The SYNOP Experiment: Bottom Pressure Maps for the Central Array May 1988 to August 1990

This report documents our procedures and the accuracy of objective maps of bottom pressure in the Synop Central Array region between June 1988 and August 1990. The pressure maps are made by using multivariate objective analysis procedures to combine data from bottom pressure measurements by Inverted Echo Sounders (PIES) and bottom current meter measurements in the Central Array between June 1988 and August 1990. A key new feature is that all daily maps can be adjusted to a fixed reference level by combining measurements of bottom pressure and near-bottom currents, (Pb, u, v). While objective stream functions mapped from (u,v) alone are spatially consistent, the reference levels vary temporally from map to map. On the other hand, each bottom pressure record Pb has a temporally consistent reference but the reference can vary from site to site. The combination allows us to adjust all to a common, consistent reference level in multivariate objective maps. The pressure maps and error maps are displayed daily for 26 months with overlaid measured current vectors. Mapping procedures are documented along with error analyses and comparisins with measured fields. The results produce bottom pressure and current fields with typical error of only 2 mbar and 2 cm/sec, compared to typical signal standard deviation of 6 mbar and 9 cm/s. The report is one of a series of data reports that document aspects of our participation in the SYNoptic Ocean Predtiction (SYNOP) experiment

Mapping Abyssal Current and Pressure Fields under the Meandering Gulf Stream

Using bottom pressure measurements and current meter measurements at 3500-m depth at 12 sites under the Gulf Stream near 68°W daily optimally interpolated (OI) maps have been constructed for June 1988 to August 1990. Prior to mapping, the pressure records were leveled (referenced to the same absolute geopotential) using the current measurements under the assumption that their mean fields are geostrophic. The leveled pressures were subsequently used together with the current measurements in a multivariate, nondivergent OI mapping procedure. This procedure significantly reduced the mapping errors, because both pressure and its (geostrophic) gradient are specified as inputs. The mapped bottom pressure and current fields have typical mean-square errors of only 0.0005 db2 and 4 cm2 s−2, compared to typical signal variances of 0.0035 db2 and 80 cm2 s−2. The daily maps of abyssal pressure are used to identify the characteristic space–time structures of dynamical processes. Examples are shown in which deep-level cyclones spin up jointly with steep stationary troughs in the Gulf Stream and deep anticyclones with steep propagating crests. Another sequence of maps illustrates the propagation of topographic Rossby waves and ring–stream interactions

SYNOP Inlet Experiment: Bottom Current Meter Data Report for October 1987 to August 1990 Mooring Period

An array of five deep current meter moorings, each 100 m above the ocean bottom, was maintained along a line extending southeast from Cape Hatteras, NC for 34 months from October 1987 through August 1990. The transect line was part of the SYNOP (Synoptic Ocean Prediction experiment) Inlet Array, which also had a surrounding array of Inverted Echo Sounders. The line extended from approximately the 2300 m to the 3800 m isobath (roughly 100 km long), intended to measure currents in the Deep Western Boundary Current in the region where the Gulf Stream crosses over it. This report describes the array design and data processing, and presents the basic statistics for each record. The current and temperature records are also displayed in 40-hour low-passed time series plots

Incidence and factors associated with the recurrence of Rathke's cleft cyst after surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroudRecurrence of Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) is not uncommon after surgery, and the associated factors and incidence of relapse deserve a systematic summary.MethodsThis study was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases were searched until September 12, 2022. Studies with significant results of recurrent factors or specific incidences of RCC recurrence and mean/median follow-up time were included. Based on a protocol of a 2-year interval grouping, included studies were categorized into four groups with follow-up periods  <24 months, 24–48 months, 48–72 months, and ≥72 months, respectively. Quality assessment was performed using the NOS score. Pooled estimations were computed by using a random-effects model in the STATA “metaprop” command. Publication bias was assessed visually through a funnel plot and statistically through Egger's linear regression test and Begg's correlation test.ResultsA total of 44 studies were included containing 2,539 cases. Squamous metaplasia was the most commonly reported factor, followed by the extent of cyst removal. The other factors were reported individually. The pooled overall incidences of RCC recurrence after surgery in four groups of the follow-up period were 7.4% (95%CI = 4.1–11.3%) in <24 months, 13.1% (95%CI = 9.7–17.0%) in 24–48 months, 13.7% (95%CI = 7.7–21.0%) in 48–72 months, and 33.8% (95%CI = 19.6–49.6%) in ≥72 months. The pooled symptomatic incidences were 2.3% (95%CI = 0.4–5.1%) in <24 months, 5.6% (95%CI = 3.6–7.9%) in 24–48 months, 5.9% (95%CI = 2.4–10.6%) in 48–72 months, and 14.1% (95%CI = 6.0–24.5%) in ≥72 months. A dramatic increase in recurrent incidence was observed when the follow-up period was more than 72 months in both overall and symptomatic recurrence. A similar trend of recurrence was found in subgroup analyses stratified by publication year, cohort size, and cyst resection strategy.ConclusionThis study systematically reviewed recurrent factors and described the profile of trends in RCC recurrent incidence after surgery with a follow-up time based on a protocol of a 2-year interval, finding a dramatic increase in recurrent rates with a follow-up period of more than 72 months. This encouraged us to put forward a recommendation of at least a 6-year follow-up after surgery for patients with RCC.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42021278970

