Slope Of Correlation Research Articles

Identification and Quantification of Germacrene D from the Extracts of Zanthoxylum ovalifolium Leaves by AgNO3-TLC Densitometric Method

Germacrene D an important sesquiterpenoid has been extracted from leaves of Zanthoxylum ovalifoilum and high performance thin-layer chromatographic method has been developed for its simultaneous identification and determination. The compound was extracted by cold extraction and separated and identified on a AgNO3 impregnated silica gel 60 F254 HPTLC plates with dichloromethane:acetone (9.8:0.2 v/v) as mobile phase. The quantification of geremcare D was carried out by densitometry scanning performed at λ = 254 nm by reflectance scanning. This facilitated a well-resolved band for the compound with a Rf value of 0.46 ± 0.01. Linear regression concentration analysis data for mean calibration plots showed good linear relationship in the range of 1000-10000 ng/mL, with a correlation coefficient, slope and intercept of 0.9985 ± 0.0004, 21.62 ± 0.435 and 3308.87 ± 10.24, respectively. The minimum amount of germacrene D that could be authentically detected (LOD) and quantified (LOQ) were determined and found to be 212.07 and 521.23 ng/spot, respectively. The method was validated by considering the parameters linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity and robustness wherein, it is evident from the results that the proposed method was simple, safe and reliable.

A new method to determine the aerosol optical properties from multiple-wavelength O<sub>4</sub> absorptions by MAX-DOAS observation

Abstract. Ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observation was carried out from November 2016 to February 2017 in Beijing, China, to measure the O4 absorptions in UV and visible bands and further to illustrate its relationship with aerosol optical properties (AOPs) under different weather types. According to relative humidity, visibility, and PM2.5, we classified the observation periods into clear, light-haze, haze, heavy-haze, fog, and rainy weather conditions. There are obvious differences for measured AOPs under different weather conditions, especially scattering coefficient (σsca) and absorption coefficient (σsca). It was also found that both the O4 differential slant column densities (DSCDs) at the UV and visible bands varied in the order of clear days > light-haze days > haze days > heavy-haze days > fog days. The correlation coefficients (R2) between O4 DSCDs at 360.8 and 477.1 nm mainly varied in the order of clear days > light-haze days > haze days > heavy-haze days. Based on the statistics of O4 DSCDs at an elevation angle 1∘ with the corresponding linear regression between UV and visible bands of segmental periods, the relationships between O4 DSCDs and AOPs were established. It should mainly be clear or light-haze days when the correlation slope is greater than 1.0, with a correlation coefficient (R2) greater than 0.9, and O4 DSCDs mainly greater than 2.5×1043 molec. cm−2. Meanwhile, σsca and σabs are less than 45 and 12 Mm−1, respectively. For haze or heavy-haze days, the correlation slope is less than 0.6, with an R2 less than 0.8, and O4 DSCDs mainly less than 1.3×1043 molec. cm−2, under which σsca and σabs are mainly located at 200–900 and 20–60 Mm−1. Additionally, the determination method was well validated based on another MAX-DOAS measurement at Gucheng from 19 to 27 November 2016. For more precise and accurate inversion of AOPs, more detailed look-up tables for O4 multiple-wavelength absorptions need to be developed. Since the ground surface AOPs were determined using MAX-DOAS observation at a 1∘ elevation in this study, we hope to highlight the potential of retrieved vertical spatially resolved AOPs being expected when multiple elevation angles of MAX-DOAS observation are used together.

Influence of earthquakes on the occurrence of aortic aneurysm ruptures.

