Use of GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites for assessing global water resources is rapidly expanding. Here we advance application of GRACE satellites by reconstructing longterm total water storage (TWS) changes from ground-based monitoring and modeling data. We applied the approach to the Colorado River Basin which has experienced multiyear intense droughts at decadal intervals. Estimated TWS declined by 94 km 3 during 1986-1990 and by 102 km 3 during 1998-2004, similar to the TWS depletion recorded by GRACE (47 km 3 ) during 2010-2013. Our analysis indicates that TWS depletion is dominated by reductions in surface reservoir and soil moisture storage in the upper Colorado basin with additional reductions in groundwater storage in the lower basin. Groundwater storage changes are controlled mostly by natural responses to wet and dry cycles and irrigation pumping outside of Colorado River delivery zones based on ground-based water level and gravity data. Water storage changes are controlled primarily by variable water inputs in response to wet and dry cycles rather than increasing water use. Surface reservoir storage buffers supply variability with current reservoir storage representing 2.5 years of available water use. This study can be used as a template showing how to extend short-term GRACE TWS records and using all available data on storage components of TWS to interpret GRACE data, especially within the context of droughts.

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The primary location of longitudinal aortic growth will drive the RAIA in a cranial or caudal direction. When the disease process is largely located below the renal ostia, infrarenal aortic lengthening drives the renal ostia cranially, forcing the implantation angle of the renal ostia to be caudally directed. The opposite occurs in type II or III TAAAs, where the bulk of disease is above the renal arteries, driving the ostia down to create RAIAs that are nearly orthogonal to the centerline of flow. Utilization of this data could result in endovascular grafts designed with branches replacing fenestrations for renal artery perfusion.

Previous studies have demonstrated gender-related differences in early and late outcomes following type A dissection diagnosis. However, it is widely unknown whether gender affects early clinical outcomes and survival after repair of type A aortic dissection. The goal of this study was to compare the early and late clinical outcomes in women versus men after repair of acute type A aortic dissections. Between January 2000 and October 2010 a total of 251 patients from four academic medical centers underwent repair of acute type A aortic dissection. Of those, 79 were women and 172 were men with median ages of 67 (range, 20-87 years) and 58 years (range, 19-83 years), respectively (p < 0.001). Major morbidity, operative mortality, and 10-year actuarial survival were compared between the groups. Operative mortality was not significantly influenced by gender (19% for women vs. 17% for men, p = 0.695). There were similar rates of hemodynamic instability (12% for women vs. 13% men, p = 0.783) between the two groups. Actuarial 10-year survival rates were 58% for women versus 73% for men (p = 0.284). Gender does not significantly impact early clinical outcomes and actuarial survival following repair of acute type A aortic dissection.

Surgical era significantly impacts early outcomes and actuarial survival following repair of acute type A aortic dissection.