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ACCESS-S2 is a major upgrade to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s multi-week to seasonal prediction system. It was made operational in October 2021, replacing ACCESS-S1. The focus of the upgrade is the addition of a new weakly coupled data assimilation system to provide initial conditions for atmosphere, ocean, land and ice fields. The model is based on the UK Met Office GloSea5-GC2 seasonal prediction system and is unchanged from ACCESS-S1, aside from minor corrections and enhancements. The performance of the assimilation system and the skill of the seasonal and multi-week forecasts have been assessed and compared to ACCESS-S1. There are improvements in the ACCESS-S2 initial conditions compared to ACCESS-S1, particularly for soil moisture and aspects of the ocean, notably the ocean currents. More realistic soil moisture initialisation has led to increased skill for forecasts over Australia, especially those of maximum temperature. The ACCESS-S2 system is shown to have increased skill of El Nino–Southern Oscillation forecasts over ACCESS-S1 during the challenging autumn forecast period. Analysis suggests that ACCESS-S2 will deliver improved operational forecast accuracy in comparison to ACCESS-S1. Assessments of the operational forecasts are underway. ACCESS-S2 represents another step forward in the development of seasonal forecast systems at the Bureau of Meteorology. However, key rainfall and sea surface temperature biases in ACCESS-S1 remain in ACCESS-S2, indicating where future efforts should be focused.

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without palate (NSCL/P) is a common birth defect involving genetic factors. We conducted this case-control study to verify the association of ten single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of six genes (VAX1, MAFB, PAX7, ABCA4, NTN1, and NOG) with NSCL/P in the Chinese population. The study included 249 NSCL/P patients, 62 nonsyndromic cleft palate only (NSCPO) patients and 480 controls. Three loci, namely, VAX1 rs7078160, MAFB rs11696257, and NTN1 rs4791774, were associated with NSCL/P (Bonferroni method adjusted p values were 0.020, 0.00031, and 0.030, respectively). We also found that the disease risk of individuals carrying both VAX1 rs7078160 and NTN1 rs4791774 was higher than those carrying only one of them (p = 4.50 × 10

To explore the speech outcomes of adult patients through subjective perception evaluation and objective acoustic analysis, and to compare the differences in pronunciation characteristics between speakers with adult patients with unrepaired cleft palate and their non-cleft peers.Subjective evaluation indicators included speech intelligibility, nasality, and consonant missing rate, whereas objective acoustic parameters included normalized vowel formants, voice onset time, and the analysis of three-dimensional spectrogram and spectrum, were carried out on speech samples produced by 2 groups of speakers: (a) speakers with unrepaired cleft palate ( n = 65, mean age = 25.1 years) and (b) typical speakers ( n = 30, mean age = 23.7 years).Compared with typical speakers, individuals with unrepaired cleft palate exhibited a lower speech intelligibility with higher nasality and consonant missing rate, the missing rate is highest for the 6 consonants syllables The acoustic parameters are mainly manifested as differences in vowel formants and voice onset time.The results revealed important acoustical differences between adult patients with unrepaired cleft palate and typical speakers. The trend of spectral deviation may have contributed to the difficulty in producing pressure vowels and aspirated consonants in individuals with speech disorders related to cleft palate.

Bacteria killing behavior based on physical effects is preferred for biomedical implants because of the negligible associated side effects. However, our current understanding of the antibacterial activity of nanostructures remains limited and, in practice, nanoarchitectures that are created on orthopedics should also promote osteogenesis simultaneously. In this study, tilted and vertical nanolamellar structures are fabricated on semi-crystalline polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK)

Objective By measuring velopharyngeal structure and evaluating speech intelligibility, to explore and observe the association between velopharyngeal anatomy and speech outcomes in these patients. Methods Thirty-one adult patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency after the primary palatoplasty aged 18 to 35 years (mean 22.03 years) were enrolled as the study group. The patients had significant hypernasality and audible nasal emission. The degree of velopharyngeal closure assessed by electronic nasopharyngeal fiberoptic endoscopy was grade III. Cephalometric analysis was performed on lateral cephalograms to measure velopharyngeal structure, including hard palate length (ANS-PNS), velar length (PNS-U), pharyngeal depth (PNS-PPW), and oropharyngeal airway space (U-MPW). Their speech intelligibility was evaluated through the Mandarin Chinese speech intelligibility test, and each speech sample was examined by 2 speech and language pathologists. The results were assessed with the SPSS 23.0 software package, and regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between velopharyngeal structure and speech outcomes. Results A significant negative correlation was confirmed between speech intelligibility and pharyngeal depth. Pharyngeal depth also showed a linear relationship with speech intelligibility, and there was no significant correlation between speech intelligibility and other measures (hard palate length, velar length, oropharyngeal airway space). Conclusions In the velopharyngeal anatomy, only pharyngeal depth was associated with speech intelligibility in adult patients with severe velopharyngeal insufficiency, this is consistent with our clinical observation. It suggests that appropriate reduction of pharyngeal depth during palatopharyngoplasty may have a good effect on the speech recovery in patients with cleft palate and patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency after palatorrhaphy.

