ALBERT

Description: A cloud-to-ground lightning climatology for north-eastern Italy Advances in Science and Research, 10, 77-84, 2013 Author(s): L. Feudale, A. Manzato, and S. Micheletti This study analyzes the spatial distribution and temporal characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightnings (C2G) in the North East of Italy and the neighboring areas of Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. The dataset consists of about 6.5 millions C2G flash records, both positive and negative, observed between January 1995 and December 2011 by the "Centro Elettrotecnico Sperimentale Italiano-Sistema Italiano Rilevamento Fulmini'' (CESI/SIRF), part of the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection (EUCLID) Network. The results show that C2G lightnings concentrate in the foothill regions on the southern flank of the Eastern Alps with a maximum of discharge frequency of 10 lightnings per km 2 per year. The number of C2G strokes varies with the period of the year: the most active period for lightning starts in April and lasts through November with the highest number of C2G strokes happening during the summer months of July and August, with maximum spatial density slightly moving from the mountain to the coastal area. The least frequency of C2G strokes is observed during wintertime. The mean diurnal C2G lightning activity for the whole domain shows a peak around 16:00–17:00 UTC and reaches a minimum around 07:00–09:00 UTC; the mean spatial distribution follows different patterns depending on the period of the day.

Description: Multivariate testing of spatio-temporal consistence of daily precipitation records Advances in Science and Research, 10, 85-90, 2013 Author(s): H. Mächel and A. Kapala The project KLIDADIGI of the German Meteorological Service (DWD) systematically rescues historical daily climate data of Germany by keying and imaging. Up to now, daily nearly gap-free precipitation time series at 118 locations for the period 1901–2000 are collected and extended by digitalization of hand-written protocols. To screen the spatio-temporal consistence of these raw data, we apply principal component analysis (PCA) in S (spatial) mode for daily precipitation records as well as for indices such as the number of rainy days above a certain threshold, intensity and absolute daily maximum in monthly, seasonal or annual resolution. Results of this screening test indicate that the PCA is a useful tool for detection of questionable stations and data preprocessing for further quality control and homogenization.

Description: Digital Climate Atlas of the Carpathian Region Advances in Science and Research, 10, 107-111, 2013 Author(s): I. Antolović, V. Mihajlović, D. Rančić, D. Mihić, and V. Djurdjević The main goal of the CARPATCLIM (Climate of the Carpathian Region) project is to construct the gridded climatological database for the region in a daily temporal resolution for the period 1961–2010 by using 0.1° spatial resolution. The solution of this requirement as well as one of the final products of the CARPATCLIM project is a Digital Climate Atlas which is designed as the main entry point for all the gridded data and maps generated during the project, together with metadata for all data sets (original data as well as data created during the project). With respect to the INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) directive, the Digital Climate Atlas is developed as a rich Web GIS (Geographic Information System) application based on modern Web standards offering all necessary tools for climate data visualization and extraction. Another important product of the CARPATCLIM project is the Metadata Catalog which is designed as a tool for searching of climate metadata by various parameters (i.e. period, variable, region etc.).

Description: The purpose of this literature review was to describe the main features of phantom eye syndrome in relation to their possible causes, symptoms, treatments, and influence of eye amputation on quality of life of anophthalmic patients. For this, a bibliographical research was performed in Pubmed database using the following terms: “eye amputation,” “eye trauma,” “phantom eye syndrome,” “phantom pain,” and “quality of life,” associated or not. Thirteen studies were selected, besides some relevant references contained in the selected manuscripts and other studies hallowed in the literature. Thus, 56 articles were included in this review. The phantom eye syndrome is defined as any sensation reported by the patient with anophthalmia, originated anophthalmic cavity. In phantom eye syndrome, at least one of these three symptoms has to be present: phantom vision, phantom pain, and phantom sensations. This syndrome has a direct influence on the quality of life of the patients, and psychological support is recommended before and after the amputation of the eyeball as well as aid in the treatment of the syndrome. Therefore, it is suggested that, for more effective treatment of phantom eye syndrome, drug therapy should be associated with psychological approach.

Description: Metal-on-metal hip resurfacing (MOM-HR) is offered as an alternative to traditional hip arthroplasty for young, active adults with advanced osteoarthritis. Nevertheless, concerns remain regarding wear and corrosion of the bearing surfaces and the resulting increase in metal ion levels. We evaluated three cohorts of patients with Birmingham hip resurfacing (BHR) at an average follow-up of 2, 5, and 9 years. We asked whether there would be differences in ion levels between the cohorts and inside the gender. Nineteen patients were prospectively analyzed. The correlation with clinical-radiographic data was also performed. Chromium, cobalt, nickel, and molybdenum concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Chromium and cobalt levels demonstrated a tendency to decrease over time. Such tendency was present only in females. An inverse correlation between chromium, implant size, and Harris hip score was present at short term; it disappeared over time together with the decreased ion levels. The prospective analysis showed that, although metal ion levels remained fairly constant within each patient, there was a relatively large variation between subjects, so mean data in this scenario must be interpreted with caution. The chronic high exposure should be carefully considered during implant selection, particularly in young subjects, and a stricter monitoring is mandatory.

Description: Aim. To identify methods, index, diagnostic criteria, and corresponding cutoff points used to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia in older people in different countries. Methods. A systematic review was carried out in accordance with PRISMA Statement. The search encompassed the MEDLINE and LILACS databases and was executed during March 2012 using the keyword sarcopenia. Results. A total of 671 studies were identified by the search strategy, and 30 meet all inclusion criteria. Specifically for dual-X-ray absorptiometry, prevalence ranged from 2.2% to 95% in men and from 0.1% to 33.9% in women. For bioelectrical impedance analysis, the range was from 6.2% to 85.4% in men and 2.8% to 23.6% in women. Regarding anthropometric and computed tomography, prevalence rates were, respectively, 14.1% and 55.9%. Conclusions. Heterogeneity in prevalence of sarcopenia was identified, due to diagnostic method choice, cutoff points, and, characteristics of the population as well as reference population. These factors should be considered in research designs to enable comparison and validation of results. Despite the limitations of most studies that indicated high prevalence rates, the results indicate the need for early detection of this syndrome.

Description: The objective of the current work was to develop optimized self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) and evaluate their in vitro and in vivo performance. The research comprised various studies which includes solubility studies in various vehicles, pseudoternary phase diagram construction, and preparation and characterization of SNEDDS along with in vitro dissolution and in vivo pharmacodynamic profiling. Based on dissolution profile, a remarkable increase in rate of dissolution was observed in comparison with plain drug and marketed formulation. Optimized SNEDDS formulation was composed of Capmul MCM (19.17% w/w), Tween 80 (57.5% w/w), Transcutol P (12.7% w/w), and HCT (4.17% w/w). In vivo pharmacodynamic evaluation in Wistar rats showed considerable increase in pharmacological effect of HCT by SNEDDS formulation as compared with plain HCT.

Description: Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are developed using poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) [P(VP-co-VAc)] as the host polymer, lithium bis(trifluoromethane) sulfonimide [LiTFSI] as the lithium salt and ionic liquid, and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide [EMImTFSI] by using solution casting technique. The effect of ionic liquid on ionic conductivity is studied and the optimum ionic conductivity at room temperature is found to be 2.14 × 10−6 S cm−1 for sample containing 25 wt% of EMImTFSI. The temperature dependence of ionic conductivity from 303 K to 353 K exhibits Arrhenius plot behaviour. The thermal stability of the polymer electrolyte system is studied by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) while the structural and morphological properties of the polymer electrolyte is studied by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), respectively.

Description: Antimetastatic and anti-inflammatory activities of Ocimum sanctum essential oil (OSEO) have been assessed in this study. OSEO at the concentration of 250 μg/mL and above showed a significant () decrease in the number of migrated cancer cells. In addition, OSEO at concentration of 250 μg/mL and above suppressed MMP-9 activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced inflammatory cells. A dose-dependent downregulation of MMP-9 expression was observed with the treatment of OSEO compared to the control. Our findings indicate that OSEO has both antimetastatic and anti-inflammatory potentials, advocating further investigation for clinical applications in the treatment of inflammation associated cancer.

Description: The development of a deep wound infection in the presence of internal hardware presents a clinical dilemma. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the treatment outcomes of vancomycin cement with other advances of surgical techniques for implant-related infection (IRI) in the tibia. This study included 217 consecutive patients who had sustained IRI of the tibia. Of them, 152 patients had soft tissue defects and the internal hardware was exposed. Repeated debridement and negative pressure assisted closure were used. All the infected internal hardware was removed. External fixations and flaps were used. Custom-made vancomycin cement was inserted into the dead space of the wounds and left in site for a month. The follow-up was from 12 months to 108 months, averaging 37.5 months. For all the 217 patients, the general osteomyelitis healing rate and bone union rate were 86.6% and 97.2%, respectively. This study shows high rates of healing of IRI in the tibia if the new advances of surgery could be effectively combined into the treatment strategy with vancomycin cement as an important treatment.

Description: In order to screen the Catalpa plant with high antioxidant activity and confirm the corresponding active fractions from Catalpa ovata G. Don, C. fargesii Bur., and C. bungei C. A. Mey., total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities of the extracts/fractions of Catalpa plant leaves were determined. The determined total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity were used as assessment criteria. Those compounds with antioxidant activity were isolated with silica gel column chromatography and ODS column chromatography. Our results showed that the total flavonoid content in C. bungei C. A. Mey. (30.07 mg/g·DW) was the highest, followed by those in C. fargesii Bur. (25.55 mg/g·DW) and C. ovata G. Don (24.96 mg/g·DW). According to the determination results of total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity in 3 clones of leaves of C. bungei C. A. Mey., the total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity in crude extracts from C. bungei C. A. Mey. 6 (CA6) leaves were the highest. Moreover, the results showed that the total flavonoid content and antioxidant activities of ethyl acetate (EA) fraction in ethanol crude extracts in CA6 leaves were the highest, followed by n-butanol, petroleum ether (PE), and water fractions. Two flavonoid compounds with antioxidant activity were firstly isolated based on EA fraction. The two compounds were luteolin (1) and apigenin (2), respectively.

Description: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease transmitted by phlebotomine sand fly. Susceptibility and refractoriness to Leishmania depend on the outcome of multiple interactions that take place within the sand fly gut. Promastigote attachment to sand fly midgut epithelium is essential to avoid being excreted together with the digested blood meal. Promastigote and gut sand fly surface glycans are important ligands in this attachment. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the interaction of three lectins isolated from leguminous seeds (Diocleinae subtribe), D-glucose and D-mannose-binding, with glycans on Lutzomyia migonei midgut. To study this interaction the lectins were labeled with FITC and a fluorescence assay was performed. The results showed that only Dioclea violacea lectin (DVL) was able to interact with midgut glycans, unlike Cratylia floribunda lectin (CFL) and Canavalia gladiata lectin (CGL). Furthermore, when DVL was blocked with D-mannose the interaction was inhibited. Differences of spatial arrangement of residues and volume of carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) may be the cause of the fine specificity of DVL for glycans in the surface on Lu. migonei midgut. The findings in this study showed the presence of glycans in the midgut with glucose/mannose residues in its composition and these residues may be important in interaction between Lu. migonei midgut and Leishmania.

Description: Background. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate adult-child caregiver burden in heart failure (HF) patients. Secondary purpose of the study was to identify the possible influencing factors for caregiver burden and depressive symptoms in a young adult-child caregiver group. Methods. A total of 138 adult-child caregivers and 138 patients with HF participated in this study. Caregivers’ burden, depressive symptoms, and anxiety levels were assessed by using Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS), Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Results. The mean ZCBS scores of the female caregivers were significantly higher than male caregivers. Approximately one-third of the adult-child caregivers had at least mild depressive symptoms. Caregivers with higher depressive symptoms had higher levels of caregiver burden. There were positive correlations between caregiving time, severity of depressive symptoms, and perceived caregiver burden. There was a negative correlation between education level of caregivers and perceived caregiver burden. Age, socioeconomic level, and marital status of patients were affecting factors for depressive symptoms in caregivers. Among caregiver characteristics, gender, marital status, and ZCBS scores seem to influence the depression in caregivers. Conclusions. The study findings suggest significant levels of burden and depressive symptoms even in adult-child caregivers of HF patients.

