Effect of electrolyzed high-pH alkaline water on blood viscosity in healthy adults.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown fluid replacement beverages ingested after exercise can affect hydration biomarkers. No specific hydration marker is universally accepted as an ideal rehydration parameter following strenuous exercise. Currently, changes in body mass are used as a parameter during post-exercise hydration. Additional parameters are needed to fully appreciate and better understand rehydration following strenuous exercise. This randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm trial assessed the effect of high-pH water on four biomarkers after exercise-induced dehydration. METHODS: One hundred healthy adults (50 M/50 F, 31 ± 6 years of age) were enrolled at a single clinical research center in Camden, NJ and completed this study with no adverse events. All individuals exercised in a warm environment (30 °C, 70% relative humidity) until their weight was reduced by a normally accepted level of 2.0 ± 0.2% due to perspiration, reflecting the effects of exercise in producing mild dehydration. Participants were randomized to rehydrate with an electrolyzed, high-pH (alkaline) water or standard water of equal volume (2% body weight) and assessed for an additional 2-h recovery period following exercise in order to assess any potential variations in measured parameters. The following biomarkers were assessed at baseline and during their recovery period: blood viscosity at high and low shear rates, plasma osmolality, bioimpedance, and body mass, as well as monitoring vital signs. Furthermore, a mixed model analysis was performed for additional validation. RESULTS: After exercise-induced dehydration, consumption of the electrolyzed, high-pH water reduced high-shear viscosity by an average of 6.30% compared to 3.36% with standard purified water (p = 0.03). Other measured biomarkers (plasma osmolality, bioimpedance, and body mass change) revealed no significant difference between the two types of water for rehydration. However, a mixed model analysis validated the effect of high-pH water on high-shear viscosity when compared to standard purified water (p = 0.0213) after controlling for covariates such as age and baseline values. CONCLUSIONS: A significant difference in whole blood viscosity was detected in this study when assessing a high-pH, electrolyte water versus an acceptable standard purified water during the recovery phase following strenuous exercise-induced dehydration

A Comparison of Two Shallow Water Models with Non-Conforming Adaptive Grids: classical tests

In an effort to study the applicability of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) techniques to atmospheric models an interpolation-based spectral element shallow water model on a cubed-sphere grid is compared to a block-structured finite volume method in latitude-longitude geometry. Both models utilize a non-conforming adaptation approach which doubles the resolution at fine-coarse mesh interfaces. The underlying AMR libraries are quad-tree based and ensure that neighboring regions can only differ by one refinement level. The models are compared via selected test cases from a standard test suite for the shallow water equations. They include the advection of a cosine bell, a steady-state geostrophic flow, a flow over an idealized mountain and a Rossby-Haurwitz wave. Both static and dynamics adaptations are evaluated which reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the AMR techniques. Overall, the AMR simulations show that both models successfully place static and dynamic adaptations in local regions without requiring a fine grid in the global domain. The adaptive grids reliably track features of interests without visible distortions or noise at mesh interfaces. Simple threshold adaptation criteria for the geopotential height and the relative vorticity are assessed.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, preprin

STEREO SECCHI COR1-A/B Intercalibration at 180 deg Separation

The twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft reached a separation angle of 180 degrees on 6 February 2011. This provided a unique opportunity to test the intercalibration between the Sun-Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) telescopes on both spacecraft for areas above the limb. So long as the corona is optically thin, at 180 degree separation each spacecraft sees the same corona from opposite directions. Thus, the data should appear as mirror images of each other. We report here on the results of the comparison of the images taken by the inner coronagraph (COR1) on the STEREO Ahead and Behind spacecraft in the hours when the separation was close to 180 degrees. We find that the intensity values seen by the two telescopes agree with each other to a high degree of accuracy. This validates both the radiometric intercalibration between the COR1 telescopes, and the method used to remove instrumental background from the images. The relative error between COR1-A and COR1-B is found to be less than 10(exp -9) B/B solar over most of the field-of-view, growing to a few x 10(exp -9) B/B solar for the brighter pixels near the edge of the occulter. The primary source of error is the background determination. We also report on the analysis of star observations which show that the absolute radiometric calibration of either COR1 telescope has not changed significantly since launch

Properties of High-Latitude CME-Driven Disturbances During Ulysses Second Northern Polar Passage

Ulysses observed five coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and their associated disturbances while the spacecraft was immersed in the polar coronal hole (CH) flow above 70° N in late 2001. Of these CMEs, two were very fast (\u3e850 km s−1) driving strong shocks in the wind ahead, and two others were over-expanding. The two fast CMEs were observed leaving the Sun by LASCO/SOHO, and were observed in the ecliptic by Genesis and ACE. These were large events, spanning at least from the northern heliospheric pole to the ecliptic. One-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations indicate that these could be described as overpressured CMEs launched from the Sun at speeds initially faster than ambient, but then decelerating to the ambient solar wind speed as they propagated outward. The two over-expanding CMEs mark their first occurrence since Ulysses’ first orbit when such CMEs were only observed in polar CH flow

Solar Energetic Particle-Associated Coronal Mass Ejections Observed by the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Mk3 and Mk4 Coronameters

We report on the first comprehensive study of the coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with $\sim$25 MeV solar energetic proton (SEP) events in 1980-2013 observed in the low/inner corona by the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) Mk3 and Mk4 coronameters. Where possible, these observations are combined with spacebased observations from the Solar Maximum Mission C/P, P78-1 SOLWIND or SOHO/LASCO coronagraphs. The aim of the study is to understand directly-measured (rather than inferred from proxies) CME motions in the low to middle corona and their association with SEP acceleration, and hence attempt to identify early signatures that are characteristic of SEP acceleration in ground-based CME observations that may be used to warn of impending SEP events. Although we find that SEP events are associated with CMEs that are on average faster and wider than typical CMEs observed by MLSO, a major challenge turns out to be determining reliable estimates of the CME dynamics in the low corona from the 3-minute cadence Mk3/4 observations since different analysis techniques can produce inconsistent results. This complicates the assessment of what early information on a possible SEP event is available from these low coronal observationsComment: To be published in Solar Physic

The influence of depression-PTSD comorbidity on health-related quality of life in treatment-seeking veterans

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression substantially impair healthrelated quality of life (HRQOL) for many Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veterans. Although PTSD and depression are highly comorbid, little is known about whether the disorders may interact in their association with HRQOL. We sought to investigate whether depressive symptoms modify the relation between PTSD and HRQOL in treatment-seeking veterans. Method: We accessed the clinical data of 545 CAF veterans aged 18 to 65 years who were seeking treatment at a specialized clinic in London, Ontario. We used hierarchical linear regression to assess the additive and multiplicative relations between depression and PTSD symptoms on HRQOL, controlling for age and alcohol/substance abuse. Simple slopes were examined to probe significant interactions. Results: Probable PTSD and major depression were present in 77.4% and 85.3% of the sample, respectively, and 73.0% of the sample presented with probable PTSD-depression comorbidity. Depression symptoms significantly modified the relation between PTSD symptoms and overall mental HRQOL (β = 0.12,