Needle-retention and density patterns in Pinus sylvestris in the Rhone Valley of Switzerland: comparing results of the needle-trace method with visual defoliation assessments

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1973-1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Pouttu ◽  
Matthias Dobbertin
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Sylvestris ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Annual Change ◽  
Needle Retention ◽  
The Past ◽  
Needle Trace Method ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Short Shoots ◽  
Rhone Valley

We used the needle-trace method (NTM) to reveal the needle-retention patterns of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) over the past 100 years. The average annual needle retention (ANR) on main stems has gradually decreased from five needle sets in the 1890s to four needle sets in the 1990s. Needle retention is significantly correlated with tree age and altitude, and the decrease in needle retention may be at least in part due to the increasing ages of sample trees. The average needle density varied plotwise between 7.2 and 10.5 short shoots/cm. In a comparison of ANR values and visually assessed foliage percentage from the Swiss Forest Health Inventory between 1985 and 1996, we found significant correlation between the mean annual values. While the direction of annual change was identical in two thirds of all years we found disagreement in 3 years. Both needle retention and foliage were lower in the early 1990s than in the late 1980s. With the help of the NTM we can show that there had been similar decreases in foliage usually connected with severe droughts during the last century.

scholarly journals Needle traces as indicators of growing conditions in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Konôpka
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Pinus Sylvestris ◽  
Forest Stand ◽  
Needle Retention ◽  
Increasing Trend ◽  
Forest Regions ◽  
Needle Trace Method ◽  
Growing Conditions

Needle retention (number of needle sets) and needle density (number of needle pairs per centimeter of shoot) were surveyed on Scots pines in five forest regions of Slovakia. The Needle Trace Method (NTM) was used to determine needle retention and needle density along the main stem retrospectively for the last four decades. In all forest regions, the values of these indicators varied from year to year. However, in Záhorská lowland, Vtáčnik, Krupinská plain, and High Tatras, the trends of both observed indicators were constant over the time series. The situation was different in the Levočské hills, where the needle retention displayed a decreasing trend and needle density an increasing trend. These trends probably reflected a long-term stress of air pollution on pines in this forest stand.

Scrub typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi), A rapidly spreading epidemic in Chennai - A standalone lab experience

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (09) ◽  
pp. 4896
Author(s):  
Sripriya C.S.* ◽  
Shanthi B. ◽  
Arockia Doss S. ◽  
Antonie Raj I. ◽  
Mohana Priya
Keyword(s):  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Orientia Tsutsugamushi ◽  
The Past ◽  
Igm Elisa ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Specific Symptoms ◽  
Symptoms And Signs

Scrub typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi), is a strict intracellular bacterium which is reported to be a recent threat to parts of southern India. There is re-emergence of scrub typhus during the past few years in Chennai. Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness which generally causes non-specific symptoms and signs. The clinical manifestations of this disease range from sub-clinical disease to organ failure to fatal disease. This study documents our laboratory experience in diagnosis of scrub typhus in patients with fever and suspected clinical symptoms of scrub typhus infection for a period of two years from April 2014 to April 2016 using immunochromatography and IgM ELISA methods. The study was conducted on 648 patients out of whom 188 patients were found to be positive for scrub typhus. Results also showed that pediatric (0 -12 years) and young adults (20 – 39 years) were more exposed to scrub typhus infection and female patients were more infected compared to male. The study also showed that the rate of infection was higher between September to February which also suggested that the infection rate is proportional to the climatic condition. Statistical analysis showed that the mean age of the patients in this study was 37.6, standard deviation was 18.97, CV % was 50.45. 