Description: Cladribine is a purine nucleoside analog which initiates the apoptotic mechanism within cells. Moreover, the available data confirms that cladribine, with the participation of the p53 protein, as well as the proapoptotic proteins from the Bcl-2 family, also induces the activation of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. However, while there has been a lot of research devoted to the effect of cladribine on lymphatic system cells, little is known about the impact of cladribine on the reproductive system. The aim of our study was to evaluate apoptosis in oviduct epithelial cells sourced from 15 different female rats. In so doing, the sections were stained with caspases 3, 9, and 8. Results suggest that cladribine also induces apoptosis in the oviduct epithelial cells by way of the intrinsic pathway. Indeed, the discontinuing of the administration of cladribine leads to a reduction in the amount of apoptotic cells in the oviduct epithelium.

Description: Gamma radiation induces the generation of free radicals, leading to serious cellular damages in biological systems. Radioprotectors act as prophylactic agents that are administered to shield normal cells and tissues from the deleterious effects of radiation. Melatonin synergistically acts as an immune-stimulator and antioxidant. We investigated the possible radioprotective role of melatonin (100 mg/kg i.p.) against lethal-whole-body radiation- (10 Gy) induced sickness, body weight loss, and mortality in rats. Results of the present study suggest that exposure to lethal-whole-body radiation incurred mortality, body weight loss, and apoptosis and it also depleted the immunity and the antioxidant status of the rats. Our results show that melatonin pretreatment provides protection against radiation induced mortality, oxidative stress, and immune-suppression. The melatonin pretreated irradiated rats showed less change in body weight as compared to radiation only group. On the other hand, melatonin appeared to have another radioprotective role, suggesting that melatonin may reduce apoptosis through a caspase-3-mediated pathway by blocking caspase-3 activity.

Description: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antibiofilm activity against Enterococcus faecalis, compressive strength. and radiopacity of Portland cement (PC) added to zirconium oxide (ZrO2), as radiopacifier, with or without nanoparticulated zinc oxide (ZnO). The following experimental materials were evaluated: PC, PC + ZrO2, PC + ZrO2 + ZnO (5%), and PC + ZrO2 + ZnO (10%). Antibiofilm activity was analyzed by using direct contact test (DCT) on Enterococcus faecalis biofilm, for 5 h or 15 h. The analysis was conducted by using the number of colony-forming units (CFU/mL). The compressive strength was performed in a mechanical testing machine. For the radiopacity tests, the specimens were radiographed together with an aluminium stepwedge. The results were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey tests, with level of significance at 5%. The results showed that all materials presented similar antibiofilm activity (). The addition of nanoparticulated ZnO decreased the compressive strength of PC. All materials presented higher radiopacity than pure PC. It can be concluded that the addition of ZrO2 and ZnO does not interfere with the antibiofilm activity and provides radiopacity to Portland cement. However, the presence of ZnO (5% or 10%) significantly decreased the compressive strength of the materials.

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin B6 (Vit B6) on oxidant and antioxidant status in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Thirty-two Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control (C), control + Vit B6 group (C + Vit B6), diabetes (D), and diabetes + Vit B6 group (D + Vit B6). Vit B6 (4 mg/kg body weight) was administered in drinking water for 4 weeks after the induction of diabetes. Vitamin B6 reduced serum total cholesterol level in the C + Vit B6 (P 〈 0.01) and D + Vit B6 (P 〈 0.05) groups. Plasma and tissue malondialdehyde levels were reduced in the C + Vit B6 and D + Vit B6 groups. Whole blood glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were higher in the D group (P 〈 0.05). GSH-Px and SOD activities were increased in C + Vit B6 group while these parameters decreased in the D + Vit B6 group. Paraoxonase and arylesterase activities were decreased in the D group while they were increased in C + Vit B6 and D + Vit B6 groups. The results of present study suggest that vitamin B6 supplementation might be a promising adjunctive agent for improving oxidative stress and metabolic disturbances and for preventing diabetic complications including atherogenesis.

Description: Background. Perianal Crohn’s disease (CD) can be challenging. Despite the high incidence of fistulizing CD, literature lacks clear guidelines. Several medical, surgical, and combined treatment modalities have been proposed, but evidences are scarce. Methods. We searched the literature to assess the facets of perianal CD, with particular focus on complex fistulae. Disease epidemiology, classification, diagnosis, activity scoring systems, and medical-surgical treatments were assessed. Results. Perianal fistulizing CD is common, frequently associated with upper gastrointestinal and colorectal CD. Complex fistulas often require repeated treatments. Continence is a major concern when dealing with repeated procedures. A prudent pathway is to resolve active sepsis and to limit damages, delaying a definitive treatment to the time when acute phase has been controlled. The improved diagnostic techniques allow better preoperative planning and are useful in monitoring the response to treatment. Besides newer devices, cell-based treatments are promising tools which have recently enriched the treatment portfolio. However, the need for proctectomy is still disturbingly high in CD patients with complex perianal fistulae. Conclusions. Perianal CD can impair quality of life and lead to need for proctectomy. A staged approach is reasonable. Treatment success can be improved by multimodal treatment and collaborative management by experienced gastroenterologists and surgeons.

Description: An institutional study was carried out in 102 patients to investigate the site specific effect of addictions, that is, tobacco smoking and tobacco chewing (smokeless), both independently and synergistically in development of malignancies in upper aerodigestive tract through retrograde questionnaire. The histopathologically proven cases were interviewed regarding different forms of addictions followed by clinical examination and investigations for grading (according to Modified Broadmann’s method) and TNM staging (according to UICC) according to the tumor site. Statistical analysis was done by Pearson test. Out of all proven cases of cancers, 29.4% were only tobacco chewers (smokeless), 25.5% were only smokers, 42.2% were having both types of tobacco addictions (smoke and smokeless), and only 2.9% were having no addiction. Out of only tobacco chewers (smokeless), 83.3% were of oral cavity cancers, 6.7% were of oro- and hypopharynx and the rest were of others. Among only smokers, 69.2% cases were of laryngeal and oro- and hypopharynx as compared to 11.5% of oral cavity cancers (nearly 6 times). Tobacco (smokeless) chewing is associated with oral cancers whereas tobacco smoking is associated with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Both smoking and smokeless tobacco act in synergy with each other.

Description: Objective. Our purpose was to provide a comprehensive understanding of how women informal caregivers of patients in vegetative state (VS) or minimally conscious state (MCS) describe, represent, and experience changes that occurred in their life after the acute event of their family member. Methods. A qualitative study was conducted and fifteen women informal caregivers, mothers, or spouses of patients in VS or MCS were interviewed. Results. Caregivers’ narratives revealed (1) important personal and interpersonal changes and (2) difficulties while facing the complex situation and integrating past, present, and future, defined as a “time gap experience.” This difficulty is expressed in two ways. First, the reduction of variety of roles into one, caregiver’s role. Second, the relationship with the relative is characterised by fluctuation in the relational style between caregiver and relative; it shifts from an adult to adult interaction to an adult to child one. Another fluctuation can be observed in the mixed use of present and past tenses when caregivers speak about their relatives. Conclusions. Caregiving cause pervasive modifications in one’s life. Targeted interventions aiming to empower the caregivers, to support them after the acute event in caregiving activities together with patient-focused interventions, and to promote their health should be implemented.

Description: We provide the first information on the behavior of a small primate (Callithrix jacchus) inhabiting a semiarid Caatinga environment in northeastern Brazil. We observed behavioral variations in response to temperature fluctuation throughout the day. Due to the high temperatures, low precipitation, and resource scarcity in the Caatinga, as well as the lack of physiological adaptations (e.g., a highly concentrated urine and a carotid rete to cool down the brain) of these primates, we expected that the common marmosets would exhibit behavioral adjustments, such as a prolonged resting period or the use of a large home range. During the six-month period, we collected 246 hours of behavioral data of two groups (10 individuals) of Callithrix jacchus. Most of the observed behavioral patterns were influenced by temperature fluctuation. Animals rested longer and reduced other activities, such as foraging, when temperatures were higher. Both study groups exploited home ranges of 2.21–3.26 ha, which is within the range described for common marmosets inhabiting the Atlantic Forest. Our findings confirm that common marmosets inhabiting the Caatinga adjust their behavioral patterns to cope with the high temperatures that characterize this environment and highlight their ability to survive across a wide range of different environmental conditions.

Description: Objective. To compare the proportion of synovitis detected by ultrasonographic study (USS) of the hands, in subjects with no rheumatologic known disease according to self-reported level of overexertion performed the day before. Methods. 407 consecutive volunteers were enrolled in a twelve-month period and underwent an ultrasound assessment of the hand. All studies were performed on Monday or Friday. Subjects were grouped according to their self-reported overexertion carried out the day before. Presence or absence of ultrasonographic findings compatible with synovitis was compared between groups. Results. 95.8% of those tested on Friday had made no overexertion the day before the study, while 30.2% of those assessed on Monday declared to have carried out an overexertion. Presence of carpal synovial hypertrophy, synovial fluid/effusion, and power-Doppler signal was statistically higher in subjects who carried out an overexertion the day before the study than the rest of subjects when the dominant hand was assessed. Globally, presence of any synovitis ultrasonographic finding was statistically higher in subjects who were studied on Monday than Friday (34.9% versus 12.1%) and in subjects who self-reported an overexertion the day before compared to the rest of subjects (47.7 versus 11.5%). Conclusions. In general, we recommend performing the USS as many days as possible after the most recent overexertion.

Description: Background. Evaluation of family system is an important area in the context of child and adolescent mental health. This study aimed to estimate psychiatric disorders in parents of children and adolescents with bipolar I disorder (BID). Methods and Materials. In this cross-sectional study, during 2012-2013, all of the children and adolescents diagnosed with BID based on Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version were included. All of the parents (both mother and father) were evaluated by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR. Statistical Analysis. Prevalence rates are reported and independent-sample t-test and chi-square test were used when appropriate. Results. A total of 108 families were interviewed. 25% of mothers and 33% of fathers met the criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, with major depressive disorder, BMD, and cluster B personality disorder being more prevalent. Fathers were more likely to receive a dual psychiatric diagnosis. Cluster B personality disorder and substance dependence were more prevalent among fathers while major depressive disorder was more prevalent among mothers. Conclusion. This study confirmed a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders in parents of children with BID and emphasizes parental evolution.

Description: We introduce an efficient multiuser scheduling method using amplify-and-forward relaying in relay-aided downlink systems, consisting of one base station (BS), one relay station, and multiple mobile stations (MSs). In our scheme, the BS opportunistically selects both the transmission mode, that is, either one- or two-hop transmission, and the desired user (i.e., the desired MS). Closed-form expressions for the average achievable rates are derived for the two transmission modes with multiuser scheduling, and its asymptotic solutions are also analyzed in the limit of large number of MSs. Based on the analysis, we propose a feedback-efficient two-step multiuser scheduling algorithm: the transmission mode selection followed by the user selection that only needs a partial feedback for instantaneous signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) to the BS. We also analyze the average SNR condition such that the multiuser diversity gain is fully exploited for two-hop transmission. The proposed two-step scheduling algorithm exhibits the quite comparable achievable rates to those of the optimal one using full feedback information, while its required feedback information is reduced by half of the optimal one.

Description: Background. The best surgical technique for large liver hydatid cysts (LHCs) has not yet been agreed on. Objectives. The objective of this study was to examine the role of perioperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and biliary drainage in patients with large LHCs. Methods. A 20-year retrospective study of patients with LHCs treated surgically at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (UCCK). We divided patients into 2 groups based on treatment period: 1981–1990 (Group I) and 2001–2010 (Group II). Demographic characteristics (sex, age), the surgical procedure performed, complications rate, and outcomes were compared. Results. Of the 340 patients in our study, 218 (64.1%) were female with median age of 37 years (range, 17 to 81 years). 71% of patients underwent endocystectomy with partial pericystectomy and omentoplication, 8% total pericystectomy, 18% endocystectomy with capitonnage, and 3% external drainage. In Group I, 10 patients underwent bile duct exploration and T-tube placement; in Group II, 39 patients underwent bile duct exploration and T-tube placement. In addition, 9 patients in Group II underwent perioperative ERCP with papillotomy. The complication rate was 14.32% versus 6.37%, respectively (). Conclusion. Perioperative ERCP and biliary drainage significantly decreased the complication rate and improved outcomes in patients with large LHCs.

