We cannot observe the LV thrombus even the patients with depressed LV function; however, we can observe the LV thrombus even the LV function was more improved in then follow up echocardiography. The patient did not be followed by echocardiography during 10 days, so we cannot clarify when the LV thrombus was developed. The physicians have to keep in mind that frequent echocardiographic follow up should be needed in the cases with stress-induced cardiomyopathy not only a period of markedly reduced LV function but also after clinically improvement. Although no specific data exist regarding the role of anticoagulation

in stress-induced cardiomyopathy, short-term Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical anticoagulation therapy has been indicated as a treatment for patients with LV thrombus. Further

research is needed to determine the true incidence of LV thrombus and the role of short-term anticoagulant therapy in patients with stress-induced cardiomyopathy with LV thrombus.
A 42-year-old male visited our hospital with refractory hypertension. In the past, he has taken antihypertensive drugs for Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical 2 months in spite of the hypertension diagnosed 16 years ago. He had taken hydrochlorthiazide 50 mg, carvedilol 25 mg, diltiazem 180 mg, and losartan 100 mg per day. He was Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical alert and did not have an acute ill appearance. There were normal breathing sound in both lung fields and Erlotinib molecular weight regular heart beats without murmur. We could not Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical hear bruit on abdomen. The pulsation of the dorsalis pedis artery was weaker than that of the upper limb. His blood pressure (BP) was 208/122 mmHg at the upper extremities and 153/107 mmHg at the lower extremities. A simple chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly. An electrocardiography showed normal sinus rhythm with left ventricular hypertrophy. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical He was first diagnosed as dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes in our hospital by laboratory exam. The results of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were 35 mm/hr and 3.3

mg/L. In the 2-D echocardiography, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 39% with global hypokinesia. LV mass index was 139.1 g/m2 and E/E’ was elevated to 24.11. The LV end-diastolic dimension GSK-3 was 63 mm (Fig. 1A and D). There was accelerated abdominal aortic Doppler flow velocity with mosaic patterns in subcostal view, with a pressure gradient of 50 mmHg. A chest computed tomography (CT) angiography was checked to rule out the COA and revealed a stenosis of lower thoracic aorta at a diaphragmatic level (Fig. 2D). We also performed examination of other causes of secondary hypertension, but could not find other causes of high BP. The cardiac catheterization and stent implantation were planned. In the coronary angiogram, there was a significant stenosis in the proximal left coronary artery (LAD), the distal left circumflex artery (LCx) and chronic total occlusion in the distal right coronary artery (Fig. 3A and B).

Validation work with the BRISC has shown it correlates with real-world capacities such as quality of life and work productivity. Here, the cross-sectional design means there was no opportunity to follow up participants to assess the BRISC in relation to real-world functional outcomes over time. A controlled design would be of value, in which the BRISC is evaluated pretreatment and posttreatment. Future research is also needed to evaluate the replicability Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of the current findings, and their generalizability

to additional populations. A prospective study might address this study’s limitations involving the range of clinical participants and the lack of participant follow-up in relation to outcomes. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Another valuable area for future studies would be to Tipifarnib myeloid compare the sensitivity/specificity of the BRISC against multiple disorder-specific measures. The BRISC offers a web-based tool to support the efficient management of mental and neurological health across populations. Its accuracy enables nonspecialist physicians and physician

Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical assistants to confidently screen for emotion dysregulation, as a core feature of mental health issues. The mini-BRISC offers an even briefer screen of emotional health that retains high levels of accuracy and may be especially suitable when a heavy patient load constrains the clinician’s time. BRISC scores, especially negativity bias, capture maladaptive emotional reactivity to daily events and could be used to identify this feature of risk for depressive and anxiety disorders within Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical other chronic conditions. The coping scores of emotional resilience and social skills may help to determine which patients are best able to cope

with clinical issues and engage social Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical support. Using this tool may help support early management of emotional mental health issues and limit the disproportionate flow on effects to disability and loss of productivity. Acknowledgments We acknowledge the Cilengitide Brain http://www.selleckchem.com/products/17-AAG(Geldanamycin).html Resource International Database which provided data for the study. We also acknowledge the contribution of each of the 12 sites which provided data to the database, as well as the editorial support of Jon Kilner, MS, MA (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not for profit sectors. It was supported in part by grants DP0773994 and LP0883621 from the Australian Research Council. Brain Resource was the industry partner on LP0883621. Appendix 1 BRISC items that contribute to negativity bias, emotional resilience, and social skills scores. The subset of items that define the mini version of the BRISC is indicated by bold text.

