scholarly journals Pollen antigens and atmospheric circulation driven seasonal respiratory viral outbreak and its implication to the Covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Wallace ◽  
Yifeng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Virus ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Influenza Outbreak ◽  
Southern Us ◽  
The Us ◽  
Winter Peak ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Tropical Climates

AbstractThe patterns of respiratory virus illness are expressed differently between temperate and tropical climates. Tropical outbreaks often peak in wet seasons. Temperate outbreaks typically peak during the winter. The prevailing causal hypotheses focus on sunlight, temperature and humidity variations. Yet no consistent factors have been identified to sufficiently explain seasonal virus emergence and decline at any latitude. Here we demonstrate close connections among global-scale atmospheric circulations, IgE antibody enhancement through seasonal pollen inhalation, and respiratory virus patterns at any populated latitude, with a focus on the US. Pollens emerge each Spring, and the renewed IgE titers in the population are argued to terminate each winter peak of respiratory illness. Globally circulated airborne viruses are postulated to subsequently deposit across the Southern US during lower zonal geostrophic winds each late Summer. This seasonally refreshed viral load is postulated to trigger a new influenza outbreak, once the existing IgE antibodies diminish to a critical value each Fall. Our study offers a new and consistent explanation for the seasonal diminishment of respiratory viral illnesses in temperate climates, the subdued seasonal signature in the tropics, the annually circulated virus phenotypes, and the northerly migration of influenza across the US every year. Our integrated geospatial and IgE hypothesis provides a new perspective for prediction, mitigation and prevention of the outbreak and spread of seasonal respiratory viruses including Covid-19 pandemic.

Breast-feeding and Respiratory Virus Infection

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur L. Frank ◽  
Larry H. Taber ◽  
W. P. Glezen ◽  
Gary L. Kasel ◽  
Christine R. Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virus Infection ◽  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Breast Feeding ◽  
Lower Respiratory Tract ◽  
Respiratory Virus ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Respiratory Virus Infections ◽  
Breast Fed

Thirty-nine breast-fed and 42 bottle-fed infants were followed up from birth over a four-year period. Virus infection was documented by culture and serologic testing, and history and physical examination were recorded for all episodes of respiratory illness. There were no statistically significant differences in rates or distributions of infection with individual viruses or with all viruses over the first three or six months or during the second six months of life in the two groups, nor were there statistically significant differences in rates or distributions of disease of the upper and lower respiratory tract or total respiratory disease, except for decreased disease of the lower respiratory tract in bottle-fed infants in the second six months. There were trends to decreased morbidity in breast-fed infants in the first three and six months and more episodes of pneumonia and bronchiolitis in bottle-fed infants in the first six months (P < .05) but similar use of medical care by both groups. High cord blood titers to two viruses were not associated with evidence of breast-feeding protection from infection with those two agents. Breast-fed babies do not have fewer respiratory virus infections or illnesses but may experience less severe illness.

Yellow Jack

2020 ◽  
pp. 94-109
Author(s):  
Charles D. Ross
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Yellow Fever ◽  
West Indies ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Port Royal ◽  
Key West ◽  
Yellow Flag ◽  
The Us ◽  
The City

This chapter describes a mosquito-borne illness, referred to as Yellow Jack by the sailors because of the yellow flag flown by quarantined ships, that arrived in Nassau during late summer. The chapter states that the blockade runner Kate also brought yellow fever with her to Wilmington, and by mid-August, the city was going through a devastating epidemic. The disease also found its way to Key West, Florida, and Beaufort, and Port Royal in South Carolina. As the fever raged in late July, the amount of shipping arriving and leaving Nassau dwindled to pre-war levels. The chapter then shifts to discuss a hindrance to the post-epidemic resurgence of the blockading bonanza — the appearance of Charles Wilkes, the US naval officer who had pulled Mason and Slidell off their boat. It elaborates the mission of West Indies Squadron, under the command of Wilkes, to destroy Florida and the new Confederate cruiser that had emerged from England with Raphael Semmes in command, the 290 (soon-to-be known as Alabama).

scholarly journals Sea-surface dimethylsulfide (DMS) concentration from satellite data at global and regional scales

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 3497-3519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martí Galí ◽  
Maurice Levasseur ◽  
Emmanuel Devred ◽  
Rafel Simó ◽  
Marcel Babin
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Climatic Effects ◽  
Aerosol Cloud Interactions

