An operational ocean forecast system incorporating NEMO and SST data assimilation for the tidally driven European North-West shelf

A new operational ocean forecast system, the Atlantic Margin Model implementation of the Forecast Ocean Assimilation Model (FOAM-AMM), has been developed for the European North West Shelf (NWS). An overview of the system is presented including shelf specific developments of the physical model, the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO), and the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data assimilation scheme. Initial validation is presented of the tides and model SST. The SST skill of the system is significantly improved by the data assimilation scheme. Finally, an analysis of the seasonal tidal mixing fronts shows that these, in general, agree well with observation, but data assimilation does not significantly alter their positions

Doppler flow velocity waveform analysis in high risk pregnancies: A randomized controlled trial

Objective— To test whether the introduction of Doppler waveform analysis into the ultrasound department of a tertiary level hospital reduces neonatal morbidity and improves obstetric management. Design— A randomized controlled trial. Setting— Department of Ultrasound, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth, Western Australia. Subjects— 505 women with pregnancy abnormalities referred to an ultrasound department for fetal investigation during the third trimester. Intervention— Continuous wave Doppler studies of umbilical and utero-placental arterial circulations. Results were revealed to patients and clinicians. Main outcome measures— Principal end point was the duration of neonatal stay in hospital; other end points included the number and type of fetal heart rate monitoring studies, obstetric interventions, frequency of fetal distress, birthweight, Apgar scores and need for neonatal intensive care. Results— There was no effect on the duration of neonatal stay in hospital. Small trends in obstetric management were observed with study group patients having fewer contraction stress tests, less likelihood of antepartum fetal distress, and more likelihood of fetal distress after induction of labour leading to emergency cacsarean section. Depressed Apgar scores were more frequent in the study group. Conclusion— Introduction of Doppler waveform studies did not result in reduced neonatal morbidity but did have a small effect on obstetric management. For each institution the role of Doppler studies in late pregnancy will be influenced by the usage of other tests of fetal welfare already entrenched in clinical practice

Role of Lung-marginated Monocytes in an In Vivo Mouse Model of Ventilator-induced Lung Injury

Rationale: Recruited leukocytes play an important role in ventilator-induced lung injury, although studies have focused predominantly on neutrophils. Inflammatory subset Gr-1(high) monocytes are recruited to sites of inflammation and have been implicated in acute lung injury induced by systemic endotoxin. Objectives: To investigate the recruitment and role of Gr-1(high) monocytes in an in vivo mouse model of ventilator-induced lung injury. Methods: Anesthetized mice were ventilated with low or high stretch. Flow cytometry was used to quantify monocyte subset margination to the lungs, and to assess their in situ cellular activation in response to mechanical stretch. To investigate monocyte involvement in lung injury progression, a two-hit model was used, with a subclinical dose of lipopolysaccharide (intraperitoneal) given 2 hours prior to high-stretch ventilation. In some animals, monocytes were depleted using intravenous clodronate liposomes. Development of lung injury was assessed in ventilated animals by peak inspiratory pressure and respiratory system mechanics. Measurements and Main Results: High-stretch ventilation induced significant pulmonary margination of Gr-1(high) but not Gr-1(low) monocytes compared with nonventilated mice. These monocytes displayed increased activation status, with higher CD11b (vs. nonventilated mice) and lower L-selectin expression (vs. low-stretch ventilation). Lipopolysaccharide challenge led to enhanced lung margination of Gr-1(high) monocytes and neutrophils, and sensitized the lungs to high stretch-induced pulmonary edema. Clodronate-liposome pretreatment depleted lung monocytes (but not neutrophils) and significantly attenuated lung injury. Conclusions: High-stretch mechanical ventilation promotes pulmonary margination of activated Gr-1(high) monocytes, which play a role in the progression of ventilator-induced lung injur

Hubble Space Telescope Far-ultraviolet Observations of Brightest Cluster Galaxies: The Role of Star Formation in Cooling Flows and BCG Evolution

Quillen et al. and O'Dea et al. carried out a Spitzer study of a sample of 62 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) from the ROSAT brightest cluster sample, which were chosen based on their elevated Hα flux. We present Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys far-ultraviolet (FUV) images of the Lyα and continuum emission of the luminous emission-line nebulae in seven BCGs found to have an infrared (IR) excess. We confirm that the BCGs are actively forming stars which suggests that the IR excess seen in these BCGs is indeed associated with star formation. Our observations are consistent with a scenario in which gas that cools from the intracluster medium fuels the star formation. The FUV continuum emission extends over a region ~7-28 kpc (largest linear size) and even larger in Lyα. The young stellar population required by the FUV observations would produce a significant fraction of the ionizing photons required to power the emission-line nebulae. Star formation rates estimated from the FUV continuum range from ~3 to ~14 times lower than those estimated from the IR, however, both the Balmer decrements in the central few arcseconds and detection of CO in most of these galaxies imply that there are regions of high extinction that could have absorbed much of the FUV continuum. Analysis of archival Very Large Array observations reveals compact radio sources in all seven BCGs and kpc scale jets in A-1835 and RXJ 2129+00. The four galaxies with archival deep Chandra observations exhibit asymmetric X-ray emission, the peaks of which are offset from the center of the BCG by ~10 kpc on average. A low feedback state for the active galactic nucleus could allow increased condensation of the hot gas into the center of the galaxy and the feeding of star formation

Mobilization and Margination of Bone Marrow Gr-1(high) Monocytes during Subclinical Endotoxemia Predisposes the Lungs toward Acute Injury

The specialized role of mouse Gr-1(high) monocytes in local inflammatory reactions has been well documented, but the trafficking and responsiveness of this subset during systemic inflammation and their contribution to sepsis-related organ injury has not been investigated. Using flow cytometry, we studied monocyte subset margination to the pulmonary microcirculation during subclinical endotoxemia in mice and investigated whether marginated monocytes contribute to lung injury in response to further septic stimuli. Subclinical low-dose i.v. LPS induced a rapid (within 2 h), large-scale mobilization of bone marrow Gr-1(high) monocytes and their prolonged margination to the lungs. With secondary LPS challenge, membrane TNF expression on these premarginated monocytes substantially increased, indicating their functional priming in vivo. Zymosan challenge produced small increases in pulmonary vascular permeability, which were markedly enhanced by the preadministration of low-dose LPS. The LPS-zymosan-induced permeability increases were effectively abrogated by pretreatment (30 min before zymosan challenge) with the platelet-activating factor antagonist WEB 2086 in combination with the phosphatidylcholine-phospholipase C inhibitor D609, suggesting the involvement of platelet-activating factor/ceramide-mediated pathways in this model. Depletion of monocytes (at 18 h after clodronate-liposome treatment) significantly attenuated the LPS-zymosan-induced permeability increase. However, restoration of normal LPS-induced Gr-1(high) monocyte margination to the lungs (at 48 h after clodronate-liposome treatment) resulted in the loss of this protective effect. These results demonstrate that mobilization and margination of Gr-1(high) monocytes during subclinical endotoxemia primes the lungs toward further septic stimuli and suggest a central role for this monocyte subset in the development of sepsis-related acute lung injury. The Journal of Immunology, 2009, 182: 1155-116