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The combined influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) on the extratropical circulation in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) during austral spring is examined. Reanalyses and the large ensemble of National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) model outputs were used to compute composites and linear regressions for relevant variables. The results show that a positive IOD can reinforce the El Niño-induced circulation by merging the Indian Ocean wave train with the Pacific South American (PSA) pattern over the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the results obtained with the CFSv2 model output shows that strong positive IODs can contribute to enhancing the circulation signal of the El Niño anomalies and the Indian Ocean wave train. On the other hand, negative IODs in combination with La Niña do not have that combined circulation response. While there is a moderate intensification of the circulation anomalies associated with La Niña, accompanied by some changes in the location of their main action centers, results vary considerably between linear regression, the observed composites, and model composites. Regarding the influence of the IOD activity (independent of ENSO), reanalysis-based results show that the IOD positive phase has a significant impact over the entire SH, while the negative phase is associated with weaker anomalies and less consistent atmospheric response.

Abstract In this study, the microstructure and elemental analysis of aluminum-copper alloy type-2024, Al-2024, and aluminum-manganese alloy type-3003, Al-3003, have been investigated by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) detector. Experimental and theoretical radiation shielding studies were performed to assess the radiation shielding capabilities of the studied alloys. Considering the radiation shielding theoretical assessment, some reliable software tools were used, such as Phy-X/PSD, MCNP5, NXCom, and MRCsC. The microstructural observations and results have shown the presence of second phases rich with the main alloying elements in both alloys. Considering Al-2024 alloy, coarse second-phase particles, having a size range of 8–15 μm, were found aligning in lines parallel to the rolling direction, whereas smaller ones, having a size range of 2–8 μm, were found decorated the grain boundaries. Also, dark holes represent the pull-out large particles separated during preparation indicated poor adhesion with the main matrix that could be a result of losing particle coherency with the matrix where the misorientation in-between the atomic planes increase. However, better adhesion of the second-phase particles with the matrix, which were found possessing smaller particle size, have been observed in the Al-3003 alloy indicating good coherency and better manufacturing process for the non-heat-treatable alloy. The second-phase particles in case of Al-2024 alloy were found containing significant content of high-Z elements like Cu with greater volume fraction equals 7.5%. On the other side, Al-3003 alloy has possessed second-phase particles which lack of high-Z elements with only volume fraction equals 3.5%. All the former besides the higher density and content of high-Z elements like copper in Al-2024 alloy in compare to Al-3003 alloy and pure aluminum, led to relatively better radiation shielding capabilities against energetic photons, the highest in the low energy band and decreases with the increase of the photon energy, and slight superiority in the case of fast neutrons with only 3%inc. over pure aluminum. For instance, the radiation protection efficiency (RPE) values dropped from about; 23.2, 21.6, and 20.8% at 0.100 MeV to only 5.7, 5.9, and 5.6% at Eγ = 2 MeV, for; Al-2024, Al-3003, and Al-Pure, respectively."Please check and confirm that the authors and their respective affiliations have been correctly identified and amend if necessary.""confirmed"

Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is the only approved disease-modifying treatment modality for Pompe disease, a rare, inherited metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency in the acid α-glucosidase (GAA) enzyme that catabolizes lysosomal glycogen. First-generation recombinant human GAA (rhGAA) ERT (alglucosidase alfa) can slow the progressive muscle degeneration characteristic of the disease. Still, most patients experience diminished efficacy over time, possibly because of poor uptake into target tissues. Next-generation ERTs aim to address this problem by increasing bis-phosphorylated high mannose (bis-M6P) N-glycans on rhGAA as these moieties have sufficiently high receptor binding affinity at the resultant low interstitial enzyme concentrations after dosing to drive uptake by the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor on target cells. However, some approaches introduce bis-M6P onto rhGAA via non-natural linkages that cannot be hydrolyzed by natural human enzymes and thus inhibit the endolysosomal glycan trimming necessary for complete enzyme activation after cell uptake. Furthermore, all rhGAA ERTs face potential inactivation during intravenous delivery (and subsequent non-productive clearance) as GAA is an acid hydrolase that is rapidly denatured in the near-neutral pH of the blood. One new therapy, cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat, is hypothesized to address these challenges by combining an enzyme enriched with naturally occurring bis-M6P N-glycans with a small-molecule stabilizer. Here, we investigate this hypothesis by analyzing published and new data related to the mechanism of action of the enzyme and stabilizer molecule. Based on an extensive collection of in vitro, preclinical, and clinical data, we conclude that cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat successfully addresses each of these challenges to offer meaningful advantages in terms of pharmacokinetic exposure, target-cell uptake, endolysosomal processing, and clinical benefit.

Abstract Atmospheric prediction at 2–6 weeks lead time (so‐called subseasonal‐to‐seasonal timescales) entails large forecast uncertainty. Here we investigate the flow‐dependence of this uncertainty during Boreal winter. We categorize the large‐scale flow using North Atlantic‐European weather regimes. First, we show that forecast uncertainty of near‐surface geopotential height (Z1000) and temperature (T2m) are strongly sensitive to the prevailing regime. Specifically, forecast uncertainty of Z1000 reduces over northern Europe following Greenland Blocking (enhanced predictability) due to a southward shifting eddy‐driven jet. However, due to strong temperature gradients and variable flow patterns, Greenland blocking is linked to increased forecast uncertainty of T2m over Europe (reduced predictability). Second, we show that forecast uncertainty of weather regimes is modulated via the stratospheric polar vortex. Weak polar vortex states tend to reduce regime‐uncertainty, for example, due to more frequent predicted occurrence of Greenland blocking. These regime changes are associated with increased T2m uncertainty over Europe.

