There have been a number of papers reporting that the statistical occurrence rate of the sporadic E (Es) layer depends not only on the local time and season but also on the geographical location, ...implying that geographical and seasonal dependence in vertical neutral wind shear is one of the factors responsible for the geographical and seasonal dependence in Es layer occurrences rate. To study the role of neutral wind shear in the global distribution of the Es layer occurrence rate, we employ a self‐consistent atmosphere‐ionosphere coupled model called GAIA (Ground‐to‐topside model of Atmosphere and Ionosphere for Aeronomy), which incorporates meteorological reanalysis data in the lower atmosphere. The average distribution of neutral wind shear in the lower thermosphere is derived for the June–August and December–February periods, and the global distribution of vertical ion convergence is obtained to estimate the Es layer occurrence rate. It is found that the local and seasonal dependence of neutral wind shear is an important factor in determining the dependence of the Es layer occurrence rate on geographical distribution and seasonal variation. However, there are uncertainties in the simulated vertical neutral wind shears, which have larger scales than the observed wind shear scales. Furthermore, other processes such as localization of magnetic field distribution, background metallic ion distribution, ionospheric electric fields, and chemical processes of metallic ions are also likely to make an important contribution to geographical distribution and seasonal variation of the Es occurrence rate.
Key Points
GAIA model is used for the study of sporadic E occurrence rate based on the wind shear theory
Global distribution of vertical ion convergence rate associated with vertical wind shear is obtained and compared with observations
Relationship between sporadic E occurrence rate and vertical wind shear is discussed
This paper compares results from a whole atmosphere‐ionosphere coupled model, GAIA, with the COSMIC and TIMED/SABER observations during the 2008/2009 northern winter season. The GAIA model has ...assimilated meteorological reanalysis data by a nudging method. The comparison shows general agreement in the major features from the stratosphere to the ionosphere including the growth and decay of the major stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) event in 2009. During this period, a pronounced semidiurnal variation in the F region electron density and its local‐time phase shift similar to the previous observations are reproduced by the model and COSMIC observation. The model suggests that the electron density variation is caused by an enhanced semidiurnal variation in the E × B drift, which is probably related to an amplified semidiurnal migrating tide (SW2) in the lower thermosphere. The model and TIMED/SABER observation show that the SW2 tide amplifies at low latitudes from the stratosphere to the thermosphere as well as the phase variation. Possible mechanisms for the SW2 variability in the low latitude stratosphere could be the change of its propagation condition, especially the (2, 2) mode, due to changing zonal background wind and meridional temperature gradient, and/or an enhancement of its source due to redistribution of stratospheric ozone. Present results also show a prominent long‐term variation of the terdiurnal migrating component (TW3) in the ionosphere and atmosphere.
Key Points
Comparison of a whole atmosphere‐ionosphere model with satellite observations
Role of semidiurnal migrating tide (SW2) during stratospheric sudden warming
Mechanisms for amplification of SW2 during stratospheric warming
The consensus statements regarding first-line therapies in women with ovarian cancer, reached at the Fifth Ovarian Cancer Consensus Conference held in Tokyo, Japan, in November 2015 are reported. ...Three topics were reviewed and the following statements are recommended: (i) Surgery: the subgroups that should be considered in first-line ovarian cancer clinical trials should be (a) patients undergoing primary debulking surgery and (b) patients receiving neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. The amount of residual disease following surgery should further stratify patients into those with absent gross residual disease and others. (ii) Control arms for chemotherapy: for advanced stage ovarian cancer the standard is intravenous 3-weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel. Acceptable alternatives, which should be stratified variables in trials when more than one regimen is offered, include weekly paclitaxel plus 3-weekly carboplatin, the addition of bevacizumab to 3-weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel, and intraperitoneal therapy. (iii) Trial Endpoints: overall survival is the preferred primary endpoint for first-line clinical trials with or without a maintenance component. Progression-free survival (PFS) is an alternative primary endpoint, but if PFS is chosen overall survival must be measured as a secondary endpoint and PFS must be supported by additional endpoints, including predefined patient reported outcomes and time to first or second subsequent therapy. For neoadjuvant therapy, additional ‘window of opportunity’ endpoints should be included.
