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Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a global mental health concern, with treatment often involving antidepressant (AD) medications. However, adherence to these medications remains a significant challenge. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing medication adherence among individuals with MDD in Erbil, Iraq. This study was conducted at Erbil Psychiatric Hospital, a leading mental healthcare facility in Erbil city. Participants aged 18 to 65, diagnosed with MDD as per the DSM-5 criteria, were treated with antidepressants. The recruitment of 106 participants was facilitated by their treating psychiatrists at the hospital. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 22, standard for social science research. Out of the 106 participants, 64.2% were females, and 35.8% were males. The largest age group was 35–45, comprising 33% of the sample. A vast majority (99.1%) were under regular follow-up, with only 0.9% experiencing relapse. The primary antidepressant used was selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (72.6%). Most participants (61.3%) reported very high medication adherence. The notable barriers included treatment duration (13.4%), forgetting to take antidepressants (11.9%), frequent medication refills (17.9%), cultural and religious beliefs (19.3%), stigma (19.3%), travelling issues (42.9%), and lack of hospitals and clinics (30.8%). Healthcare facilitators such as effectiveness of antidepressants (27.5%), patient-provider relationship such as trusting healthcare providers (50.7%), and reminders such as keeping pills in visible places (65.9%) were prominent facilitators aiding adherence. Future research should focus on culturally tailored interventions and collaborative efforts among stakeholders. By addressing socio-cultural nuances and enhancing mental health support, more effective strategies can be developed to tackle medication adherence challenges in Erbil’s unique context.

Additive manufacturing has become an important tool for fabricating advanced systems and devices for visible nanophotonics. However, the lack of simulation and optimization methods taking into account the essential physics of the optimization process leads to barriers for greater adoption. This issue can often result in sub-optimal optical responses in fabricated devices on both local and global scales. We propose that physics-informed design and optimization methods, and in particular physics-informed machine learning, are particularly well-suited to overcome these challenges by incorporating known physics, constraints, and fabrication knowledge directly into the design framework.

Background: The emergence of the new coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2) in late 2019 resulted in a worldwide pandemic, which had severe consequences on the global health systems. There were drastic strains on the public health services. This, in turn, markedly affected patients with non-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) problems. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 infection on the health services provided to patients at the cardiothoracic university hospital, Minia University. Methods: A retrospective analysis of data about services provided to patients at Minia Cardiothoracic University hospital was obtained from pre-pandemic era (2018–2019) and during the pandemic time (2020–2021). The two sets of data were compared together. Data were collected about the number of patients who underwent different procedures such as Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs), sleep studies or interventional chest procedures (bronchoscopy and thoracoscopy). Also, data were collected about the number of patients admitted in the chest ward, respiratory intensive care unit (ICU) or Coronary care unit and the number of patients who visited cardiothoracic, cardiology or chest outpatient clinics. Results: There is 81.4% reduction in the number of Pulmonary Function Testsperformed during the period 2020–2021 compared with the period 2018–2019, where the number of patients admitted to chest inward decreased by 66.4%. The number of sleep studies performed reduced by 61.5%, while the number of different outpatient clinical visits reduced to similar values (45.8% for cardiothoracic clinic, 45.4% for cardiology clinic and 40.5% for chest clinic). Regarding respiratory ICU admissions, the study reported a reduction of 35.7% and also Coronary care unit admissions decreased by 30.6%. Interventional pulmonary procedures had the lowest reduction rate (0.7%). Conclusion: Different health services were negatively affected by the emergence of COVID-19 era in both pulmonary and non-pulmonary fields.