Abstract. The marine biogenic gas dimethylsulfide (DMS) modulates climate by enhancing aerosol light scattering and seeding cloud formation. However, the lack of time- and space-resolved estimates of DMS concentration and emission hampers the assessment of its climatic effects. Here we present DMSSAT, a new remote sensing algorithm that relies on macroecological relationships between DMS, its phytoplanktonic precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPt) and plankton light exposure. In the first step, planktonic DMSPt is estimated from satellite-retrieved chlorophyll a and the light penetration regime as described in a previous study (Galí et al., 2015). In the second step, DMS is estimated as a function of DMSPt and photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) at the sea surface with an equation of the form: log10DMS=α+βlog10DMSPt+γPAR. The two-step DMSSAT algorithm is computationally light and can be optimized for global and regional scales. Validation at the global scale indicates that DMSSAT has better skill than previous algorithms and reproduces the main climatological features of DMS seasonality across contrasting biomes. The main shortcomings of the global-scale optimized algorithm are related to (i) regional biases in remotely sensed chlorophyll (which cause underestimation of DMS in the Southern Ocean) and (ii) the inability to reproduce high DMS ∕ DMSPt ratios in late summer and fall in specific regions (which suggests the need to account for additional DMS drivers). Our work also highlights the shortcomings of interpolated DMS climatologies, caused by sparse and biased in situ sampling. Time series derived from MODIS-Aqua in the subpolar North Atlantic between 2003 and 2016 show wide interannual variability in the magnitude and timing of the annual DMS peak(s), demonstrating the need to move beyond the classical climatological view. By providing synoptic time series of DMS emission, DMSSAT can leverage atmospheric chemistry and climate models and advance our understanding of plankton–aerosol–cloud interactions in the context of global change.

scholarly journals Primary and Repeated Respiratory Viral Infections Among Infants in Rural Nepal

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Boonyaratanakornkit ◽  
Janet A Englund ◽  
Amalia S Magaret ◽  
Yunqi Bu ◽  
James M Tielsch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Infection ◽  
Respiratory Virus ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
Respiratory Viruses ◽  
Repeated Infection ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Respiratory Viral Infections ◽  
Repeated Infections ◽  
Rural Nepal

Abstract Background Respiratory viruses cause significant morbidity and death in infants; 99% of such deaths occur in resource-limited settings. Risk factors for initial and repeated respiratory viral infections in young infants in resource-limited settings have not been well described. Methods From 2011 to 2014, a birth cohort of infants in rural Nepal was enrolled and followed with weekly household-based active surveillance for respiratory symptoms until 6 months of age. Respiratory illness was defined as having any of the following: fever, cough, wheeze, difficulty breathing, and/or a draining ear. We tested nasal swabs of infants with respiratory illness for multiple respiratory viruses by using a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. The risk of primary and repeated infections with the same virus was evaluated using Poisson regression. Results Of 3528 infants, 1726 (49%) had a primary infection, and 419 (12%) had a repeated infection. The incidences of respiratory viral infection in infants were 1816 per 1000 person-years for primary infections and 1204 per 1000 person-years for repeated infection with the same virus. Exposure to other children and male sex were each associated with an increased risk for primary infection (risk ratios, 1.13 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06–1.20] and 1.14 [95% CI, 1.02–1.27], respectively), whereas higher maternal education was associated with a decreased risk for both primary and repeated infections (risk ratio, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.95–0.98]). The incidence of subsequent infection did not change when previous infection with the same or another respiratory virus occurred. Illness duration and severity were not significantly different in the infants between the first and second episodes for any respiratory virus tested. Conclusions In infants in rural Nepal, repeated respiratory virus infections were frequent, and we found no decrease in illness severity with repeated infections and no evidence of replacement with another virus. Vaccine strategies and public health interventions that provide durable protection in the first 6 months of life could decrease the burden of repeated infections by multiple respiratory viruses, particularly in low-resource countries.

scholarly journals Research on the Construction Method of the Service-Oriented Web-SWMM System

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawei Xiao ◽  
Min Chen ◽  
Yuchen Lu ◽  
Songshan Yue ◽  
Tao Hou
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Management Model ◽  
Urban Flooding ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Runoff Simulation ◽  
Storm Water Management Model ◽  
The Us ◽  
Service Oriented

