Near-sea-level langley calibration algorithm

As compared to other methods, measurement of aerosol optical depth (AOD) using sunphotometers offer several advantages. However, it suffers a drawback as calibration of the instrument required to be performed at high altitude due to temporal drifts in the atmospheric condition during the calibration. To solve this, a new Langley calibration algorithm has been designed for AOD measurement using spectroradiometer instrument. The key advantages of the proposed algorithm are its objectivity, computational efficiency and the ability to detect short intervals of cloud transits. It avoids travelling to high altitude mountain that the conventional calibration procedure always practiced for frequent calibration. Most importantly, neither it requires priori knowledge of the instrument calibration nor a collocated calibrated instrument for nominal calibration transfer to perform the cloud-screening procedure

GWAS for systemic sclerosis identifies multiple risk loci and highlights fibrotic and vasculopathy pathways.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease that shows one of the highest mortality rates among rheumatic diseases. We perform a large genome-wide association study (GWAS), and meta-analysis with previous GWASs, in 26,679 individuals and identify 27 independent genome-wide associated signals, including 13 new risk loci. The novel associations nearly double the number of genome-wide hits reported for SSc thus far. We define 95% credible sets of less than 5 likely causal variants in 12 loci. Additionally, we identify specific SSc subtype-associated signals. Functional analysis of high-priority variants shows the potential function of SSc signals, with the identification of 43 robust target genes through HiChIP. Our results point towards molecular pathways potentially involved in vasculopathy and fibrosis, two main hallmarks in SSc, and highlight the spectrum of critical cell types for the disease. This work supports a better understanding of the genetic basis of SSc and provides directions for future functional experiments

Induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy versus chemoradiotherapy alone as neoadjuvant treatment for locally recurrent rectal cancer: study protocol of a multicentre, open-label, parallel-arms, randomized controlled study (PelvEx II)

Background A resection with clear margins (R0 resection) is the most important prognostic factor in patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC). However, this is achieved in only 60 per cent of patients. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the addition of induction chemotherapy to neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation improves the R0 resection rate in LRRC. Methods This multicentre, international, open-label, phase III, parallel-arms study will enrol 364 patients with resectable LRRC after previous partial or total mesorectal resection without synchronous distant metastases or recent chemo- and/or radiotherapy treatment. Patients will be randomized to receive either induction chemotherapy (three 3-week cycles of CAPOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin), four 2-week cycles of FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) or FOLFORI (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan)) followed by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery (experimental arm) or neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery alone (control arm). Tumours will be restaged using MRI and, in the experimental arm, a further cycle of CAPOX or two cycles of FOLFOX/FOLFIRI will be administered before chemoradiotherapy in case of stable or responsive disease. The radiotherapy dose will be 25 × 2.0 Gy or 28 × 1.8 Gy in radiotherapy-naive patients, and 15 × 2.0 Gy in previously irradiated patients. The concomitant chemotherapy agent will be capecitabine administered twice daily at a dose of 825 mg/m2 on radiotherapy days. The primary endpoint of the study is the R0 resection rate. Secondary endpoints are long-term oncological outcomes, radiological and pathological response, toxicity, postoperative complications, costs, and quality of life. Discussion This trial protocol describes the PelvEx II study. PelvEx II, designed as a multicentre, open-label, phase III, parallel-arms study, is the first randomized study to compare induction chemotherapy followed by neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation and surgery with neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation and surgery alone in patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer, with the aim of improving the number of R0 resections

Implementation of Perez-Dumortier Calibration Algorithm

To avoid the unnecessary needs to travel to high altitude for sunphotometers calibration, Perez-Dumotier calibration algorithm has been used as an objective means to select the right intensity data so that the calibration can be performed at any altitude levels. The governing theory of the algorithm was discussed in the previous chapter. This chapter presents information on how to implement the Perez-Dumotier calibration algorithm using actual field measurement. The implementation of the filtration procedure in step-by-step is discussed to render better framework of the proposed calibration algorithm. The aerosol retrieval inversion uses the extraterrestrial constant obtained from the final Langley plot to calculate retrieved AOD. The implementation example uses irradiance-matched technique by i-SMARTS radiative transfer code to derive corresponding reference AOD for validation purposes. The reliability of the technique was substantiated by radiative closure experiment to verify the promising direct solar irradiance to accurately derive the reference AOD values

Humpback dolphins in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta: Status, threats, and conservation challenges

In coastal waters of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) is thought to number approximately 2,500 individuals. Given these figures, the putative PRD population may appear strong enough to resist demographic stochasticity and environmental pressures. However, living in close proximity of the world’s busiest seaport/airport and several densely populated urban centres with major costal infrastructural developments, comes with challenges to the long-term survival of these animals. There are few other small cetacean populations that face the range and intensity of human-induced pressures as those present in the PRD, and current protection measures are severely inadequate. Recent mark-recapture analyses of the animals in Hong Kong waters indicate that in the past two decades the population parameters have not been well understood, and spatial analyses show that only a very small proportion of the dolphins’ key habitats is given any form of protection. All current MPAs within the PRD fail to meet a minimum habitat requirement that could facilitate the population’s long-term persistence. Demographic models indicate a continuous decline of 2.5% per annum, a rate at which the population is likely to drop below the demographic threshold within two generations and lose 74% of the current numbers within the lifespan of three generations. In Hong Kong, the case of humpback dolphins represents a particularly explicit example of inadequate management where a complete restructuring of the fundamental approach to conservation management is urgently needed