Diagnosing the Role of Alfvén Waves in Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling: Swarm Observations of Large Amplitude Nonstationary Magnetic Perturbations During an Interval of Northward IMF

High-resolution multispacecraft Swarm data are used to examine magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling during a period of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) on 31 May 2014. The observations reveal a prevalence of unexpectedly large amplitude (>100 nT) and time-varying magnetic perturbations during the polar passes, with especially large amplitude magnetic perturbations being associated with large-scale downward field-aligned currents. Differences between the magnetic field measurements sampled at 50 Hz from Swarm A and C, approximately 10 s apart along track, and the correspondence between the observed electric and magnetic fields at 16 samples per second, provide significant evidence for an important role for Alfvén waves in magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling even during northward IMF conditions. Spectral comparison between the wave E- and B-fields reveals a frequency-dependent phase difference and amplitude ratio consistent with interference between incident and reflected Alfvén waves. At low frequencies, the E/B ratio is in phase with an amplitude determined by the Pedersen conductance. At higher frequencies, the amplitude and phase change as a function of frequency in good agreement with an ionospheric Alfvén resonator model including Pedersen conductance effects. Indeed, within this Alfvén wave incidence, reflection, and interference paradigm, even quasi-static field-aligned currents might be reasonably interpreted as very low frequency (ω → 0) Alfvén waves. Overall, our results not only indicate the importance of Alfvén waves for magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling but also demonstrate a method for using Swarm data for the innovative experimental diagnosis of Pedersen conductance from low-Earth orbit satellite measurements

Evidences for a quasi 60-year North Atlantic Oscillation since 1700 and its meaning for global climate change

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) obtained using instrumental and documentary proxy predictors from Eurasia is found to be characterized by a quasi 60-year dominant oscillation since 1650. This pattern emerges clearly once the NAO record is time integrated to stress its comparison with the temperature record. The integrated NAO (INAO) is found to well correlate with the length of the day (since 1650) and the global surface sea temperature record HadSST2 and HadSST3 (since 1850). These findings suggest that INAO can be used as a good proxy for global climate change, and that a 60-year cycle exists in the global climate since at least 1700. Finally, the INAO ~60-year oscillation well correlates with the ~60- year oscillations found in the historical European aurora record since 1700, which suggests that this 60-year dominant climatic cycle has a solar-astronomical origin

The labor market regimes of Denmark and Norway – one Nordic model?

The literature on the Danish and Norwegian labor market systems emphasizes the commonalities of the two systems. We challenge this perception by investigating how employers in multinational companies in Denmark and Norway communicate with employees on staffing changes. We argue that the development of ‘flexicurity’ in Denmark grants Danish employers considerably greater latitude in engaging in staffing changes than its Nordic counterpart, Norway. Institutional theory leads us to suppose that large firms located in the Danish setting will be less likely to engage in employer–employee communication on staffing plans than their Norwegian counterparts. In addition, we argue that in the Danish context indigenous firms will have a better insight into the normative and cognitive aspects to flexicurity than foreign-owned firms, meaning that they are more likely to engage in institutional entrepreneurialism than their foreign owned counterparts. We supplement institutional theory with an actor perspective in order to take into account the role of labor unions. Our analysis is based on a survey of 203 firms in Norway and Denmark which are either indigenous multinational companies or the subsidiaries of foreign multinational companies. The differences we observe cause us to conclude that the notion of a common Nordic model is problematic

The effect of transmucosal 0.2mg/kg Midazolam premedication on dental anxiety, anaesthetic induction and psychological morbidity in children undergoing general anaesthesia for tooth extraction

