Forecast of Total Electron Content over Europe for disturbed ionospheric Conditions

A general picture of the occurrence of ionospheric storms as function of local time, season and location is known from numerous studies over the past 50 years. Nevertheless, it is not yet possible to say how the ionosphere will actually respond to a given space weather event because the measurements of the onset time, location of maximum perturbation, amplitude and type of storm (positive or negative) deviate much from the climatology. However, statistical analyses of numerous storm events observed in the Total Electron Content (TEC) since 1995 enable to estimate and predict a most probable upcoming perturbed TEC over Europe based on forecasts of geomagnetic activity. A first approach will be presented here. The forecast of perturbed TEC is part of the Forecast System Ionosphere build under the umbrella of the FP7 project AFFECTS∗ (Advanced Forecast For Ensuring Communication Through Space). It aims to help users mitigating the impact on communication system

Matrix Metalloproteinases and Glaucoma Treatment.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic enzymes that degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) components such as collagen and have important roles in multiple biological processes, including development and tissue remodeling, both in health and disease. The activity of MMPs is influenced by the expression of MMPs and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMPs). In the eye, MMP-mediated ECM turnover in the juxtacanalicular region of the trabecular meshwork (TM) reduces outflow resistance in the conventional outflow pathway and helps maintain intraocular pressure (IOP) homeostasis. An imbalance in the MMP/TIMP ratio may be involved in the elevated IOP often associated with glaucoma. The prostaglandin analog/prostamide (PGA) class of topical ocular hypotensive medications used in glaucoma treatment reduces IOP by increasing outflow through both conventional and unconventional (uveoscleral) outflow pathways. Evidence from in vivo and in vitro studies using animal models and anterior segment explant and cell cultures indicates that the mechanism of IOP lowering by PGAs involves increased MMP expression in the TM and ciliary body, leading to tissue remodeling that enhances conventional and unconventional outflow. PGA effects on MMP expression are dependent on the identity and concentration of the PGA. An intracameral sustained-release PGA implant (Bimatoprost SR) in development for glaucoma treatment can reduce IOP for many months after expected intraocular drug bioavailability. We hypothesize that the higher concentrations of bimatoprost achieved in ocular outflow tissues with the implant produce greater MMP upregulation and more extensive, sustained MMP-mediated target tissue remodeling, providing an extended duration of effect

Community Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practices Associated with Urogenital Schistosomiasis among School-Aged Children in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania

Background: On the Zanzibar islands, United Republic of Tanzania, elimination of urogenital schistosomiasis is strived for in the coming years. This qualitative study aimed to better understand community knowledge, perceptions, and practices associated with schistosomiasis among school-aged children on Unguja and Pemba islands, in order to inform the development of behavior change interventions contributing to eliminate urogenital schistosomiasis. Methodology: In 2011, we conducted 35 children’s discussion groups, 41 in-depth interviews with parents and teachers, and 5 focus group discussions with community members in Zanzibar. Using a modified-grounded theory approach, we transcribed and coded the narrative data followed by thematic analysis of the emergent themes. Principal Findings: Urogenital schistosomiasis is a common experience among children in Zanzibar and typically considered a boys’ disease. Children engage in multiple high-risk behaviors for acquiring schistosomiasis because of poor knowledge on disease transmission, lack of understanding on severity of disease-associated consequences, and lack of alternative options for water related activities of daily living and recreational play. Local primary school teachers had little to no training about the disease and no teaching tools or materials for students. Conclusions/Significance: Conducting activities in open natural freshwater contaminated by S. haematobium larvae compromises the health of school-aged children in Zanzibar. The perception of urogenital schistosomiasis as a minor illness rather than a serious threat to a child’s well-being contributes to the spread of disease. Understanding community perceptions of disease along with the barriers and facilitators to risk reduction behaviors among children can inform health promotion activities, campaigns, and programs for the prevention, control, and elimination of urogenital schistosomiasis in Zanzibar

A hybrid EAV-relational model for consistent and scalable capture of clinical research data

Many clinical research databases are built for specific purposes and their design is often guided by the requirements of their particular setting. Not only does this lead to issues of interoperability and reusability between research groups in the wider community but, within the project itself, changes and additions to the system could be implemented using an ad hoc approach, which may make the system difficult to maintain and even more difficult to share. In this paper, we outline a hybrid Entity-Attribute-Value and relational model approach for modelling data, in light of frequently changing requirements, which enables the back-end database schema to remain static, improving the extensibility and scalability of an application. The model also facilitates data reuse. The methods used build on the modular architecture previously introduced in the CURe project

Clinical relevance of endoscopic assessment of inflammation in ulcerative colitis: Can endoscopic evaluation predict outcomes?

