An autonomous instrument for time series analysis of TCO2 from oceanographic moorings

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 56 (2009): 1590-1603, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2009.04.006.The design and testing of a robotic analyzer for autonomous TCO2 measurement from oceanographic moorings is described. The analyzer employs a conductimetric method of TCO2 measurement wherein CO2 from an acidified sample diffuses across a semi-permeable membrane into a NaOH solution decreasing the conductivity of the base. The instrument is capable of ~850 analyses over a period of at least six months. It is designed to operate to depths of at least 1000m. TCO2 calibration is based on in situ standardization throughout a deployment. We report both laboratory and in situ tests of the analyzer. In the laboratory automated analyses over a period of 38 days at temperatures ranging from 8° to 25° C yielded a TCO2 accuracy and precision of ±2.7 μmol/kg. In situ tests were conducted at the WHOI dock with a deployment of 8 weeks at in situ temperatures of 5°-13°C. The accuracy and precision of TCO2 analyses over the deployment period, based on in situ calibration, was ±3.6 μmol/kg. Laboratory tests of reagent and standard solution stability are also reported. Standards, based on Certified Reference Material were followed for periods of up to 2 years. In all cases TCO2 increased. Drift of the standards was the equivalent of ~1 to μmol/kg per 6 months. The conductivity indicator solution was found to be stable for at least 2 months.The Oceanographic Technology Program (OCE-9633022) and the Ocean Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination Program (OCE-0104949) of the National Science Foundation, and by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have provided financial support for this project

‘Our voice started off as a whisper and now it is a great big roar’ : The Salford Dementia Associate Panel as a model of involvement in research activities

This paper presents the work of the ‘Salford Dementia Associate Panel’, based at the Salford Institute for Dementia, Salford University (UK). We discuss the roles of the Dementia Associates, in particular around the areas of engagement and research. The panel is made up of people living with dementia, and current and former care partners. It highlights the development of this group over a four-year period and demonstrates over time how the role of a Dementia Associate member has evolved. The panel is involved in research, education and public engagement activities conducted by staff and students within the Institute. The motivations for becoming involved are clearly articulated and demonstrate how the personal backgrounds of individuals have driven the collective involvement and desire to bring about change. The benefits and challenges associated with working as part of a panel are discussed. We conclude by bringing together our experiences as a set of suggestions for others who may wish to create a similar forum to promote the involvement of people living with dementia and former and current care partners

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of prognostic markers in prostate cancer

This paper demonstrates how economic modelling can be used to derive estimates of the cost-effectiveness of prognostic markers in the management of clinically localised and moderately graded prostate cancer. The model uses a Markov process and is populated using published evidence and local data. The robustness of the results has been tested using sensitivity analysis. Three treatment policies of 'monitoring' (observation), radical prostatectomy, or a selection-based management policy using DNA-ploidy as an experimental marker, have been evaluated. Modelling indicates that a policy of managing these tumours utilising experimental markers has an estimated cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) of pound 12 068. Sensitivity analysis shows the results to be relatively sensitive to quality-of-life variables. If novel and experimental markers can achieve specificity in excess of 80%, then a policy of radical surgery for those identified as being at high risk and conservative treatment for the remainder would be both better for patients and cost-effective. The analysis suggests that a radical prostatectomy treatment policy for the moderately graded tumours (Gleason grades -7) modelled in this paper may be inferior to a conservative approach in the absence of reliable prognostic markers, being both more costly and yielding fewer QALYs

Heterogeneous processes: Laboratory, field, and modeling studies

The efficiencies of chemical families such as ClO(x) and NO(x) for altering the total abundance and distribution of stratospheric ozone are controlled by a partitioning between reactive (active) and nonreactive (reservoir) compounds within each family. Gas phase thermodynamics, photochemistry, and kinetics would dictate, for example, that only about 1 percent of the chlorine resident in the lower stratosphere would be in the form of active Cl or ClO, the remainder existing in the reservoir compounds HCl and ClONO2. The consistency of this picture was recently challenged by the recognition that important chemical transformations take place on polar regions: the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment (AAOE) and the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASA). Following the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, Solomon et al. suggested that the heterogeneous chemical reaction: ClONO2(g)+HCl(s) yields Cl2(g)+HNO3(s) could play a key role in converting chlorine from inactive forms into a species (Cl2) that would rapidly dissociate in sunlight to liberate atomic chlorine and initiate ozone depletion. The symbols (s) and (g) denote solid phase, or adsorbed onto a solid surface, and gas phase, respectively, and represent the approach by which such a reaction is modeled rather than the microscopic details of the reaction. The reaction was expected to be most important at altitudes where PSC's were most prevalent (10 to 25 km), thereby extending the altitude range over which chlorine compounds can efficiently destroy ozone from the 35 to 45 km region (where concentrations of active chlorine are usually highest) to lower altitudes where the ozone concentration is at its peak. This chapter will briefly review the current state of knowledge of heterogeneous processes in the stratosphere, emphasizing those results obtained since the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) conference. Sections are included on laboratory investigations of heterogeneous reactions, the characteristics and climatology of PSC's, stratospheric sulfate aerosols, and evidence of heterogeneous chemical processing