Catastrophic events have been correlated to increased incidence of cardio-vascular events, but no correlation between RAA and seismic activities have ever been investigated. Hospital admissions related to RAA between January 2014 and December 2016 were retrospectively assessed in nine vascular centers of central Italy and correlated with date-matched seismic events. Correlation between RAA presentation and seismic event was first evaluated by Linear Regression analysis. Incidence of RAA events, mortality rate, and type of intervention were analyzed during seismic days (SD) and compared to outcomes during non-seismic days (nSD). A total of 376 patients were admitted with a diagnosis of RAA, and a total of 783 seismic events were reviewed. Twenty patients died before intervention (untreated). Open surgery was performed in 72.8%, endovascular treatment in 27.2%. General mortality at 30 days was 26.6% (30.5% for open surgery; 21.6% for endovascular treatment; P=0.24). Linear regression analysis between RAA and seismic periods revealed a significant correlation (slope=0.11±0.04, equation: y = 0.1143 x + 3.034, P=0.02). Incidence of RAA was 0.34 event per day during the entire period, 0.32 during nSD and 0.44 during SD (P=0.006). During seismic days, patients with RAA were older (80.5 years during SD vs. 77 years during nSD, P=0.12), were in poorer general condition at admission and remained untreated more frequently (8% SD vs. 4.7% nSD, P=0.3), and had a higher mortality rate at 30 days (46.2% SD vs. 27.2% nSD, P=0.012). During seismic days, the incidence of RAA is higher in comparison to non-seismic days. Patients with rupture during seismic days have a higher risk of death.

Linkage of agricultural drought with meteorological drought in different climates of Iran

This study investigates the linkage between agricultural drought and meteorological drought, using normalization different vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface temperature (LST) for the whole of Iran in four periods of 16 days of late March, April, May, and June between 2000 and 2017. LST and NDVI were obtained from the production of MODIS MOD13A2 and MOD11A2. In the next step, the basic time synchronization of LST and NDVI was performed by the mean of two 8-day LST images and their conversion to 16-day LST for each year. The vegetation health index (VHI) was calculated from the combination of temperature condition index (TCI) and vegetation condition index (VCI). Then, Iran’s map of standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI) was calculated on a 12-month timescale for 68 meteorological stations with the inverse distance weighted (IDW) method. By using ArcGIS 10.5, the Pearson correlation coefficient and the slope of linear regression were calculated between 12-month SPEI and VHI for all four periods in different climates: hyper dry, dry, semi-dry, semi-humid, and humid. Results showed that the correlation increased when the temperature increased. This increase occurred in dry and hyper-dry climates. As the temperature rose, the slope of the linear regression for 12-month standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI) on vegetation health index (VHI) increased. The highest and lowest average effects of the slope were observed in dry and climatic class, respectively. With increasing temperature, the need for water in plants will increase. Hence, there is a direct relation or a positive correlation between temperature and correlation strength and slope effect. Therefore, plants more seriously will face drought stress during the drought period, and this drought stress has a positive correlation with drought intensity. From this study, it was concluded that the highest correlation and the highest slope effect between the 12-month SPEI and VHI happened in the dry climatic class in June.

Development of Artificial Neural Network Models to Assess Beer Acceptability Based on Sensory Properties Using a Robotic Pourer: A Comparative Model Approach to Achieve an Artificial Intelligence System

Artificial neural networks (ANN) have become popular for optimization and prediction of parameters in foods, beverages, agriculture and medicine. For brewing, they have been explored to develop rapid methods to assess product quality and acceptability. Different beers (N = 17) were analyzed in triplicates using a robotic pourer, RoboBEER (University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia), to assess 15 color and foam-related parameters using computer-vision. Those samples were tested using sensory analysis for acceptability of carbonation mouthfeel, bitterness, flavor and overall liking with 30 consumers using a 9-point hedonic scale. ANN models were developed using 17 different training algorithms with 15 color and foam-related parameters as inputs and liking of four descriptors obtained from consumers as targets. Each algorithm was tested using five, seven and ten neurons and compared to select the best model based on correlation coefficients, slope and performance (mean squared error (MSE). Bayesian Regularization algorithm with seven neurons presented the best correlation (R = 0.98) and highest performance (MSE = 0.03) with no overfitting. These models may be used as a cost-effective method for fast-screening of beers during processing to assess acceptability more efficiently. The use of RoboBEER, computer-vision algorithms and ANN will allow the implementation of an artificial intelligence system for the brewing industry to assess its effectiveness.