Abstract Background Systemic inflammation, electrolytes, and trace element derangements are thought to be involved, directly or indirectly, in chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Aim Our aim is to evaluate systemic inflammation and disturbance in serum electrolytes and trace elements in patients with COPD. Methods This study was conducted in the Chest Department, Cardiothoracic Minia University Hospital. One hundred COPD patients and 40 healthy controls were included in the study. Sixty patients were in a stable state, while 40 patients were in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Serum C-reactive protein (CRP), TNF-α, copper (Cu), zinc (Z), Na, K, and Mg levels were measured for all participants. Results CRP, TNF, Cu, and Z were significantly higher in the stable group than in the control group (p-value 0.0002*, 0.0018*, 0.04*, 0.034*, respectively) with significantly higher levels during exacerbation (8.47 ± 6.3, 24.36 ± 9.53, 201 ± 39.02, 192 ± 32.3). The Cu/Z ratio was significantly lower in the exacerbation group than in the stable group (p-value 0.042*). Serum levels of Na, K, and Mg were significantly lower in the patients group than in the control group (p-value 0.024*, 0.039*,0.044*, respectively), with more reduction observed in the exacerbation group (132 ± 5.45, 3.24 ± 0.52, 1.67 ± 0.38). Conclusion CRP, TNF-α, Cu, and Z levels were significantly higher in stable COPD patients, with higher levels during exacerbation. The Cu/Z ratio was lower in the exacerbation group than in the stable group. Na, K, and Mg levels were lower in patients than in the control group with more reduction during exacerbation.

This study in a private orchard at Zardak village in the Altun Kupri district, Kirkuk Governorate,Iraq on 27 of the "Khalobaziani" local fig trees was conducted in 2021. The trees were sprayedwith Moringa leaves extract (MLE) at (0, 2, and 4 ml.L-1) and Garlic cloves extract (GCE) at (0,10 and 20 ml.L-1) until complete wetness. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) wasutilized within the factorial experiments with two factors with three replicates. Results showed thattrees sprayed with all concentrations of both extracts caused an increase in the diameter of the fruitmore than in the control fruits. Significant differences in all properties studied were observed inthe fruits sprayed with 2 and 4 ml.L-1 of MLE and 10 and 20 ml.L-1 of GCE they significantlydistinguished over the control treatment in the fruit moisture content, TSS, TSS/TA ratio, glucose,fructose, vitamin C and pH. while the control treatment recorded the lowest fruit moisture content,TSS, TSS/TA ratio, glucose and fructose content, vitamin C, and pH. Moreover, a significantdecrease in fruits TA content was found due to spraying with MLE or GCE compared to the controltreatment

Background: Febrile seizures (FS) frequently manifest in children below 5 years of age. Although the exact etiology is still unknown, genetic predisposition, changes in neurotransmitter levels, and serum electrolyte imbalance are some of the known risk factors. This study examined the possible association between serum magnesium levels in children with FS compared to febrile children without seizures. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted from February 2019 to January 2021, recruiting 230 age and gender-matched cases and controls (115 each). Extracted data were analyzed using SPSS using an independent student's t-test, Chi-square test, and Pearson's correlation analysis. Results: The mean serum magnesium levels were 0.93 ± 0.129 vs 0.97 ± 0.0961; p < 0.001, between cases and controls respectively. Similarly, hypomagnesemia (

Lidar multiple scattering measurements provide the probability distribution of the distance laser light travels inside snow. Based on an analytic two-stream radiative transfer solution, the present study demonstrates why/how these lidar measurements can be used to derive snow depth and snow density. In particular, for a laser wavelength with little snow absorption, an analytical radiative transfer solution is leveraged to prove that the physical snow depth is half of the average distance photons travel inside snow and that the relationship linking lidar measurements and the extinction coefficient of the snow is valid. Theoretical formulas that link lidar measurements to the extinction coefficient and the effective grain size of snow are provided. Snow density can also be derived from the multi-wavelength lidar measurements of the snow extinction coefficient and snow effective grain size. Alternatively, lidars can provide the most direct snow density measurements and the effective discrimination between snow and trees by adding vibrational Raman scattering channels.

