes in the routinely applied TOPEX/Jason corrections as well as their changes in coastal regions are investigated at four altimetry calibration sites: Bass Strait, Corsica, Gavdos and platform Harvest. Furthermore, alternative corrections are tested to investigate if the use of a different set of corrections will lead to different local and regional sea level changes at those sites. The results show that no significant linear trends in the sum of range corrections are found for the calibrations sites both for local scales (within 50km around the selected site) and for regional scales (within 300km). However, the geophysical corrections accounting for atmospheric pressure loading and high frequency sea level variations (dynamic atmosphere correction) that is frequently applied to in situ gauge and the altimeter observations should be considered with care for calibration with in situ observations. Over the 18years (1993–2010), the dynamic atmosphere correction shows a regional trend close to 1mm/year at both Mediterranean sites (Corsica and Gavdos). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report a facile method of generating ultradense poly(l-lysine)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLL-g-PEG) surface by using high temperature alone, which inturn provides dramatic improvement in resisting nonspecific bioadsorption.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that the surface graftdensity increased ∼4 times higher on the surface prepared at80 °C compared to 20 °C. The studies from small-angle X-rayscattering (SAXS) and the effect of varying ionic strength during/postassemblies at 20 and 80 °C indicated that the “cloud pointgrafting effect” is not the cause for obtaining high densitygrafting. Stringent long-term bioresistance tests have been conductedand the temperature-induced PLL-g-PEG surfaces haveachieved (1) zero mammalian cell adsorption/migration for up to 36days and (2) extremely close-to-zero protein adsorptions have beenobserved even after 36 days in 10% serum media and 24 h in whole bloodwithin the ultrasensitive detection limit of time-of-flight secondaryion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A number of geophysical phenomenons in the open ocean are still unresolved by conventional altimetry, but could be resolved through the potential improvements offered by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), also called Delay-Doppler, altimetry. The SAR altimeter offers the following benefits with respect to conventional satellite altimetry: factor of 20 improvements in the along-track resolution, the along-track footprint length which does not vary with wave height (sea state), and improved precision in sea surface height measurements or sea surface slope measurements. In this paper these improvements are studied with respect to retrieval of short wavelength geophysical signal related to mainly bathymetric features. In an analysis of simulated data it was found that the combination of upward continuation from the sea bottom and smoothing of the altimeter observations meant that the best recovery of geophysical signal was achieved from measurements averaged to 5Hz, rather than the simulated 20Hz full resolution data. A first validation of these theoretical modelling results with respect to resolution and noise is presented using various CryoSat-2 data, and evaluated against conventional radar altimeter data from the older ERS-1 Geodetic Missions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to integrate Non-Tidal Sea Level (NSL) from the joint TOPEX, Jason-1 and Jason-2 satellite altimetry with tide gauge data at the west and north coast of the United Kingdom for coastal sea level prediction. The temporal correlation coefficient between altimetric NSLs and tide gauge data reaches a maximum higher than 90% for each gauge. The results show that the multivariate regression approach can efficiently integrate the two types of data in the coastal waters of the area. The Multivariate Regression Model is established by integrating the along-track NSL from the joint TOPEX/Jason-1/Jason-2 altimeters with that from eleven tide gauges. The model results give a maximum hindcast skill of 0.95, which means maximum 95% of NSL variance can be explained by the model. The minimum Root Mean Square Error (RMSe) between altimetric observations and model predictions is 4.99cm in the area. The validation of the model using Envisat satellite altimetric data gives a maximum temporal correlation coefficient of 0.96 and a minimum RMSe of 4.39cm between altimetric observations and model predictions, respectively. The model is furthermore used to predict high frequency NSL variation (i.e., every 15min) during a storm surge event at an independent tide gauge station at the Northeast of the UK (Aberdeen). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Part of the justification for joint-donor evaluations is that they allow the conduct of relevant evaluations with a broader scope than single-donor evaluations and at the same time reduce transaction costs. Many joint-donor evaluations, however, run into management and coordination problems, have unforeseen high transaction costs for the donors and result in general conclusions and recommendations. The purpose of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of the factors that influence how donor-evaluation units engage in joint evaluations and to identify mechanisms that can make them more effective. It represents a first step towards analysing joint evaluations using a political-economy perspective based on assumptions about the interests and incentives of donor management, evaluations units and evaluators. The article argues that the broader scope of many joint-donor evaluations and their relatively high transaction costs are closely related to and originate from differences in donor interests and incentive structures, and an insufficient focus on methodological challenges. The article concludes with a number of tentative operational suggestions based on the analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Summary: Acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) is produced in the lung during allergic