Evaluation of SMAP downscaled brightness temperature using SMAPEx-4/5 airborne observations.

The Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission, launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 31st January 2015, was designed to provide global soil moisture every 2 to 3 days at 9 km resolution by downscaling SMAP passive microwave observations obtained at 36 km resolution using active microwave observations at 3 km resolution, and then retrieving soil moisture from the resulting 9 km brightness temperature product. This study evaluated the SMAP Active/Passive (AP) downscaling algorithm together with other resolution enhancement techniques. Airborne passive microwave observations acquired at 1 km resolution over the Murrumbidgee River catchment in south-eastern Australia during the fourth and fifth Soil Moisture Active Passive Experiments (SMAPEx-4/5) were used as reference data. The SMAPEx-4/5 data were collected in May and September 2015, respectively, and aggregated to 9 km for direct comparison with a number of available resolution-enhanced brightness temperature estimates. The results show that the SMAP AP downscaled brightness temperature had a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.84 and Root-Mean-Squared Error (RMSE) of ~10 K, while SMAP Enhanced, Nearest Neighbour, Weighted Average, and the Smoothing Filter-based Modulation (SFIM) brightness temperature estimates had somewhat better performance (RMSEs of ~7 K and an R exceeding 0.9). Although the SFIM had the lowest unbiased RMSE of ~6 K, the effect of cloud cover on Ka-band observations limits data availability.

Estimating surface soil moisture from SMAP observations using a Neural Network technique.

A Neural Network (NN) algorithm was developed to estimate global surface soil moisture for April 2015 to March 2017 with a 2-3 day repeat frequency using passive microwave observations from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, surface soil temperatures from the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Model version 5 (GEOS-5) land modeling system, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer-based vegetation water content. The NN was trained on GEOS-5 soil moisture target data, making the NN estimates consistent with the GEOS-5 climatology, such that they may ultimately be assimilated into this model without further bias correction. Evaluated against in situ soil moisture measurements, the average unbiased root mean square error (ubRMSE), correlation and anomaly correlation of the NN retrievals were 0.037 m3m-3, 0.70 and 0.66, respectively, against SMAP core validation site measurements and 0.026 m3m-3, 0.58 and 0.48, respectively, against International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) measurements. At the core validation sites, the NN retrievals have a significantly higher skill than the GEOS-5 model estimates and a slightly lower correlation skill than the SMAP Level-2 Passive (L2P) product. The feasibility of the NN method was reflected by a lower ubRMSE compared to the L2P retrievals as well as a higher skill when ancillary parameters in physically-based retrievals were uncertain. Against ISMN measurements, the skill of the two retrieval products was more comparable. A triple collocation analysis against Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) and Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) soil moisture retrievals showed that the NN and L2P retrieval errors have a similar spatial distribution, but the NN retrieval errors are generally lower in densely vegetated regions and transition zones.

Evaluating soil moisture retrievals from ESA's SMOS and NASA's SMAP brightness temperature datasets.

Two satellites are currently monitoring surface soil moisture (SM) using L-band observations: SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity), a joint ESA (European Space Agency), CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales), and CDTI (the Spanish government agency with responsibility for space) satellite launched on November 2, 2009 and SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive), a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellite successfully launched in January 2015. In this study, we used a multilinear regression approach to retrieve SM from SMAP data to create a global dataset of SM, which is consistent with SM data retrieved from SMOS. This was achieved by calibrating coefficients of the regression model using the CATDS (Centre Aval de Traitement des Données) SMOS Level 3 SM and the horizontally and vertically polarized brightness temperatures (TB) at 40° incidence angle, over the 2013 - 2014 period. Next, this model was applied to SMAP L3 TB data from Apr 2015 to Jul 2016. The retrieved SM from SMAP (referred to here as SMAP_Reg) was compared to: (i) the operational SMAP L3 SM (SMAP_SCA), retrieved using the baseline Single Channel retrieval Algorithm (SCA); and (ii) the operational SMOSL3 SM, derived from the multiangular inversion of the L-MEB model (L-MEB algorithm) (SMOSL3). This inter-comparison was made against in situ soil moisture measurements from more than 400 sites spread over the globe, which are used here as a reference soil moisture dataset. The in situ observations were obtained from the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN; https://ismn.geo.tuwien.ac.at/) in North of America (PBO_H2O, SCAN, SNOTEL, iRON, and USCRN), in Australia (Oznet), Africa (DAHRA), and in Europe (REMEDHUS, SMOSMANIA, FMI, and RSMN). The agreement was analyzed in terms of four classical statistical criteria: Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Bias, Unbiased RMSE (UnbRMSE), and correlation coefficient (R). Results of the comparison of these various products with in situ observations show that the performance of both SMAP products i.e. SMAP_SCA and SMAP_Reg is similar and marginally better to that of the SMOSL3 product particularly over the PBO_H2O, SCAN, and USCRN sites. However, SMOSL3 SM was closer to the in situ observations over the DAHRA and Oznet sites. We found that the correlation between all three datasets and in situ measurements is best (R > 0.80) over the Oznet sites and worst (R = 0.58) over the SNOTEL sites for SMAP_SCA and over the DAHRA and SMOSMANIA sites (R= 0.51 and R= 0.45 for SMAP_Reg and SMOSL3, respectively). The Bias values showed that all products are generally dry, except over RSMN, DAHRA, and Oznet (and FMI for SMAP_SCA). Finally, our analysis provided interesting insights that can be useful to improve the consistency between SMAP and SMOS datasets.