ABSTRACT Introduction: The immune response to different Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines is under-investigated in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. We carried out this research to estimate the effectiveness of COVID-19 immunization in ESKD patients on regular hemodialysis (HD). Methods: In this prospective observational study, we enrolled 60 ESKD patients on regular HD who had completed COVID-19 vaccination and 30 vaccinated healthy participants. Serum levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 immunoglobulin G (SARS-COV2 IgG) were quantified 1 month after completing the vaccination schedule, and all participants were followed up from October 2021 to March 2022. The vaccines used in the study were from Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm. Results: The median level of SARS-COV2 IgG was lower in HD patients than in healthy participants (p < 0.001). Regarding the type of COVID-19 vaccination, there was no statistical difference in SARS-COV2 IgG levels among HD patients. During the observation period, none of the HD patients had COVID-19. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination appeared to be protective in HD patients for 6 months and the side effects of vaccines were tolerable.

Introduction: COVID-19, first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019, fast spread across the globe, causing a pandemic affecting many countries around the world. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the severity of clinical features and paranasal sinuses computed tomography (CT)-scan findings in COVID-19 patients and find the relationship between smoking and severity of COVID-19 symptoms. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was achieved on a cohort of 399 patients, who clinically suffer from COVID-19 symptoms. The collected data for those patients included COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, presence of the IgG and IgM antigens, and paranasal sinuses CT-scan images. Results: This was a cross-sectional study of 399 patients infected with COVID-19. The mean age of the patients was 39 ± 11 years. Approximately 53.6% of them were males, whereas 46.4% were females. 55.6% of them performed CT scan for sinuses. 28.6% of the patients were with severe clinical features. 51.1% of them were smoking. 77.4% of them were of positive PCR, 57.9% positive IgG, and 86.7% positive IgM. 27.8% of patients were of the age group of 40–49 years. There was a significant association between the severity of COVID infection and age group. There was a significant association between the severity of COVID infection and sinus CT-scan findings. There was a significant association between the severity of COVID infection and positive PCR. There was a significant association between the severity of COVID infection and positive IgM. There was a significant association between smoking and sinus CT-scan findings. Conclusion: At the time of COVID infection, the severity of infection ranged from mild to moderate. More severe infection with COVID-19 associated with significant finding in sinus CT scan in patients at age group 50–59 years, and sinus also more severe COVID infection associate with positive CT scan finding that occur more in smocking patients.

This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a Turkish cultivation type Olow in terms of some field and plant indicators that operate with a pressure loosening mechanism, and the experiment was carried out in May 2020 in Abu Ghraib district with silty sandy soil. The study included testing the effect of two factors, the first being the planting distances of 20 cm and 15 cm. The second has three levels of ground speed for cultivation of 2.4, 4.6 and 6.1 km.h¹ In some plant traits: (percentage of seed loss, percentage of plant emergence and duplication of seeds in the groove) and mechanization (slip rate, amount of fuel consumed and productivity). It was used in the analysis of the speed experience data (speed and plantingdistances) of the plant traits using the design of complete random sectors, and the same design was used in the analysis of the speed factor data for the mechanical traits. The most important results were that the planting distances exceeded 20 cm in the characteristic of the percentage of seed loss in the line and the percentage of emergence of the plant and exceeded the planting distances 15 The effect was also significant for the ground velocity factor in all the vegetative and mechanistic characteristics studied, which was in favor of the speed of 2.4 km.h¹ in the characteristics of seed loss percentage in the line, the percentage of emergence of the plant, the percentage slip. While the speed exceeded 6.1km.h¹ in the characteristics of double seed in the bottom, the amount of fuel consumed, and productivity.

Mummies in museums are exposed to different deterioration factors like microorganisms, especially unwrapped mummies, such as the screaming mummy. This screaming mummy in the store of the Egyptian museum is suffering from stains due to microbial infection. There are three trends of materials to inhibit microbial growth: nano materials, plant extraction and chemical materials. This research compares three materials representing the three trends such as nano zinc oxide (ZnO-NPs), Ceratophyllum demersum and 4-chloro-m-cresol, respectively. Microorganisms, isolated from the degraded mummy, were identified with an optical microscope and ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) analysis to guarantee identification accuracy. Results indicated that the bacteria in the mummy are Bacillus jeotgali, Kocuria turfanensis, Microbacterium imperial, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus megaterium. Fungi are Monascus pallens and Rhizopus oryzae. The results of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) illustrated that the best concentrations for the bio treatment of isolated microorganisms is plant extract (Ceratophyllum demersum) at 600 ppm/100 mL, followed by 4-chloro-m-cresol at 600 ppm/100 mL and finally nano zinc oxide at 700 ppm/100 mL.

