Optimal Renormalization-Group Improvement of R(s) via the Method of Characteristics

We discuss the application of the method of characteristics to the renormalization-group equation for the perturbative QCD series within the electron-positron annihilation cross-section. We demonstrate how one such renormalization-group improvement of this series is equivalent to a closed-form summation of the first four towers of renormalization-group accessible logarithms to all orders of perturbation theory

Linking Ground, Space and Knowledge: The Role of Weather Forecasting in Pastoralists\u27 Decision-Making

Changing weather patterns and decreasing land availability continue to challenge the livelihood of the pastoralists in northern Tanzania. The increasing variability of expected rains has complicated livestock management, often jeopardizing household resilience. Drought Early Warning Systems are being set up to contribute to decision-making processes at national and international levels. Nevertheless, due to the large spatial- and temporal resolution of these systems and their high uncertainties, these systems have limited value at a pastoral household level. Therefore, this paper explores what type of weather and climate information is deemed valuable for pastoral households in Longido District, Tanzania. It is based on an ethnographic study, conducted over a period of four months. It explores what weather information would be useful, the necessary scale of desired information, the required lead time of communication and, lastly, the most effective method of communicating forecast information. Following on this data, the study assessed the status of remote sensing and weather forecast modelling, exploring the question, the desired weather information can be forecast with enough skill and at a scale that is relevant to pastoral households in Longido? The ECMWF weather model was used in the assessment, revealing some optimism and scepticism concerning the status of existing information and technologies. Technological recommendations include verification of rainfall data, further research on the rainfall threshold concept, and exploring the model skill of embedded models in Tanzania. At the level of implementation , recommendations include discussing the adverse impacts of actions taken based on the forecasts and forming an implementation advisory group, which includes a comprehensive breadth of stakeholders, such as knowledgeable community members, village leaders, traditional leaders and also professionals from the field of climate sciences, rangeland ecology and anthropology

Convergent Surface Water Distributions in U.S. Cities

Earth's surface is rapidly urbanizing, resulting in dramatic changes in the abundance, distribution and character of surface water features in urban landscapes. However, the scope and consequences of surface water redistribution at broad spatial scales are not well understood. We hypothesized that urbanization would lead to convergent surface water abundance and distribution: in other words, cities will gain or lose water such that they become more similar to each other than are their surrounding natural landscapes. Using a database of more than 1 million water bodies and 1 million km of streams, we compared the surface water of 100 US cities with their surrounding undeveloped land. We evaluated differences in areal (A WB) and numeric densities (N WB) of water bodies (lakes, wetlands, and so on), the morphological characteristics of water bodies (size), and the density (D C) of surface flow channels (that is, streams and rivers). The variance of urban A WB, N WB, and D C across the 100 MSAs decreased, by 89, 25, and 71%, respectively, compared to undeveloped land. These data show that many cities are surface water poor relative to undeveloped land; however, in drier landscapes urbanization increases the occurrence of surface water. This convergence pattern strengthened with development intensity, such that high intensity urban development had an areal water body density 98% less than undeveloped lands. Urbanization appears to drive the convergence of hydrological features across the US, such that surface water distributions of cities are more similar to each other than to their surrounding landscapes. © 2014 The Author(s)

Feasibility of soil moisture estimation using passive distributed temperature sensing

Through its role in the energy and water balances at the land surface, soil moisture is a key state variable in surface hydrology and land-atmosphere interactions. Point observations of soil moisture are easy to make using established methods such as time domain reflectometry and gravimetric sampling. However, monitoring large-scale variability with these techniques is logistically and economically infeasible. Here passive soil distributed temperature sensing (DTS) will be introduced as an experimental method of measuring soil moisture on the basis of DTS. Several fiber-optic cables in a vertical profile are used as thermal sensors, measuring propagation of temperature changes due to the diurnal cycle. Current technology allows these cables to be in excess of 10 km in length, and DTS equipment allows measurement of temperatures every 1 m. The passive soil DTS concept is based on the fact that soil moisture influences soil thermal properties. Therefore, observing temperature dynamics can yield information on changes in soil moisture content. Results from this preliminary study demonstrate that passive soil DTS can detect changes in thermal properties. Deriving soil moisture is complicated by the uncertainty and nonuniqueness in the relationship between thermal conductivity and soil moisture. A numerical simulation indicates that the accuracy could be improved if the depth of the cables was known with greater certainty.Keywords: fiber optic, vadose zone, distributed sensing, temperature, soil moistur