Description: Seaweeds are potentially excellent sources of highly bioactive materials that could represent useful leads in the alleviation of salinity stress. The effects of presoaking wheat grains in water extract of Ulva lactuca on growth, some enzymatic activities, and protein pattern of salinized plants were investigated in this study. Algal presoaking of grains demonstrated a highly significant enhancement in the percentage of seed germination and growth parameters. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) increased with increasing the algal extract concentration while activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) was decreased with increasing concentration of algal extract more than 1% (w/v). The protein pattern of wheat seedling showed 12 newly formed bands as result of algal extract treatments compared with control. The bioactive components in U. lactuca extract such as ascorbic acid, betaine, glutathione, and proline could potentially participate in the alleviation of salinity stress. Therefore, algal presoaking is proved to be an effective technique to improve the growth of wheat seedlings under salt stress conditions.

Description: Impact modeling of fiber reinforced polymer composites is a complex and challenging task, in particular for practitioners with less experience in advanced coding and user-defined subroutines. Different numerical algorithms have been developed over the past decades for impact modeling of composites, yet a considerable gap often exists between predicted and experimental observations. In this paper, after a review of reported sources of complexities in impact modeling of fiber reinforced polymer composites, two simplified approaches are presented for fast simulation of out-of-plane impact response of these materials considering four main effects: (a) strain rate dependency of the mechanical properties, (b) difference between tensile and flexural bending responses, (c) delamination, and (d) the geometry of fixture (clamping conditions). In the first approach, it is shown that by applying correction factors to the quasistatic material properties, which are often readily available from material datasheets, the role of these four sources in modeling impact response of a given composite may be accounted for. As a result a rough estimation of the dynamic force response of the composite can be attained. To show the application of the approach, a twill woven polypropylene/glass reinforced thermoplastic composite laminate has been tested under 200 J impact energy and was modeled in Abaqus/Explicit via the built-in Hashin damage criteria. X-ray microtomography was used to investigate the presence of delamination inside the impacted sample. Finally, as a second and much simpler modeling approach it is shown that applying only a single correction factor over all material properties at once can still yield a reasonable prediction. Both advantages and limitations of the simplified modeling framework are addressed in the performed case study.

Description: The aim of this study was to determine, by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), the concentration levels of 11 metals in Type V gray and structural white PC, ProRoot MTA, and MTA Bio. Samples, containing one gram of each tested cement, were prepared and transferred to a 100 mL Teflon tube with a mixture of 7.0 mL of nitric acid and 21 mL of hydrochloric acid. After the reaction, the mixture was filtered and then volumed to 50 mL of distilled water. For each metal, specific patterns were determined from universal standards. Arsenic quantification was performed by hydride generator. The analysis was performed five times and the data were statistically analyzed at 5% level of significance. Only the cadmium presented concentration levels of values lower than the quantification limit of the device. The AAS analysis showed increased levels of calcium, nickel, and zinc in structural white PC. Type V PC presented the greatest concentration levels of arsenic, chromium, copper, iron, lead, and manganese . Bismuth was found in all cements, and the lowest concentration levels were observed in Portland cements, while the highest were observed in ProRoot MTA. Both PC and MTA-based cements showed evidence of metals inclusion.

Description: Objectives. To evaluate the application of Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) to assess joint involvement in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Methods. Sixty-nine SLE patients, complaining of joint symptoms, and 44 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were enrolled. In SLE patients disease activity was assessed with SLEDAI-2K. DAS28 was calculated in all the patients. Results. Thirty SLE patients (43.5%) showed clinical signs of arthritis. Mean DAS28 was , 22 patients (31.9%) had low disease activity, 29 (42.0%) moderate, and 18 (26.1%) high. We dichotomized SLE patients according to the presence (Group 1) or absence (Group 2) of articular involvement according to SLEDAI-2K: 56.3% of the patients of the second group had a moderate/high activity according to DAS28. We compared SLE patients with 44 RA patients (M/F 9/35, mean age years; mean disease duration months). No significant differences were found regarding the values of DAS28 between SLE and RA patients. On the contrary, the values of tender and swollen joint count were significantly higher in RA compared to SLE patients ( and , resp.). Conclusions. We suggest the use of the DAS28 in the assessment of joint involvement in SLE patients.

Description: This study investigated the impact of calcium silicate (CS) content on composition, compressive mechanical properties, and hardness of CS cermets with Ti-55Ni and Ti-6Al-4V alloys sintered at 1200°C. The powder metallurgy route was exploited to prepare the cermets. New phases of materials of Ni16Ti6Si7, CaTiO3, and Ni31Si12 appeared in cermet of Ti-55Ni with CS and in cermet of Ti-6Al-4V with CS, the new phases Ti5Si3, Ti2O, and CaTiO3, which were emerged during sintering at different CS content (wt%). The minimum shrinkage and density were observed in both groups of cermets for the 50 and 100 wt% CS content, respectively. The cermets with 40 wt% of CS had minimum compressive Young’s modulus. The minimum of compressive strength and strain percentage at maximum load were revealed in cermets with 50 and 40 wt% of CS with Ti-55Ni and Ti-6Al-4V cermets, respectively. The cermets with 80 and 90 wt% of CS showed more plasticity than the pure CS. It concluded that the composition and mechanical properties of sintered cermets of Ti-55Ni and Ti-6Al-4V with CS significantly depend on the CS content in raw cermet materials. Thus, the different mechanical properties of the cermets can be used as potential materials for different hard tissues replacements.

Description: This study collected different probiotic isolates from animal and plant sources to evaluate the bile-salt hydrolase activity of probiotics in vitro. The deconjugation potential of bile acid was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. HepG2 cells were cultured with probiotic strains with high BSH activity. The triglyceride (TG) and apolipoprotein B (apo B) secretion by HepG2 cells were evaluated. Our results show that the BSH activity and bile-acid deconjugation abilities of Pediococcus acidilactici NBHK002, Bifidobacterium adolescentis NBHK006, Lactobacillus rhamnosus NBHK007, and Lactobacillus acidophilus NBHK008 were higher than those of the other probiotic strains. The cholesterol concentration in cholesterol micelles was reduced within 24 h. NBHK007 reduced the TG secretion by 100% after 48 h of incubation. NBHK002, NBHK006, and NBHK007 could reduce apo B secretion by 33%, 38%, and 39%, respectively, after 24 h of incubation. The product PROBIO S-23 produced a greater decrease in the total concentration of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, TG, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance in the serum or livers of hamsters with hypercholesterolemia compared with that of hamsters fed with a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet. These results show that the three probiotic strains of lactic acid bacteria are better candidates for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Description: Nasal carriers of Staphylococcus aureus are important reservoirs with risk of developing endogenous infections or transmitting infections to susceptible individuals. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are associated with higher rates of treatment failure. Some strains of S. aureus produce slime which is believed to make the microorganisms more resistant to antibiotics and host defenses. The antibacterial activity of ethyl acetate : n-hexane (EtOAc : HEX) extracts of Mulinum spinosum (5 : 95% EtOAc : HEX, 50 : 50% EtOAc : HEX, 70 : 30% EtOAc : HEX and mix 20 : 80/30 : 70% EtOAc : HEX, 50 : 50/70 : 30/100 : 0% EtOAc : HEX) were assayed against 3 slime-producing S. aureus strains and 2 MRSA strains isolated from nasal carriers. S. aureus ATCC 35556 slime-producing strain and MRSA ATCC 43300 strain were used as controls. The extracts were prepared using flash chromatography. M. spinosum 5 : 95% AcOEt : HEX showed antibacterial effect against all slime-producing strains (MIC: 500 µg/mL) and the highest activity against MRSA strains (MIC: 500 to 1000 µg/mL). All M. spinosum extracts assayed were active against slime-producing S. aureus and MRSA at doses between 500 and 4000 µg/mL. Both, slime-producing S. aureus and MRSA are highly contagious and hardly eradicated by antibiotic therapies. So, there is an increasing need to find new substances with the ability to inhibit these strains.

Description: In microarray studies, the number of samples is relatively small compared to the number of genes per sample. An important aspect of microarray studies is the prediction of patient survival based on their gene expression profile. This naturally calls for the use of a dimension reduction procedure together with the survival prediction model. In this study, a new method based on combining wavelet approximation coefficients and Cox regression was presented. The proposed method was compared with supervised principal component and supervised partial least squares methods. The different fitted Cox models based on supervised wavelet approximation coefficients, the top number of supervised principal components, and partial least squares components were applied to the data. The results showed that the prediction performance of the Cox model based on supervised wavelet feature extraction was superior to the supervised principal components and partial least squares components. The results suggested the possibility of developing new tools based on wavelets for the dimensionally reduction of microarray data sets in the context of survival analysis.

Description: Three recently published trials, MR RESCUE, IMS III, and SYNTHESIS Expansion, evaluating the efficacy and safety of endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke have generated concerns about the future of endovascular approach. However, the tremendous evolution that imaging and endovascular treatment modalities have undergone over the past several years has raised doubts about the validity of these trials. In this paper, we review the role of endovascular treatment strategies in acute ischemic stroke and discuss the limitations and shortcomings that prevent generalization of the findings of recent trials. We also provide our experience in endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

Description: Authors report on a study using the concept mapping technique in computer engineering education for learning theoretical introductory database topics. In addition, the learning of multilingual technical terminology by means of the collaborative drawing of a concept map is also pursued in this experiment. The main characteristics of a study carried out in the database subject at the University of the Basque Country during the 2011/2012 course are described. This study contributes to the field of concept mapping as these kinds of cognitive tools have proved to be valid to support learning in computer engineering education. It contributes to the field of computer engineering education, providing a technique that can be incorporated with several educational purposes within the discipline. Results reveal the potential that a collaborative concept map editor offers to fulfil the above mentioned objectives.

Description: Antimycobacterially active salicylanilide diethyl phosphates were evaluated to identify their potential drug target(s) for the inhibition of several mycobacterial enzymes, including isocitrate lyase, L-alanine dehydrogenase (MtAlaDH), lysine ε-aminotransferase, chorismate mutase, and pantothenate synthetase. The enzymes are related to the nongrowing state of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Salicylanilide diethyl phosphates represent new candidates with significant inhibitory activity especially against L-alanine dehydrogenase. The most active MtAlaDH inhibitor, 5-chloro-2-[(3-chlorophenyl)carbamoyl]phenyl diethyl phosphate, has an IC50 of 4.96 µM and the best docking results. Other mycobacterial enzymes were mostly inhibited by some derivatives but at higher concentrations; isocitrate lyase showed the highest resistance to salicylanilide diethyl phosphates.

Description: This work presents a methodology that integrates a nonsupervised learning approach (self-organizing map (SOM)) and a supervised one (a Bayesian classifier) for segmenting diseased plants that grow in uncontrolled environments such as greenhouses, wherein the lack of control of illumination and presence of background bring about serious drawbacks. During the training phase two SOMs are used: one that creates color groups of images, which are classified into two groups using -means and labeled as vegetation and nonvegetation by using rules, and a second SOM that corrects classification errors made by the first SOM. Two color histograms are generated from the two color classes and used to estimate the conditional probabilities of the Bayesian classifier. During the testing phase an input image is segmented by the Bayesian classifier and then it is converted into a binary image, wherein contours are extracted and analyzed to recover diseased areas that were incorrectly classified as nonvegetation. The experimental results using the proposed methodology showed better performance than two of the most used color index methods.

