33,829 research outputs found
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Effect of local and regional sources on the isotopic composition of nitrous oxide in the tropical free troposphere and tropopause layer
Measurements and models of the spatiotemporal variability of surface N 2O mixing ratios and isotopic compositions are increasingly used to constrain the global N2O budget. However, large variability observed on the small spatial scales of soil chambers and shipboard sampling, which appears to be very sensitive to local environmental conditions, has made extrapolation to the global scale difficult. In this study, we present measurements of the isotopic composition of N2O (δ 15Nbulk, δ15N, δ15N, and δ18O) from whole-air samples collected at altitudes of 0.5 to 19km by the NASA DC-8 and WB-57 aircraft during the Costa Rica-Aura Validation Experiment (CR-AVE) and the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4) campaigns in January-February 2006 and July-August 2007, respectively. The vertical profiles of isotopic composition showed predictable, repeating patterns consistent with the influence of a surface source at lower altitudes and the influence of stratospheric photochemistry in the lower stratosphere. Their correlations with marine tracers at lower altitudes are consistent with a predominantly oceanic source, although a soil source cannot be ruled out. Measurements in a combustion plume revealed a strong depletion in 15N at the central nitrogen atom (i.e., low δ15N values), providing new information on N2O isotopic compositions from combustion. This new data set demonstrates that a coherent picture of the isotopic composition of tropospheric N2O is possible at currently attainable precisions and that its variations from 0.5 km to the lower stratosphere are a useful tool in investigating the sources and distributions of this important greenhouse gas. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union
How self-regulation, the storage effect and their interaction contribute to coexistence in stochastic and seasonal environments
Explaining coexistence in species-rich communities of primary producers
remains a challenge for ecologists because of their likely competition for
shared resources. Following Hutchinson's seminal suggestion, many theoreticians
have tried to create diversity through a fluctuating environment, which impairs
or slows down competitive exclusion. However, fluctuating-environment models
often only produce a dozen of coexisting species at best. Here, we investigate
how to create richer communities in fluctuating environments, using an
empirically parameterized model. Building on the forced Lotka-Volterra model of
Scranton and Vasseur (Theor Ecol 9(3):353-363, 2016), inspired by phytoplankton
communities, we have investigated the effect of two coexistence mechanisms,
namely the storage effect and higher intra- than interspecific competition
strengths (i.e., strong self-regulation). We tuned the intra/inter competition
ratio based on empirical analyses, in which self-regulation dominates
interspecific interactions. Although a strong self-regulation maintained more
species (50%) than the storage effect (25%), we show that none of the two
coexistence mechanisms considered could ensure the coexistence of all species
alone. Realistic seasonal environments only aggravated that picture, as they
decreased persistence relative to a random environment. However, strong
self-regulation and the storage effect combined superadditively so that all
species could persist with both mechanisms at work. Our results suggest that
combining different coexistence mechanisms into community models might be more
fruitful than trying to find which mechanism best explains diversity. We
additionally highlight that while biomass-trait distributions provide some
clues regarding coexistence mechanisms, they cannot indicate unequivocally
which mechanisms are at play.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, Theor Ecol (2019
Seasonal variation of platelets in a cohort of Italian blood donors: a preliminary report
Massimo Gallerani1*, Roberto Reverberi2, Raffaella Salmi1, Michael H Smolensky3 and Roberto Manfredini4
Author Affiliations
1 Internal Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria, Ferrara, Italy
2 Immunohematological and Transfusional Service, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria, Ferrara, Italy
3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
4 Clinica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria, Ferrara, ItalyBackground: Since available data are not univocal, the aim of this study was to explore the existence of a seasonal variation in platelet count.
Methods: The study was based on the database of the Italian Association of Blood Volunteers (AVIS), section of Ferrara, Italy, 2001–2010. Hematological data (170,238 exams referring to 16,422 donors) were categorized into seasonal and monthly intervals, and conventional and chronobiological analyses were applied.
Results: Platelets and plateletcrit were significantly higher in winter-autumn, with a main peak in December-February (average +3.4% and +4.6%, respectively, P <0.001 for both).
Conclusions: Although seasonal variations have been reported for several acute cardiovascular diseases, it is extremely unlikely that such a slight increase in platelet count in winter alone may be considered as a risk factor.Biomedical [email protected]
Visual ecology of aphids – a critical review on the role of colours in host finding
We review the rich literature on behavioural responses of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to stimuli of different colours. Only in one species there are adequate physiological data on spectral sensitivity to explain behaviour crisply in mechanistic terms.
Because of the great interest in aphid responses to coloured targets from an evolutionary, ecological and applied perspective, there is a substantial need to expand these studies to more species of aphids, and to quantify spectral properties of stimuli rigorously. We show that aphid responses to colours, at least for some species, are likely based on a specific colour opponency mechanism, with positive input from the green domain of the spectrum and negative input from the blue and/or UV region.
We further demonstrate that the usual yellow preference of aphids encountered in field experiments is not a true colour preference but involves additional brightness effects. We discuss the implications for agriculture and sensory ecology, with special respect to the recent debate on autumn leaf colouration. We illustrate that recent evolutionary theories concerning aphid–tree interactions imply far-reaching assumptions on aphid responses to colours
that are not likely to hold. Finally we also discuss the
implications for developing and optimising strategies
of aphid control and monitoring
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Association of Clinical Characteristics With Variation in Emergency Physician Preferences for Patients.
Importance:Much of the wide variation in health care has been associated with practice variation among physicians. Physicians choosing to see patients with more (or fewer) care needs could also produce variations in care observed across physicians. Objective:To quantify emergency physician preferences by measuring nonrandom variations in patients they choose to see. Design, Setting, and Participants:This cross-sectional study used a large, detailed clinical data set from an electronic health record system of a single academic hospital. The data set included all emergency department (ED) encounters of adult patients from January 1, 2010, to May 31, 2015, as well as ED visits information. Data were analyzed from September 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019. Exposure:Patient assignment to a particular emergency physician. Main Outcomes and Measures:Variation in patient characteristics (age, sex, acuity [Emergency Severity Index score], and comorbidities) seen by emergency physicians before patient selection, adjusted for temporal factors (seasonal, weekly, and hourly variation in patient mix). Results:This study analyzed 294 915 visits to the ED seen by 62 attending physicians. Of the 294 915 patients seen, the mean (SD) age was 48.6 (19.8) years and 176 690 patients (59.9%) were women. Many patient characteristics, such as age (F = 2.2; P < .001), comorbidities (F = 1.7; P < .001), and acuity (F = 4.7; P < .001), varied statistically significantly. Compared with the lowest-quintile physicians for each respective characteristic, the highest-quintile physicians saw patients who were older (mean age, 47.9 [95% CI, 47.8-48.1] vs 49.7 [95% CI, 49.5-49.9] years, respectively; difference, +1.8 years; 95% CI, 1.5-2.0 years) and sicker (mean comorbidity score: 0.4 [95% CI, 0.3-0.5] vs 1.8 [95% CI, 1.7-1.8], respectively; difference, +1.3; 95% CI, 1.2-1.4). These differences were absent or highly attenuated during overnight shifts, when only 1 physician was on duty and there was limited room for patient selection. Compared with earlier in the shift, the same physician later in the shift saw patients who were younger (mean age, 49.7 [95% CI, 49.4-49.7] vs 44.6 [95 % CI, 44.3-44.9] years, respectively; difference, -5.1 years; 95% CI, 4.8-5.5) and less sick (mean comorbidity score: 0.7 [95% CI, 0.7-0.8] vs 1.1 [95% CI, 1.1-1.1], respectively; difference, -0.4; 95% CI, 0.4-0.4). Accounting for preference variation resulted in substantial reordering of physician ranking by care intensity, as measured by ED charges, with 48 of 62 physicians (77%) being reclassified into a different quintile and 9 of 12 physicians (75%) in the highest care intensity quintile moving into a lower quintile. A regression model demonstrated that 22% of reported ED charges were associated with physician preference. Conclusions and Relevance:This study found preference variation across physicians and within physicians during the course of a shift. These findings suggest that current efforts to reduce practice variation may not affect the variation associated with physician preferences, which reflect underlying differences in patient needs and not physician practice
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Reducing Interanalyst Variability in Photovoltaic Degradation Rate Assessments
The economic return on investment of a commercial photovoltaic system depends greatly on its performance over the long term and, hence, its degradation rate. Many methods have been proposed for assessing system degradation rates from outdoor performance data. However, comparing reported values from one analyst and research group to another requires a common baseline of performance; consistency between methods and analysts can be a challenge. An interlaboratory study was conducted involving different volunteer analysts reporting on the same photovoltaic performance data using different methodologies. Initial variability of the reported degradation rates was so high that analysts could not come to a consensus whether a system degraded or not. More consistent values are received when written guidance is provided to each analyst. Further improvements in analyst variance was accomplished by using the free open-source software RdTools, allowing a reduction in variance between analysts by more than two orders of magnitude over the first round, where multiple analysis methods are allowed. This article highlights many pitfalls in conducting 'routine' degradation analysis, and it addresses some of the factors that must be considered when comparing degradation results reported by different analysts or methods
Cultural Diffusion and Trends in Facebook Photographs
Online social media is a social vehicle in which people share various moments
of their lives with their friends, such as playing sports, cooking dinner or
just taking a selfie for fun, via visual means, that is, photographs. Our study
takes a closer look at the popular visual concepts illustrating various
cultural lifestyles from aggregated, de-identified photographs. We perform
analysis both at macroscopic and microscopic levels, to gain novel insights
about global and local visual trends as well as the dynamics of interpersonal
cultural exchange and diffusion among Facebook friends. We processed images by
automatically classifying the visual content by a convolutional neural network
(CNN). Through various statistical tests, we find that socially tied
individuals more likely post images showing similar cultural lifestyles. To
further identify the main cause of the observed social correlation, we use the
Shuffle test and the Preference-based Matched Estimation (PME) test to
distinguish the effects of influence and homophily. The results indicate that
the visual content of each user's photographs are temporally, although not
necessarily causally, correlated with the photographs of their friends, which
may suggest the effect of influence. Our paper demonstrates that Facebook
photographs exhibit diverse cultural lifestyles and preferences and that the
social interaction mediated through the visual channel in social media can be
an effective mechanism for cultural diffusion.Comment: 10 pages, To appear in ICWSM 2017 (Full Paper
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