Short-duration transient visual evoked potentials and color reflectivity discretization analysis in glaucoma patients and suspects

AIM： To evaluate the use of short-duration transient visual evoked potentials（VEP） and color reflectivity discretization analysis（CORDA） in glaucomatous eyes,eyes suspected of having glaucoma,and healthy eyes.METHODS： The study included 136 eyes from 136 subjects： 49 eyes with glaucoma,45 glaucoma suspect eyes,and 42 healthy eyes.Subjects underwent Humphrey visual field（VF） testing,VEP testing,as well as peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer optical coherence tomography imaging studies with post-acquisition CORDA applied.Statistical analysis was performed using means and ranges,ANOVA,post-hoc comparisons using Turkey＇s adjustment,Fisher＇s Exact test,area under the curve,and Spearman correlation coefficients.RESULTS： Parameters from VEP and CORDA correlated significantly with VF mean deviation（MD）（P〈0.05）.In distinguishing glaucomatous eyes from controls,VEP demonstrated area under the curve（AUC） values of 0.64-0.75 for amplitude and 0.67-0.81 for latency.The CORDA HR1 parameter was highly discriminative for glaucomatous eyes vs controls（AUC=0.94）.CONCLUSION： Significant correlations are found between MD and parameters of short-duration transient VEP and CORDA,diagnostic modalities which warrant further consideration in identifying glaucoma characteristics.

The Short-Duration Heavy Rainfall in Different Quadrants of Northeast China Cold Vortices

The Northeast China cold vortex(NCCV)is one of the main synoptic-scale systems causing short-duration heavy rainfall(SDHR)in Northeast China.Environmental conditions(e.g.,water vapor,instability,and vertical wind shear)are known to be distinctly different over the four quadrants of NCCVs,rendering prediction of the SDHR related to NCCVs(NCCV_SDHR)more challenging.Based on 5-yr hourly rainfall observations from 3196 automatic weather stations and ERA5 reanalysis data,10,232 NCCV_SDHR events were identified and divided into four quadrant groups according to their relative position to the center of the NCCV(CVC).The results show that the southeast quadrant features the highest frequency of SDHR,with stronger intensity,longer duration,and wider coverage;and the SDHR in different quadrants presents different formation mechanisms and varied temporal evolution.A new coordinate system is established relative to the CVC that uses the CVC as the origin and the radius of the NCCV(r CV)as the unit distance.In this new coordinate system,all of the NCCV_SDHR events in the 5-yr study period are synthesized.It is found that the occurrence frequency of NCCV_SDHR initially increases and then decreases with increasing distance from the CVC.The highest frequency occurs mainly between 0.8 and 2.5 times r CV from the CVC in the southeast quadrant.This can be attributed to the favorable conditions,such as convergence of the low-level shear line and abundant water vapor,which are concentrated in this region.Furthermore,high-frequency NCCV_SDHR larger than 50 mm(NCCV_SDHR50)is observed to be closer to the CVC.When NCCV_SDHR50occurs,the NCCV is in closer proximity to the subtropical high,resulting in stronger low-level convergence and more abundant water vapor.Additionally,there are lower lifting condensation levels and stronger 0-6-and 0-1-km vertical wind shears in these environments.These findings provide a valuable reference for more accurate prediction of NCCV_SDHR.

Ingredients-based Methodology and Fuzzy Logic Combined Short-Duration Heavy Rainfall Short-Range Forecasting:An Improved Scheme

Short-duration heavy rainfall(SHR),as delineated by the National Meteorological Center of the China Me-teorological Administration,is characterized by hourly rainfall amounts no less than 20.0 mm.SHR is one of the most common convective weather phenomena that can cause severe damage.Short-range forecasting of SHR is an important part of operational severe weather prediction.In the present study,an improved objective SHR forecasting scheme was developed by adopting the ingredients-based methodology and using the fuzzy logic approach.The 1.0°×1.0°National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP)final analysis data and the ordinary rainfall(0.1-19.9 mm h-1)and SHR observational data from 411 stations were used in the improved scheme.The best lifted index,the total precipitable water,the 925 hPa specific humidity(Q 925),and the 925 hPa divergence(DIV 925)were selected as predictors based on objective analysis.Continuously distributed membership functions of predictors were obtained based on relative frequency analysis.The weights of predictors were also objectively determined.Experiments with a typhoon SHR case and a spring SHR case show that the main possible areas could be captured by the improved scheme.Verification of SHR forecasts within 96 hours with NCEP global forecasts 1.0°×1.0°data initiated at 08:00 Beijing Time during the warm seasons in 2015 show the results were improved from both deterministic and probabilistic perspectives.This study provides an objectively feasible choice for short-range guidance forecasts of SHR.The scheme can be applied to other convective phenomena.

