Indian monsoon and the elevated-heat-pump mechanism in a coupled aerosol-climate model

A coupled aerosol-atmosphere-ocean-sea ice climate model is used to explore the interaction between aerosols and the Indian summer monsoon precipitation on seasonal-to-interannual time scales. Results show that when increased aerosol loading is found on the Himalayas slopes in the premonsoon period (April-May), intensification of early monsoon rainfall over India and increased low-level westerly flow follow, in agreement with the elevated-heat-pump mechanism. The increase in rainfall during the early monsoon season has a cooling effect on the land surface. In the same period, enhanced surface cooling may also be amplified through solar dimming by more cloudiness and aerosol loading, via increased dust transported by low-level westerly flow. The surface cooling causes subsequent reduction in monsoon rainfall in July-August over India. The time-lagged nature of the reasonably realistic response of the model to aerosol forcing suggests that absorbing aerosols, besides their potential key roles in impacting monsoon water cycle and climate, may influence the seasonal variability of the Indian summer monsoon

Combined Use of Growth Factors to Stimulate the Proliferation of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells after Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation for Lymphoma Patients

We studied the kinetic response and concentration of bone marrow (BM) progenitor cells of patients with lymphoid malignancies submitted to autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT), treated with a granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)/interleukin-3 (IL-3) combination. The results were compared with those of lymphoma patients receiving the same pretransplant conditioning regimen followed by G-CSF alone. Recombinant human (rh)G-CSF was administered as a single subcutaneous (s.c.) injection at the dose of 5 μg/kg/day from day +1 after reinfusion of autologous stem cells, while rhIL-3 was added from day +6 at the dose of lOμg/kg/day s.c. (overlapping schedule). In both groups (i.e. G-CSF-and G-CSF/ IL-3-treated patients), cytokine administration was discontinued when the absolute neutrophil count was < 0.5× 109/l of peripheral blood for 3 consecutive days. Following treatment with the CSF combination, the percentage of marrow CFU-GM and erythroid progenitors (BFU-E) in the S phase of the cell cycle increased from 9.3 ± 2 to 33.3 ± 12% and from 14.6 ± 3 to 35 ± 6%, respectively (p < 0.05). The number of actively cycling megakaryocyte progenitors (CFU-MK and BFU-MK) also increased. Conversely, G-CSF augmented the proliferative rate of CFU-GM (22.6 ± 6% compared to a baseline value of 11.5 ± 3%; p < 0.05) but not of BFU-E, CFU-MK or BFU-MK, and the increase in S-phase CFU-GM was significantly lower than that observed in the posttreatment samples of patients receiving IL-3 in addition to G-CSF. The absolute number of both CFU-GM and BFU-E/ml of BM was significantly augmented after treatment with G-CSF/IL-3 but not G-CSF alone. Similarly, administration of the cytokine combination resulted in a higher number of CD34+ cells and their concentration was significantly greater than that observed in the posttreatment samples of G-CSF patients. We also investigated the responsiveness to CSFs, in vitro, of highly enriched CD34+ cells, collected after priming with G-CSF in vivo (i.e. after 5 days of G-CSF administration). Our results demonstrated that pretreatment with G-CSF modified the response of BM cells to subsequent stimulation with additional CSFs. When the hematological reconstitution of patients treated with G-CSF/IL-3 was compared to that of individuals receiving G-CSF alone, the addition of IL-3 resulted in a significant improvement in granulocyte and platelet recovery, a lower transfusion requirement and shorted hospitalization. In conclusion, our results indicate that in vivo administration of two cytokines increases the proliferative rate and concentration of BM progenitor cells better than G-CSF alone and support a role for growth factor combinations for accelerating hematopoietic recovery after high-dose chemotherapy. © 1996 S. Karger AG, Basel