Coronavirus survey; a bibliometric analysis from 2012-2019

Background: Coronaviruses have emerged from animal reservoirs over the past decades to create severe illness and death. They are the SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and more recently, the SARS-CoV2. This study is focused at assessing the characteristics of published works involving SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV at global level; using bibliometric analysis. Methods: Peer-reviewed publications were retrieved from the Scopus database between 2012 and 2019. Data were analyzed in terms of the year, journal and number of publications, international collaboration patterns, research institutes, impact factor, h-index and number of times cited. Visual presentation and analysis of the data were performed using RStudio, Tableau and Microsoft Excel. Results: A total of 1707 research publications were published across the world between 2012 and 2019 with the highest and lowest number of publications in 2016 (288) and 2012 (87). USA had 249 articles, followed by South Korea (186) and Saudi Arabia (111). The total number of citations achieved was 39,094 with Journal of Virology (133) had the highest number of published articles, followed by Emerging Infectious Disease (85) and PLOS One (60). Conclusion: This research showed the international diversity of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV research with 106 countries. It is also not surprising that United States leads in the number of publications, authors and citations because of its global power and economic strength; this can also be said with the other top countries. Saudi Arabia was among the top rank because of the origination of the MERS-CoV in the middle east

Multivariate Drought Monitoring, Propagation, and Projection Using Bias‐Corrected General Circulation Models

Understanding how droughts are characterized, propagated, and projected, particularly multivariate droughts, is necessary to explain the variability and changes in drought characteristics. This study aims to understand multimodel global drought monitoring, propagation, and projection by utilizing a multivariate standardized drought index (MSDI) during the historical (1959–2014) and future (2045–2100) periods under two socioeconomic pathways SSPs (370 and 585), derived from the bias-corrected Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Based on the energy metrics, the multivariate bias correction method outperformed other techniques in correcting the biases in the CMIP6 drought representation. The drought indicators demonstrate distinct categories for meteorological, hydrological, and multivariate droughts. There were significant high cross correlations between Heatwave Total Length (HWTL) and MSDI in Africa and South America for all lagged times. Europe and North America generally saw the maximum MSDI drought duration (228 months) during the historical period. For future projections, Africa recorded the maximum drought duration (197 months), while Europe witnessed the minimum drought duration for SSP 370 (171 months), and North America (149 months) for SSP 585. Furthermore, during the historical period in tropical Africa, the propagation of meteorological to hydrological drought was slower during the wet months than during the dry months. Under the SSP 370 future projection, there was a shift in the long period of meteorological-hydrological propagation from the middle and late wet months to the beginning of the wet months in tropical Africa. Therefore, tracking and projecting drought characteristics is vital for understanding the risk of drought-related consequences

Antibacterial and Phytochemical Potentials of Ficus capensis Leaf Extracts Against Some Pathogenic Bacteria

Natural products represent an alternative source of potent antimicrobial to combat the increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to synthetic drugs. Plants in particular contain metabolites which have been widely employed in traditional settings to treat ailment. However, there is a need for scientific knowledge on their bioactivity. This study is aimed at elucidating the phytochemicals, and antibacterial activity of Fiscus capensis. The leaves of F. capensis were pulverized and extracted successively using n-hexane, acetone, methanol and distilled water. The plant extracts were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella Typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella sp.) using the agar-well diffusion technique. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the plant extracts were established using the microbroth dilution technique. The phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids in all extracts. Saponins, phenols, terpenoids and tannins were present in all extracts except n-hexane extract. The antimicrobial studies showed varying levels of activity, with acetone extract having the highest activity against S. aureus and S. Typhi with MIC of 6.25 mg/mL. Methanol had an MIC activity of 12.5 mg/mL against E.coli. While some prior studies reported no activity of methanol extract against S. Typhi, our finding showed that methanol extract of F. capensis exhibited antimicrobial activity against S. Typhi due to the extraction process. Our study concludes that the overall antimicrobial activity of the crude extract of F. capensis leaf provided evidence that future antimicrobial agents could be isolated from this plant leaf