Changes in multiple sclerosis symptoms are associated with changes in work productivity of people living with multiple sclerosis

2021 ◽  
pp. 135245852199455
Author(s):  
Barnabas Bessing ◽  
Mohammad A Hussain ◽  
Suzi B Claflin ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Leigh Blizzard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Mixed Models ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Work Productivity ◽  
Annual Change ◽  
Individual Variations ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Study Participants

Background: While employment rates have increased in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), little is known about the longitudinal trends of work productivity. Objective: To describe the longitudinal patterns of work productivity and examine the factors associated with annual change of work productivity of PwMS. Methods: Study participants were employed participants of the Australian MS Longitudinal Study (AMSLS) followed from 2015 to 2019 with at least two repeated measures ( n = 2121). We used linear mixed models to examine if the within-individual variations in MS symptoms are associated with changes in work productivity. Results: The mean annual change in work productivity between 2015 and 2019 was −0.23% ( SD = 18.68%). Not the actual severity of symptoms but rather the changes in severity of symptoms that are associated with change in work productivity in the same year. In a multivariable model, every unit increase in mean annual change in ‘pain and sensory symptoms’, ‘feelings of anxiety and depression’, and ‘fatigue and cognitive symptoms’ were independently associated with 2.43%, 1.55% and 1.01% annual reductions in work productivity, respectively. Conclusion: Individual changes in work productivity are largely driven by the changes in symptom severity rather than the absolute severity. Stabilising/improving MS symptoms might improve work productivity.

scholarly journals 797. Management of Patients with Multiple Clostridioides difficile Infection Recurrences using a Tapered-Pulsed Fidaxomicin Strategy

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S441-S442
Author(s):  
Xing Tan ◽  
Andrew M Skinner ◽  
Benjamin Sirbu ◽  
Larry H Danziger ◽  
Dale N Gerding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Episode ◽  
Initial Symptom ◽  
Once Daily ◽  
The Past ◽  
Clostridioides Difficile ◽  
Time To Recurrence ◽  
Clostridioides Difficile Infection ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Systemic Antibiotics

Abstract Background There is a paucity of data assessing outcomes of alternate fidaxomicin strategies in patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI). The objective of our study is to evaluate a tapered-pulsed (T-P) fidaxomicin regimen that was administered immediately following a course of CDI treatment with initial symptom resolution in patients with multiple rCDI. Methods We reviewed the characteristics and outcomes of 46 consecutive patients who received T-P fidaxomicin between January 1, 2014-June 30, 2019 in a specialty CDI clinic. The first episode in which fidaxomicin T-P was administered was analyzed. Failure was defined as the persistence of diarrhea and/or the need for additional CDI treatment at any time on T-P fidaxomicin. Sustained clinical cure (SCC) was defined as resolution of diarrhea without recurrence. Recurrence was defined as the return of diarrhea requiring retreatment with CDI therapy after completion of T-P fidaxomicin. Both SCC and recurrence were evaluated at 30 and 90 days after completion of T-P fidaxomicin. Results The mean±SD age of the 46 patients was 63.2±19.9 years, 71.7% were female, and the mean±SD CDI episodes within the past year was 3±1.4 . Most patients (73.9%) had previously failed a vancomycin tapered and/or pulsed regimen. Prior to administering T-P fidaxomicin, a treatment regimen was given to ensure resolution of symptoms. The CDI treatment most commonly used (58.7%) was vancomycin. The T-P fidaxomicin regimen used consisted of 200 mg given once daily for 7 days followed by 200 mg every other day for a median (min-max) duration of 33 (6-120) days. Two patients (4%) failed to respond to T-P fidaxomicin; 34 (74%) and 28 (61%) achieved SCC at 30 and 90 days, respectively. Among the 44 patients that successfully completed the T-P fidaxomicin regimen, recurrence developed in 10 (22.7%) and 16 (36.4%) of patients at 30 and 90 days, respectively, with a median (min-max) time to recurrence of 20 (3-87) days (Figure 1). Four patients with recurrence had received subsequent systemic antibiotics. Figure 1. Course of CDI therapy and follow-up Conclusion A tapered-pulsed fidaxomicin strategy may be effective in patients with multiply rCDI who are refractory to other treatments, including a vancomycin tapered and pulsed regimen. Disclosures Larry H. Danziger, PharmD, Merck (Speaker’s Bureau)

scholarly journals Tree Vitality and Forest Health: Can Tree-Ring Stable Isotopes Be Used as Indicators?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Cherubini ◽  
Giovanna Battipaglia ◽  
John L. Innes
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Tree Vitality ◽  
The Past ◽  
Physiological Processes

