Mean Values Of Temperature Research Articles

Improving Interpolating Accuracy of Weighted Mean Temperature by Using a Novel Lapse Rate Model in Compact VMF1 Product

AbstractIn GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) meteorology, the accuracy of precipitable water vapor (PWV) retrieved from the tropospheric delay of GNSS signals is affected by the conversion factor. Compact VMF1 product (known as GGOS Atmosphere data) provides high‐accuracy global grid‐wise weighted mean temperature (Tm) values, which can be utilized to calculate the conversion factor. However, the Tm provided in the compact VMF1 data are solely ground surface values. To enhance the performance of compact VMF1 product, a new Tm lapse rate model for each grid point was developed for the purpose of reducing its surface Tm to the elevation of the GNSS site. Then the reduced Tm values over the neighboring grid points together with horizontal interpolation were used to obtain the interpolated Tm for the GNSS station. The sample data for the development of the new model were the Tm profiles obtained from ERA5 monthly averaged data spanning 2009–2018. To assess the model's performance, global radiosonde data at 504 radiosonde stations spanning 2019–2021 were employed. Results demonstrated that implementing the Tm lapse rate model significantly enhanced the accuracy of interpolating Tm values for GNSS stations with substantial height disparities from adjacent grid points, thereby improving PWV conversion accuracy. This indicates that employing the new Tm lapse rate model to adjust surface Tm data in the compact VMF1 product holds promise for enhancing its utility in GNSS meteorology.

Thermal Characteristics of the Small Joints of the Hands Between Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Healthy Controls.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the thermal characteristics of the small joints of the hands between patients with Rheumatoid arthritis and healthy controls. Patients and Methods: Fifty-two patients with Rheumatoid arthritis and twenty-six healthy controls were included in the study. Joint tenderness was evaluated using Ritchie Articular index. Joint tenderness was scored from 0 to 3. Thermal data was collected from the hand regions of individuals. A FLIR T450sc microbolometer infrared thermal camera with 320x240 resolution was used for the thermography of individuals. Bilaterally proximal interphalangeal joints (1-5) and metacarpophalangeal joints (1-5) were evaluated. The mean temperature was compared between patients and healthy controls Results: The mean temperature values of the joints in the patients with a Rheumatoid arthritis RAI score of 0, 1, 2,3 were 32.43 ± 1.59°C; 32.71 ± 1.36°C; 33.12 ± 1.23°C; 33.60 ± 0.99 respectively. The mean temperature was 31.14 ± 1.51°C in healthy controls. The mean temperature values of the joints in the Rheumatoid arthritis patients with RAI score of 0 was higher compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). Patients with a Ritchie sensitivity score of 1 had a higher mean temperature compared to patients with score of 0 (p<0.05). In Rheumatoid arthritis patients, the joints with a RAI score of 1 had higher mean temperature values than the joints with RAI score of 0 (p<0.05). The mean temperature values of the joints with RAI score of 2 were also higher than the joints with RAI score of 1 (p<0.05). Conclusion: Thermal imaging may be an objective tool for diagnosis and assessing disease activity in Rheumatoid arthritis.

Temperature dependence of leaf breakdown in streams differs between organismal groups and leaf species.

Increased temperatures are altering rates of organic matter (OM) breakdown in stream ecosystems with implications for carbon (C) cycling in the face of global change. The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) provides a framework for predicting temperature effects on OM breakdown, but differences in the temperature dependence of breakdown driven by different organismal groups (i.e., microorganisms vs. invertebrate detritivores) and litter species remain unresolved. Over two years, we conducted 12 60-day leaf litterbag incubations in 20 headwater streams in the southern Appalachian Mountains (USA). We compared temperature dependence (as activation energy, Ea) between microbial and detritivore-mediated breakdown, and between a highly recalcitrant (Rhododendron maximum) and a relatively labile (Acer rubrum) leaf species. Detritivore-mediated breakdown had a higher Ea than microbial breakdown for both leaf species (Rhododendron: 1.48 > 0.56 eV; Acer: 0.97 > 0.29 eV), and Rhododendron breakdown had a higher Ea than Acer breakdown for both organismal groups. Similarly, the Ea of total (coarse-mesh) Rhododendron breakdown was higher than the Ea of total Acer breakdown (0.89 > 0.52 eV). These effects for total breakdown were large, implying that the number of days to 95% mass loss would decline by 40% for Rhododendron and 26% for Acer between 12°C (our mean temperature value) and 16°C (+4°C, reflecting projected increases in global surface temperature due to climate change). Despite patterns in Ea, overall breakdown rates were higher for microbes than detritivores, and for Acer than Rhododendron over most of our temperature gradient. Additionally, the Ea for a subset of the microbial breakdown data declined from 0.40 to 0.22 eV when fungal biomass was included as a model predictor, highlighting the key role of fungi in determining the temperature dependence of litter breakdown. Our results imply that, as streams warm, routing of leaf litter C to detritivore-mediated fates will increase faster than predicted by previous studies and MTE, especially for labile litter. As temperatures rise, earlier depletion of autumn-shed, labile leaf litter combined with rapid breakdown rates of recalcitrant litter could exacerbate seasonal resource limitation and alter carbon storage and transport dynamics in temperate headwater stream networks.

