Inter- and Intra-Annual Variability of Vegetation in the Northern Hemisphere and Its Association with Precursory Meteorological Factors

Determination of phenological variation is one of the most critical challenges in dynamic vegetation modeling, given the lack of a strong theoretical framework. Previous studies generally focused on the timing of a phenological event (e.g., bud-burst or onset of growing season) and its atmospheric prompts, but not on the interactive variations across phenological stages. This study, therefore, investigated the inter- and intra-annual variability existing in all the phenological stages and the relations of the variability with four meteorological variables (surface temperature (Ts), shortwave radiation (SW ), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and precipitation (PRCP)) using a 25-year (1982-2006) dataset of leaf area index (LAI) from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Our six study sites of each 4 degree x 4 degree grids (mixed forest in China, deciduous needle-leaf forest in Siberia, evergreen needle-leaf forest in western Canada, grass in Gobi, and crops in the Central United States and southeastern Europe) include various vegetation types, local climates, and land-use types in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis with detrended LAI anomalies identified the two leading EOF modes that account for the amplitude and phase of the monthly LAI variations. The inter-annual correlation between the principle components (PCs) of the two modes and the meteorological variables for spring and summer showed that the amplitude and phase modes (AM and PM, respectively) were affected by different dominant meteorological factors. Over most of the study regions, AM was positively correlated with PRCP and negatively with Ts, SW, and VPD,while PMwas predominantly positively correlated with Ts. The contrasting responses of the two EOFmodes to Ts reflect environmental limitations on plant growth such as early start of growth, but with a reduced value of maximum LAI in a year with a warm spring. In addition, insignificant correlations between AMand PRCP, as well as negative correlations between PM and PRCP, in the crop regions suggest that human interventions such as advanced irrigation systems also play a key role in vegetative activity

Assessment of satellite rainfall nowcasting based on extrapolation technique

Póster presentado en: 3rd European Nowcasting Conference, celebrada en la sede central de AEMET en Madrid del 24 al 26 de abril de 2019

Attribution of the 2015 record high sea surface temperatures over the central equatorial Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean

This study assessed the anthropogenic contribution to the 2015 record-breaking high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) observed in the central equatorial Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean. Considering a close link between extreme warm events in these regions, we conducted a joint attribution analysis using a fraction of attributable risk approach. Probability of occurrence of such extreme anomalies and long-term trends for the two oceanic regions were compared between CMIP5 multi-model simulations with and without anthropogenic forcing. Results show that the excessive warming in both regions is well beyond the range of natural variability and robustly attributable to human activities due to greenhouse gas increase. We further explored associated mechanisms including the Bjerknes feedback and background anthropogenic warming. It is concluded that background warming was the main contribution to the 2015 extreme SST event over the central equatorial Pacific Ocean on a developing El Niño condition, which in turn induced the extreme SST event over the tropical Indian Ocean through the atmospheric bridge effect.113Ysciescopu

Prospective Multi-Center Trial for the Efficacy of Ecabet Sodium on the Relief of Dyspepsia in Korean Patients with Chronic Gastritis

Anti-peptic and anti-inflammatory actions of ecabet sodium might be beneficial in either improving gastritis or relieving dyspeptic symptoms. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of ecabet sodium on dyspeptic symptoms and to elucidate the molecular mechanism attributable to symptom relief in patients with chronic gastritis. Two hundred and sixty eight chronic gastritis patients with persistent dyspepsia received ecabet sodium 1 g b.i.d. for 2 weeks, after which dyspeptic symptoms were reassessed with a questionnaires as before. The changes of interleukin-8 (IL-8), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in gastric juices were measured by ELISA. The changes of nitrotyrosine in gastric mucosa were measured by immunohistochemical staining. The most common dyspeptic symptom in Korean patients with chronic gastritis was epigastric soreness (76.8%), which was improved significantly after ecabet sodium treatment (81.7%, p<0.001). Ecabet sodium was more effective in patients with epigastric pain than vague abdominal discomfort (p = 0.02), especially in patients with old age. Complete relief of discomfort was more highly achieved in patients with positive Helicobacter pylori than without (p = 0.01). In spite of clear tendency that the decreased levels of IL-8, iNOS, and PGE2 and increased levels of VEGF were measured in gastric juices after ecabet sodium treatment, no statistical significance was noted, which might be due to high inter-individual variations. The nitrotyrosine expressions were significantly decreased after ecabet sodium treatment than before (p<0.01). In conclusion, ecabet sodium treatment was very useful for the relief of dyspeptic symptoms in chronic gastritis, to which both attenuated inflammatory and enhanced regenerative mechanisms were contributive