Investigation into the Oxidative Aging of Asphalt Binders

Oxidative aging is caused by oxygen diffusion into the binder when an asphalt pavement is exposed to the atmosphere. Aging can lead to increased susceptibility to pavement damage (i.e., raveling, cracking, and moisture damage). Investigation of the aging mechanism advances the understanding of these pavement distresses, and prediction of the aging progress improves structural design and prediction of pavement performance. Previous studies have proposed a dual-rate aging model that divides the aging progress into a short, fast-rate phase and a long constant phase. This paper further investigates the constant rate aging phase of unmodified, polymer modified, and asphalt rubber binders. The chemical composition (carbonyl, sulfoxide, ether, and ester) and the rheological properties (shear modulus and viscosity) changes were tracked to analyze the binder aging mechanism. As expected, the carbonyl component was found to consistently increase with aging time. The widely used aging model with kinetics parameters estimated from the accelerated laboratory test predicted the field-aging progress reasonably well. A linear correlation between the logarithm of viscosity change and the carbonyl change was found to be valid for a wide range of loading temperatures and frequencies. Furthermore, the slope of this linear correlation was found to be in perfect linear correlation with the loading frequency. These findings point to a generic framework for studying aging and its effect on asphalt binders, as well as asphalt concrete mixes.

Impaired Baroreflex Function during Rest and Graded Orthostasis in Women with PTSD

Post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is more prevalent in women and associated with significantly higher risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The underlying mechanisms are unclear, but impaired baroreflex function and vasomotor sympathetic neural control may be involved. We hypothesized that women with PTSD would have an impaired baroreflex control of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). MSNA and hemodynamics were measured supine and during 30º and 60º head‐up tilt (HUT) in 14 women with PTSD and 14 healthy women (Controls). Sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity(BRS) was quantified using the slope of the linear correlation between MSNA and diastolic pressure during spontaneous breathing. Age and body mass index were not different between groups. Supine resting MSNA was greater in women with PTSD (PTSD vs. Controls: 27±3 vs. 14±3 bursts/min; P=0.002, mean±SEM). Sympathetic BRS was impaired in women with PTSD compared to controls in the supine position (PTSD vs. Controls: −43±7 vs. −64±9 units 100beats−1 mmHg−1, P=0.02). It remained lower in women with PTSD during 30º and 60º HUT (posturexgroup interaction P=0.1, time P=0.003, group P=0.03). MSNA response to the graded HUT was not different between groups but the efficacy of MSNA for vasoconstriction was greater in women with PTSD (HUT 30: 1.8±0.5 vs.0.9±0.4 %TPR/%totalMSNA; P=0.01, HUT60: 1.2±0.4 vs. 0.7±0.3; P=0.04). Our findings demonstrate that women with PTSD have decreased sympathetic BRS and it may contribute to augmented sympathetic activity. The higher efficacy of MSNA for vasoconstriction in PTSD suggests greater sympathetic vascular transduction and/or other nonadrenergic mechanisms responsible for vasoconstriction. These results may explain, in part, the underlying mechanisms for the greater risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease in women with PTSD.Support or Funding InformationSupported by the Harry S. Moss Heart TrustThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Mapping Soil Moisture at a High Resolution over Mountainous Regions by Integrating In Situ Measurements, Topography Data, and MODIS Land Surface Temperatures