Description: Comprehensive feeding practices questionnaire (CFPQ) is an instrument specifically developed to evaluate parental feeding practices. It has been confirmed among children in America and applied to populations in France, Norway, and New Zealand. In order to extend the application of CFPQ, we conducted a factor structure validation of the translated version of CFPQ (CFPQ-M) using confirmatory factor analysis among mothers of primary school children (N = 397) in Malaysia. Several items were modified for cultural adaptation. Of 49 items, 39 items with loading factors 0.40 were retained in the final model. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the final model (twelve-factor model with 39 items and 2 error covariances) displayed the best fit for our sample (Chi-square = 1147; df = 634; ; CFI = 0.900; RMSEA = 0.045; SRMR = 0.0058). The instrument with some modifications was confirmed among mothers of school children in Malaysia. The present study extends the usability of the CFPQ and enables researchers and parents to better understand the relationships between parental feeding practices and related problems such as childhood obesity.

Description: The targeted screening for individuals at the risks of having dementia would be crucial to the further public health issues for dementia. This study aimed to conduct a screening study in an outpatient department of a regional hospital to screen people who were at risk of developing comorbid dementia. Patients who visited Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital (KMTTH) clinics during the period from June 1, 2013, to May 31, 2014, were invited to participate in this screening voluntarily. The trained interviewer collected all participants’ demographic characteristics and used the instrument of ascertainment of dementia 8 (AD8) to find out suspected dementia ones. The result showed a higher ratio (24.1%) of suspected dementia in the outpatient department of a hospital, 500 out of 2017 subjects, than that in the general population. The median (interquartile range) age was significantly higher in the suspected dementia participants (70, (62, 77)) compared to that in nonsuspected dementia ones (65, (60, 73)), and the probability of suspected dementia was significantly increasing with age . Instead of screening dementia in general population, screening people at the risk of dementia could be the practicable and important issues in the care of dementia.

Description: Soil nutrient is an important aspect that contributes to the soil fertility and environmental effects. Traditional evaluation approaches of soil nutrient are quite hard to operate, making great difficulties in practical applications. In this paper, we present a series of comprehensive evaluation models for soil nutrient by using support vector machine (SVM), multiple linear regression (MLR), and artificial neural networks (ANNs), respectively. We took the content of organic matter, total nitrogen, alkali-hydrolysable nitrogen, rapidly available phosphorus, and rapidly available potassium as independent variables, while the evaluation level of soil nutrient content was taken as dependent variable. Results show that the average prediction accuracies of SVM models are 77.87% and 83.00%, respectively, while the general regression neural network (GRNN) model’s average prediction accuracy is 92.86%, indicating that SVM and GRNN models can be used effectively to assess the levels of soil nutrient with suitable dependent variables. In practical applications, both SVM and GRNN models can be used for determining the levels of soil nutrient.

Description: Objectives. The utility of informant AD8 for case finding of cognitive impairment at primary healthcare settings is unknown and therefore its feasibility and acceptability for targeted screening at a primary healthcare clinic should be investigated. Methods. The informants of older adult patients attending a primary healthcare clinic in Singapore were administered the AD8. Positive screening findings were provided to patients’ primary care physicians for referrals to specialist memory clinics. The acceptability of AD8 was evaluated by collecting feedbacks from the informants and primary care physicians. Results. 205 patients and their informants were recruited. However, 6 (2.9%) informants were uncontactable, while the majority of the remaining 199 patients with completed AD8 (96.5%, ) found it acceptable where 59 (29.6%) patients were deemed cognitively impaired (AD8 ≥ 2). Clinicians (100%, ) found the AD8 helpful in facilitating referrals to memory clinics. However, most referral recommendations (81.4%, ) were declined by patients and/or informant due to limited insight of implications of cognitive impairment. Conclusions. The AD8 can be easily administered and is well tolerated. It detected cognitive impairment in one-third of older adult patients and therefore may be useful for case finding of cognitive impairment in the primary healthcare.

Description: Human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) and adipose stem cells (ASC) were suggested as alternative cell choice for cardiac regeneration. However, the true functionability of these cells toward cardiac regeneration is yet to be discovered. Hence, this study was carried out to investigate the innate biological properties of these cell sources toward cardiac regeneration. Both cells exhibited indistinguishable MSCs characteristics. Human stem cell transcription factor arrays were used to screen expression levels in SHED and ASC. Upregulated expression of transcription factor (TF) genes was detected in both sources. An almost equal percentage of 〉 2-fold changes were observed. These TF genes fall under several cardiovascular categories with higher expressions which were observed in growth and development of blood vessel, angiogenesis, and vasculogenesis categories. Further induction into cardiomyocyte revealed ASC to express more significantly cardiomyocyte specific markers compared to SHED during the differentiation course evidenced by morphology and gene expression profile. Despite this, spontaneous cellular beating was not detected in both cell lines. Taken together, our data suggest that despite being defined as MSCs, both ASC and SHED behave differently when they were cultured in a same cardiomyocytes culture condition. Hence, vigorous characterization is needed before introducing any cell for treating targeted diseases.

Description: Heterotrophic nitrifiers synthesize nitrogenous gasses when nitrifying ammonium ion. A Cupriavidus pauculus, previously thought an Alcaligenes sp. and noted as an active heterotrophic nitrifier-denitrifier, was examined for its ability to produce nitrogen gas (N2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) while heterotrophically nitrifying the organic substrate pyruvic oxime [CH3–C(NOH)–COOH]. Neither N2 nor N2O were produced. Nucleotide and phylogenetic analyses indicated that the organism is a member of a genus (Cupriavidus) known for its resistance to metals and its metabolism of xenobiotics. The microbe (a Cupriavidus pauculus designated as C. pauculus strain UM1) was examined for its ability to perform heterotrophic nitrification in the presence of Cu2+ and Ni2+ and to metabolize the xenobiotic phenol. The bacterium heterotrophically nitrified well when either 1 mM Cu2+ or 0.5 mM Ni2+ was present in either enriched or minimal medium. The organism also used phenol as a sole carbon source in either the presence or absence of 1 mM Cu2+ or 0.5 mM Ni2+. The ability of this isolate to perform a number of different metabolisms, its noteworthy resistance to copper and nickel, and its potential use as a bioremediation agent are discussed.

Description: A specially designed sensor processor used as a main processor in IoT (internet-of-thing) device for the rare-event sensing applications is proposed. The IoT device including the proposed sensor processor performs the event-driven sensor data processing based on an accuracy-energy configurable event-quantization in architectural level. The received sensor signal is converted into a sequence of atomic events, which is extracted by the signal-to-atomic-event generator (AEG). Using an event signal processing unit (EPU) as an accelerator, the extracted atomic events are analyzed to build the final event. Instead of the sampled raw data transmission via internet, the proposed method delays the communication with a host system until a semantic pattern of the signal is identified as a final event. The proposed processor is implemented on a single chip, which is tightly coupled in bus connection level with a microcontroller using a 0.18 μm CMOS embedded-flash process. For experimental results, we evaluated the proposed sensor processor by using an IR- (infrared radio-) based signal reflection and sensor signal acquisition system. We successfully demonstrated that the expected power consumption is in the range of 20% to 50% compared to the result of the basement in case of allowing 10% accuracy error.

Description: Genetic based knowledge of different vegetative and yield traits play a major role in varietal improvement of rice. Genetic variation gives room for recombinants which are essential for the development of a new variety in any crop. Based on this background, this work was carried out to evaluate genetic diversity of derived mutant lines and establish relationships between their yield and yield components using multivariate analysis. To achieve this objective, two field trials were carried out on 45 mutant rice genotypes to evaluate their growth and yield traits. Data were taken on vegetative traits and yield and its components, while genotypic and phenotypic coefficients, variance components, expected genetic advance, and heritability were calculated. All the genotypes showed variations for vegetative traits and yield and its components. Also, there was positive relationship between the quantitative traits and the final yield with the exception of number of tillers. Finally, the evaluated genotypes were grouped into five major clusters based on the assessed traits with the aid of UPGMA dendrogram. So hybridization of group I with group V or group VI could be used to attain higher heterosis or vigour among the genotypes. Also, this evaluation could be useful in developing reliable selection indices for important agronomic traits in rice.

Description: This paper presents an image deblurring algorithm to remove motion blur using analysis of motion trajectories and local statistics based on inertial sensors. The proposed method estimates a point-spread-function (PSF) of motion blur by accumulating reweighted projections of the trajectory. A motion blurred image is then adaptively restored using the estimated PSF and spatially varying activity map to reduce both restoration artifacts and noise amplification. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing PSF estimation-based motion deconvolution methods in the sense of both objective and subjective performance measures. The proposed algorithm can be employed in various imaging devices because of its efficient implementation without an iterative computational structure.

Description: To understand the morphological and physiological responses of leaves to changes in altitudinal gradients, we examined ten morphological and physiological characteristics in one-year-old needles of Picea schrenkiana var. tianschanica at ten points along an altitudinal gradient from 1420 to 2300 m a.s.l. on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China. Our results indicated that LA, SD, LPC, and LKC increased linearly with increasing elevation, whereas leaf δ13C, LNC, Chla + b, LDMC, LMA, and Narea varied nonlinearly with changes in altitude. With elevation below 2100 m, LNC, Narea, and Chla + b increased, while LDMC and LMA decreased with increasing altitude. When altitude was above 2100 m, these properties showed the opposite patterns. Leaf δ13C was positively correlated with Narea and LNC and negatively correlated with SD and LA, suggesting that leaf δ13C was indirectly controlled by physiological and morphological adjustments along altitudinal gradients. Based on the observed maximum values in LNC, Narea, Chla + b, and LA and the minimum values in LMA and LDMC at the elevation of 2100 m, suggesting higher photosynthetic capacity and greater potential for fast growth under superior optimum zone, we concluded that the best growing elevation for P. schrenkiana var. tianschanica in the Tianshan Mountains was approximately 2100 m.

Description: Analysis of climate hazards in relation to urban designing in Iran Advances in Science and Research, 6, 173-178, 2011 Author(s): S. Alijani and B. Alijani In order to study the climate hazards, daily rainfall and temperature data of 61 weather stations over the country were obtained from the Meteorological Organization of Iran for the 1951–2007 period. The following indices are defined as indications of climate hazards: sultriness of the air or the heat index, cold days with minimum temperature below −5 °C, warm days with maximum temperature above 32 °C, the share of extreme rain days from the annual rainfall. The annual frequencies of these indices are analyzed and the overall hazard index is computed using the Analytical Hierarchical Process method. The results show that the southern coastal areas and central deserts are the most hazardous parts of the country, whereas, the northern Caspian coastal lands and mountainous regions experience lower hazard alerts. The problem of the northern parts is the cold days and that of the southern areas is the hot and humid days. Despite the relatively equal occurrence of torrential rains over the country, they are more harmful in the south than in the other parts of the country.

Description: Soil moisture initialization effects in the Indian monsoon system Advances in Science and Research, 6, 161-165, 2011 Author(s): S. Asharaf, A. Dobler, and B. Ahrens Towards the goal to understand the role of land-surface processes over the Indian sub-continent, a series of soil-moisture sensitivity simulations have been performed using a non-hydrostatic regional climate model COSMO-CLM. The experiments were driven by the lateral boundary conditions provided by the ERA-Interim (ECMWF) reanalysis. The simulation results show that the pre-monsoonal soil moisture has a significant influence on the monsoonal precipitation. Both, positive and negative soil-moisture precipitation (S-P) feedback processes are of importance. The negative S-P feedback process is especially influential in the western and the northern parts of India.

Description: Environmental enrichment for primates in laboratories Advances in Science and Research, 5, 41-56, 2010 Author(s): H. M. Buchanan-Smith Environmental enrichment is a critical component of Refinement, one of the 3Rs underlying humane experimentation on animals. In this paper I discuss why primates housed in laboratories, which often have constraints of space and study protocols, are a special case for enrichment. I outline a framework for categorising the different types of enrichment, using the marmoset as a case study, and summarise the methods used to determine what animals want/prefer. I briefly review the arguments that enrichment does not negatively affect experimental outcomes. Finally I focus on complexity and novelty, choice and control, the underlying features of enrichment that makes it successful, and how combined with a thorough understanding of natural history we can put effective enrichment into practice in laboratories. Throughout the paper I emphasise the need to evaluate enrichment to ensure it is having the desired effect.