Impact of Water Quality on the Growth Performance of Clarias gariepinus in Fish Farms within Fako Division, Cameroon

Aquaculture in South-West Cameroon has evolved although not exponentially due to a qualified workforce. The problem of water quality in fish farms that could be associated with poor feeding and water quality management impacts the life of aquatic animals. Fish needs a healthy environment for its optimal growth and development (case study of Catfish). The objective of this studied was to determine the impact of water quality on the growth performance of Clarias gariepinus in some fish farms within Fako Division-South West Region of Cameroon. Material and methods: The method used in this research topic is descriptive, with 4 different localities, namely IRAD Batoke (A), Bakingili (B), Cornelius Fish Center (C) and Oumarou fish farm (D) Mile 2 Limbe. Collection of physicochemical and biological data was conducted from the period of March 8th to May 15th 2023 in Fako Division. Results: The results revealed highest mean temperature value (28.22±0.94ºC) in IRAD Batoke broodstocks tanks while Cornelius fish Center had the highest mean pH, electrical conductivity and total dissolved solid with values of 8.16±1.25; 0.84±0.35 ms/cm; and 0.38±1.8ppt in the broodstocks tanks and table fish tanks. The highest dissolved oxygen (<8mg/l); highest nitrite level (<0.025 mg/l) and highest Ammonium (<0.05 mg/l) were noted in three localities except the Bakingili locality. The physicochemical parameters of water had no negative impacts on the growth performance of this species. Conclusion: The results of physicochemical parameters such as water temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity, total dissolved solid, NH4, NO2, O2 obtained during the study experienced a relative variation and were very suitable for the growth and development of Clarias gariepinus.

Transient Response Analysis in Spacecraft Thermal Protection Structures Under Periodic Thermal Disturbances

This study introduces frequency-domain analysis and transfer functions into spacecraft thermal analysis, presenting a fast approach for analyzing the temperature response of spacecraft thermal protection structures under periodic external heat flow. By employing Fourier transform, the complex external radiation boundary was simplified into the input signal of harmonic superposition. A transfer function was established, correlating the conduction and radiation properties of the structure with its damping effects. The analytical solution was validated against fourth-order Runge–Kutta numerical solutions, with less than 1% relative errors in mean temperature values and less than 2% in fluctuation amplitudes and high phase consistency. This method enables the rapid computation of temperature responses, providing valuable guidance for the engineering inverse design of thermal protection structures. The practical applicability of the approach is demonstrated through simulations of a specific satellite model, ensuring that the working temperature and fluctuations of the electronic devices meet the preset design requirements.

Association between heat and upper urinary tract stones morbidity and medical costs: A study in the subtropical humid climate zone