Hydro-agricultural applications often require surface soil moisture (SM) information at high spatial resolutions. In this study, daily spatial patterns of SM at a spatial resolution of 1 km over the Babao River Basin in northwestern China were mapped using a Bayesian-based upscaling algorithm, which upscaled point-scale measurements to the grid-scale (1 km) by retrieving SM information using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived land surface temperature (LST) and topography data (including aspect and elevation data) and in situ measurements from a wireless sensor network (WSN). First, the time series of pixel-scale (1 km) representative SM information was retrieved from in situ measurements of SM, topography data, and LST. Second, Bayesian linear regression was used to calibrate the relationship between the representative SM and the WSN measurements. Last, the calibrated relationship was used to upscale a network of in situ measured SM to map spatially continuous SM at a high resolution. The upscaled SM data were evaluated against ground-based SM measurements with satisfactory accuracy—the overall correlation coefficient (r), slope, and unbiased root mean square difference (ubRMSD) values were 0.82, 0.61, and 0.025 m3/m3, respectively. Moreover, when accounting for topography, the proposed upscaling algorithm outperformed the algorithm based only on SM derived from LST (r = 0.80, slope = 0.31, and ubRMSD = 0.033 m3/m3). Notably, the proposed upscaling algorithm was able to capture the dynamics of SM under extreme dry and wet conditions. In conclusion, the proposed upscaled method can provide accurate high-resolution SM estimates for hydro-agricultural applications.

Dependence of muscle and deep fascia stiffness on the contraction levels of the quadriceps: An in vivo supersonic shear-imaging study

In the present study we investigated muscle contraction-driven changes in deep fascia mechanical property, to reveal mechanical interactions between them. Fourteen males (22–37 yr) performed isometric knee extension at 20, 40, 60% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). During each contraction and at rest, shear wave velocities (SWV) of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus lateralis (VL) and fascia lata were measured in both longitudinal and transverse ultrasound transducer directions relative to the thigh. Surface electromyogram was recorded from RF and VL and root mean square (RMS) values were determined. The slopes of the linear correlations between normalized SWV (%SWV: relative to rest) and RMS (%RMSEMG: relative to MVC) were calculated for different sites and directions. Both muscles and fascia lata became stiffer as the muscle activation level increased to comparable degrees, with the slopes of those changes being 4–9 times higher in the longitudinal than transverse direction. The fascia lata showed lower slopes than those of muscles in the longitudinal direction while in the transverse direction neither parts showed significant differences. These results suggest that the force produced by the muscles partly transmitted to the fascia lata in the longitudinal and transverse directions, causing anisotropic changes in musculofascial entity.

Reduction in Water Erosion of Uncoated Roads in Lomé in Togo: Correlation Slope, Width and Water Sheet of Roads

The unpaved roads of Lome in Togo are increasingly eroded by runoff waters. These waters dig sometimes great gullyings on the roads. The runoff waters make the roads impracticable, and they are very often dangerous for populations. The current project consists in determining the compensation slope of the roads in Lome in order to reduce the water erosion. 330 sediment samples are taken from 110 roads in Lome, and then subjected to granulometric analyses and identification tests. From the slope compensation theory, the slope that makes it possible to avoid the road erosion is determined for any right-of-way of roads and water sheet. As a result compensation slopes (p) exponentially decrease with roads’ right-of-way (L) lying between 3 m and 20 m (p=aLb=aeb ln (L)) and become stationary beyond 20 m. They are also decreasing from the sheet 100 mm to 350 mm for any right-of-way of the road. The required slopes for unpaved roads are between 0.23% and 2.92% with an average of 0.92 % in order to keep them from water erosion. Equations and graphs are established to help deducting slopes no matter how long the road is (L) and how high the sheet is (h).