Statistical Characteristics of Environmental Parameters for Warm Season Short-Duration Heavy Rainfall over Central and Eastern China

Water vapor content, instability, and convergence conditions are the key to short-duration heavy rainfall forecasting. It is necessary to understand the large-scale atmospheric environment characteristics of short- duration heavy rainfall by investigating the distribution of physical parameters for different hourly rainfall intensities. The observed hourly rainfall data in China and the NCEP final analysis （FNL） data during 1 May and 30 September from 2002 to 2009 are used. NCEP FNL data are 6-hourly, resulting in sample sizes of 1573370, 355346, and 11401 for three categories of hourly rainfall （P） of no precipitation （P 〈 0.1 mm h-1）, ordinary precipitation （0.1≤ P 〈 20 mm h-1）, and short-duration heavy rainfall （P ≥ 20.0 mm h-1）, respectively, by adopting a temporal matching method. The results show that the total precipitable water （PWAT） is the best parameter indicating the hourly rainfall intensity. A PWAT of 28 mm is necessary for any short-duration heavy rainfall. The possibility of short-duration heavy rainfall occurrence increases with PWAT, and a PWAT of 59 mm is nearly sufficient. The specific humidity is a better indicator than relative humidity. Both 700- and 850-hPa relative humidity greater than 80% could be used to determine whether or not it is going to rain, but could not be used to estimate the rainfall intensity. Temperature and potential pseudo-equivalent temperature are also reasonable indicators of short-duration heavy rainfall. Among the atmospheric instability parameters, the best lifted index （BLI） performs best on the short- duration rainfall discrimination; the next best is the K index （KI）. The three rainfall categories are not well recognized by total totals （TT） or the temperature difference between 850 and 500 hPa （DT85）. Three- quarters of short-duration heavy rainfall occurred with BLI less than -0.9, while no short-duration heavy rainfall occurred when BLI was greater than 2.6. The minimum threshold of KI was 28.1 for short-duration heavy rainfall. The importance of dynamic conditions was well demonstrated by the 925- and 850-hPa divergence. The representativeness of 925-hPa divergence is stronger than that of 850 hPa. Three-quarters of short-duration heavy rainfall occurred under a negative divergence environment. However, both the best convective potential energy （BCAPE） and vertical wind shear were unable to discriminate the hourly rainfall intensities.

Distribution and Diurnal Variation of Warm-Season Short-Duration Heavy Rainfall in Relation to the MCSs in China

Short-duration heavy rainfall（SDHR） is a type of severe convective weather that often leads to substantial losses of property and life. We derive the spatiotemporal distribution and diurnal variation of SDHR over China during the warm season（April–September） from quality-controlled hourly raingauge data taken at 876 stations for 19 yr（1991–2009）, in comparison with the diurnal features of the mesoscale convective systems（MCSs） derived from satellite data. The results are as follows. 1） Spatial distributions of the frequency of SDHR events with hourly rainfall greater than 10–40 mm are very similar to the distribution of heavy rainfall（daily rainfall 50 mm） over China's Mainland. 2） SDHR occurs most frequently in South China such as southern Yunnan, Guizhou, and Jiangxi provinces, the Sichuan basin, and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, among others. Some SDHR events with hourly rainfall 50 mm also occur in northern China, e.g., the western Xinjiang and central-eastern Inner Mongolia. The heaviest hourly rainfall is observed over the Hainan Island with the amount reaching over 180 mm. 3） The frequency of the SDHR events is the highest in July, followed by August. Analysis of pentad variations in SDHR reveals that SDHR events are intermittent, with the fourth pentad of July the most active. The frequency of SDHR over China's Mainland increases slowly with the advent of the East Asian summer monsoon, but decreases rapidly with its withdrawal. 4） The diurnal peak of the SDHR activity occurs in the later afternoon（1600–1700 Beijing Time（BT））, and the secondary peak occurs after midnight（0100–0200 BT） and in the early morning（0700–0800 BT）; whereas the diurnal minimum occurs around late morning till noon（1000–1300 BT）. 5） The diurnal variation of SDHR exhibits generally consistent features with that of the MCSs in China, but the active periods and propagation of SDHR and MCSs difer in diferent regions. The number and duration of local maxima in the diurnal cycles of SDHR and MCSs also vary by region, with single, double, and even multiple peaks in some cases. These variations may be associated with the diferences in large-scale atmospheric circulation, surface conditions, and land-sea distribution.

