Move More, Sit Less: Applying the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to Extension Programs

Extension enhances the lives of Americans by translating research-based information related to existing needs into programming that is practical and accessible to the general public. Evidence clearly indicates that physical activity is correlated to positive health outcomes, but despite this conclusion, the majority of Americans do not meet the recommendations for physical activity. The 2nd Edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provides guidance for Extension professionals to implement physical activity interventions. We recommend training and technical assistance strategies based on the Interactive Systems Framework to integrate physical activity promotion into all Extension areas

Four-dimensional distribution of the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic cloud over Europe observed by EARLINET

© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallaj ökull in April-May 2010 represents a "natural experiment" to study the impact of volcanic emissions on a continental scale. For the first time, quantitative data about the presence, altitude, and layering of the volcanic cloud, in conjunction with optical information, are available for most parts of Europe derived from the observations by the European Aerosol Research Lidar NETwork (EARLINET). Based on multi-wavelength Raman lidar systems, EARLINET is the only instrument worldwide that is able to provide dense time series of high-quality optical data to be used for aerosol typing and for the retrieval of particle microphysical properties as a function of altitude. In this work we show the four-dimensional (4-D) distribution of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic cloud in the troposphere over Europe as observed by EARLINET during the entire volcanic event (15 April-26 May 2010). All optical properties directly measured (backscatter, extinction, and particle linear depolarization ratio) are stored in the EARLINET database available at www.earlinet.org. A specific relational database providing the volcanic mask over Europe, realized ad hoc for this specific event, has been developed and is available on request at www.earlinet.org. During the first days after the eruption, volcanic particles were detected over Central Europe within a wide range of altitudes, from the upper troposphere down to the local planetary boundary layer (PBL). After 19 April 2010, volcanic particles were detected over southern and south-eastern Europe. During the first half of May (5-15 May), material emitted by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano was detected over Spain and Portugal and then over the Mediterranean and the Balkans. The last observations of the event were recorded until 25 May in Central Europe and in the Eastern Mediterranean area. The 4-D distribution of volcanic aerosol layering and optical properties on European scale reported here provides an unprecedented data set for evaluating satellite data and aerosol dispersion models for this kind of volcanic events.Peer reviewe

Study of the effect of different type of aerosols on UV-B radiation from measurements during EARLINET

Routine lidar measurements of the vertical distribution of the aerosol extinction coefficient and the extinction-to-backscatter ratio have been performed at Thessaloniki, Greece using a Raman lidar system in the frame of the EARLINET project since 2000. Co-located spectral and broadband solar UV-B irradiance measurements, as well as total ozone observations, were available whenever lidar measurements were obtained. From the available measurements several cases could be identified that allowed the study of the effect of different types of aerosol on the levels of the UV-B solar irradiance at the Earth's surface. The TUV radiative transfer model has been used to simulate the irradiance measurements, using total ozone and the lidar aerosol data as input. From the comparison of the model results with the measured spectra the effective single scattering albedo was determined using an iterative procedure, which has been verified against results from the 1998 Lindenberg Aerosol Characterization Experiment. It is shown that for the same aerosol optical depth and for the same total ozone values the UV-B irradiances at the Earth's surface can show differences up to 10%, which can be attributed to differences in the aerosol type. It is shown that the combined use of the estimated single scattering albedo and of the measured extinction-to-backscatter ratio leads to a better characterization of the aerosol type probed

A methodology for investigating dust model performance using synergistic EARLINET/AERONET dust concentration retrievals

Systematic measurements of dust concentration profiles at a continental scale were recently made possible by the development of synergistic retrieval algorithms using combined lidar and sun photometer data and the establishment of robust remote-sensing networks in the framework of Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (ACTRIS)/European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET). We present a methodology for using these capabilities as a tool for examining the performance of dust transport models. The methodology includes considerations for the selection of a suitable data set and appropriate metrics for the exploration of the results. The approach is demonstrated for four regional dust transport models (BSC-DREAM8b v2, NMMB/BSC-DUST, DREAMABOL, DREAM8-NMME-MACC) using dust observations performed at 10 ACTRIS/EARLINET stations. The observations, which include coincident multi-wavelength lidar and sun photometer measurements, were processed with the Lidar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) to retrieve aerosol concentration profiles. The methodology proposed here shows advantages when compared to traditional evaluation techniques that utilize separately the available measurements such as separating the contribution of dust from other aerosol types on the lidar profiles and avoiding model assumptions related to the conversion of concentration fields to aerosol extinction values. When compared to LIRIC retrievals, the simulated dust vertical structures were found to be in good agreement for all models with correlation values between 0.5 and 0.7 in the 1–6 km range, where most dust is typically observed. The absolute dust concentration was typically underestimated with mean bias values of -40 to -20 μg m−3 at 2 km, the altitude of maximum mean concentration. The reported differences among the models found in this comparison indicate the benefit of the systematic use of the proposed approach in future dust model evaluation studies

Corrigendum to "Satellite observations and model simulations of tropospheric NO₂ columns over south-eastern Europe" published in Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 6119–6134, 2009

No abstract available

Almost one year of TROPOMI/S5P total ozone column data: global ground-based validation