Evaluating the Response of Summertime Surface Sulfate to Hydroclimate Variations in the Continental United States: Role of Meteorological Inputs in the GEOS‐Chem Model

AbstractUnderstanding the response of sulfate to climate change is crucial given tight couplings between sulfate and the hydrological cycle. As the sources and sinks of sulfate are sensitive to cloud and precipitation processes, the accuracy of model simulations depends on the accuracy of these meteorological inputs. In this study, we evaluate the GEOS‐Chem model in simulating summertime surface sulfate concentrations in the continental United States across different levels of dryness and compare the model performance based on two sets of meteorological fields: Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and MERRA‐2. Both simulations fail to reproduce observed increases in sulfate during drought, as indicated by negative correlation slopes between surface sulfate concentrations and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). This deficiency can be largely attributed to too large a decrease in clouds and hence aqueous phase sulfate production as conditions shift from wet to dry. MERRA‐2‐driven GEOS‐Chem (M2GC) shows improvements in cloud and precipitation fields relative to the MERRA‐driven GEOS‐Chem, hence eliminating approximately half of the bias in the simulated sulfate‐SPEI slope. However, M2GC still underestimates boundary layer cloud fraction, overestimates liquid water content, and overestimates the rates of the decrease in both quantities as conditions become drier. Explicitly correcting these cloud biases in M2GC results in a 60–80% reduction of the bias in the simulated sulfate‐SPEI slope. The strong sensitivity of simulated sulfate to prescribed cloud fields suggests the need for more comprehensive assessment of cloud inputs for sulfate simulations under current and future climate change scenarios.

The Radio/X-Ray Correlation in X-Ray Binaries—Insights from a Hard X-Ray Perspective

Abstract The radio/X-ray correlation is one of the most important pieces of observational evidence of the disk–jet connection in accreting compact objects. However, a growing number of X-ray binaries (XRB) seem to present deviations from the universal radio/X-ray correlation, and the origin of these outliers are still very much debated. In previous studies, the X-ray bolometric luminosity used in the radio/X-ray correlation has been estimated using a narrow, soft X-ray band. We study how estimating the X-ray bolometric luminosity using broadband observations of XRB affects the radio/X-ray correlation. We found that the ratio between the broadband (3–200 keV) and narrowband (3–9 keV) luminosities varies between 5 and 10 in the hard X-ray state. Overall, the resulting radio/X-ray correlation slopes and normalizations did not present a very significant change, suggesting that they are not affected greatly by observational biases but are caused by real physical effects. We found that all sources that reach high enough luminosity change their correlation slopes from the universal slope to a much steeper one. In addition, sources in the steeper radio/X-ray track show a distinct cutoff in the high-energy X-ray spectrum at tens of keV. These results suggest that the accretion flow presents a morphological change at a certain critical luminosity during the outburst rise from radiatively inefficient to radiatively efficient flow that is in turn more efficient in cooling the hot accretion flow producing the hard X-ray emission. This change could also affect to the jet launching properties in these systems.

Comparison of UV-AOPs (UV/H2O2, UV/PDS and UV/Chlorine) for TOrC removal from municipal wastewater effluent and optical surrogate model evaluation

UV-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been widely explored to remove organic contaminants from water streams. In this lab-scale study, the removal of 17 trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) by UV/H2O2, UV/PDS and UV/Chlorine was investigated at equimolar radical promoter concentrations in municipal wastewater. Direct comparison of the UV-AOPs was conducted with eight TOrCs being resistant to direct oxidation by H2O2, PDS and chlorine and revealed a general oxidation performance following the order of UV/Chlorine > UV/H2O2 ≈ UV/PDS while UV/PDS and UV/Chlorine exhibited higher compound selectivity than UV/H2O2. However, although oxidation performance of UV/Chlorine is outstanding in comparison of the three UV-AOPs, it has to be noted that oxidation by-product (OBP) formation potential might be substantially higher during both UV/PDS and UV/Chlorine compared to UV/H2O2 which was not investigated in this study. Evaluating potential optical surrogates to predict trace organic chemical (TOrCs) removal in UV-AOPs, nine parameters were selected representing chromophore and fluorophore features of DOM including components derived by parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) of excitation-emission matrices. UV absorbance (UVA), total fluorescence (TF) and the selected fluorescence peak P_IV revealed highest linear correlation coefficients and were therefore identified as surrogates representing underlying mechanistic reactions of each UV-AOP. As none of the surrogates directly reacted with UV irradiation, slopes of surrogate-indicator correlations for photo-susceptible TOrCs decreased towards higher oxidant dosages. Correlations for these compounds should therefore only be determined for a limited range of oxidant dosage.