Abstract Lung cancer is considered the major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Unfortunately, all chemotherapy regimens used in lung cancer treatment showed nearly the same efficacy. Finding a new therapeutic target that can be used as an alternative after the failure of or in association with chemotherapy to improve the prognosis is an urgent demand. Up to date, it is Known that thyroid hormones (THs) and Thyroid hormone receptors (THRs) control the progression of several types of tumours. Nevertheless, their role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unknown. This study investigated the expression of THRα1 in NSCLC cases and its correlation to tumour clinicopathological parameters to shed new light on the relevance of THRα1 in lung cancer. Immunohistochemistry utilizing THRα1 antibody was performed on tissue sections obtained from 80 patients diagnosed with NSCLC. We also investigated the expression of THRα gene in Microarrays of lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) patients by using GEO data sets on https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov . We showed, for the first time, the expression of THRα1 in NSCLC. Intermediate and high THRα1 expressions were detected in (25% and 66.7%) of SCC cases respectively. High THRα1 expression was associated with shorter OS. On the other hand, 86.7% of AC cases revealed low THRα1 expression. Inflammatory cells in SCC cases showed high THRα1 expression. By analysing GEO data sets, a significant increase in THRα gene expression was found in SCC compared to AC cases. Our study underscores the possibility of using THRα1 expression not only as a prognostic marker, but also as an innovative diagnostic additive tool for lung SCC, which could be tested as a potential therapeutic target for SCC in the future.

In this study, an unknown input observer is proposed for a class of nonlinear GPFOSs. For this class of systems, both full-order and reduced-order observers have been established. The investigated system satisfies the one-sided Lipschitz nonlinear condition, which is an improvement of the classic Lipschitz condition. Sufficient conditions have been proposed to ensure the error dynamics’ Mittag–Leffler stability. The value of this work lies in the fact that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research work that investigates the issue of Observer Design (OD) for GPFOSs. To exemplify the usefulness of the suggested observers, an illustrative numerical example is suggested.

The state feedback controller design for a class of Generalized Proportional Fractional Order (GPFO) Nonlinear Systems is presented in this paper. The design is based on the combination of the One-Sided Lipschitz (OSL) system class with GPFO modeling. The main contribution of this study is that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work presents the first state feedback control design for GPFO systems. The suggested state feedback controller is intended to ensure the system’s generalized Mittag Leffler (GML) stability and to deliver optimal performance. The findings of this paper show that the proposed strategy is effective in stabilizing Generalized Proportional Fractional Order Nonlinear Systems. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the stated theoretical conclusions.

Abstract Remote sensing from Earth‐observing satellites is now providing valuable information about ocean phytoplankton distributions. This paper presents the new ocean subsurface optical properties obtained from two space‐based lidars: the Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aboard the Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations satellite and the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) aboard the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite‐2 satellite. Obtaining reliable estimates of subsurface biomass necessitates removing instrument artifacts peculiar to each sensor, that is, polarization crosstalk artifacts in the CALIOP signals and after pulsing effects arising from the ATLAS photodetectors. We validate the optical properties derived from the corrected lidar backscatter signals using MODerate‐resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ocean color measurements and autonomous biogeochemical Argo float profiles. Our results support the continued use of present and future spaceborne lidars to study the global plankton system and characterize its vertical structures in the upper ocean.