Urolithiasis is a heat-specific disease. Exploring heat-related urolithiasis susceptibility subtypes, economic burden, and modifying factors could assist governments in targeting interventions to reduce the heat-related health risks of urolithiasis morbidity. We collected data on 23,492 patients with upper urinary tract stones (main subtypes of urolithiasis) from 2013 to 2017 in Nanjing, China. We adopted generalized additive quasi-Poisson models to examine the associations between daily mean temperatures and morbidity of upper urinary tract stones, while generalized additive Gaussian models were used to explore the relationships between temperatures and log-transformed medical costs. We examined the modification effects of disease subtypes (kidney and ureteral calculus), sex, and age through stratified analyses and the modification effects of other meteorological factors by introducing interaction terms in the models. We found that short-term summer heat exposure has a statistically significant effect on ureteral calculus morbidity but not on kidney calculus morbidity. For ureter calculus, a 1 °C temperature increase was associated with a 4.36% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.94%, 6.83%) increase in daily hospitalization and a 5.44% (95% CI: 2.71%, 8.25%) increase in daily medical costs. The attributable fraction associated with heat (greater than the median value of daily mean temperature, 26.8 °C) was 7.85% (95% empirical confidence interval [eCI]: 3.64%, 11.44%) for hospitalization and 9.36% (95% eCI: 4.91%, 13.14%) for medical costs. The effects of heat on ureter calculus morbidity were significantly higher among the males and those with high sunshine duration than females and those with low sunshine duration. Short-term summer heat exposure was associated with increased morbidity and medical costs of ureteral calculus. Relevant government organizations should take effective intervention measures, including community health education, to reduce the health hazards and economic losses caused by heat.

Evolution the Relationship Between Physiologically Equivalent Temperature and Some Meteorological Parameters for Basra City, Iraq

Background: Physiologically equivalent temperatures (PET) is highly efficient in evaluating the thermal component of any given microclimate as a single thermal index. The assist stakeholders in understanding and interpreting existing bioclimatic, allowing them to make any required modifications and become more robust to predicted climate change. Objective: This study assesses the relationship between Physiologically equivalent temperatures (PET) and some Meteorological Parameters. Methods: The data for this study includes observed mean monthly air temperature values, relative humidity, and wind speed for the period (2001-2020). The data was acquired from “Iraqi Meteorological Organization and Seismology (IMOS)” stations for Basra city. The radiation and Human Bioclimatic (RayMan) model were used to simulate bioclimatic indices (SET, UTCI, PET, PMV). Results: The findings revealed that the greatest mean values for PMV (4.3), SET (36.3), PET (45.5), and UTCI (42.1) were seen in July and August. The measurements have a nice thermal sensation of PMV (-0.5 - 1.9), SET (19.2- 29), PET (18.1- 31.8), and UTCI (15.9 - 28.7) is most noticeable in the months of (March, April, and October). The results showed the PET values (cool) and (Slightly cool) between (9- 18.3) for January, February, March, and December. The value of UTCI was between (5.9- 8.5) within classes (Slight cold stress), the values of PMV (-2.6- (-2.1)) within classes (strong cold stress) and (Slight cold stress) and the value of SET was (10.2- 12.4) within classes (Slight cold stress). Conclusions: Correlations between PET and air temperature (0.99), indicating good agreement between PET and air temperature, and relative humidity (0.96). PET and wind speed (R2=0.56). The scattering pattern of PET and other thermal indices shows that all indexes have a significant correlation coefficient, between PET and UTCI (R2=0.99), between PET and SET (R2=0.98), and (R2=0.99) between PET and PMV.

Analysis of Long-Term Vegetation Trends and Their Climatic Driving Factors in Equatorial Africa

Understanding vegetation seasonality and its driving mechanisms improves decision-making in the management of ecological systems in a warming global climate. Using multiple statistical methods (i.e., trend analysis, abrupt changes, and partial correlation analysis), this study analyzed the spatiotemporal variations in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the Equatorial Africa (EQA) region and their responses to climate factors from 1982 to 2021. The NDVI values declined at a rate of 0.00023 year−1, while the precipitation (P) and mean temperature (TMEAN) values increased at rates of 0.22 mm year−1 and 0.22 °C year−1, respectively. The mean minimum temperature (TMIN) had a higher rate of 0.2 °C year−1 than the mean maximum temperature (TMAX) at 0.02 °C year−1. An abrupt change analysis showed that the TMAX, P, and NDVI breakpoints occurred in 2000, 2002, and 2009, respectively; TMEAN and TMIN breakpoints occurred in 2001. The NDVI trends declined in forest and cropland areas but increased in shrubland and grassland areas. The summer NDVI trends declined for all vegetation types and were reversed in the winter season. The NDVI positively correlated with the P (r = 0.50) and TMEAN (r = 0.60). All seasonal analyses varied across four seasons. A temporal analysis was conducted using partial correlation analysis (PCR), and the results revealed that TMIN had a greater impact on the NDVI (PCR = −0.45), followed by the TMAX (PCR = 0.31) and then the P (PCR = −0.19). The annual trend showed that areas with significant greening were consistent with stronger wetter and weaker warming trends. Both precipitation and temperature showed a positive relationship with vegetation in semi-arid and arid regions but a negative relationship with humid regions. Our findings improve our insight into scientific knowledge on ecological conservation.