10 The estrogens and PTH have a protective anti-apoptotic role on the osteoblasts and their precursors.11 From these complex interactions it is clear that, although the components of the BMU originate from the two

distinct groups of the progenitor cells, the cells from the mesenchymal origin (MSCs) govern the whole BMU function by their positive and negative feedback signals. In order to control these cellular processes, a thorough understanding of the metabolism of the cells of mesenchymal origin, i.e. osteoblasts, is crucial. The appropriate Imatinib PDGFR inhibitor number of the osteoblasts in the BMU is determined by: The differentiation of the precursor stem cells into mature osteoblasts Their proliferation with subsequent Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical maturation into metabolically active osteocytes Osteoblast degradation by apoptosis Thus, the two crucial points to target when planning to control the osteoblast population are the processes of cell proliferation and apoptosis. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical REGULATION OF OSTEOBLAST DEGRADATION BY APOPTOSIS In general, apoptosis in mammalian cells is controlled by two Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical signaling pathways. One is initiated by plasma membrane tumor necrosis factor (TNF)

receptors and the other through mitochondrial membrane depolarization with subsequent release of cytochrome C. Both pathways activate the cascade of proteolytic enzymes of the caspase type with subsequent cellular autolysis.12 Most of the growth factors and anabolic hormones, such as fibroblast growth factor (FGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), interleukin (IL)-6, PTH, sex steroids, and KPT-330 FDA calcitonin, have protective anti-apoptotic effects in the osteoblasts.13–15 There are three main factors that are known to be apoptosis-inductive in osteoblasts: TNF, through activation of plasma membrane Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical receptors Glucocorticosteroids Bone morphogenic protein 2 (BMP2), by cytochrome C release from the mitochondria16 In the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, the basic process involves depolarization of the inner mitochondrial membrane with subsequent increase of permeability and leakage of the outer membrane. This process involves an increase of permeability

of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) on the mitochondrial outer membrane with parallel adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) disruption on the inner membrane.17 This process involves interactions of proteins of mitochondrial permeability transition pores (MPTP),18 which recently were found to be very abundant in osteoblasts.19 A pro-apoptotic agent causes the collapse of Cilengitide the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ m) (Figure 6). Since the osteoblasts are highly metabolically active cells, they are rich in mitochondrial content (Figure 7) and, therefore, potentially susceptible to mitochondrial apoptotic threats, but it is not clear what apoptotic pathway is predominant in pathological conditions such as osteoporosis of its different types.20 Figure 6 Examples of microscopic images of cells stained by JC-1.

79,80 Yet, as we have seen, while neuron loss and LB formation are widespread in PD, they are also highly select in targeting only particular cell groups and generally sparing all but a few circumscribed regions of cortex.74,81 This serves to distinguish idiopathic PD from Lewy body dementia (LBD), a much rarer condition in which the neurodegenerative changes are qualitatively indistinguishable from those of PD yet differ sharply in quantitative terms.82-84 In LBD, unlike Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical PD, there is diffuse and severe cortical involvement, which appears to explain the prominent

cognitive decline that appears early in LBD, but is seldom a feature of PD. Autonomic nervous system Autonomic disturbances in PD are frequent, and varied, due to cell loss and LB pathology involving both preganglionic and postganglionic components of both the sympathetic and Lapatinib Ditosylate parasympathetic nervous Idelalisib CLL systems.85-87 The earliest, pathological changes in PD are in fact, extranigral,