A multiwavelength exploration of the [C II]/IR ratio in H-ATLAS/GAMA galaxies out to z = 0.2

We explore the behaviour of [C ii] λ157.74 μm forbidden fine-structure line observed in a sample of 28 galaxies selected from ∼ 50 deg2 of the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey survey. The sample is restricted to galaxies with flux densities higher than S160 μm > 150 mJy and optical spectra from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey at 0.02 2.5 × 10−3 with respect to those showing lower ratios. In particular, those with high ratios tend to have: (1) LIR <1011 L⊙; (2) cold dust temperatures, Td < 30 K; (3) disc-like morphologies in r-band images; (4) a Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer colour 0.5 ≲ S12 μm/S22 μm ≲ 1.0; (5) low surface brightness ΣIR ≈ 108–9 L⊙ kpc−2, (6) and specific star formation rates of sSFR ≈0.05–3 Gyr−1. We suggest that the strength of the far-UV radiation fields (〈GO〉) is main parameter responsible for controlling the [C ii]/IR ratio. It is possible that relatively high 〈GO〉 creates a positively charged dust grain distribution, impeding an efficient photoelectric extraction of electrons from these grains to then collisionally excite carbon atoms. Within the brighter IR population, 11 < log(L IR/L⊙) < 12, the low [C ii]/IR ratio is unlikely to be modified by [C ii] self-absorption or controlled by the presence of a moderately luminous AGN (identified via the BPT diagram)

Detecting forest response to droughts with global observations of vegetation water content

Droughts in a warming climate have become more common and more extreme, making understanding forest responses to water stress increasingly pressing. Analysis of water stress in trees has long focused on water potential in xylem and leaves, which influences stomatal closure and water flow through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. At the same time, changes of vegetation water content (VWC) are linked to a range of tree responses, including fluxes of water and carbon, mortality, flammability, and more. Unlike water potential, which requires demanding in situ measurements, VWC can be retrieved from remote sensing measurements, particularly at microwave frequencies using radar and radiometry. Here, we highlight key frontiers through which VWC has the potential to significantly increase our understanding of forest responses to water stress. To validate remote sensing observations of VWC at landscape scale and to better relate them to data assimilation model parameters, we introduce an ecosystem-scale analog of the pressure-volume curve, the non-linear relationship between average leaf or branch water potential and water content commonly used in plant hydraulics. The sources of variability in these ecosystem-scale pressure-volume curves and their relationship to forest response to water stress are discussed. We further show to what extent diel, seasonal, and decadal dynamics of VWC reflect variations in different processes relating the tree response to water stress. VWC can also be used for inferring belowground conditions-which are difficult to impossible to observe directly. Lastly, we discuss how a dedicated geostationary spaceborne observational system for VWC, when combined with existing datasets, can capture diel and seasonal water dynamics to advance the science and applications of global forest vulnerability to future droughts

Metaplastic breast carcinomas exhibit EGFR, but not HER2, gene amplification and overexpression: immunohistochemical and chromogenic in situ hybridization analysis

