Cold season soil NO fluxes from a temperate forest: drivers and contribution to annual budgets

Soils, and here specifically acidic forest soils exposed to high rates of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, are a significant source for the secondary greenhouse gas nitric oxide (NO). However, as flux estimates are mainly based on measurements during the vegetation period, annual NO emissions budgets may hold uncertainty as cold season soil NO fluxes have rarely been quantified. Here we analyzed cold season soil NO fluxes and potential environmental drivers on the basis of the most extensive database on forest soil NO fluxes obtained at the Höglwald Forest, Germany, spanning the years 1994 to 2010. On average, the cold season (daily average air temperature <3 °C) contributed to 22% of the annual soil NO budget, varying from 13% to 41% between individual cold seasons. Temperature was the main controlling factor of the cold season NO fluxes, whereas during freeze-thaw cycles soil moisture availability determined NO emission rates. The importance of cold season soil NO fluxes for annual NO fluxes depended positively on the length of the cold season, but responded negatively to frost events. Snow cover did not significantly affect cold season soil NO fluxes. Cold season NO fluxes significantly correlated with cold season soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. During freeze-thaw periods strong positive correlations between NO and N2O fluxes were observed, though stimulation of NO fluxes by freeze-thaw was by far less pronounced as compared to N2O. Except for freeze-thaw periods NO fluxes significantly exceeded those for N2O during the cold season period. We conclude that in temperate forest ecosystems cold season NO emissions can contribute substantially to the annual NO budget and this contribution is significantly higher in years with long lasting but mild (less frost events) cold seasons

Effect of Iron Therapy on Platelet Counts in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Associated Anemia

Secondary thrombocytosis is a clinical feature of unknown significance. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), thrombocytosis is considered a marker of active disease; however, iron deficiency itself may trigger platelet generation. In this study we tested the effect of iron therapy on platelet counts in patients with IBD-associated anemia.Platelet counts were analyzed before and after iron therapy from four prospective clinical trials. Further, changes in hemoglobin, transferrin saturation, ferritin, C-reactive protein, and leukocyte counts, before and after iron therapy were compared. In a subgroup the effect of erythropoietin treatment was tested. The results were confirmed in a large independent cohort (FERGIcor).A total of 308 patient records were available for the initial analysis. A dose-depended drop in platelet counts (mean 425 G/L to 320 G/L; p<0.001) was found regardless of the type of iron preparation (iron sulphate, iron sucrose, or ferric carboxymaltose). Concomitant erythropoietin therapy as well as parameters of inflammation (leukocyte counts, C-reactive protein) had no effect on the change in platelet counts. This effect of iron therapy on platelets was confirmed in the FERGIcor study cohort (n=448, mean platelet counts before iron therapy: 383 G/L, after: 310 G/L, p<0.001).Iron therapy normalizes elevated platelet counts in patients with IBD-associated anemia. Thus, iron deficiency is an important pathogenetic mechanism of secondary thrombocytosis in IBD

VORTEX FORMATION IN INCOMPRESSIBLE AXISYMMETRIC FREE JETS

Free jets have been utilized extensively in many industrial applications. In general jet fluid discharging from a nozzle develops flow oscillations in the shear layer. The oscillations will roll up to eventually become toroidal vortices which increase in size with the axial distance from the nozzle. In the present work, flow visualization as well as hot-film anemometry have been employed in order to study incompressible axisymmetric free jet in moderate Reynolds numbers up to 20,000. The injection of liquid dye or micro particles associated with a laser sheet turns possible to visualize the shear layers and, consequently, the vortex formation. Hot-film measurements into the jet allow determining the flow velocity profile. Flow visualization is a qualitative tool which a broad view of the flow topology. On the other hand, hot-film anemometry is a precise quantitative tool but measurement in only one location at a time. The association of flow visualization and hot-film anemometry shows very adequate for free jet studies

FLOW PATTERNS OF THE ESTER OIL-REFRIGERANT R134A MIXTURE FLASHING FLOW THROUGH A SMALL DIAMETER TUBE

This work presents an experimental investigation of the ester oil ISO VG10-refrigerant R134a mixture flashing flow with foam formation through a straight horizontal 3.22 mm-diameter-6.0 m- long tube. An experimental apparatus was designed to allow the measurement of both pressure and temperature profiles along the tube as well as the visualization of the flow patterns. Tests were performed at different mass flow rates, several refrigerant mass fractions at the inlet of the flow, and inlet mixture temperatures around 28 and 39 °C. A liquid mixture flow with constant temperature and pressure gradient could be noticed at the inlet of the tube. As the flow proceeded towards the exit of the tube the pressure drop produced a reduction of the refrigerant solubility in the oil yielding to formation of the first bubbles. Initially, small and few bubbles could be noticed and the flow behaved as a conventional two-phase flow. Eventually, the bubble population increased and foam flow was observed at the exit of the tube. Due to the great formation of bubbles, both the temperature and pressure gradient of the mixture were greatly reduced in this region of the flow

Surface flux estimates derived from UAS-based mole fraction measurements by means of a nocturnal boundary layer budget approach

The carbon exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere has a large influence on the Earth system and specifically on the climate. This exchange is therefore being studied intensively, often using the eddy covariance (EC) technique. EC measurements provide reliable results under turbulent atmospheric conditions, but under stable conditions – as they often occur at night – these measurements are known to misrepresent exchange fluxes. Nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) budgets can provide independent flux estimates under stable conditions, but their application so far has been limited by rather high cost and practical difficulties. Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) equipped with trace gas analysers have the potential to make this method more accessible. We present the methodology and results of a proof of concept study carried out during the ScaleX 2016 campaign. Successive vertical profiles of carbon dioxide dry air mole fraction in the NBL were taken with a compact analyser carried by a UAS. We estimate an average carbon dioxide flux of 12 μmol m−2 s−1, which is plausible for nocturnal respiration in this region in summer. Transport modelling suggests that the NBL budgets represent an area on the order of 100 km2

Vacuum inversion and securing of distal colonic pseudodiverticula with novel spiked O-rings

Diverticular disease is increasingly prevalent in Western societies and is associated with significant morbidity. OBJECTIVE: Two-stage endoscopic device development for inversion and secured ligation of colonic diverticula; first, human cadaver studies were performed to measure forces required for diverticular inversion; second, a novel set of devices (elastic spiked O-ring with delivery system) was tested in animals. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study of human cadavers and prospective, interventional study of a porcine model. SETTING: University hospital pathology laboratory and animal facility. INTERVENTION: Full-thickness inversion of the colonic wall with a pipelike delivery instrument to produce an inverted pseudodiverticulum that was secured with a spiked O-ring. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: The forces required for diverticular inversion, the secured closure of inverted pseudodiverticula, and the time until necrotic tissue falls off. RESULTS: A total of 248 of 248 of cadaveric sigmoid diverticula could be inverted by means of vacuum or forceps. The forces required for inversion ranged from 0.28 to 0.47 N (median, 0.37 N). Twenty-four spiked O-rings were delivered in 6 living pigs to produce 24 inverted pseudodiverticula. One animal died the day after the procedure of a pulmonary thromboembolism. In the remaining 5 pigs, all delivered spiked O-rings remained in place for 7 to 22 days. At necropsy, none of the inverted sites showed signs of perforation but rather full-thickness reparative scarring with ingrowth of connective tissue. LIMITATIONS: Animal model, stiff pipelike delivery instrument, variations in diverticular location, diameter, and size. CONCLUSIONS: Endoluminal inversion and securing of colonic diverticula induces tissue necrosis, diverticular sloughing, and full-thickness scarring