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Introduction: Computerized Tomography (CT) has available for many decades. Although the capabilities of conventional CT scanners is limited by visualizing anatomical structures, technological advances in hardware improvement and sophisticated software development have allowed for expanded utilization. We examined the capabilities of a three-dimensional CT scanner and enabling software to provide a virtual endoscopic tool for assessment of tabularized engineered tissue in vivo. Methods: We used a Toshiba 32-Slice Aquilion scanner, capable of imaging 0.5 mm-thick tissue slices. Double imaging could provide visualization every 0.25 mm. The scanned images were processed with the TeraRecon Aquarius Work station, which provides 2-4 dimensional viewing capabilities. CT-guided ure-throcystographic examinations were performed in 12 male beagles that underwent urethral surgery using a 6 cm-long tabularized engineered construct. Pre and post-operative scanning was performed in conjunction with retrograde urethrograms and voiding cystour-ethrography for comparison, and animals were sacrificed at predetermined time points. Urethral diameter, length and area of lumen were measured. Results: Scanned images were converted into movie files, which allowed for accurate analyses from various angles. The pre and post-operative scans of each animal correlated with retrograde urethrograms and cystourethrography. The surgical sites were readily identified in detail. Gross examination of the retrieved urethras confirmed all the anatomical details visualized by virtual urethroscopy. Conclusions: These findings show that CT-assisted virtual urethroscopy allows for accurate visualization of the urethral lumen, and provides an accurate assessment of tissue integrity. This technological non-invasive tool may play an important role in the evaluation of tabularized engineered tissues in vivo.

Aquarius was the first NASA satellite to observe the sea surface salinity (SSS) over the global ocean. The mission successfully collected data from 25 August 2011 to 7 June 2015. The Aquarius project released its final version (Version-5) of the SSS data product in December 2017. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the validation results from the Aquarius Validation Data System (AVDS) and other statistical methods, and to provide a general view of the Aquarius SSS quality to the users. The results demonstrate that Aquarius has met the mission target measurement accuracy requirement of 0.2 psu on monthly averages on 150 km scale. From the triple point analysis using Aquarius, in situ field and Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) products, the root mean square errors of Aquarius Level-2 and Level-3 data are estimated to be 0.17 psu and 0.13 psu, respectively. It is important that caution should be exercised when using Aquarius salinity data in areas with high radio frequency interference (RFI) and heavy rainfall, close to the coast lines where leakage of land signals may significantly affect the quality of the SSS data, and at high-latitude oceans where the L-band radiometer has poor sensitivity to SSS.

Sarcopenia is defined as an age related, involuntary loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. This condition increasingly gets clinical attention, as it has proved to be a predictor of complications and unfavourable outcomes in several diseases. For analysis of body composition on Computed Tomography (CT) images, several different software packages are utilized. Currently, extensive research is conducted globally, to establish general cut-off values for different patient groups, by combining the results of different studies with meta-analysis. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the measurements are independent of the used software. However, clinical software comparisons suggest differences between analysis packages are present, which would complicate establishment of cut-off values. For this study we compared the eight most used analysis software programs in an objective manner, using a phantom image, to assess whether their results can be readily compared. Eight software packages (SliceOmatic, OsiriX, ImageJ/Fiji, Mimics, CoreSlicer, SarcoMeas, 3D Slicer and Aquarius iNtuition) were objectively evaluated, by performing measurements in a standardized synthetic image, containing fixed muscle and fat compartments with homogeneous radiodensities. For all programs, the measured areas and radiodensities of the regions of interest were assessed. For SliceOmatic, OsiriX, ImageJ/Fiji, Mimics, CoreSlicer, SarcoMeas and 3D Slicer identical results were found, all reporting correct values for muscle and fat areas, as well as correct radiodensity values, whereas values reported by Aquarius iNtuition deviated up to 5% for area measurements and also showed slight variation in radiodensity measurements. Seven out of eight software packages (SliceOmatic, OsiriX, ImageJ/Fiji, Mimics, CoreSlicer, SarcoMeas and 3D Slicer) perform identically, so their results can be readily compared and combined when assessing body composition in CT images. Area measurements acquired with Aquarius iNtuition may slightly differ (up to 5%) from the other packages.