This study offers an overview of the low-frequency (i.e., monthly to seasonal) evolution, dynamics, predictability, and surface impacts of a rare Southern Hemisphere (SH) stratospheric warming that occurred in austral spring 2019. Between late August and mid-September 2019, the stratospheric circumpolar westerly jet weakened rapidly, and Antarctic stratospheric temperatures rose dramatically. The deceleration of the vortex at 10 hPa was as drastic as that of the first-ever-observed major sudden stratospheric warming in the SH during 2002, while the mean Antarctic warming over the course of spring 2019 broke the previous record of 2002 by ∼50% in the midstratosphere. This event was preceded by a poleward shift of the SH polar night jet in the uppermost stratosphere in early winter, which was then followed by record-strong planetary wave-1 activity propagating upward from the troposphere in August that acted to dramatically weaken the polar vortex throughout the depth of the stratosphere. The weakened vortex winds and elevated temperatures moved downward to the surface from mid-October to December, promoting a record strong swing of the southern annular mode (SAM) to its negative phase. This record-negative SAM appeared to be a primary driver of the extreme hot and dry conditions over subtropical eastern Australia that accompanied the severe wildfires that occurred in late spring 2019. State-of-the-art dynamical seasonal forecast systems skillfully predicted the significant vortex weakening of spring 2019 and subsequent development of negative SAM from as early as late July.

Objective: To verify the advantages and indications of 1-stage and 2-stage repair for asymmetric bilateral cleft lip (BCL). Design: Retrospective study. Setting: From January 2004 to December 2016 in our department. Patients: Patients with BCL. Main Outcome Measure(s): Over 6 months after the operation, the surgery outcomes were evaluated and graded by 2 experienced surgeons. Results: The result of surgery was evaluated using the scoring method of Mortier et al and Anastassov and Chipkov. Among 133 patients with asymmetric BCL, 61 (45.9%) had 1-stage repair and 72 (54.1%) had 2-stage repair. Sixty-eight (51.1%) patients had complete-incomplete cleft lip (CL), and those who underwent 1-stage repair showed a trend of better outcome ( P = .028). Fifty (37.6%) patients with incomplete-microform CL showed no significant difference between the outcomes of 2 surgery plans ( P = .253). In 15 (11.3%) patients with complete-microform CL, only one had 1-stage repair with a score of 8.5. The other 14 patients with 2-stage repair were scored 3.68 ± 1.28. Two-stage repair was preferable when the deformity degree was very different on 2 sides, as it could reduce unnecessary scar tissue and extend the nasal columella. One-stage repair could help to achieve the anatomical reduction of the orbicularis oris and a better contour of the vermilion tubercle. Conclusion: One-stage repair is recommended for patients with complete-incomplete CL and incomplete-microform CL. Two-stage repair for patients with complete-microform CL is preferred in our center, but more studies are required to support this conclusion.

When record-breaking climate and weather extremes occur, decision-makers and planners want to know whether they are random natural events with historical levels of reoccurrence or are reflective of an altered frequency or intensity as a result of climate change. This paper describes a method to attribute extreme weather and climate events to observed increases in atmospheric CO2 using an initialized subseasonal to seasonal coupled global climate prediction system. Application of this method provides quantitative estimates of the contribution arising from increases in the level of atmospheric CO2 to individual weather and climate extreme events. Using a coupled subseasonal to seasonal forecast system differs from other methods because it has the merit of being initialized with the observed conditions and subsequently reproducing the observed events and their mechanisms. This can aid understanding when the reforecasts with and without enhanced CO2 are compared and communicated to a general audience. Atmosphere–ocean interactions are accounted for. To illustrate the method, we attribute the record Australian heat event of October 2015. We find that about half of the October 2015 Australia-wide temperature anomaly is due to the increase in atmospheric CO2 since 1960. This method has the potential to provide attribution statements for forecast events within an outlook period (i.e., before they occur). This will allow for informed messaging to be available as required when an extreme event occurs, which is of particular use to weather and climate services.

As Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been gradually controlled domestically, various industries began to resume production in an orderly way. Attention should be paid to the disease and population characteristics of patients with cleft lip with/without palate during diagnosis and treatment. This article summarized and provided prevention and control recommendations on management strategies during hospitalization and protective measures of patients and healthcare workers, hoping to minimize the spread of disease and create a relatively safe environment for medical work.