Seismic hazard modeling is a multidisciplinary science that aims to forecast earthquake occurrence and its resultant ground shaking. Such models consist of a probabilistic framework that quantifies ...uncertainty across a complex system; typically, this includes at least two model components developed from Earth science: seismic source and ground motion models. Although there is no scientific prescription for the forecast length, the most common probabilistic seismic hazard analyses consider forecasting windows of 30 to 50 years, which are typically an engineering demand for building code purposes. These types of analyses are the topic of this review paper. Although the core methods and assumptions of seismic hazard modeling have largely remained unchanged for more than 50 years, we review the most recent initiatives, which face the difficult task of meeting both the increasingly sophisticated demands of society and keeping pace with advances in scientific understanding. A need for more accurate and spatially precise hazard forecasting must be balanced with increased quantification of uncertainty and new challenges such as moving from time‐independent hazard to forecasts that are time dependent and specific to the time period of interest. Meeting these challenges requires the development of science‐driven models, which integrate all information available, the adoption of proper mathematical frameworks to quantify the different types of uncertainties in the hazard model, and the development of a proper testing phase of the model to quantify its consistency and skill. We review the state of the art of the National Seismic Hazard Modeling and how the most innovative approaches try to address future challenges.
Plain Language Summary
In this review paper we describe the state of the art in modeling earthquake hazard at the national scale. National hazard models take our understanding of fundamental earthquake processes and develop models of earthquake shaking relevant to the decades to come. The shaking estimates from the models provide important inputs into societal decision making across a wide range of uses including such things as building design requirements or for guiding insurance policy. Here were introduce national models from 10 regions around the world, including multinational models that aim to make results comparable from nation to nation. We describe key challenges and assumptions in making the models and provide recommendations about research for improving future generations of national models. An emerging and overriding philosophy is the need to better quantify and make useful the uncertainties in our knowledge of earthquake processes. Future models will better be able to include this uncertainty and will aim to better quantify the ability of the models to provide the outputs society needs. Finally, future models will become increasingly reliant on computer models that simulate how earthquakes interact with each other and cause shaking at the surface of the Earth.
Key Points
National Seismic Hazard Models (NSHMs) are regional models that take our understanding of earthquake occurrence and their consequent shaking intensities and make this information useful for decision makers and society
Key goals in modern probabilistic NSHMs are the improved quantification of uncertainty and research to understand the skill and usefulness of the forecasts
Current PSHA‐based methods used by NSHMs from diverse tectonic settings around the world are reviewed
Recently, it was reported that plasma microRNAs (miRNAs) are low-invasive useful biomarkers for cancer. We attempted to isolate gastric cancer (GC)-associated miRNAs comparing pre- and post-operative ...paired plasma, thereby excluding the possible effects of individual variability.
This study was divided into four steps: (1) microarray analysis comparing pre- and post-operative plasma; (2) validation of candidate miRNAs by quantitative RT-PCR; (3) validation study of selected miRNAs using paired plasma; and (4) comparison of the levels of selected miRNAs in plasma between healthy controls and patients.
From the results of microarray analysis, nine candidate miRNAs the levels of which were markedly decreased in post-operative plasma were selected for further studies. After confirmation of their post-operative marked reduction, two candidate miRNAs, miR-451 and miR-486, were selected as plasma biomarkers, considering the abundance in plasma, and marked decrease in post-operative samples. In validation, the two miRNAs were found to decrease in post-operative plasma in 90 and 93% of patients (both P<0.01). In comparison with healthy controls, the levels of both miRNAs were found to be significantly higher in patients, and the area under the curve values were high at 0.96 and 0.92.
Plasma miR-451 and miR-486 could be useful blood-based biomarkers for screening GC.
The present study compares simulations of the 2009 sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) from four different whole atmosphere models. The models included in the comparison are the Ground‐to‐topside ...model of Atmosphere and Ionosphere for Aeronomy, Hamburg Model of the Neutral and Ionized Atmosphere, Whole Atmosphere Model, and Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model Extended version (WACCM‐X). The comparison focuses on the zonal mean, planetary wave, and tidal variability in the middle and upper atmosphere during the 2009 SSW. The model simulations are constrained in the lower atmosphere, and the simulated zonal mean and planetary wave variability is thus similar up to ∼1 hPa (50 km). With the exception of WACCM‐X, which is constrained up to 0.002 hPa (92 km), the models are unconstrained at higher altitudes leading to considerable divergence among the model simulations in the mesosphere and thermosphere. We attribute the differences at higher altitudes to be primarily due to different gravity wave drag parameterizations. In the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, we find both similarities and differences among the model simulated migrating and nonmigrating tides. The migrating diurnal tide (DW1) is similar in all of the model simulations. The model simulations reveal similar temporal evolution of the amplitude and phase of the migrating semidiurnal tide (SW2); however, the absolute SW2 amplitudes are significantly different. Through comparison of the zonal mean, planetary wave, and tidal variability during the 2009 SSW, the results of the present study provide insight into aspects of the middle and upper atmosphere variability that are considered to be robust features, as well as aspects that should be considered with significant uncertainty.