The Aquarius end-of-mission (Version 5) salinity data set was released in December 2017. This article gives a comprehensive overview of the main steps of the Level 2 salinity retrieval algorithm. In particular, we will discuss the corrections for wind induced surface roughness, atmospheric oxygen absorption, reflected galactic radiation and side-lobe intrusion from land surfaces. Most of these corrections have undergone major updates from previous versions, which has helped mitigating temporal and zonal biases. Our article also discusses the ocean target calibration for Aquarius Version 5. We show how formal error estimates for the Aquarius retrievals can be obtained by perturbing the input to the algorithm. The performance of the Aquarius Version 5 salinity retrievals is evaluated against salinity measurements from the ARGO network and the HYCOM model. When stratified as function of sea surface temperature or sea surface wind speed, the difference between Aquarius Version 5 and ARGO is within +/-0.1 psu. The estimated global RMS uncertainty for monthly 100 km averages is 0.128 psu for the Aquarius Version 5 retrievals. Finally, we show how the Aquarius Version 5 salinity retrieval algorithm is adapted to retrieve salinity from the Soil-Moisture Active Passion (SMAP) mission.

Sea surface salinity (SSS) measurements from the Aquarius/SAC‐D satellite during September–December 2011 provide the first satellite observations of the salinity structure of tropical instability waves (TIWs) in the Pacific. The related SSS anomaly has a magnitude of approximately ±0.5 PSU. Different from sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) where TIW‐related propagating signals are stronger a few degrees away from the equator, the SSS signature of TIWs is largest near the equator in the eastern equatorial Pacific where salty South Pacific water meets the fresher Inter‐tropical Convergence Zone water. The dominant westward propagation speed of SSS near the equator is approximately 1 m/s. This is twice as fast as the 0.5 m/s TIW speed widely reported in the literature, typically from SST and SSHA away from the equator. This difference is attributed to the more dominant 17‐day TIWs near the equator that have a 1 m/s dominant phase speed and the stronger 33‐day TIWs away from the equator that have a 0.5 m/s dominant phase speed. The results demonstrate the important value of Aquarius in studying TIWs. Key Points Provide unprecedented observations of TIW salinity structure of from space Observe faster TIWs speed near than away from equator (not documented before) We explain why TIWs SSS signal propagate faster near the equator

In an Oceanography article published 13 years ago, three of us identified salinity measurement from satellites as the next ocean remote-sensing challenge. We argued that this represented the next \"zeroth order\" contribution to oceanography (Lagerloef et al., 1995) because salinity variations form part of the interaction between ocean circulation and the global water cycle, which in tern affects the ocean's capacity to store and transport heat and regulate Earth's climate. Now, we are please to report that a new satellite program scheduled for launch in the near future will provide data to reveal how the ocean responds to the combined effects of evaporation, precipilation, ice melt, and river runoff on seasonal and interannual time scales. These measurements can be used, for example, to close the marine hydrologic budget, constrain coupled climate modles, monitor mode water formation, investigate the upper-ocean response to precipitation variability in the tropical convergence zones, and provide early detection of low-salinity intrusions in the subpolar Atlantic and Southern oceans. Sea-surface salinity (SSS) and sea-surface temperature (SST) determine sea-surface density, which controls the formation of water masses and regulates three-dimensional ocean circulation.

Advances in L-band microwave satellite radiometry in the past decade, pioneered by ESA's SMOS and NASA's Aquarius and SMAP missions, have demonstrated an unprecedented capability to observe global sea surface salinity (SSS) from space. Measurements from these missions are the only means to probe the very-near surface salinity (top cm), providing a unique monitoring capability for the interfacial exchanges of water between the atmosphere and the upper-ocean, and delivering a wealth of information on various salinity processes in the ocean, linkages with the climate and water cycle, including land-sea connections, and providing constraints for ocean prediction models. The satellite SSS data are complimentary to the existing in situ systems such as Argo that provide accurate depiction of large-scale salinity variability in the open ocean but under-sample mesoscale variability, coastal oceans and marginal seas, and energetic regions such as boundary currents and fronts. In particular, salinity remote sensing has proven valuable to systematically monitor the open oceans as well as coastal regions up to approximately 40 km from the coasts. This is critical to addressing societally relevant topics, such as land-sea linkages, coastal-open ocean exchanges, research in the carbon cycle, near-surface mixing, and air-sea exchange of gas and mass. In this paper, we provide a community perspective on the major achievements of satellite SSS for the aforementioned topics, the unique capability of satellite salinity observing system and its complementarity with other platforms, uncertainty characteristics of satellite SSS, and measurement versus sampling errors in relation to in situ salinity measurements. We also discuss the need for technological innovations to improve the accuracy, resolution, and coverage of satellite SSS, and the way forward to both continue and enhance salinity remote sensing as part of the integrated Earth Observing System in order to address societal needs.