Abstract Purpose of Review Society is concerned about the long-term condition of the forests. Although a clear definition of forest health is still missing, to evaluate forest health, monitoring efforts in the past 40 years have concentrated on the assessment of tree vitality, trying to estimate tree photosynthesis rates and productivity. Used in monitoring forest decline in Central Europe since the 1980s, crown foliage transparency has been commonly believed to be the best indicator of tree condition in relation to air pollution, although annual variations appear more closely related to water stress. Although crown transparency is not a good indicator of tree photosynthesis rates, defoliation is still one of the most used indicators of tree vitality. Tree rings have been often used as indicators of past productivity. However, long-term tree growth trends are difficult to interpret because of sampling bias, and ring width patterns do not provide any information about tree physiological processes. Recent Findings In the past two decades, tree-ring stable isotopes have been used not only to reconstruct the impact of past climatic events, such as drought, but also in the study of forest decline induced by air pollution episodes, and other natural disturbances and environmental stress, such as pest outbreaks and wildfires. They have proven to be useful tools for understanding physiological processes and tree response to such stress factors. Summary Tree-ring stable isotopes integrate crown transpiration rates and photosynthesis rates and may enhance our understanding of tree vitality. They are promising indicators of tree vitality. We call for the use of tree-ring stable isotopes in future monitoring programmes.

Research on the Changes of Vegetation Coverage in Turks County Based on NDVI

2013 ◽  
Vol 409-410 ◽  
pp. 788-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Bin Wu ◽  
Jieensi Matan ◽  
Yong Fu Wei ◽  
Ke Zhen Guo ◽  
Xi Wang Lian
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Annual Change ◽  
Interannual Change ◽  
The Past ◽  
Green Period ◽  
Peak Value

24 periods of 10-day hierarchy schemes of the vegetation coverage of Turks County within 3 years are obtained through inversion, and annual change and interannual change of the vegetation coverage of Turks County are analyzed. The result demonstrates that the average vegetation coverage of the whole county is about 40%~45% during the returning green period, the peak value of the vegetation coverage appears in the last ten days of July, and the highest vegetation coverage of the three years is as high as 60% or above. During the past 12 years, the vegetation change of Turks County is stable-based that accounts for 39.6% of the total area of the county, the area of grassland slightly recovered equals to that of grassland slightly degraded, and the total of both lands is 39.1% of the whole county while the area of grassland significantly degraded accounts for only 8.7%.

Increasing author counts in neurosurgical journals from 1980 to 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Tyler S. Cole ◽  
Mark A. Pacult ◽  
Michael T. Lawton
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Productivity ◽  
Academic Journals ◽  
Publication Type ◽  
Medical Specialties ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Scopus Database ◽  
Publication Volume ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Number Of Authors

OBJECTIVE Scientific productivity, as assessed by publication volume, is a common metric by which the academic neurosurgical field assesses its members. The number of authors per peer-reviewed article has been observed to increase over time across a broad range of medical specialties. This study provides an update to this trend in the neurosurgical literature. METHODS All publications from January 1, 1980, to April 30, 2020, were queried from four neurosurgical journals: Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery (JNS), JNS: Pediatrics, and JNS: Spine. Publication information was acquired from the National Center for Biotechnology Information Entrez database and reconciled with the Scopus database. Publication type was limited to articles and excluded editorials, letters, and reviews. The number of authors and affiliation counts were determined based on structured abstract fields provided in the two databases. RESULTS Between January 1, 1980, and April 30, 2020, the overall increase in author count for the four neurosurgical journals was 0.12 to 0.18 authors per year (p < 0.001). For Neurosurgery, the mean (SD) author count increased from 2.81 (1.4) in 1980–1985 to 7.97 (4.92) in 2016–2020 (p < 0.001). For the JNS, the mean (SD) author count increased from 2.82 (1.04) in 1980–1985 to 7.6 (3.65) in 2016–2020 (p < 0.001). The percentage of articles with more than 10 authors increased from 0.2% to 22.3% in Neurosurgery and from 1.9% to 17.5% in JNS. Only 28% of the author count variation was explained by an increasing number of institutional or departmental affiliations. CONCLUSIONS Author counts for peer-reviewed articles in neurosurgical academic journals have increased significantly during the past 4 decades, with large increases in the numbers of articles with more than 10 authors in the past 5 years. A total of 28% of the variation in this increase can be explained by an increase in multiinstitutional or multidepartmental studies.

