A 31-year Global Diurnal Sea Surface Temperature Dataset Created by an Ocean Mixed-Layer Model

A dataset of hourly sea surface temperature(SST) from the period 1 January 1982 to 31 December 2012, and covering the global ocean at a resolution of 0.3°× 0.3°, was created using a validated ocean mixed-layer model(MLSST). The model inputs were heat flux and surface wind speed obtained from the Coupled Forecast System Reanalysis dataset. Comparisons with in-situ data from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array and the National Data Buoy Center showed that the MLSST fitted very well with observations, with a mean bias of 0.07℃, and a root-mean-square error(RMSE) and correlation coefficient of 0.37℃ and 0.98, respectively. Also, the MLSST fields successfully reproduced the diurnal cycle of SST in the in-situ data, with a mean bias of -0.005℃ and RMSE of 0.26℃. The 31-year climatology revealed that the diurnal range was small across most regions, with higher values in the eastern and western equatorial Pacific, northern Indian Ocean, western Central America, northwestern Australia, and several coastal regions. Significant seasonal variation of diurnal SST existed in all basins. In the Atlantic and Pacific basins, this seasonal pattern was oriented north–south, following the variation in solar insolation, whereas in the Indian basin it was dominated by monsoonal variability. At the interannual scale, the results highlighted the relationship between diurnal and interannual variations of SST, and revealed that the diurnal warming in the central equatorial Pacific could be a potential climatic indicator for ENSO prediction.

A new method for the estimation of oceanic mixed-layer depth using shipboard X-band radar images

Shipboard X-band radar images acquired on 24 June 2009 are used to study nonlinear internal wave characteristics in the northeastern South China Sea.The studied images show three nonlinear internal waves in a packet.A method based on the Radon Transform technique is introduced to calculate internal wave parameters such as the direction of propagation and internal wave velocity from backscatter images.Assuming that the ocean is a two-layer finite depth system,we can derive the mixed-layer depth by applying the internal wave velocity to the mixed-layer depth formula.Results show reasonably good agreement with in-situ thermistor chain and conductivity-temperature-depth data sets.

GmSTF accumulation mediated by DELLA protein GmRGAs contributes to coordinating light and gibberellin signaling to reduce plant height in soybean

Plant height influences plant architecture,lodging resistance,and yield performance.It is modulated by gibberellic acid(GA)metabolism and signaling.DELLA proteins,acting as central repressors of GA signaling,integrate various environmental and hormonal signals to regulate plant growth and development in Arabidopsis.We examined the role of two DELLA proteins,GmRGAa and GmRGAb,in soybean plant height control.Knockout of these proteins led to longer internodes and increased plant height,primarily by increasing cell elongation.GmRGAs functioned under different light conditions,including red,blue,and far-red light,to repress plant height.Interaction studies revealed that GmRGAs interacted with the blue light receptor GmCRY1b.Consistent with this,GmCRY1b partially regulated plant height via GmRGAs.Additionally,DELLA proteins were found to stabilize the protein GmSTF1/2,a key positive regulator of photomorphogenesis.This stabilization led to increased transcription of GmGA2ox-7b and subsequent reduction in plant height.This study enhances our understanding of DELLA-mediated plant height control,offering Gmrgaab mutants for soybean structure and yield optimization.

Morphotype dependence of Globigerinoides ruber(white)and Trilobatus sacculifer Mg/Ca ratios in the western tropical Pacific:implications for reconstructing the mixed-layer depth

Planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber(white)and Trilobatus sacculifer are the most frequently used mixedlayer dwelling species for reconstructing past oceanic environments.Specifically,the Mg/Ca ratios of these two foraminiferal species have been used for reconstructing tropical/subtropical changes in sea surface temperature(SST).However,these two species have different morphotypes,of which the spatial and temporal differences in Mg/Ca ratios and their influencing factors are still unclear.Our objective is to investigate the potential differences between the Mg/Ca ratios of these different morphotypes of G.ruber(white)and T.sacculifer in the western Philippine Sea(WPS)and determine their implications for the reconstruction of SST and upper-ocean structure.Mg/Ca measurements are made on two basic morphotypes of G.ruber(white)[sensu stricto(s.s.)and sensu lato(s.l.)]and T.sacculifer[with(w)and without(w/o)a sac-like final chamber]on samples of Site MD06-3047B from the WPS.Our results reveal that Mg/Ca ratios of different G.ruber morphotypes show consistent differences;and those of T.sacculifer morphotypes show staged variations since MIS 3.It is suggested to select a single morphotype for reconstructing SST changes using the Mg/Ca ratios of G.ruber and T.sacculifer in the WPS.Furthermore,the Mg/Ca ratios between G.ruber s.s.and G.ruber s.l.[Δ(Mg/Ca)_(G.ruber s.s.-s.l.)]downcore MD06-3047B covaries with indexes of summer monsoon.Combining with the core-top results,showing regional variation of differences in theΔ(Mg/Ca)_(G.ruber s.s.-s.l.)over the western tropical Pacific,we propose thatΔ(Mg/Ca)_(G.ruber s.s.-s.l.)may tend to reflect summer mixed layer depth.

Illite-smectite Mixed-layer Minerals in the Alteration Volcanic Ashes under Submarine Environment

The clay mineralogy of the clay intervals interbedded with siliceous mudstones across the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) in Pengda, Guiyang, Guizhou province, was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The clay mineral assemblages of the sediments are mainly I/S clays and minor smectite, kaolinite, and illite as reveled by XRD analyses. The peak-shape parameters BB1 and BB2 of I/S clays of the representative clay bed PL-01 are 4.7° and 4.4°, and the peak position of the low angle reflection is at 6.8° 2θ (13.6 ), suggesting that the I/S clays has a IS type of ordering. However, the presence of multi-order reflections and their intensities are different from those of completely ordered 1∶1 mixed-layer I/S clay rectorite, indicating that I/S clays of the Pengda section have partially ordered IS structures. HRTEM observations show that most of the I/S clays exhibit an IS stacking ordering. However, in some areas within a IS particle, smectite layer is observed in doublets, triplets, and quartets, which are interstratified by various amounts of illite layers, suggesting the presence of other irregular stacking in addition to the major 1∶1 IS ordered stacking. Transformation of smectite layer into illite layers is also observed in the I/S clays, suggesting that the Pengda I/S clays are derived from smectite illitization, in good agreement with the clay mineral assemblage. The I/S clays of the Pengda section contain up to 45% to 95% smectite layer, the notably higher contents of smectite layer relative to those of other PTB stratigraphic sets in south China can be attributed to difference in alteration and smectite illitization processes due to different sedimentary environments.

The influence of inter-band rock on rib spalling in longwall panel with large mining height

In order to improve rib stability,failure criteria and instability mode of a thick coal seam with inter-band rock layer are analysed in this study.A three-dimensional mechanical model is established for the rib by considering the rock layer.A safety factor is defined foy the rib,and it is observed that the safety factor exhibits a positive correlation with the thickness and strength of the inter-band rock.A calculation method for determining critical parameters of the rock layer is presented to ensure the rib stability.It is revealed that incomplete propagation of the fracture at the hard rock constitutes a fundamental prerequisite for ensuring the rib stability.The influence of the position of the inter-band rock in the coal seam on failure mechanism of the rib was thoroughly investigated by developing a series of physical models for the rib at the face area.The best position for the inter-band rock in the coal seam is at a height of 1.5 m away from the roof line,which tends to provide a good stability state for the rib.For different inter-band rock positions,two ways of controlling rib by increasing supports stiffness and flexible grouting reinforcement are proposed.

Study of the Stacking Sequences of an Irregular Mixed-Layer Illite/Smectite (I/S) Clay Mineral—with a Discussion on the Existence of Minerals with Two-Dimentional Lattice and One-Dimentional Quasi-Lattice

There are two aspects in the study of irregular mixed-layer clay minerals: one is the kinds and ratios of their basic structural unit layers and the other is the junction probabilities of the unit layers. Irregular mixed-layer illite/smectite clay minerals (I/S) are widespread in nature. While studying the clay minerals from the Permian-Triassic (P/T) boundary bed, the authors found that I/S clay minerals are developed in all P/T boundary clay layers in areas from the northwest to southeast of China. Systematic mineralogical studies of the I/S clay minerals from Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Zhejiang were made by means of X-ray, infrared spectroscopic, electron microscopic and chemical analyses and a deepened study of the stacking sequences of their structural unit layers was conducted by the MacEwan one—dimentional direct Fourier transform. It was found that the stacking of the illite and smectite crystal layers along the c axis can be derived from Fibonacci sequences. Hence, the authors propose that such I/S clay minerals are possessed of two—dimentional crystal lattice and one—dimentional quasicrystal lattice.

