A new fast clear-sky model called McClear was developed to estimate the downwelling shortwave direct and global irradiances received at ground level under clear skies. It is a fully physical model ...replacing empirical relations or simpler models used before. It exploits the recent results on aerosol properties, and total column content in water vapour and ozone produced by the MACC project (Monitoring Atmosphere Composition and Climate). It accurately reproduces the irradiance computed by the libRadtran reference radiative transfer model with a computational speed approximately 105 times greater by adopting the abaci, or look-up table, approach combined with interpolation functions. It is therefore suited for geostationary satellite retrievals or numerical weather prediction schemes with many pixels or grid points, respectively. McClear irradiances were compared to 1 min measurements made in clear-sky conditions at several stations within the Baseline Surface Radiation Network in various climates. The bias for global irradiance comprises between −6 and 25 W m−2. The RMSE ranges from 20 W m−2 (3% of the mean observed irradiance) to 36 W m−2 (5%) and the correlation coefficient ranges between 0.95 and 0.99. The bias for the direct irradiance comprises between −48 and +33 W m−2. The root mean square error (RMSE) ranges from 33 W m−2 (5%) to 64 W m−2 (10%). The correlation coefficient ranges between 0.84 and 0.98. This work demonstrates the quality of the McClear model combined with MACC products, and indirectly the quality of the aerosol properties modelled by the MACC reanalysis.
This study presents the new aerosol assimilation system, developed at the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts, for the Global and regional Earth‐system Monitoring using Satellite and ...in‐situ data (GEMS) project. The aerosol modeling and analysis system is fully integrated in the operational four‐dimensional assimilation apparatus. Its purpose is to produce aerosol forecasts and reanalyses of aerosol fields using optical depth data from satellite sensors. This paper is the second of a series which describes the GEMS aerosol effort. It focuses on the theoretical architecture and practical implementation of the aerosol assimilation system. It also provides a discussion of the background errors and observations errors for the aerosol fields, and presents a subset of results from the 2‐year reanalysis which has been run for 2003 and 2004 using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on the Aqua and Terra satellites. Independent data sets are used to show that despite some compromises that have been made for feasibility reasons in regards to the choice of control variable and error characteristics, the analysis is very skillful in drawing to the observations and in improving the forecasts of aerosol optical depth.
In Italy, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has stressed the entire healthcare system and required a huge re-organization of many Divisions, including those of Gastroenterology.
to assess the ...impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Gastroenterology Divisions across Italy.
All members of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology (SIGE) were invited to answer a web-based survey.
Data of 121 hospitals from all 20 Italian regions were analyzed. Overall, 10.7% Gastroenterology Divisions have been converted to Covid Units. Outpatients consultations, endoscopic and ultrasound procedures were limited to urgencies and oncology indications in 85.1%, 96.2% and 72.2% of Units, respectively, and 46.7% of them suspended the screening for colorectal cancer.
Moreover, 72.2% of the staff received a training for use of personal protective equipment, although 45.5% did not have sufficient devices for adequate replacement. Overall, 132 healthcare workers in 41 Gastroenterology Divisions were found to be infected.
This is the first study to evaluate, at a country level, the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on Gastroenterology Divisions. Substantial changes of practice and reduction of procedures have been recorded in the entire country. The long-term impact of such modifications is difficult to estimate but potentially very risky for many digestive diseases.
In the field of novel applications involving upconverting processes, the determination of new strategies for realizing emission-tunable nanomaterials is a challenge. In this work the design of Y
and ...Er
codoped bismuth oxide-based upconverting nanoparticles is presented, evidencing that the active role of the matrix allows for the emission selectivity with chromaticity control. The bandgap of the bismuth oxide-based host can be manipulated in the range of 0.65 eV, consequently leading to upconversion emission color tunability from red to yellow-greenish. The resulting fine control of the nanoparticle chromaticity through accurate host bandgap engineering reveals a novel concept for the development of a new generation of upconverting nanophosphors.