Description: Homogenising time series: beliefs, dogmas and facts Advances in Science and Research, 6, 167-172, 2011 Author(s): P. Domonkos In the recent decades various homogenisation methods have been developed, but the real effects of their application on time series are still not known sufficiently. The ongoing COST action HOME (COST ES0601) is devoted to reveal the real impacts of homogenisation methods more detailed and with higher confidence than earlier. As a part of the COST activity, a benchmark dataset was built whose characteristics approach well the characteristics of real networks of observed time series. This dataset offers much better opportunity than ever before to test the wide variety of homogenisation methods, and analyse the real effects of selected theoretical recommendations. Empirical results show that real observed time series usually include several inhomogeneities of different sizes. Small inhomogeneities often have similar statistical characteristics than natural changes caused by climatic variability, thus the pure application of the classic theory that change-points of observed time series can be found and corrected one-by-one is impossible. However, after homogenisation the linear trends, seasonal changes and long-term fluctuations of time series are usually much closer to the reality than in raw time series. Some problems around detecting multiple structures of inhomogeneities, as well as that of time series comparisons within homogenisation procedures are discussed briefly in the study.

Description: National Climate Observing System of Switzerland (GCOS Switzerland) Advances in Science and Research, 6, 95-102, 2011 Author(s): G. Seiz and N. Foppa In recent decades, the global observation of climate and climate change has become increasingly important. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) established in 1992 addresses the entire climate system including physical, chemical and biological properties of atmosphere, ocean and land surface. This paper describes the GCOS implementation in Switzerland and highlights some major achievements over the last few years. The Swiss GCOS Office was established at the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss in February 2006, to coordinate all climate-relevant measurements in Switzerland. The first-ever inventory of the country's long-term climatological data series and international data centres, including an assessment of their future prospects, was compiled in 2007. The National Climate Observing System of Switzerland (GCOS Switzerland) includes long-term climatological data series in the atmosphere and terrestrial domains, international data and calibration centres, satellite-based products and support of climate observations in developing countries. A major milestone in the surface-based atmospheric observations was the definition of the Swiss National Basic Climatological Network (NBCN), consisting of 29 stations of greatest climatological importance. The NBCN was further densified for precipitation with 46 additional daily precipitation stations (NBCN-P). Analysis of the homogenized timeseries of the average temperature in Switzerland shows a total warming of +1.6 °C from 1864 to 2010. In the terrestrial domain, substantial advances were made in all three subdomains hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere. As example for the use of satellite data within GCOS Switzerland, the 10-yr MODIS monthly mean cloud fraction climatology over Switzerland from March 2000 to February 2010 is presented, which illustrates the differences in cloud cover between mountainous regions and flatland regions in winter, as well as the north-south gradient in cloud cover over Switzerland in summer.

Description: A modification of the mixed form of Richards equation and its application in vertically inhomogeneous soils Advances in Science and Research, 6, 123-127, 2011 Author(s): F. Kalinka and B. Ahrens Recently, new soil data maps were developed, which include vertical soil properties like soil type. Implementing those into a multilayer Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere-Transfer (SVAT) scheme, discontinuities in the water content occur at the interface between dissimilar soils. Therefore, care must be taken in solving the Richards equation for calculating vertical soil water fluxes. We solve a modified form of the mixed (soil water and soil matric potential based) Richards equation by subtracting the equilibrium state of soil matrix potential ψ E from the hydraulic potential ψ h . The sensitivity of the modified equation is tested under idealized conditions. The paper will show that the modified equation can handle with discontinuities in soil water content at the interface of layered soils.

Description: This study used trend, correlation, and wavelet analysis to characterize Lake Chad (LC) level fluctuations, river discharge, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and precipitation regimes and their interrelationships. Linear correlation results indicate a negative association between ENSO and LC level, river discharge and precipitation. Trend analysis shows increasing precipitation in the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) but decreasing LC level. The mode of interannual variability in LC level, rainfall, and ENSO analyzed using wavelet analysis is dominated by 3-4-year periods. Results show that variability in ENSO could explain only 31% and 13% of variations in LC level at Kindjeria and precipitation in the northern LCB, respectively. The wavelet transform coherency (WTC) between LC level of the southern pool at Kalom and ENSO is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level and phase-locked, implying a cause-and-effect association. These strong coherencies coincide with the La Niña years with the exception of 1997-1998 El Niño events. The WTC shows strong covariance between increasing precipitation and LC level in the northern pool at a 2- to 4-year band and 3- to 4-year band localized from 1996 to 2010. Implications for water resource planning and management are discussed.

Description: We conducted a meta-analysis to comprehensively evaluate the correlations of ezrin expression with pathological characteristics and the prognosis of osteosarcoma. The MEDLINE (1966–2013), the Cochrane Library Database, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science (1945–2013), and the Chinese Biomedical Database were searched without language restrictions. Meta-analyses conducted using STATA software were calculated. Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, including 459 patients with osteosarcoma. Meta-analysis results illustrated that ezrin expression may be closely associated with the recurrence of osteosarcoma or metastasis in osteosarcoma. Our findings also demonstrated that patients with grade III-IV osteosarcoma showed a higher frequency of ezrin expression than those with histological grade I-II osteosarcoma. Furthermore, we found that patients with positive expression of ezrin exhibited a shorter overall survival than those with negative ezrin expression. The results also indicated that positive ezrin expression was strongly correlated with poorer metastasis-free survival. Nevertheless, no significant relationships were observed between ezrin expression and clinical variables (age and gender). In the current meta-analysis, our results illustrated significant relationships of ezrin expression with pathological characteristics and prognosis of osteosarcoma. Thus, ezrin expression could be a promising marker in predicting the clinical outcome of patients with osteosarcoma.

Description: The study of leeches from Lake Gusinoe and its adjacent area offered us the possibility to determine species diversity. As a result, an updated species list of the Gusinoe Hirudinea fauna (Annelida, Clitellata) has been compiled. There are two orders and three families of leeches in the Gusinoe area: order Rhynchobdellida (families Glossiphoniidae and Piscicolidae) and order Arhynchobdellida (family Erpobdellidae). In total, 6 leech species belonging to 6 genera have been identified. Of these, 3 taxa belonging to the family Glossiphoniidae (Alboglossiphonia heteroclita f. papillosa, Hemiclepsis marginata, and Helobdella stagnalis) and representatives of 3 unidentified species (Glossiphonia sp., Piscicola sp., and Erpobdella sp.) have been recorded. The checklist gives a contemporary overview of the species composition of leeches and information on their hosts or substrates. The validity of morphological identification of each taxon has been verified by phylogenetic approach with a molecular marker adopted for a DNA barcoding of most invertebrates.

Description: Bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) complexes induce programmed cell death and also function to relieve cell from stress by various response mechanisms. Escherichia coli RelB-RelE TA complex consists of a RelE toxin functionally counteracted by RelB antitoxin. In the present study, a novel homolog of RelE toxin designated as Xn-relE toxin from Xenorhabdus nematophila possessing its own antitoxin designated as Xn-relEAT has been identified. Expression and purification of recombinant proteins under native conditions with GST and Ni-NTA chromatography prove the existence of novel TA module. The expression of recombinant Xn-relE under tightly regulated ara promoter in E. coli Top 10 cells confirms its toxic nature in endogenous toxicity assay. The neutralization activity in endogenous toxicity assay by Xn-relEAT antitoxin confirms its antidote nature when studying the whole TA operon under ara regulated promoter. This study promotes newly discovered TA module to be regarded as important as other proteins of type II toxin-antitoxin system.

Description: Objectives. To gather information on helicopter emergency medical services (HEMSs) activities across Europe. Methods. Cross-sectional data-collection on daily (15 November 2013) activities of a sample of European HEMSs. A web-based questionnaire with both open and closed questions was used, developed by experts of the European Prehospital Research Alliance (EUPHOREA). Results. We invited 143 bases from 11 countries; 85 (60%) reported base characteristics only and 73 (51%) sample-day data too. The variety of base characteristics was enormous; that is, the target population ranged from 94.000 to 4.500.000. Of 158 requested primary missions, 62 (0.82 per base) resulted in landing. Cardiac aetiology (36%) and trauma (36%) prevailed, mostly of life-threatening severity (43%, 0.64 per mission). Had HEMS been not dispatched, patients would have been attended by another physician in 67% of cases, by paramedics in 24%, and by nurses in 9%. On-board physicians estimated to have caused a major decrease of death risk in 47% of missions, possible decrease in 22%, minor benefit in 17%, no benefit in 11%, and damage in 3%. Earlier treatment and faster transport to hospital were the main reasons for benefit. The most frequent therapeutic procedure was drug administration (78% of missions); endotracheal intubation occurred in 25% of missions and was an option hardly offered by ground crews. Conclusions. The study proved feasible, establishing an embryonic network of European HEMS. The participation rate was low and limits the generalizability of the results. Fortunately, because of its cross-sectional characteristics and the handy availability of the web platform, the study is easily repeatable with an enhanced network.

Description: Background and Objective. This study aimed to compare the effects of different local anesthetic solutions on postoperative pain of anal surgery in adult patients. Method. In this randomized double-blind prospective clinical trial, 60 adult patients (18 to 60 years old) with physical status class I and class II that had been brought to a university hospital operating room for fistula anal surgery with spinal anesthesia were selected. Patients were randomly divided into 4 equal groups according to table of random numbers (created by Random Allocation Software 1). Group 1 received 3 mL of normal saline, group 2, 1 mL of normal saline plus 2 mL of bupivacaine 0.5%, group 3, 1 mL of ketamine plus 2 mL of bupivacaine 0.5%, and group 4, no infiltration. Intensity of pain in patients was measured using visual analogue scale (VAS) at 0 (transfer to ward), 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery. Time interval to administration of drugs and overall dose of drugs were measured in 4 groups. Results. Mean level of pain was the lowest in group 3 at all occasions with a significant difference, followed by groups 2, 4, and lastly 1 (). Furthermore, groups 2 and 3 compared to groups 1 and 4 had the least overall dose of analgesics and requested them the latest, with a significant difference (). Conclusion. Local anesthesia (1 mL of ketamine plus 2 mL of bupivacaine 0.5% or 1 mL of normal saline plus 2 mL of bupivacaine 0.5%) combined with spinal anesthesia reduces postoperative pain and leads to greater comfort in recovering patients.

Description: Studies in relation to blood conservation and responses to transfusion are scarce for ruminants. We evaluated the clinical manifestations of sheep that received a single homologous transfusion of whole blood, focusing on transfusion reactions. Eighteen adult sheep were subjected to a single phlebotomy to withdraw 40% of the total blood volume, which was placed into CPDA-1 bags and then divided into G0, animals that received fresh blood, and G15 and G35, animals that received blood stored for 15 or 35 days, respectively. Clinical observations were recorded throughout the transfusion, whereas heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature were assessed at the following times: 24 hours after phlebotomy and before transfusion; 30 minutes, six, twelve, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours and eight and 16 days after transfusion. All groups presented transfusion reactions, among which hyperthermia was the most frequent (50% of animals). Tachycardia occurred most frequently in the G35 animals (50% of them). During transfusion G35 animals presented more clinical manifestation . Transfusion of fresh or stored total blood improved the blood volume, but transfusion reactions occurred, demonstrating that a single transfusion of fresh or stored blood can cause inflammatory and febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reactions in sheep.

Description: The future climate characteristics of the Carpathian Basin based on a regional climate model mini-ensemble Advances in Science and Research, 6, 69-73, 2011 Author(s): I. Krüzselyi, J. Bartholy, A. Horányi, I. Pieczka, R. Pongrácz, P. Szabó, G. Szépszó, and Cs. Torma Four regional climate models (RCMs) were adapted in Hungary for the dynamical downscaling of the global climate projections over the Carpathian Basin: (i) the ALADIN-Climate model developed by Météo France on the basis of the ALADIN short-range modelling system; (ii) the PRECIS model available from the UK Met Office Hadley Centre; (iii) the RegCM model originally developed at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, is maintained at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste; and (iv) the REMO model developed by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg. The RCMs are different in terms of dynamical model formulation, physical parameterisations; moreover, in the completed simulations they use different spatial resolutions, integration domains and lateral boundary conditions for the scenario experiments. Therefore, the results of the four RCMs can be considered as a small ensemble providing information about various kinds of uncertainties in the future projections over the target area, i.e., Hungary. After the validation of the temperature and precipitation patterns against measurements, mean changes and some extreme characteristics of these patterns (including their statistical significance) have been assessed focusing on the periods of 2021–2050 and 2071–2100 relative to the 1961–1990 model reference period. The ensemble evaluation indicates that the temperature-related changes of the different RCMs are in good agreement over the Carpathian Basin and these tendencies manifest in the general warming conditions. The precipitation changes cannot be identified so clearly: seasonally large differences can be recognised among the projections and between the two periods. An overview is given about the results of the mini-ensemble and special emphasis is put on estimating the uncertainties in the simulations for Hungary.