Key Points
Compare simulations of 2009 SSW in four whole atmosphere models
The simulations reveal different dynamics at MLT altitudes
Differences are attributed primarily to gravity wave drag parametrizations
Summary
We developed an en bloc lymphadenectomy method in the upper mediastinum with a single-port mediastinoscopic cervical approach. This study was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ...single-port mediastinoscope-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal cancer. The perioperative outcomes of 60 patients with thoracic esophageal cancer who underwent this operation between March 2014 and June 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The upper mediastinal dissection including lymphadenectomy along the left recurrent laryngeal nerve, using a left cervical approach, was performed with a single-port mediastinoscopic technique, which was used to improve the visibility and handling in the deep mediastinum around the aortic arch. The lymphadenectomy along the right recurrent laryngeal nerve was performed under direct vision using a right cervical approach. Bilateral cervical approaches were followed by hand-assisted laparoscopic transhiatal esophagectomy with en bloc lymphadenectomy in the middle and lower mediastinum. Tumors were mainly located in the middle thoracic esophagus (n = 33), and most tumors were squamous cell carcinoma (n = 58). Pretreatment diagnoses were stage I, 19; II, 13; III, 24; IV, 4. Preoperative chemotherapy was performed for 40 patients. The median operation time and blood loss were 363 minutes and 235 mL, respectively. There were two patients who underwent conversion to thoracotomy. Perioperative complications were evaluated and graded according to the Clavien-Dindo (CD) and the Esophagectomy Complications Consensus Group (ECCG) classifications. Postoperatively, pneumonia was observed in four patients (CD, Grade II, 2; Grade IIIb, 2), although vocal cord palsy was more frequent (ECCG, Type I, 12; Type III, 8). The median number of thoracic lymph nodes resected was 21, and the R0 resection rate was 95%. Single-port mediastinoscope-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy is feasible, in terms of perioperative outcomes, for a radical surgery for thoracic esophageal cancer, although its safety needs to be further demonstrated.
The global wave number 4 longitudinal structure of ionospheric density has been observed recently by a number of satellite measurements and considered as a signature of dynamical coupling from the ...deep atmosphere to the ionosphere. By using a numerical model of atmospheric electrodynamics with input fields from a whole atmosphere general circulation model and an ionosphere‐thermosphere model, we investigated the generation mechanism for the longitudinal structure of the F‐region zonal electric field (vertical E × B drift) as a possible driver of the ionospheric density variation, especially with respect to the eastward zonal wave number 3 diurnal tide (DE3) that originates from the convective activities in the troposphere and propagates upward. The simulation showed that the longitudinal profile of zonal perturbation electric field is largely influenced by the zonal DE3 wind around the height of peak Hall conductivity during the daytime, and that it is by the zonal DE3 wind in the F‐region during the nighttime. The daytime zonal electric field is a direct result from charge separation induced by the Hall dynamo current, whereas the nighttime zonal electric field is rather produced to satisfy the electrostatic condition.
We examined plasma microRNA (miRNA) concentrations from patients with gastric cancers (GCs) to assess their clinical application for diagnosing and monitoring diseases.
We initially investigated the ...appropriateness of plasma miRNA assay, and then compared plasma miRNA results with the expressions in cancer tissues from eight GC patients, and also compared plasma miRNAs between pre- and post-operative paired samples from 10 GC patients. Then, plasma miRNAs (miR-17-5p, miR-21, miR-106a, miR-106b and let-7a) were analysed in 69 GC patients and 30 healthy volunteers in total.
The initial analysis showed that miRNAs were stable and detectable in all plasma samples, and the plasma miRNA levels reflected the tumour miRNAs in most cases. The levels of these miRNAs were significantly reduced in post-operative samples. In large-scale analysis, the plasma concentrations of miRNAs (miR-17-5p, miR-21, miR-106a, miR-106b) were significantly higher in GC patients than controls (P=0.05, 0.006, 0.008 and <0.001 respectively), whereas let-7a was lower in GC patients (P=0.002). The values of the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve were 0.721 for the miR-106b assay and 0.879 for the miR-106a/let-7a ratio assay.
Detection of circulating miRNAs might provide new complementary tumour markers for GC.
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