This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

Asking for friend: Normally my temperature tends to run a little low: 97.8-98.3 is typical. For the past two months, my temperature has been consistently around 99.5, about a degree and half above what is normal for me. What would cause that?

I have a couple of long term, chronic health problems but no new symptoms that make me think I have a current infection. Blood tests taken shortly after this started were normal. Is this my new normal? Is there something I should ask my doctor to check out?

Masks may not help protect you from pollen, but they'll protect others from your sneezes, which is more important than ever during this coronavirus pandemic.

The early part of the week will seem like more of the same, but an approaching high-pressure ridge could really heat things up for the weekend.

Frontier Airlines said Thursday it will require passengers to have their temperatures taken before boarding flights, starting June 1, in an effort to make traveling safer during the coronavirus pandemic. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 or higher will not be allowed to fly, the budget carrier said. While the move is a first for […]

The early part of the week will seem like more of the same, but an approaching high-pressure ridge could really heat things up for the weekend.

The early part of the week will seem like more of the same, but an approaching high-pressure ridge could really heat things up for the weekend.

And as summer nears, the question must be asked: Is it risky from a COVID-19 standpoint to go in a swimming pool?

As warm temperatures continue throughout much of Western Australia, residents are being warned about diseases which lurk in dirty pools and waterways.

Residents have been left without water for a day after a breakdown at a local treatment plant and as western NSW sweated through a heatwave.

An unusually early cold snap is delivering snow, frost and strong winds, and while temperatures will increase back towards average for a few days as the system moves out to sea, another bout of bad weather will soon move east from WA.

A severe heatwave threatens to break all-time records in South Australia and Victoria today including the maximum of 46.1C in Adelaide set in 1939 as experts warn that "nowhere is going to escape the heat".

South East Queensland is expected to experience summer-like weather this week due to predicted hotter-than-average temperatures, with Ipswich set to hit 36C and Brisbane 33C.

Freezing temperatures across New South Wales bring heavy frosts, sapping moisture from crops as farmers struggle with water shortages, but are good news for some growers

A handful of movie theaters in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, are set to reopen in the coming days, providing an early test case for coronavirus protection measures. EVO Entertainment plans to open two theaters on Monday using "airport security-style check-in," says CEO Mitchell Roberts. Guests will enter a cordoned area near the front door, […]

Early morning frost in some areas will give way to warm temperatures and sunny. skies Tuesday in Denver.

Strong southwesterly winds are ushering in warm temperatures into the Denver area on Wednesday.

Just when it seemed like robots couldn't get any cooler, Cornell University researchers have created a soft robot muscle that can regulate its temperature through sweating.

Budget carrier is first in the US

But airports and airlines call on Govt for more support

CleanCare+ initiative rolls out May 15

In a sweeping range of measures, the Canadian airline has stopped offering pillows and blankets – and removed its inflight magazine

Screening technology will be trialled in Terminal 2, without passengers being aware they are being checked

NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis. Their analysis shows temperatures around the globe in 2011 compared to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century. The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago.

Global temperatures have warmed significantly since 1880, the beginning of what scientists call the “modern record.” At this time, the coverage provided by weather stations allowed for essentially global temperature data. As greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, industry and vehicles have increased, temperatures have climbed, most notably since the late 1970s. In this animation of temperature data from 1880-2011, reds indicate temperatures higher than the average during a baseline period of 1951-1980, while blues indicate lower temperatures than the baseline average.

Click on the image to see the video:

Read full article: Global Temperature Anomaly, 1880 - 2011

A recent study found that coral reefs will face severe challenges even if average global warming temperature rise is restricted to 2 degrees Celsius. This is a rise that most countries are struggling to negotiate and meet. But reefs are very sensitive to temperature changes, experts fear the window of opportunity to prevent massive reef loss is very small.

Read full article: Nature and Animal Conservation

BRITON'S are due to see temperatures soar to 26C on Saturday in a heatwave hotter than Lanzarote.

Cover your vegetables and bring in your flowers: Central Indiana could see temperatures as low as the upper 20s Friday night.

The fire broke out shortly after 2 a.m. in medium brush between Gaviota State Beach and the Hollister Ranch guard gate.

Sony has introduced a new product called the Reon Pocket, which operates like a mobile air conditioner that fits inside clothing.