Effects of hospital-acquired conditions on length of stay for patients with diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Inpatients with diabetes have longer length of stays (LOS). Understanding patterns of in-hospital complications between patients with diabetes and others may reveal measures to improve patient welfare and minimise LOS. AIM: This study evaluates the rates and types of hospital-acquired conditions among patients with and without diabetes and assesses any effects on LOS. METHODS: A total of 47 615 admission episodes from The Northern Hospital over 12 months was reviewed. Episodes were divided into four groups: (i) patients without diabetes; (ii) patients with diabetes without end-organ sequelae (EOS); (iii) patients with diabetes with EOS; and (iv) a subset of non-diabetic patients with a Charlson Co-morbidity score ≥1 (comparison group). The Classification of Hospital Acquired Diagnoses (CHADx) was applied to the groups to compare rates and types of inpatient complications. Linear regression was used to analyse the impact of the number of CHADx on LOS. RESULTS: Almost 30% of admissions of patients with diabetes and EOS had at least one CHADx, compared with 13% for non-diabetes patients and 17% for the comparison group. The types of CHADx experienced by diabetes patients with EOS were similar to the comparison group. However, rates were 10 times higher. Linear regression demonstrated diabetes patients with EOS have increased LOS and each CHADx per episode has a larger effect on LOS. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that diabetes patients have consistently higher rates of CHADx and longer LOS than similar patients with complex and chronic conditions. This provides a foundation for future studies to investigate preventative practices for this high-risk patient population.

Additional costs of inpatient malnutrition, Victoria, Australia, 2003-2004.

Our objective was to estimate the cost of inpatient malnutrition conditional upon admitting diagnosis and recorded nutritional treatment. We analysed an anonymised administrative data set for inpatients treated in hospitals in Victoria, Australia 2003-2004. The data set included patient-level cost, clinical markers, demographic and episode variables. The data set was analysed to identify codes, which indicated the presence of malnutrition or its treatment. Linear regression was used to ascertain to what extent malnutrition affected the cost of admission. Controlling for the underlying condition and any treatment administered, recorded malnutrition is estimated to add AU $1,745 per admission. The total cost of coded malnutrition to the Victorian public hospital system in 2003-2004 was estimated to be least AU $10.7 million. Only 1.87% of inpatients were coded as malnourished. As administrative data are known to underreport the prevalence of malnutrition, our estimate represents a credible lower boundary on the true cost of inpatient malnutrition.

How different are complications that affect the older adult inpatient?

OBJECTIVE: The incidence and cost of complications occurring in older and younger inpatients were compared. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of hospital-recorded diagnosis and costs for multiday-stay inpatients in 68 public hospitals in two Australian states. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A complication is defined as a hospital-acquired diagnosis that required additional treatment. The Australian Classification of Hospital-Acquired Diagnoses system is used to identify these complications. RESULTS: Inpatients aged >70 years have a 10.9% complication rate, which is not substantially different from the 10.89% complication rate found in patients aged <70 years. Examination of the probability by single years, however, showed that the peak incidence associated with the neonatal period and childbirth is balanced by rates of up to 20% in patients >80 years. Examining the adult patient population (40-70 years), we found that while some common complications are not age specific (electrolyte disorders and cardiac arrhythmias), others (urinary tract and lower respiratory tract infections) are more common in the older adult inpatient. CONCLUSION: For inpatients aged >70 years, the risks of complications increase. The incidence of hospital-acquired diagnoses in older adults differs significantly from incidence rates found in younger cohorts. Urinary tract infection and alteration to mental state are more common in older adult inpatients. Surprisingly, these complexities do not result in additional costs when compared with costs for the same complications in younger adults. Greater awareness of these differing patterns will allow patient safety efforts for older patients to focus on complications with the highest incidence and cost.