A neural-network algorithm that uses CALIPSO lidar measurements to infer droplet effective radius, extinction coefficient, liquid-water content, and droplet number concentration for water clouds is described and assessed. These results are verified against values inferred from High-Spectral-Resolution Lidar (HSRL) and Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) measurements made on an aircraft that flew under CALIPSO. The global cloud microphysical properties are derived from 14+ years of CALIPSO lidar measurements, and the droplet sizes are compared to corresponding values inferred from MODIS passive imagery. This new product will provide constraints to improve modeling of Earth’s water cycle and cloud-climate interactions.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is one of the elegant trees that performs several landscaping functions. Its single trunk textured by bases of the cut leaves distinguishes it from other ornamental trees. This cylindrical textured trunk is one of the major attractive features emphasized the use of date palms as ornamental landscaping trees. Across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Date palms in public landscaping schemes have experienced deformation of their trunks. This is a function of several factors related to plantation, irrigation, and maintenance. This research to investigate and categorise the causes, types, and forms of date palm trees‘ trunks deformation. Prior to a field survey, a randomly conducted pilot survey to collect data from different areas where date palms are used as landscaping ornamental trees across the Dammam Metropolitan Area (DMA). It applies direct observation, measuring and analysis to develop preliminary understanding of the phenomena; and apply its outcomes on a case study of the Dammam City Seafront (DCS). The result showed that date palm trees‘ trunks deformation has occurred at bottom, middle, and upper parts as results of several factors; and it is as high as almost 97% among investigated trees. However, 58% of deformation symptoms processes have been noticed on bottom third of the date palm trees‘ trunks, near soil surface; and 27.5% of them are in the King Abdullah Seafront Park (KASP). The study proves statistically that sprinkler and bubbler irrigation systems are of major responsibility for near ground deformation of palm trees‘ trunks, which expands at rate of 3.5 and 3.3 CM/Year.

Using 30 years of satellite observations, two sand and dust storms (SDS) source locations (hotspots) were detected on the southern side of the Mesopotamian Flood Plain. Around 40 million people in the region are affected by the two hotspots, including populations in Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Emirates. Both hotspots encompass roughly 8212 km2 and contribute 11% to 85% in 2005 and 2021, respectively, of the total SDS in the region. Dust physical (particle surface area and size percentages) and chemical (mineralogy, major and trace elements, and radionuclides) properties show close similarities between source and downwind samples during SDS originated solely from the two hotspots. Deposited dust size particles show a finning trend towards the north in the Middle East compared to the south. A comprehensive assessment of the chemical and physical properties of soil and dust samples was conducted as an essential step in developing and implementing a mitigation plan in order to establish a success story in reducing SDS, improving air quality, and benefiting the gulf countries and neighboring regions.

Abstract The Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) aboard the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite‐2 (ICESat‐2) has been making very high resolution measurements of the Earth’s surface elevation since October 2018. ATLAS uses photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) as detectors in photon counting mode, so that a single photon reflected back to the receiver triggers a detection within the ICESat‐2 data acquisition system. However, one characteristic of ICESat‐2 detected photons is the possible presence of afterpulses, defined as small amplitude pulses occurring after the primary signal pulse due to photon arrival. The disadvantage of these afterpulses is that they often confound the accurate measurements of low level signals following a large amplitude of signal and can degrade energy resolution and cause errors in pulse counting applications. This paper discusses and summarizes the after‐pulsing effects exhibited by the ATLAS PMTs based on on‐orbit measurements over different seasons and geographic regions. The potential impacts of these after‐pulsing effects on altimetry and ocean subsurface retrievals are discussed.

Photovoltaic (PV) systems have witnessed a rapid increment, the yield mainly relies on the working condition. In most cases, it is hard to obtain the optimal yield. Therefore, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) controllers witness much attention as an important optimization field of PV systems. These controllers employ different algorithms and they vary in their efficiency, performance, modernity, complexity, and tracking speed. MPPT controllers have witnessed a rapid improvement, they can be generally classified as conventional and advanced methods. Conventional methods are relatively simple but they can't distinguish between the local and global peaks if partial shading occurs, therefore, their efficiency is relatively low. Advanced tracking methods are widely used due to their superior efficiency. Due to the limitation of the singular conventional and advanced methods, hybrid methods find their way to solve these limitations. Selecting the finest MPPT method is still an open issue, this issue can be solved by implementing a survey of the applied methods. This study gives a concise classification and evaluation review of all the applied MPPT methods. This study also provides an accessible reference to undertake mass research works in MPPT in the near future.