Modelling non-stationarity in extreme rainfall using large-scale climate drivers

Flood estimates used in engineering design are commonly based on intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves derived from historical extreme rainfalls. Under global warming these extreme rainfalls are increasing, threatening the capacity of existing infrastructure to resist failure as IDF curves traditionally assume no change in rainfall magnitude. Hence, there is a need to investigate the implications of non-stationarity in extreme rainfalls used to derive IDFs across storm durations and annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs). One way of doing this is to incorporate covariates into the fitted probability distribution. However, there are few studies which examine non-stationarity in extreme rainfall using large-scale climate drivers as covariates, with little consensus on which covariate is the most appropriate. Here we evaluate non-stationarity in extreme rainfall across different durations, from the 1 in 5 AEP to the 1 in 100 AEP, using potential large-scale climate drivers including global and continental mean temperature, continental diurnal temperature range, continental dewpoint temperature, continental precipitable water, the Indian Ocean Dipole, the El Niño Southern Oscillation, and the Southern Annular Mode. These covariates are linked to the three parameters of the Generalized Extreme Value distribution to identify the most appropriate form of non-stationary probability model. We analyse 16 different storm durations from 6 min to 7 day annual maxima across 46 stations in Australia. Based on the Akaike Information Criteria, precipitable water is the superior covariate at a large proportion of stations irrespective of storm duration. However, when the modelled quantile changes are inspected, only global temperature is able to adequately capture the variability in changes across both storm duration and annual exceedance probability. Further, when regional average values of mean temperature, diurnal temperature range, dewpoint temperature and precipitable water were used as covariates, there was no improvement in the model performance compared to continental-wide covariates, particularly for short durations. The results using a mean global temperature covariate show that stationary historical rainfall quantile estimates are underestimated by 12 % – 9 % for frequent (1 in 5 AEP) and 23 % – 13 % for rare (1 in 100 AEP) short duration (6 min – 30 min) events. Moving forward our results suggests infrastructure design needs to incorporate non-stationarity in IDFs to ensure infrastructure and flood planning levels are not under-designed.

Detection of Leak Areas in Vineyard Irrigation Systems Using UAV-Based Data

Water is essential for maintaining plant health and optimal growth in agriculture. While some crops depend on irrigation, others can rely on rainfed water, depending on regional climatic conditions. This is exemplified by grapevines, which have specific water level requirements, and irrigation systems are needed. However, these systems can be susceptible to damage or leaks, which are not always easy to detect, requiring meticulous and time-consuming inspection. This study presents a methodology for identifying potential damage or leaks in vineyard irrigation systems using RGB and thermal infrared (TIR) imagery acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The RGB imagery was used to distinguish between grapevine and non-grapevine pixels, enabling the division of TIR data into three raster products: temperature from grapevines, from non-grapevine areas, and from the entire evaluated vineyard plot. By analyzing the mean temperature values from equally spaced row sections, different threshold values were calculated to estimate and map potential leaks. These thresholds included the lower quintile value, the mean temperature minus the standard deviation (Tmean−σ), and the mean temperature minus two times the standard deviation (Tmean−2σ). The lower quintile threshold showed the best performance in identifying known leak areas and highlighting the closest rows that need inspection in the field. This approach presents a promising solution for inspecting vineyard irrigation systems. By using UAVs, larger areas can be covered on-demand, improving the efficiency and scope of the inspection process. This not only reduces water wastage in viticulture and eases grapevine water stress but also optimizes viticulture practices.

Unlocking Weather Observations at Puerto Madryn-Patagonia, Argentina, 1902–1915

The recovery of early records of maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures; pressure; and relative humidity measurements in Puerto Madryn for the period 1902–1915 is presented. A careful evaluation of the quality of the data was performed using internal coherence, tolerance, and temporal consistency tests. The monthly mean series of all the variables, constructed from daily raw data, were subject to several homogeneity tests, and only discontinuities in pressure and relative humidity were found. The homogenized monthly mean series were compared with the Twentieth Century Reanalysis series in annual and seasonal time steps. In addition, the trends of each variable were assessed using the Mann–Kendall procedure, and correlations between relative humidity and the other variables were examined. The results show a remarkably good agreement between the temperature measurements and reanalysis values with a Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.94. The raw data for minimum and maximum temperatures represent a very good upper and lower bound for the mean temperature values of both observational and reanalysis data. Agreement was found to be lower for relative humidity and pressure with the correlation coefficients being close to 0.6 in both cases. No trends were found for the variables. The correlation analysis of the humidity measurements with the other variables shows an inverse dependence of the temperatures and no relatedness with the pressure values.