Improvement of Early Maturing and Climate Resilient Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Cultivars Suitable for Multiple Environments in Bangladesh

Ensuring food security for the rapidly increasing population and changing climatic scenarios are requisites for exploiting the genetic divergence of food crops.A study was undertaken to sort out an early maturing chickpea variety for fitting easily between rice-rice cropping systems in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain of Bangladesh.The trial was comprised of eight elite lines of chickpea and executed at various localities in Bangladesh from 2014–15 to 2017–18.The result explored the chickpea genotype,BARI Chola-11 remained superior to the rest of the elite genotypes for having a short maturity period(100–106 days),and lesser days to 50%flowering(47–55 days).The same genotype was recorded to have robust vegetative and reproductive yield attributes including plant height(49–57 cm),podsplant−1(37–50),and optimum 100 seed weight(19.5–20.6 g).Owing to better yield attributes,BARI Chola-11 resulted in the maximum seed yield(1200–1500 kg ha-1)of chickpea and might be recommended for general adoption in the region for boosting nutritional security status through improved productivity under changing climate.

Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Extreme Hourly Precipitation over Eastern China in the Warm Season

Based on hourly precipitation data in eastern China in the warm season during 1961-2000,spatial distributions of frequency for 20 mm h 1 and 50 mm h 1 precipitation were analyzed,and the criteria of short-duration rainfall events and severe rainfall events are discussed.Furthermore,the percentile method was used to define local hourly extreme precipitation;based on this,diurnal variations and trends in extreme precipitation were further studied.The results of this study show that,over Yunnan,South China,North China,and Northeast China,the most frequent extreme precipitation events occur most frequently in late afternoon and/or early evening.In the Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin,the maximum frequency of extreme precipitation events occurs in the late night and/or early morning.And in the western Sichuan Plateau,the maximum frequency occurs in the middle of the night.The frequency of extreme precipitation （based on hourly rainfall measurements） has increased in most parts of eastern China,especially in Northeast China and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,but precipitation has decreased significantly in North China in the past 50 years.In addition,stations in the Guizhou Plateau and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River exhibit significant increasing trends in hourly precipitation extremes during the nighttime more than during the daytime.

Diversity and trait-specific sources for productivity and nutritional traits in the global proso millet(Panicum miliaceum L.) germplasm collection

Proso millet is an important short-duration crop that adapts well to varied climatic conditions and is grown worldwide for food,feed and fodder purposes.Owing to a lack of genetic improvement,the crop has experienced no yield improvement and provides low income to farmers.In this study,200 accessions of proso millet originating in 30 countries were evaluated in two rainy seasons to assess phenotypic diversity for morpho-agronomic and grain nutritional traits and to identify high grain-yielding and grain nutrient-rich accessions.Proso millet diversity was structured by geographical region,by country within region,and by racial group.Race patentissimum showed high diversity and ovatum low diversity,and diverged widely from each other.The lowest divergence was observed between races compactum and ovatum.Eighteen high grain-yielding,10 large-seeded,and 26 two or more grain nutrients-rich accessions were identified,and highly diverse pairs of accessions within and between trait groups were identified.They included IPm 9 and IPm2661 for high grain yield and large seed size;and IPm 2069,IPm 2076,and IPm 2537 for high Fe,Zn,Ca,and protein contents.IPm 2875 had a seed coat that is readily removed by threshing.This study provides valuable information to proso millet researchers about agronomic and nutritional traits in accessions that could be tested for regional adaption and yield for direct release as cultivars,and could be used in breeding for developing high grain-yielding and nutrient-rich cultivars.