Exact and heuristic formulae to compute the geodetic height from the ellipse equation

The conversion of the cartesian coordinates of a point to its geodetic equivalent coordinates in reference to the geodetic ellipsoid is one of the main challenges in geodesy.The ellipse equation in the meridian plane significantly influences the value of the geodetic coordinates.This research analyzes this influence and how it can contribute to their solutions.The study investigates the mathematical relation between them and presents an exact formula relating to the geodetic height and the ellipse equation.In addition,a heuristic formula for the relation between the geodetic height and the ellipse equation is proposed,which is independent of the geodetic latitude and has a relative accuracy better than 99.9 %.The calculation is stable,and the cost is low.

The effect of topographic density variations on the geoid and orthometric heights in Hong Kong

Utilizing the adopted average topographic density of 2670 kg/m^(3)in the reduction of gravity anomalies introduces errors attributed to topographic density variations,which consequently affect geoid modeling accuracy.Furthermore,the mean gravity along the plumbline within the topography in the definition of Helmert orthometric heights is computed approximately by applying the Poincar e-Prey gravity reduction where the topographic density variations are disregarded.The Helmert orthometric heights of benchmarks are then affected by errors.These errors could be random or systematic depending on the specific geological setting of the region where the leveling network is physically established and/or the geoid model is determined.An example of systematic errors in orthometric heights can be given for large regions characterized by sediment or volcanic deposits,the density of which is substantially lower than the adopted topographic density used in Helmert's definition of heights.The same applies to geoid modeling errors.In this study,we investigate these errors in the Hong Kong territory,where topographic density is about 20%lower than the density of 2670 kg/m^(3).We use the digital rock density model to estimate the effect of topographic density variations on the geoid and orthometric heights.Our results show that this effect on the geoid and Helmert orthometric heights reach maxima of about 2.1 and 0.5 cm,respectively.Both results provide clear evidence that rock density models are essential in physical geodesy applications involving gravimetric geoid modeling and orthometric height determination despite some criticism that could be raised regarding the reliability of these density models.However,in regions dominated by sedimentary and igneous rocks,the geological information is essential in these applications because topographic densities are substantially lower than the average density of 2670 kg/m^(3),thus introducing large systematic errors in geoid and orthometric heights.

BnaC03.BIN2 regulates plant height by affecting the main inflorescence length and first effective branch height in Brassica napus L.

Rapeseed(Brassica napus L.)is one of the main oil crops in the world,and increasing its yield is of great significance for ensuring the safety of edible oil.Presently,improving rapeseed plant architecture is an effective way to increase rapeseed yield with higher planting density.However,the regulatory mechanism of rapeseed plant architecture is poorly understood.In this study,a dwarf rapeseed mutant dwarf08(df08)is obtained by ethyl methane sulfonate(EMS)-mutagenesis.The decrease in plant height of df08 is mainly caused by the reduction in main inflorescence length and first effective branch height and controlled by a single semi-dominant gene.The hybrid plants(F1)show a semi-dwarf phenotype.Through map-based cloning and transgenic assay,we confirm that the nonsynonymous single nucleotide variant(SNV)(C to T)in BnaC03.BIN2,which is homologous with Arabidopsis(Arabidopsis thaliana)BIN2,is responsible for the dwarfism of df08.BnaC03.BIN2 interacts with BnaBZR1/BES1 and involves in brassinosteroids(BRs)signal transduction.Proline to Leucine substitution in 284(P284L)enhances the protein stability of BnaC03.bin2-D,disrupts BRs signal transduction and affects the expression of genes regulating cell division,leading to dwarfism of df08.This study provides a new insight for the mechanism of rapeseed plant height regulation and creates an elite germplasm that can be used for genetic improvement of rapeseed architecture.