On a global scale, with the acceleration of urbanization and the continuous expansion of cities, the problem of urban flooding has become increasingly prominent. An increasing number of experts and scholars have begun to focus on this phenomenon and build corresponding models to solve the problem. The storm water management model 5 (SWMM5) is a dynamic rainfall-runoff simulation model developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); this model simulates urban flooding and drainage well and is widely favored by researchers. However, the use of SWMM5 is relatively cumbersome and limited by the operational platform, and these factors hinder the further promotion and sharing of SWMM5. Based on the OpenGMS platform, this study first encapsulates, deploys, and publishes SWMM5 and further builds the Web-SWMM system for the model. With Web-SWMM, the user can conveniently use network data resources online and call SWMM5 to carry out calculations, avoiding the difficulties caused by the localized use of SWMM5 and enabling the sharing and reuse of SWMM5.

scholarly journals In search of enemies: Donald Trump’s populist foreign policy rhetoric

Politics ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 026339572093537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonny Hall
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Presidential Campaign ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The Us ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
New Perspective

This article asks how Donald Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric during his presidential campaign and presidency has affected US foreign policy in the area of overseas counterterrorism campaigns. Looking at two case studies – the May 2017 Arab Islamic American Summit and the US role in the counter Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) campaign, it is argued that Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric has failed to accurately describe or legitimate his administration’s counterterrorism strategy, as per the conventional wisdom. Instead, Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric has largely been aimed at creating a sense of crisis (as populism requires) to mobilise his domestic base. In making this argument about the purpose of Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric, not only does the article contribute a new perspective to the extant literature on elections, rhetoric, and US foreign policy, but also to the burgeoning scholarship on governing populists and their foreign policies. Although these findings could be unique to Trump, the article’s novel framework – combining International Relations and populism scholarship to elaborate on how the foreign arena can be used to generate a state of perpetual crisis – can hopefully be applied in other contexts.

scholarly journals Nasopharyngeal Pneumococcal Density during Asymptomatic Respiratory Virus Infection and Risk for Subsequent Acute Respiratory Illness

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2040-2047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh M. Howard ◽  
Yuwei Zhu ◽  
Marie R. Griffin ◽  
Kathryn M. Edwards ◽  
John V. Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virus Infection ◽  
Respiratory Virus ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
Acute Respiratory Illness ◽  
Respiratory Virus Infection

Impact of Tobacco Thrips on Cowpea

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Paul McLeod ◽  
Tahir Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Seed Weight ◽  
Leaf Tissue ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Severely Injured ◽  
Plant Seed ◽  
Southern Us ◽  
Frankliniella Fusca ◽  
The Us ◽  
Tobacco Thrips ◽  
The Impact

In the southern US, seedling cowpeas are severely injured by the tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds). This feeding results in discoloration and distortion of the leaf tissue. Although damage from thrips feeding on foliage is common and appears substantial, recent studies have demonstrated little impact on cowpea yield. Caging up to ten F. fusca per cowpea seedling failed to significantly reduce number of pods, seed number, or seed weight when compared to cowpea seedlings caged with no thrips. Also, no significant differences in the days to initial flowering were detected among the treatments, i.e., 0, 1, 2, 5, or 10 thrips per seedling. In field studies, the insecticide, bifenthrin, applied to cowpea seedlings effectively reduced the number of thrips and significantly reduced foliar damage when compared to non-treated seedlings. At harvest however, no significant differences were detected among the other variables tested, i.e., pods per plant, seed per plant, seed per pod, seed weight per plant, nor weight per seed. Thus, data indicate that the impact of F. fusca on cowpea produced in the US is likely less than previously thought and early season thrips management is of little value. Accepted for publication 10 September 2012. Published 19 October 2012.

Provider variability in the initial diagnosis and treatment of congenital hypothyroidism

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Cielonko ◽  
Tyler Hamby ◽  
John S. Dallas ◽  
Luke Hamilton ◽  
Don P. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Retardation ◽  
Thyroid Hormone ◽  
Early Diagnosis ◽  
Congenital Hypothyroidism ◽  
Laboratory Tests ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Southern Us ◽  
The Us ◽  
Common Practices ◽  
Current Guidelines

AbstractBackground:Early diagnosis and expeditious treatment of newborns with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is necessary to avoid mental retardation.Methods:A survey of 44 practitioners in the southern US was conducted to better understand common practices regarding neonatal CH and the findings were compared with current guidelines in the US and Europe.Results:Responses indicated some consensus that 10–15 μg of thyroid hormone/kg/day was the appropriate dosage. However, despite guidelines advocating their use, practitioners reported that they did not commonly use imaging or laboratory tests, though experienced providers apparently used them more often.Conclusions:Together, these results show moderate adherence to published guidelines for treating and diagnosing CH. Further research is needed to determine why providers deviate from these guidelines and to generalize these results to other populations.

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