Modelling the impact of opportunistic screening on the sequelae and public healthcare costs of infection with Chlamydia trachomatis in Australian women.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the health outcomes and public healthcare costs of a single screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in Australian women aged 15-34 years. METHODS: A decision analytic model was used to determine the epidemiological estimates of prevalence and costs of C. trachomatis infection and its diagnosis, treatment and sequelae. RESULTS: We estimate that in any female population in Australia, with a Chlamydia prevalence rate of 5.7% or higher, a single screening examination for Chlamydia is cost saving for the public healthcare system. CONCLUSIONS: We found that opportunistic screening of high-risk populations is likely to be cost saving to the public healthcare system, although there is not sufficient evidence to support periodic population screening. As our model uses conservative epidemiological and public healthcare cost estimates, the health and financial impacts of C. trachomatis used in the model may be an underestimate of the true costs of infection.

The new health insurance rebate: an inefficient way of assisting public hospitals.

Private health insurance subsidy is now estimated to cost $2.19 billion; government support for private health care includes a further $1.2 billion of Medicare benefits expenditure in hospitals. The subsidy cannot be justified on efficiency grounds, as, on the basis of available evidence and taking casemix into account, public hospitals are more efficient than private hospitals. The original stated objective of the subsidy was to "take pressure off public hospitals". If the insurance subsidy and the Medicare Benefit Schedule rebate expenditure were applied to purchasing public hospital treatment at full average cost, 58% of current private sector demand could be accommodated. If 10% of the demand were met at marginal cost, this would increase to 65%. The objective of "taking pressure off public hospitals" could be more efficiently achieved by direct funding of public hospitals rather than through subsidies for private health insurance.

Toxaphene, PCB, DDT, and Chlordane Analyses of Beluga whale blubber.

Beluga whales bioaccumulate organochlorines from their environment. Blubber samples of Beluga Whales from Alaska's north coast contain organochlorines, including Toxaphene (polychlorinated camphenes) PCBs, DDTs and chlordane. Toxaphene was the organochlorine pesticide found in the highest concentration in all samples with the exception of the 6 year old male where PCBs were highest. The source of these organochlorines is likely global distillation from lower latitudes. Males had higher concentrations than females and the oldest male had higher concentration than the younger male. Females exhibit a decrease in concentrations with age. The fetus had about 10% higher concentrations for all organochlorines compared to the mother. Transplacental transfer of organochlorines and lactation lower the contaminant concentration in females. Older females have lower contaminate concentrations likely due to continual reproductive success. Consumption of older males will expose humans to higher levels of organochlorines.

"Quo warranto": only in California--challenging early chiropractic law.

In California from 1907-1925 two writs of quo warranto were filed against the first two chiropractic boards. Thirteen of the fifty original medical practice acts and at least eleven original chiropractic acts contained an eligibility requirement for first appointed board members, a stipulated pre-practice period. Twenty-three of these combined boards suffered no legal challenges by practicing colleagues, the attorney general or the courts, for what appeared to be unlicensed practice. Only in California were the first two boards so challenged. In California, there were other unique forces at work that no chiropractor suspected would prematurely expunge the first appointed board. These legal quagmires delayed the systematic licensing for many months. Only in California did this unique history take place.

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon contaminants in oysters from the Gulf of Mexico (1986-1990).

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminant concentrations in 870 composite oyster samples from coastal and estuarine areas of the Gulf of Mexico analyzed as part of National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Status and Trends (NS&T) Mussel Watch Program exhibit a log-normal distribution. There are two major populations in the data. The cumulative frequency function was used to deconvolute the data distribution into two probability density functions and calculate summary statistics for each population. The first population consists of sites with lower PAH concentration probably due to background contamination (i.e. stormwater runoff, atmospheric deposition). The second population are sites with higher concentrations of PAHs associated with local point sources of PAH input (i.e. small oil spills, etc.). The temporal pattern for the mean concentration of the populations from the Gulf of Mexico is consistent with large-scale climatic factors such as the El Niño cycles which affect the precipitation regime.