Large‐scale hydro‐climatology of the terrestrial Arctic drainage system

The large‐scale hydro‐climatology of the terrestrial Arctic drainage system is examined, focusing on the period 1960 onward. Special attention is paid to the Ob, Yenisey, Lena, and Mackenzie watersheds, which provide the bulk of freshwater discharge to the Arctic Ocean. Station data are used to compile monthly gridded time series of gauge‐corrected precipitation (P). Gridded time series of precipitation minus evapotranspiration (P−ET) are calculated from the moisture flux convergence using NCEP reanalysis data. Estimates of ET are obtained as a residual. Runoff (R) is obtained from available discharge records. For long‐term water‐year means, P−ET for the Yenisey, Lena, and Mackenzie watersheds is 16–20% lower than the observed runoff. In the Ob watershed, the two values agree within 9%. Given the uncertainties in P−ET, we consider the atmospheric and surface water budgets to be reasonably closed. Compared to the other three basins, the mean runoff ratio (R/P) is lower in the Ob watershed, consistent with the high fraction of annual precipitation lost through ET. All basins exhibit summer maxima in P and minima in P−ET. Summer P−ET in the Ob watershed is negative due to high ET rates. For large domains in northern Eurasia, about 25% of July precipitation is associated with the recycling of water vapor evapotranspirated within each domain. This points to a significant effect of the land surface on the hydrologic regime. Variability in P and P−ET has generally clear associations with the regional atmospheric circulation. A strong link with the Urals trough is documented for the Ob. Relationships with indices of the Arctic Oscillation and other teleconnections are generally weak. Water‐year time series of runoff and P−ET are strongly correlated in the Lena watershed only, reflecting extensive permafrost. Cold‐season runoff has increased in the Yenisey and Lena watersheds. This is most pronounced in the Yenisey watershed, where runoff has also increased sharply in spring, decreased in summer, but has increased for the year as a whole. The mechanisms for these changes are not entirely clear. While they fundamentally relate to higher air temperatures, increased winter precipitation, and strong summer drying, we speculate links with changes in active layer thickness and thawing permafrost

Cross-sectional analysis of UK research studies in 2015: results from a scoping project with the UK Health Research Authority

Objectives To determine whether data on research studies held by the UK Health Research Authority (HRA) could be summarised automatically with minimal manual intervention. There are numerous initiatives to reduce research waste by improving the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of clinical studies. However, quantitative data on the characteristics of clinical studies and the impact of the various initiatives are limited. Design Feasibility study, using 1 year of data. Setting We worked with the HRA on a pilot study using research applications submitted for UK-wide ethical review. We extracted into a single dataset, information held in anonymised XML files by the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) and the HRA Assessment Review Portal (HARP). Research applications from 2014 to 2016 were provided. We used standard text extraction methods to assess information held in free-text fields. We use simple, descriptive methods to summarise the research activities that we extracted. Participants Not applicable-records-based study Interventions Not applicable. Primary and secondary outcome measures Feasibility of extraction and processing. Results We successfully imported 1775 non-duplicate research applications from the XML files into a single database. Of these, 963 were randomised controlled trials and 812 were other studies. Most studies received a favourable opinion. There was limited patient and public involvement in the studies. Most, but not all, studies were planned for publication of results. Novel study designs (eg, adaptive and Bayesian designs) were infrequently reported. Conclusions We have demonstrated that the data submitted from IRAS to the HRA and its HARP system are accessible and can be queried for information. We strongly encourage the development of fully resourced collaborative projects to further this work. This would aid understanding of how study characteristics change over time and across therapeutic areas, as well as the progress of initiatives to improve the quality and relevance of research studies

The role of intermolecular coupling in the photophysics of disordered organic semiconductors: Aggregate emission in regioregular polythiophene

We address the role of excitonic coulping on the nature of photoexcitations in the conjugated polymer regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene). By means of temperature-dependent absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, we show that optical emission is overwhelmingly dominated by weakly coupled H-aggregates. The relative absorbance of the 0-0 and 0-1 vibronic peaks provides a powerfully simple means to extract the magnitude of the intermolecular coupling energy, approximately 5 and 30 meV for films spun from isodurene and chloroform solutions respectively.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, published in Phys. Rev. Let

Designing and Conducting Experiments for Range Beef Cows

Designing and conducting effective research for range beef systems involves analysis of intended application of the results, identification of factors affecting variation, and selection of appropriate research methods so that precise inferences can be made. Variances associated with time, location, animal, and error in grazing research can be high. Variation due to treatment × location and treatment × time interactions is reduced by increasing the number of locations and periods tested. Random error is reduced by increasing the total number of observations. Animals, pastures, and weather are significant sources of variation in grazing studies. Factors that influence nutrient requirements or nutrient intake of cows are potential sources of variation. Amount and quality of herbage produced are highly variable within and among years and are closely related to the amount and pattern of precipitation. Vegetative measurements (e.g., cover or standing biomass) should be planned as a step in developing experimental designs and to aid in experimental layout and interpretation of the data. Vegetation sampling should be less intensive and largely descriptive in large study areas when the objectives are to measure a livestock production response and vegetation responses are considered incidental. As the priority of the objectives moves toward emphasizing plant response and the size of the study area declines, the intensity of sampling on a land unit basis increases and the need for precision increases. Generally, multiple years of study are required to address between-year variances. Experimental units and replication are key to effective experimentation. Without replication in space and(or) time, there would be no estimate of experimental error. In supplementation studies on range, experimental units are generally animals, pastures, or ranches. Animal, pasture, and ranch have advantages and disadvantages as experimental units. The advantages and disadvantages are related to hypothesis, objectives, inference, resources, number of animals, and number of treatments. When economic evaluations are part of systems research, economists should be involved in planning the experiment and formulating hypotheses. Hypotheses and interpretation of biological data may be different than for economic data. Costs need to be estimated for correct unit of output, and cost alone may be insufficient to properly rank the economic outcomes of the research

Correlation of pain relief with physical function in hand osteoarthritis: randomized controlled trial post hoc analysis

Abstract Introduction Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are recommended for the relief of pain associated with hand osteoarthritis (OA) but do not alter the underlying structural changes that contribute to impaired physical function. The current analysis examined the relationship of pain relief with measures of function and global rating of disease in patients with hand OA. Methods This was a combined analysis of 2 prospective, randomized, double-blind, 8-week, multicenter, parallel-group studies comparing diclofenac sodium 1% gel with placebo gel (vehicle) in patients with radiographically confirmed mild to moderate hand OA. Patients (n = 783) aged ≥ 40 years applied diclofenac sodium 1% gel (2 g) or vehicle to each hand 4 times daily for 8 weeks. Outcome measures included pain intensity assessed on a 100-mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS); the Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) subscales for pain, stiffness, and physical function (100-mm VAS); and a global rating of disease (100-mm VAS). Change in VAS pain intensity from baseline to week 8 was categorized (<0%, 0%-<15%, 15%-<30%, 30%-<50%, 50%-<70%, and ≥ 70%) without regard to treatment and compared in each category with the mean change from baseline in each AUSCAN subindex and the global rating of disease. Pearson correlations between changes in outcome measures from baseline to week 8 were calculated. Results Changes in VAS pain intensity were accompanied by similar changes in AUSCAN scores and global rating of disease. Pearson correlations confirmed significant associations (P < 0.001) between change in VAS pain intensity and changes in AUSCAN pain (correlation coefficient [r] = 0.81), AUSCAN function (r = 0.75), AUSCAN stiffness (r = 0.66), and global rating of disease (r = 0.76). Conclusions Pain relief correlated with improvements in physical function, stiffness, and global rating of disease in patients with hand OA, irrespective of treatment. This suggests that pain or anticipation of pain inhibits physical function and influences patient perception of disease severity in hand OA. These results also suggest that any intervention to relieve the pain of hand OA may improve function and patient perception of disease severity, despite the absence of a disease-modifying mechanism of action. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00171652, NCT00171665