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel condition characterised by a relapsing and remitting course. Symptom control has been the traditional mainstay of medical treatment. It is well known that histological inflammatory activity persists despite adequate symptom control and absence of endoscopic inflammation. Current evidence suggests that presence of histological inflammation poses a greater risk of disease relapse and subsequent colorectal cancer risk. New endoscopic technologies hold promise for developing endoscopic markers of mucosal inflammation. Achieving endoscopic and histological remission appears be the future aim of medical treatments for UC. This review article aims to evaluate the use of endoscopy as a tool in assessment of mucosal inflammation UC and its correlation with disease outcomes

Wintering Birds in Northern Saudi Arabia: February 2009

The northern plains of Saudi Arabia are an area of approximately 231,000 km2, or roughly equivalent to the size of the whole of the United Kingdom. During previous ABBA Surveys in this area in late winter and spring significant numbers of wintering species such as Dotterel Charadrius morinellus, sandgrouse Pterocles sps and eagles and vultures have been recorded, as well as the threatened Sociable Plover Vanellus gregarius. The main objective of ABBA Survey 40 (30 January - 28 February 2009) was to assess wintering populations of these birds in northern Arabia through sampling methods. In all 21 timed walked censuses in the early morning and 25 driven transect counts (over a total distance of 1511 km) were carried out. Unfortunately most of the region had suffered a severe drought over an extended period, perhaps the previous ten years or longer, and in most of the survey area there had been no rain at all during the winter/spring period of 2008/2009. This lack of rain had resulted in a complete lack of green vegetation in most of the western part of the area studied. Consequently the census results showed low species diversity and small populations

The cranking formula and the spurious behaviour of the mass parameters

We discuss some aspects of the approach of the mass parameters by means of the simple cranking model. In particular, it is well known that the numerical application of this formula is often subject to ambiguities or contradictions. It is found that these problems are induced by the presence of two derivatives in the formula. To overcome these problems, we state a useful ansatz and we develop a number of simple arguments which tend to justify the removal of these terms. As soon as this is done, the formula becomes simpler and easier to interpret. In this respect, it is shown how the shell effects affect the mass parameters. A number of numerical tests help us in our conclusions.Comment: version 3 corrigendum of the ansatz of section V, corrigendum of the legend of Fig3. Submission = text file + 5 figure

Ab Initio Study of Phase Stability in Doped TiO2

Ab-initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the relative stability of anatase and rutile polymorphs of TiO2 were carried using all-electron atomic orbitals methods with local density approximation (LDA). The rutile phase exhibited a moderate margin of stability of ~ 3 meV relative to the anatase phase in pristine material. From computational analysis of the formation energies of Si, Al, Fe and F dopants of various charge states across different Fermi level energies in anatase and in rutile, it was found that the cationic dopants are most stable in Ti substitutional lattice positions while formation energy is minimised for F- doping in interstitial positions. All dopants were found to considerably stabilise anatase relative to the rutile phase, suggesting the anatase to rutile phase transformation is inhibited in such systems with the dopants ranked F>Si>Fe>Al in order of anatase stabilisation strength. Al and Fe dopants were found to act as shallow acceptors with charge compensation achieved through the formation of mobile carriers rather than the formation of anion vacancies

Utilizing Satellite Based Observations and Physical Hydrological Modeling for Freshwater Ecosystem Health in the Lower Mekong River Basin

Freshwater availability is necessary to promote economic growth through agriculture, fisheries, transport, environmental health, and social equity.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Conservation International (CI) are partnering to use remote sensing Earth observations to improve regional efforts that assess natural resources for conservation and sustainable management. (Vollmer et al.,2018) have presented the social-ecological framework named the Freshwater Health Index (FHI), which takes account of the interplay between governance, stakeholders, freshwater ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide.In this work, we develop decision support and making tools for natural resources conservation in the Lower Mekong by leveraging the FHI framework, multiple data products, and hydrological modeling capabilities (Mohammed et al., 2018). Modeling capabilities enable the integration of satellite-based daily gridded precipitation, air temperature, digital elevation model, soil characteristics, and land cover and land use information to simulate water flux framework