<b>Background:</b> The project aims were to evaluate the benefit of transmucosal Midazolam 0.2mg/kg pre-medication on anxiety, induction behaviour and psychological morbidity in children undergoing general anaesthesia (GA) extractions. <b>Method:</b> 179 children aged 5-10 years (mean 6.53 years) participated in this randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial. Ninety children had Midazolam placed in the buccal pouch. Dental anxiety was recorded pre operatively and 48 hours later using a child reported MCDAS-FIS scale. Behaviour at anaesthetic induction was recorded and psychological morbidity was scored by the parent using the Rutter Scale pre-operatively and again one-week later. Subsequent dental attendance was recorded at one, three and six months after GA. <b>Results:</b> Whilst levels of mental anxiety did not reduce overall, the most anxious patients demonstrated a reduction in anxiety after receiving midazolam premedicationmay (p=0.01). Neither induction behaviour nor psychological morbidity improved. Irrespective of group, parents reported less hyperactive (p= 0.002) and more prosocial behaviour (p=0.002) after the procedure:;, older children improved most (p=0.048), Post GA Dental attendance was poor and unrelated to after the procedure and unaffected by premedication. <b>Conclusion:</b> 0.2mg/kg buccal Midazolam provided some evidence for reducing anxiety in the most dentally anxious patients. However, induction behaviour, psychological morbidity and subsequent dental attendance were not found to alter between the premedication groups

Using Human Disease Outbreaks as a Guide to Multilevel Ecosystem Interventions

Human health often depends on environmental variables and is generally subject to widespread and comprehensive surveillance. Compared with other available measures of ecosystem health, human disease incidence may be one of the most useful and practical bioindicators for the often elusive gauge of ecologic well-being. We argue that many subtle ecosystem disruptions are often identified only as a result of detailed epidemiologic investigations after an anomalous increase in human disease incidence detected by routine surveillance mechanisms. Incidence rates for vector-mediated diseases (e.g., arboviral illnesses) and direct zoonoses (e.g., hantaviruses) are particularly appropriate as bioindicators to identify underlying ecosystem disturbances. Outbreak data not only have the potential to act as a pivotal warning system for ecosystem disruption, but may also be used to identify interventions for the preservation of ecologic health. With this approach, appropriate ecologically based strategies for remediation can be introduced at an earlier stage than would be possible based solely on environmental monitoring, thereby reducing the level of “ecosystem distress” as well as resultant disease burden in humans. This concept is discussed using local, regional, and global examples, thereby introducing the concept of multilevel ecosystem interventions

Genetic study of common variants at the Apo E, Apo AI, Apo CIII, Apo B, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic lipase (LIPC) genes and coronary artery disease (CAD): variation in LIPC gene associates with clinical outcomes in patients with established CAD

BACKGROUND: Current evidence demonstrates that positive family history and several alterations in lipid metabolism are all important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). All lipid abnormalities themselves have genetic determinants. Thus, objective of this study was to determine whether 6 genetic variants potentially related to altered lipid metabolism were associated with CAD and with lipid abnormalities in an Italian population. These genetic variables were: apolipoprotein E (Apo E), Apo AI, Apo CIII, Apo B, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and the hepatic lipase (LIPC) genes. Furthermore, an 8 years prospective analysis of clinical cardiovascular events was related to the various genetic markers. METHODS: 102 subjects with established coronary artery disease and 104 unrelated normal subjects were studied. CAD Patients were followed up for 8 years, and clinical CAD outcomes (a second coronary angioplasty (PTCA), myocardial infarction, coronary artery by-pass graft (CABG), cardiovascular deaths), available from 60 subjects, were related to the genetic variants by multiple regression analysis. Results. Of the six lipid loci studied (for a total of 11 polymorphisms) only the apolipoprotein E, Apo B and LIPC polymorphisms distinguished between case and controls. However, multivariate analysis accounting for clinical and metabolic predictors of CAD showed that only the ApoB Xba1 and ApoE4 polymorphism associated with CAD in this Italian population. When lipid parameters were related to genotypes, the ApoE, ApoB, and LIPC gene polymorphisms were associated to various markers of dyslipidaemia in the CAD patients, confirming previous reports. When the occurrence of a second cardiovascular event was related to genotypes, an independent role was observed for the LIPC gene T202T variant. CONCLUSIONS: variation in LIPC (hepatic lipase) gene associates with clinical outcomes in Italian patients with established CAD. Further studies on the LIPC gene in CAD patients are warranted, in particular looking at the possible influences on clinical outcomes

Comorbidity as a prognostic variable in multiple myeloma: comparative evaluation of common comorbidity scores and use of a novel MM–comorbidity score