Paleoclimate data assimilation (DA) is a tool for reconstructing past climates that directly integrates proxy records with climate model output. Despite the potential for DA to expand the scope of quantitative paleoclimatology, these methods remain difficult to implement in practice due to the multi-faceted requirements and data handling necessary for DA reconstructions, the diversity of DA methods, and the need for computationally efficient algorithms. Here, we present DASH, a MATLAB toolbox designed to facilitate paleoclimate DA analyses. DASH provides command line and scripting tools that implement common tasks in DA workflows. The toolbox is highly modular and is not built around any specific analysis, and thus DASH supports paleoclimate DA for a wide variety of time periods, spatial regions, proxy networks, and algorithms. DASH includes tools for integrating and cataloguing data stored in disparate formats, building state vector ensembles, and running proxy (system) forward models. The toolbox also provides optimized algorithms for implementing ensemble Kalman filters, particle filters, and optimal sensor analyses with variable and modular parameters. This paper reviews the key components of the DASH toolbox and presents examples illustrating DASH's use for paleoclimate DA applications.

Under the pressing warming of climate, interpretable and useful-for-adaptation information has become a need in society and has promoted rapid methodological advances in climate science. One such advance is the development of the dynamical-storyline approach, with which the spread in multi-model scenario projections can be represented as a set of physically plausible scenarios (storylines) defined by (a) a global warming level and (b) changes in large-scale dynamical conditions that arise from climate forcing. Moreover, if changes in regional climate are assessed in such a way that they can clearly inform societal systems or management of natural ecosystems, they can potentially aid decision-making in a practical manner. Such is the aim of the climatic impact-driver (CID) framework, proposed in the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Here, we combine the dynamical-storyline approach with the CID framework and apply them to climate services. We focus on CIDs associated with the viticulture sector and the region of the South American Andes, where currently both Argentina and Chile produce wine. We explain the benefits of this approach from a communication and adaptation perspective. In particular, we found that the CIDs related to seasonally aggregated temperatures are mainly dependent on the global warming level although in some regions, but they can also be sensitive to changes in dynamical conditions. Meanwhile, CIDs related to extreme temperature values and precipitation depend strongly on the dynamical response. We show how adaptation to climate-related compound risks can be informed by a storyline approach, given that they can address compound uncertainty in multiple locations, variables and seasons.

The stratosphere can be a source of predictability for surface weather on timescales of several weeks to months. However, the potential predictive skill gained from stratospheric variability can be limited by biases in the representation of stratospheric processes and the coupling of the stratosphere with surface climate in forecast systems. This study provides a first systematic identification of model biases in the stratosphere across a wide range of subseasonal forecast systems. It is found that many of the forecast systems considered exhibit warm global-mean temperature biases from the lower to middle stratosphere, too strong/cold wintertime polar vortices, and too cold extratropical upper-troposphere/lower-stratosphere regions. Furthermore, tropical stratospheric anomalies associated with the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation tend to decay toward each system's climatology with lead time. In the Northern Hemisphere (NH), most systems do not capture the seasonal cycle of extreme-vortex-event probabilities, with an underestimation of sudden stratospheric warming events and an overestimation of strong vortex events in January. In the Southern Hemisphere (SH), springtime interannual variability in the polar vortex is generally underestimated, but the timing of the final breakdown of the polar vortex often happens too early in many of the prediction systems. These stratospheric biases tend to be considerably worse in systems with lower model lid heights. In both hemispheres, most systems with low-top atmospheric models also consistently underestimate the upward wave driving that affects the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex. We expect that the biases identified here will help guide model development for subseasonal-to-seasonal forecast systems and further our understanding of the role of the stratosphere in predictive skill in the troposphere.

Matriglycan, a repeating disaccharide on α-dystroglycan, is the receptor for Lassa virus and specific extracellular matrix proteins. Here, the authors demonstrate that matriglycan, in a length-dependent tunable manner, is both necessary and sufficient for protein binding and viral infection.

The term “flash drought” is frequently invoked to describe droughts that develop rapidly over a relatively short timescale. Despite extensive and growing research on flash drought processes, predictability, and trends, there is still no standard quantitative definition that encompasses all flash drought characteristics and pathways. Instead, diverse definitions have been proposed, supporting wide-ranging studies of flash drought but creating the potential for confusion as to what the term means and how to characterize it. Use of different definitions might also lead to different conclusions regarding flash drought frequency, predictability, and trends under climate change. In this study, we compared five previously published definitions, a newly proposed definition, and an operational satellite-based drought monitoring product to clarify conceptual differences and to investigate the sensitivity of flash drought inventories and trends to the choice of definition. Our analyses indicate that the newly introduced Soil Moisture Volatility Index definition effectively captures flash drought onset in both humid and semi-arid regions. Analyses also showed that estimates of flash drought frequency, spatial distribution, and seasonality vary across the contiguous United States depending upon which definition is used. Definitions differ in their representation of some of the largest and most widely studied flash droughts of recent years. Trend analysis indicates that definitions that include air temperature show significant increases in flash droughts over the past 40 years, but few trends are evident for definitions based on other surface conditions or fluxes. These results indicate that “flash drought” is a composite term that includes several types of events and that clarity in definition is critical when monitoring, forecasting, or projecting the drought phenomenon.