Cr3C2-NiCr and WC-Ni coatings are widely used for wear applications at high and room temperature, respectively. Due to the high corrosion resistance of NiCr binder, Cr3C2-NiCr coatings are also used ...in corrosive environments. The application of WC-Ni coatings in corrosive media is not recommended due to the poor corrosion resistance of the (pure Ni) metallic matrix. It is well known that the addition of Cr to the metallic binder improves the corrosion properties. Erosion-corrosion performance of thermal spray coatings is widely influenced by ceramic phase composition, the size of ceramic particles and also the composition of the metallic binder. In the present work, two types of HVOF thermal spray coatings (Cr3C2-NiCr and WC-Ni) obtained with different spray conditions were studied and compared with conventional micro-cracked hard chromium coatings. Both as-sprayed and polished samples were tested under two erosion-corrosion conditions with different erosivity. Tungsten carbide coatings showed better performance under the most erosive condition, while chromium carbide coatings were superior under less erosive conditions. Some of the tungsten carbide coatings and hard chromium showed similar erosion-corrosion behaviour under more and less erosive conditions. The erosion-corrosion and electrochemical results showed that surface polishing improved the erosion-corrosion properties of the thermally sprayed coatings. The corrosion behaviour of the different coatings has been compared using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization curves. Total material loss due to erosion-corrosion was determined by weight loss measurements. An estimation of the corrosion contribution to the total weight loss was also given.
Summary
Background
Airway inflammatory phenotyping is increasingly applied to subjects with asthma. However, its relationship to clinical outcomes in difficult asthma is incompletely elucidated.
...Objective
The goal of our study was to determine the relationship between exacerbation rates and phenotypes of difficult asthma based on the longitudinal measures of sputum eosinophils and neutrophils.
Methods
Subjects in the longitudinal observational study from two tertiary care centres that completed 1 year of observation and provided at least three sputum samples were classified by inflammatory phenotypes using previously established thresholds. Kaplan–Meier curves and univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the association between inflammatory phenotypes and exacerbation rate.
Results
During the study, 115 exacerbations occurred in 73 severe asthmatic subjects. Subjects with the persistently eosinophilic phenotype had a significantly shorter time to first exacerbation and greater risk of exacerbation over a 1‐year period than those with the non‐eosinophilic phenotype based on the univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard model (hazard ratio HR, 3.24; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.35–7.72; adjusted HR, 3.90; 95% CI, 1.34–11.36). No significant differences in time to first exacerbation or exacerbation risk over a 1‐year period were observed among the neutrophilic phenotypes.
Conclusions
The persistent eosinophilic phenotype is associated with increased exacerbation risk compared with the non‐eosinophilic phenotype in severe asthma. No differences in time to first exacerbation or exacerbation risk over a 1‐year period were detected among neutrophilic phenotypes.
Background
Patients with psoriasis show a greater prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic syndrome than the general population. Moreover, patients with NAFLD and ...psoriasis are at higher risk of severe liver fibrosis than their counterparts with NAFLD and without psoriasis. The link between these three pathological conditions is a chronic low-grade inflammatory status. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of etanercept versus psoralen and UVA (PUVA) therapy on the hepatic fibrosis risk in patients with psoriasis, metabolic syndrome, and NAFLD (with NAFLD diagnosed by ultrasonography).
Methods
Eighty-nine patients with chronic moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis, metabolic syndrome, and NAFLD received etanercept or PUVA treatment. The two groups of patients were compared for anthropometric variables (body mass index and waist/hip ratio), lipid profile, glucose homeostasis, inflammatory status, risk of hepatic fibrosis, and ultrasonographic aspect of the liver, both at baseline (time T 0) and after 24 weeks of treatment (T24).
Results
After 24 weeks of treatment, only in the group receiving etanercept, we detected significant reductions (
p
< 0.05) in the aspartate transaminase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT) ratio, C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels, fasting insulin levels, and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index, and a significant increase in the Quantitative Insulin-Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI) (
p
< 0.05).
Conclusions
In patients with psoriasis, metabolic syndrome, and NAFLD, the risk of the development of hepatic fibrosis seems to be directly correlated with insulin resistance. Etanercept could be more efficacious to reduce the risk of developing hepatic fibrosis than PUVA therapy, and this preventive effect could be related to its anti-inflammatory and glucose homeostatic properties. We note that a limitation of the study was that the diagnosis of NAFLD was conducted by ultrasonography.
This paper presents the aerosol modeling now part of the ECMWF Integrated Forecasting System (IFS). It includes new prognostic variables for the mass of sea salt, dust, organic matter and black ...carbon, and sulphate aerosols, interactive with both the dynamics and the physics of the model. It details the various parameterizations used in the IFS to account for the presence of tropospheric aerosols. Details are given of the various formulations and data sets for the sources of the different aerosols and of the parameterizations describing their sinks. Comparisons of monthly mean and daily aerosol quantities like optical depths against satellite and surface observations are presented. The capability of the forecast model to simulate aerosol events is illustrated through comparisons of dust plume events. The ECMWF IFS provides a good description of the horizontal distribution and temporal variability of the main aerosol types. The forecast‐only model described here generally gives the total aerosol optical depth within 0.12 of the relevant observations and can therefore provide the background trajectory information for the aerosol assimilation system described in part 2 of this paper.
BACKGROUND: Recent World Health Organization guidelines recommend the addition of ethambutol (EMB) throughout standardised treatment of new cases of active tuberculosis (TB) in populations with ...increased prevalence of isoniazid resistance to reduce the risk of creating multidrug resistance.
This could expose patients to the risk of blindness.METHODS: We searched Cochrane, Embase and PubMed electronic databases from 1965 to February 2011 for original studies that prospectively followed all patients treated with EMB for active TB, and routinely ascertained the occurrence of
visual toxicity using standard methods. Pooled estimates, overall and stratified by major covariates, were calculated using random effects meta-analysis.RESULTS: Pooled cumulative incidence of any visual impairment in all patients was 22.5 per 1000 persons treated with EMB (95%CI 10.2-35),
and permanent impairment was 4.3/1000 (95%CI 0.3-9.0). After restricting the analyses to arms in which the average dose was 27.5 mg/kg/day or less and treatment was for 2-9 months, the incidence of any visual impairment was 19.2/1000 (95%CI 5.8-33), and permanent impairment
was 2.3/1000 persons (95%CI 0-6.1) treated, as the majority of episodes were reversible. In reversible cases, resolution of impairment occurred after an average of 3 months.CONCLUSIONS: In this review, any visual impairment occurred in 22.5/1000 persons receiving EMB at standard
doses for up to 9 months, and permanent impairment in 2.3/1000-an important risk. However, these estimates are imprecise, and the studies were of variable quality and the results heterogeneous. Well-designed prospective studies with repeated measurements of multiple visual parameters
that clearly describe the degree of permanent impairment are needed.
This work aims to investigate the corrosion resistance of AZ31 magnesium alloy protected by hybrid films based on tetraethylorthosilane (TEOS) and (3-glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) with the ...addition of different amounts of SiO2 nanoparticles. The electrochemical techniques used to evaluate the corrosion resistance in 0.1molll−1 NaCl electrolyte were open circuit potential (EOC) measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which diagrams were fitted using equivalent electrical circuits (EEC). Surface and cross-section analyses of the bare and coated samples were performed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) before and after electrochemical studies. The results showed that the coatings protected the Mg alloy against corrosion, and that the addition of the nanoparticles improves the corrosion resistance. The morphological characterization showed, for the coated systems, the presence of corrosion products adhered to the metal surface, a process that seems to be hindered in the presence of the SiO2 nanoparticles. The results demonstrate that an optimum amount of nanoparticles must be added to the coating in order to optimize the anticorrosion protection and that only early stages protection can be achieved.
•Hybrid films of TEOS and GPTMS may protect the AZ31 magnesium alloy against corrosion.•Different amounts of SiO2 nanoparticles have been incorporated to hybrid coatings.•The coating containing from 100 to 300mgl−1 SiO2 provided the best performance against corrosion.
PDF