Land use in catchments of small streams and a hydrological urban heat island – a case study in Kielce city (Poland)

ABSTRACT This article presents the spatial and temporal value and dynamics of water temperature in small streams flowing through a city of 200,000 inhabitants. The analysis is based on stationary measurements of a water temperature in eight (8) catchment outlets of various uses (including forest, suburban, urbanised). The water temperature was measured daily for 4 years (06 UTC; electronic thermometers; accuracy: 0.1°C). The study has shown that the water temperature in streams is clearly modi fied by the nature of land use prevailing in the catchment, represented by the imperviousness index. Urbanised areas caused a significant increase in minimum, mean and maximum temperature values on a daily, monthly and annual cycle. The determined relationship indicates that every 1% increase in impervious catchment area causes a water temperature increase of 0.1°C. The presented and documented facts justify the use of the term ‘hydrological urban heat island’, which began to appear in the literature.

Experimenting with Pig-based Skin Model for Burns. Testing of Mean Literature Findings.

Introduction: Animal models that closely mimic human burn wound healing processes are essential for developing effective burn wound treatments. Pigs are useful animal models for studying burn wound healing. From their extensive literature review, Andrews and Cuttle (2017) reported mean temperature and exposure time values. This study was done to provide initial burn depth for another experiment comparing two burn wound treatments. The secondary goal was to validate a systematic review on porcine burn model standardization. Material and Methods: Six four-week-old Large White x Landrace gilts were housed in a closed structure for 10 days to acclimatize. The procedures were performed under general anesthesia. A round 2.5 cm copper plate welded to an aluminum rod with a wooden handle caused the injuries. The burning device was used to reach a contact temperature of 110 C on the pig's skin. The objective was to create a superficial partial thickness (SPT) burn for 10 seconds (Group 10s) and a deep partial thickness (DPT) burn for 20 seconds (Group 20s) using a plate heated at 110ºC. No stabilizer or pressure controller was used. Wounds were conclusively dressed and harvested 24 hours later. The usual hematoxylin-eosin protocol was used to cut and stain 4-micron sections. Results: A significant difference (p 0.01) was observed in dermis involvement, with a mean of 85.61 % (95% CI= 80.62 to 90.61) for group 10s and 123.71% (95% CI= 114.91 to 132.50) for group 20s. An exposure time of 20 seconds increased dermis depth-related total collagen denaturation by almost 50% compared to 10 seconds. Conclusions: In conclusion, our experiment produced DPT burns in 10 seconds and FT burns in 20 seconds without a pressure application device.

Ocular Surface Temperature Profile of Eyes with Retinal Vein Occlusion

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) results in ischemia followed by an inflammatory response. Both processes affect tissue temperature in opposite directions. Here, we evaluate the effect of RVO on the ocular surface temperature (OST) profile. Subjects with RVO were prospectively recruited. Healthy subjects without any ocular disease served as controls. The OST was determined using the Therm-App thermal imaging camera, and image processing software was employed to compute the mean temperature values of the medial canthus, lateral canthus, and cornea. We obtained thermographic images from 30 RVO subjects (30 eyes) and 148 controls (148 eyes). A univariate analysis found that eyes with RVO had significantly elevated OSTs compared to the controls (mean difference of 0.6 ± 0.3 Celsius, p < 0.05). However, this distinction between the groups lost statistical significance upon adjusting for possible confounders, including patient and environmental factors. These findings were confirmed with a post hoc case–control matched comparison. In conclusion, RVO does not seem to affect the OST. This might be due to the balance between inflammatory thermogenesis and heat constriction from ischemia in RVO. It is also possible that, in our cohort, the RVO pathophysiological processes involved were localized and did not extend to the anterior segment. Patient and environmental factors must be considered when interpreting the OST.