Ignat V. Shilov
Sep 1, 2007; 6:1638-1655
Technology

The formation and properties of liquid-ordered (Lo) lipid domains (rafts) in the plasma membrane are still poorly understood. This limits our ability to manipulate ordered lipid domain-dependent biological functions. Giant plasma membrane vesicles (GPMVs) undergo large-scale phase separations into coexisting Lo and liquid-disordered lipid domains. However, large-scale phase separation in GPMVs detected by light microscopy is observed only at low temperatures. Comparing Förster resonance energy transfer-detected versus light microscopy-detected domain formation, we found that nanodomains, domains of nanometer size, persist at temperatures up to 20°C higher than large-scale phases, up to physiologic temperature. The persistence of nanodomains at higher temperatures is consistent with previously reported theoretical calculations. To investigate the sensitivity of nanodomains to lipid composition, GPMVs were prepared from mammalian cells in which sterol, phospholipid, or sphingolipid composition in the plasma membrane outer leaflet had been altered by cyclodextrin-catalyzed lipid exchange. Lipid substitutions that stabilize or destabilize ordered domain formation in artificial lipid vesicles had a similar effect on the thermal stability of nanodomains and large-scale phase separation in GPMVs, with nanodomains persisting at higher temperatures than large-scale phases for a wide range of lipid compositions. This indicates that it is likely that plasma membrane nanodomains can form under physiologic conditions more readily than large-scale phase separation. We also conclude that membrane lipid substitutions carried out in intact cells are able to modulate the propensity of plasma membranes to form ordered domains. This implies lipid substitutions can be used to alter biological processes dependent upon ordered domains.

(University of Warwick) Warm winter spells have increased in frequency and duration two- to three times over since 1878, according to scientists led by the University of Warwick.

The budget carrier will begin conducting temperature checks via touchless thermometers on June 1. Passengers have to start wearing masks Friday.

Timothy D Rohrbach
Apr 27, 2020; 0:jlr.D120000809v1-jlr.D120000809
Methods

Mass spectrometry (MS) assisted lipidomic tissue analysis is a valuable tool to assess sphingolipid metabolism dysfunction in disease. These analyses can reveal potential pharmacological targets or direct mechanistic studies to better understand the molecular underpinnings and influence of sphingolipid metabolism alterations on disease etiology. But procuring sufficient human tissues for adequately powered studies can be challenging. Therefore, biorepositories, which hold large collections of cryopreserved human tissues, are an ideal retrospective source of specimens. However, this resource has been vastly underutilized by lipid biologists, as the components of optimal cutting temperature compound (OCT) used in cryopreservation are incompatible with MS analyses. Here, we report results indicating that OCT also interferes with protein quantification assays, and that the presence of OCT impacts the quantification of extracted sphingolipids by LC–ESI–MS/MS. We developed and validated a simple and inexpensive method that removes OCT from OCT-embedded tissues. Our results indicate that removal of OCT from cryopreserved tissues does not significantly affect the accuracy of sphingolipid measurements with LC–ESI–MS/MS. We used the validated method to analyze sphingolipid alterations in tumors compared with normal adjacent uninvolved lung tissues from individuals with lung cancer, and to determine the long-term stability of sphingolipids in OCT-cryopreserved normal lung tissues. We show that lung cancer tumors have significantly altered sphingolipid profiles and that sphingolipids are stable for up to 16 years in OCT-cryopreserved normal lung tissues. This validated sphingolipidomic OCT-removal protocol should be a valuable addition to the lipid biologist’s toolbox.

The formation and properties of liquid-ordered (Lo) lipid domains (rafts) in the plasma membrane are still poorly understood. This limits our ability to manipulate ordered lipid domain-dependent biological functions. Giant plasma membrane vesicles (GPMVs) undergo large-scale phase separations into coexisting Lo and liquid-disordered lipid domains. However, large-scale phase separation in GPMVs detected by light microscopy is observed only at low temperatures. Comparing Förster resonance energy transfer-detected versus light microscopy-detected domain formation, we found that nanodomains, domains of nanometer size, persist at temperatures up to 20°C higher than large-scale phases, up to physiologic temperature. The persistence of nanodomains at higher temperatures is consistent with previously reported theoretical calculations. To investigate the sensitivity of nanodomains to lipid composition, GPMVs were prepared from mammalian cells in which sterol, phospholipid, or sphingolipid composition in the plasma membrane outer leaflet had been altered by cyclodextrin-catalyzed lipid exchange. Lipid substitutions that stabilize or destabilize ordered domain formation in artificial lipid vesicles had a similar effect on the thermal stability of nanodomains and large-scale phase separation in GPMVs, with nanodomains persisting at higher temperatures than large-scale phases for a wide range of lipid compositions. This indicates that it is likely that plasma membrane nanodomains can form under physiologic conditions more readily than large-scale phase separation. We also conclude that membrane lipid substitutions carried out in intact cells are able to modulate the propensity of plasma membranes to form ordered domains. This implies lipid substitutions can be used to alter biological processes dependent upon ordered domains.

Average body temperature is 37°C, right? That was the conclusion of Carl Wunderlich in his magnum opus, The Course of Temperature in Diseases - Wunderlich published that in 1868, following his extensive collection of body temperature readings - and 37°C stuck. But, it’s not as simple as that Philip Mackowiak, emeritus professor of medicine, and...

