Since surface layer salinity (SLS) mainly reflects sea surface freshwater flux and affects ocean circulation and upper ocean stratification by modifying seawater density, knowledge of SLS variability ...is important to better understand the global hydrological cycle and ocean and climate variability. The global pattern of SLS interannual variability has not received as much attention compared to the seasonal variability. The SLS interannual variability in the global ocean based on Argo profiling float data over 2003–2020 was classified into seven individual clusters. SLS interannual variability was found to be regionally different even within each ocean basin and primarily corresponded to large‐scale climate mode variability. The spatial distribution of the classified SLS clusters provides the first map of SLS interannual variability in the global ocean that largely reflects the variability of the global hydrological cycle.
Plain Language Summary
Variability of salinity in the upper ocean mainly reflects the variability of evaporation and rainfall occurring at the sea surface. Thus, knowledge of surface layer salinity (SLS) variability is important for better understanding of the global water cycle and also climate variability. While the seasonal variability of SLS has been well described both regionally and globally, the global pattern of SLS interannual variability is still unclear. We classified the global SLS interannual variability into seven separate modes by applying a cluster analysis method to the time series of SLS based on data from Argo profiling floats from 2003 to 2020. Each cluster is found to be related to regional climate modes such as El Niño. As such, this global map of SLS interannual variability will be useful for understanding the variability of the global water cycle in each of these regimes.
Key Points
A global map of the spatio‐temporal surface layer salinity interannual variability was classified into seven separate clusters
Four clusters in the Pacific Ocean showed regionally different phases of salinity variability related to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation
One cluster showed salinification in western boundary currents while other clusters showed little relationship to climate mode variability
Summary Vitamin K and D deficiency and decreased bone mineral density (BMD) were highly prevalent in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially Crohn's disease (CD). Dietary intakes ...of these vitamins, however, were above the Japanese adequate intakes in IBD patients, suggesting that malabsorption is the basis for hypovitaminosis K and D and decreased BMD. Introduction We have studied the possible involvement of vitamin K and D deficiency in the pathogenesis of decreased BMD in IBD. Methods Seventy patients with IBD were evaluated for their BMD; plasma levels of vitamin K; phylloquinone (PK), menaquinone-7 (MK-7), and 25OH-D; serum PTH, protein induced by vitamin K absence (PIVKA-II), and undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) levels; and their food intake. Results Compared with ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, CD patients had significantly lower plasma vitamin K and 25OH-D concentrations; significantly higher serum levels of PTH, PIVKA-II, and ucOC; and significantly lower BMD scores at almost all measurement sites. More IBD patients were vitamin K deficient in bone than in liver. Multiple regression analyses revealed that low plasma concentrations of vitamin K and 25OH-D were independent risk factors for low BMD and that they were associated with the patients' fat intake, but not with their intake of these vitamins. Conclusion IBD patients have high prevalence of decreased BMD and vitamin K and D deficiency probably caused by malabsorption of these vitamins.
As a Japanese contribution to the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) upgrade, KEK is in charge of developing the beam separation dipole cold masses. The full-scale prototype magnet ...(MBXFP1) was constructed in Hitachi and powering test at cold was conducted at KEK. After the test, the magnet was returned to Hitachi for the final assembly of the cold mass. The pressure vessel design of the cold mass was carried out by KEK in accordance with ASME code. A new design of bus leads was proposed to satisfy the requirement of flexibility as well as mechanical support and electrical insulation. Welding of the extremity pipes was challenging due to tight position tolerance. This article reports the structure, pressure vessel design, and assembly of the LMBXF prototype cold mass (LMBXFP1) including bus work, instrumentation, and welding works with geometrical measurements.
We have previously demonstrated in an in vitro study that Snail increased the invasion activity of hepatoma cells by upregulating matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) gene expression. In the present study, ...we examined whether Snail gene expression correlates with cancer invasion and prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to evaluate Snail, E-cadherin, and MMP mRNA expressions in eight nodule-in-nodule tumours and 47 ordinary HCC tissues. In the nodule-in-nodule tumours, Snail expression significantly increased with tumour dedifferentiation (P=0.047). In the ordinary HCC tissues, Snail expression was significantly correlated with portal vein invasion (P=0.035) and intrahepatic metastasis (P=0.050); it also showed a significant correlation with MT1-MMP expression (r=0.572, P<0.001). In recurrence-free survival, the group with high Snail expression showed significantly poorer prognosis (P=0.035). Moreover, high Snail expression was an independent risk factor for early recurrence after curative resection. During the progression of HCC, Snail expression may be induced and accelerate invasion activity by upregulating MMP expression, resulting in portal invasion, intrahepatic metastasis, and poor prognosis.
