Wetlands are a major emission source of methane (CH4) globally. In this study, we evaluate wetland emission estimates derived using the UK community land surface model (JULES, the Joint UK Land Earth ...Simulator) against atmospheric observations of methane, including, for the first time, total methane columns derived from the SCIAMACHY instrument on board the ENVISAT satellite. Two JULES wetland emission estimates are investigated: (a) from an offline run driven with Climatic Research Unit–National Centers for Environmental Prediction (CRU-NCEP) meteorological data and (b) from the same offline run in which the modelled wetland fractions are replaced with those derived from the Global Inundation Extent from Multi-Satellites (GIEMS) remote sensing product. The mean annual emission assumed for each inventory (181 Tg CH4 per annum over the period 1999–2007) is in line with other recently published estimates. There are regional differences as the unconstrained JULES inventory gives significantly higher emissions in the Amazon (by ~36 Tg CH4 yr−1) and lower emissions in other regions (by up to 10 Tg CH4 yr−1) compared to the JULES estimates constrained with the GIEMS product. Using the UK Hadley Centre's Earth System model with atmospheric chemistry (HadGEM2), we evaluate these JULES wetland emissions against atmospheric observations of methane. We obtain improved agreement with the surface concentration measurements, especially at high northern latitudes, compared to previous HadGEM2 runs using the wetland emission data set of Fung et al. (1991). Although the modelled monthly atmospheric methane columns reproduce the large-scale patterns in the SCIAMACHY observations, they are biased low by 50 part per billion by volume (ppb). Replacing the HadGEM2 modelled concentrations above 300 hPa with HALOE–ACE assimilated TOMCAT output results in a significantly better agreement with the SCIAMACHY observations. The use of the GIEMS product to constrain the JULES-derived wetland fraction improves the representation of the wetland emissions in JULES and gives a good description of the seasonality observed at surface sites influenced by wetlands, especially at high latitudes. We find that the annual cycles observed in the SCIAMACHY measurements and at many of the surface sites influenced by non-wetland sources cannot be reproduced in these HadGEM2 runs. This suggests that the emissions over certain regions (e.g. India and China) are possibly too high and/or the monthly emission patterns for specific sectors are incorrect. The comparisons presented in this paper show that the performance of the JULES wetland scheme is comparable to that of other process-based land surface models. We identify areas for improvement in this and the atmospheric chemistry components of the HadGEM Earth System model. The Earth Observation data sets used here will be of continued value in future evaluations of JULES and the HadGEM family of models.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relative contribution of medical variables, illness perceptions, coping and alexithymia to the variance in stress, distress and disability in ...patients with psoriasis.
Design: Cross‐sectional study.
Method: A group of 225 patients with psoriasis completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), the COPE, the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS‐20), and two measures specific to psoriasis, the Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI), and the Psoriasis Life Stress Inventory (PLSI). The severity of patients' psoriasis was clinically assessed by dermatologists on the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI).
Results: In general, demographic variables, clinical history and extent of disease were consistently the least useful variables in terms of explaining variance in stress, distress or disability. Their utility was limited to accounting for small but significant variations in disability, but even in this case, they accounted for just over half as much variance as illness perceptions. Illness perceptions were uniformly the most important variables in terms of the variance accounted for in outcome. Coping varied widely in its explanatory power; its effects were negligible in both disability (PDI) and everyday stress (PLSI), and it was moderately important in accounting for additional variance in depression and anxiety. However, coping was important in explaining the variance in pathological worrying. Alexithymia accounted for significant additional variance chiefly for anxiety and to a lesser extent for depression, worrying and psoriasis‐related life stress.
Conclusion: The observed importance of cognitive factors in stress, distress and disability invite us to consider the utility of multivariate models of outcome in psoriasis.
Aims
Larvae of scarab beetles live in the soil and are frequently hosts for microbial pathogens. In New Zealand, larvae of the grass grub, Costelytrae zealandica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), and ...manuka beetles, Pyronota spp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), have been collected from field populations showing loss of vigour and a whitened appearance. Diagnosis indicated an intracellular infection of fat body tissues by Rickettsiella‐like micro‐organisms. Rickettsiella bacteria are under evaluation as a possible new source of insect bio‐control agents for important agricultural pests as, e.g. scarabaeid and elaterid larvae. The present study aimed at the unequivocal molecular taxonomic identification and comparison of the bacteria associated with Costelytra and Pyronota.
Methods and Results
Electron microscopy and phylogenetic reconstruction using a multilocus sequence analysis approach based on the 16S ribosomal RNA gene together with four protein‐encoding markers (ftsY, gidA, rpsA, and sucB) demonstrated that both bacteria from New Zealand are phylogenetically closely related, but not identical, and belong to the taxonomic genus Rickettsiella.