Abstract In June of 2021 the Southwest United States experienced a record‐breaking heatwave. This heatwave came at a time when the region was in severe drought. As drought alters the surface energy budget in ways that affect lower atmosphere temperature and circulations, it is possible that the combined drought‐heat event was a cascading climate hazard, in which preexisting drought exacerbated the heatwave. We apply satellite observation and numerical experiments with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to test for land‐atmosphere feedbacks during the heatwave consistent with drought influence. We find a modest positive drought‐heat effect, as WRF simulations that include the drought have marginally higher air temperatures than those that exclude the initial drought conditions, with more substantial effects in wetter, forested areas. Evidence of drought‐heat‐drought‐coupled feedbacks was similarly modest in our simulations, as accounting for drought preconditioning led to a small reduction in simulated precipitation in the region.

The formation of spatiotemporal patterns is one of the most important part in the prey–predator dynamical system. In this paper, we investigate the local dynamics as well as the Turing structure through diffusion-driven instability by taking more general Crowley–Martin response function in the prey–predator system with the effect of linear harvesting of prey and predator. All the feasible equilibrium points are extracted. Boundedness, persistence, local and global stability, and Hopf bifurcation are established for some suitable parametric conditions. The parametric space for which the Turing spatial structure takes place is found out. Different kinds of patterns are demonstrated depending on the ecological parameters of the local system and diffusion coefficients.

The objective of this study was to follow up the growth performance and gonads development of sex reversed male Nile tilapia. Fish fed commercial diet contained 30% crude protein at a rate of 3% of the biomass and 10 fish were randomly taken biweekly during the experimental period (16 weeks). Growth performance, feed utilization and survival rate were calculated. Histological examination of the gonads was done every two weeks to follow the growth and development of the gonads. Results showed positive interactions between growth parameters and reproductive development during different periods of fish productive cycle. Histological examination illustrated that during early ages, testicular sections of mono sex male’s tilapia had abnormal architecture with deterioration of germinative tissue. Despite abnormal testis texture, fish started spermatogenesis, a step toward puberty when their body weight reached 29.16g. As fish reached 4-5 months, male start to recover their testes normal structures and at age of 5.5-6 months, testicular sections appeared normally as pointed out by firmed testicular lobules, existence of all germ cell types and the intensively stored spermatozoa in testicular lumen and testicular ducts, confirming the full maturity of males. Based on the obtained results, it can clearly conclude that there is a relationship between age, body weight and development of sexual glands. It has also been shown that the hormonal treatment of tilapia seeds in the early stages for production of mono sex (all males) leads to a marked deterioration in the testes structure, continues near the fish enters the sexual maturity. At a later age, males can overcome this deterioration, restore the histological structure of the testes and achieve full sexual maturity at the age around from 5.5 to 6 months.

The study was carried out at Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University to assess the effect of two of algae species (Arthrospira platensis and Nannochloropsis gaditana) on growth performance of monosex tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus), fish were fed on a basal diet supplemented with 0,3,5,7% of each algae. To perform seven experimental treatments were assigned in three replicates each. The experiment was designated as follows: (T1) control (without algae), (T2) basal diet supplemented with 3% spirulina (spiru 3), (T3) basal diet supplemented with 5% spirulina (spiru 5), (T4) basal diet supplemented with 7% spirulina (spiru 7), (T5) basal diet supplemented with 3% Nannochloropsis (nanno 3), (T6) basal diet supplemented with 5% Nannochloropsis (nanno 5) and (T7) basal diet supplemented with 7% Nannochloropsis (nanno 7). Experimental tanks were a part of closed recirculating system, where almost constant environmental conditions were kept throughout the experimental period. Twenty-one quadrate fiber glass tanks with 108-liter water capacity were stocked with 15 fish per tank. The individual initial body weight (2.7 g) was recorded at the beginning of the experiment. All fish in each tank was weighed every two weeks during the whole experimental period. The fish were fed the experimental diet for 95 days Results indicated that nanno 5 treatment had higher significant trend (P

Clinical descriptions about influenza-like illness in children seem non-specific during the co-circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. This paper aimed to summarize recent studies comparing clinical features and outcome, laboratory and radiological findings of COVID-19 patients with influenza patients in the paediatric population.

Abstract One of the major globally relevant systematic biases in previous generations of climate models has been an equatorward bias in the latitude of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) mid‐latitude tropospheric eddy driven westerly jet. The far‐reaching implications of this for Southern Ocean heat and carbon uptake and Antarctic land and sea ice are key reasons why addressing this bias is a high priority. It is therefore of primary importance to evaluate the representation of the SH westerly jet in the latest generation of global climate and earth system models that comprise the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). In this paper we assess the representation of major indices of SH extratropical atmospheric circulation in CMIP6 by comparison against both observations and the previous generation of CMIP5 models. Indices assessed are the latitude and speed of the westerly jet, variability of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), and representation of the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL). These are calculated from the historical forcing simulations of both CMIP5 and CMIP6 for time periods matching available observational and reanalysis data sets. From the 39 CMIP6 models available at the time of writing there is an overall reduction in the equatorward bias of the annual mean westerly jet from 1.9° in CMIP5 to 0.4° in CMIP6 and from a seasonal perspective the reduction is clearest in austral spring and summer. This is accompanied by a halving of the bias of SAM decorrelation timescales compared to CMIP5. However, no such overall improvements are evident for the ASL.