Description: A Non-Linear Mixed Spectral Finite-Difference 3-D model for planetary boundary-layer flow over complex terrain Advances in Science and Research, 6, 75-78, 2011 Author(s): W. Weng and P. A. Taylor The Non-Linear Mixed Spectral Finite-Difference (NLMSFD) model for surface boundary-layer flow over complex terrain has been extended to planetary boundary-layer flow over topography. Comparisons are made between this new version and the surface layer model. The model is also applied to simulate an Askervein experimental case. The results are discussed and compared with the observed field data.

Description: Correlation between air-sea heat fluxes over the Aegean Sea and the total precipitable water over Europe and North Africa Advances in Science and Research, 6, 63-67, 2011 Author(s): V. P. Papadopoulos, A. Bartzokas, T. Chronis, S. Ruiz, N. Zarokanellos, and G. Ferentinos The relation between the air-sea heat fluxes in the Aegean Sea and the total precipitable water (TPW) over Europe and North Africa is investigated. An one-point linear correlation between the components of surface heat exchange and TPW is employed. During winter and for the shortwave radiation, a dipole of opposite correlation (see-saw teleconnection), is observed between the northeast Europe and the East Mediterranean Sea. This pattern is inverted for the longwave radiation and especially during the summer is limited to a strong positive south pole. Both spatial correlation patterns underline the influence of cloudiness during the winter season and the specific humidity during summer on the radiative fluxes behavior. Regarding the turbulent air-sea heat flux components – latent and sensible heat – the correlation pattern is enhanced. The winter pattern exhibits positive correlation over Europe with the highest values ( r 〉0.75) over the Balkan Peninsula. The identified correlation patterns, although they remain dominant, weaken during the summer. The herein findings suggest that the stronger relation between the TPW and the turbulent fluxes is regulated by the wind regime.

Description: Locomotion and postural behaviour Advances in Science and Research, 5, 23-39, 2010 Author(s): M. Schmidt The purpose of this article is to provide a survey of the diversity of primate locomotor behaviour for people who are involved in research using laboratory primates. The main locomotor modes displayed by primates are introduced with reference to some general morphological adaptations. The relationships between locomotor behaviour and body size, habitat structure and behavioural context will be illustrated because these factors are important determinants of the evolutionary diversity of primate locomotor activities. They also induce the high individual plasticity of the locomotor behaviour for which primates are well known. The article also provides a short overview of the preferred locomotor activities in the various primate families. A more detailed description of locomotor preferences for some of the most common laboratory primates is included which also contains information about substrate preferences and daily locomotor activities which might useful for laboratory practice. Finally, practical implications for primate husbandry and cage design are provided emphasizing the positive impact of physical activity on health and psychological well-being of primates in captivity.

Description: Assessment of climate vulnerability in the Norwegian built environment Advances in Science and Research, 6, 151-153, 2011 Author(s): H. O. Hygen, C. F. Øyen, and A. J. Almås The main trends expected for the change of Norwegian climate for this century are increasing temperatures, precipitation and wind. This indicates a probable increase of climate-related risks to the Norwegian built environment. Through co-operation between the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and SINTEF Building and Infrastructure, building and climate information have been combined to estimate changes in strain to the built environment due to climate change. The results show that the risk of wood decay will increase for the whole country. Almost two million buildings will be subject to an increase in risk of wood decay from medium to high level. Similar analyses have been performed for other climate indices, demonstrating a clear increase in potential damages due to water and humidity, while frost damage probably will decrease.

Description: Atmospheric boundary layer wind profile at a flat coastal site – wind speed lidar measurements and mesoscale modeling results Advances in Science and Research, 6, 155-159, 2011 Author(s): R. Floors, E. Batchvarova, S.-E. Gryning, A. N. Hahmann, A. Peña, and T. Mikkelsen Wind profiles up to 600 m height are investigated. Measurements of mean wind speed profiles were obtained from a novel wind lidar and compared to model simulations from a mesoscale model (WRF-ARW v3.1). It is found that WRF is able to predict the mean wind profile rather well and typically within 1–2 m s −1 to the individual measured values. WRF underpredicts the normalized wind profile, especially for stable conditions. The effect of baroclinicity on the upper part of the wind profile is discussed.

Description: Extreme summer temperatures in Western Europe Advances in Science and Research, 8, 5-9, 2012 Author(s): C. Simolo, M. Brunetti, M. Maugeri, and T. Nanni We discuss the evolution of summer temperature extremes over Western Europe during 1961–2004 in the context of current climate warming. Using a parametric approach, we investigate the role of properties and changes in probability density functions of daily temperatures in modifying the frequency of severe, isolated events. In this perspective, the recent intensification of extremely warm events over Europe turns out to be well consistent with a pure, nonuniform shift of mean values, with no room for conjectures about increasing temperature variability.

Description: Sensitivity of the RMI's MAGIC/Heliosat-2 method to relevant input data Advances in Science and Research, 10, 7-13, 2013 Author(s): C. Demain, M. Journée, and C. Bertrand Appropriate information on solar resources is very important for a variety of technological areas. Based on the potential of retrieving global horizontal irradiance from satellite data, an enhanced version of the Heliosat-2 method has been implemented at the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium to estimate surface solar irradiance over Belgium from Meteosat Second Generation at the SEVIRI spatial and temporal resolution. In this contribution, sensitivity of our retrieval scheme to surface albedo, atmospheric aerosol and water vapor contents is investigated. Results indicate that while the use of real-time information instead of climatological values can help to reduce to some extent the RMS error between satellite-retrieved and ground-measured solar irradiance, only the correction of the satellite-derived data with in situ measurements allows to significantly reduce the overall model bias.

Description: Quality control of 10-min air temperature data at RMI Advances in Science and Research, 10, 1-5, 2013 Author(s): C. Bertrand, L. Gonzalez Sotelino, and M. Journée In the '90s, the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) of Belgium started to replace its conventional ''manual'' meteorological network by automated weather stations (AWSs). The meteorological measurement network is now fully automated. RMI counts 18 AWSs that made automated observations centrally available in our headquarters in Uccle, Brussels to internal as well as external users. Due to the large increase in the data amount associated with the automation, quality assurance (QA) procedures are being automated. However, human operators continue to play an essential role in the data validation processes. This contribution describes our newly developed semi-automatic quality control (QC) of 10-min air temperature data. After an existence test, the data are checked for limits consistency, temporal consistency and spatial consistency. At the end of these automated checks, a decision algorithm attributes a flag to each particular data. Each day the QC staff analyzes the preceding day observations in the light of the quality flags assigned by automated QA procedures during the night. It is the human decision whether or not a value is accepted.

Description: Large-Eddy Simulation of plume dispersion within various actual urban areas Advances in Science and Research, 10, 33-41, 2013 Author(s): H. Nakayama, K. Jurcakova, and H. Nagai Plume dispersion of hazardous materials within urban area resulting from accidental or intentional releases is of great concern to public health. Many researchers have developed local-scale atmospheric dispersion models using building-resolving computational fluid dynamics. However, an important issue is encountered when determining a reasonable domain size of the computational model in order to capture concentration distribution patterns influenced by urban surface geometries. In this study, we carried out Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) of plume dispersion within various urban areas with a wide range of obstacle density and building height variability. The difference of centerline mean and r.m.s. concentration distributions among various complex urban surface geometries becomes small for downwind distances from the point source greater than 1.0 km. From these results, it can be concluded that a length of a computational model should be at least 1.0 km from a point source.

Description: INCA-CE: a Central European initiative in nowcasting severe weather and its applications Advances in Science and Research, 8, 67-75, 2012 Author(s): A. Kann, G. Pistotnik, and B. Bica The INCA-CE ( I ntegrated N owcasting through C omprehensive A nalysis – C entral E urope) project aims at implementing a transnational weather information system as well as applications for different socio-economic sectors to reduce risks of major economic damage and loss of life caused by severe weather. Civil protection and also stakeholders from economic sectors are in a growing need of accurate and reliable short-term weather forecasts. Within INCA-CE, a state-of-the art nowcasting system (INCA) is implemented at weather services throughout the European Union's CE (Central Europe) Programme Area, providing analyses and short term forecasts to the aforementioned end-users. In a coherent approach, the INCA (Integrated Nowcasting through Comprehensive Analysis) system will be adapted for implementation and use in a number of partner countries. Within transregional working groups, the gap between short-term weather information and its downstream activities in hydrological disaster management, civil protection and road management will be bridged and best practice management and measure plans will be produced. A web-based platform for outreach to related socio-economic sectors will initiate and foster a dialogue between weather services and further stakeholders like tourism or the insurance sector, flood authorities for disaster management, and the construction industry for cost-efficient scheduling and planning. Furthermore, the project will produce a compact guideline for policy makers on how to combine structural development aspects with these new features. In the present paper, an outline of the project implementation, a short overview about the INCA system and two case studies on precipitation nowcasts will be given. Moreover, directions for further developments both within the INCA system and the INCA-CE project will be pointed out.

Description: First outcomes from the CNR-ISAC monthly forecasting system Advances in Science and Research, 8, 77-82, 2012 Author(s): D. Mastrangelo, P. Malguzzi, C. Rendina, O. Drofa, and A. Buzzi A monthly probabilistic forecasting system is experimentally operated at the ISAC institute of the National Council of Research of Italy. The forecasting system is based on GLOBO, an atmospheric general circulation model developed at the same institute. The model is presently run on a monthly basis to produce an ensemble of 32 forecasts initialized with GFS-NCEP perturbed analyses. Reforecasts, initialized with ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalyses of the 1989–2009 period, are also produced to determine modelled climatology of the month to forecast. The modelled monthly climatology is then used to calibrate the ensemble forecast of daily precipitation, geopotential height and temperature on standard pressure levels. In this work, we present the forecasting system and a preliminary evaluation of the model systematic and forecast errors in terms of non-probabilistic scores of the 500-hPa geopotential height. Results show that the proposed forecasting system outperforms the climatology in the first two weeks of integrations. The adopted calibration based on weighted bias correction is found to reduce the systematic and the forecast errors.

Description: An overview of drought events in the Carpathian Region in 1961–2010 Advances in Science and Research, 10, 21-32, 2013 Author(s): J. Spinoni, T. Antofie, P. Barbosa, Z. Bihari, M. Lakatos, S. Szalai, T. Szentimrey, and J. Vogt The Carpathians and their rich biosphere are considered to be highly vulnerable to climate change. Drought is one of the major climate-related damaging natural phenomena and in Europe it has been occurring with increasing frequency, intensity, and duration in the last decades. Due to climate change, land cover changes, and intensive land use, the Carpathian Region is one of the areas at highest drought risk in Europe. In order to analyze the drought events over the last 50 yr in the area, we used a 1961–2010 daily gridded temperature and precipitation dataset. From this, monthly 0.1° × 0.1° grids of four drought indicators (Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Reconnaissance Drought Indicator (RDI), and Palfai Aridity/Drought Index (PADI)) have been calculated. SPI, SPEI, and RDI have been computed at different time scales (3, 6, and 12 months), whilst PADI has been computed on an annual basis. The dataset used in this paper has been constructed in the framework of the CARPATCLIM project, run by a consortium of institutions from 9 countries (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine) with scientific support by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Temperature and precipitation station data have been collected, quality-checked, completed, homogenized, and interpolated on the 0.1° × 0.1° grid, and drought indicators have been consequently calculated on the grid itself. Monthly and annual series of the cited indicators are presented, together with high-resolution maps and statistical analysis of their correlation. A list of drought events between 1961 and 2010, based on the agreement of the indicators, is presented. We also discuss three case studies: drought in 1990, 2000, and 2003. The drought indicators have been compared both on spatial and temporal scales: it resulted that SPI, SPEI, and RDI are highly comparable, especially over a 12-month accumulation period. SPEI, which includes PET (Potential Evapo-Transpiration) as RDI does, proved to perform best if drought is caused by heat waves, whilst SPI performed best if drought is mainly driven by a rainfall deficit, because SPEI and RDI can be extreme in dry periods. According to PADI, the Carpathian Region has a sufficient natural water supply on average, with some spots that fall into the ''mild dry'' class, and this is also confirmed by the FAO-UNEP aridity index and the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.

