Remote detection of aerosol pollution by ERTS

Photogrammetric and densitometric examination of ERTS-1 MSS imagery of Eastern Virginia coupled with extensive ground truth air quality and meteorological data has shown that the identification and surveying of fixed particulate emitters (smoke plumes) is feasible. A description of the ground truth network is included. The quantitative monitoring of smoke stacks from orbital altitudes over state size regions appears possible when tied to realistic plume models and minimal ground truth. Contrast reductions over urban areas can possibly be utilized to produce isopleths of particulates when supplemented by local measurements

The hydrological regime of a forested tropical Andean catchment.

The hydrology of tropical mountain catchments plays a central role in ecological function, geochemical and biogeochemical cycles, erosion and sediment production, and water supply in globally important environments. There have been few studies quantifying the seasonal and annual water budgets in the montane tropics, particularly in cloud forests. We investigated the water balance and hydrologic regime of the Kosñipata catchment (basin area: 164.4 km2) over the period 2010–2011. The catchment spans over 2500 m in elevation in the eastern Peruvian Andes and is dominated by tropical montane cloud forest with some high-elevation puna grasslands. Catchment-wide rainfall was 3112 ± 414 mm yr−1, calculated by calibrating Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B43 rainfall with rainfall data from nine meteorological stations in the catchment. Cloud water input to streamflow was 316 ± 116 mm yr−1 (9.2% of total inputs), calculated from an isotopic mixing model using deuterium excess (Dxs) and δD of waters. Field streamflow was measured in 2010 by recording height and calibrating to discharge. River run-off was estimated to be 2796 ± 126 mm yr−1. Actual evapotranspiration (AET) was 688 ± 138 mm yr−1, determined using the Priestley and Taylor–Jet Propulsion Laboratory (PT-JPL) model. The overall water budget was balanced within 1.6 ± 13.7%. Relationships between monthly rainfall and river run-off follow an anticlockwise hysteresis through the year, with a persistence of high run-off after the end of the wet season. The size of the soil and shallow groundwater reservoir is most likely insufficient to explain sustained dry-season flow. Thus, the observed hysteresis in rainfall–run-off relationships is best explained by sustained groundwater flow in the dry season, which is consistent with the water isotope results that suggest persistent wet-season sources to streamflow throughout the year. These results demonstrate the importance of transient groundwater storage in stabilising the annual hydrograph in this region of the Andes

Observation of Collective-Emission-Induced Cooling inside an Optical Cavity

We report the observation of collective-emission-induced, velocity-dependent light forces. One third of a falling sample containing 3 x 10^6 cesium atoms illuminated by a horizontal standing wave is stopped by cooperatively emitting light into a vertically oriented confocal resonator. We observe decelerations up to 1500 m/s^2 and cooling to temperatures as low as 7 uK, well below the free space Doppler limit. The measured forces substantially exceed those predicted for a single two-level atom.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

A Common Love of Science: The One-Hundredth Meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

One of the most important functions of an academic society such as the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is to host conferences for colleagues to directly share and debate ideas and data. Academic society meetings have a long history that grew from social meetings of the privileged in the 16th and 17th centuries during which scientific topics were discussed. Scientific meetings of any nature can provide a stimulating environment to discuss and argue points (Unglow, 2002), as alluded to by Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) in the epigraph, which was written with fond memory of the Lunar Society meetings while he was in political exile (Priestley, 1793). In 1812, a gathering of local scientists formally established The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP), a society “to occupy their leisure, in each other\u27s company, on subjects of natural science” for “the advancement and diffusion of useful, liberal human knowledge.” The founders agreed that the ANSP would be “perpetually exclusive of political, religious and national partialities, antipathies, preventions and prejudices” to avoid potential conflicts with “the interests of science” (Stroud, 1997: 227). With the rise and specialization of academic societies, a concomitant specialization of scientific gatherings followed. Narrowly focused meetings have an important role in advancing the field specific to their topic, but regular (i.e., annual) discipline-wide conferences are important for both the tangible (e.g., presentation of fact) and intangible (e.g., inspiration of new avenues of study) effects they have on the attendees. Conferences also allow attendees the opportunity to conduct Society business through board and committee meetings. In 2021, the ASIH held its 100th in-person meeting, the third and final centennial to be celebrated by this Society (2013 was the 100th year of the Society\u27s journal, Copeia, now Ichthyology & Herpetology, Smith and Mitchell, 2013; 2016 was the 100th year of the ASIH\u27s founding, Hilton and Crump, 2016). This paper celebrates this milestone of the ASIH, and reflects upon the history of the ASIH conferences