Noise, as undesired sound, severely affects the quality of human life. Currently, active noise control method has demonstrated its capability in low-frequency noise cancellation and the advance in saving money and reducing weight and volume of related materials used in the passive noise control technology. The widespread configuration for active noise control technology is finite impulse response filter with filtered-x least mean squares (FxLMS) algorithm. However, the nonlinearities in the secondary path, which mainly arise from sensors, actuators and amplifiers used in the active noise control system, will cause instability and degrade the performance while using the FxLMS algorithm. In order to cope with this challenge, many new approaches have been proposed and fuzzy logic control is one of these. In this paper, a Takagi–Sugeon–Kang-type fuzzy logic control-based feedforward active noise control system with focus on the geometry configuration is introduced. In contrast to previous work, all physical paths are modelled by pure time delay transfer function and the acoustic feedback is added as part of inputs for the fuzzy logic control. Computational experiments are implemented within the Matlab/Simulink platform, and several case studies are presented with time and frequency domain analyses to demonstrate the cancellation ability of the proposed feedforward active noise control system and investigate the influence of distance ratio on the overall noise cancellation performance.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different concentrations of different water salinity (36, 17, 8, 4, 2 ppt. and salinity level is less than 1ppt.) on growth performance and survival rate (%) of sea bass fry Dicentrarchus labrax. One thousand and two hundred sea bass fry were randomized stocked at twelve indoor tanks; 4 m3 each (two replicate/treatment), with an average initial body weight of (2 ± 0.30 g/fish) at the rate of 100 fish / tank. Fish in each tank were hand-fed with commercial diet (40 % crude protein and 485.582 Kcal GE/ 100 g diet). Fish were fed daily at a rate of 15, 10, 5, 4 and 3% of the body weight daily for the (1:2.2); (2.2:3.84); (3.84:9.2); (9.20:12.70) and (12.70) g/fish : until the end of the experiment, respectively. The daily allowances were divided into three meals at 8.00 am; 11.00 am and 2.00 pm. Fish were fed six days a week throughout the experimental period (167 days). The daily amount of feed was re-adjusted every two weeks according to the actual fish biomass in the tanks. The highest significant values of growth performance parameters were observed when sea bass fry were reared at salinities 8 and 36 ppt. Weight gain of the other treatments were negatively affected (p

The relative importance of fish in Egypt increased from 1482 thousand tons in 21001 to 15525 thousand tons in 2014, an increase of 43 thousand tons or about 2%. The fish are characterized by fluctuations in productivity and price, which affects the production and marketing decisions of both the producer and the consumer and lead to the emergence of problems and difficulties in marketing, the most important lack of marketing information and the modest marketing services available on the market and the high share of marketing intermediaries of the consumer price and requires study of the marketing side of the transit market. And used the standards for calculating the marketing margins and the distribution of consumer pounds and the same seasonal analysis of the prices of the most important types of fish during 2010-2014. The research was based on the primary data collected from the market as well as the secondary data obtained from the market management and then the selection of the types of tilapia and crustaceans as the most important types of fish, such as the high market value and demand. The share of the product in the 2014 retail price was about 83% while the wholesaler's share was about 64% while the retailer's share was 11.66% of the retail price. While the share of the wholesaler was 4.6%, while the share of the wholesaler was 19.4%. The efficiency estimate for the marketing costs of the tilapia category according to the variable yield index was 1020%. Therefore, the efficiency can be increased. To 90% which reflects the lack of efficiency and this during 2009 and then increased efficiency to reach a maximum of 100% in 2012-2014. The results of the efficiency assessment of the marketing costs of the cutters according to the variable yield scale of the minimum threshold of 0.5% and thus the efficiency can be increased to 95% which reflect the lack of efficiency and this during 2005 was the best efficiency during the years 2012-2014. The results of the IRS indicate increased marketing costs to improve efficiency during the year 2001-2011 and there was a reduction in costs in 2012 and the efficiency was high. In 2013 and 2014, there was a decrease in the independent variable from decreasing the difference with efficiency stability to reach the same efficiency. For tilapia. The results of the IRS show that the marketing costs to improve efficiency during the period 2001-2011 should be increased for catfish and there was a decrease in costs in 2012 and there was high efficiency. In 2013 and 2014 there was a shortage in the independent variable, Efficiency of access to the same efficiency. On the other hand, the minimum season of wholesale prices of tilapia during the years 2010-2014 in the months (October- November- August) and the maximum during the months (April- May- February), (October- December- November) and the upper limit (April- June- March). The most important marketing problems of fish in the absence of equipment market fish keeping 'weak regulation of the market lack of control on the actual functioning of the auctions market spread of the phenomenon of indiscriminate sale without a license, which requires regulation of dealing in the market and provide the appropriate equipment and provide data and market information for the services of all workers in the market.

The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of acidifiers on growth performance and immunity of the African catfish C. gariepinus. This experiment was carried out in the wet lab of Fish Production Branch, Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University. A total of 120 fish were selected as healthy catfish which had a uniform size and average weight of 94.93 ± 0.89 g. A thirty of catfish were used in each treatment divided into three replicates as (10 fish/ quadrate tank). Four experimental diets were formulated at 35 % crude protein with different levels of organic acid blend (OAB); diet was supplemented with 0, 2, 4 and 6 ml of organic acid per kilogram diet. Growth parameters, apparent digestibility of crude protein and ether extract were measured. The chemical proximate analysis for whole-body of fish was conducted at the end of the experimental period. Hematological parameters of fish and liver function enzymes were also measured. The fish group fed on 0.6 % organic acids blend showed the highest significance (P < 0.05) increase in total weight gain (438 ± 14.24 g), specific growth rate, best feed conversion ratio, feed efficiency ratio and highest protein efficiency than the rest of experimental groups. The highest apparent digestibility for crude protein were achieved in the third fish group which fed diet supplemented with acidifiers at 4 ml / kg diet and have significant difference (P < 0.05) with other groups. Data obtained in hepatosomatic index % showed no significant difference among different treatment refers to the health status of liver. However, ALAT and ASAT recorded high values in the higher group of OAB-treated fish indicating that liver could be affected. Hematological parameters were in normal range except for PCV, Hb, RBCs, and WBCs count which were decreased in the high dose of treated fish. Finally, it could be concluded that using of acidifiers as feed additives at lower doses can enhance growth, productivity and immunity of the African catfish (C. gariepinus).

Insoluble aerosol particles trapped in glacial ice provide insight into past climates, but analysis requires information on climatically relevant particle properties, such as size, abundance, and internal mixing. We present a new analytical method using a time-of-flight single-particle mass spectrometer (SPMS) to determine the composition and size of insoluble particles in glacial ice over an aerodynamic size range of ∼ 0.2–3.0 µm diameter. Using samples from two Greenland ice cores, we developed a procedure to nebulize insoluble particles suspended in melted ice, evaporate condensed liquid from those particles, and transport them to the SPMS for analysis. We further determined size-dependent extraction and instrument transmission efficiencies to investigate the feasibility of determining particle-class-specific mass concentrations. We find SPMS can be used to provide constraints on the aerodynamic size, composition, and relative abundance of most insoluble particulate classes in ice core samples. We describe the importance of post-aqueous processing to particles, a process which occurs due to nebulization of aerosols from an aqueous suspension of originally soluble and insoluble aerosol components. This study represents an initial attempt to use SPMS as an emerging technique for the study of insoluble particulates in ice cores.

Methanesulfonic acid (MSA; CH3SO3H) in polar ice is a unique proxy of marine primary productivity, synoptic atmospheric transport, and regional sea-ice behavior. However, MSA can be mobile within the firn and ice matrix, a post-depositional process that is well known but poorly understood and documented, leading to uncertainties in the integrity of the MSA paleoclimatic signal. Here, we use a compilation of 22 ice core MSA records from Greenland and Antarctica and a model of soluble impurity transport in order to comprehensively investigate the vertical migration of MSA from summer layers, where MSA is originally deposited, to adjacent winter layers in polar ice. We find that the shallowest depth of MSA migration in our compilation varies over a wide range (∼ 2 to 400 m) and is positively correlated with snow accumulation rate and negatively correlated with ice concentration of Na+ (typically the most abundant marine cation). Although the considered soluble impurity transport model provides a useful mechanistic framework for studying MSA migration, it remains limited by inadequate constraints on key physico-chemical parameters – most notably, the diffusion coefficient of MSA in cold ice (DMS). We derive a simplified version of the model, which includes DMS as the sole parameter, in order to illuminate aspects of the migration process. Using this model, we show that the progressive phase alignment of MSA and Na+ concentration peaks observed along a high-resolution West Antarctic core is most consistent with 10−12 m2 s−1 DMS −11 m2 s−1, which is 1 order of magnitude greater than the DMS values previously estimated from laboratory studies. More generally, our data synthesis and model results suggest that (i) MSA migration may be fairly ubiquitous, particularly at coastal and (or) high-accumulation regions across Greenland and Antarctica; and (ii) can significantly change annual and multiyear MSA concentration averages. Thus, in most cases, caution should be exercised when interpreting polar ice core MSA records, although records that have undergone severe migration could still be useful for inferring decadal and lower-frequency climate variability.

In this paper, we propose a four compartmental model to understand the dynamics of infectious disease COVID-19. We show the boundedness and non-negativity of solutions of the model. We analytically calculate the basic reproduction number of the model and perform the stability analysis at the equilibrium points to understand the epidemic and endemic cases based on the basic reproduction number. Our analytical results show that disease free equilibrium point is asymptotically stable (unstable) and endemic equilibrium point is unstable (asymptotically stable) if the basic reproduction number is less than (greater than) unity. The dispersal rate of the infected population and the social awareness control parameter are the main focus of this study. In our model, these parameters play a vital role to control the spread of COVID-19. Our results reveal that regional lockdown and social awareness (e.g., wearing a face mask, washing hands, social distancing) can reduce the pandemic of the current outbreak of novel coronavirus in a most densely populated country like Bangladesh.

This study examined the relationship between glycans, metabolites, and development in C. elegans. Samples of N2 animals were synchronized and grown to five different time points ranging from L1 to a mixed population of adults, gravid adults, and offspring. Each time point was replicated seven times. The samples were each assayed by a large particle flow cytometer (Biosorter) for size distribution data, LC-MS/MS for targeted N- and O-linked glycans, and NMR for metabolites. The same samples were utilized for all measurements, which allowed for statistical correlations between the data. A new protocol was developed to correlate Biosorter developmental data with LC-MS/MS data to obtain stage-specific information of glycans. From the five time points, four distinct sizes of worms were observed from the Biosorter distributions, ranging from the smallest corresponding to L1 to adult animals. A network model was constructed using the four binned sizes of worms as starting nodes and adding glycans and metabolites that had correlations with r ≥ 0.5 to those nodes. The emerging structure of the network showed distinct patterns of N- and O-linked glycans that were consistent with previous studies. Furthermore, some metabolites that were correlated to these glycans and worm sizes showed interesting interactions. Of note, UDP-GlcNAc had strong positive correlations with many O-glycans that were expressed in the largest animals. Similarly, phosphorylcholine correlated with many N-glycans that were expressed in L1 animals.