Description: Statistical processing of forecasts for hydrological ensemble prediction: a comparative study of different bias correction strategies Advances in Science and Research, 8, 135-141, 2012 Author(s): I. Zalachori, M.-H. Ramos, R. Garçon, T. Mathevet, and J. Gailhard The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of statistical correction techniques in hydrological ensemble prediction. Ensemble weather forecasts (precipitation and temperature) are used as forcing variables to a hydrologic forecasting model for the production of ensemble streamflow forecasts. The impact of different bias correction strategies on the quality of the forecasts is examined. The performance of the system is evaluated when statistical processing is applied: to precipitation and temperature forecasts only ( pre-processing from the hydrological model point of view), to flow forecasts ( post-processing ) and to both. The pre-processing technique combines precipitation ensemble predictions with an analog forecasting approach, while the post-processing is based on past errors of the hydrological model when simulating streamflows. Forecasts from 11 catchments in France are evaluated. Results illustrate the importance of taking into account hydrological uncertainties to improve the quality of operational streamflow forecasts.

Description: Statistical analysis of inter-arrival times of rainfall events for Italian Sub-Alpine and Mediterranean areas Advances in Science and Research, 8, 171-177, 2012 Author(s): C. Agnese, G. Baiamonte, C. Cammalleri, D. Cat Berro, S. Ferraris, and L. Mercalli In this work a set of time-series of inter-arrival times of rainfall events, at daily scale, was analysed, with the aim to verify the issue of increasing duration of dry periods. The set consists of 12 time-series recorded at rain gauges in 1926–2005, six of them belong to an Italian Sub-Alpine area (Piedmont) and six to a Mediterranean one (Sicily). In order to overcome the problem related to limited sample size for high values of inter-arrival times, the discrete probability polylog-series distribution was used to fit the empirical data from partial (20 yr) time-series. Moreover, a simple qualitative trend analysis was applied to some high quantiles of inter-arrival times as well as to the average extent of rain clusters. The preliminary analysis seems to confirm the issue of increasing duration of dry periods for both environments, which is limited to the ''cold'' season.

Description: Quality control procedures at Euskalmet data center Advances in Science and Research, 8, 129-134, 2012 Author(s): R. Hernández, M. Maruri, K. Otxoa de Alda, J. Egaña, and S. Gaztelumendi The Basque Country Mesonet measures more than 130 000 observations daily from its 85 Automatic Weather Stations (AWS). It becomes clear that automated software is an indispensable tool for quality assurance (QA) of this mesoscale surface observing network. This work describes a set of experimental semi-automatic quality control (QC) routines that is applied at Euskalmet data center. It has paid special attention to level validation design and associated flags, as well as to the system outputs, which are used by meteorologist and maintenance staff.

Description: Comparative verification of different nowcasting systems to support optimisation of thunderstorm warnings Advances in Science and Research, 8, 121-127, 2012 Author(s): K. Wapler, M. Goeber, and S. Trepte The development and use of nowcasting systems should inevitably be accompanied by the development and application of suitable verification methods. A thorough verification strategy is needed to adequately assess the quality of the system and consequently to lead to improvements. Different verification methods for thunderstorms and its attributes are discussed along with the importance of observational data sets. They are applied to two radar-based nowcasting algorithms for a convective season using various observation data sets. The results show, that the combination of the two algorithms outperforms a single algorithm.

Description: Comparison of Large Eddy Simulations of a convective boundary layer with wind LIDAR measurements Advances in Science and Research, 8, 83-86, 2012 Author(s): J. G. Pedersen, M. Kelly, S.-E. Gryning, R. Floors, E. Batchvarova, and A. Peña Vertical profiles of the horizontal wind speed and of the standard deviation of vertical wind speed from Large Eddy Simulations of a convective atmospheric boundary layer are compared to wind LIDAR measurements up to 1400 m. Fair agreement regarding both types of profiles is observed only when the simulated flow is driven by a both time- and height-dependent geostrophic wind and a time-dependent surface heat flux. This underlines the importance of mesoscale effects when the flow above the atmospheric surface layer is simulated with a computational fluid dynamics model.

Description: Has the frequency or intensity of hot weather events changed in Poland since 1950? Advances in Science and Research, 8, 87-91, 2012 Author(s): J. Wibig Various indices of hot weather frequency and intensity were analysed in the area of Poland in the period between 1951 and 2006. An increase of majority of them was shown in the whole year and all summer months but September, when significant decrease in all indices was apparent. The correlation of selected hot weather indices and precipitation totals in a month of hot weather event and the preceding months were also calculated to check if prolonged dry weather can constitute a forcing factor for hot event creation. Because significant correlations appear mainly in the cases when precipitation is for the same month as the hot weather index, it seems that in Poland the presence of high pressure systems is a more important factor of hot event creation than dry weather.

Description: Quality assessment of heterogeneous surface radiation network data Advances in Science and Research, 8, 93-97, 2012 Author(s): R. Becker and K. Behrens The DWD national radiation measurement network comprises 82 automatic sites, 29 manned sites with shaded and unshaded pyranometer and the BSRN station at Lindenberg. The quality assessment routinely applied takes into account the basic astronomical and empirical considerations as well as some interdependencies like total to diffuse flux relation and cross checking with sunshine duration. A more advanced quality assessment approach attempts to routinely utilise timeseries of clear sky radiative transfer simulations for every site. For that purpose a link to cloud coverage obtained from Meteosat second generation geostationary satellite data, highly resolved in time and space, was established. There is a predefined calibration cycle of 30 month for automatic stations. Data analysis on this timescale allows for the detection of sensor degradation, wrong calibration or configuration and other possible local disturbances. Furthermore using satellite cloud mask enables the identification of larger clear sky regions characterized by similar atmospheric conditions. Thus, in a regionalization step correction or recalibration of moderate quality data to a higher level can be considered. The paper provides an overview of DWD surface radiation network and the current activities to improve automatic quality assessment using remotely sensed data and clear sky modeling for the upgrading of radiation data.

Description: On the skill of various ensemble spread estimators for probabilistic short range wind forecasting Advances in Science and Research, 8, 115-120, 2012 Author(s): A. Kann A variety of applications ranging from civil protection associated with severe weather to economical interests are heavily dependent on meteorological information. For example, a precise planning of the energy supply with a high share of renewables requires detailed meteorological information on high temporal and spatial resolution. With respect to wind power, detailed analyses and forecasts of wind speed are of crucial interest for the energy management. Although the applicability and the current skill of state-of-the-art probabilistic short range forecasts has increased during the last years, ensemble systems still show systematic deficiencies which limit its practical use. This paper presents methods to improve the ensemble skill of 10-m wind speed forecasts by combining deterministic information from a nowcasting system on very high horizontal resolution with uncertainty estimates from a limited area ensemble system. It is shown for a one month validation period that a statistical post-processing procedure (a modified non-homogeneous Gaussian regression) adds further skill to the probabilistic forecasts, especially beyond the nowcasting range after +6 h.

Description: Advanced information criterion for environmental data quality assurance Advances in Science and Research, 8, 99-104, 2012 Author(s): A. Düsterhus and A. Hense A new method for testing time series of environmental data for internal inconsistencies is presented. The method divides the dataset into several disjunct blocks. By means of a comparison of the blocks' estimated probability density distributions, each block is compared with the others. In order to judge the differences, four different measures are used and compared: Kullback-Leibler Divergence, Jensen-Shannon Divergence, Earth Mover's Distance and the Root Mean Square. By looking at the resulting patterns, conclusions on possible inconsistencies in the data can be drawn. This paper shows some sensitivitiy tests and gives an example for an application to real data. Furthermore, it is shown, in which cases of errors (shift in mean, shift in variance and rounding), which measure performs best.

Description: Finite element simulation of a local scale air quality model over complex terrain Advances in Science and Research, 8, 105-113, 2012 Author(s): A. Oliver, G. Montero, R. Montenegro, E. Rodríguez, J. M. Escobar, and A. Perez-Foguet In this paper we propose a finite element method approach for modelling the air quality in a local scale over complex terrain. The area of interest is up to tens of kilometres and it includes pollutant sources. The proposed methodology involves the generation of an adaptive tetrahedral mesh, the computation of an ambient wind field, the inclusion of the plume rise effect in the wind field, and the simulation of transport and reaction of pollutants. We apply our methodology to simulate a fictitious pollution episode in La Palma island (Canary Island, Spain).

Description: A modified drought index for WMO RA VI Advances in Science and Research, 6, 275-279, 2011 Author(s): S. Pietzsch and P. Bissolli Drought is a phenomenon which can cause large economical impact even in Europe. To assess the magnitude and the spatial extension of drought events, it is important to have a standardized drought index which is applicable for a large climatically heterogeneous region like Europe or the WMO RA VI Region (Europe and the Middle East). Such an index should describe the drought phenomenon adequately, but it should also be derivable from meteorological quantities which are easily and timely available in whole Europe. In a first investigation, some candidates for drought indices were chosen, compared and assessed for applicability in whole Europe. The most appropriate one seems to be the widely known Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) which is a standardized and handy measurement of drought for any location and requires nothing but precipitation data. However, it has turned out that for some places in the RA VI Region, notably in arid regions in summer, the SPI does not always provide reasonable or easily interpretable results. For that reason, some modifications of the SPI have been tried out and tested statistically. It seems that the gamma distribution of precipitation which is used for computation of the SPI is in fact the most appropriate one and other distributions have not improved the results substantially. On the other hand a so called zero correction, which sets very small precipitation totals to dry values, only dependent on the precipitation distribution, but independent on the individual location delivers more reasonable results. Maps of the new modified drought index and its anomalies from the climate normal are produced quasi-operationally and distributed via the Internet each month. The drought monitoring is part of the monitoring programme of the WMO RA VI Pilot Regional Climate Centre on Climate Monitoring (RCC-CM) hosted by the German Meteorological Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD), and the maps can be found on its present RCC-CM platform ( http://www.dwd.de/rcc-cm ).

Description: 1961–1990 monthly high-resolution solar radiation climatologies for Italy Advances in Science and Research, 8, 19-25, 2012 Author(s): J. Spinoni, M. Brunetti, M. Maugeri, and C. Simolo We present a methodology for estimating solar radiation climatologies from a sparse network of global radiation and/or sunshine duration records: it allows to obtain high-resolution grids of monthly normal values for global radiation (and for the direct and diffuse components), atmospheric turbidity, and surface absorbed radiation. We discuss the application of the methodology to a preliminary version of an Italian global radiation and sunshine duration data set, which completion is still in progress and present the resulting 1961–1990 monthly radiation climatologies.

Description: Observations and WRF simulations of fog events at the Spanish Northern Plateau Advances in Science and Research, 8, 11-18, 2012 Author(s): C. Román-Cascón, C. Yagüe, M. Sastre, G. Maqueda, F. Salamanca, and S. Viana The prediction of fogs is one of the processes not well reproduced by the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. In particular, the role of turbulence in the formation or dissipation of fogs is one of the physical processed not well understood, and therefore, not well parameterized by the NWP models. Observational analysis of three different periods with fogs at the Spanish Northern Plateau has been carried out. These periods have also been simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical model and their results have been compared to observations. The study includes a comparison of the skill of different planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterizations, surface layer schemes and a test of the gravitational settling of clouds/fogs droplets option. A statistical analysis of this comparison has been evaluated in order to study differences between the periods and between the various parameterizations used. The model results for each PBL parameterization were different, depending on the studied period, due to differences in the features of each fog. This fact made it difficult to obtain generalized conclusions, but allowed us to determine which parameterization performed better for each case. In general, judging from the models results of liquid water content (LWC), none of the PBL schemes were able to correctly simulate the fogs, being Mellor-Yamada Nakanishi and Niino (MYNN) 2.5 level PBL scheme the best one in most of the cases. This conclusion is also supported by the root mean square error (RMSE) calculated for different meteorological variables.