Influence of pier height on the safety of trains running on high-speed railway bridges during earthquakes

Sudden earthquakes pose a threat to the running safety of trains on high-speed railway bridges,and the stiffness of piers is one of the factors affecting the dynamic response of train-track-bridge system.In this paper,a experiment of a train running on a high-speed railway bridge is performed based on a dynamic experiment system,and the corresponding numerical model is established.The reliability of the numerical model is verified by experiments.Then,the experiment and numerical data are analyzed to reveal the pier height effects on the running safety of trains on bridges.The results show that when the pier height changes,the frequency of the bridge below the 30 m pier height changes greater;the increase of pier height causes the transverse fundamental frequency of the bridge close to that of the train,and the shaking angle and lateral displacement of the train are the largest for bridge with 50 m pier,which increases the risk of derailment;with the pier height increases from 8 m to 50 m,the derailment coefficient obtained by numerical simulations increases by 75% on average,and the spectral intensity obtained by experiments increases by 120% on average,two indicators exhibit logarithmic variation.

A Multi-Baseline PolInSAR Forest Height Inversion Method Taking into Account the Model Ill-posed Problem

Affected by the insufficient information of single baseline observation data,the three-stage method assumes the Ground-to-Volume Ratio(GVR)to be zero so as to invert the vegetation height.However,this assumption introduces much biases into the parameter estimates which greatly limits the accuracy of the vegetation height inversion.Multi-baseline observation can provide redundant information and is helpful for the inversion of GVR.Nevertheless,the similar model parameter values in a multi-baseline model often lead to ill-posed problems and reduce the inversion accuracy of conventional algorithm.To this end,we propose a new step-by-step inversion method applied to the multi-baseline observations.Firstly,an adjustment inversion model is constructed by using multi-baseline volume scattering dominant polarization data,and the regularized estimates of model parameters are obtained by regularization method.Then,the reliable estimates of GVR are determined by the MSE(mean square error)analysis of each regularized parameter estimation.Secondly,the estimated GVR is used to extracts the pure volume coherence,and then the vegetation height parameter is inverted from the pure volume coherence by least squares estimation.The experimental results show that the new method can improve the vegetation height inversion result effectively.The inversion accuracy is improved by 26%with respect to the three-stage method and the conventional solution of multi-baseline.All of these have demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the new method.

Estimating Key Phenological Dates of Multiple Rice Accessions Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Plant Height Dynamics for Breeding

Efficient and high-quality estimation of key phenological dates in rice is of great significance in breeding work. Plant height(PH) dynamics are valuable for estimating phenological dates. However, research on estimating the key phenological dates of multiple rice accessions based on PH dynamics has been limited. In 2022, field traits were collected using unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)-based images across 435 plots, including 364 rice varieties. PH, dates of initial heading(IH) and full heading(FH), and panicle initiation(PI), and growth period after transplanting(GPAT) were collected during the rice growth stage. PHs were extracted using a digital surface model(DSM) and fitted using Fourier and logistic models. Machine learning algorithms, including multiple linear regression, random forest(RF), support vector regression, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and elastic net regression, were employed to estimate phenological dates. Results indicated that the optimal percentile of the DSM for extracting rice PH was the 95th(R^(2) = 0.934, RMSE = 0.056 m). The Fourier model provided a better fit for PH dynamics compared with the logistic models. Additionally, curve features(CF) and GPAT were significantly associated with PI, IH, and FH. The combination of CF and GPAT outperformed the use of CF alone, with RF demonstrating the best performance among the algorithms. Specifically, the combination of CF extracted from the logistic models, GPAT, and RF yielded the best performance for estimating PI(R^(2) = 0.834, RMSE = 4.344 d), IH(R^(2) = 0.877, RMSE = 2.721 d), and FH(R^(2) = 0.883, RMSE = 2.694 d). Overall, UAV-based rice PH dynamics combined with machine learning effectively estimated the key phenological dates of multiple rice accessions, providing a novel approach for investigating key phenological dates in breeding work.