Comorbidities have been demonstrated to affect progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), although their impact in multiple myeloma (MM) patients is as yet unsettled. We (1) assessed various comorbidities, (2) compared established comorbidity indices (CIs; Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), hematopoietic cell transplantation-specific comorbidity index (HCT-CI)), Kaplan Feinstein (KF) and Satariano index (SI) and (3) developed a MM-CI (Freiburger comorbidity index, FCI) in 127 MM patients. Univariate analysis determined moderate or severe pulmonary disease (hazard ratio (HR): 3.5, P<0.0001), renal impairment (via estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR); HR: 3.4, P=0.0018), decreased Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS, HR: 2.7, P=0.0004) and age (HR: 2, P=0.0114) as most important variables for diminished OS. Through multivariate analysis, the eGFR ⩽30 ml/min/1.73m2, impaired lung function and KPS ⩽70% were significant for decreased OS, with HRs of 2.9, 2.8 and 2.2, respectively. Combination of these risk factors within the FCI identified significantly different median OS rates of 118, 53 and 25 months with 0, 1 and 2 or 3 risk factors, respectively, (P<0.005). In light of our study, comorbidities are critical prognostic determinants for diminished PFS and OS. Moreover, comorbidity scores are important treatment decision tools and will be valuable to implement into future analyses and clinical trials in MM

Mutational Patterns in RNA Secondary Structure Evolution Examined in Three RNA Families

The goal of this work was to study mutational patterns in the evolution of RNA secondary structure. We analyzed bacterial tmRNA, RNaseP and eukaryotic telomerase RNA secondary structures, mapping structural variability onto phylogenetic trees constructed primarily from rRNA sequences. We found that secondary structures evolve both by whole stem insertion/deletion, and by mutations that create or disrupt stem base pairing. We analyzed the evolution of stem lengths and constructed substitution matrices describing the changes responsible for the variation in the RNA stem length. In addition, we used principal component analysis of the stem length data to determine the most variable stems in different families of RNA. This data provides new insights into the evolution of RNA secondary structures and patterns of variation in the lengths of double helical regions of RNA molecules. Our findings will facilitate design of improved mutational models for RNA structure evolution

Tidal and groundwater fluxes to a shallow, microtidal estuary : constraining inputs through field observations and hydrodynamic modeling

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Estuaries and Coasts 35 (2012): 1285-1298, doi:10.1007/s12237-012-9515-x.Increased nutrient loading to estuaries has led to eutrophication, degraded water quality, and ecological transformations. Quantifying nutrient loads in systems with significant groundwater input can be difficult due to the challenge of measuring groundwater fluxes. We quantified tidal and freshwater fluxes over an 8-week period at the entrance of West Falmouth Harbor, Massachusetts, a eutrophic, groundwater-fed estuary. Fluxes were estimated from velocity and salinity measurements and a total exchange flow (TEF) methodology. Intermittent cross-sectional measurements of velocity and salinity were used to convert point measurements to cross-sectionally averaged values over the entire deployment (index relationships). The estimated mean freshwater flux (0.19 m3/s) for the 8-week period was mainly due to groundwater input (0.21 m3/s) with contributions from precipitation to the estuary surface (0.026 m3/s) and removal by evaporation (0.048 m3/s). Spring–neap variations in freshwater export that appeared in shorter-term averages were mostly artifacts of the index relationships. Hydrodynamic modeling with steady groundwater input demonstrated that while the TEF methodology resolves the freshwater flux signal, calibration of the index– salinity relationships during spring tide conditions only was responsible for most of the spring–neap signal. The mean freshwater flux over the entire period estimated from the combination of the index-velocity, index–salinity, and TEF calculations were consistent with the model, suggesting that this methodology is a reliable way of estimating freshwater fluxes in the estuary over timescales greater than the spring– neap cycle. Combining this type of field campaign with hydrodynamic modeling provides guidance for estimating both magnitude of groundwater input and estuarine storage of freshwater and sets the stage for robust estimation of the nutrient load in groundwater.Funding was provided by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program and by National Science Foundation Award #0420575 from the Biocomplexity/Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles Program