Wave activity at ionospheric heights above the Andes Mountains detected from FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC GPS radio occultation data

An estimation of the ionospheric wave activity, derived from 4 years of FORMOSAT-3/ COSMIC GPS (Taiwan's Formosa Satellite Mission 3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology—Global Positioning System) radio occultation electron density data, is presented. A systematic enhancement at the eastern side of the Andes range with respect to the western side is observed. A fitting method to remove the wavelike component from each measured profile and estimate the wave activity is described. The differential effect introduced by the action of orography on the generation, to the eastern side of the Andes, of mountain waves, deep convection waves, or even secondary waves aloft after momentum deposition in the middle atmosphere, is suggested.Fil: de la Torre, Alejandro. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Alexander, Pedro Manfredo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Llamedo Soria, Pablo Martin. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Hierro, Rodrigo Federico. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Nava, B.. The Abdus Salam; ItaliaFil: Radicella, S.. The Abdus Salam; ItaliaFil: Schmidt, T.. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam; AlemaniaFil: Wickert, J.. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam; Alemani

Conservative management versus open reduction and internal fixation for mid-shaft clavicle fractures in adults - The Clavicle Trial: Study protocol for a multicentre randomized controlled trial

Background: Clavicle fractures account for around 4% of all fractures and up to 44% of fractures of the shoulder girdle. Fractures of the middle third (or mid-shaft) account for approximately 80% of all clavicle fractures. Management of this group of fractures is often challenging and the outcome can be unsatisfactory. In particular it is not clear whether surgery produces better outcomes than non-surgical management. Currently there is much variation in the use of surgery and a lack of good quality evidence to inform our decision.Methods/Design: We aim to undertake a multicentre randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness and safety of conservative management versus open reduction and internal fixation for displaced mid-shaft clavicle fractures in adults. Surgical treatment will be performed using the Acumed clavicle fixation system. Conservative management will consist of immobilisation in a sling at the side in internal rotation for 6 weeks or until clinical or radiological union. We aim to recruit 300 patients. These patients will be followed-up for at least 9 months. The primary endpoint will be the rate of non-union at 3 months following treatment. Secondary endpoints will be limb function measured using the Constant-Murley Score and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Score at 3 and 9 months post-operatively.Discussion: This article presents the protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial. It gives extensive details of, and the basis for, the chosen methods, and describes the key measures taken to avoid bias and to ensure validity.Trial Registration: United Kingdom Clinical Research Network ID: 8665. The date of registration of the trial is 07/09/2006. The date the first patient was recruited is 18/12/2007. © 2011 Longo et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

A genealogical study of essential hypertension with and without obesity in French Canadians

Objectives: To investigate genetic homogeneity in a set of hypertensive families and in subsets chosen for high and low prevalence of obesity; and to compare fasting insulin and lipids, ion transport, and water homeostasis in the obese and lean families. Research methods and procedures: The study was carried out in a relative population isolate of the Saguenay/Lac St. Jean region in Canada. Genetic homogeneity was evaluated with the mean coeffigcients of kinship (phi) and inbreeding (F) computed with ascending genealogies. Serum insulin and lipids were measured after overnight fasting. Total body water was estimated with bioelectrical impedance. Sodium-lithium countertransport and sodium-potassium co-transport were determined in freshly isolated erythrocytes. Results: F and phi were increased in hypertensive families compared with families selected at random. F and phi were further increased within the subsets of obese and lean families. In addition, fasting insulin, total body water, sodium-lithium countertransport, and sodium-potassium co-transport were higher in the obese than in the lean families. The two subsets of families did not differ by fasting lipids. Discussion: In the Saguenay/Lac St. Jean population, the degree of genetic homogeneity was increased in families selected for hypertension, and it was further increased in subsets of hypertensive families with high and low prevalence of obesity. This suggests that hypertension in lean and obese individuals may represent, at least in part, separate genetic entities. Some of the extra genes shared in common within the subsets may contribute to their differences in body weight, insulin sensitivity, ion transport, and water homeostasis

Seasonal Propagation Characteristics of MSTIDs Observed at High Latitudes Over Central Alaska Using the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar

Near‐continuous electron density measurements obtained over a ∼3 year period, 2010–2013, using the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR) in central Alaska (69°N, 147°W) have been analyzed to quantify the properties of over 650 high‐latitude medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs). Our analysis focused on the altitude range 100–300 km encompassing the lower ionosphere/thermosphere and yielded first full seasonal day/night distributions of MSTIDs at high northern latitudes with mean values: horizontal wavelength 446 km, horizontal phase speed 187 m/s, and period 41 min. These year‐round measurements fill an important summertime gap in existing MSTID measurements revealing predominantly eastward wave propagation during the summer, while continued winter season observations agree well with previous reports of near southward propagating MSTIDs. Our 3 years of results suggest a cyclic change in the seasonal horizontal propagation directions that was found to be quantitatively consistent with critical level wind and dissipative filtering. Concurrent measurements of the vertical wavelength spectrum as a function of altitude also compared favorably in shape with that calculated using a theoretical dispersion relation (Vadas & Fritts, 2005, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD005574) for the thermosphere, but with a higher mean value. Evidence supporting the systematic broadening and shrinking in the azimuthal distributions of the MSTIDs during the course of the year was also found, as well as an unexpected correlation between the MSTID propagation directions and the AE index, both of which are under further investigation