Impact of Climate Change on Fisheries Resources in the Eastern Niger Delta Regions, Nigeria

Studies were carried out during February – August 2022 to investigate the impact of climate change on fisheries resources in Eastern Niger Region of Nigeria. The study area covered was Cross River and Mbo River estuaries. Both face to face, group interview and structured questionnaire were used in the study, likewise the historic data on the annual climatic parameters of temperature, rainfall, comparative moistness and wind speed in the study area were obtained for the region, spanning over a period of 50 years and compared with more recent (10 years ago) for all the climatic factors. Results showed that 44.9% of the respondents indicate that climate change impacted on their fishing infrastructure in the area through damage to boat/canoe, anchor/net and drying hut, damage to fish dying hut, damage to fish processing platforms and damage to fish preservation cages/baskets. Revealing consistent fluctuations in the area for the past 50 years with the following mean temperature values of 26.92°C in the year 1986, 26.47°C in the year 2012 and 27.12°C in the year 2020 respectively. The statistical results reflect that the impacts on fisheries are not alarming and are controllable. On the basis of finding it was concluded that, the climate of Cross River Estuaries fluctuates with its attendant impact on artisanal fisheries in the area. The study noted important correlation among changing climatic apparatus and ecological problems of fisheries in the area.

A novel prediction for conjugated heat and mass transfer in falling film and membrane during LiBr absorption

The present investigation is intended to develop an understanding of how the vapor pressure and inlet temperature of the solution affect the absorption rate, which is helpful for the design of absorption heat pump systems. Many conjugated heat and mass transfer processes in falling film and membrane during lithium bromide (LiBr) absorption have not been well addressed. This paper proposes combining the meshless Radial Basis Function (RBF) and Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods to solve the conjugated heat and mass transfer in falling film and membrane-based absorption problems. The derivatives in the transverse direction are discretized using the RBF method. Owing to the parabolic nature of the governing equations, the DG methods can be used to discretize the derivatives in the streamwise direction. The efficacy of the proposed method is shown by comparing its results with analytical solutions and experimental data available in the literature. Furthermore, the proposed method is used to evaluate the analytical solutions of the heat and mass transfer problem in a membrane-based absorber. The previous published works simplified the problem to obtain the analytical solutions by providing the mean temperature and concentration values as the boundary conditions at the membrane-solution interface. The comparison of the RBF-DG method and the analytical solutions reveals that there are minor changes in temperature and local concentration values along the streamwise direction, but the profiles and trends are relatively similar across the film. A comparison of mass absorption rate calculations shows that RBF-DG and analytical solutions are compatible. The advantage of the numerical method is that various types of boundary conditions can be handled easily without any simplifications. Moreover, the numerical results of the proposed method are compared with experimental data, and they present good agreement. As a results, the absorption rate of falling film and membrane becomes capable of being accurately predicted.

A Comprehensive Analysis of the Influence of Temperature and Humidity on Dry Eye Disease.

To investigate the effects of humidity and temperature on dry eye disease (DED). A retrospective clinic-based study was conducted on DED patients undergoing dry eye treatment. Patients were followed up at least twice, and symptoms and signs were evaluated using the Symptoms Assessment Questionnaire in Dry Eye (SANDE) score, tear secretion, tear film break-up time (TBUT), ocular staining score, and tear osmolarity. Mean humidity and temperature values for one week before ocular examinations were used as the environmental exposure level. The relationship between humidity and temperature, with DED clinical parameters was analyzed in single and multi-environmental factor models. The study included 33 patients with a mean age of 53.9±12.2 years. The low-humidity group showed significantly higher SANDE scores and tear osmolarity (P=0.023/0.008), and the low-temperature group had higher SANDE scores, ocular staining scores, and tear osmolarity (P=0.004/0.036/<0.001). In the linear mixed model, single factor analysis showed that an increase in humidity resulted in decreased SANDE scores (P=0.043), and an increase in temperature led to a decrease in SANDE score, ocular staining score, and tear osmolarity (P=0.007/0.007/0.012). In the multi-factor analysis, changes in humidity had no significant effect on dry eye parameters, but an increase in temperature was significantly correlated with decreased SANDE score, ocular staining score, and tear osmolarity (P=0.026/0.024/0.002). Lower temperature led to aggravated symptoms and signs of DED and the effect of temperature on DED was more pronounced than humidity. Tear osmolarity was the most sensitive clinical parameter to be affected by climate factors in DED patients.

