Solar Stereoscopy with STEREO/EUVI A and B spacecraft from small (6 deg) to large (170 deg) spacecraft separation angles

We performed for the first time stereoscopic triangulation of coronal loops in active regions over the entire range of spacecraft separation angles ($\alpha_{sep}\approx 6^\circ, 43^\circ, 89^\circ, 127^\circ$, and $170^\circ$). The accuracy of stereoscopic correlation depends mostly on the viewing angle with respect to the solar surface for each spacecraft, which affects the stereoscopic correspondence identification of loops in image pairs. From a simple theoretical model we predict an optimum range of $\alpha_{sep} \approx 22^\circ-125^\circ$, which is also experimentally confirmed. The best accuracy is generally obtained when an active region passes the central meridian (viewed from Earth), which yields a symmetric view for both STEREO spacecraft and causes minimum horizontal foreshortening. For the extended angular range of $\alpha_{sep}\approx 6^\circ-127^{\circ}$ we find a mean 3D misalignment angle of $\mu_{PF} \approx 21^\circ-39^\circ$ of stereoscopically triangulated loops with magnetic potential field models, and $\mu_{FFF} \approx 15^\circ-21^\circ$ for a force-free field model, which is partly caused by stereoscopic uncertainties $\mu_{SE} \approx 9^\circ$. We predict optimum conditions for solar stereoscopy during the time intervals of 2012--2014, 2016--2017, and 2021--2023.Comment: Solar Physics, (in press), 22 pages, 9 figure

Temporal trends and risk factors for readmission for infections, gastrointestinal and immobility complications after an incident hospitalisation for stroke in Scotland between 1997 and 2005

Background: Improvements in stroke management have led to increases in the numbers of stroke survivors over the last decade and there has been a corresponding increase of hospital readmissions after an initial stroke hospitalisation. The aim of this study was to examine the one year risk of having a readmission due to infective, gastrointestinal or immobility (IGI) complications and to identify temporal trends and any risk factors.<p></p> Methods: Using a cohort of first hospitalised for stroke patients who were discharged alive, time to first event (readmission for IGI complications or death) within 1 year was analysed in a competing risks framework using cumulative incidence methods. Regression on the cumulative incidence function was used to model the risks of having an outcome using the covariates age, sex, socioeconomic status, comorbidity, discharge destination and length of hospital stay.<p></p> Results: There were a total of 51,182 patients discharged alive after an incident stroke hospitalisation in Scotland between 1997–2005, and 7,747 (15.1%) were readmitted for IGI complications within a year of the discharge. Comparing incident stroke hospitalisations in 2005 with 1997, the adjusted risk of IGI readmission did not increase (HR = 1.00 95% CI (0.90, 1.11). However, there was a higher risk of IGI readmission with increasing levels of deprivation (most deprived fifth vs. least deprived fifth HR = 1.16 (1.08, 1.26).<p></p> Conclusions: Approximately 15 in 100 patients discharged alive after an incident hospitalisation for stroke in Scotland between 1997 and 2005 went on to have an IGI readmission within one year. The proportion of readmissions did not change over the study period but those living in deprived areas had an increased risk

Aerosol optical properties and trace gas emissions by PAX and OP-FTIR for laboratory-simulated western US wildfires during FIREX

Western wildfires have a major impact on air quality in the US. In the fall of 2016, 107 test fires were burned in the large-scale combustion facility at the US Forest Service Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory as part of the Fire Influence on Regional and Global Environments Experiment (FIREX). Canopy, litter, duff, dead wood, and other fuel components were burned in combinations that represented realistic fuel complexes for several important western US coniferous and chaparral ecosystems including ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, chamise, and manzanita. In addition, dung, Indonesian peat, and individual coniferous ecosystem fuel components were burned alone to investigate the effects of individual components (e.g., duff ) and fuel chemistry on emissions. The smoke emissions were characterized by a large suite of state-of-the-art instruments. In this study we report emission factor (EF, grams of compound emitted per kilogram of fuel burned) measurements in fresh smoke of a diverse suite of critically important trace gases measured using open-path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (OPFTIR). We also report aerosol optical properties (absorption EF; single-scattering albedo, SSA; and Ångström absorption exponent, AAE) as well as black carbon (BC) EF measured by photoacoustic extinctiometers (PAXs) at 870 and 401 nm. The average trace gas emissions were similar across the coniferous ecosystems tested and most of the variability observed in emissions could be attributed to differences in the consumption of components such as duff and litter, rather than the dominant tree species. Chaparral fuels produced lower EFs than mixed coniferous fuels for most trace gases except for NOx and acetylene. A careful comparison with available field measurements of wildfires confirms that several methods can be used to extract data representative of real wildfires from the FIREX laboratory fire data. This is especially valuable for species rarely or not yet measured in the field. For instance, the OP-FTIR data alone show that ammonia (1.62 g kg-1/, acetic acid (2.41 g kg-1/, nitrous acid (HONO, 0.61 g kg-1/, and other trace gases such as glycolaldehyde (0.90 g kg-1/ and formic acid (0.36 g kg-1/ are signific-1ant emissions that were poorly characterized or not characterized for US wildfires in previous work. The PAX measurements show that the ratio of brown carbon (BrC) absorption to BC absorption is strongly dependent on modified combustion efficiency (MCE) and that BrC absorption is most dominant for combustion of duff (AAE 7.13) and rotten wood (AAE 4.60): fuels that are consumed in greater amounts during wildfires than prescribed fires. Coupling our laboratory data with field data suggests that fresh wildfire smoke typically has an EF for BC near 0.2 g kg-1, an SSA of ~0.91, and an AAE of ~3.50, with the latter implying that about 86% of the aerosol absorption at 401 nm is due to BrC