Outcomes of Naviculectomy for Severe Recurrent Clubfoot Deformity

Background: Naviculectomy was originally described for resistant congenital vertical talus deformity but was later expanded to use in rigid cavus deformity. This study reviews the operative outcomes of complete excision of the navicular for recurrent deformity in the talipes equinovarus (TEV) population. Methods: After institutional review board approval, all patients undergoing naviculectomy at a single institution were identified. Clinical, radiographic, and pedobarographic data (minimum 2 years’ follow-up) were reviewed. Results: Twelve patients (14 feet) with TEV from 1984 to 2019 were included. All feet had minimum 1 prior operative intervention on the affected foot (mean age = 4.0 years, range 0.2-14.5), with 8/14 having at least 3 prior operative procedures. Complete navicular excision with concomitant procedures was performed in all patients (mean age = 11.7 years, range 5.5-16.1). Mean clinical follow-up from naviculectomy was 5.1 years (range, 2.2-11.2). During follow-up, 6 patients required subsequent surgery, most often secondary to pain and progressive deformity. One patient underwent elective below-knee amputation of the affected extremity. Of the remaining 11 patients, 7 of 11 reported continued pain and 8 of 11 maintained adequate range of motion at the ankle at the most recent follow-up. Conclusion: Clinical follow-up demonstrated deteriorating results in a large percentage of patients. The high rate of additional procedures and continued pain in the current series suggests that even as a salvage procedure, naviculectomy may not provide adequate results for patients. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series

Postmortem cardiac tissue maintains gene expression profile even after late harvesting

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene expression studies can be used to help identify disease-associated genes by comparing the levels of expressed transcripts between cases and controls, and to identify functional genetic variants (expression quantitative loci or eQTLs) by comparing expression levels between individuals with different genotypes. While many of these studies are performed in blood or lymphoblastoid cell lines due to tissue accessibility, the relevance of expression differences in tissues that are not the primary site of disease is unclear. Further, many eQTLs are tissue specific. Thus, there is a clear and compelling need to conduct gene expression studies in tissues that are specifically relevant to the disease of interest. One major technical concern about using autopsy-derived tissue is how representative it is of physiologic conditions, given the effect of postmortem interval on tissue degradation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, we monitored the gene expression of 13 tissue samples harvested from a rapid autopsy heart (non-failed heart) and 7 from a cardiac explant (failed heart) through 24 hours of autolysis. The 24 hour autopsy simulation was designed to reflect a typical autopsy scenario where a body may begin cooling to ambient temperature for ~12 hours, before transportation and storage in a refrigerated room in a morgue. In addition, we also simulated a scenario wherein the body was left at room temperature for up to 24 hours before being found. A small fraction (< 2.5%) of genes showed fluctuations in expression over the 24 hr period and largely belong to immune and signal response and energy metabolism-related processes. Global expression analysis suggests that RNA expression is reproducible over 24 hours of autolysis with 95% genes showing < 1.2 fold change. Comparing the rapid autopsy to the failed heart identified 480 differentially expressed genes, including several types of collagens, lumican (<it>LUM</it>), natriuretic peptide A (<it>NPPA</it>) and connective tissue growth factor (<it>CTGF</it>), which allows for the clear separation between failing and non-failing heart based on gene expression profiles.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that RNA from autopsy-derived tissue, even up to 24 hours of autolysis, can be used to identify biologically relevant expression pattern differences, thus serving as a practical source for gene expression experiments.</p