Evaluating the Laboratory Performance of Pellet-Fueled Semigasifier Cookstoves.

This study examines three representative semigasifier cookstove models each burning four types of pelletized-biomass fuel (hardwood, peanut hull, rice husk, and wheat straw) using the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 19867-1:2018 protocol. ISO tier ratings for fine particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions ranged 1-4 and 2-5 (where 5 = cleanest), respectively, suggesting that pellet-fueled cookstoves may provide substantial emissions reductions, dependent upon stove/fuel matching and operation, over other biomass-fueled cooking alternatives. PM emission factors based on useful energy delivered (EF) varied by up to 25-fold, and organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC) EF values respectively varied by >200- and ∼100-fold, reflecting complex variability in PM composition.

Intrafraction motion in intra-cranial multi-target stereotactic radiosurgery plans: A multi-institutional investigation on robustness.

Purpose: Even with modern immobilisation devices, some amount of intrafraction patient motion is likely to occur during stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) delivery. The aim of this work was to investigate how robustness of plans to intrafraction motion is affected by plan geometry and complexity.

Methods: In 2018, the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group conducted a multiple-target SRS international planning challenge, the data from which was utilised in this study.

Stand density and local climate drive allocation of GPP to aboveground woody biomass.

The partitioning of photosynthate among various forest carbon pools is a key process regulating long-term carbon sequestration, with allocation to aboveground woody biomass carbon (AGBC) in particular playing an outsized role in the global carbon cycle due to its slow residence time. However, directly estimating the fraction of gross primary productivity (GPP) that goes to AGBC has historically been difficult and time-consuming, leaving us with persistent uncertainties. We used an extensive dataset of tree-ring chronologies co-located at flux towers to assess the coupling between AGBC and GPP, calculate the fraction of fixed carbon that is allocated to AGBC, and understand the drivers of variability in this fraction.

Proximal remote sensing: an essential tool for bridging the gap between high-resolution ecosystem monitoring and global ecology.

A new proliferation of optical instruments that can be attached to towers over or within ecosystems, or 'proximal' remote sensing, enables a comprehensive characterization of terrestrial ecosystem structure, function, and fluxes of energy, water, and carbon. Proximal remote sensing can bridge the gap between individual plants, site-level eddy-covariance fluxes, and airborne and spaceborne remote sensing by providing continuous data at a high-spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we review recent advances in proximal remote sensing for improving our mechanistic understanding of plant and ecosystem processes, model development, and validation of current and upcoming satellite missions.

Characteristics of Invasive Pneumococcal Diseases Cases Among U.S. Children With Hematologic Malignancies Before and After Introduction of Thirteen-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, 2005-2019.

Background: Children with hematologic malignancies (HMs) are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Data on long-term IPD trends in U.S.