A Moments View of Climatology and Variability of the Asian Summer Monsoon Anticyclone

A comprehensive investigation of the climatology of and interannual variability and trends in the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone (ASMA) is presented, based on a novel area and moments analysis. Moments include centroid location, aspect ratio, angle, and “excess kurtosis” (measuring how far the shape is from elliptical) for an equivalent ellipse with the same area as the ASMA. Key results are robust among the three modern reanalyses studied. The climatological ASMA is nearly elliptical, with its major axis aligned along its centroid latitude and a typical aspect ratio of ~5–8. The ASMA centroid shifts northward with height, northward and westward during development, and in the opposite direction as it weakens. New evidence finding no obvious climatological bimodality in the ASMA reinforces similar suggestions from previous studies using modern reanalyses. Most trends in ASMA moments are not statistically significant. ASMA area and duration, however, increased significantly during 1979–2018; the 1958–2018 record analyzed for one reanalysis suggests that these trends may have accelerated in recent decades. ASMA centroid latitude is significantly positively (negatively) correlated with subtropical jet core latitude (altitude), and significantly negatively correlated with concurrent ENSO; these results are consistent with and extend previous work relating monsoon intensity, ENSO, and jet shifts. ASMA area is significantly positively correlated with the MEI ENSO index two months previously. These results improve our understanding of the ASMA using consistently defined diagnostics of its size, geometry, interannual variability, and trends that have not previously been analyzed.

Fibromatosis Colli: A Review of 4 Cases

Fibromatosis colli is a rare congenital pseudotumor of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, mainly found in the pediatric population. We propose to present four cases diagnosed in the ENT-Neck and head surgery department of the university medical center Mohammed VI in Marrakech, moreover we will recap the management strategy of this entity but also its evolution. We received in the pediatric emergency three infants of 1, 3 and 6 months old and one child of 7 years old, with as a main symptom a painful congenital torticollis. The ultrasound added to our clinical inspection allowed us fairly easily to diagnose the patients. No drug or surgical treatment was prescribed in the infant cases, though surgical treatment was inevitable in the 7 years old patient’s case. During the follow-up, carried out each month, we observed a gradual regression of swelling and torticollis. The prevalence of FC is estimated at 0.3-2% of births. The diagnosis is made at the age of 3 to 4 weeks of life by a thorough inspection of a torticollis associated with a later cervical mass in the framework of a difficult delivery (use of forceps or suction cup). Ultrasonography allows us to diagnose this entity due to the typical aspect of a fusiform thickening of the Sternocleidomastoid muscle. Surgical and medical treatment is rarely useful, and only symptomatic treatment is indicated. The spontaneous evolution of Fibromatosis colli is, even in the absence of treatment, the regression spontaneously in 4 to 6 months. Fibromatosis colli is a relatively rare entity, its frequency in Africa remains to be established, but it is clear that an early diagnosis is key to a speedy recovery.

Two case reports and a literature review on eosinophilic fasciitis

Eosinophilic fasciitis is a rare disorder of unknown etiology and poorly understood pathogenesis. It may be triggered by excessive exercise, physical factors such as radiation therapy, exposure to certain medications, infections, the initiation of hemodialysis and some other medical conditions. Skin modifications appear with collagenous thickening of the subcutaneous fascia with typical aspect of “peau d’orange” and the “groove sign”. Arthritis, myalgia, myositis, neuropathies may occur. The majority of patients have peripheral blood eosinophilia. The diagnosis is confirmed with a full thickness incisional biopsy of skin and subcutaneous tissue down to the muscle surface and fascia. Systemic glucocorticoids are the mainstay of treatment, but some patients require additional immunosuppressive therapy. The long-term prognosis of this disease is unknown and in some cases the disease may releapse. We describe two patients with eosinophilic fasciitis, their evolution and complications, associating other pathologies: morphea and antiphospholipid syndrome, making the diagnosis and the treatment more challenging.

Pulmonary bacterial infections in patients hospitalized for COVID-19: a retrospective observational study

Backround During the COVID-19 pandemic, antibiotics use was very common. However, bacterial co/secondary infections with coronaviruses remain largely unknown, especially outside of intensive care. The aim of this study was to investigate the pulmonary bacterial infections characteristics associated with COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. Methods A retrospective monocentric observational study was conducted in Bichat hospital in France, between February 26 and April 22, 2020. All patients hospitalized in standard wards with COVID-19 (positive nasopharyngeal PCR and/or typical aspect on CT scan) and diagnosed with a pulmonary bacterial infection (positive bacteriological samples) were included. Bacteriological and clinical data were collected from the microbiology laboratories and the patient's medical records. Results Twenty-three bacteriological samples from 22 patients were positive out of 2075 screened samples (1.1%) from 784 patients (2.8%). Bacterial infection occurred with a median of ten days after COVID-19 onset. Diagnosis of pulmonary bacterial infection was suspected on the increase of oxygen requirements (20/22), productive cough or modification of sputum (17/22), or fever (10/22). Positive samples included 13 sputum cultures, one Film Array® on sputum, one bronchoalveolar lavage, six blood cultures and two pneumococcal antigenuria. The most frequent bacteria were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6/23), Staphylococcus aureus (5/23), Streptococcus pneumoniae (4/23), Enterococcus faecalis (3/23) and Klebsiella aerogenes (3/23). No Legionella antigenuria was positive. Four out of 496 nasopharyngeal PCR (0.8%) were positive for intracellular bacteria (two Bordetella pertussis and two Mycoplasma pneumonia). Conclusions Pulmonary bacterial secondary infections and co-infections with SARS-CoV-2 are uncommon. Antibiotic use should remain limited in the management of COVID-19.