As a potential source of multiweek predictability, we investigate impacts of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) on temperature extremes during Austral winter using observational data analysis. We find a significant MJO influence on weekly mean minimum temperatures across much of northern and eastern Australia, with lower than normal minimum temperatures tending to occur during MJO phases 6 and 7. The likelihood of extreme weekly mean minimum temperatures also increases by at least of factor of 2 during these phases. In contrast, negligible impacts on maximum temperatures are observed. The proximate cause of the lower than normal minimum temperatures in these MJO phases is the anomalous equatorward advection of cool/dry continental air and enhanced night-time radiative cooling due to the drier conditions. The lack of any impact on maximum temperatures presumably stems from compensating day time warming from enhanced incoming shortwave radiation. The circulation anomalies over Australia during MJO phases 5–7 are shown to be a combination of the direct baroclinic response to the anomalous tropical convection driven by the MJO and the Rossby wave train that propagates from the tropics to the extratropics that is primarily confined to the Australian sector. The confinement of the extratropical Rossby wave train to the Australian sector results from a combination of localization of the Rossby wave source to the north of Australia and localization of wave propagation stemming from the refractive characteristics of the mean state zonal wind, which does not support tropical-extratropical wave paths to the east of Australia. An extratropical wave source due to feedback from transient eddies acts as an effective source of the extratropical response to the south of Australia and for the wave train that impinges on South America.

Urolithiasis has become more prevalent throughout China.Knowing stone composition helps identify their possible underlying etiology of urolithiasis, provide appropriate individualized treatment and prevent stone recurrence.To explore characteristics of urinary stone composition in China, and determine the effects of gender, age, body mass index (BMI), stone localization and geographical region on stone composition.We used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to analyse urinary stones from consecutive patients at 46 hospitals in seven geographic areas of China between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2015.Chi-squared tests and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine associations between stone composition and sex, age, body mass index (BMI), stone location, and geographic region.The most common stone components were calcium oxalate (CaOx; 65.9%), carbapatite (15.6%), urate (12.4%), struvite (2.7%), brushite (1.7%), and cystine (0.9%). CaOx and urate occurred more frequently in males, whereas carbapatite and struvite were more common in females (p

Correction for ‘Tuning the arrangement of lamellar nanostructures: achieving the dual function of physically killing bacteria and promoting osteogenesis’ by Shi Mo et al., Mater. Horiz., 2023, 10, 881–888, https://doi.org/10.1039/d2mh01147f.

MoSe2 is an efficient catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and can potentially replace conventional catalysts composed of noble metals such as Pt. The HER activity of MoSe2 originates...

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.

Emergence of antibiotic-resistance pathogens has caused serious health issues and if the current trend is to continue, treatment of the infection will become complicated and even unsuccessful due to new antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Therefore, there is a global drive to identify new methods to treat infection and develop better antibacterial materials and therapy. Although new and more potent antibiotics have aided the fight against microbes, they only offer a temporary solution because future bacteria strains may become resistant to these antibiotics and drugs. Recently, application of non-biological methods such as, electrical currents and photothermal/dynamic therapies to kill bacteria, reveal new approaches to design antimicrobial biomaterials, as complications stemming from drug-resistant bacteria can be obviated. Furthermore, recent research has focused on mimicking the surface patterns on plants and insects such as lotus leaves and dragonfly wings. Bio-inspired micro/nano patterns have been replicated on a variety of biomaterials to improve the bacterial resistance and other properties with good success. This is an exciting research area with immense practical and clinical potentials. In this review, recent advances in the application of chemical/biological approaches to combat bacterial infection and AMR are summarized and the related mechanisms are discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use the wavelet neural network and genetic algorithm to study the effects of polyalphaolefin, TMP108 and OCP0016 on the kinematic viscosity, viscosity index and pour point of lubricating oil. Design/methodology/approach Wavelet neural network is used to train the known samples, test the unknown samples and compare the obtained results with those obtained with a traditional empirical formula. Findings It is found that the wavelet neural network prediction value is closer to the experimental value than the traditional empirical formula calculation value. Originality/value The results show that the wavelet neural network can be used to study the physical and chemical indexes of lubricating oil.

A sensitive and reliable method based on environment test chamber coupled with thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (ETC-TD-GC/MS) was developed and validated for the determi...

Median cleft of lower lip and mandible is a rare congenital craniofacial malformation and has been described as isolated clinical reports. Fewer than 100 cases have been reported in the world literature so far, and the first case was reported by French scholar Monroe in 1819. The authors report a patient with median complete cleft of the lower lip and mandible which we made a special repair surgery for him, surgical effect satisfied with the restoration of appearance and function ideal. Therefore, the appropriate period and method of surgical management are very important.