Aerosol effects on convection have been debated for decades when all types of aerosols are lumped together in the analyses. Using NASA satellite measurements, the authors find strong evidence that smoke inhibits convection but polluted continental aerosols invigorate convection.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and type of anemia in patients with different chronic pulmonary diseases and its impact on the quality of life. Patients and methods The current study is a prospective observational study that was conducted at Chest Department, Minia University Hospital during the period from November 2015 to January 2017. A total of 247 patients with chronic pulmonary diseases (97 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 45 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, 80 bronchial asthma, 25 bronchiectasis) were included in our study. For all included patients the following were done,full history taking, assessment of the grade of dyspnea using modified medical research council dyspnea scale, assessment of BMI, chest ꞉ X ray (CXR), ECG and when indicated echocardiography, pulmonary functions tests, routine laboratory investigations, including complete blood count, liver function test, renal function test, serum electrolytes, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, measurement of arterial blood gases, measurements of serum erythropoietin, iron and total iron binding capacity, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire was used for all patients to assess the health-related quality of life. Results Anemia occurs in 36.4% of all patients. It occurs in 46.4% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, 37.8% of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients, and 12.5% of patients with asthma and in 68% of patients with bronchiectasis. Normocytic normochromic anemia was the predominant type of anemia in the studied patients. There was a significant difference between anemic patients and patients with normal hemoglobin (Hb) with respect to smoking index, comorbidities, forced expiratory volume 1, forced vital capacity, and PO2. C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were significantly higher in the anemic group. Serum iron and total iron binding capacity were significantly lower in the anemic patients, whereas erythropoietin was significantly lower in patients with normal Hb. Anemic patients had significantly higher medical research council dyspnea scale and number of exacerbation than patients with normal Hb. Anemic patients had significantly higher score in all the components of St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire. Conclusion Anemia is commonly associated with comorbidity in patients with chronic pulmonary diseases. The presence of anemia has a negative impact on the patient’s quality of life. Anemia was significantly associated with; the severity of impairment of lung functions, level of systemic inflammatory markers, presence of other comorbidities, and the smoking index. It was also associated with increased severity of dyspnea and frequent exacerbations.

Recent studies indicate that the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aboard the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite provides valuable information about ocean phytoplankton distributions. CALIOP’s attenuated backscatter coefficients, measured at 532 nm in receiver channels oriented parallel and perpendicular to the laser’s linear polarization plane, are significantly improved in the Version 4 data product. However, due to non-ideal instrument effects, a small fraction of the backscattered optical power polarized parallel to the receiver polarization reference plane is misdirected into the perpendicular channel, and vice versa. This effect, known as polarization crosstalk, typically causes the measured perpendicular signal to be higher than its true value and the measured parallel signal to be lower than its true value. Therefore, the ocean optical properties derived directly from CALIOP’s measured signals will be biased if the polarization crosstalk effect is not taken into account. This paper presents methods that can be used to estimate the CALIOP crosstalk effects from on-orbit measurements. The global ocean depolarization ratios calculated both before and after removing the crosstalk effects are compared. Using CALIOP crosstalk-corrected signals is highly recommended for all ocean subsurface studies.

Abstract Objective The objectives of this study were to evaluate prescription of inhalers and to assess knowledge and practice of doctors who can deal with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, regarding inhalation therapies and inhalation techniques. Patients and methods A prospective, cross-sectional survey was carried out on physicians from different specialties who can deal with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Results The questionnaire was completed by 443 respondents. Ninety percent of nonpulmonologists mentioned that they frequently see and manage patients with chronic pulmonary diseases. Totally, 25 physicians reported that they never prescribe inhaler medications. The most common cause for no or little prescription was that ‘patients refused to use inhalers’ (42.0%). The respondents were pediatricians (37.3%), internists (33.7%), primary-care physicians (16.0%), and pulmonologists (12.9%). About 52% stated that they themselves provided device training for their patients. Pressurized metered dose inhalers were preferred by 64.8% of physicians. Only 21.3% had good general inhaler therapy knowledge (score >2). Pulmonologists scored higher than other specialty groups regarding good knowledge of inhalation therapy (66.7%), whereas pediatricians scored the lowest (8.3%). Conclusion Prescription of inhalers, knowledge among physicians regarding inhalation therapy, and correct use of inhalers varied between pulmonologists and nonpulmonologists, and was generally inadequate. More effort is needed to change the attitude of physicians toward the concept of inhalation therapy.

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will carry into space the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), a spectrometer measuring at 5 nm spectral resolution in the ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (NIR) with additional spectral bands in the shortwave infrared (SWIR), and two multi-angle polarimeters that will overlap the OCI spectral range and spatial coverage, i. e., the Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration (SPEXone) and the Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP2). These instruments, especially when used in synergy, have great potential for improving estimates of water reflectance in the post Earth Observing System (EOS) era. Extending the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) observations to the UV, where aerosol absorption is effective, adding spectral bands in the SWIR, where even the most turbid waters are black and sensitivity to the aerosol coarse mode is higher than at shorter wavelengths, and measuring in the oxygen A-band to estimate aerosol altitude will enable greater accuracy in atmospheric correction for ocean color science. The multi-angular and polarized measurements, sensitive to aerosol properties (e.g., size distribution, index of refraction), can further help to identify or constrain the aerosol model, or to retrieve directly water reflectance. Algorithms that exploit the new capabilities are presented, and their ability to improve accuracy is discussed. They embrace a modern, adapted heritage two-step algorithm and alternative schemes (deterministic, statistical) that aim at inverting the TOA signal in a single step. These schemes, by the nature of their construction, their robustness, their generalization properties, and their ability to associate uncertainties, are expected to become the new standard in the future. A strategy for atmospheric correction is presented that ensures continuity and consistency with past and present ocean-color missions while enabling full exploitation of the new dimensions and possibilities. Despite the major improvements anticipated with the PACE instruments, gaps/issues remain to be filled/tackled. They include dealing properly with whitecaps, taking into account Earth-curvature effects, correcting for adjacency effects, accounting for the coupling between scattering and absorption, modeling accurately water reflectance, and acquiring a sufficiently representative dataset of water reflectance in the UV to SWIR. Dedicated efforts, experimental and theoretical, are in order to gather the necessary information and rectify inadequacies. Ideas and solutions are put forward to address the unresolved issues. Thanks to its design and characteristics, the PACE mission will mark the beginning of a new era of unprecedented accuracy in ocean-color radiometry from space.

Coincident profiles from the space-borne and ground-based lidar measurements provide a unique opportunity to estimate the planetary boundary layer height (PBLH). In this study, PBLHs derived from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) were assessed by comparing them with those obtained from the ground-based lidar at Seoul National University (SNU) in Korea for both day and night from 2006 to 2019, and sounding data. CALIOP-derived PBLHs using wavelet covariance transform (WCT) are generally higher than those derived from the SNU lidar for both day and night. The difference in PBLH tends to increase as the signal-to-noise ratio for CALIOP decreases. The difference also increases as aerosol optical depth increases, implying that the PBLH estimated from CALIOP could be higher than that determined from the SNU lidar because of the signal attenuation within the aerosol layer under optically thick aerosol layer conditions. The higher PBLH for CALIOP in this study is mainly attributed to multiple aerosol layers. After eliminating multilayer cases, the PBLHs estimated from both the lidars showed significantly improved agreement: a mean difference of 0.09 km (R = 0.81) for daytime and 0.25 km (R = 0.51) for nighttime. The results from this study suggest that PBL detection using CALIOP is reliable for daytime if multilayer cases are removed. For nighttime, PBLHs derived from the SNU lidar and CALIOP showed a relatively large difference in frequency distribution compared with sounding data. It suggests that further investigations are needed for nighttime PBLHs, such as investigations about discriminating the residual layer and the difference between lidar-derived PBLH based on the aerosol layer and thermally derived PBLH from radiosonde data for the stable boundary layer during the nighttime.