Social Isolation and Stress as Predictors of Productivity Perception and Remote Work Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Concern about the Virus in a Moderated Double Mediation

From mid-March to the end of May 2020, millions of Italians were forced to work from home because of the lockdown provisions imposed by the Italian government to contain the COVID-19 epidemic. As a result, many employees had to suddenly switch to remote work, experiencing both troubles and opportunities. Social isolation from colleagues and the workplace represents a typical aspect of remote work which increased significantly during the social confinement imposed by the government. This study investigates the correlates of social isolation in terms of stress, perceived remote work productivity and remote work satisfaction, proposing the sequential mediation of stress and perceived remote work productivity, and the moderating role of concern about the new coronavirus. An online survey was conducted, and the responses of 265 employees showed the deleterious role of social isolation in stress, which leads to decreased perceived remote work productivity that, in turn, is related to remote work satisfaction. Furthermore, the results suggest that concern about the virus moderates the relationships between social isolation and remote work satisfaction, from one side, and remote work perceived productivity and remote work satisfaction from the other. This latter result suggests that the indirect sequential effect of social isolation on remote work satisfaction is conditional on concern about the virus. Some conclusions are drawn to support managers and HR officers in the choices to better manage employees’ work during the health emergency.

How morphologically related synonyms come to make up a paradigm

The Slavic perfective (pfv): imperfective (ipfv) opposition is based on stem derivation. It creates a complex network of functions for finite and non-finite forms, which largely applies regardless of aspectual pairedness (and actionality groups), since this opposition has classificatory properties. However, can derivationally related stems claimed to represent identical lexical concepts be treated as representatives of one or of two paradigms? The issue becomes especially intricate with aspect triplets in which two ipfv stems correspond to one pfv stem, as though combining two productive patterns of aspect derivation. On this background, we test some core assumptions of the morphology-lexicon interface on one typical aspect triplet from Polish and Czech, the cognate ipfv Pol. dzielić – rozdzielać, Cz. dělit – rozdělovat ‘divide, separate’. We provide their token-based analysis for the period 1750–2017. The two ipfv stems show preferences for different basic functions associated with the ipfv aspect, the coding of marginal arguments and adjuncts also yields clear biases of choice. These preferences prove stable over time, distinctions in form typically associated with inflection turn out to be altogether irrelevant. Our findings, as well as a revision of theoretical positions, support a notion of paradigm in which typical inflectional distinctions are brought into an equilibrium with functional inventories and collocational constraints.

Aerodynamic Countermeasure Schemes of Super Long-Span Suspension Bridges with Various Aspect Ratios

The purpose of this study is to investigate the flutter control scheme of super long-span bridges with various aspect ratios (e.g. width to height (B/H)) using passive aerodynamic countermeasures. Through a series of wind tunnel testing and theoretical analysis, three types of passive aerodynamic countermeasures, i.e. vertical central stabilizer (VCS), wind barrier and inspection rail, were investigated for five typical aspect ratios of a closed-box girder bridge. The results show that both the aspect ratio and flutter critical wind speed generally increase with the decrease of the ratio of torsional and vertical frequencies of the bridge. In the case of an aspect ratio of 8.9, a downward VCS (DVCS) has a much better flutter performance than that of an upward VCS (UVCS) because aerodynamic damping of Part A and Part D could produce a higher heaving degree of freedom (DOF) participation level. Furthermore, the position variation of wind barriers is superior to their shape variation for the bridge with an aspect ratio of 8.3, and the flutter performance of the girder with a combination of the wind barrier (WB3P3) and UDVCS with 0.3[Formula: see text]h/H DVCS appears to be better than that without countermeasures. In addition, the installation of an inspection rail near the bottom point of an inclined-web (IR3) has the best flutter control effect among four positions of inspection rails.

Jacob Boehme’s etymology: eschatological and epistemic aspects

The aim of the study is to analyze an etymological practice of the great German mystic thinker and to determine its place in his esoteric doctrine. The essence and cause of utter idiosyncrasy of that practice along with its yet not examined typical aspect are considered. It is argued the latter linked Boehme’s linguo-philosophic speculations with relevant construct of positively oriented ‘secular’ scholars whose best part laid the foundation for the comparativism.

Hate Speech on Campus: Reframing the Discourse

College campuses have long grappled with the question of allowing controversial speakers on campus. In the half-century since the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley, such events have become a fairly typical aspect of campus life. In recent years, however, increasingly divisive public figures have been invited—and, on occasion, disinvited. Being “deplatformed” has become a badge of honor for public figures like Ben Shapiro, Ann Coulter, and Milo Yiannapolous.