beginning with formation of LBs and loss of cholinergic neurons within the dorsal glossopharyngcus-vagus Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical complex.37,45 Progressive loss of these preganglionic parasympathetic neurons is Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical one of the factors contributing to the dysphagia and esophageal dysmotility that occur frequently in PD patients.88,89 Postganglionic parasympathetic cell loss and LB pathology within upper portions of the myenteric plexus account for the esophageal and gastric dysmotility syndromes that, are common accompaniments of PD87; esophageal involvement, when severe, can Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical be indistinguishable from achalasia.90 Involvement of the colonie myenteric plexus in PD is associated with constipation and more severe forms of colonic inertia,

depending on the magnitude of cell loss.86 One of the most common disturbances in PD is orthostatic hypotension, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical presumably resulting from the characteristic loss of preganglionic sympathetic neurons in the intermcdiolateral nucleus of the thoracic spinal cord.91 Destruction of postganglionic neurons within the sympathetic chain results in sympathetic denervation of the heart, as indicated by diminished cardiac uptake of a tracer that, uses the same neuronal transport mechanism as NA.92 While the clinical effects of cardiac sympathetic denervation are unknown, the diagnostic significance may be considerable.93 Evidence Entinostat of cardiac sympathetic denervation occurs early and often in PD, but not in other forms of parkinsonism, such as multiple system atrophy.94 Etiopathogenesis Although the etiology and pathogenesis of sporadic PD have yet to be established, several predisposing factors and pathogenic pathways have been implicated. Among the latter are oxidative stress associated with mitochondrial dysfunction,95-98 proteolytic stress due to dysfunction of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS),99,100 and local inflammation.

Although a d-dimer level has a high sensitivity and negative predictive value, it has very low specificity and positive predictive value. It is of little use in ruling out high-risk patients. d-dimer levels have been reported to be normal in 25% of patients without PE, a number that is likely significantly lower in postoperative patients.100 Therefore, this laboratory test should not be used to rule out PE in postoperative urologic surgery patients. A ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scan is interpreted on the

basis of pretest clinical probability. In patients with high clinical probability and high probability V/Q scan, a 95% positive predictive value has been reported. A 96% negative predictive Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical value has been described in low probability patients. However, the combination of clinical and scan probability generally ranges from 15% to 86% for most patients. Therefore, further evaluation may be required in a large portion of patients who

have undergone a V/Q scan.101 The Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical rationale behind the use of lower extremity compression ultrasound in the evaluation of suspected PE is Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical that a positive study will prompt essentially the same management as if PE were detected without subjecting patients to radiation, radiocontrast, or an invasive study. However, a negative study does not rule out PE and requires further evaluation for PE specifically. This phenomenon is particularly problematic because the rate of negative lower extremity ultrasounds in the setting of PE has been reported to be 71%.102 Some have advocated complete lower extremity compression ultrasonography or serial exams for 2 weeks after suspected PE with low probability V/Q scans to decrease false-negative rates.103–107 Although the results of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical these studies have been encouraging, it is the opinion of the authors that PE represents too dangerous a clinical entity to

safely observe without selleck inhibitor instituting therapy except in the rare instance where anticoagulation poses more of a Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical threat to the patient’s health than PE. The most widely used study for the definitive diagnosis of PE is spiral computed tomography scan. The advantages of this study include a high specificity, widespread availability, noninvasiveness, rapidity of the procedure, and ability to diagnose other pathologic processes potentially Dacomitinib responsible for clinical presentation. Disadvantages are few, but include potential for contrast nephropathy as well as contraindication in renal insufficiency and in patients with contrast allergy. Reported sensitivity has varied drastically and seems to be related to experience of the interpreting radiologist as well as pretest probability. In the selleck catalog largest study to date, the use of the Well’s Criteria to stratify patients into high, intermediate, and low clinical probability improved both positive and negative predictive values substantially. Accuracy appears to be equal to V/Q scan.

