Explosive development of winter storm Xynthia over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean

In winter of 2009–2010 south-western Europe was hit by several destructive windstorms. The most important was Xynthia (26–28 February 2010), which caused 64 reported casualties and was classified as the 2nd most expensive natural hazard event for 2010 in terms of economic losses. In this work we assess the synoptic evolution, dynamical characteristics and the main impacts of storm Xynthia, whose genesis, development and path were very uncommon. Wind speed gusts observed at more than 500 stations across Europe are evaluated as well as the wind gust field obtained with a regional climate model simulation for the entire North Atlantic and European area. Storm Xynthia was first identified on 25 February around 30° N, 50° W over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean. Its genesis occurred on a region characterized by warm and moist air under the influence of a strong upper level wave embedded in the westerlies. Xynthia followed an unusual SW–NE path towards Iberia, France and central Europe. The role of moist air masses on the explosive development of Xynthia is analysed by considering the evaporative sources. A lagrangian model is used to identify the moisture sources, sinks and moisture transport associated with the cyclone during its development phase. The main supply of moisture is located over an elongated region of the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean with anomalously high SST, confirming that the explosive development of storm Xynthia had a significant contribution from the subtropics

Do job positions matter in emotional labor and in its relationship with job performance?

A central focus of emotional labor research is on the frontline service workers and empirical research on managers has so far been rare (Humphrey 2012). Moreover, only limited research has examined the impact of emotional labor on job performance (Duke et al. 2009) and such paucity is aggravated if we consider samples from China. Considering these gaps in the literature, this study has three research questions. First, do employees at different hierarchical positions report different levels of emotional intelligence or does emotional intelligence increase as the job position increases? Second, do employees at different hierarchical positions report different levels of emotional labour or does emotional labour increase as the job position increases? Third, do levels of emotional labour predict levels of job performance across different positions in organizations? We address the research questions with a sample of 245 managerial professionals from business organizations in mainland China. Significant differences were found on emotional intelligence between those in senior positions (i.e., director or above) and ordinary employees. In addition, the results show that among ordinary employees, emotional intelligence and emotional labor are important predictors of job performance. Moreover, emotional labor has a moderating effect in the association between emotional intelligence and job performance, such that high levels of emotional intelligence were more likely to be associated with high levels of job performance when the demand of emotional labor increased. The relationship does not hold true for the managerial positions in our sample. This study suggests that the interaction effect between emotional intelligence and emotional labor does not hold equally true for employees in different positions.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Sotalol in the Treatment of Fetal Tachyarrhythmia

A taquicardia fetal é uma situação rara, que, quando mantida coloca em risco a vida do feto. O modo de tratamento não é consensual, existindo várias modalidades farmacológicas. O objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar a eficácia e segurança do sotalol no tratamento de taquicardias fetais. Material e métodos: Estudo retrospectivo, com base nos registos de consulta e entrevista às mães dos fetos com taquicardia supraventricular, referenciados ao Serviço de Cardiologia Pediátrica do Hospital de Santa Marta, durante um período de dez anos. Resultados: Foram diagnosticados oito fetos com taquicardia supraventricular, dos quais seis foram tratados com sotalol. A idade média de gestação na apresentação foi de 30 semanas. Nenhum feto apresentava cardiopatia estrutural, em dois verificou-se hidropisia fetal e outro apresentou hidrocefalia. A taquicardia era supraventricular em todos, sendo em dois por flutter auricular. Em todos os casos, excepto um, houve conversão a ritmo sinusal, não se registando efeitos secundários nas mães nem mortalidade fetal. No período neonatal em três crianças foram registados episódios de taquicardia supraventricular paroxística. Conclusão: O sotalol mostrou-se seguro e eficaz no tratamento das taquicardias fetais, mas, dada a pequenez da amostra, outros estudos mais alargados são necessários para se tirarem conclusões válidas

Neural network forecast of daily pollution concentration using optimal meteorological data at synoptic and local scales

AbstractWe present a simple neural network and data pre–selection framework, discriminating the most essential input data for accurately forecasting the concentrations of PM10, based on observations for the years between 2002 and 2006 in the metropolitan region of Lisbon, Portugal. Starting from a broad panoply of different data sets collected at several air quality and meteorological stations, a forward stepwise regression procedure is applied enabling to automatically identify the most important variables for predicting the pollutant and also to rank them in order of importance. The importance of this variable ranking is discussed, showing that it is very sensitive to the urban location where measurements are obtained. Additionally, the importance of Circulation Weather Types is highlighted, characterizing synoptic scale circulation patterns and the concentration of pollutants. We then quantify the performance of linear and non–linear neural network models when applied to PM10 concentrations. In the light of contradictory results of previous studies, our results show no clear superiority for the case studied of non–linear models over linear models. While all models show similar predictive performances, we find important differences in false alarm rates and demonstrate the importance of removing weekly cycles from input variables

The Role of Propranolol in the Treatment of Infantile Hemangioma

INTRODUCTION: Infantile hemangioma (IH) is one of the most common childhood tumors. There are various medical or surgical therapeutic options, all with suboptimal results. Recently, the successful use of propranolol for involution of IH was described. We report the results of a single-center experience with this therapeutic option. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively assess the efficacy and safety of propranolol in children with infantile hemangioma. METHODS: We performed a prospective analysis of clinical data of all patients with IH referred to a pediatric cardiology center for baseline cardiovascular assessment prior to propranolol therapy. Propranolol was given at a starting dose of 1 mg/kg/day and titrated to a target dose of 2-3 mg/kg/day according to clinical response. Efficacy was assessed through a photograph-based severity scoring scale. Safety was assessed by collecting data regarding significant side effects. RESULTS: Starting in 2010, 30 patients (15 female) were referred for propranolol treatment of IH, at a median age of six months (1-63 months). The mean target propranolol dose was 2.8 mg/kg/day, with a mean duration of therapy of 12 months. All patients experienced significant reduction of IH size and volume. There were no side effects. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience propranolol appears to be a useful and safe treatment option for severe or complicated IH, achieving a rapid and significant reduction in their size. No adverse effects were observed, although until larger clinical trials are completed, potential adverse events should be borne in mind and consultation with local specialists is recommended prior to initiating treatment

The 20 February 2010 Madeira flash-floods: synoptic analysis and extreme rainfall assessment

This study aims to characterise the rainfall exceptionality and the meteorological context of the 20 February 2010 flash-floods in Madeira (Portugal). Daily and hourly precipitation records from the available rain-gauge station networks are evaluated in order to reconstitute the temporal evolution of the rainstorm, as its geographic incidence, contributing to understand the flash-flood dynamics and the type and spatial distribution of the associated impacts. The exceptionality of the rainstorm is further confirmed by the return period associated with the daily precipitation registered at the two long-term record stations, with 146.9 mm observed in the city of Funchal and 333.8 mm on the mountain top, corresponding to an estimated return period of approximately 290 yr and 90 yr, respectively. Furthermore, the synoptic associated situation responsible for the flash-floods is analysed using different sources of information, e.g., weather charts, reanalysis data, Meteosat images and radiosounding data, with the focus on two main issues: (1) the dynamical conditions that promoted such anomalous humidity availability over the Madeira region on 20 February 2010 and (2) the uplift mechanism that induced deep convection activity