The Indian Ocean is warming faster than any of the global oceans and its climate is uniquely driven by the presence of a landmass at low latitudes, which causes monsoonal winds and reversing ...currents. The food, water and energy security in the Indian Ocean rim countries and islands are intrinsically tied to its climate, with marine environmental goods and services, as well as trade within the basin, underpinning their economies. Hence, there are a range of societal needs for Indian Ocean observation arising from the influence of regional phenomena and climate change on, for instance, marine ecosystems, monsoon rains and sea-level. The Indian Ocean Observing System, IndOOS, is a sustained observing system that monitors basin-scale ocean-atmosphere conditions, while providing flexibility in terms of emerging technologies and scientific and societal needs, and a framework for more regional and coastal monitoring. This paper reviews the societal and scientific motivations, current status and future directions of IndOOS, while also discussing the need for enhanced coastal, shelf, and regional observations. The challenges of sustainability and implementation are also addressed, including capacity building, best practices, and integration of resources. The utility of IndOOS ultimately depends on the identification of, and engagement with, end-users and decision-makers and on the practical accessibility and transparency of data for a range of products and for decision-making processes. Therefore we highlight current progress, issues and challenges related to end user engagement with IndOOS, as well as the needs of the data assimilation and modelling communities. Knowledge of the status of the Indian Ocean climate and ecosystems and predictability of its future, depends on a wide range of socio-economic and environmental data, a significant part of which is provided by IndOOS.
Idiopathic pneumonia syndrome (IPS) is an acute lung dysfunction of non-infectious aetiology and a severe complication following haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Recently, the ...American Thoracic Society (ATS) updated the concept of IPS and extended the concept to a wider range; it defined IPS as “an idiopathic syndrome of pneumopathy after HSCT, with evidence of widespread alveolar injury and in which infectious aetiologies and cardiac dysfunction, acute renal failure, or iatrogenic fluid overload have been excluded.” The ATS also categorised the presumed site of primary tissue injury into three patterns (pulmonary parenchyma, vascular endothelium, and airway epithelium), each of which has several entities. Since the therapeutic strategies for IPS are clearly different from those of infectious diseases, and therapeutic delay causes a poor prognosis, radiologists should be aware of some characteristic HRCT findings of IPS, which includes a wide spectrum of entities. In this article, the characteristic HRCT findings of these entities, including acute interstitial pneumonia/acute respiratory distress syndrome, eosinophilic pneumonia, non-cardiogenic capillary leak syndrome, diffuse alveolar haemorrhage, transfusion-related acute lung injury, organising pneumonia, and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, are shown.
A fast beam-profile monitor has been developed for high-energy photon beamlines at the Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University. The position of the photon converted into an ...electron–positron pair in a 0.5mm-thick aluminum plate is measured with two hodoscopes made of scintillating fibers with cross-sections of 3×3mm2. Events in which charged particles are produced upstream are rejected with a charge veto plastic scintillator placed in front of the plate, and pair-production events are identified with a trigger plastic scintillator placed behind the plate. The position is determined by a developed logic module with a field-programmable gate array. The dead time for processing an event is 35ns, and a high data acquisition efficiency (~100%) can be achieved with this monitor for high-intensity photon beams corresponding to 20MHz tagging signals.
Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a recently identified member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily that regulates bone mass through an inhibitory action on osteoclast differentiation and ...function. To determine its potential roles of OPG in pathological changes in bone metabolism caused by estrogen deficiency, we investigated effects of estrogen on OPG expression by a mouse stromal cell line, ST-2, in vitro. Treatment of ST-2 cells with 17beta-E(2) resulted in up-regulation of OPG expression at both the messenger RNA and protein levels. The effect was time and dose dependent and steroid specific. The stimulatory action of 17beta-E(2) on OPG expression appeared to be mediated by the estrogen receptor-alpha (ERalpha) subtype because stable overexpression of ERalpha, but not of ERbeta, enhanced the OPG induction by 17beta-E(2). Moreover, estrogen withdrawal after 5-day pretreatment, mimicking the event occurring in vivo at menopause, dramatically diminished the expression of OPG. These findings suggest that down-regulation of OPG after estrogen withdrawal contributes to the enhanced osteoclastic bone resorption and bone loss after menopause by enhancing RANK ligand-RANK system that lies downstream of a large number of bone-resorbing cytokines.
PDF