Expanding the mutational and clinical spectrum of Chinese intellectual disability patients with two novel CTCF variants

CCCTC-Binding Factor (CTCF) is a protein-coding gene involved in transcriptional regulation, insulator activity, and regulation of chromatin structure, and is closely associated with intellectual developmental disorders. In this study, we report two unrelated Chinese patients with intellectual disability (ID). According to variant interpretation results from exome sequencing data and RNA-seq data, we present two novel heterozygous CTCF variants, NM_006565.3:c.1519_2184del (p. Glu507_Arg727delins47) and NM_006565.3:c.1838_1852del (p.Glu613_Pro617del), found in two distinct unrelated patients, respectively. Moreover, RNA-seq data of patient 1 indicated the absence of the mutant transcript, while in patient 2, the RNA-seq data revealed a CTCF mRNA transcript with a deletion of 15 nucleotides. Notably, the RNA sequencing data revealed 507 differentially expressed genes shared between these two patients. Specifically, among them, 194 were down-regulated, and 313 were up-regulated, primarily involved in gene regulation and cellular response. Our study expands the genetic and clinical spectrum of CTCF and advances our understanding of the pathogenesis of CTCF in vivo

Sex Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Brain MRI Change in Patients With Wilson’s Disease in a Chinese Population

Background: Wilson’s disease (WD) is an inborn copper metabolism disease. Sex differences in clinical features of WD patients have been reported; however, the effect of sex on brain MRI is still unclear, especially for Chinese WD patients. Therefore, we aimed to examine sex differences in clinical correlates and brain MRI changes in WD patients in a Chinese Han population.Methods: 535 WD patients were enrolled and underwent MRI scanning. These patients were subdivided by the clinical symptoms, Kayser–Fleischer (K–F) rings, laboratory tests and sex. The mean age of onset and diagnosis, disease latency, localization of brain MRI lesions, and the level of copper metabolism were compared between male and female patients.Results: The neuropsychiatric form (452 and 84.5%) was the most common subtype. Compared to female patients, male patients had a higher percentage in three clinical forms: neuropsychiatric form (263 and 58.2%), hepatic form (41 and 59.4%), and presymptomatic form (10 and 71.4%). In the neuropsychiatric form, male patients had the earlier age of onset and definitive diagnosis, and shorter time of disease latency than female patients. Putamen was the most common site for lesions in brain MRI of three groups. In the hepatic form, more male patients showed the ventricular widening than female patients (14/41 vs. 3/28; p < 0.05). The level of serum ceruloplasmin and copper of WD patients with neuropsychiatric form was higher than that of male patients with hepatic or presymptomatic form. In women, however, patients of presymptomatic form have the highest level of the ceruloplasmin, and the level of serum copper in hepatic patients was highest.Conclusion: Our findings suggest sex differences in the percentage of three clinical forms. Meanwhile, the mean age of onset and diagnosis of female was higher than male, also happened in the disease latency. Only in the hepatic form, there was a sex difference in the ventricular widening

Variable frame pitch estimator and test results

This paper describes a new algorithm to identify voiced sections in a speech waveform and determine their pitch contours. The new pitch determination algorithm (PDA) uses variable frames and thus overcomes some common problems associated with fixed frame PDAs. It is adapted from an existing maximum likelihood PDA by retaining its strength and removing some weakness in the original formulation. The new PDA was tested on sixteen sentences from TIMIT database and its effectiveness is supported by the test results

Joint estimation of time delay and pitch of voiced speech signals

The paper shows that the time delay of a voiced speech signal arriving at different microphones in a microphone array can be more accurately estimated from low signal to noise ratio data if the signal\u27s quasi-periodic property is effectively used. We propose a joint estimator of the time delay and the pitch period based on the maximum likelihood method. For a periodic signal in noise, the proposed estimator is shown analytically to use the data more efficiently than the correlation method, yielding a more robust performance. The simulation tests show that the new delay estimator achieves a higher accuracy than the correlation method for speech data with moderately low signal to noise ratio

An analytical model for load balancing on symmetrical multiprocessor systems

In a distributed computing system, it is desirable to balance the work load among processors while keeping the communication overhead at a minimum. The nearest neighbor balancing strategy requires little communication overhead compared to the sophisticated dynamic load balancing policies. The question is whether this nearest neighbor balancing policy can achieve system balance. This paper investigates a typical nearest neighbor balancing strategy, called LAL (Local Average Load), in which the work load of a processor is averaged among its nearest neighbors at discrete time steps. The underlying systems considered are multiprocessor systems interconnected by generalized hypercube (GHC), torus, and other symmetric structures. Analytical models are developed for the load balancing scheme on the considered architectures, assuming that the amount of computation tasks arriving at or finished by a processor at each time step can be described by a random variable with some general distribution. We show that the expected difference between the actual load of a processor and the average load of the system is 0 and the variance of this difference is bounded by a constant independent of time. For each considered architecture, we derive a simple closed-form formula for the variance upper bound as a function of a system size and dimenslon. Furthermore, we generalize our analytical results to any linear symmetric load balancing scheme on symmetric distributed architectures. © 1994 Academic Press, Inc