Correlating Removal Rate to Directivity in Copper Chemical Mechanical Planarization

The relationship between directivity (Δ) and removal rate (RR) during copper chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) was investigated. We measured the high-frequency shear and normal forces generated by stick-slip (which has been routinely used to explain micro- and nano-scale interactions that lead to material removal), and found there to be a strong correlation between Δ (defined as the ratio of variances in shear force to those of normal force) and copper RR so long as the tribological mechanism remained constant. In cases where the tribological mechanism changed from “boundary lubrication” (BL) to “mixed lubrication” (ML), the slope of the straight-line correlation between Δ and RR was maintained, albeit it was shifted significantly lower. This was due to the ML regime consisting of hydrostatic or buoyant forces supporting the wafer, which led to less variability in frictional forces or less stick-slip events. Additionally, it was found that Δ and RR increased with sliding velocity while in BL due to an increase in stick-slip events. Conversely, Δ and RR decreased at lower sliding velocities while in ML due to an increase in hydrostatic or buoyant force supporting the wafer.

Source Apportionment and Macro Tracer: Integration of Independent Methods for Quantification of Woody Biomass Burning Contribution to PM10

ABSTRACT During the last few years, the rise in woody biomass burning (BB) for household heating has caused an increase in PM mass concentrations, particularly for the fine fraction, in Europe, as reported by the European Environmental Agency. Estimating the contribution from biomass combustion to airborne particulate matter is therefore an important issue in air quality governance, due to its potential health and environmental impacts. Wood burning’s contribution to PM10 was estimated in winter at a rural site in southern Italy by means of two independent methods: source apportionment analysis with Positive Matrix Factorization (BBPMF) and the macro tracer approach, based on levoglucosan concentrations (BBLevo). PM10 and PM2.5 samples were collected every 24 h and every 8 h, respectively, and analyzed to determine the organic and elemental carbon, levoglucosan, inorganic ions and elements. The results obtained via these methods showed good agreement (r = 0.85), with a linear correlation slope of about 1, and provide a reliable assessment of the BB contribution. Woody biomass combustion contributed significantly to the PM10 (on average, slightly less than 30% of the total mass) during winter. The combination of the independent methods proposed here may be used as a methodology for refining the BB contribution to air pollution.

The Relationship of Mean Heart Dose and Cardiac Substructure Dose over Evolving Radiation Techniques in Mediastinal Lymphoma