Cognitive and behavioral effects of lamotrigine and carbamazepine monotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed or untreated partial epilepsy

AbstractPurposeIn this prospective study, we compared the long-term cognitive and behavioral effects of lamotrigine (LTG) and carbamazepine (CBZ) in patients with newly diagnosed or untreated partial epilepsy.MethodsThis was a multicenter, open-label, randomized study that compared monotherapy with LTG and CBZ in newly diagnosed or untreated patients with partial epilepsy. We employed an 8-week titration period and a 40-week maintenance period. Neuropsychological tests, Symptom Check List-90, and QOLIE-31 were assessed at baseline, 16 weeks, and 48 weeks after drug treatment. A group-by-time interaction was the primary outcome measure and was analyzed by use of the linear mixed model.ResultsA total of 110 patients were eligible and 73 completed the 48-week study (LTG, n=39; CBZ, n=34). Among the cognitive tests, significant group-by-time interaction was identified only in phonemic fluency of Controlled Oral Word Association Task (p=0.0032) and Stroop Color–Word Interference (p=0.0283), with a significant better performance for LTG group. All other neuropsychological tests included did not show significant group-by-time interactions. Among the subscales of Symptom Check List-90, significant group-by-time interactions were identified in Obsessive-Compulsive (p=0.0005), Paranoid Ideation (p=0.0454), Global Severity Index (p=0.0194), and Positive Symptom Total (p=0.0197), with a significant improvement for CBZ group. QOLIE-31 did not show significant group-by-time interactions.ConclusionOur data suggest that epilepsy patients on LTG have better performance on phonemic fluency and the task of Stroop Color–Word Interference than do patients on CBZ, whereas patients on CBZ had more favorable behavioral effects on two subscales and two global scores of Symptom Check List-90 than did patients on LTG

Infectious Disease Markers among Directed and Volunteer Blood Donors in Korea

Most reports from Western countries are discouraging the establishment of direct donation programs since little evidence exists that this approach improves the safety of blood transfusion. However, the infectious disease marker frequencies vary from one region to another and not much is known about the figures in less individualized, and more culturally uniform societies. The authors compared the frequency of infectious disease markers among 14,253 directed and 1,228,132 volunteer blood donors in Korea. The frequency of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was higher in volunteer donors while the frequency of elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and VORL was higher in directed donorslp-Dfl'l). Our data suggest that even in a less individualized society where people are more open to exchange their medical and personal information, directed donation does not confer significant benefit in the prevention of transfusion-transmitted diseases

Mild Encephalopathy with Reversible Lesion in the Splenium of the Corpus Callosum and Bilateral Frontal White Matter

A 59-year-old man visited an emergency room due to the sudden onset of severe dysarthria with a drowsy mental status. MRI demonstrated T2 prolongation and restricted diffusion involving the splenium of the corpus callosum and bilateral frontal white matter neurological signs and symptoms were mild, and the recovery was complete within a week. Follow-up MRI performed one month later revealed complete resolution of the lesions. The clinical and radiological courses were consistent with previously reported reversible isolated splenial lesions in mild encephalitis/encephalopathy except for the presence of frontal lesions. This case suggests that such reversible lesions can occur outside the splenium

Oral intake of Lactobacillus rhamnosus M21 enhances the survival rate of mice lethally infected with influenza virus

BackgroundInfluenza viruses cause acute respiratory disease. Because of the high genetic variability of viruses, effective vaccines and antiviral agents are limited. Considering the fact that the site of influenza virus entry is the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, probiotics that can enhance mucosal immunity as well as systemic immunity could be an important source of treatment against influenza infection.MethodsMice were fed with Lactobacillus rhamnosus M21 or skim milk and were challenged with influenza virus. The resulting survival rate, lung inflammation, and changes in the cytokine and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels were examined.ResultsBecause of infection (influenza virus), all the mice in the control group and 60% of the mice in the L. rhamnosus M21 group died; however, the remaining 40% of the mice fed with L. rhamnosus M21 survived the infection. Pneumonia was severe in the control group but moderate in the group treated with L. rhamnosus M21. Although there were no significant changes in the proinflammatory cytokines in the lung lysates of mice collected from both groups, levels of interferon-γ and interleukin-2, which are representative cytokines of type I helper T cells, were significantly increased in the L. rhamnosus M21-treated group. An increase in sIgA as well as the diminution of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was also observed in the L. rhamnosus M21-treated group.ConclusionThese results demonstrate that orally administered L. rhamnosus M21 activates humoral as well as cellular immune responses, conferring increased resistance to the host against influenza virus infection