Analyzing physiological signals recorded with a wearable sensor across the menstrual cycle using circular statistics.

This study aims to identify the most significant features in physiological signals representing a biphasic pattern in the menstrual cycle using circular statistics which is an appropriate analytic method for the interpretation of data with a periodic nature. The results can be used empirically to determine menstrual phases. A non-uniform pattern was observed in ovulating subjects, with a significant periodicity (p0.05) in mean temperature, heart rate (HR), Inter-beat Interval (IBI), mean tonic component of Electrodermal Activity (EDA), and signal magnitude area (SMA) of the EDA phasic component in the frequency domain. In contrast, non-ovulating cycles displayed a more uniform distribution (p0.05). There was a significant difference between ovulating and non-ovulating cycles (p0.05) in temperature, IBI, and EDA but not in mean HR. Selected features were used in training an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model, using data from at least one cycle of a subject, to predict the behavior of the signal in the last cycle. By iteratively retraining the algorithm on a per-day basis, the mean temperature, HR, IBI and EDA tonic values of the next day were predicted with root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.13 ± 0.07 (C°), 1.31 ± 0.34(bpm), 0.016 ± 0.005 (s) and 0.17 ± 0.17 (μS), respectively.

Effect of voluntary electric fan use on autonomic and perceptual responses to lower leg passive heating in humans

This study investigated the efficacy of voluntary fan utilization on autonomic thermoeffector responses and thermal perceptions during passive heating by lower leg immersion (42 °C) in a 27 °C ambient temperature, 50% relative humidity. Fourteen young healthy adults (8 females) were recruited for this study where they underwent two trials with (Fan) and without an electric fan (No fan) during 50 min of passive heat stress. The skin temperature on forearm and abdomen was lower in Fan than in No fan (all p < 0.02), and the local skin temperature on the chest, and mean skin temperature were significantly lower in Fan than in No fan in the final 20 min (mean value of mean skin temperature: 34.77(0.15) °C vs 35.11(0.12) °C, respectively, all p < 0.03), whilst the rectal temperature was not different between trials (37.11(0.23) °C vs 37.08(0.27) °C, p = 0.78). The sensitivity of local sweat rate (LSR) with the increase of mean body temperature on the chest and forearm was significantly lower in Fan than No fan trials (all p < 0.02). The sum value of thermal sensation was lower and wetness was higher in Fan than in No fan in the final 25 min (thermal sensation: 7.50 (1.25) vs 5.00 (3.06), wetness: −6.57 (2.31) vs −5.21 (2.46), all p<0.03) whilst thermal discomfort did not differ significantly between trials (p = 0.12). The voluntary use of an electric fan attenuates the autonomic thermoeffector response, such as sweating, and influences thermal sensation and wetness but did not affect core temperature and thermal discomfort during lower leg immersion.

Insights into variations of seasonal and daily soil temperatures under the effect of biocrusts in central-western Argentina

Background and Aims: Biocrusts play an essential role on the earth’s surface and have a direct influence on soil parameters. Their effects on soil temperature are considered one of the most important because they affect ecological and hydrological processes, as well as the diversity of natural ecosystems. Although there are several studies concerning biocrust effects on the soil surface, investigations about the effect of the biocrust on soil temperature are still scarce. Our objective was to evaluate the influence of biocrusts on soil temperature conditions in drylands of central-western Argentina. Methods: Temperature values were recorded in the Monte phytogeographic region in the central-western part of Argentina, in three sites, during the dry and wet seasons in 2017-2018. We collected samples from a total of 30 randomly selected plots. We recorded daily temperatures values in two paired plots with crusted and uncrusted zones using a calibrated data logger Ibutton. The sampling took 18 days in total, three days on each site.Key results: Our results indicate that biocrusts produce a change in micro-soil temperatures. Areas in which biocrusts are present show a temperature reduction both in the wet and dry seasons. This effect is observed in the three studied sites. Temperature reduction varies according to the time of the day, study site and season. The morning, noon, and afternoon recorded the highest mean temperatures.Conclusions: The presence of biocrusts reduces soil temperatures in drylands of central-western Argentina. Large differences in mean temperature values between crusted and uncrusted zones were observed. The thermal reduction was more notorious in the hyper-arid site. How they affect their surrounding environment can be related to multiple factors, such as the composition of the microphytic community, the local climate and environmental conditions.