Hepatic Morphometric Correlation with Biophysical Profiling of Height

Introduction: Clinical assessment of hepatic span is usually subjective. And is based on the experience of the clinician. This is what has led to this study in using Biophysical profiling of Heights, Weights, and Body mass index to find the normal hepatic span of every individual. This study was conducted at HMG Hospital Limited, Abonnema in Rivers State in affiliation with the University of Port Harcourt. Methodology: The biophysical sampling method was instituted to select respondents. At the same time, a radiological formula was used to calculate the sample size, and subjects’ weight, height and hepatic span where measured while the BMI was calculated and the data was analyzed using python programming language for data science. Results: The data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient. P value greater than or equal to 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. The respondents were mainly aged 30 to 63 years. Conclusion: The null hypothesis was rejected;hence this research has stated the law known as Belema’s Law of hepatic-height correlation, which states that the hepatic span of an individual is directly proportional to the height of that individual except in disease conditions affecting the liver directly or indirectly.

Improving Satellite-Retrieved Cloud Base Height with Ground-Based Cloud Radar Measurements

Cloud base height(CBH) is a crucial parameter for cloud radiative effect estimates, climate change simulations, and aviation guidance. However, due to the limited information on cloud vertical structures included in passive satellite radiometer observations, few operational satellite CBH products are currently available. This study presents a new method for retrieving CBH from satellite radiometers. The method first uses the combined measurements of satellite radiometers and ground-based cloud radars to develop a lookup table(LUT) of effective cloud water content(ECWC), representing the vertically varying cloud water content. This LUT allows for the conversion of cloud water path to cloud geometric thickness(CGT), enabling the estimation of CBH as the difference between cloud top height and CGT. Detailed comparative analysis of CBH estimates from the state-of-the-art ECWC LUT are conducted against four ground-based millimeter-wave cloud radar(MMCR) measurements, and results show that the mean bias(correlation coefficient) is0.18±1.79 km(0.73), which is lower(higher) than 0.23±2.11 km(0.67) as derived from the combined measurements of satellite radiometers and satellite radar-lidar(i.e., Cloud Sat and CALIPSO). Furthermore, the percentages of the CBH biases within 250 m increase by 5% to 10%, which varies by location. This indicates that the CBH estimates from our algorithm are more consistent with ground-based MMCR measurements. Therefore, this algorithm shows great potential for further improvement of the CBH retrievals as ground-based MMCR are being increasingly included in global surface meteorological observing networks, and the improved CBH retrievals will contribute to better cloud radiative effect estimates.

Study of the Effects of Glucocorticoid on Growth and Adult Final Height in Children with Primary Nephrotic Syndrome

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of growth, as well as factors associated with growth retardation in children with primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS), and to investigate the effect of glucocorticoid (GC) use duration on growth retardation in these children. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data of 353 PNS children treated at our hospital from July 2014 to June 2015 were collected through the medical record management system. Height, weight, and GC usage were recorded. Follow-up assessments were conducted in August 2022 for the original group, recording height, weight, and GC usage. Height and weight were evaluated using standard deviation scores (SDS). Categorical data were analyzed using chi-square test while continuous measurement data were analyzed using t-test or rank-sum test. Linear regression was used to assess the association between two single independent variables, and logistic regression analysis was used to screen for risk factors related to growth retardation in children with PNS. Results: Among the 353 PNS children enrolled in this study, male-to-female ratio of 2.64:1 (256 males vs 97 females). A total of 119 children exhibited growth retardation, incidence rate of 33.71%. The duration of GC usage among those with growth retardation was significantly longer compared to those without it (762.81 ± 934.50 days vs 263.77 ± 420.49 days;p Conclusion: PNS children treated with GC have a high incidence of growth retardation, and a high proportion of short stature in adulthood, especially in children with growth retardation in childhood, most of them have short stature after grown up. Time of GC usage is a risk factor for growth retardation in children with PNS.

Suitable region of dynamic optimal interpolation for efficiently altimetry sea surface height mapping

The dynamic optimal interpolation(DOI)method is a technique based on quasi-geostrophic dynamics for merging multi-satellite altimeter along-track observations to generate gridded absolute dynamic topography(ADT).Compared with the linear optimal interpolation(LOI)method,the DOI method can improve the accuracy of gridded ADT locally but with low computational efficiency.Consequently,considering both computational efficiency and accuracy,the DOI method is more suitable to be used only for regional applications.In this study,we propose to evaluate the suitable region for applying the DOI method based on the correlation between the absolute value of the Jacobian operator of the geostrophic stream function and the improvement achieved by the DOI method.After verifying the LOI and DOI methods,the suitable region was investigated in three typical areas:the Gulf Stream(25°N-50°N,55°W-80°W),the Japanese Kuroshio(25°N-45°N,135°E-155°E),and the South China Sea(5°N-25°N,100°E-125°E).We propose to use the DOI method only in regions outside the equatorial region and where the absolute value of the Jacobian operator of the geostrophic stream function is higher than1×10^(-11).

A Fine-grained Building Height Control Method for Heritage Areas from the Perspective of Visual Integrity

This study proposes a refined methodology for controlling building heights in heritage areas.In order to protect the visual integrity of the heritage area,buildings should not obstruct the view from important site points and viewpoints to the periphery.By calculating the building height thresholds that buildings should not obscure the view from each viewpoint,the results of which are weighted and superimposed,and the values are extracted to each building unit as a refined building height control guideline.This study takes the Zhoukoudian area as a case study,applies the refined building height control criterion to the Zhoukoudian Site,and relies on this refined criterion to assess the visual integrity of the Zhoukoudian area,so as to realize the scientific planning and monitoring of the Zhoukoudian area.The refined building height control method can be applied to building height planning and visual landscape protection in large heritage areas.

Ecoregional height-diameter models for Scots pine in Turkiye

Ecoregion-based height-diameter models were developed in the present study for Scots pine(Pinus sylves-tris L.)stands in Turkiye and included several ecological factors derived from a pre-existing ecoregional classification system.The data were obtained from 2831 sample trees in 292 sample plots.Ten generalized height–diameter models were developed,and the best model(HD10)was selected according to statistical criteria.Then,nonlinear mixed-effects modeling was applied to the best model.The R2 for the generalized height‒diameter model(Richards function)modified by Sharma and Parton is 0.951,and the final model included number of trees,dominant height,and diameter at breast height,with a random parameter associated with each ecoregion attached to the inverse of the mean basal area.The full model predictions using the nonlinear mixed-effects model and the reduced model(HD10)predictions were compared using the nonlinear sum of extra squares test,which revealed significant differences between ecore-gions;ecoregion-based height–diameter models were thus found to be suitable to use.In addition,using these models in appropriate ecoregions was very important for achieving reliable predictions with low prediction errors.

Factors influencing further vertebral height loss following percutaneous vertebroplasty in osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures:A 1-year follow-up study

BACKGROUND Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures(OVCFs)contribute to back pain and functional limitations in older individuals,with percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP)emerging as a minimally invasive treatment.However,further height loss post-PVP prompts investigation into contributing factors.AIM To investigate the factors associated with further height loss following PVP with cement augmentation in OVCF patients.METHODS A total of 200 OVCF patients who underwent successful PVP between January 2021 and December 2022 were included in this study.“Further height loss”during 1 year of follow-up in OVCF patients with bone edema was defined as a vertical height loss of≥4 mm.The study population was divided into two groups for analysis:The“No Further Height Loss group(n=179)”and the“Further Height Loss group(n=21).”RESULTS In comparing two distinct groups of patients,significant differences existed in bone mineral density(BMD),vertebral compression degree,prevalence of intravertebral cleft(IVF),type of bone cement used,and cement distribution patterns.Results from binary univariate regression analysis revealed that lower BMD,the presence of IVF,cleft distribution of bone cement,and higher vertebral compression degree were all significantly associated with further height loss.Notably,the use of mineralized collagen modified-poly(methyl methacrylate)bone cement was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of further height loss.In multivariate regression analysis,lower BMD and the presence of IVF remained significantly associated with further height loss.CONCLUSION Further height loss following PVP in OVCF patients is influenced by a complex interplay of factors,especially lower BMD and the presence of IVF.These findings underscore the importance of assessing and managing these factors when addressing height loss following PVP in OVCF patients.