scholarly journals Free Will in Human Behavior and Physics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasil Dinev Penchev
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Information ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Classical Physics ◽  
Quantum Bit ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The One

If the concept of “free will” is reduced to that of “choice” all physical world share the latter quality. Anyway the “free will” can be distinguished from the “choice”: The “free will” involves implicitly a certain goal, and the choice is only the mean, by which the aim can be achieved or not by the one who determines the target. Thus, for example, an electron has always a choice but not free will unlike a human possessing both. Consequently, and paradoxically, the determinism of classical physics is more subjective and more anthropomorphic than the indeterminism of quantum mechanics for the former presupposes certain deterministic goal implicitly following the model of human freewill behavior. Quantum mechanics introduces the choice in the fundament of physical world involving a generalized case of choice, which can be called “subjectless”: There is certain choice, which originates from the transition of the future into the past. Thus that kind of choice is shared of all existing and does not need any subject: It can be considered as a low of nature. There are a few theorems in quantum mechanics directly relevant to the topic: two of them are called “free will theorems” by their authors (Conway and Kochen 2006; 2009). Any quantum system either a human or an electron or whatever else has always a choice: Its behavior is not predetermined by its past. This is a physical law. It implies that a form of information, the quantum information underlies all existing for the unit of the quantity of information is an elementary choice: either a bit or a quantum bit (qubit).

scholarly journals Comparison of Land Surface Temperature During and Before the Emergence of Covid-19 using Modis Imagery in Wuhan City, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamim Zaky Hadibasyir ◽  
Seftiawan Samsu Rijal ◽  
Dewi Ratna Sari
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Modis Imagery ◽  
Rapid Transmission ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was firstly identified in Wuhan, China. By 23rd January 2020, China’s Government made a decision to execute lockdown policy in Wuhan due to the rapid transmission of COVID-19. It is essential to investigate the land surface temperature (LST) dynamics due to changes in level of anthropogenic activities. Therefore, this study aims (1) to investigate mean LST differences between during, i.e., December 2019 to early March 2020, and before the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan; (2) to conduct spatio-temporal analysis of mean LST with regards to lockdown policy; and (3) to examine mean LST differences for each land cover type. MODIS data consist of MOD11A2 and MCD12Q1 were employed. The results showed that during the emergence of COVID-19 with lockdown policy applied, the mean LST was lower than the mean LST of the past three years on the same dates. Whereas, during the emergence of COVID-19 without lockdown policy applied, the mean LST was relatively higher than the mean LST of the past three years. In addition, the mean LST of built-up areas experienced the most significant differences between during the emergence of COVID-19 with lockdown policy applied in comparison to the average of the past three years.

scholarly journals AUDIT OF EVOLVING ROLES OF LAPAROSCOPY IN THE CURRENT SURGICAL PRACTICE AT CHRIS HANI BARAGWANATH ACADEMIC HOSPITAL: A 5 YEAR REVIEW

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 16-24
Keyword(s):  
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy ◽  
Laparoscopic Surgery ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Academic Hospital ◽  
Surgical Practice ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Accepted Standard ◽  
The Mean

Background: Laparoscopic surgery (LS) is gaining momentum and has revolutionised the practice of surgery. Over the past thirty years, LS has been used to manage a wide range of surgical pathologies and has become a recognised and generally accepted standard of care. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe the evolution of LS in selected procedures.. Methods: Data were collected from theatre registries. Statistical analysis was performed using the software IMB SPSS. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation for age, and percentage and frequencies for categories of variables . Results: Of the 3745 patients involved in the study, 59.1% were males and 40.9% were females. The mean age of the patients was 35.17±17.30 years. Laparoscopic surgery was represented in 43.2% of the procedures, with laparoscopic appendicectomy (46.73%) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (32.69%) being the most commonly performed procedures.. Twenty-five adrenalectomies were performed over the study period, and of those 12 (52%) were performed laparoscopically. All the thymectomies (12) were performed thoracoscopically, with one conversion. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that there has been an increase in the overall incidence of laparoscopic surgery in selected procedures at CHBAH.

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