System characteristics and management practices for small ruminant production in “Climate Smart Villages” of Kenya

The CGIAR research programme on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security, in collaboration with several partners is testing a portfolio of interventions to address the threat of changing climatic conditions for smallholder farming communities living beside river flood plains, grouped into “Climate Smart Villages” (CSVs). We present characteristics of farms in CSV in relation to small ruminant (SR) production and the scenario for a breeding and improvement programme. Information was collated using participatory systems research methods from 140 households in seven CSVs in Nyando basin, Kenya. Although most households were headed by men, there were a higher proportion of adult women within the communities, and literacy levels were moderate. A total of 58 percent of the population owned <1 ha of land for growing crops and rearing on average 6.96 ± 3.35 Tropical Livestock Units comprising different species of animals. Women headed households owned more sheep which were mainly crosses of unspecified local breeds, than Goats which were mainly the Small East African breed-type. Mating among the SR was random, with no control of inbreeding as flocks mixed in grazing fields and at water points. Farmers desired large and resilient animals for better market prices; however, growth rates were slow. The SR flocks were dynamic with 31 percent of the animals moving in and out of flocks in a year. A community breeding programme optimally using available resources and incorporating gender integrated innovative technologies could be implemented for the CSV, alongside strong capacity development on animal husbandry, health and marketing of products

Sustainable small ruminant breeding program for climate-smart villages in Kenya

Improving productivity of sheep and goats (i.e. small ruminants- SR) under smallholder farming systems faced with challenges of unfavourable climatic events has been identified as one means of enhancing livelihoods of communities living in these areas. Interventions are targeted through clusters of farmers grouped into “climate smart villages” (CSV) under a collaborative action by CCAFS, ViAgroforestry, World Neighbours and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization. This baseline study was implemented to understand the socio-economic aspects, population structure, management practices and production constraints of SR in the CSV of the Lower Nyando basin of Kenya. The results indicate that the community is mainly comprised of young people (mainly students) and men and women above 50 years of age who manage the various households. Land sizes owned are small, with 58% of the households owning less than one hectare of land on which they grow crops and rear on average eight SR in addition to some cattle and poultry. The SR reared are mainly indigenous breeds, with some crossbreds resulting from the few introduced Red Maasai sheep and the Galla goats for improved productivity. Breeding of SR is not controlled, and since larger animals fetch better prices on the market, over time negative selection has affected the SR population. SR are generally left to graze on stovers from crops, and take a long time to grow to maturity (up to 4 years). Farmers in the CSV know what traits they desire in their SR, and are willing to learn and change their practices in order to improve their livelihoods. It is evident that the organization of the households into CSVs provides a great opportunity for capacity development which should have a strong component of engaging the youth, and the development of a selection and breed improvement program for SR in the Lower Nyando area

Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Habitat Monitoring and Assessment - 2010 Final Report

For the last two decades, the Cape Sable seaside sparrow (CSSS), a federally endangered species, has been a pivot point for water management operations in the Everglades, primarily because a decline in sparrow population in the early 1990s was attributed in part to managementinduced alterations in hydrologic regimes. With a goal of understanding the response of landscape-level processes to hydrological restoration and its interaction with fire, a study intended to monitor vegetation structure and composition throughout the marl prairie landscape has been conducted since 2003 with funding from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). In the first three years (2003-2005), vegetation structure and composition was characterized in relation to the existing hydrologic regime and fire history. During 2006-2010, vegetation was resampled to assess vegetation change within the sparrow habitat. This document summarizes the vegetation change pattern observed between the two sampling periods in sub-population A, C, E and F, emphasizing the work accomplished in FY 2010

Structural identifiability analyses of candidate models for in vitro Pitavastatin hepatic uptake

In this paper a review of the application of four different techniques (a version of the similarity transformation approach for autonomous uncontrolled systems, a non-differential input/output observable normal form approach, the characteristic set differential algebra and a recent algebraic input/output relationship approach) to determine the structural identifiability of certain in vitro nonlinear pharmacokinetic models is provided. The Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide (OATP) substrate, Pitavastatin, is used as a probe on freshly isolated animal and human hepatocytes. Candidate pharmacokinetic non-linear compartmental models have been derived to characterise the uptake process of Pitavastatin. As a prerequisite to parameter estimation, structural identifiability analyses are performed to establish that all unknown parameters can be identified from the experimental observations available

Acinetobacter spp. in Gunshot Injuries

Several 2-nitroalkyl polysaccharide ethers (from pullulan (1), guar (2), agarose (3), inulin (4), cellulose (5), Na-alpha-polyglucuronate (6) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (7)) were synthesized by reaction with 2-nitro-1-alkenes (2-nitro-1-propene and 2-nitro-1-butene) formed in situ from 2-nitroalkyl acetates. Moderate to high efficiencies are obtained in concentrated aqueous solution/suspension for addition to 1-4 and 7. Analysis of this new class of polysaccharide derivatives with the aid of labeled 2-nitropropyl-2-C-13 pullulan revealed that the nitrogroup is a mixture of the nitroalkane and nitronic acid tautomers. Grafting of nitroalkenes is observed and, to a lesser extent, additional reactions of the nitro group (formation of carbonyl, oxime and allyl groups) take place. Reduction of 2-nitroalkyl polysaccharide ethers with Na2S2O4 Or Na2S2O4/NaBH4 leads to complex polysaccharide ethers. The products obtained are most likely mixtures of starting material, nitroso compounds, hydroxylamines, hydroxypropyl ethers and sulfamates. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved