An evaluation of two decades of aerosol optical depth retrievals from MODIS over Australia

We present an evaluation of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) retrievals from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) over Australia covering the period 2001–2020. We focus on retrievals from the Deep Blue (DB) and Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithms, showing how these compare to one another in time and space. We further employ speciated AOD estimates from Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) reanalyses to help diagnose aerosol types and hence sources. Considering Australia as a whole, monthly mean AODs show similar temporal behaviour, with a well-defined seasonal peak in the Austral summer. However, excepting periods of intense biomass burning activity, MAIAC values are systematically higher than their DB counterparts by, on average, 50%. Decomposing into seasonal maps, the patterns of behaviour show distinct differences, with DB showing a larger dynamic range in AOD, with markedly higher AODs (ΔAOD∼0.1) in northern and southeastern regions during Austral winter and summer. This is counter-balanced by typically smaller DB values across the Australian interior. Site level comparisons with all available level 2 AOD data from Australian Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites operational during the study period show that MAIAC tends to marginally outperform DB in terms of correlation (RMAIAC = 0.71, RDB = 0.65) and root-mean-square error (RMSEMAIAC = 0.065, RMSEDB = 0.072). To probe this behaviour further, we classify the sites according to the predominant surface type within a 25 km radius. This analysis shows that MAIAC’s advantage is retained across all surface types for R and all but one for RMSE. For this surface type (Bare, comprising just 1.2% of Australia) the performance of both algorithms is relatively poor, (RMAIAC = 0.403, RDB = 0.332)

Immunophenotypic analysis of cell cycle status in acute myeloid leukaemia: relationship to cytogenetics, genotype and clinical outcome

Cell cycle status may play an important role in directing patient therapy. We therefore determined the cell cycle status of leukaemic cells by immunophenotypic analysis of bone marrow trephine biopsies from 181 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and correlated the results with biological features and clinical outcome. There was considerable heterogeneity between patients. The presenting white cell count significantly correlated with the proportion of non-quiescent cells (P < 0·0001), of cycling cells beyond G1 (P < 0·0001) and the speed of cycling (P < 0·0001). Profiles in acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) differed from non-APL and were consistent with more differentiated cells with reduced proliferative potential, but no significant differences were observed between non-APL cytogenetic risk groups. NPM1 mutations but not FLT3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3ITD ) were significantly associated with a higher proportion of cells beyond G1 (P = 0·002) and faster speed of cycling (P = 0·003). Resistance to standard cytosine arabinoside and daunorubicin induction chemotherapy was significantly related to a slower speed of cycling (P = 0·0002), as was a higher relapse rate (P = 0·05), but not with the proportion of non-quiescent cells or actively cycling cells. These results show a link between the cycling speed of AML cells and the response to chemotherapy, and help to identify a group with a very poor prognosis

Ethnicity and the Writing of Medieval Scottish history

Historians have long tended to define medieval Scottish society in terms of interactions between ethnic groups. This approach was developed over the course of the long nineteenth century, a formative period for the study of medieval Scotland. At that time, many scholars based their analysis upon scientific principles, long since debunked, which held that medieval 'peoples' could only be understood in terms of 'full ethnic packages'. This approach was combined with a positivist historical narrative that defined Germanic Anglo-Saxons and Normans as the harbingers of advances of Civilisation. While the prejudices of that era have largely faded away, the modern discipline still relies all too often on a dualistic ethnic framework. This is particularly evident in a structure of periodisation that draws a clear line between the 'Celtic' eleventh century and the 'Norman' twelfth. Furthermore, dualistic oppositions based on ethnicity continue, particularly in discussions of the law, kingship, lordship and religion

Lunar Flashlight: Illuminating the Lunar South Pole

Recent reflectance data from LRO instruments suggest water ice and other volatiles may be present on the surface in lunar permanentlyshadowed regions, though the detection is not yet definitive. Understanding the composition, quantity, distribution, and form of water and other volatiles associated with lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) is identified as a NASA Strategic Knowledge Gap (SKG) for Human Exploration. These polar volatile deposits are also scientifically interesting, having the potential to reveal important information about the delivery of water to the Earth- Moon system

Lunar Flashlight: Illuminating the Moon's South Pole

Recent reflectance data from LRO instruments suggest water ice and other volatiles may be present on the surface in lunar permanently shadowed regions, though the detection is not yet definitive. Understanding the composition, quantity, distribution, and form of water and other volatiles associated with lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) is identified as a NASA Strategic Knowledge Gap (SKG) for Human Exploration. These polar volatile deposits are also scientifically interesting, having the potential to reveal important information about the delivery of water to the Earth-Moon system

Australian Education Joins the OECD : Federalism, Regionalization, and the Role of Education in a Time of Transition

This chapter argues that Australian interactions with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the field of education in the mid- to late-1970s pointed in two separate but not yet incompatible directions—one equity-oriented and the other more in line with the standardization and accountability regime typically identified with the OECD’s current policies—both of which favored a shift of authority toward the national level in educational policy-making. In the process, the chapter highlights the importance of considering movements between different spatial levels of analysis when tracing the ability of international organizations to get their ideas and visions “out of house.” The chapter first outlines the international and domestic contexts for Australia’s early involvement in the OECD, followed by a discussion of the negotiations of state and federal interests on the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education’s advisory committee on OECD matters. This discussion, in turn, frames the last three analytical sections of the chapter, on interactions between the OECD and the Australian education authorities at different levels on initiatives negotiating both the location of authority between these levels and the role of education at a time when the relation between its social and economic potential was up for revision.Non peer reviewe

