Quantifying the influence of short-term emission reductions on climate.

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has resulted in a marked slowdown in greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions. Although the resulting emission reductions will continue to evolve, this will presumably be temporary. Here, we provide estimates of the potential effect of such short-term emission reductions on global and regional temperature and precipitation by analyzing the response of an Earth System Model to a range of idealized near-term emission pathways not considered in available model intercomparison projects. These estimates reveal the modest impact that temporary emission reductions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic will have on global and regional climate. Our simulations suggest that the impact of carbon dioxide and aerosol emission reductions is actually a temporary enhancement in warming rate. However, our results demonstrate that even large emission reductions applied for a short duration have only a small and likely undetectable impact.

Use of spinal manipulative therapy in the treatment of duodenal ulcer: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) in the treatment of an internal organ disorder. DESIGN: Clinical trial. SETTING: Medical hospital. PATIENTS: Eleven adult men and women ranging in age from 18-44 yr with endoscopically confirmed diagnosis of ulcer disease took part in the study as an experimental group. The outcome of 24 cases of uncomplicated ulcerous disease treated by usual medical methods was analyzed as a control. INTERVENTIONS: The experimental group received spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) treatment from 5-22 days with a range of 3-14 procedures. The control group received traditional medical treatment (drug therapy and diet). The dietary regimen was standard for both groups. MEASUREMENTS: The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated using clinical parameters and endoscopic examination performed weekly. MAIN RESULTS: The use of SMT resulted in pain relief after 1-9 (avg. 3.8) days and clinical remission an average of 10 days earlier than traditional care. CONCLUSIONS: Chiropractic practice often includes patients with gastrointestinal problems who report some relief of their symptoms after treatment; however, the physiological basis for these results has yet to be established. The normalization in segmental trophic innervation of the mucosal layer of the intestine, and positive reaction of the whole body, are under discussion as a possible mechanism for the treatment effect.

[Use of flying tests for evaluating functional capabilities of pilots]. / Ispolzovanie pilotazhnykh trenazherov v tseliakh vyiavleniia funktsional'nykh vozmozhnostei letnogo sostava.

Psychophysiological parameters of 89 pilots were examined when they performed flight tasks on a trainer under normal and complicated conditions. The experiments helped to reveal a group of test subjects (11.2%) who had low capabilities and made serious errors. The results obtained suggest that psychophysiological examinations during simulated professional activity can be recommended as a method to be used for measuring adaptive and compensatory capabilities of pilots undergoing medical expertise.