iFLOW:A Framework and GUI to Quantify Effective Thermal Diffusivity and Advection in Permeable Materials From Temperature Time Series

iFLOW is a free, open‐source, and python‐based framework and graphical user interface to visualize and analyze temperature time series, and extract one dimensional thermal velocity, vT , and bulk effective thermal diffusivity, ke. Information of thermal properties of the sediment‐water mixture (bulk) and water allows quantifying the one‐dimensional Darcian flux, q, and seepage velocity, v, from vT. Available software packages were developed to quantify q and ke only based on a specific mathematical model or focused on specific data processing or parameter estimation techniques, and all these steps were lumped together preventing users to identify potential source of errors. iFLOW proposes a novel organizational philosophy with a modular framework that parses the analysis process into three fundamental steps: (a) the mathematical model, (b) signal processing, and (c) parameter estimation. iFLOW houses a suite of models and analysis techniques. This suite can be readily added to and expanded through its modular framework. iFLOW contains a wizard to guide users through the selection process with respect to the three fundamental steps. Users can analyze and visualize intermediate results to identify problematic issues in the time series data and improve data interpretation. Here, we present iFLOW and summarize its performance using a set of one‐dimensional synthetic heat transport simulations

The role of organisms in hyporheic processes : gaps in current knowledge, needs for future research and applications

Fifty years after the hyporheic zone was first defined (Orghidan, 1959), there are still gaps in the knowledge regarding the role of biodiversity in hyporheic processes. First, some methodological questions remained unanswered regarding the interactions between biodiversity and physical processes, both for the study of habitat characteristics and interactions at different scales. Furthermore, many questions remain to be addressed to help inform our understanding of invertebrate community dynamics, especially regarding the trophic niches of organisms, the functional groups present within sediment, and their temporal changes. Understanding microbial community dynamics would require investigations about their relationship with the physical characteristics of the sediment, their diversity, their relationship with metabolic pathways, their inter- actions with invertebrates, and their response to environmental stress. Another fundamental research question is that of the importance of the hyporheic zone in the global metabolism of the river, which must be explored in relation to organic matter recycling, the effects of disturbances, and the degradation of contaminants. Finally, the application of this knowledge requires the development of methods for the estimation of hydro- logical exchanges, especially for the management of sediment clogging, the optimization of self-purification, and the integration of climate change in environmental policies. The development of descriptors of hyporheic zone health and of new metrology is also crucial to include specific targets in water policies for the long-term management of the system and a clear evaluation of restoration strategies

Why don't hospital staff activate the rapid response system (RRS)? How frequently is it needed and can the process be improved?

Abstract Background The rapid response system (RRS) is a process of accessing help for health professionals when a patient under their care becomes severely ill. Recent studies and meta-analyses show a reduction in cardiac arrests by a one-third in hospitals that have introduced a rapid response team, although the effect on overall hospital mortality is less clear. It has been suggested that the difficulty in establishing the benefit of the RRS has been due to implementation difficulties and a reluctance of clinical staff to call for additional help. This assertion is supported by the observation that patients continue to have poor outcomes in our institution despite an established RRS being available. In many of these cases, the patient is often unstable for many hours or days without help being sought. These poor outcomes are often discovered in an ad hoc fashion, and the real numbers of patients who may benefit from the RRS is currently unknown. This study has been designed to answer three key questions to improve the RRS: estimate the scope of the problem in terms of numbers of patients requiring activation of the RRS; determine cognitive and socio-cultural barriers to calling the Rapid Response Team; and design and implement solutions to address the effectiveness of the RRS. Methods The extent of the problem will be addressed by establishing the incidence of patients who meet abnormal physiological criteria, as determined from a point prevalence investigation conducted across four hospitals. Follow-up review will determine if these patients subsequently require intensive care unit or critical care intervention. This study will be grounded in both cognitive and socio-cultural theoretical frameworks. The cognitive model of situation awareness will be used to determine psychological barriers to RRS activation, and socio-cultural models of interprofessional practice will be triangulated to inform further investigation. A multi-modal approach will be taken using reviews of clinical notes, structured interviews, and focus groups. Interventions will be designed using a human factors analysis approach. Ongoing surveillance of adverse outcomes and surveys of the safety climate in the clinical areas piloting the interventions will occur before and after implementation