Despite the great development in the manufacture of the helical pile and the development of their use, especially in transmission towers and wind turbines, there is little research on their lateral behavior. In this laboratory study investigate the behavior of screw piles group (2×1) and (1×2) with the spacing to the diameter of helix ratio (S/Dh =1.5, 3, and 4.5) having a diameter (10 mm) and embedded length to diameter ratio (L/D = 40) by using single and double helix embedded in soft clay and extend to stiff clay under a cyclic lateral load of frequency (0.2 Hz). The results showed that increasing the distance between the piles had a great effect on increasing the lateral resistance. the increase of pile spacing in the groups from (1.5 Dh) to (3 and 4.5 Dh) increases the lateral resistance about 34-38% and 50% respectively. Also, from result showed that the group (2×1) gave a lateral resistance more than the group (1×2) about 11% for single helix and about 6% for a double helix, and for the same spacing and configuration the screw pile with double helix gives an increase in lateral resistance about 5-10 % from the single helix.

The Cloud–Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), on-board the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) platform, is an elastic backscatter lidar that has been providing vertical profiles of the spatial, optical, and microphysical properties of clouds and aerosols since June 2006. Distinguishing between feature types (i.e., clouds vs. aerosol) and subtypes (e.g., ice clouds vs. water clouds and dust aerosols from smoke) in the CALIOP measurements is currently accomplished using layer-integrated measurements acquired by co-polarized (parallel) and cross-polarized (perpendicular) 532 nm channels and a single 1064 nm channel. Newly developed deep machine learning (DML) semantic segmentation methods now have the ability to combine observations from multiple channels with texture information to recognize patterns in data. Instead of focusing on a limited set of layer integrated values, our new DML feature classification technique uses the full scope of range-resolved information available in the CALIOP attenuated backscatter profiles. In this paper, one of the convolutional neural networks (CNN), SegNet, a fast and efficient DML model, is used to distinguish aerosol subtypes directly from the CALIOP profiles. The DML method is a 2D range bin-to-range bin aerosol subtype classification algorithm. We compare our new DML results to the classifications generated by CALIOP’s 1D layer-to-layer operational retrieval algorithm. These two methods, which take distinctly different approaches to aerosol classification, agree in over 60% of the comparisons. Higher levels of agreement are found in homogeneous scenes containing only a single aerosol type (i.e., marine, stratospheric aerosols). Disagreement between the two techniques increases in regions containing mixture of different aerosol types. The multi-dimensional texture information leveraged by the DML method shows advantages in differentiating between aerosol types based on their classification scores, as well as in distinguishing vertical distributions of aerosol types within individual layers. However, untangling mixtures of aerosol subtypes is still challenging for both the DML and operational algorithms.

A simple but novel study was conducted to investigate whether an imager-type spectroradiometer instrument like MODIS, currently flying on board the Aqua and Terra satellites, or MERIS, which flew on board Envisat, could detect absorbing aerosols if they could measure the Q Stokes parameter in addition to the total radiance I, that is if they could also measure the linear polarization of the light. Accurate radiative transfer calculations were used to train a fast neural network forward model, which together with a simple statistical optimal estimation scheme was used to retrieve three aerosol parameters: aerosol optical depth at 869 nm, optical depth fraction of fine mode (absorbing) aerosols at 869 nm, and aerosol vertical location. The aerosols were assumed to be bimodal, each with a lognormal size distribution, located either between 0 and 2 km or between 2 and 4 km in the Earth's atmosphere. From simulated data with 3% random Gaussian measurement noise added for each Stokes parameter, it was found that by itself the total radiance I at the nine MODIS VIS channels was generally insufficient to accurately retrieve all three aerosol parameters (~15–37% successful), but that together with the Q Stokes component it was possible to retrieve values of aerosol optical depth at 869 nm to ± 0.03, single-scattering albedo at 869 nm to ± 0.04, and vertical location in ~65% of the cases. This proof-of-concept retrieval algorithm uses neural networks to overcome the computational burdens of using vector radiative transfer to accurately simulate top-of-atmosphere (TOA) total and polarized radiances, enabling optimal estimation techniques to exploit information from multiple channels. Therefore such an algorithm could, in concept, be readily implemented for operational retrieval of aerosol and ocean products from moderate or hyperspectral spectroradiometers.