The evolution of sexual dimorphisms requires divergence between sexes in the evolutionary trajectories of the traits involved. Discerning how genetic architecture could facilitate such divergence has proven challenging because of the difficulty in estimating non-additive and sex-linked genetic variances using traditional quantitative genetic designs. Here we use a three-generation, double-first-cousin pedigree design to estimate additive, sex-linked and dominance (co)variances for 12 traits in the water strider, Aquarius remigis. Comparisons among these traits, which have size ratios ranging from 1 to 5 (larger/smaller), allow us to ask if sexual dimorphisms are associated with characteristic patterns of quantitative genetic variation. We frame our analysis around three main questions, derived from existing theory and empirical evidence: Are sexual dimorphisms associated with (1) lower additive inter-sex genetic correlations, (2) higher proportions of sex-linked variance, or (3) differences between sexes in autosomal additive and dominance genetic variances? For questions (1) and (2), we find weak and non-significant trends in the expected directions, which preclude definitive conclusions. However, in answer to question (3), we find strong evidence for a positive relationship between sexual dimorphism and differences between sexes in proportions of autosomal dominance variance. We also find strong interactions among the three genetic components indicating that their relative influence differs among traits and between sexes. These results highlight the need to include all three components of genetic (co)variance in both theoretical evolutionary models and empirical estimations of the genetic architecture of dimorphic traits.

Since 2009, three low frequency microwave sensors have been launched into space with the capability of global monitoring of sea surface salinity (SSS). The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS), onboard the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission (SMOS), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Aquarius and Soil Moisture Active Passive mission (SMAP) use L-band radiometry to measure SSS. There are notable differences in the instrumental approaches, as well as in the retrieval algorithms. We compare the salinity retrieved from these three spaceborne sensors to in situ observations from the Argo network of drifting floats, and we analyze some possible causes for the differences. We present comparisons of the long-term global spatial distribution, the temporal variability for a set of regions of interest and statistical distributions. We analyze some of the possible causes for the differences between the various satellite SSS products by reprocessing the retrievals from Aquarius brightness temperatures changing the model for the sea water dielectric constant and the ancillary product for the sea surface temperature. We quantify the impact of these changes on the differences in SSS between Aquarius and SMOS. We also identify the impact of the corrections for atmospheric effects recently modified in the Aquarius SSS retrievals. All three satellites exhibit SSS errors with a strong dependence on sea surface temperature, but this dependence varies significantly with the sensor. We show that these differences are first and foremost due to the dielectric constant model, then to atmospheric corrections and to a lesser extent to the ancillary product of the sea surface temperature.

High-profile events can trigger expressions of hate speech online, which in turn modifies attitudes and offline behavior towards stigmatized groups. This paper addresses the first path of this process using manual and computational methods to analyze the stream of Twitter messages in Spanish around the boat Aquarius (n = 24,254) before and after the announcement of the Spanish government to welcome the boat in June 2018, a milestone for asylum seekers acceptance in the EU and an event that was highly covered by media. It was observed that most of the messages were related to a few topics and had a generally positive sentiment, although a significant part of messages expressed rejection or hate—often supported by stereotypes and lies—towards refugees and migrants and towards politicians. These expressions grew after the announcement of hosting the boat, although the general sentiment of the messages became more positive. We discuss the theoretical, practical, and methodological implications of the study, and acknowledge limitations referred to the examined timeframe and to the preliminary condition of the conclusions.