Assessment of GPM IMERG Satellite Precipitation Estimation under Complex Climatic and Topographic Conditions

Satellite precipitation estimation provides crucial information for those places lacking rainfall observations from ground–based sensors, especially in terrestrial or marine areas with complex climatic or topographic conditions. This is the case over much of Western China, including Upper and Middle Lancang River Basin (UMLRB), an extremely important transnational river system in Asia (the Lancang–Mekong River Basin) with complex climate and topography that has limited long–term precipitation records and high–elevation data, and no operational weather radars. In this study, we evaluated three GPM IMERG satellite precipitation estimation (IMERG E, IMERG L and IMERG F) over UMLRB in terms of multi–year average precipitation distribution, amplitude consistency, occurrence consistency, and elevation–dependence in both dry and wet seasons. Results demonstrated that monsoon and solid precipitation mainly affected amplitude consistency of precipitation, aerosol affected occurrence consistency of precipitation, and topography and wind–induced errors affected elevation dependence. The amplitude and occurrence consistency of precipitation were best in wet seasons in the Climate Transition Zone and worst in dry seasons in the same zone. Regardless of the elevation–dependence of amplitude or occurrence in dry and wet seasons, the dry season in the Alpine Canyon Area was most positively dependent and most significant. More significant elevation–dependence was correlated with worse IMERG performance. The Local Weighted Regression (LOWERG) model showed a nonlinear relationship between precipitation and elevation in both seasons. The amplitude consistency and occurrence consistency of both seasons worsened with increasing precipitation intensity and was worst for extreme precipitation cases. IMERG F had great potential for application to hydroclimatic research and water resources assessment in the study area. Further research should assess how the dependence of IMERG’s spatial performance on climate and topography could guide improvements in global precipitation assessment algorithms and the study of mountain landslides, floods, and other natural disasters during the monsoon period

Country Evaluation for China’s Hydropower Investment in the Belt and Road Initiative Nations

With the implementation of China’s “Going Out” strategy and “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) as well as the shortage of domestic hydropower market, the scale of hydropower investment along BRI by Chinese companies has expanded rapidly. However, these countries have great differences in politics, laws, economy, hydropower potential, social development and environmental constraints. Due to the inappropriate choice of countries for investment, many failure cases have also occurred. To specifically evaluate hydropower investment in these countries, this paper proposed a six-dimensional indicator system which can represents the characteristics of hydropower investment along BRI based on the analysis of the typical cases of overseas investment by Chinese enterprises. Furthermore, a fuzzy optimal model based on the Delphi-Entropy weight was constructed to evaluate the hydropower investment of 65 countries along BRI as well as a list of countries and corresponding investment grades are proposed. The result indicates that politics and hydropower industry factors are the key determinants of choosing the countries for conducting investment while legal, economic, social and environmental factors should also be covered. In conclusion, the optimal choices for China’s hydropower investment along BRI are Russia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Indonesia and the strategy has been given accordingly. Moreover the policy recommendations from the perspective of nation and enterprise level have also been proposed

Flood-Landscape Ecological Risk Assessment under the Background of Urbanization

The Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) and statistical analysis method were used to analyze the relationship between flood eigenvalues (i.e., flood volume and peak flow) and landscape pattern metrics. Then, the flood-landscape ecological risk index (ERI_FL) was proposed and constructed to quantitatively assess the flood-landscape ecological risk (FLER). The semivariogram method was used to spatialize the ERI_FL values. Lastly, this study analyzed the spatial–temporal change of FLER at watershed scale and at sub-basin scale, respectively. Two historical landscape distributions (i.e., 2003 and 2017) of Qinhuai River basin were used to perform this study. The results showed that there were certain relationships between landscape pattern and flood eigenvalues, and for different landscapes, the response metrics and degrees were different. FLER increased as urbanization increased. FLER change magnitude had a positive relationship with urban land percentage change magnitude. The distribution of FLER and the distribution of FLER change both showed spatial differences at watershed scale. The structural features of landscape pattern had significant effects on regional floods. In the urbanization process, avoiding forming large-scale landscape patches, improving landscape abundance, and increasing contact area between different types of landscape patches were helpful to reduce the negative effects caused by the increase of urban landscape area on flood.ISSN:2073-444

Journey to Glaucoma Care A Holistic Exploration of Patient Preferences and Perspectives