Description: Issues faced in digitally re-purposing printed archival material Advances in Science and Research, 6, 271-273, 2011 Author(s): T. M. Dart The Seeing Ear On-Line Library ( http://www.seeingear.org ) is the first general on-line library in the UK and has been providing books in an electronic format to EU users for more than 5 yr. While this provision has been within the context of print-disability, the challenges that the Library has faced and is facing are common to everyone re-purposing printed archival material. Key issues faced by anyone contemplating such a project are the choices of hardware and software, error rates and reduction, feature analysis and extraction, and archival (meta)format. This paper presents an approach to these questions to facilitate the on-line presentation of popular climatological material. This work was supported by the Big Lottery Fund UK.

Description: The French contribution to the Global Climate Observing System Advances in Science and Research, 6, 45-48, 2011 Author(s): R. Juvanon du Vachat France is participating fully in the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). It incorporates the following four components: meteorological and atmospheric, oceanic, terrestrial, spatial, which will be briefly presented, especially in relation with the monitoring of the climate. The presentation will give an overview of the general principles governing the GCOS system and particularly the concepts used to maintain efficiently this climate observing system for a long period of time ("from research networks to operational networks"). The presentation will cover all the four components of the GCOS system. The whole report has been published in the Fifth National Communication from France to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). The presentation will give an overview of the different networks of these four domains devoted to the monitoring of climate and maintained by France and highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of this climate observing system.

Description: WegenerNet climate station network region Feldbach, Austria: network structure, processing system, and example results Advances in Science and Research, 6, 49-54, 2011 Author(s): T. Kabas, A. Leuprecht, C. Bichler, and G. Kirchengast The WegenerNet climate station network is a pioneering weather and climate observation experiment at very high resolution in southeastern Austria. The network comprises 151 meteorological stations within a limited area of approximately 20 km × 15 km centered near the town of Feldbach. Measurements include the parameters air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation amount, and others at selected stations (e.g. wind and soil parameters). The temporal sampling is 5 min except 30 min sampling of soil measurements. All data pass a Quality Control System and the provided data products include station data (~1.4 km × 1.4 km grid) and gridded data (1 km × 1 km and 0.01° × 0.01° grids) on various temporal scales (from 5 min to annual). For application purposes all data are available in near real time (data latency less than 1–2 h in standard operation) via the WegenerNet data portal ( www.wegenernet.org ).

Description: Improving short-term forecasting during ramp events by means of Regime-Switching Artificial Neural Networks Advances in Science and Research, 6, 55-58, 2011 Author(s): C. Gallego, A. Costa, and A. Cuerva Ramp events are large rapid variations within wind power time series. Ramp forecasting can benefit from specific strategies so as to particularly take into account these shifts in the wind power output dynamic. In the short-term context (characterized by prediction horizons from minutes to a few days), a Regime-Switching (RS) model based on Artificial Neural Nets (ANN) is proposed. The objective is to identify three regimes in the wind power time series: Ramp-up, Ramp-down and No-ramp regime. An on-line regime assessment methodology is also proposed, based on a local gradient criterion. The RS-ANN model is compared to a single-ANN model (without regime discrimination), concluding that the regime-switching strategy leads to significant improvements for one-hour ahead forecasts, mainly due to the improvements obtained during ramp-up events. Including other explanatory variables (NWP outputs, local measurements) during the regime assessment could eventually improve forecasts for further horizons.

Description: Development of a longterm dataset of solid/liquid precipitation Advances in Science and Research, 6, 39-43, 2011 Author(s): B. Chimani, R. Böhm, C. Matulla, and M. Ganekind Solid precipitation (mainly snow, but snow and ice pellets or hail as well), is an important parameter for climate studies. But as this parameter usually is not available operationally before the second part of the 20th century and nowadays is not reported by automatic stations, information usable for long term climate studies is rare. Therefore a proxy for the fraction of solid precipitation based on a nonlinear relationship between the percentage of solid precipitation and monthly mean temperature was developed for the Greater Alpine Region of Europe and applied to the existing longterm high resolution temperature and precipitation grids (5 arcmin). In this paper the method is introduced and some examples of the resulting datasets available at monthly resolution for 1800–2003 are given.

Description: An application of ensemble/multi model approach for wind power production forecasting Advances in Science and Research, 6, 35-37, 2011 Author(s): S. Alessandrini, P. Pinson, R. Hagedorn, G. Decimi, and S. Sperati The wind power forecasts of the 3 days ahead period are becoming always more useful and important in reducing the problem of grid integration and energy price trading due to the increasing wind power penetration. Therefore it's clear that the accuracy of this forecast is one of the most important requirements for a successful application. The wind power forecast applied in this study is based on meteorological models that provide the 3 days ahead wind data. A Model Output Statistic correction is then performed to reduce systematic error caused, for instance, by a wrong representation of surface roughness or topography in the meteorological models. For this purpose a training of a Neural Network (NN) to link directly the forecasted meteorological data and the power data has been performed. One wind farm has been examined located in a mountain area in the south of Italy (Sicily). First we compare the performances of a prediction based on meteorological data coming from a single model with those obtained by the combination of models (RAMS, ECMWF deterministic, LAMI). It is shown that the multi models approach reduces the day-ahead normalized RMSE forecast error (normalized by nominal power) of at least 1% compared to the singles models approach. Finally we have focused on the possibility of using the ensemble model system (EPS by ECMWF) to estimate the hourly, three days ahead, power forecast accuracy. Contingency diagram between RMSE of the deterministic power forecast and the ensemble members spread of wind forecast have been produced. From this first analysis it seems that ensemble spread could be used as an indicator of the forecast's accuracy at least for the first three days ahead period.

Description: Multi-methodical realisation of Austrian climate maps for 1971–2000 Advances in Science and Research, 6, 19-26, 2011 Author(s): J. Hiebl, S. Reisenhofer, I. Auer, R. Böhm, and W. Schöner Constantly changing climate, the availability of a higher resolved digital elevation model and further development of geostatistical interpolation methods gave reason for updating the most frequently demanded climate maps out of the Austrian digital climate atlas from 1961–1990 to 1971–2000. To achieve a station density as high as possible, data from eleven national and foreign institutes were collected and gap-filled. According to the climate parameter, different geostatistical interpolation methods (including regionalised multilinear regressions, geographically weighted regressions and curve fitting to base parameter) were applied. The resultant 17 grids concern 30-year-means of air temperature, precipitation and snow parameters as well as derived indices. They are now available for a variety of scientific and planning purposes.

Description: Estimating urban heat island effects on near-surface air temperature records of Uccle (Brussels, Belgium): an observational and modeling study Advances in Science and Research, 6, 27-34, 2011 Author(s): R. Hamdi and H. Van de Vyver In this letter, the Brussels's urban heat island (UHI) effect on the near-surface air temperature time series of Uccle (the national suburban recording station of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium) was estimated between 1955 and 2006 during the summer months. The UHI of Brussels was estimated using both ground-based weather stations and remote sensing imagery combined with a land surface scheme that includes a state-of-the-art urban parameterization, the Town Energy Balance scheme. Analysis of urban warming based on the remote sensing method reveals that the urban bias on minimum air temperature is rising at a higher rate, 2.5 times (2.85 ground-based observed) more, than on maximum temperature, with a linear trend of 0.15 °C (0.19 °C ground-based observed) and 0.06 °C (0.06 °C ground-based observed) per decade respectively. The summer-mean urban bias on the mean air temperature is 0.8 °C (0.9 °C ground-based observed). The results based on remote sensing imagery are compatible with estimates of urban warming based on weather stations. Therefore, the technique presented in this work is a useful tool in estimating the urban heat island contamination in long time series, countering the drawbacks of an ground-observational approach.

Description: Newest developments of ACMANT Advances in Science and Research, 6, 7-11, 2011 Author(s): P. Domonkos, R. Poza, and D. Efthymiadis The seasonal cycle of radiation intensity often causes a marked seasonal cycle in the inhomogeneities (IHs) of observed temperature time series, since a substantial portion of them have direct or indirect connection to radiation changes in the micro-environment of the thermometer. Therefore the magnitudes of temperature IHs tend to be larger in summer than in winter. A new homogenisation method, the Adapted Caussinus – Mestre Algorithm for Networks of Temperature series (ACMANT) has recently been developed which treats appropriately the seasonal changes of IH-sizes in temperature time series. The performance of ACMANT was proved to be among the best methods (together with PRODIGE and MASH) in the efficiency test procedure of COST ES0601 project. A further improved version of the ACMANT is described in this paper. In the new version the ANOVA procedure is applied for correcting inhomogeneities, and with this change the iterations applied in the earlier version have become unnecessary. Some other modifications have also been made, from which the most important one is the new way for estimating the timings of IHs. With these modifications the efficiency of the ACMANT has become even higher, therefore its use is strongly recommended when networks of monthly temperature series from mid- or high geographical latitudes are subjected to homogenisation. The paper presents the main properties and the operation of the new ACMANT.

Description: Sensitivity of a long-range numerical weather forecast model to small changes of model parameters Advances in Science and Research, 6, 13-18, 2011 Author(s): M. B. Gavrilov, G. R. Jovanović, and Z. Janjić Sensitivity of extended-range numerical weather forecasts to small changes of model parameters is studied for two cases. In the first case the Earth radius was perturbed. In the other case changes of the gravity were introduced. The results for the 500 hPa geopotential fields are presented on hemispheric maps and intercompared visually and using RMS differences of the perturbed and reference forecasts. During about the first 10 days of integration the results indicate modest sensitivity of the forecasts to the parameter variation. After this period the forecasts diverge rapidly and start to differ significantly. Repeated integrations on the same computer using the same model setup and the same initial conditions yield identical results.

Description: Synoptic-mesoscale analysis and numerical modeling of a tornado event on 12 February 2010 in northern Greece Advances in Science and Research, 6, 187-194, 2011 Author(s): I. T. Matsangouras, P. T. Nastos, and I. Pytharoulis Tornadoes are furious convective weather phenomena, with the maximum frequency over Greece during the cold period (autumn, winter).This study analyzes the tornado event that occurred on 12 February 2010 near Vrastama village, at Chalkidiki's prefecture, a non urban area 45 km southeast of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. The tornado developed approximately between 17:10 and 17:35 UTC and was characterized as F2 (Fujita Scale). The tornado event caused several damages to an industrial building and at several olive-tree farms. A synoptic survey is presented along with satellite images, radar products and vertical profile of the atmosphere. Additionally, the nonhydrostatic WRF-ARW atmospheric numerical model (version 3.2.0) was utilized in analysis and forecast mode using very high horizontal resolution (1.333 km × 1.333 km) in order to represent the ambient atmospheric conditions. A comparison of statistical errors between WRF-ARW forecasts and ECMWF analysis is presented, accompanied with LGTS 12:00 UTC soundings (Thessaloniki Airport) and forecast soundings in order to verify the WRF-ARW model. Additionally, a comparison between WRF-ARW and ECMWF thermodynamic indices is also presented. The WRF-ARW high spatial resolution model appeared to simulate with significant accuracy a severe convective event with a lead period of 18 h.

Description: Determining the accuracy of gridded climate data and how this varies with observing-network density Advances in Science and Research, 6, 195-198, 2011 Author(s): T. P. Legg The Met Office National Climate Information Centre regularly produces assessments of mean monthly, seasonal and annual values of weather parameters and their anomalies over the UK. However the gridded values, and corresponding areal-average values, are subject to error. Experiments have been done in an attempt to quantify the mean errors in gridded monthly values and monthly areal averages of temperature and rainfall, and how these errors vary when we artificially thin out the observation network. But there are two additional reasons for this work: firstly we wish to determine how far back we can realistically extend the historical areal series, and secondly, we want to estimate the size of error bars on the historical values. For the UK as a whole, we estimate that error bars of around 0.1 °C would arise for monthly-mean temperatures.