Basal topographic controls on rapid retreat of Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland

This is the final version of the article. Available from CUP via the DOI in this record.Discharge from marine-terminating outlet glaciers accounts for up to half the recent mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet, yet the causal factors are not fully understood. Here we assess the factors controlling the behaviour of Humboldt Glacier (HG), allowing us to evaluate the influence of basal topography on outlet glacier response to external forcing since part of HG’s terminus occupies a large overdeepening. HG’s retreat accelerated dramatically after 1999, coinciding with summer atmospheric warming of up to 0.19°C a–1 and sea-ice decline. Retreat was an order of magnitude greater in the northern section of the terminus, underlain by a major basal trough, than in the southern section, where the bedrock is comparatively shallow. Velocity change following retreat was spatially non-uniform, potentially due to a pinning point near HG’s northern lateral margin. Consistent with observations, numerical modelling demonstrates an order-of-magnitude greater sensitivity to sea-ice buttressing and crevasse depth (used as a proxy for atmospheric warming) in the northern section. The trough extends up to 72 km inland, so it is likely to facilitate sustained retreat and ice loss from HG during the 21st century.Funding for this work was provided by a Durham Doctoral Studentship to J.R.C. Radio-echo sounding data were acquired and processed through UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant NE/H020667 to J.A.D. and P.C. and a G. Unger Vetlesen grant to the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG). GrOGG laser altimetry was supported by NNXAD33G to D.D.B. This paper is UTIG contribution No. 2733. S.S.R.J. was supported by UK NERC fellowship NE/J018333/1

Laser Cooling of Optically Trapped Molecules

Calcium monofluoride (CaF) molecules are loaded into an optical dipole trap (ODT) and subsequently laser cooled within the trap. Starting with magneto-optical trapping, we sub-Doppler cool CaF and then load $150(30)$ CaF molecules into an ODT. Enhanced loading by a factor of five is obtained when sub-Doppler cooling light and trapping light are on simultaneously. For trapped molecules, we directly observe efficient sub-Doppler cooling to a temperature of $60(5)$ $\mu\text{K}$. The trapped molecular density of $8(2)\times10^7$ cm$^{-3}$ is an order of magnitude greater than in the initial sub-Doppler cooled sample. The trap lifetime of 750(40) ms is dominated by background gas collisions.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Early postnatal ozone exposure alters rat nodose and jugular sensory neuron development

Sensory neurons originating in nodose and jugular ganglia that innervate airway epithelium (airway neurons) play a role in inflammation observed following exposure to inhaled environmental irritants such as ozone (O3). Airway neurons can mediate airway inflammation through the release of the neuropeptide substance P (SP). While susceptibility to airway irritants is increased in early life, the developmental dynamics of afferent airway neurons are not well characterized. The hypothesis of this study was that airway neuron number might increase with increasing age, and that an acute, early postnatal O3 exposure might increase both the number of sensory airway neurons as well as the number SP-containing airway neurons. Studies using Fischer 344 rat pups were conducted to determine if age or acute O3 exposure might alter airway neuron number. Airway neurons in nodose and jugular ganglia were retrogradely labeled, removed, dissociated, and counted by means of a novel technique employing flow cytometry. In Study 1, neuron counts were conducted on postnatal days (PD) 6, 10, 15, 21, and 28. Numbers of total and airway neurons increased significantly between PD6 and PD10, then generally stabilized. In Study 2, animals were exposed to O3 (2 ppm) or filtered air (FA) on PD5 and neurons were counted on PD10, 15, 21, and 28. O3-exposed animals displayed significantly less total neurons on PD21 than FA controls. This study shows that age-related changes in neuron number occur, and that an acute, early postnatal O3 exposure significantly alters sensory neuron development

Determinants of avoidable deaths from ischemic heart disease in East and West Germany

Objective: Within Germany, a significant decrease in avoidable mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been observed since the early 1990s. The objective of this paper is to identify the specific reasons that have led to the decrease in the number of avoidable deaths from IHD in West and East Germany from 1996 to 2004. Methods: We analyzed the mortality rate from IHD of the male population aged less than 65 years on the regional level of German counties over the 1996–2004 period. Methodologically, after adjusting for a number of health structure variables, the socioeconomic structure of each region, and yearly time trends in avoidable mortality, we accounted for unobservable differences among regions by using a fixed-effect estimator. Results: Our main result reveals that the number of intracardiac catheter facilities, an important diagnostic tool for IHD, significantly accounts for decreases in avoidable mortality from IHD. This is important, as the modernization of the East German health sector included a considerable catching-up process in the number of IC facilities provided relative to West Germany. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the modernization of the East German health sector may have contributed to saving people from premature deaths

Ballistic impacts on an anatomically correct synthetic skull with a surrogate skin/soft tissue layer

The aim of this work was to further develop a synthetic model of ballistic head injury by the addition of skin and soft tissue layers to an anatomically correct polyurethane skull filled with gelatine 10% by mass. Six head models were impacted with 7.62 x 39 mm full metal jacket mild steel core (FMJ MSC) bullets with a mean velocity of 652 m/s. The impact events were filmed with high-speed cameras. The models were imaged pre- and post-impact using computed tomography. The models were assessed post impact by two experienced Home Office pathologists and the images assessed by an experienced military radiologist. The findings were scored against real injuries. The entry wounds, exit wounds and fracture patterns were scored positively, but the synthetic skin and soft tissue layer was felt to be too extendable. Further work is ongoing to address this

Broad Antibody Mediated Cross-Neutralization and Preclinical Immunogenicity of New Codon-Optimized HIV-1 Clade CRF02_AG and G Primary Isolates