Aggiornamento sul programma nazionale italiano di lotta biologica classica al moscerino asiatico dei piccoli frutti, Drosophila suzukii

Vengono presentate le attività del Tavolo tecnico-scientifico nazionale di coordinamento per la lotta al moscerino asiatico dei piccoli frutti, Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, istituito formalmente su indicazione del Comitato Fitosanitario Nazionale nel gennaio 2021. La principale finalità del Tavolo è quella di definire e condividere le attività di contrasto al fitofago invasivo attraverso la programmazione di un piano triennale di controllo biologico classico che prevede l’impiego del parassitoide esotico Ganaspis brasiliensis Ihering. La prima campagna di lanci del parassitoide, partita nell’agosto del 2021 a seguito dell’autorizzazione da parte dell’ex Ministero della Transizione Ecologica (ora Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica), ha visto la partecipazione delle regioni Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Piemonte, Puglia, Sicilia, Valle d’Aosta e Veneto e delle Province autonome di Trento e Bolzano. Nel 2023 si aggiungeranno le regioni Lombardia e Toscana. I risultati dei monitoraggi delle prime due stagioni, eseguiti sul 100% dei siti di lancio tra maggio e novembre di ogni anno, suggeriscono che G. brasiliensissi stia insediando in varie aree del territorio nazionale e ne confermano la specificità nei confronti di D. suzukii, già osservata negli studi di laboratorio

Global nitrous oxide budget (1980--2020)

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a long-lived potent greenhouse gas and stratospheric ozone-depleting substance that has been accumulating in the atmosphere since the preindustrial period. The mole fraction of atmospheric N2O has increased by nearly 25 % from 270 ppb (parts per billion) in 1750 to 336 ppb in 2022, with the fastest annual growth rate since 1980 of more than 1.3 ppb yr−1 in both 2020 and 2021. According to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR6), the relative contribution of N2O to the total enhanced effective radiative forcing of greenhouse gases was 6.4 % for 1750–2022. As a core component of our global greenhouse gas assessments coordinated by the Global Carbon Project (GCP), our global N2O budget incorporates both natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks and accounts for the interactions between nitrogen additions and the biogeochemical processes that control N2O emissions. We use bottom-up (BU: inventory, statistical extrapolation of flux measurements, and process-based land and ocean modeling) and top-down (TD: atmospheric measurement-based inversion) approaches. We provide a comprehensive quantification of global N2O sources and sinks in 21 natural and anthropogenic categories in 18 regions between 1980 and 2020. We estimate that total annual anthropogenic N2O emissions have increased 40 % (or 1.9 Tg N yr−1) in the past 4 decades (1980–2020). Direct agricultural emissions in 2020 (3.9 Tg N yr−1, best estimate) represent the large majority of anthropogenic emissions, followed by other direct anthropogenic sources, including fossil fuel and industry, waste and wastewater, and biomass burning (2.1 Tg N yr−1), and indirect anthropogenic sources (1.3 Tg N yr−1) . For the year 2020, our best estimate of total BU emissions for natural and anthropogenic sources was 18.5 (lower–upper bounds: 10.6–27.0) Tg N yr−1, close to our TD estimate of 17.0 (16.6–17.4) Tg N yr−1. For the 2010–2019 period, the annual BU decadal-average emissions for both natural and anthropogenic sources were 18.2 (10.6–25.9) Tg N yr−1 and TD emissions were 17.4 (15.8–19.20) Tg N yr−1. The once top emitter Europe has reduced its emissions by 31 % since the 1980s, while those of emerging economies have grown, making China the top emitter since the 2010s. The observed atmospheric N2O concentrations in recent years have exceeded projected levels under all scenarios in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), underscoring the importance of reducing anthropogenic N2O emissions. To evaluate mitigation efforts and contribute to the Global Stocktake of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, we propose the establishment of a global network for monitoring and modeling N2O from the surface through to the stratosphere. The data presented in this work can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.18160/RQ8P-2Z4R (Tian et al., 2023)