ABSTRACT Phagosomal acidification is a critical cellular mechanism for the inhibition and killing of ingested microbes by phagocytic cells. The acidic environment activates microbicidal proteins and creates an unfavorable environment for the growth of many microbes. Consequently, numerous pathogenic microbes have developed strategies for countering phagosomal acidification through various mechanisms that include interference with phagosome maturation. The human-pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans resides in acidic phagosomes after macrophage ingestion that actually provides a favorable environment for replication, since the fungus replicates faster at acidic pH. We hypothesized that the glucuronic acid residues in the capsular polysaccharide had the capacity to affect phagosomal acidity through their acid-base properties. A ratiometric fluorescence comparison of imaged phagosomes containing C. neoformans to phagosomes containing beads showed that the latter were significantly more acidic. Similarly, phagosomes containing nonencapsulated C. neoformans cells were more acidic than those containing encapsulated cells. Acid-base titrations of isolated C. neoformans polysaccharide revealed that it behaves as a weak acid with maximal buffering capacity around pH 4 to 5. We interpret these results as indicating that the glucuronic acid residues in the C. neoformans capsular polysaccharide can buffer phagosomal acidification. Interference with phagosomal acidification represents a new function for the cryptococcal capsule in virulence and suggests the importance of considering the acid-base properties of microbial capsules in the host-microbe interaction for other microbes with charged residues in their capsules. IMPORTANCE Cryptococcus neoformans is the causative agent of cryptococcosis, a devastating fungal disease that affects thousands of individuals worldwide. This fungus has the capacity to survive inside phagocytic cells, which contributes to persistence of infection and dissemination. One of the major antimicrobial mechanisms of host phagocytes is to acidify the phagosomal compartment after ingestion of microbes. This study shows that the capsule of C. neoformans can interfere with full phagosomal acidification by serving as a buffer.

'The Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report' (TOAR) is an activity of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project. This paper is a component of the report, focusing on the present-day distribution and trends of tropospheric ozone relevant to climate and global atmospheric chemistry model evaluation. Utilizing the TOAR surface ozone database, several figures present the global distribution and trends of daytime average ozone at 2702 non-urban monitoring sites, highlighting the regions and seasons of the world with the greatest ozone levels. Similarly, ozonesonde and commercial aircraft observations reveal ozone’s distribution throughout the depth of the free troposphere. Long-term surface observations are limited in their global spatial coverage, but data from remote locations indicate that ozone in the 21st century is greater than during the 1970s and 1980s. While some remote sites and many sites in the heavily polluted regions of East Asia show ozone increases since 2000, many others show decreases and there is no clear global pattern for surface ozone changes since 2000. Two new satellite products provide detailed views of ozone in the lower troposphere across East Asia and Europe, revealing the full spatial extent of the spring and summer ozone enhancements across eastern China that cannot be assessed from limited surface observations. Sufficient data are now available (ozonesondes, satellite, aircraft) across the tropics from South America eastwards to the western Pacific Ocean, to indicate a likely tropospheric column ozone increase since the 1990s. The 2014–2016 mean tropospheric ozone burden (TOB) between 60°N–60°S from five satellite products is 300 Tg ± 4%. While this agreement is excellent, the products differ in their quantification of TOB trends and further work is required to reconcile the differences. Satellites can now estimate ozone’s global long-wave radiative effect, but evaluation is difficult due to limited in situ observations where the radiative effect is greatest.

The flow and heat transfer analysis in the conventional nanofluid and hybrid nanofluid was carried out in the present study. The present work also focused on the comparative analysis of entropy generation in conventional and hybrid nanofluid flow. The flows of both types of nanofluid were assumed to be over a thin needle in the presence of thermal dissipation. The temperature at the surface of the thin needle and the fluid in the free stream region were supposed to be constant. Modified Maxwell Garnet (MMG) and the Brinkman model were utilized for effective thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity. The numerical solutions of the self-similar equations were obtained by using the Runge-Kutta Fehlberg scheme (RKFS). The Matlab in-built solver bvp4c was also used to solve the nonlinear dimensionless system of differential equations. The present numerical results were compared to the existing limiting outcomes in the literature and were found to be in excellent agreement. The analysis demonstrated that the rate of entropy generation reduced with the decreasing velocity of the thin needle as compared to the free stream velocity. The hybrid nanofluid flow with less velocity was compared to the regular nanofluid under the same circumstances. Furthermore, the enhancement in the temperature profile of the hybrid nanofluid was high as compared to the regular nanofluid. The influences of relevant physical parameters on flow, temperature distribution, and entropy generation are depicted graphically and discussed herein.

A steady laminar flow over a vertical stretching sheet with the existence of viscous dissipation, heat source/sink, and magnetic fields has been numerically inspected through a shooting scheme based Runge—Kutta⁻Fehlberg-integration algorithm. The governing equation and boundary layer balance are expressed and then converted into a nonlinear normal system of differential equations using suitable transformations. The impact of the physical parameters on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, the local Nusselt, and skin friction coefficient are described. Results show good agreement with recent researches. Findings reveal that the Nusselt number at the sheet surface augments, since the Hartmann number, stretching velocity ratio A, and Hartmann number Ha increase. Nevertheless, it reduces with respect to the heat generation/absorption coefficient δ.

A global three-dimensional (i.e. latitude, longitude, altitude) climatology of tropospheric ozone is derived from the ozone sounding record by trajectory mapping. Approximately 52 000 ozonesonde profiles from more than 100 stations worldwide since 1965 are used. The small number of stations results in a sparse geographical distribution. Here, forward and backward trajectory calculations are performed for each sounding to map ozone measurements to a number of other locations, and so to fill in the spatial domain. This is possible because the lifetime of ozone in the troposphere is of the order of weeks. This physically based interpolation method offers obvious advantages over typical statistical interpolation methods. The trajectory-mapped ozone values show reasonable agreement, where they overlap, to the actual soundings, and the patterns produced separately by forward and backward trajectory calculations are similar. Major regional features of the tropospheric ozone distribution are clearly evident in the global maps. An interpolation algorithm based on spherical functions is further used for smoothing and to fill in remaining data gaps. The resulting three-dimensional global tropospheric ozone climatology facilitates visualization and comparison of different years, decades, and seasons, and offers some intriguing insights into the global variation of tropospheric ozone. It will be useful for climate and air quality model initialization and validation, and as an a priori climatology for satellite data retrievals. Further division of the climatology into decadal and annual averages can provide a global view of tropospheric ozone changes, although uncertainties with regard to the performance of older sonde types, as well as more recent variations in operating procedures, need to be taken into account.

A new global real-time Lagrangian diagnostic system for stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) developed for Environment Canada (EC) has been delivering daily archived data since July 2010. The STE calculations are performed following the Lagrangian approach proposed in Bourqui (2006) using medium-range, high-resolution operational global weather forecasts. Following every weather forecast, trajectories are started from a dense three-dimensional grid covering the globe, and are calculated forward in time for six days of the forecast. All trajectories crossing either the dynamical tropopause (±2 PVU) or the 380 K isentrope and having a residence time greater than 12 h are archived, and also used to calculate several diagnostics. This system provides daily global STE forecasts that can be used to guide field campaigns, among other applications. The archived data set offers unique high-resolution information on transport across the tropopause for both extra-tropical hemispheres and the tropics. This will be useful for improving our understanding of STE globally, and as a reference for the evaluation of lower-resolution models. This new data set is evaluated here against measurements taken during a balloon sonde campaign with daily launches from three stations in eastern Canada (Montreal, Egbert, and Walsingham) for the period 12 July to 4 August 2010. The campaign found an unexpectedly high number of observed stratospheric intrusions: 79% (38%) of the profiles appear to show the presence of stratospheric air below than 500 hPa (700 hPa). An objective identification algorithm developed for this study is used to identify layers in the balloon-sonde profiles affected by stratospheric air and to evaluate the Lagrangian STE forecasts. We find that the predictive skill for the overall intrusion depth is very good for intrusions penetrating down to 300 and 500 hPa, while it becomes negligible for intrusions penetrating below 700 hPa. Nevertheless, the statistical representation of these deep intrusions is reasonable, with an average bias of 24%. Evaluation of the skill at representing the detailed structures of the stratospheric intrusions shows good predictive skill down to 500 hPa, reduced predictive skill between 500 and 700 hPa, and none below. A significant low statistical bias of about 30% is found in the layer between 500 to 700 hPa. However, analysis of missed events at one site, Montreal, shows that 70% of them coincide with candidate clusters of trajectories that pass through Montreal, but that are too dispersed to be detected in the close neighbourhood of the station. Within the limits of this study, this allows us to expect a negligible bias throughout the troposphere in the spatially averaged STE frequency derived from this data set, for example in climatological maps of STE mass fluxes. This first evaluation is limited to eastern Canada in one summer month with a high frequency of stratospheric intrusions, and further work is needed to evaluate this STE data set in other months and locations.

This study was designed to test bitter and sweet lupin seeds for lipid-lowering and for their antioxidative activities in hypercholesterolemic rats. The levels of plasma lipid, malondialdehyde (MDA) and whole blood reduced glutathione (GSH), as well as the activities of transaminases (ALT and AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in plasma, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in erythrocytes and plasma glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT) were examined. A hypercholesterolemia-induced diet manifested in the elevation of total lipids (TL), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), LDL-C and MDA levels, ALT, AST, LDH activities and the depletion of GSH and enzymic antioxidants. The supplementation of a hypercholesterolemia-induced diet with bitter and sweet lupin seeds significantly lowered the plasma levels of TL, TC, TG and LDL-C. ALT, AST and LDH activities slightly decreased in treated groups compared with the hypercholesterolemic group (HC). Furthermore, the content of GSH significantly increased while MDA significantly decreased in treated groups compared with the HC group. In addition, the bitter lupin seed group improved enzymic antioxidants compared with the HC group. In general, the results indicated that the bitter lupin seed supplements are better than those containing sweet lupin seeds. These results suggested that the hypocholesterolemic effect of bitter and sweet lupin seed supplements might be due to their abilities to lower the plasma cholesterol level as well as to slow down the lipid peroxidation process and to enhance the antioxidant enzyme activity.

Twice-daily ozonesondes were launched from Harrow, in southwestern Ontario, Canada, during the BAQS-Met (Border Air Quality and Meteorology Study) field campaign in June and July of 2007. A co-located radar windprofiler measured tropopause height continuously. These data, in combination with continuous surface ozone measurements and geo-statistical interpolation of satellite ozone observations, present a consistent picture and indicate that a number of significant ozone enhancements in the troposphere were observed that were the result of stratospheric intrusion events. The combined observations have also been compared with results from two Environment Canada numerical models, the operational weather prediction model GEM (as input to FLEXPART), and a new version of the regional air quality model AURAMS, in order to examine the ability of these models to accurately represent sporadic cross-tropopause ozone transport events. The models appear to reproduce intrusion events with some skill, implying that GEM dynamics (which also drive AURAMS) are able to represent such events well. There are important differences in the quantitative comparison, however; in particular, the poor vertical resolution of AURAMS around the tropopause causes it to bring down too much ozone in individual intrusions. These campaign results imply that stratospheric intrusions are important to the ozone budget of the mid-latitude troposphere, and appear to be responsible for much of the variability of ozone in the free troposphere. GEM-FLEXPART calculations indicate that stratospheric ozone intrusions contributed significantly to surface ozone on several occasions during the BAQS-Met campaign, and made a moderate but significant contribution to the overall tropospheric ozone budget.