Bioink properties before, during and after 3D bioprinting

Bioprinting is a process based on additive manufacturing from materials containing living cells. These materials, often referred to as bioink, are based on cytocompatible hydrogel precursor formulations, which gel in a manner compatible with different bioprinting approaches. The bioink properties before, during and after gelation are essential for its printability, comprising such features as achievable structural resolution, shape fidelity and cell survival. However, it is the final properties of the matured bioprinted tissue construct that are crucial for the end application. During tissue formation these properties are influenced by the amount of cells present in the construct, their proliferation, migration and interaction with the material. A calibrated computational framework is able to predict the tissue development and maturation and to optimize the bioprinting input parameters such as the starting material, the initial cell loading and the construct geometry. In this contribution relevant bioink properties are reviewed and discussed on the example of most popular bioprinting approaches. The effect of cells on hydrogel processing and vice versa is highlighted. Furthermore, numerical approaches were reviewed and implemented for depicting the cellular mechanics within the hydrogel as well as for prediction of mechanical properties to achieve the desired hydrogel construct considering cell density, distribution and material-cell interaction

Export Production in the Subarctic North Pacific over the Last 800 kyrs: No Evidence for Iron Fertilization?

The subarctic North Pacific is a high nitrate-low chlorophyll (HNLC) region, where phytoplankton growth rates, especially those of diatoms, are enhanced when micronutrient Fe is added. Accordingly, it has been suggested that glacial Fe-laden dust might have increased primary production in this region. This paper reviews published palaeoceanographic records of export production over the last 800 kyrs from the open North Pacific (north of ∼35°N). We find different patterns of export production change over time in the various domains of the North Pacific (NW and NE subarctic gyres, the marginal seas and the transition zone). However, there is no compelling evidence for an overall increase in productivity during glacials in the subarctic region, challenging the paradigm that dust-born Fe fertilization of this region has contributed to the glacial draw down of atmospheric CO 2 . Potential reasons for the lack of increased glacial export production include the possibility that Fe-fertilization rapidly drives the ecosystem towards limitation by another nutrient. This effect would have been exacerbated by an even more stable mixed layer compared to today.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41539/1/10872_2004_Article_5383267.pd

Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in Scottish neonates 2020-2022: a national, population-based cohort study

Objectives: To examine neonates in Scotland aged 0–27 days with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by viral testing; the risk of confirmed neonatal infection by maternal and infant characteristics; and hospital admissions associated with confirmed neonatal infections. Design: Population-based cohort study. Setting and population: All live births in Scotland, 1 March 2020–31 January 2022. Results: There were 141 neonates with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection over the study period, giving an overall infection rate of 153 per 100 000 live births (141/92 009, 0.15%). Among infants born to women with confirmed infection around the time of birth, the confirmed neonatal infection rate was 1812 per 100 000 live births (15/828, 1.8%). Two-thirds (92/141, 65.2%) of neonates with confirmed infection had an associated admission to neonatal or (more commonly) paediatric care. Six of these babies (6/92, 6.5%) were admitted to neonatal and/or paediatric intensive care; however, none of these six had COVID-19 recorded as their main diagnosis. There were no neonatal deaths among babies with confirmed infection. Implications and relevance: Confirmed neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection was uncommon over the first 23 months of the pandemic in Scotland. Secular trends in the neonatal confirmed infection rate broadly followed those seen in the general population, although at a lower level. Maternal confirmed infection at birth was associated with an increased risk of neonatal confirmed infection. Two-thirds of neonates with confirmed infection had an associated admission to hospital, with resulting implications for the baby, family and services, although their outcomes were generally good. Ascertainment of confirmed infection depends on the extent of testing, and this is likely to have varied over time and between groups: the extent of unconfirmed infection is inevitably unknown

Systematic evaluation of patient-reported outcome (PRO) protocol content and reporting in UK cancer clinical trials: the EPiC study protocol.

Emerging evidence suggests that patient-reported outcome (PRO)-specific information may be omitted in trial protocols and that PRO results are poorly reported, limiting the use of PRO data to inform cancer care. This study aims to evaluate the standards of PRO-specific content in UK cancer trial protocols and their arising publications and to highlight examples of best-practice PRO protocol content and reporting where they occur. The objective of this study is to determine if these early findings are generalisable to UK cancer trials, and if so, how best we can bring about future improvements in clinical trials methodology to enhance the way PROs are assessed, managed and reported.Trials in which the primary end point is based on a PRO will have more complete PRO protocol and publication components than trials in which PROs are secondary end points.Completed National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Portfolio Cancer clinical trials (all cancer specialities/age-groups) will be included if they contain a primary/secondary PRO end point. The NIHR portfolio includes cancer trials, supported by a range of funders, adjudged as high-quality clinical research studies. The sample will be drawn from studies completed between 31 December 2000 and 1 March 2014 (n=1141) to allow sufficient time for completion of the final trial report and publication. Two reviewers will then review the protocols and arising publications of included trials to: (1) determine the completeness of their PRO-specific protocol content; (2) determine the proportion and completeness of PRO reporting in UK Cancer trials and (3) model factors associated with PRO protocol and reporting completeness and with PRO reporting proportion.The study was approved by the ethics committee at University of Birmingham (ERN_15-0311). Trial findings will be disseminated via presentations at local, national and international conferences, peer-reviewed journals and social media including the CPROR twitter account and UOB departmental website (http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/cpro0r)

Is pore water oxygen content decoupled from productivity on the California Margin? Trace element results from Ocean Drilling Program Hole 1017E, San Lucia slope, California

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95250/1/palo1223.pd