Heat waves resulting from prolonged extreme temperatures pose a significant risk to human health globally. Given the limitations of observations of extreme temperature, climate models are often used to characterize extreme temperature globally, from which one can derive quantities like return values to summarize the magnitude of a low probability event for an arbitrary geographic location. However, while these derived quantities are useful on their own, it is also often important to apply a spatial statistical model to such data in order to, e.g., understand how the spatial dependence properties of the return values vary over space and emulate the climate model for generating additional spatial fields with corresponding statistical properties. For these objectives, when modeling global data it is critical to use a nonstationary covariance function. Furthermore, given that the output of modern global climate models can be on the order of $mathcal{O}(10^4)$, it is important to utilize approximate Gaussian process methods to enable inference. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of methodology introduced in Risser and Turek (2020) to conduct a nonstationary and fully Bayesian analysis of a large data set of 20-year return values derived from an ensemble of global climate model runs with over 50,000 spatial locations. This analysis uses the freely available BayesNSGP software package for R.

Zhenguo Gao, Pang Du, Ran Jin, John L. Robertson.

Source: The Annals of Applied Statistics, Volume 14, Number 1, 143--159.

Abstract:
Liver procurement experiments with surface-temperature monitoring motivated Gao et al. ( J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 114 (2019) 773–781) to develop a variance change-point detection method under a smoothly-changing mean trend. However, the spotwise change points yielded from their method do not offer immediate information to surgeons since an organ is often transplanted as a whole or in part. We develop a new practical method that can analyze a defined portion of the organ surface at a time. It also provides a novel addition to the developing field of functional data monitoring. Furthermore, numerical challenge emerges for simultaneously modeling the variance functions of 2D locations and the mean function of location and time. The respective sample sizes in the scales of 10,000 and 1,000,000 for modeling these functions make standard spline estimation too costly to be useful. We introduce a multistage subsampling strategy with steps educated by quickly-computable preliminary statistical measures. Extensive simulations show that the new method can efficiently reduce the computational cost and provide reasonable parameter estimates. Application of the new method to our liver surface temperature monitoring data shows its effectiveness in providing accurate status change information for a selected portion of the organ in the experiment.

Matthew Moores, Geoff Nicholls, Anthony Pettitt, Kerrie Mengersen.

Source: Bayesian Analysis, Volume 15, Number 1, 1--27.

Abstract:
The inverse temperature parameter of the Potts model governs the strength of spatial cohesion and therefore has a major influence over the resulting model fit. A difficulty arises from the dependence of an intractable normalising constant on the value of this parameter and thus there is no closed-form solution for sampling from the posterior distribution directly. There is a variety of computational approaches for sampling from the posterior without evaluating the normalising constant, including the exchange algorithm and approximate Bayesian computation (ABC). A serious drawback of these algorithms is that they do not scale well for models with a large state space, such as images with a million or more pixels. We introduce a parametric surrogate model, which approximates the score function using an integral curve. Our surrogate model incorporates known properties of the likelihood, such as heteroskedasticity and critical temperature. We demonstrate this method using synthetic data as well as remotely-sensed imagery from the Landsat-8 satellite. We achieve up to a hundredfold improvement in the elapsed runtime, compared to the exchange algorithm or ABC. An open-source implementation of our algorithm is available in the R package bayesImageS .

In this protocol, DNA fragments are separated according to size by electrophoresis through low-melting-temperature agarose, and then recovered by melting the agarose and extracting with phenol:chloroform. The protocol works best for DNA fragments ranging in size from 0.5 to 5.0 kb. Yields of DNA fragments outside this range are usually lower, but often are sufficient for many purposes.

If you think it's cold this morning, just wait — the forecast low for Friday night is –3 C.

Previous observational studies and randomized trials have reported an association between the use of epidural analgesia for pain relief in labor and intrapartum maternal fever. Studies have also reported an increase in adverse neonatal outcomes with intrapartum maternal fever.

Among low-risk women receiving epidural analgesia, intrapartum maternal temperature >99.5°F was associated with adverse neonatal outcomes, with the rate of adverse outcomes increasing directly with maximum maternal temperature. Without temperature elevation, epidural use was not associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. (Read the full article)

Although providing improved survival for infants with very severe cardiorespiratory problems, the use of neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has high rates of disability in survivors. Mild hypothermia has been shown to limit brain injury in a range of patient groups, including newborns.

Infants who received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and mild hypothermia did not show an improved neurodevelopmental outcome, and nonsignificant trends in the data suggested a small adverse effect. Use of hypothermia in other potential patient groups should be thoroughly tested. (Read the full article)

Heart rate (HR) increases with increasing body temperature. Previous studies have characterized the relationship among HR, age, and temperature for patients in primary care and emergency department settings but not in hospitalized children.

Our data demonstrate an overall increase in HR by ~10 beats/minute for each 1°C increase in body temperature. Expected heart rates for hospitalized children differ from those for primary care and emergency department patients at the same age and temperature. (Read the full article)