The efficacy and acceptability of pharmacological monotherapies and e-cigarette on smoking cessation: a systemic review and network meta-analysis

Background and aimsSeveral pharmacological interventions, such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), varenicline, and bupropion, have been approved for clinical use of smoking cessation. E-cigarettes (EC) are increasingly explored by many RCTs for their potentiality in smoking cessation. In addition, some RCTs are attempting to explore new drugs for smoking cessation, such as cytisine. This network meta-analysis (NMA) aims to investigate how these drugs and e-cigarettes compare regarding their efficacy and acceptability.Materials and methodsThis systematic review and NMA searched all clinical studies on smoking cessation using pharmacological monotherapies or e-cigarettes published from January 2011 to May 2022 using MEDLINE, COCHRANE Library, and PsychINFO databases. NRTs were divided into transdermal (TDN) and oronasal nicotine (ONN) by administrative routes, thus 7 network nodes were set up for direct and indirect comparison. Two different indicators measured the efficacy: prevalent and continuous smoking abstinence. The drop-out rates measured the acceptability.ResultsThe final 40 clinical studies included in this study comprised 77 study cohorts and 25,889 participants. Varenicline is more effective intervention to assist in smoking cessation during 16–32 weeks follow-up, and is very likely to prompt dropout. Cytisine shows more effectiveness in continuous smoking cessation but may also lead to dropout. E-cigarettes and oronasal nicotine are more effective than no treatment in encouraging prevalent abstinence, but least likely to prompt dropout. Finally, transdermal nicotine delivery is more effective than no treatment in continuous abstinence, with neither significant effect on prevalent abstinence nor dropout rate.ConclusionThis review suggested and agreed that Varenicline, Cytisine and transdermal nicotine delivery, as smoking cessation intervention, have advantages and disadvantages. However, we had to have reservations about e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking in adolescents

Analysis of Landsat 8 detection of the interannual variability of grassland curing in Greater Melbourne, Australia

As one of the main components of Grassland Fire Danger Index, grassland curing degree provides crucial information for determining grassland fire danger. Accurate estimates of grassland curing are critical for determining grassland fire risk. This research focuses on the use of Landsat 8 to estimate grassland curing. Results demonstrate that Landsat 8 observations can be used to estimate curing percentages as assessed by visual and ground sampling measurements. Grassland interannual variability for the Greater Melbourne region using Landsat 8 imagery from 2013 to 2019 is examined. Slight differences in curing times and degree are observed for sample sites surrounding Greater Melbourne due to climatic differences across the region. Precipitation is regarded as an essential variable affecting curing degree and this relationship is evident for all five sample sites. Landsat 8 curing results are compared to both visual observations and destructive sampling, the most accurate method, for accuracy assessment. At 95% confidence level, Landsat 8 estimations are no different from destructive ground sampling estimations. Overall, this study validates the use of Landsat 8 data as an effective and accurate way for grassland curing monitoring

Change detection: how has urban expansion in Buenos Aires metropolitan region affected croplands

Cropland is one of the essential elements of our ecological systems for producing agricultural products. In developing countries, urban expansion is a frequently appearing phenomena, which is a type of land cover land use (LCLU) change. This change can drastically alter the features on the land surface including croplands. It can lead to detrimental consequences which has considerable effects on the social-ecological systems when croplands are lost. Argentina is an extremely agricultural intense developing country, and Buenos Aires province is a top agricultural production site and has been urbanizing during the last 30 years. Thus studying and analyzing the metropolitan area of this province will contribute to our understanding of the relationship between urban expansion and its effect on croplands. So far, no research has used measurable quantitative methodologies on the Buenos Aires metropolitan region (BAMR) to reveal the relationship between urbanization and cropland. By using 30-meter resolution Landsat images of June 1985 and July 2015, this study finds urban land has expanded from 937.16 km2 to 1835.47 km2, and 30.28% of the new urban lands comes from existing croplands

Inter-satellite variability of grassland curing maps produced by different satellite sensors – Victoria, Australia

Grassland fires are a serious problem in Victoria, Australia due to large quantity of dry grass. Grassland curing degree (GCD) measures the dryness of the grass and is an important factor for assessing grassland fire danger. Grassland curing maps (GCMs) display the spatial distribution of GCDs, but the quality of GCMs varies depending on the spatial resolution of the observing satellite remote sensing system. The higher the spatial resolution, the finer the GCD details and more spatial variations the GCM can reveal. In this study, GCD calculation algorithm named MapVictoria based on MODIS data is tested for Landsat 8 Sentinel 2; GCMs generated from these three satellites are contrasted by their GCD differences, defined here as inter-satellite variability (ISV). ISV is used to identify areas where higher resolution satellite GCMs should be used. Results show that spatial resolution difference (ΔSR), seasonality and geographical locations affect the magnitude of the ISV. Based on these findings, this paper provides recommendations to decision makers on where and when to use which satellite for grassland observations

Assessing factors impacting inter-satellite variability of grassland curing estimates for fire monitoring in Victoria, Australia using remote sensing

Grassland fires in Victoria, Australia pose significant environmental issues. Monitoring these fires relies on the Grassland Curing Degree (GCD) indicator and the corresponding Grassland Curing Map (GCM) for spatial distribution. Inter-satellite variability (ISV) assesses the variations in Grassland Curing Maps (GCMs) produced from remote sensing data with varying spatial resolutions (SR). Higher SR data improves GCM accuracy but increases processing time. ISV helps identify priority areas that need higher SR imageries. This study analyzes sample sites in Victoria and finds correlations between ISV, seasonality, temperature, precipitation, and distance to residential areas. Results reveal lower ISV during summers and autumns compared to winters and springs. Temperature shows a strong negative linear relationship with ISV, indicating that higher temperatures result in lower ISV. Precipitation exhibits a weak positive correlation with ISV, suggesting heavier precipitation leads to increased ISV. Distance to grasslands negatively correlates with ISV, indicating that greater distances from residential lands result in lower ISV. Based on these findings, it is recommended to use higher SR satellite data for GCM creation during winters and springs when temperatures are low, precipitation is heavy, and areas are closer to residential lands. Implementation suggestions are provided for fire management based on these results