Póster presentado en: ATMOS 2018, celebrado en Salzburgo (Austria) del 26 al 29 de noviembre de 2018.In this work we present the validation results of almost one year of TROPOMI Near Real Time (NRTI) and OFFLine (OFFL) data against ground-based quality-assured Brewer and Dobson total ozone column (TOC) measurements deposited in the World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Center (WOUDC). Additionally, comparisons to Brewer measurements from the European Brewer Network (EUBREWNET) and the Canadian Network are performed, as well as to twilight zenith-sky measurements obtained with ZSL-DOAS (Zenith Scattered Light Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) instruments, that form part of the SAOZ network (Système d'Analyse par Observation Zénitale) of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). Through the comparison of the TROPOMI measurements to the total ozone ground-based measurements from stations that are distributed globally, as the background truth, the dependence of the new instrument on latitude, cloud properties, solar zenith and viewing angles, among others, is examined. Validation results show that the mean bias and the standard deviation of the percentage difference between TROPOMI and QA ground TOC meet the product requirements

A Dual-Color Fluorescence-Based Platform to Identify Selective Inhibitors of Akt Signaling

Background: Inhibition of Akt signaling is considered one of the most promising therapeutic strategies for many cancers. However, rational target-orientated approaches to cell based drug screens for anti-cancer agents have historically been compromised by the notorious absence of suitable control cells. Methodology/Principal Findings: In order to address this fundamental problem, we have developed BaFiso, a live-cell screening platform to identify specific inhibitors of this pathway. BaFiso relies on the co-culture of isogenic cell lines that have been engineered to sustain interleukin-3 independent survival of the parental Ba/F3 cells, and that are individually tagged with different fluorescent proteins. Whilst in the first of these two lines cell survival in the absence of IL-3 is dependent on the expression of activated Akt, the cells expressing constitutively-activated Stat5 signaling display IL-3 independent growth and survival in an Akt-independent manner. Small molecules can then be screened in these lines to identify inhibitors that rescue IL-3 dependence. Conclusions/Significance: BaFiso measures differential cell survival using multiparametric live cell imaging and permits selective inhibitors of Akt signaling to be identified. BaFiso is a platform technology suitable for the identification of smal

Chapter 4: The LOTUS regression model

One of the primary motivations of the LOTUS effort is to attempt to reconcile the discrepancies in ozone trend results from the wealth of literature on the subject. Doing so requires investigating the various methodologies employed to derive long-term trends in ozone as well as to examine the large array of possible variables that feed into those methodologies and analyse their impacts on potential trend results. Given the limited amount of time, the LOTUS group focused on the most common methodology of multiple linear regression and performed a number of sensitivity tests with the goal of trying to establish best practices and come to a consensus on a single regression model to use for this study. This chapter discusses the details and results of the sensitivity tests before describing the components of the final single model that was chosen and the reasons for that choice

A methodology for investigating dust model performance using synergistic EARLINET/AERONET dust concentration retrievals

Systematic measurements of dust concentration profiles at a continental scale were recently made possible by the development of synergistic retrieval algorithms using combined lidar and sun photometer data and the establishment of robust remote-sensing networks in the framework of Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research Infra-Structure Network (ACTRIS)/European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET). We present a methodology for using these capabilities as a tool for examining the performance of dust transport models. The methodology includes considerations for the selection of a suitable data set and appropriate metrics for the exploration of the results. The approach is demonstrated for four regional dust transport models (BSC-DREAM8b v2, NMMB/BSC-DUST, DREAM-ABOL, DREAM8-NMME-MACC) using dust observations performed at 10 ACTRIS/EARLINET stations. The observations, which include coincident multi-wavelength lidar and sun photometer measurements, were processed with the Lidar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) to retrieve aerosol concentration profiles. The methodology proposed here shows advantages when compared to traditional evaluation techniques that utilize separately the available measurements such as separating the contribution of dust from other aerosol types on the lidar profiles and avoiding model assumptions related to the conversion of concentration fields to aerosol extinction values. When compared to LIRIC retrievals, the simulated dust vertical structures were found to be in good agreement for all models with correlation values between 0.5 and 0.7 in the 1-6 km range, where most dust is typically observed. The absolute dust concentration was typically underestimated with mean bias values of -40 to -20 mu g m(-3) at 2 km, the altitude of maximum mean concentration. The reported differences among the models found in this comparison indicate the benefit of the systematic use of the proposed approach in future dust model evaluation studies

Three-dimensional Numerical Modeling and Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations to Analyze and Improve Oxygen Availability in the AMC Bioartificial Liver

A numerical model to investigate fluid flow and oxygen (O(2)) transport and consumption in the AMC-Bioartificial Liver (AMC-BAL) was developed and applied to two representative micro models of the AMC-BAL with two different gas capillary patterns, each combined with two proposed hepatocyte distributions. Parameter studies were performed on each configuration to gain insight in fluid flow, shear stress distribution and oxygen availability in the AMC-BAL. We assessed the function of the internal oxygenator, the effect of changes in hepatocyte oxygen consumption parameters in time and the effect of the change from an experimental to a clinical setting. In addition, different methodologies were studied to improve cellular oxygen availability, i.e. external oxygenation of culture medium, culture medium flow rate, culture gas oxygen content (pO(2)) and the number of oxygenation capillaries. Standard operating conditions did not adequately provide all hepatocytes in the AMC-BAL with sufficient oxygen to maintain O(2) consumption at minimally 90% of maximal uptake rate. Cellular oxygen availability was optimized by increasing the number of gas capillaries and pO(2) of the oxygenation gas by a factor two. Pressure drop over the AMC-BAL and maximal shear stresses were low and not considered to be harmful. This information can be used to increase cellular efficiency and may ultimately lead to a more productive AMC-BAL