Patient-centred care is care that is respectful of, and responsive to the preferences, needs and values of patients. It is a guiding principle in Australian healthcare and has been shown to increase patient safety, quality, provider and patient satisfaction. Of emerging concern amongst ageing populations worldwide is the growing burden of glaucoma. Glaucoma is a chronic disease of the optic nerve with peak incidence and glaucoma-related blindness in later age. Thus, current service design will need to be accessible and acceptable to patients while efficient service solutions (e.g. collaborative models of care, tele-glaucoma services, mobile glaucoma units) must be evaluated in order to meet growing demands. Economic evaluations of glaucoma services are also useful to inform clinic and funding structuring.To ensure that the glaucoma burden is addressed with a patient-centred approach, we must first understand the perspectives, preferences and values of patients who are receiving glaucoma care. Using a qualitative methodology, we first explored current glaucoma patient perspectives and found that patients lack agency in accessing glaucoma care. They are limited in their knowledge and understanding, therefore relying on primary care clinicians to direct them. Patients desired high quality care but not all patients perceived quality as equivalent to health outcomes instead citing communication from their doctor and continuity of care. Our second study utilised a discrete choice experiment to quantify patient preferences. We demonstrated that patients have definitive preferences regarding their glaucoma service. Preferences were clearly influenced by clinical expertise and the continuity of provider for their care. Patients also desired lower cost and wait times. There were measurable differences in preferences for patients already self-selected to access private providers with preference associated more strongly with expertise and continuity of care when compared to patients accessing public clinics.Ultimately, this thesis elucidates that patients have definitive preferences for glaucoma care but lack agency in accessing care. Healthcare providers must tailor service design to meet patient preferences, ensuring that senior clinicians are involved and continuity of care is maintained. Costs and waiting times should be minimised. To empower patients, primary care providers must be a source of guidance and knowledge. They must advocate for patients in their glaucoma journey and tailor referrals to meet patient preferences, whilst objectively evaluating tertiary service providers. Altogether, this thesis holistically investigates patient-centeredness in glaucoma care, and provides critical direction for design of comprehensive glaucoma services

Grain-sized moxibustion at Zusanli (ST36) promotes hepatic autophagy in rats with hyperlipidemia by regulating the ULK1 and TFEB expression through the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway

Objective: Grain-sized moxibustion is an effective treatment for hyperlipidemia, but how it regulates dyslipidemia and liver lipid deposits still needs to be fully understood. This study explored the molecular biological mechanism of grain-sized moxibustion to regulate hepatic autophagy in hyperlipidemic rats by affecting ULK1 and TFEB through the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were fed a high-fat diet for eight weeks to induce hyperlipidemia. Hyperlipidemic rats were divided into the HFD group, HFD + Statin group, HFD + CC + Moxi group, and grain-sized moxibustion intervention group (HFD + Moxi group). The control (Blank) group consisted of normal rats without any intervention. Grain-sized moxibustion and drug interventions were initiated eight weeks after high-fat diet induction and continued for ten weeks. Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), as well as hepatic triglyceride (TG), were measured after treatment. Hepatic steatosis and the expression of LC3I, LC3II, p62, p-AMPK, AMPK, p-mTOR, mTOR, ULK1, p-ULK1, and TFEB in the liver were analyzed. Results: Compared with the HFD group, grain-sized moxibustion improved hyperlipidemia and hepatocyte steatosis, increased the LC3, p-AMPK, p-ULK1, and nuclear TFEB expression in the liver, but decreased the p62 and p-mTOR expression. Conclusion: Grain-sized moxibustion at ST36 acupoints could regulate the blood lipid level of SD rats with hyperlipidemia, increase the expression level of ULK1 and TFEB by activating the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in liver tissues, and initiate the transcription of autophagy genes such as LC3

One-Pot Synthesis of Nano CuO-ZnO Modified Hydrochar Derived from Chitosan and Starch for the H2S Conversion

A novel kind of hydrochar adsorbent, modified by CuO-ZnO and derived from chitosan or starch, was synthesized for H2S adsorption. The prepared adsorbent was characterized by BET, XRD, EDX, SEM, and XPS. The results showed that the modified hydrochar contained many amino groups as functional groups, and the nanometer metal oxide particles had good dispersion on the surface of the hydrochar. The maximum sulfur capacity reached 28.06 mg/g-adsorbent under the optimized conditions. The amine group significantly reduced the activation energy between H2S and CuO-ZnO conducive to the rapid diffusion of H2S among the lattices. Simultaneously, cationic polyacrylamide as a steric stabilizer could change the formation process of CuO and ZnO nanoparticles, which made the particle size smaller, enabling them to react with H2S sufficiently easily. This modified hydrochar derived from both chitosan and starch could be a promising adsorbent for H2S removal

Role of Orthostatic Hypotension in the Development of Dementia in People with and Without Cardiovascular Disease

Background: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) has been associated with elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and dementia risk. To better understand the OH-dementia association, we assessed the associations of OH with CVD and subsequent dementia in older adults and considered the temporality of CVD and dementia onset. Methods: This 15-year population-based cohort study included, at baseline, 2703 dementia-free participants (mean age, 73.7 years) who were divided into a CVD-free cohort (n=1986) and a CVD cohort (n=717). OH was defined as a systolic/diastolic blood pressure decline of ≥20/10 mm Hg after standing up from a supine position. CVDs and dementia were ascertained by physicians or identified from registers. Multistate Cox regressions were applied to assess the associations of OH with CVD and subsequent dementia in the CVD-free and dementia-free cohort. The OH-dementia association in the CVD cohort was examined with Cox regressions. Results: OH was present in 434 (21.9%) individuals in the CVD-free cohort and 180 (25.1%) individuals in the CVD cohort. OH was associated with a hazard ratio of 1.33 (95% CI, 1.12-1.59) for CVD. OH was not significantly associated with incident dementia in the absence of CVD occurring before dementia diagnosis (hazard ratio, 1.22 [95% CI, 0.83-1.81]). In the CVD cohort, individuals with OH had a higher dementia risk than those without OH (hazard ratio, 1.54 [95% CI, 1.06-2.23]). Conclusions: The association between OH and dementia may partly be explained by the intermediate development of CVD. In addition, in people with CVD, those with OH may have a poorer cognitive prognosis