Creation of an effective vaccine for HIV has been an elusive goal of the scientific community for almost 30 years. Neutralizing antibodies are assumed to be pivotal to the success of a prophylactic vaccine but previous attempts to make an immunogen capable of generating neutralizing antibodies to primary “street strain” isolates have resulted in responses of very limited breadth and potency. The objective of the study was to determine the breadth and strength of neutralizing antibodies against autologous and heterologous primary isolates in a cohort of HIV-1 infected Nigerians and to characterize envelopes from subjects with particularly broad or strong immune responses for possible use as vaccine candidates in regions predominated by HIV-1 CRF02_AG and G subtypes. Envelope vectors from a panel of primary Nigerian isolates were constructed and tested with plasma/sera from the same cohort using the PhenoSense HIV neutralizing antibody assay (Monogram Biosciences Inc, USA) to assess the breadth and potency of neutralizing antibodies. The immediate goal of this study was realized by the recognition of three broadly cross-neutralizing sera: (NG2-clade CRF02_AG, NG3-clade CRF02_AG and NG9- clade G). Based on these findings, envelope gp140 sequences from NG2 and NG9, complemented with a gag sequence (Clade G) and consensus tat (CRF02_AG and G) antigens have been codon-optimized, synthesized, cloned and evaluated in BALB/c mice. The intramuscular administration of these plasmid DNA constructs, followed by two booster DNA immunizations, induced substantial specific humoral response against all constructs and strong cellular responses against the gag and tat constructs. These preclinical findings provide a framework for the design of candidate vaccine for use in regions where the HIV-1 epidemic is driven by clades CRF02_AG and G

Measuring global health inequity

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background: Notions of equity are fundamental to, and drive much of the current thinking about global health. Health inequity, however, is usually measured using health inequality as a proxy – implicitly conflating equity and equality. Unfortunately measures of global health inequality do not take account of the health inequity associated with the additional, and unfair, encumbrances that poor health status confers on economically deprived populations. Method: Using global health data from the World Health Organization's 14 mortality sub-regions, a measure of global health inequality (based on a decomposition of the Pietra Ratio) is contrasted with a new measure of global health inequity. The inequity measure weights the inequality data by regional economic capacity (GNP per capita). Results: The least healthy global sub-region is shown to be around four times worse off under a health inequity analysis than would be revealed under a straight health inequality analysis. In contrast the healthiest sub-region is shown to be about four times better off. The inequity of poor health experienced by poorer regions around the world is significantly worse than a simple analysis of health inequality reveals. Conclusion: By measuring the inequity and not simply the inequality, the magnitude of the disparity can be factored into future economic and health policy decision making

Rural High North: A High Rate of Fatal Injury and Prehospital Death

Finnmark County is the northernmost county in Norway. For several decades, the rate of mortality after injury in this sparsely inhabited region has remained above the national average. Following documentation of this discrepancy for the period 1991–1995, improvements to the trauma system were implemented. The present study aims to assess whether trauma-related mortality rates have subsequently improved. All injury-associated fatalities in Finnmark from 1995–2004 were identified retrospectively from the National Registry of Death and reviewed. Low-energy trauma in elderly individuals and poisonings were excluded. A total of 453 cases of trauma-related death occurred during the study period, and 327 of those met the inclusion criteria. Information was retrievable for 266 cases. The majority of deaths (86%) occurred in the prehospital phase. The main causes of death were suicide (33%) and road traffic accidents (21%). Drowning and snowmobile injuries accounted for an unexpectedly high proportion (12 and 8%, respectively). The time of death did not show trimodal distribution. Compared to the previous study period, there was a significant overall decline in injury-related mortality, yet there was no change in place of death, mechanism of injury, or time from injury until death. Changes in injury-related mortality cannot be linked to improvements in the trauma system. There was no change in the epidemiological patterns of injury. The high rate of on-scene mortality indicates that any major improvement in the number of injury-related deaths lies in targeted prevention

Ultrasound-assessed perirenal fat is related to increased ophthalmic artery resistance index in HIV-1 patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has dramatically changed the prognosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, with a significant decline in morbidity and mortality.</p> <p>Changes in body fat distribution are a common finding in individuals with HIV infection being treated with antiretrovirals, and this condition (collectively termed lipodystrophy syndrome) is associated with depletion of subcutaneous fat, increased triglycerides and insulin resistance. Obesity, particularly visceral obesity, is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, estimating visceral fat distribution is important in identifying subjects at high risk for cardiovascular disease.</p> <p>The aim of our study was to evaluate whether perirenal fat thickness (PRFT), a parameter of central obesity, is related to ophthalmic artery resistance index (OARI), an index of occlusive carotid artery disease in HIV-1 infected patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We enrolled 88 consecutive HIV-1-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy for more than 12 months, in a prospective cohort study. Echographically measured PRFT and OARI, as well as serum metabolic parameters, were evaluated. PRFT and OARI were measured by 3.75 MHz convex and 7.5 MHz linear probe, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The means of PRFT and OARI in HIV-1-infected patients with visceral obesity was considerably higher than in patients without it (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Using the average OARI as the dependent variable, total serum cholesterol level, HDL, triglycerides, glycemia, sex, blood pressure, age and PRFT were independent factors associated with OARI. A PRFT of 6.1 mm was the most discriminatory value for predicting an OARI > 0.74 (sensitivity 78.9%, specificity 82.8%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data indicate that ultrasound assessment of PRFT may have potential as a marker of increased endothelial damage with specific involvement of the ocular vascular region in HIV-1-infected patients.</p