Climatology of Shear Line and Related Rainstorm over the Southern Yangtze River Valley Based on an Improved Intelligent Identification Method

Based on four reanalysis datasets including CMA-RA,ERA5,ERA-Interim,and FNL,this paper proposes an improved intelligent method for shear line identification by introducing a second-order zonal-wind shear.Climatic characteristics of shear lines and related rainstorms over the Southern Yangtze River Valley(SYRV)during the summers(June-August)from 2008 to 2018 are then analyzed by using two types of unsupervised machine learning algorithm,namely the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding method(t-SNE)and the k-means clustering method.The results are as follows:(1)The reproducibility of the 850 hPa wind fields over the SYRV using China’s reanalysis product CMARA is superior to that of European and American products including ERA5,ERA-Interim,and FNL.(2)Theory and observations indicate that the introduction of a second-order zonal-wind shear criterion can effectively eliminate the continuous cyclonic curvature of the wind field and identify shear lines with significant discontinuities.(3)The occurrence frequency of shear lines appearing in the daytime and nighttime is almost equal,but the intensity and the accompanying rainstorm have a clear diurnal variation:they are significantly stronger during daytime than those at nighttime.(4)Half(47%)of the shear lines can cause short-duration rainstorms(≥20 mm(3h)^(-1)),and shear line rainstorms account for one-sixth(16%)of the total summer short-duration rainstorms.Rainstorms caused by shear lines are significantly stronger than that caused by other synoptic forcing.(5)Under the influence of stronger water vapor transport and barotropic instability,shear lines and related rainstorms in the north and middle of the SYRV are stronger than those in the south.

Spatial Pattern Difference of Contribution between Short and Long-duration Heavy Rainfall to Total Heavy Rainfall in China from 1961 to 2015

Many regions are pounded with heavy rainfall, causing flood, casualties, property damage and severe destruction to ecosystem in multiple urban areas. Frequent occurrence of extremely heavy precipitation event under the background of global climate change has caused terrible harm on economic and social development, life security, ecosystem, etc.;brought profound impact on sustainable development of disaster area;become a key factor of global and regional disasters and environmental risk;and been widely concerned by academic circle and all sectors of the society. So severe disasters caused by extreme precipitation events have attracted more and more attention, while the relationship between heavy rainfall with different duration and total heavy rainfall has become the hottest scientific frontier issue. Contribution of heavy rainfall with different duration to the total heavy rainfall has significant spatial differences. Here we used daily rainfall data from 1961 to 2015 of 659 meteorological stations in China. When the rainfall is greater than 50 mm in 24 hours, that is a heavy rainfall event. Heavy rainfall only lasting one day is defined as short- duration heavy rainfall, while heavy rainfall lasting more than two days is defined as long-duration heavy rainfall. Results indicated that: on the basis of duration days defined long-duration heavy rainfall, on the spatial distribution, total rainfall, total heavy rainfall and short-duration heavy rainfall showed "increasing-decreasing-increasing" from the southeast coast to northwest inland in China from 1961 to 2015, and on the whole meteorological station with increasing trend predominant. In the meantime, long-duration heavy rainfall showed "increasing-decreasing" spatial pattern, and on the whole meteorological station with decreasing trend predominant. We detected that there was a belt of becoming drought from northeast to southwest. The contribution of total heavy rainfall to total rainfall as well as long-duration heavy rainfall to total heavy rainfall showed "high in southeast-low in northwest" spatial distribution pattern. On the contrary, the contribution of short-duration heavy rainfall to total heavy rainfall showed "low in southeast-high in northwest" spatial distribution pattern. The contribution trend of total heavy rainfall to total rainfall and short-duration heavy rainfall to total heavy rainfall showed "increasing-mosaic with increasing and decreasing-increasing" spatial distribution pattern from northeast to southwest, and on the whole meteorological station with increasing trend predominant. On the contrary, the contribution trend of long-duration heavy rainfall to total heavy rainfall showed mosaic with increasing and increasing in the northeast, slightly decreasing in the southwest, and on the whole meteorological station with decreasing trend predominant. There was a climate transition zone from northeast to southwest, which was essentially coincident with the arid zone. The results suggested that the precipitation in China was changing to extremely accompanied by short-duration storm increased significantly. Chinese heavy rainfall especially the increase of short-duration heavy rainfall suggests that human activity is likely to be triggered an increasing in extreme precipitation.