Our understanding of the relationship between cardiac morbidity and mean heart dose among survivors of mediastinal lymphoma (mHL) dates back to the use of standard large-field 2D techniques. Over time, RT treatment in mHL has evolved with smaller, more personalized radiation fields and more conformal techniques, like 3D conformal RT (3D), intensity-modulated RT (IMRT), and proton therapy (PT). We investigated the relationship between mean heart dose and cardiac substructures across treatment fields and delivery techniques. We retrospectively developed IFRT (n=37) plans among selected patients with mHL treated with involved-site radiation therapy (ISRT) between 2008 and 2017. Doses to the cardiac substructures were exported to a dosimetric database of ISRT plans for mHL, including 3D (n=25), IMRT (n=28), and PT (n=36). The structures included the heart, left anterior descending artery (LAD), mitral valve (MV), tricuspid valve (TV), aortic valve (AV), left and right ventricles (LV, RV), and left and right atriam (LA, RAPlans were scaled to a prescription dose of 30 Gy and the mean heart dose was evaluated for correlation (R2) and slope (beta) of the relationship with mean dose to the cardiac substructures. The table reports the correlation coefficient (R2) and slope for the relationships between mean heart dose and mean cardiac substructure dose, demonstrating less correlation with increasingly conformal delivery. A strong correlation (R2≥70%) was seen for IFRT with RV, LV, and LAD; for 3D with RV and LV; and for IMRT with RV and LV. No strong correlation was observed for PT. When evaluating the slope (beta) for a relationship between mean heart dose and mean LAD dose, the slope was steepest for IFRT (1.86) and PT (1.69) compared to IMRT (1.36) and 3D (1.14), suggesting that a lower mean heart dose can be associated in some instances with a higher mean LAD dose with IFRT and PT compared to IMRT or 3D RT. For the LV, the slope was steepest for IFRT (2.07) followed by 3D (1.25), IMRT (1.17), and then PT (0.98). The relationship between mean heart dose and mean substructure dose changes with increasingly conformal techniques. Calculating mean heart dose as a surrogate for cardiac risk is no longer sufficient. Contouring the cardiac substructures, especially the LAD and LV, is important in understanding the late cardiac risks in the modern era of RT.Abstract 176; TableIFRT3DCRTIMRTPROTONSStructureRhoBETARhoBETARhoBETARhoBETAName(R2)(Slope)(R2)(Slope)(R2)(Slope)(R2)(Slope)Aortic Valve6%0.077%0.1035%0.7143%1.47Left Atrium48%0.2965%0.5453%0.8444%1.41Right Atrium11%0.1034%0.9236%0.8726%0.85Left Ant. Desc. art76%1.8662%1.1460%1.3652%1.69Mitral Valve50%0.7252%0.6138%0.8237%1.34Tricuspid Valve5%0.0850%1.2243%0.9616%0.51Left Ventricle95%2.0772%1.2574%1.1761%0.98Right Ventricle80%0.9085%1.1381%1.0937%0.79 Open table in a new tab

Abundance and Emission Flux of the Anthropogenic Iron Oxide Aerosols From the East Asian Continental Outflow

AbstractAnthropogenic iron oxide (FeOx) aerosols can affect atmospheric radiation, marine biogeochemistry, and human health. However, due to lack of observational data, their atmospheric abundance and emission flux are not well understood. In this study, we observed size‐resolved concentrations of FeOx (170–2100 nm) and black carbon (BC, 70–850 nm) aerosols at a remote site in the East China Sea in March 2016 using a modified single‐particle soot photometer (SP2). Light signals measured by the SP2 and particle morphology and compositions analyzed by a transmission electron microscope revealed that most of the observed FeOx aerosols are of anthropogenic origin. Clear correlations were found between mass concentrations of FeOx and BC (R2 = 0.717) and between FeOx and carbon monoxide (CO) (R2 = 0.718) in air masses from China, indicating that their emission sources are spatially similar. The correlation slopes of mass concentration (ng/m3) are ~0.3 and 0.0015, respectively. Based on the correlation slopes and emission inventories of BC and CO in China, we estimated emission flux of anthropogenic FeOx aerosols from China to be 0.21–0.49 FeTg/yr. Based on the observed size distribution and previous studies on mass fraction of FeOx and non‐FeOx, we also estimated emission flux of anthropogenic Fe (FeOx + non‐FeOx) in PM10 as 0.74–1.7 FeTg/yr. These emission fluxes from China are comparable to global emission fluxes in currently reported inventories of anthropogenic Fe (0.51–1.91 FeTg/yr). Our results suggest that the current emission inventories of anthropogenic Fe are underestimated.

Effects of dark induced senescence on the function of photosystem II in flag leaves of winter wheat released in different years.