inflammation and asthma, and inhibition of enzymatic activity has been considered as a therapeutic strategy. However, most chitinase inhibitors are nonselective, additionally inhibiting chitotriosidase activity. Here, we describe bisdionin F, a competitive AMCase inhibitor with 20-fold selectivity for AMCase over chitotriosidase, designed by utilizing the AMCase crystal structure and dicaffeine scaffold. In a murine model of allergic inflammation, bisdionin F-treatment attenuated chitinase activity and alleviated the primary features of allergic inflammation including eosinophilia. However, selective AMCase inhibition by bisdionin F also caused dramatic and unexpected neutrophilia in the lungs. This class of inhibitor will be a powerful tool to dissect the functions of mammalian chitinases in disease and represents a synthetically accessible scaffold to optimize inhibitory properties in terms of airway inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The exteroceptive capabilities of the nociceptive system have long been thought to be considerably more limited than those of the tactile system. However, most investigations of spatio-temporal aspects of the nociceptive system have largely focused on intensity coding as consequence of spatial or temporal summation. Graphesthesia, the identification of numbers “written” on the skin, and assessment of the two-point discrimination thresholds were used to compare the exteroceptive capabilities of the tactile and nociceptive systems. Numbers were “written” on the forearm and the abdomen by tactile stimulation and by painful non-contact infrared laser heat stimulation. Subjects performed both graphesthesia tasks better than chance. The tactile graphesthesia tasks were performed with 89% (82–97%) correct responses on the forearm and 86% (79–94%) correct responses on the abdomen. Tactile graphesthesia tasks were significantly better than painful heat graphesthesia tasks that were performed with 31% (23–40%) and 44% (37–51%) correct responses on the forearm and abdomen, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the central nervous system is capable of assembling complex spatio-temporal patterns of nociceptive information from the body surface into unified mental objects with sufficient accuracy to enable behavioral discrimination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Satellite radar altimetry has been monitoring the earth's oceans from space for several decades.However, only the GEOSAT and ERS-1 geodetic mission data recorded more than a decade ago provide altimetry with adequate spatial coverage to derive a high-resolution marine gravity field. The original geodetic mission data suffer from degradation in quality and coverage close to the coast and in Polar Regions as well as the occasionally wrongly retracking of these, even in the open ocean. In order to improve the quality of these geodetic mission data and to derive a new improved global marine gravity field called DNSC08GRA, a new double retracking technique for analyzing the waveform data has been developed. Multiple retracking allows the system to retrack more data to increase the spatial coverage of the data. Subsequently, a second retracking run is used to enhance the SSH determination by using information from the first fitting to inform the second set of retrackers about smoothly varying sea state parameters. The development of the new global marine gravity field DNSC08GRA is described in this paper. Besides application of new retracking techniques the radar altimetry has been processed using EGM2008 as reference and augmented with ArcGP gravity data and laser altimetry from ICESat to close the Polar gap. DNSC08GRA is seen to perform significantly better than previous global marine gravity field like KMS02. The improvement in accuracy is better than 20% in general, but in coastal regions, the improvement is in many places of the order of 40-50% compared to older global marine gravity field KMS02. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CO2 lasers have been used for several decades as an experimental non-touching pain stimulator. The laser energy is absorbed by the water content in the most superficial layers of the skin. The deeper located nociceptors are activated by passive conduction of heat from superficial to deeper skin layers. Methods: In the current study, a 2D axial finite element model was developed and validated to describe the spatial temperature distribution in the skin after infrared CO2 laser stimulation. The geometry of the model was based on high resolution ultrasound scans. The simulations were compared to the subjective pain intensity ratings from 16 subjects and to the surface skin temperature distributions measured by an infrared camera. Results: The stimulations were sensed significantly slower and less intense in glabrous skin than they were in hairy skin (MANOVA, p < 0.001). The model simulations of superficial temperature correlated with the measured skin surface temperature (r > 0.90, p < 0.001). Of the 16 subjects tested; eight subjects reported pricking pain in the hairy skin following a stimulus of 0.6 J/cm2 (5 W, 0.12 s, d1/e2 = 11.4 mm) only two reported pain to glabrous skin stimulation using the same stimulus intensity. The temperature at the epidermal-dermal junction (depth 50 μm in hairy and depth 133 μm in glabrous skin) was estimated to 46°C for hairy skin stimulation and 39°C for glabrous skin stimulation. Conclusions: As compared to previous one dimensional heat distribution models, the current two dimensional model provides new possibilities for detailed studies regarding CO2 laser stimulation intensity, temperature levels and nociceptor activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study of trend patterns in sea surface temperature (SST) environment. It mentions that a systematic decrease in SST during 25-year period in the equatorial pacific and the increase in global ocean are reflected in the first derived trend pattern. It also notes that the trend-emperical orthogonal function (EOF) is considered as the alternative technique towards the traditional EOF analysis and is used as a method in the extraction of trend patterns.