A donor-specific epigenetic classifier for acute graft-versus-host disease severity in hematopoietic stem cell

Background Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative treatment for many hematological conditions. Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a prevalent immune-mediated complication following HSCT. Current diagnostic biomarkers that correlate with aGVHD severity, progression, and therapy response in graft recipients are insufficient. Here, we investigated whether epigenetic marks measured in peripheral blood of healthy graft donors stratify aGVHD severity in human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling recipients prior to T cell-depleted HSCT. Methods We measured DNA methylation levels genome-wide at single-nucleotide resolution in peripheral blood of 85 HSCT donors, matched to recipients with various transplant outcomes, with Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChips. Results Using genome-wide DNA methylation profiling, we showed that epigenetic signatures underlying aGVHD severity in recipients correspond to immune pathways relevant to aGVHD etiology. We discovered 31 DNA methylation marks in donors that associated with aGVHD severity status in recipients, and demonstrated strong predictive performance of these markers in internal cross-validation experiments (AUC = 0.98, 95 % CI = 0.96–0.99). We replicated the top-ranked CpG classifier using an alternative, clinical DNA methylation assay (P = 0.039). In an independent cohort of 32 HSCT donors, we demonstrated the utility of the epigenetic classifier in the context of a T cell-replete conditioning regimen (P = 0.050). Conclusions Our findings suggest that epigenetic typing of HSCT donors in a clinical setting may be used in conjunction with HLA genotyping to inform both donor selection and transplantation strategy, with the ultimate aim of improving patient outcome

Length of carotid stenosis predicts peri-procedural stroke or death and restenosis in patients randomized to endovascular treatment or endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND: The anatomy of carotid stenosis may influence the outcome of endovascular treatment or carotid endarterectomy. Whether anatomy favors one treatment over the other in terms of safety or efficacy has not been investigated in randomized trials. METHODS: In 414 patients with mostly symptomatic carotid stenosis randomized to endovascular treatment (angioplasty or stenting; n = 213) or carotid endarterectomy (n = 211) in the Carotid and Vertebral Artery Transluminal Angioplasty Study (CAVATAS), the degree and length of stenosis and plaque surface irregularity were assessed on baseline intraarterial angiography. Outcome measures were stroke or death occurring between randomization and 30 days after treatment, and ipsilateral stroke and restenosis ≥50% during follow-up. RESULTS: Carotid stenosis longer than 0.65 times the common carotid artery diameter was associated with increased risk of peri-procedural stroke or death after both endovascular treatment [odds ratio 2.79 (1.17-6.65), P = 0.02] and carotid endarterectomy [2.43 (1.03-5.73), P = 0.04], and with increased long-term risk of restenosis in endovascular treatment [hazard ratio 1.68 (1.12-2.53), P = 0.01]. The excess in restenosis after endovascular treatment compared with carotid endarterectomy was significantly greater in patients with long stenosis than with short stenosis at baseline (interaction P = 0.003). Results remained significant after multivariate adjustment. No associations were found for degree of stenosis and plaque surface. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing stenosis length is an independent risk factor for peri-procedural stroke or death in endovascular treatment and carotid endarterectomy, without favoring one treatment over the other. However, the excess restenosis rate after endovascular treatment compared with carotid endarterectomy increases with longer stenosis at baseline. Stenosis length merits further investigation in carotid revascularisation trials

Arterial Obstruction on Computed Tomographic or Magnetic Resonance Angiography and Response to Intravenous Thrombolytics in Ischemic Stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Computed tomographic angiography and magnetic resonance angiography are used increasingly to assess arterial patency in patients with ischemic stroke. We determined which baseline angiography features predict response to intravenous thrombolytics in ischemic stroke using randomized controlled trial data. METHODS: We analyzed angiograms from the IST-3 (Third International Stroke Trial), an international, multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial of intravenous alteplase. Readers, masked to clinical, treatment, and outcome data, assessed prerandomization computed tomographic angiography and magnetic resonance angiography for presence, extent, location, and completeness of obstruction and collaterals. We compared angiography findings to 6-month functional outcome (Oxford Handicap Scale) and tested for interactions with alteplase, using ordinal regression in adjusted analyses. We also meta-analyzed all available angiography data from other randomized controlled trials of intravenous thrombolytics. RESULTS: In IST-3, 300 patients had prerandomization angiography (computed tomographic angiography=271 and magnetic resonance angiography=29). On multivariable analysis, more extensive angiographic obstruction and poor collaterals independently predicted poor outcome (P1 indicates benefit) in patients with (odds ratio, 2.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-3.64; P=0.011) versus without (odds ratio, 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.58-1.35; P=0.566) arterial obstruction (P for interaction 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous thrombolytics provide benefit to stroke patients with computed tomographic angiography or magnetic resonance angiography evidence of arterial obstruction, but the sample was underpowered to demonstrate significant treatment benefit or harm among patients with apparently patent arteries. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.isrctn.com. Unique identifier: ISRCTN25765518