INTRODUCTION: Metaplastic breast carcinomas constitute a heterogeneous group of neoplasms, accounting for less than 1% of all invasive mammary carcinomas. Approximately 70–80% of metaplastic breast carcinomas overexpress the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)2 and EGFR have attracted much attention in the medical literature over the past few years owing to the fact that humanized monoclonal antibodies against HER2 and therapies directed against the extracellular ligand-binding domain or the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR have proven successful in treating certain types of human cancer. We investigated whether HER2 and EGFR overexpression was present and evaluated gene amplification in a series of metaplastic breast carcinomas. METHOD: Twenty-five metaplastic breast carcinomas were immunohistochemically analyzed using a monoclonal antibody (31G7) for EGFR and two antibodies for HER2 (Herceptest and CB11) and scored using the Herceptest scoring system. Gene amplification was evaluated by chromogenic in situ hybridization using Zymed Spot-Light EGFR and HER2 amplification probe. The results were evaluated by bright field microscopy under 40× and 63× objective lenses. RESULTS: Nineteen (76%) metaplastic breast carcinomas exhibited EGFR ovexpression, and among these EGFR amplification (defined either by large gene clusters or >5 signals/nucleus in >50% of neoplastic cells) was detected in seven cases (37%): three carcinomas with squamous differentiation and four spindle cell carcinomas. One case exhibited HER2 overexpression of grade 2+ (>10% of cells with weak to moderate complete membrane staining), but HER2 gene amplification was not detected. CONCLUSION: Metaplastic breast carcinomas frequently overexpressed EGFR, which was associated with EGFR gene amplification in one-third of cases. Our findings suggest that some patients with metaplastic breast carcinomas might benefit from novel therapies targeting EGFR. Because most metaplastic breast carcinomas overexpress EGFR without gene amplification, further studies to evaluate EGFR activating mutations are warranted

Net primary productivity estimates and environmental variables in the Arctic Ocean: An assessment of coupled physical-biogeochemical models

The relative skill of 21 regional and global biogeochemical models was assessed in terms of how well the models reproduced observed net primary productivity (NPP) and environmental variables such as nitrate concentration (NO3), mixed layer depth (MLD), euphotic layer depth (Zeu), and sea ice concentration, by comparing results against a newly updated, quality-controlled in situ NPP database for the Arctic Ocean (1959-2011). The models broadly captured the spatial features of integrated NPP (iNPP) on a pan-Arctic scale. Most models underestimated iNPP by varying degrees in spite of overestimating surface NO3, MLD, and Zeu throughout the regions. Among the models, iNPP exhibited little difference over sea ice condition (ice-free vs. ice-influenced) and bottom depth (shelf vs. deep ocean). The models performed relatively well for the most recent decade and towards the end of Arctic summer. In the Barents and Greenland Seas, regional model skill of surface NO3 was best associated with how well MLD was reproduced. . Regionally, iNPP was relatively well simulated in the Beaufort Sea and the central Arctic Basin, where in situ NPP is low and nutrients are mostly depleted. Models performed less well at simulating iNPP in the Greenland and Chukchi Seas, despite the higher model skill in MLD and sea ice concentration, respectively. iNPP model skill was constrained by different factors in different Arctic Ocean regions. Our study suggests that better parameterization of biological and ecological microbial rates (phytoplankton growth and zooplankton grazing) are needed for improved Arctic Ocean biogeochemical modeling

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Management of colorectal cancer presenting with synchronous liver metastases

Up to a fifth of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) present with synchronous hepatic metastases. In patients with CRC who present without intestinal obstruction or perforation and in whom comprehensive whole-body imaging confirms the absence of extrahepatic disease, evidence indicates a state of equipoise between several different management pathways, none of which has demonstrated superiority. Neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy is advocated by current guidelines, but must be integrated with surgical management in order to remove the primary tumour and liver metastatic burden. Surgery for CRC with synchronous liver metastases can take a number of forms: the 'classic' approach, involving initial colorectal resection, interval chemotherapy and liver resection as the final step; simultaneous removal of the liver and bowel tumours with neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy; or a 'liver-first' approach (before or after systemic chemotherapy) with removal of the colorectal tumour as the final procedure. In patients with rectal primary tumours, the liver-first approach can potentially avoid rectal surgery in patients with a complete response to chemoradiotherapy. We overview the importance of precise nomenclature, the influence of clinical presentation on treatment options, and the need for accurate, up-to-date surgical terminology, staging tests and contemporary management options in CRC and synchronous hepatic metastatic disease, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary care