Potential for improved ATSR dual‐view SST retrieval

Recent validation studies have confirmed that the first along‐track scanning radiometer (ATSR) can retrieve sea surface temperature (SST) to an accuracy of 0.3K even in the presence of heavy atmospheric aerosol. However, using the standard (pre‐launch) retrieval, this accuracy is achieved only when data from all three thermal channels (3.7, 11 and 12 µm) are available; in the absence of 3.7 µm data, retrieved SSTs are subject to significant cold bias. As 3.7 µm data are useful only for nighttime observations, and ATSR's 3.7 µm channel failed in May 1992, only 11 and 12 µm data informed SST derivation for most of the 1991–1996 mission. We demonstrate the potential for improvement in this retrieval, based on comparison of observed brightness temperatures with precise SSTs derived using 3.7 µm data. A reduction in global‐mean cold bias from >0.6K to <0.1K is achieved, with standard deviation approximately halved. We also examine the treatment of optical pathlength variation around the ATSR swath

Posterior cricoid region fluoroscopic findings: the posterior cricoid plication.

The region posterior to the cricoid cartilage is challenging to assess fluoroscopically. The purpose of this investigation is to critically evaluate the posterior cricoid (PC) region on fluoroscopy and describe patterns of common findings. This was a case control study. All fluoroscopic swallowing studies performed between June 16, 2009, and February 9, 2010, were reviewed for features seen in the PC region. These findings were categorized into distinct patterns and compared to fluoroscopic studies performed in a cohort of normal volunteers. Two hundred patient studies and 149 healthy volunteer studies were reviewed. The mean age of the referred patient cohort and the volunteer cohort was 57&nbsp;years (±19) and 61&nbsp;years (±16), respectively (p&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;0.05). The patient cohort was 53% male and the control cohort was 56% female (p&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;0.05). Four groups were identified. Pharyngoesophageal webs were seen in 7% (10/149) of controls and 14% (28/200) of patients (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.03). A PC arch impression was seen in 16% of patients (32/200) and controls (24/149) (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;1). A PC plication was demonstrated in 23% (34/149) of controls and 30% (60/200) of patients (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.13). No distinctive PC region findings were seen in 54% (81/149) of controls and 42% (84/200) of referred patients (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.02). Four patients (2%) had both a web and a PC plication. Four categories of PC region findings were identified (unremarkable PC region, web, PC arch impression, and PC plication). Both patients referred for swallowing studies and healthy volunteers demonstrated esophageal webs, PC arch impressions, and PC plications. Only webs were more common in patients than in control subjects (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.03). The PC impression and PC plication are likely to represent normal variants that may be identified on fluoroscopic swallow studies

Singularities in the optical response of cuprates

We argue that the detailed analysis of the optical response in cuprate superconductors allows one to verify the magnetic scenario of superconductivity in cuprates, as for strong coupling charge carriers to antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations, the second derivative of optical conductivity should contain detectable singularities at $2\Delta +\Delta_{\rm spin}$, $4\Delta$, and $2\Delta+2\Delta_{\rm spin}$, where $\Delta$ is the amplitude of the superconducting gap, and $\Delta_{s}$ is the resonance energy of spin fluctuations measured in neutron scattering. We argue that there is a good chance that these singularities have already been detected in the experiments on optimally doped $YBCO$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

The cost of congenital heart-disease in children and adults: a model for multicenter assessment of price and practice variation

Objective: To assess the cost of congenital heart disease (CHD) and to assess whether practice pattern or price was more responsible for variation

The effects of childbirth on the pelvic-floor

Basically, vaginal delivery is associated with the risk of pelvic floor damage. The pelvic floor sequelae of childbirth includes anal incontinence, urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Pathophysiology, incidence and risk factors for the development of the respective problems are reviewed. Where possible, recommendations for reducing the risk of pelvic floor damage are given

Evidence for distinct coastal and offshore communities of bottlenose dolphins in the north east Atlantic.

Bottlenose dolphin stock structure in the northeast Atlantic remains poorly understood. However, fine scale photo-id data have shown that populations can comprise multiple overlapping social communities. These social communities form structural elements of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) [corrected] populations, reflecting specific ecological and behavioural adaptations to local habitats. We investigated the social structure of bottlenose dolphins in the waters of northwest Ireland and present evidence for distinct inshore and offshore social communities. Individuals of the inshore community had a coastal distribution restricted to waters within 3 km from shore. These animals exhibited a cohesive, fission-fusion social organisation, with repeated resightings within the research area, within a larger coastal home range. The offshore community comprised one or more distinct groups, found significantly further offshore (>4 km) than the inshore animals. In addition, dorsal fin scarring patterns differed significantly between inshore and offshore communities with individuals of the offshore community having more distinctly marked dorsal fins. Specifically, almost half of the individuals in the offshore community (48%) had characteristic stereotyped damage to the tip of the dorsal fin, rarely recorded in the inshore community (7%). We propose that this characteristic is likely due to interactions with pelagic fisheries. Social segregation and scarring differences found here indicate that the distinct communities are likely to be spatially and behaviourally segregated. Together with recent genetic evidence of distinct offshore and coastal population structures, this provides evidence for bottlenose dolphin inshore/offshore community differentiation in the northeast Atlantic. We recommend that social communities should be considered as fundamental units for the management and conservation of bottlenose dolphins and their habitat specialisations

Carrier-mediated magnetoelectricity in complex oxide heterostructures

While tremendous success has been achieved to date in creating both single phase and composite magnetoelectric materials, the quintessential electric-field control of magnetism remains elusive. In this work, we demonstrate a linear magnetoelectric effect which arises from a novel carrier-mediated mechanism, and is a universal feature of the interface between a dielectric and a spin-polarized metal. Using first-principles density functional calculations, we illustrate this effect at the SrRuO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface and describe its origin. To formally quantify the magnetic response of such an interface to an applied electric field, we introduce and define the concept of spin capacitance. In addition to its magnetoelectric and spin capacitive behavior, the interface displays a spatial coexistence of magnetism and dielectric polarization suggesting a route to a new type of interfacial multiferroic

A preliminary study of genetic factors that influence susceptibility to bovine tuberculosis in the British cattle herd

Associations between specific host genes and susceptibility to Mycobacterial infections such as tuberculosis have been reported in several species. Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) impacts greatly the UK cattle industry, yet genetic predispositions have yet to be identified. We therefore used a candidate gene approach to study 384 cattle of which 160 had reacted positively to an antigenic skin test (‘reactors’). Our approach was unusual in that it used microsatellite markers, embraced high breed diversity and focused particularly on detecting genes showing heterozygote advantage, a mode of action often overlooked in SNP-based studies. A panel of neutral markers was used to control for population substructure and using a general linear model-based approach we were also able to control for age. We found that substructure was surprisingly weak and identified two genomic regions that were strongly associated with reactor status, identified by markers INRA111 and BMS2753. In general the strength of association detected tended to vary depending on whether age was included in the model. At INRA111 a single genotype appears strongly protective with an overall odds ratio of 2.2, the effect being consistent across nine diverse breeds. Our results suggest that breeding strategies could be devised that would appreciably increase genetic resistance of cattle to bTB (strictly, reduce the frequency of incidence of reactors) with implications for the current debate concerning badger-culling

On staying grounded and avoiding Quixotic dead ends

The 15 articles in this special issue on The Representation of Concepts illustrate the rich variety of theoretical positions and supporting research that characterize the area. Although much agreement exists among contributors, much disagreement exists as well, especially about the roles of grounding and abstraction in conceptual processing. I first review theoretical approaches raised in these articles that I believe are Quixotic dead ends, namely, approaches that are principled and inspired but likely to fail. In the process, I review various theories of amodal symbols, their distortions of grounded theories, and fallacies in the evidence used to support them. Incorporating further contributions across articles, I then sketch a theoretical approach that I believe is likely to be successful, which includes grounding, abstraction, flexibility, explaining classic conceptual phenomena, and making contact with real-world situations. This account further proposes that (1) a key element of grounding is neural reuse, (2) abstraction takes the forms of multimodal compression, distilled abstraction, and distributed linguistic representation (but not amodal symbols), and (3) flexible context-dependent representations are a hallmark of conceptual processing

Tumor innate immunity primed by specific interferon-stimulated endogenous retroviruses.

Mesenchymal tumor subpopulations secrete pro-tumorigenic cytokines and promote treatment resistance1-4. This phenomenon has been implicated in chemorefractory small cell lung cancer and resistance to targeted therapies5-8, but remains incompletely defined. Here, we identify a subclass of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) that engages innate immune signaling in these cells. Stimulated 3 prime antisense retroviral coding sequences (SPARCS) are oriented inversely in 3' untranslated regions of specific genes enriched for regulation by STAT1 and EZH2. Derepression of these loci results in double-stranded RNA generation following IFN-γ exposure due to bi-directional transcription from the STAT1-activated gene promoter and the 5' long terminal repeat of the antisense ERV. Engagement of MAVS and STING activates downstream TBK1, IRF3, and STAT1 signaling, sustaining a positive feedback loop. SPARCS induction in human tumors is tightly associated with major histocompatibility complex class 1 expression, mesenchymal markers, and downregulation of chromatin modifying enzymes, including EZH2. Analysis of cell lines with high inducible SPARCS expression reveals strong association with an AXL/MET-positive mesenchymal cell state. While SPARCS-high tumors are immune infiltrated, they also exhibit multiple features of an immune-suppressed microenviroment. Together, these data unveil a subclass of ERVs whose derepression triggers pathologic innate immune signaling in cancer, with important implications for cancer immunotherapy