Cultivar renewing is important for the increases of wheat yield. Studying changes of different physiological characteristics in the succession process of wheat varieties has great implications for future breeding. The senescence rate of flag leaf is a key factor affecting winter wheat yield. The variation of photosystem II function during senescence of flag leaves of wheat from different ages is still not clear. 31 wheat varieties planted in Henan Province from different ages since 1941 were examined in this experiment. The variation of photosystem II function was analyzed through measu-ring the relative chlorophyll content, and chlorophyll fluorescence induction dynamics during the senescence of flag leaves which were induced by continued dark. The results showed that the chlorophyll content of flag leaves was gradually increased in the succession of winter wheat. The chlorophyll degradation rate in the leaves of modern varieties was lower than the earlier varieties during the senescnece of flag leaves. Meanwhile, J point of the fluorescence induction kinetics curves in flag leaves of modern varieties increased less than I point. The photosystem II maximum photochemical efficiency and the amount of active reaction centers per unit area gradually increased during succession of wheat varieties, but the reduced extent in leaves of modern varieties was lower than that in the earlier ones. There was no significant correlation between the change of chlorophyll content and Fv/Fm in senescent leaves. There was significant positive correlation when the leaves aging degree increased, with the slope of trend line gradually increased. The photosystem II unit area and the amount of active reaction center was positively related with the aging degree, and both the correlation degree and slope of trend line increased with the increases of senescence extent of the leaves. The results suggested that chlorophyll content of flag leaf increased and the degradation rate slowed down gradually during the succession of wheat varieties. The anti-aging ability of photosynthetic electron transfered from QA to QB was improved, which contributed to the slowing down of the decline of Fv/Fm and the amount of active reaction center. The increased chlorophyll content and anti-aging ability of photosystem II also contributed to the increases of yield in the succession of winter wheat.

Are testers also admitters? Comparing emergency physician resource utilization and admitting practices

ObjectiveTo describe the relationship between emergency department resource utilization and admission rate at the level of the individual physician. MethodsRetrospective observational study of physician resource utilization and admitting data at two emergency departments. We calculated observed to expected (O/E) ratios for four measures of resource utilization (intravenous medications and fluids, laboratory testing, plain radiographs, and advanced imaging studies) as well as for admission rate. Expected values reflect adjustment for patient- and time-based variables. We compared O/E ratios for each type of resource utilization to the O/E ratio for admission for each provider. We report degree of correlation (slope of the trendline) and strength of correlation (adjusted R2 value) for each association, as well as categorical results after clustering physicians based on the relationship of resource utilization to admission rate. ResultsThere were statistically significant positive correlations between resource utilization and physician admission rate. Physicians with lower resource utilization rates were more likely to have lower admission rates, and those with higher resource utilization rates were more likely to have higher admission rates. ConclusionsIn a two-facility study, emergency physician resource utilization and admission rate were positively correlated: those who used more ED resources also tended to admit more patients. These results add to a growing understanding of emergency physician variability.

Feasibility of Noninvasive Blood Pressure Measurement using a Chest-worn Patch Sensor.

Pulse arrival time (PAT) and pulse transit time (PTT) derived from the finger have been widely investigated for noninvasive blood pressure (BP) measurement. The study investigates the feasibility of BP measurement using a chestworn patch sensor derived systolic timing intervals and pulse timing measurements. Healthy volunteers (N=14, 38 ± 13 years) carried out a protocol including deep breathing test, sustained hand grip test and modified Valsalva test with continuous physiological measurements from a patch sensor attached on left chest and intermittent BP measurements from an automated oscillometric monitor as a reference. The efficacy of chest derived PAT and PTT for univariate BP prediction is assessed using correlation and regression slope. The cross validation performance of predicting BP using multivariate regression model with chest derived systolic timing intervals and pulse timing features were also evaluated. The results suggest that the chest derived PAT and PTT had modest correlations (-0.52 and -0.31) and regression slopes (-0.21 and -0.14) with automated oscillometric systolic and diastolic BP references, respectively. On the other hand, a multivariate regression approach for prediction of mean blood pressure (MBP) using patch sensor measurements showed a correlation of 0.72, mean error of 0.1 mmHg and RMSE error of 5.1 mmHg compared to the oscillometric MBP values. The study demonstrated the feasibility of BP measurement using a wearable chest-worn patch sensor in healthy control subjects.