Comparison of Different Multispectral Sensors for Photosynthetic and Non-Photosynthetic Vegetation-Fraction Retrieval

It is very difficult and complex to acquire photosynthetic vegetation (PV) and non-PV (NPV) fractions (fPV and fNPV) using multispectral satellite sensors because estimations of fPV and fNPV are influenced by many factors, such as background-noise interference of pixel-, spatial-, and spectral-scale effects. In this study, comparisons between Sentinel-2A Multispectral Instrument (S2 MSI), Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (L8 OLI), and GF1 Wide Field View (GF1 WFV) sensors for retrieving sparse photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic vegetation coverage are presented. The analysis employed a linear spectral-mixture model (LSMM) and nonlinear spectral-mixture model (NSMM) to unmix pixels with different spectral and spatial resolution images based on field endmembers; the estimated endmember fractions were later validated with reference to fraction measurements. The results demonstrated that: (1) with higher spatial and spectral resolution, the S2 MSI sensor had a clear advantage for retrieving PV and NPV fractions compared to L8 OLI and GF1 WFV sensors; (2) through incorporating more red edge (RE) and near-infrared (NIR) bands, the accuracy of NPV fraction estimation could be greatly improved; (3) nonlinear spectral mixing effects were not obvious on the 10–30 m spatial scale for desert vegetation; (4) in arid regions, a shadow endmember is a significant factor for sparse vegetation coverage estimated with remote-sensing data. The estimated NPV fractions were especially affected by the shadow effects and could increase root mean square by 50%. The utilized approaches in the study could effectively assess the performance of major multispectral sensors to extract fPV and fNPV through the novel method of spectral-mixture analysis

Evaluation and Intercomparison of Topographic Correction Methods Based on Landsat Images and Simulated Data

Topographic effects in medium and high spatial resolution remote sensing images greatly limit the application of quantitative parameter retrieval and analysis in mountainous areas. Many topographic correction methods have been proposed to reduce such effects. Comparative analyses on topographic correction algorithms have been carried out, some of which drew different or even contradictory conclusions. Performances of these algorithms over different terrain and surface cover conditions remain largely unknown. In this paper, we intercompared ten widely used topographic correction algorithms by adopting multi-criteria evaluation methods using Landsat images under various terrain and surface cover conditions as well as images simulated by a 3D radiative transfer model. Based on comprehensive analysis, we found that the Teillet regression-based models had the overall best performance in terms of topographic effects’ reduction and overcorrection; however, correction bias may be introduced by Teillet regression models when surface reflectance in the uncorrected images do not follow a normal distribution. We recommend including more simulated images for a more in-depth evaluation. We also recommend that the pros and cons of topographic correction methods reported in this paper should be carefully considered for surface parameters retrieval and applications in mountain regions

Carpal tunnel release with versus without flexor retinaculum reconstruction for carpal tunnel syndrome at short- and long-term follow up-A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND:Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common neuropathy disorder for which surgical treatment consists of release and reconstruction of the flexor retinaculum. Reports of postoperative clinical outcomes after carpal tunnel release with or without flexor retinaculum reconstruction in several studies are controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of carpal tunnel release with or without flexor retinaculum reconstruction. METHODS:The PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Ovid, Cochrane Library and Clinical Tri Org databases were searched for randomized controlled trials that compared carpal release with and without transverse carpal ligament reconstruction for carpal tunnel syndrome. Outcomes included postoperative Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire Symptom Severity Scale (SSS), Functional Status Scale (FSS), grip strength and complications. The follow-up time was categorized into short-term (0-3mon) and long-term(>3mon). RESULTS:A total of 7 studies with 613 patients met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in detail. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference between two groups on postoperative long-term grip strength (MD 5.85, 95% CI -1.05 to 12.76) long-term SSS (MD -0.31, 95% CI -0.75 to 0.13) and occurrence of complications (RR 1.14, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.54), whereas statistically significant difference was found between groups regarding short-term grip strength (MD 1.51, 95% CI 0.86 to 2.17) and long-term FSS (MD -0.34, 95% CI -0.47 to -0.21). CONCLUSION:Carpal tunnel release with flexor retinaculum reconstruction for carpal tunnel syndrome may result in improved long-term functional status while there's no advantage regarding grip strength, symptom severity and safety over individual carpal tunnel release in short- and long-term outcomes

Experimentation and Simulation of the Combustion of Biomass Briquettes in Southern China

The thermogravimetry (TG) of typical biomass briquettes used as fuel in southern China was analysed to investigate the influences of fuel grain size and heating rate on combustion. The results suggested that grain size and heating rate exerted little influence on combustion. In accordance with the data and the TG results obtained from the fuel, a biomass grate incinerator process was numerically simulated using fluid dynamics-based incinerator code (FLIC) software to obtain the solid phase temperature distribution of the fuel along the bed length, the spatial temperature distribution of flue gas, and the underlying variation laws of the primary components. A comparison of the mass-loss curves from the numerical simulation to the TG analysis demonstrated that the two curves exhibited consistently staged variations, including dehydration and drying, fast pyrolysis and combustion of volatiles, and the burnout of residual carbon. The specific characteristics of the fuel obtained from these tests improved the accuracy of the numerical simulation, while the variations in temperature and components obtained were conducive to optimising the combustion process of a biomass incinerator