Model uncertainties in climate change impacts on Sahel precipitation in ensembles of CMIP5 and CMIP6 simulations

The impact of climate change on Sahel precipitation suffers from large uncertainties and is strongly model-dependent. In this study, we analyse sources of inter-model spread in Sahel precipitation change by decomposing precipitation into its dynamic and thermodynamic terms, using a large set of climate model simulations. Results highlight that model uncertainty is mostly related to the response of the atmospheric circulation to climate change (dynamic changes), while thermodynamic changes are less uncertain among climate models. Uncertainties arise mainly because the models simulate different shifts in atmospheric circulation over West Africa in a warmer climate. We linked the changes in atmospheric circulation to the changes in Sea Surface Temperature, emphasising that the Northern hemispheric temperature gradient is primary to explain uncertainties in Sahel precipitation change. Sources of Sahel precipitation uncertainties are shown to be the same in the new generation of climate models (CMIP6) as in the previous generation of models (CMIP5)

Future evolution of the Sahel precipitation zonal contrast in CESM1

The main focus of this study is the zonal contrast of the Sahel precipitation shown in the CMIP5 climate projections: precipitation decreases over the western Sahel (i.e., Senegal and western Mali) and increases over the central Sahel (i.e., eastern Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger). This zonal contrast in future precipitation change is a robust model response to climate change but suffers from a lack of an explanation. To this aim, we study the impact of current and future climate change on Sahel precipitation by using the Large Ensemble of the Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1). In CESM1, global warming leads to a strengthening of the zonal contrast, as shown by the difference between the 2060–2099 period (under a high emission scenario) and the 1960–1999 period (under the historical forcing). The zonal contrast is associated with dynamic shifts in the atmospheric circulation. We show that, in absence of a forced response, that is, when only accounting for internal climate variability, the zonal contrast is associated with the Pacific and the tropical Atlantic oceans variability. However, future patterns in sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are not necessary to explaining the projected strengthening of the zonal contrast. The mechanisms underlying the simulated changes are elucidated by analysing a set of CMIP5 idealised simulations. We show the increase in precipitation over the central Sahel to be mostly associated with the surface warming over northern Africa, which favour the displacement of the monsoon cell northwards. Over the western Sahel, the decrease in Sahel precipitation is associated with a southward shift of the monsoon circulation, and is mostly due to the warming of the SST. These two mechanisms allow explaining the zonal contrast in precipitation change

Projected changes in extreme rainfall and temperature events and possible implications for Cameroon's socio‐economic sectors

Abstract Extreme events like flooding, droughts and heatwave are among the factors causing huge socio‐economic losses to Cameroonians. Investigating the potential response of rainfall and temperature extremes to global warming is therefore critically needed for tailoring and adjusting the country's policies. Recent datasets have been developed for this purpose within the Coordinated Output for Regional Evaluations (CORDEX‐CORE) initiative, at ~25 km grid spacing. These regional climate models were used to dynamically downscaled four global climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5), under the optimistic and pessimistic representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5, respectively. These models were employed in this study for characterizing the response of Cameroon's extreme precipitation and temperature events to global warming, using seven indices defined by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices. Under global warming, the maximum number of consecutive dry (wet) days' is expected to increase (decrease). However, the annual total rainfall amount is expected to increase, mainly due to the intensification of very wet days and daily rainfall intensity. Furthermore, the temperature‐based indices reveal an increase (decrease) in the total annual hot (cold) days, and overall, changes intensify with increased radiative forcing. The high‐mitigated low‐emission pathway RCP2.6 features attenuated changes, and even sometimes adapts to reverse the sign of changes. Designing reliable policies to limit the risks associated with the above changes is required, as their socio‐economic consequences are likely to include food insecurity, heat‐related illness, population impoverishment, price rises and market instability

Assessing the Capabilities of Three Regional Climate Models over CORDEX Africa in Simulating West African Summer Monsoon Precipitation