Several mouse models of central serotonin depletion have been investigated. Surprisingly, no major alterations in cortical development were observed, although behavioral alterations such

as different increased aggression were reported,42-46 ie, TCA segregation in the mouse barrel cortex was normal in serotonin-depleted mouse models.45 Serotonin depletion after tryptophan hydroxylase Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical 2 (TPH2) deletion does not affect the specification of serotonin raphe neurons,46 although abnormal growth of serotonin raphe neurons in specific brain regions such as the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens were reported.47 Therefore, it is possible that subtle developmental abnormalities remain to be discovered in serotonin-depleted Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical mouse models (ie, decreases in the density of GABAergic cortical interneuron populations have been observed in TPH2 KO mice).48 Finally, it should also be noted that during

the early stages of embryonic cortical development a lack of central serotonin production by raphe neurons could be partially compensated for by the placenta. Impact of early-life serotonin dysregulation on psychiatric-relevant phenotypes Rodent studies A large number of studies in rodents have investigated the behavioral consequences of blocking early-life SERT during specific developmental periods by administering SSRIs. Pharmacological Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical blocking of SERT during the prenatal period41,49 or the early postnatal period49-51 has been shown to induce long-term anxiety-like and depressive-like phenotypes. Long-term stress-related behavioral effects of early-life Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical antidepressant exposure were specific for SSRIs because antidepressants specifically blocking the norepinephrine transporter did not induce similar anxiety-like behaviors.52 SERT KO mice53 and rats54 exhibited similar types of stress-related behavioral phenotypes including increased hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) reactivity to stressors Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and impaired fear extinction.38,55,56 Blocking the 5-HT1A receptor during the early postnatal

period57 reversed the depression-like phenotypes and sleep disturbances observed in SERT KO mice, suggesting an important role for this receptor in mediating the developmental effects of serotonin. In addition to these findings, conditional deletion of the 5-HT1A receptor Drug_discovery during development but not during adulthood www.selleckchem.com/products/Tipifarnib(R115777).html induces anxiety-like behaviors. The contribution of 5-HT1A presynaptic autoreceptors located on serotonin raphe neurons versus postsynaptic heteroreceptors remains to be fully established in these models.58 In addition to anxiety-like and depressive-like phenotypes, autism-related behavioral dimensions (eg, reduced social interactions, increased self-grooming, and impaired sensory-motor integration) have also been reported in genetic and pharmacological rodent models of early-life SERT blockade.

This is followed by in situ conjugation to thiol-terminated poly ethylene glygol (i.e., PEGylation) to quench the residual reactive groups to ensure that only about 20% of the surface thiol groups were involved with the initial coupling, that is, linked with approximately 150 nanoparticles. Stable, nontoxic linkages to live cells were thus accomplished with particles high throughput screening ranging from

simple liposomes to complex multilamellar lipid nanoparticles Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical or lipid coated polymers. This benign behavior was anticipated since only 3% of the surface of a typical 7μm diameter T-cell would be blocked by 200nm diameter particles occupying 150 sites. These results suggest therapeutic cells are promising Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical vectors (chaperones) for actively targeted imaging and drug delivery. Furthermore, the attached entities can be engineered for controlled release of individual or multiple drug sequencing capabilities. What can be envisioned is the use of different vesicles with specific transport or degradation properties or a vesicle composed of, for example, multiple polymeric materials, as will be discussed in Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the following section devoted to release strategies. 2.3. Controlled Release Using Nanotechnology towards Innovations For a large number of health care/wellness interventions the controlled release of therapeutic agents is a necessary strategy. Carefully designed API formulations can accommodate a broad spectrum of requirements. The release concepts

employed range from (i) simplistic steady release rates via dissolution, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical etc., (ii) intermittent timed