Objectives To investigate the modulation of the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) and temporal summation (TS) by low-dose acepromazine (ACP) in conscious dogs. To assess the short- and long-term stability of the reflex thresholds. Study design Randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled cross-over experimental study. Animals Eight adult male Beagles. Methods The NWR was elicited using single transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the ulnar nerve. Repeated stimuli (10 pulses, 5 Hz) were applied to evoke TS. The responses of the deltoideus muscle were recorded and quantified by surface electromyography and the behavioural reactions were scored. Each dog received 0.01 mg kg−1 ACP or an equal volume saline intravenously (IV) at 1 week intervals. Measurements were performed before (baseline) and 20, 60 and 100 minutes after drug administration. Sedation was scored before drug administration and then at 10 minutes intervals. Data were analyzed with Friedman repeated measures analysis of variance on ranks and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Results Acepromazine resulted in a mild tranquilization becoming obvious at 20 minutes and peaking 30 minutes after injection. Single ( It) and repeated stimuli (TSt) threshold intensities, NWR and TS characteristics and behavioural responses were not affected by the ACP at any time point. Both It and TSt were stable over time. Conclusions and clinical relevance In dogs, 0.01 mg kg−1 ACP IV had no modulatory action on the NWR evoked by single or repeated stimuli, suggesting no antinociceptive activity on phasic nociceptive stimuli. The evidence of the stability of the NWR thresholds supports the use of the model as an objective tool to investigate nociception in conscious dogs. A low dose of ACP administered as the sole drug, can be used to facilitate the recordings in anxious subjects without altering the validity of this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of global sea level often exclude Tide Gauges (TGs) in glaciated regions due to vertical land movement. Recent studies show that geodetic GNSS stations can be used to estimate sea level by taking advantage of the reflections from the ocean surface using GNSS Interferometric Reflectometry (GNSS-IR). This method has the immediate benefit that one can directly correct for bedrock movements as measured by the GNSS station. Here we test whether GNSS-IR can be used for measurements of inter annual sea level variations in Thule, Greenland, which is affected by sea ice and icebergs during much of the year. We do this by comparing annual average sea level variations using the two methods from 2008–2019. Comparing the individual sea level measurements over short timescales we find a root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 13 cm, which is similar to other studies using spectral methods. The RMSD for the annual average sea level variations between TG and GNSS-IR is large (18 mm) compared to the estimated uncertainties concerning the measurements. We expect that this is in part due to the TG not being datum controlled. We find sea level trends from GNSS-IR and TG of −4 and −7 mm/year, respectively. The negative trend can be partly explained by a gravimetric decrease in sea level as a result of ice mass changes. We model the gravimetric sea level from 2008–2017 and find a trend of −3 mm/year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four different data sources have been compared with respect to observations of the annual water storage variations in the region of Bangladesh. Data from satellite altimeters and river gauges estimates the variation in surface water storage in the major rivers of Bangladesh. The GRACE satellites measure the integrated mass change and hence the terrestrial soil moisture variations, which can also be estimated by a hydrological model (GLDAS). These types of observations enable the derivation of the integrated water storage in the entire region of Bangladesh. For all data types, the annual signal has been estimated from a common dataset spanning the period 2003 and 2004. All four different data observe that water storage in Bangladesh is largely dominated by an annual signal with a phase peaking in early September. The annual variations in river level peaks roughly two weeks earlier than terrestrial soil moisture observations by GRACE observations and GLDAS model output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Chitinase inhibitors have chemotherapeutic potential as fungicides, pesticides, and antiasthmatics. Argifin, a natural product cyclopentapeptide, competitively inhibits family 18 chitinases in the nanomolar to micromolar range and shows extensive substrate mimicry. In an attempt to map the active fragments of this large natural product, the cyclopentapeptide was progressively dissected down to four linear peptides and dimethylguanylurea, synthesized using a combination of solution and solid phase peptide synthesis. The peptide fragments inhibit chitinase B1 from Aspergillus fumigatus (AfChiB1), the human chitotriosidase, and chitinase activity in lung homogenates from a murine model of chronic asthma, with potencies ranging from high nanomolar to high micromolar inhibition. X-ray crystallographic analysis of the chitinase-inhibitor complexes revealed that the conformations of the linear peptides were remarkably similar to that of the natural product. Strikingly, the dimethylguanylurea fragment, representing only a quarter of the natural product mass, was found to harbor all significant interactions with the protein and binds with unusually high efficiency. The data provide useful information that could lead to the generation of drug-like, natural product-based chitinase inhibitors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]