This study evaluates the ability of three Regional Climate Models (RCMs) used in Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) to simulate the characteristics of rainfall pattern during the West Africa Summer Monsoon from 1998 to 2008. The seasonal climatology, annual rainfall cycles, and wind fields of the RCMs output were assessed over three homogenous subregions and validated using precipitation data from eighty-one (81) ground observation stations and TRMM satellite data. Furthermore, the ability of the RCMs to simulate response to El Nino and La Nina events was assessed. Results show that two of the RCMs (RCA and REMO) simulated the main features of the rainfall climatology and associated dynamics over the three subregions (Guinea Coast, Savannah, and Sahel) of West Africa. The RCMs also capture the African Easterly Jet (AEJ) and Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ) with little variations in position and intensity. Analysis shows significant biases in individual models depending on subregion and season under consideration which may be attributed to strong cyclonic circulation observed at 850 mb pressure level. In general, the study shows RCA and REMO fairly simulate West Africa rainfall adequately and can therefore be used for the assessment of West African Summer Monsoon and future climate projections

Seasonal representation of extreme precipitation indices over the United States in CMIP6 present-day simulations

Realistically representing the present-day characteristics of extreme precipitation has been a challenge for global climate models, which is due in part to deficiencies in model resolution and physics, but is also due to a lack of consistency in gridded observations. In this study, we use three observation datasets, including gridded rain gauge and satellite data, to assess historical simulations from sixteen Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models. We separately evaluate summer and winter precipitation over the United States (US) with a comprehensive set of extreme precipitation indices, including an assessment of precipitation frequency, intensity and spatial structure. The observations exhibit significant differences in their estimates of area-average intensity distributions and spatial patterns of the mean and extremes of precipitation over the US. In general, the CMIP6 multi-model mean performs better than most individual models at capturing daily precipitation distributions and extreme precipitation indices, particularly in comparison to gauge-based data. Also, the representation of the extreme precipitation indices by the CMIP6 models is better in the summer than winter. Although the ‘standard’ horizontal-resolution can vary significantly across CMIP6 models, from ∼0.7° to ∼2.8°, we find that resolution is not a good indicator of model performance. Overall, our results highlight common biases in CMIP6 models and demonstrate that no single model is consistently the most reliable across all indices

Leading patterns of the satellite-era summer precipitation over West Africa and associated global teleconnections

Precipitation patterns over West Africa display a broad range of timescales, from the intraseasonal to decadal timescales, as well as multidecadal shifts. Here we investigate the dominant patterns of the July to September precipitation over the region and the related ocean-atmosphere anomalies during the satellite-era from 1983 to 2017. Using extended empirical orthogonal function analysis of an ensemble of nine precipitation datasets, we identify two dominant modes that together account for about 33% of the variance. The Sahel mode displays spatially coherent increases in precipitation over much of West Africa and a decrease at the Guinea Coast, and is closely reproduced by linear trend analysis. Linear trends explain 25–53% of the Sahel variance from the drier mid-1980s to the wetter mid-1990s. The Guinea Coast mode displays robust precipitation anomalies south of the Sahel, with strong interannual variability and a statistically non-significant trend. The Sahel mode is associated with a northerly displacement of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), warm North Atlantic with cold blob in the subpolar gyre region, warm Mediterranean Sea, warm tropical southwest Indian Ocean and negative Pacific decadal variability pattern. The Atlantic Niño leads the Guinea Coast mode by two months. Both Sahel and Guinea Coast modes are substantially influenced by the interactions between meridional (displacements of the ITCZ) and zonal (variations of the Walker Circulation) atmospheric circulations. The southerly displacement of the ITCZ, convection, upper-level divergence and surface convergence in the equatorial Atlantic associated with the Guinea Coast mode is horizontally compensated by strong surface divergence and upper-level convergence over the equatorial Pacific where anomalous cooling prevails, implying a strong role for the Walker Circulation during this period