Conclusions
The bacteria under study should be referred to as pathotypes ‘Rickettsiella costelytrae’ and ‘Rickettsiella pyronotae’, respectively. Moreover, on the basis of the currently accepted systematic organization of the genus Rickettsiella, both pathotypes should be considered synonyms of the nomenclatural type species, Rickettsiella popilliae.
Significance and Impact of the Study
The study demonstrates that Rickettsiella bacteria are geographically widespread pathogens of scarabaeid larvae. Implications of the phylogenetic findings presented for the stability of host adaptation by Rickettsiella bacteria are critically discussed.
Abstract The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a 26-ton water Cherenkov neutrino detector installed on the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. Its main physics goals ...are to perform a measurement of the neutron yield from neutrino-nucleus interactions, as well as a measurement of the charged-current cross section of muon neutrinos. An equally important focus is the research and development of new detector technologies and target media. Specifically, water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS) is of interest as a novel detector medium, as it allows for the simultaneous detection of Cherenkov light and scintillation. This paper presents the deployment of a 366 L WbLS vessel in ANNIE in March 2023 and the subsequent detection of both Cherenkov light and scintillation from the WbLS. This proof-of-concept allows for the future development of reconstruction and particle identification algorithms in ANNIE, as well as dedicated analyses within the WbLS volume, such as the search for neutral-current events and the hadronic scintillation component.
Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the significance of general and psoriasis specific psychological variables in patients with psoriasis and to examine the relative importance of ...disease status and these psychological variables in predicting psoriasis-related disability.
Method: A total of 115 patients with psoriasis underwent clinical assessment and completed a number of psychological and psoriasis specific questionnaires.
Results: High levels of self-reported distress were identified with 43% and 10% of patients scoring as probable cases on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) subscales of anxiety (mean 9.3±4.9) and depression (mean 4.8±3.7), respectively. Multiple regression analysis indicated that clinical severity of psoriasis and anatomical area of involvement had no impact on psychological distress and disability. Perceptions of stigmatisation were significantly related to both psychological distress and degree of disability (
P's<.001) and accounted for a significant amount of the variance in disability over and above general psychological distress (
F change=11.03;
P<.001).
Conclusion: Psychological factors were much stronger determinants of disability in patients with psoriasis than disease severity, location or duration. This has important implications in relation to the clinical management of psoriasis.
Summary
Background Psoriasis has a detrimental effect on patients' quality of life. However, there is a relative dearth of information on which aspects of a patient's well‐being are affected by ...successful treatment.
Objectives To investigate whether, and to what extent, improvement in the clinical severity of psoriasis induced by photochemotherapy with psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) translates into meaningful changes in beliefs about psoriasis, coping, stress, distress or disability.
Methods In a prospective study, 72 patients were assessed before PUVA therapy and again when they had achieved clearance of their psoriasis.
Results Patients demonstrated significant reductions in psoriasis‐related disability, psoriasis‐related stress or daily hassles and in the frequency of psoriasis‐related symptoms. By comparison, there were no significant differences in levels of anxiety, depression or worrying. Similarly, patients' perceptions about cure, potential chronicity, causes, consequences and coping also remained unchanged.
Conclusions These results suggest that while clearance of psoriasis produces a significant reduction in factors specific to psoriasis (disability and stress), it does not impact upon psychological distress, on patients' beliefs about psoriasis or on coping. This observation highlights the complex features of patients' psychological experience of psoriasis and may provide further impetus for integration of psychological interventions into standard care protocols.
Cross-sectional.
To preliminarily evaluate the validity of an interview-based spinal cord injury (SCI) neuropathic pain screening instrument.
Six university-based SCI centers in the United States.
...Clinician diagnoses of neuropathic pain (NP) and non-neuropathic pain subtypes were collected independently of descriptions of the pain characteristics provided by the persons with SCI by using the Spinal Cord Injury Pain Instrument (SCIPI); SCIPI information and physician diagnoses for 82 pain sites of which they were most confident were subsequently compared.
Four of the SCIPI items correlated significantly with the NP subtype as determined by the clinician. The best cutoff score for identifying NP was an endorsement of two or more of these four items. Using this cutoff, sensitivity of the SCIPI was 78%, specificity was 73% and overall diagnostic accuracy was 76%.
In this preliminary study, the SCIPI, which can be administered by a nonclinician, appears to have good sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy in a SCI population; it may have a role as a screening tool for NP after SCI. Further study is needed.
