The bioenergetics of COVID-19 immunopathology and the therapeutic potential of biophysical radiances

In developing an effective clinical tool against COVID-19, we need to consider why SARS-CoV-2 infections develop along remarkably different trajectories: from completely asymptomatic to a severe course of disease. In this paper we hypothesize that the progressive exhaustion and loss of lymphocytes associated with severe stages of COVID-19 result from an intracellular energy deficit in an organism which has already been depleted by preexisting chronic diseases, acute psychological stress and the aging process. A bioenergetics view of COVID-19 immunopathology opens a new biophysical opportunity to enhance impaired immune function via proposed pathways of photomagnetic catalysis of ATP synthesis, regenerative photobiomodulation and the ultrasonic acceleration of cell restructuring. Moreover, we suggest that a coherent application of multiple biophysical radiances (coMra) may synergistically enhance energy-matter-information kinetics of basal self-regeneration of cells and thus improve immune function and accelerate recovery. © 2020 Elsevier B.V

The bioenergetics of COVID-19 immunopathology and the therapeutic potential of biophysical radiances

In developing an effective clinical tool against COVID-19, we need to consider why SARS-CoV-2 infections develop along remarkably different trajectories: from completely asymptomatic to a severe course of disease. In this paper we hypothesize that the progressive exhaustion and loss of lymphocytes associated with severe stages of COVID-19 result from an intracellular energy deficit in an organism which has already been depleted by preexisting chronic diseases, acute psychological stress and the aging process. A bioenergetics view of COVID-19 immunopathology opens a new biophysical opportunity to enhance impaired immune function via proposed pathways of photomagnetic catalysis of ATP synthesis, regenerative photobiomodulation and the ultrasonic acceleration of cell restructuring. Moreover, we suggest that a coherent application of multiple biophysical radiances (coMra) may synergistically enhance energy-matter-information kinetics of basal self-regeneration of cells and thus improve immune function and accelerate recovery. © 2020 Elsevier B.V

Potential flood volume of Himalayan glacial lakes

Glacial lakes are potentially dangerous sources of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and represent a serious natural hazard in Himalayan countries. Despite the development of various indices aimed at determining the outburst probability, an objective evaluation of the thousands of Himalayan glacial lakes has yet to be completed. In this study we propose a single index, based on the depression angle from the lakeshore, which allows the lakes to be assessed using remotely sensed digital elevation models (DEMs). We test our approach on five lakes in Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet using images taken by the declassified Hexagon KH-9 satellite before these lakes experienced an outburst flood. All five lakes had a steep lakefront area (SLA), on which a depression angle was steeper than our proposed threshold of 10° before the GLOF event, but the SLA was no longer evident after the events. We further calculated the potential flood volume (PFV); i.e., the maximum volume of floodwater that could be released if the lake surface was lowered sufficiently to eradicate the SLA. This approach guarantees repeatability to assess the possibility of GLOF hazards because it requires no particular expertise to carry out, though the PFV does not quantify the GLOF risk. We calculated PFVs for more than 2000 Himalayan glacial lakes using visible band images and DEMs of ASTER data. The PFV distribution follows a power-law function. We found that 794 lakes did not have an SLA, and consequently had a PFV of zero, while we also identified 49 lakes with PFVs of over 10 million m³, which is a comparable volume to that of recorded major GLOFs. This PFV approach allows us to preliminarily identify and prioritize those Himalayan glacial lakes that require further detailed investigation on GLOF hazards and risk

Mass balance and climate history of a high-altitude glacier, Desert Andes of Chile

Glaciers in the dry Chilean Andes provide important ecological services, yet their mass balance response to past and ongoing climate change has been little studied. This study examines the recent (2002–2015), historical (1955–2005), and past (5000 m), using a combination of glaciological, geodetic, and ice core observations. Mass balance has been predominantly negative since 2002. Analysis of mass balance and meteorological data since 2002 suggests that mass balance is currently mostly sensitive to precipitation variations, while low temperatures, aridity and high solar radiation and wind speeds cause large sublimation losses and limited melting. Mass balance reconstructed by geodetic methods shows that Guanaco Glacier has been losing mass since at least 1955, and that mass loss has increased over time until present. An ice core recovered from the deepest part of the glacier in 2008 revealed that the glacier is cold-based with a −5.5°C basal temperature and a warm reversal of the temperature profile above 60-m depth attributed to the recent atmospheric warming trend. Detailed stratigraphic and stable isotope analyses of the upper 20 m of the core revealed seasonal cycles in the δ¹⁸O and δ²H records with periods varying between 0.5 and 3 m. w.e. a¯¹. Deuterium excess values larger than 10‰ suggest limited post-depositional sublimation, while the presence of numerous refrozen ice layers indicate significant summer melt. Tritium concentration in the upper 20 m of the core was very low, while ²¹⁰Pb was undetected, indicating that the glacier surface in 2008 was at least 100 years old. Taken together, these results suggest that Guanaco Glacier formed under drastically different climate conditions than today, with humid conditions causing high accumulation rates, reduced sublimation and increased melting. Reconstruction of mass balance based on correlations with precipitation and streamflow records show periods of sustained mass gain in the early 20th century and the 1980s, separated by periods of mass loss. The southern migration of the South Pacific Subtropical High over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries is proposed as the main mechanism explaining the progressive precipitation starvation of glaciers in this area

202 Annals of Glaciology 43 2006 Glacier changes in the central and northern Tien Shan during the last 140 years based on surface and remote-sensing data

ABSTRACT. This research presents a precise evaluation of the recession of Akshiirak and Ala Archa glaciers, Tien Shan, central Asia, based on data of geodetic surveys from 1861–69, aerial photographs from 1943, 1963, 1977 and 1981, 1: 25 000 scale topographic maps and SRTM and ASTER data from 2000–03. The Akshiirak glacierized massif in the central Tien Shan contains 178 glaciers covering 371.6 km 2, and the Ala Archa glacier basin in the northern Tien Shan contains 48 glaciers coverin