Duodenal hematoma is an uncommon complication after upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Most reported cases resolve with conservative management for 3–4 weeks. The authors report a case of a 7 year-old child who developed duodenal and retroperitoneal hematomas, as well as intra-peritoneal hemorrhage after a diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Surprisingly, this was the patient's first presentation of his later-diagnosed Hemophilia B. This is the first Case report of duodenal hematoma after upper endoscopy as the only first presentation of a coagulation disorder. The case report also describes successful management of such complication.

In Egypt, the New Reclaimed Lands (NRL) are desert lands that surround the Nile delta, which have been developed for irrigated agriculture during the last half century. They have been settled by migrants from diverse origins, including persons with university degrees and landless peasants from the areas of high demographic concentration of the Nile delta and valley. Only few papers describe the farming systems of these small holders in NRL, especially the animal component, livestock practices, crop-livestock integration, performances and diversity. CLIMED Project aims to produce data on these themes to describe and understand better NRL crop-livestock systems, assess their performances and dynamics in today’s Egyptian and Mediterranean context, as well as define priorities in terms of research and development policies. We describe the farming systems based on data collected over a year during monthly monitoring, with a sample of thirteen farms in three zones, selected from a larger survey of 160 farms in four zones. Data show the high complexity of these farming systems for three main reasons: the multifunctionality of animal production, the high dependency of livestock on feeds produced on farm, and social factors such as skills and work management at farm level. Directly linked to this complexity, farm monitoring shows the huge challenge of development services in the face of local market uncertainty, the very limited access to land, future constraints in water management, and the little attractiveness of agriculture to young people.

Identifying the suitable sites for insitu and ex-situ soil and water conservation interventions with the help of survey is one of the giant tasks for planners. Considering the time consumption for conventional geographical surveys for identification of potential sites, a methodology is being developed using the remote sensing and GIS techniques to find the suitable locations for different insitu soil and water conservation interventions. Different thematic layers of slope, soil, rainfall and land use land cover was intersected in ARCGIS and the selected criteria for each intervention was applied for identifying the suitable locations. This methodology was applied for identifying the suitable locations of different insitu soil and water conservation interventions such as contour bunds, semi-circular bunds, small pits, contour bench terraces, contour ridges and stone bunds in Adilabad District of Telangana state. Among the different interventions selected, stone bunds, contour bunds and small pits are more suitable for major portion of the Adilabad District. This methodology deciphers more precise, easier and less time consuming planning technique which has the ability to process districts or even large catchments.

Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is the only approved disease-modifying treatment modality for Pompe disease, a rare, inherited metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency in the acid α -glucosidase (GAA) enzyme that catabolizes lysosomal glycogen. First-generation recombinant human GAA (rhGAA) ERT (alglucosidase alfa) can slow the progressive muscle degeneration characteristic of the disease. Still, most patients experience diminished efficacy over time, possibly because of poor uptake into target tissues. Next-generation ERTs aim to address this problem by increasing bis-phosphorylated high mannose (bis-M6P) N -glycans on rhGAA as these moieties have sufficiently high receptor binding affinity at the resultant low interstitial enzyme concentrations after dosing to drive uptake by the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor on target cells. However, some approaches introduce bis-M6P onto rhGAA via non-natural linkages that cannot be hydrolyzed by natural human enzymes and thus inhibit the endolysosomal glycan trimming necessary for complete enzyme activation after cell uptake. Furthermore, all rhGAA ERTs face potential inactivation during intravenous delivery (and subsequent non-productive clearance) as GAA is an acid hydrolase that is rapidly denatured in the near-neutral pH of the blood. One new therapy, cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat, is hypothesized to address these challenges by combining an enzyme enriched with naturally occurring bis-M6P N -glycans with a small-molecule stabilizer. Here, we investigate this hypothesis by analyzing published and new data related to the mechanism of action of the enzyme and stabilizer molecule. Based on an extensive collection of in vitro , preclinical, and clinical data, we conclude that cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat successfully addresses each of these challenges to offer meaningful advantages in terms of pharmacokinetic exposure, target-cell uptake, endolysosomal processing, and clinical benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is the only approved disease-modifying treatment modality for Pompe disease, a rare, inherited metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency in the acid α-glucosidase (GAA) enzyme that catabolizes lysosomal glycogen. First-generation recombinant human GAA (rhGAA) ERT (alglucosidase alfa) can slow the progressive muscle degeneration characteristic of the disease. Still, most patients experience diminished efficacy over time, possibly because of poor uptake into target tissues. Next-generation ERTs aim to address this problem by increasing bis-phosphorylated high mannose (bis-M6P) N-glycans on rhGAA as these moieties have sufficiently high receptor binding affinity at the resultant low interstitial enzyme concentrations after dosing to drive uptake by the cationindependent mannose 6-phosphate receptor on target cells. However, some approaches introduce bis-M6P onto rhGAA via non-natural linkages that cannot be hydrolyzed by natural human enzymes and thus inhibit the endolysosomal glycan trimming necessary for complete enzyme activation after cell uptake. Furthermore, all rhGAA ERTs face potential inactivation during intravenous delivery (and subsequent non-productive clearance) as GAA is an acid hydrolase that is rapidly denatured in the near-neutral pH of the blood. One new therapy, cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat, is hypothesized to address these challenges by combining an enzyme enriched with naturally occurring bis-M6P N-glycans with a small-molecule stabilizer. Here, we investigate this hypothesis by analyzing published and new data related to the mechanism of action of the enzyme and stabilizer molecule. Based on an extensive collection of in vitro, preclinical, and clinical data, we conclude that cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat successfully addresses each of these challenges to offer meaningful advantages in terms of pharmacokinetic exposure, target-cell uptake, endolysosomal processing, and clinical benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]