Plasma insulin concentrations influence resumption of ovarian activity in postpartum dairy cows, and plasma insulin can be manipulated by changing dietary starch and fat supply. The objective of this ...experiment was to investigate the role of dietary amino acids in altering peripheral metabolic hormones and ovarian function. Thirty-two cows were fed a standard diet from calving until 40 d in milk (DIM), and then 8 cows were transferred to each of 4 dietary treatments until 70 DIM. The 4 diets were designed to supply either low (diets 1 and 2) or high (diets 3 and 4) levels of metabolizable protein (MP), containing either low (diet 1 and 3) or high (diets 2 and 4) proportions of Leu. Leucine was manipulated with heat-treated lupins and corn gluten meal. Estrus was synchronized at 60 DIM. Between 60 and 70 DIM, energy intake and energy balance were similar among diet groups, although cows receiving high MP containing high Leu had a greater milk yield than other groups (means: 37.8, 37.1, 37.4, 39.4±standard error 0.85 kg/d for diets 1 to 4, respectively). Interactions between MP and Leu were found for insulin, glucagon, and the ratio between them. Insulin was not affected by Leu in diets with low MP but was decreased by greater Leu in diets with high MP (means: 0.37, 0.32, 0.46, 0.39±SE 0.031 ng/mL for diets 1 to 4, respectively). Glucagon was not affected by MP in diets with low Leu but was increased by greater MP in diets with high Leu (means: 92, 81, 88, 95±SE 6.0 pg/mL for diets 1 to 4, respectively). For the low-MP treatments, the insulin-to-glucagon ratio was greater with high Leu; for the high-MP treatments, the insulin-to-glucagon ratio was greater with low Leu (means: 4.28, 5.42, 5.16, 4.22±SE 0.456 for diets 1 to 4, respectively). There was no effect of MP or Leu on ovarian follicle numbers or reproductive hormones. Based on hormonal and ovarian responses, we conclude that altering metabolic hormones through manipulation of amino acid supply and balance is unlikely to have a significant effect on ovarian function in dairy cows.
Reliable selection of families with increased grain yield is difficult in breeding programs targeting water-limited environments. Carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) is negatively correlated with ...transpiration efficiency, and low Δ is being used for indirect selection of high wheat yield in rainfed environments. Yet little is known of genetic control and opportunities for improving selection efficiency of Δ in wheat. Half-diallel and generation means mating designs were undertaken to provide estimates of the size and nature of gene action for Δ in a range of wheat genotypes varying for this trait. Significant (P < 0.01) differences were observed for leaf tissue Δ among parents (19.3 to 20.7per thousand) and F^sub 1^ progeny (19.4 to 20.9per thousand) in the half-diallel. General (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects were significant (P < 0.05), while Baker's GCA/SCA variance ratio of 0.89 was close to unity, indicating largely additive gene effects. GCA effects varied from -0.38 to + 0.34per thousand for low and high Δ genotypes `Quarrion' and `Gutha', respectively. GCA effects and parental means were strongly correlated (r = 0.95, P < 0.01) while directional dominance and epistasis contributed to small, non-additive gene action for Δ. Smaller Δ in F^sub 1^ progeny was associated with accumulation of recessive alleles from the low Δ parent. Narrow-sense heritability was high (0.86) on a single-plant basis. Generation means analysis was undertaken on crosses between low Δ genotype Quarrion and two higher Δ genotypes `Genaro M81' and `Hartog'. The F^sub 1^, F^sub 2^ and midparent means were not statistically (P > 0.05) different, whereas backcrossing significantly changed Δ toward the mean of the recurrent parent. Gene action was largely additive with evidence for additive × additive epistasis in one cross. Narrow-sense heritabilities were moderate in size (0.29 to 0.43) on a single-plant basis. Genetic gain for Δ in wheat should be readily achieved in selection among inbred or partially inbred families during the later stages of population development.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Both resource and disturbance controls have been invoked to explain tree persistence among grasses in savannas. Here we determine the extent to which competition for available resources restricts the ...rooting depth of both grasses and trees, and how this may influence nutrient cycling under an infrequently burned savanna near Darwin, Australia. We sampled fine roots <2 mm in diameter from 24 soil pits under perennial as well as annual grasses and three levels of canopy cover. The relative proportion of C3 (trees) and C4 (grasses) derived carbon in a sample was determined using mass balance calculations. Our results show that regardless of the type of grass both tree and grass roots are concentrated in the top 20 cm of the soil. While trees have greater root production and contribute more fine root biomass grass roots contribute a disproportional amount of nitrogen and carbon to the soil relative to total root biomass. We postulate that grasses maintain soil nutrient pools and provide biomass for regular fires that prevent forest trees from establishing while savanna trees, are important for increasing soil N content, cycling and mineralization rates. We put forward our ideas as a hypothesis of resource‐regulated tree–grass coexistence in tropical savannas.
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