A Non-MLE Approach for Satellite Scatterometer Wind Vector Retrievals in Tropical Cyclones

Satellite microwave scatterometers are the principal source of global synoptic-scale ocean vector wind (OVW) measurements for a number of scientific and operational oceanic wind applications. However, for extreme wind events such as tropical cyclones, their performance is significantly degraded. This paper presents a novel OVW retrieval algorithm for tropical cyclones which improves the accuracy of scatterometer based ocean surface winds when compared to low-flying aircraft with in-situ and remotely sensed observations. Unlike the traditional maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) wind vector retrieval technique, this new approach sequentially estimates scalar wind directions and wind speeds. A detailed description of the algorithm is provided along with results for ten QuikSCAT hurricane overpasses (from 2003-2008) to evaluate the performance of the new algorithm. Results are compared with independent surface wind analyses from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hurricane Research Division\u27s H*Wind surface analyses and with the corresponding SeaWinds Project\u27s L2B-12.5 km OVW products. They demonstrate that the proposed algorithm extends the SeaWinds capability to retrieve wind speeds beyond the current range of approximately 35 m/s (minimal hurricane category-1) with improved wind direction accuracy, making this new approach a potential candidate for current and future conically scanning scatterometer wind retrieval algorithms

Formal and informal support at Icelandic universities: experiences of staff members and immigrant students

Due to increased migration in recent decades, universities must adapt their practices to meet the needs of a changing student body. Many immigrant students desire to complete their studies at universities, yet factors such as language of communication and cultural traditions limit their possibilities. This paper comes out of a study titled Educational Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges for Immigrants in University Education in Iceland. The findings are based on individual interviews with immigrant students and university staff members and focus group interviews with immigrant students. The theoretical framework of the study draws from the ideas of culturally competent counselling. This helps to analyse immigrant students’ experiences of formal and informal support during their university studies (Arredondo et al., 1996; Maunonen-Eskelinen, Kaikkonen & Clayton, 2005). Formal support constitutes institutional support provided by the universities, such as orientation programs and social activities of various kinds. Informal support, in contrast, incorporates other means of assistance to immigrant students either through those whom they trust, such as instructors, or community members in the role of cultural brokers. Immigrant students also get support through their present and former friends and through their extended family members. The findings indicate that, despite the challenges that immigrant students face at Icelandic universities, the majority were quite positive about their experiences as they described different types of formal and informal support which they obtained throughout their studies.Rannís: 163516Peer Reviewe

New Synthesized Derivatives from N-Substituted-4-Oxo-[1] Benzopyrano [4,3-c] Pyrazole Influenced Proliferation, Viability, Spreading and Invasion of Human Liver Tumor Cells

Background/Aim: There is an unsatisfied clinical demand to develop new anticancer agents. The aim of the current study was to synthesize new coumarin derivatives using two different synthetic methodologies and to evaluate their anticancer activity. Materials and methods: Four coumarin derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activities. The structures of all compounds were confirmed by infrared (IR), UV-vis, Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) 13C NMR, 1H NMR, and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analysis. All the synthesized compounds (4, 5, 8 and 9) were analyzed for their anti-proliferative (MTT and LDH assays and cell cycle studied with flow cytometry) and anti-invasive activity (spreading and invasion tests) on human hepatoma cell lines Huh-7 in vitro. Doxorubicin was used as control in order to compare their anti-tumoral effects. Results. All the synthesized compounds are potential inhibitors of proliferation, viability, spreading and invasion of human liver tumor cells with a 50% inhibitory Concentration range,  IC50=10.37 μM to 12.94 μM. Conclusion. This study could lead to the identification of a new target therapy for human Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or other cancers

ACO2 homozygous missense mutation associated with complicated Hereditary spastic paraplegia

Objective: To identify the clinical characteristics and genetic etiology of a family affected with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). Methods: Clinical, genetic, and functional analyses involving genome-wide linkage coupled to whole-exome sequencing in a consanguineous family with complicated HSP. Results: A homozygous missense mutation was identified in the ACO2 gene (c.1240T>G p.Phe414Val) that segregated with HSP complicated by intellectual disability and microcephaly. Lymphoblastoid cell lines of homozygous carrier patients revealed significantly decreased activity of the mitochondrial aconitase enzyme and defective mitochondrial respiration. ACO2 encodes mitochondrial aconitase, an essential enzyme in the Krebs cycle. Recessive mutations in this gene have been previously associated with cerebellar ataxia. Conclusions: Our findings nominate ACO2 as a disease-causing gene for autosomal recessive complicated HSP and provide further support for the central role of mitochondrial defects in the pathogenesis of HSP

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p&lt;0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p&lt;0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Validation Of Quickscat Radiometer (qrad) Microwave Brightness Temperture Measurments

After the launch of NASA\u27s SeaWinds scatterometer in 1999, a radiometer function was implemented in the Science Ground Data Processing Systems to allow the measurement of the earth\u27s microwave brightness temperature. This dissertation presents results of a comprehensive validation to assess the quality of QRad brightness temperature measurements using near-simultaneous ocean Tb comparisons between the SeaWinds on QuikSCAT (QRad) and WindSat polarimetric radiometer on Coriolis. WindSat was selected because it is a well calibrated radiometer that has many suitable collocations with QuikSCAT; and it has a 10.7 GHz channel, which is close to QRad frequency of 13.4 GHz. Brightness temperature normalizations were made for WindSat before comparison to account for expected differences in Tb with QRad because of incidence angle and channel frequency differences. Brightness temperatures for nine months during 2005 and 2006 were spatially collocated for rain-free homogeneous ocean scenes (match-ups) within 1° latitude x longitude boxes and within a ± 60 minute window. To ensure high quality comparison, these collocations were quality controlled and edited to remove non-homogenous ocean scenes and/or transient environmental conditions, including rain contamination. WindSat and QRad Tb\u27s were averaged within 1° boxes and these were used for the radiometric inter-calibration analysis on a monthly basis. Results show that QRad calibrations are stable in the mean within ± 2K over the yearly seasonal cycle

A RADIOTRACER DISTRIBUTION STUDY OF P,P\u27-DDT IN RATS AND THE EFFECT OF SOME PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL FACTORS ON ITS EXCRETION

Abstract not availabl

Boarding the family education train

Studies have shown that education suffered a dramatic loss, with a decrease of 20,021 (19%) of graduates. The reason for that, as examined, is that students are opting for majors when thinking about job opportunities more than thinking about their passion. My grandmother, during the 1960s, was widowed when she was pregnant with my uncle and my mother was only four. She was bombarded with backlash and criticism about her ability to raise two children alone. My grandmother took this as a challenge and manifested it into a positive way, by doing so, she wanted to give her children the best education there is. My mother was forced into studying medicine because this is what my grandmother thought would be best, although my mother innately had varying visions and passions. According to varying studies, a significant change has been signified in the female applicants to medical school over the last decade. This oppression and resentment led my mother to take a giant leap of faith towards me and my future, and let me decide where I take my life. My mother may be scared for my future, but she believes in the power of loving what I\u27m studying. This Audio Feature aims to present how my the controlling situations my mother faced when she was growing up led her to granting me freedom in choosing where my path is headed. Through a walk through memory lane, a change over time in the perspectives of my family is portrayed

Inter-Satellite Radiometric Calibration For A Satellite Radar Scatterometer

After the launch of NASA\u27s SeaWinds radar scatterometer on the QuikSCAT satellite in 1999, a radiometer function, known as the QuikSCAT Radiometer - QRad, was implemented in the Science Ground Data Processing Systems to allow the measurement of the earth\u27s microwave brightness temperature (Tb) using the radar system noise temperature [1, 2]. This paper will describe an inter-satellite radiometric calibration technique to validate the QRad brightness temperature algorithm and the QuikSCAT L2A Tb product. This approach allows the inter-comparison of two satellite sensors (radiometers) that have significant differences in their designs. To assess the quality of the QRad instrument, we compare its Tb measurements with the near simultaneous and collocated ocean brightness temperature observations from WindSat on the Coriolis Satellite, which serves as the brightness temperature calibration standard. Since the QRad and WindSat instruments were of different designs, brightness temperature normalizations were made for WindSat before comparison to account for expected differences in Tb because of incidence angle and channel frequency differences. Brightness temperatures for nine months during 2005 and 2006 were spatially collocated for rainfree homogeneous ocean scenes (match-ups) within 1° latitude × longitude boxes and within a ± 60 minute window. To ensure high quality comparison, these collocations were quality controlled and edited to remove non-homogenous ocean scenes and/or transient environmental conditions, including rain contamination. WindSat and QRad Tb\u27s were averaged within 1° boxes and were used for the radiometric inter-calibration analysis on a monthly basis. Results show that QRad radiometric calibration is stable in the mean over the yearly seasonal cycle. © 2010 SPIE