release, (iii) programmed simultaneous and or sequential release of multiple species antigenic drugs and adjuvants, to (iv) smart systems responding to stimuli: including single and multiple drug interventions and tissue therapies (e.g., angiogenesis, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical wound healing, and artificial organs for autoimmune diseases). The applications discussed in the following sections demonstrate the breadth of nanotechnologies that impact these release strategies. These all capitalize on how carefully these drugs were designed, developed, and engineered for desired properties and capabilities. Specificity of uptake, clearance control, and ability to perform extremely difficult tasks, such as drug delivery to the brain via transport across the blood brain barrier, Entinostat the cerebrospinal fluid, or in smart implants, are highly desired capabilities. Coupling advanced materials development and processing techniques with nanoscience and technology creates innovative opportunities not only for traditional drug delivery capabilities, but helps establish the impact platform technologies necessary for tissue engineering/therapy methodologies. 2.3.1. Passive Delivery Mechanisms These traditional schemes are governed by classical thermodynamic and transport phenomena principles. They are highly dependent upon the physicochemical properties and geometric features of a drug’s formulation.

87 MiR-24 was found to be correlated with ECM remodeling and TGFβ, in a mouse model of MI. In particular, miR-24

was reported downregulated in the infarct zone after MI, and miR-24 treatment flt-3 led to fibrosis attenuation and improved cardiac function. In vitro experiments conducted in CFs showed that miR-24 upregulation could specifically decrease the differentiation and migration of CFs, and reduce fibrosis. 82 The same team also demonstrated that miR-24 may act via suppressing its target furin, which is essential for TGF-β secretion, whose secretion is reduced upon miR-24 overexpression in CFs. 82 In conclusion, miR-24 downregulation in response to MI possibly serves to promote cardiac fibrosis after MI, which has been identified as a contributive factor to the development of HF. MiR-133a is observed deregulated in HF and may have a role in ECM remodeling during HF. In specific, miR-133a and miR-30 has been found downregulated in the homozygous Ren2 rat model of hypertension-induced HF, and in rats having undergone TAC. The

downregulation of these miRNAs in pathological LVH paralleled the increased expression of the profibrotic protein CTGF. 88 In vitro experiments in CMCs and CFs showed that both miRNAs target CTGF, the expression of which was associated with increased collagen synthesis. 88 Moreover,

a recent study in the DBL transgenic mouse model of HCM (described earlier in this review) reported the downregulation of mir-1 and -133 before ECM remodeling and mir-1,-133 and -30 in end-stage HCM, overall suggesting a distinct role for these miRNAs in pathological ECM remodeling throughout the course of LVH development in HF. 75 In addition to the pool of residing interstitial CFs, recent studies suggest that epicardial mesothelial cells (EMCs) lining the heart and microvascular endothelial cells may also contribute to the injury-induced fibrotic process in the myocardium. In adults, EMCs can undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition Cilengitide (EMT) due to reactivation of the developmental program or during cardiac injury (e.g. MI). 114–118 Several research groups have provided in vitro and in vivo 115-117 evidence that EMT of EMCs occurring in the injured adult myocardium can give rise to fibroblast-like cells, which contribute to the default repair-driven fibrotic response. Interestingly, Bronnum and partners showed in 2013 that miRNAs are capable of regulating fibrogenic EMT of the EMCs in the adult heart. 119,120 In specific, they found that pro-fibrotic TGF-beta treatment promoted EMT progression in EMC cultures, resulting in expression changes of numerous miRs, and especially miR-21.

Two-year limb salvage rates in the hb-ePTFE graft group and AGSV were 92% and 100%, 98% and 91%, and 87% and 96% for each corresponding bypass, respectively. Dorigo and associates reported their experience with below-knee bypass using an hb-ePTFE graft in diabetic patients with CLI in a multicenter retrospective registry. Their results were compared to patients operated on with AGSV in the same centers during an 8-year period.12 There were 180 patients who underwent

below-the-knee revascularization with an hb prosthetic graft, while 133 patients had below-knee bypass with Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical ipsilateral AGSV. The estimated 48-month survival rates were similar in both groups. Primary patency rate, assisted primary patency, secondary patency, limb salvage, and amputation-free survival for those undergoing bypass with the hb-ePTFE were 46.3%,

47.3%, 57.5%, 75.4%, and 59.9%, respectively. Primary patency rate, assisted primary patency, secondary patency, limb salvage, and amputation free-survival for those undergoing Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical bypass with AGSV were 63.5%, 69%, 69.6%, 82.4%, and 64.4%, respectively. Of interest, approximately half the patients were either on single antiplatelet therapy or oral anticoagulation postoperatively in each group. This data confirmed that the hb-ePTFE graft provides satisfactory early and midterm results in diabetic patients Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical undergoing surgical treatment for CLI. While autologous saphenous vein maintains its superiority in terms of primary patency, secondary

patency rates and limb salvage rates were comparable. In a blinded, multicenter, controlled trial, 569 patients scheduled to undergo a femoral-femoral or 17-AAG mw femoral-popliteal Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical artery bypass were randomized 1:1 to receiving either an hb-PTFE or ordinary PTFE graft.13 Overall, primary patency after 1 year was 86.4% for hb-PTFE grafts and 79.9% for PTFE grafts. Secondary patency was 88% in Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the hb-PTFE graft group and 81% in the other. The authors observed that hb-PTFE grafts significantly reduced the overall risk of primary graft failure by 37%. Subgroup analysis showed a 50% risk reduction in femoral-popliteal Batimastat bypass operations in cases presenting with CLI. In an in vivo human study, the systemic effects of the endoluminal bonded heparin were examined in 20 patients undergoing femoral-popliteal bypass grafting with either standard PTFE or hb-ePTFE.14 Blood samples were drawn before and directly after the operation and at days 1, 3, 5, and week 6 after surgery. No statistical differences were observed in the measurement of prothrombin fragment 1+2, sellekchem fibrinopeptide A, soluble glycoprotein V, thrombin-antithrombin complexes, and D-dimers. Moreover, no antibodies against antiplatelet factor 4/heparin could be demonstrated for up to 6 weeks after implantation.

2 [32] as variability measures to distinguish between an unusual event and an event within the normal range of variability. buy inhibitor Smoothing, and moving averages of the MODIS VI data were not used since VI data with sharp peaks or broad plateaus herald cases of such human-induced and/or natural disturbances as alteration of land cover and land use, defoliation, diseases, and herbivory, in their use for real-time or forecast applications. Correlations of the MODIS NDVI and EVI data were explored using Minitab 15.1 [Minitab Inc., State College, PA] according to the four land covers, six biogeoclimate zones, four seasons, and seven years.As for the removal of periodic noise patterns in the seasonal VI time series by filtering, a discrete Fourier transformation (DFT) was adopted to decompose complex waveform domain into frequency domain. The seasonal VIs were thus separated into the signal and noise spectrums, based on the application developed by Evans and Geerken [36] with the selection of the optimal weights according to Gaussian distribution [33-36]. Fourier filtering enabled the provision of continuous time series data to estimate missing values as well as the impact of noise on the seasonal NDVI time series to be smoothed without adversely affecting the periodicity of seasonal vegetation change and the clearness of phenological characteristics [36]. The complex NDVI time series data (V(t)) are written in a form of discrete Fourier series as follows:V(t)=1N��x=0N?1f(x)?exp(?i2��Nxt),(5)where N is the number of samples in the time series; x is an index representing the sample number; f(x) is the xth sample value; t is the time variance in the discrete unit of season; and i is imaginary unit.Comparisons between the raw and Fourier-filtered (FF) NDVI data for each NTE were made using simple linear regression (SLR) models in Minitab 15.1 [Minitab Inc., State College, PA]. The SLR models of the FF VI can be used to estimate inflection and maximum points in the FF VI time series and to delimit growing seasons. VI time series-based methods, such as sum of positive VI values over a given period, maximum value of VI over a year, (Maximum VI value ? Minimum VI value) / integrated VI, slope between two VI values at two defined dates, slopes of logistic curves fitted to VI time series, threshold models, moving average procedures, number of days where NDVI > 0, number of days between the estimated date of green-up and end of the growing season, and date when the maximum VI value occurs within a year, have been commonly used to quantify annual production rate and amount of vegetation biomass, rate of spring or fall phases, start of green-up, and timing of the maximum availability of vegetation [44].