Comparison between Brewer spectrometer, M 124 filter ozonometer and Dobson spectrophotometer

Concurrent measurements were taken using the Brewer spectrometer no. 30, the filter ozonometer M 124 no. 200 and the Dobson spectrophotometer no. 71 from September 1987 to December 1988 at Potsdam. The performance of the instrument types and the compatibility of ozone data was checked under the conditions of a field measuring station. Total ozone values derived from Dobson AD direct sun measurements were considered as standard. The Dobson instrument had been calibrated at intercomparisons with the World Standard Dobson instrument no. 83 (Boulder) and with the Regional Standard instrument no. 64 (Potsdam), while the Brewer instrument was calibrated several times with the Travelling Standard Brewer no. 17 (Canada). The differences between individual Brewer DS (direct sun) ozone data and Dobson ADDS are within plus or minus 3 percent with half of all differences within plus or minus 1 percent. Less than 0.7 percent of the systematic difference can be due to atmospheric SO2. Due to inadequate regression coefficients Brewer ZB (zenith blue) ozone measurements are by (3...4) percent higher than Dobson ADDS ozone values. M124 DS ozone data are systematically by (1...2) percent higher than Dobson ADDS ozone with 50 percent of the differences within plus or minus 4 percent, but with extreme differences up to plus or minus (20...25) percent. M124 ZB ozone values are by (3...5) percent higher than Dobson ADDS with all the differences within plus or minus 10 percent, i.e. the scatter of differences is smaller for ZB than for M 124 DS measurements, Results for differences in the daily mean ozone values are also addressed. The differences include the uncertainties in the ozone values derived from both types of measurements. They provide an indication of the uncertainty in ozone data and the comparability of ozone values derived from different types of instruments

The Orphanage at Schuyler Mansion

Doll parts, toy tea set fragments, and other toys were excavated from the late 19th-century through early 20th-century occupation layers at the Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site in Albany, New York. Their occurrence raised questions about the orphans hosed their during that time period. Archival research and archaeological analysis resulted in increased understanding of the care received by homeless children during that period

Exploring the Constitutive and Social Processes of Ethics in Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Teams

This study seeks to examine the communicative constitution of ethics in team-based design projects in an engineering education context. Engineering and design work involve complex social processes and ethical decision-making activities and collaboration (Bucciarelli, 2010). The understanding and development of ethics in future engineers is a primary concern for engineering educators, students, and the governing bodies that oversee this field (ABET, 2013; NAE, 2012). Specifically, given the highly fluid and subjective nature of ethics and the complications of the team-based context, challenges arise about how to move beyond codes and standards that are intended to guide ethical conduct (ASEE, 2012; NSPE, 2011) and encourage ethical orientations in future engineers that may help them guide themselves

Effective UV radiation from model calculations and measurements

Model calculations have been made to simulate the effect of atmospheric ozone and geographical as well as meteorological parameters on solar UV radiation reaching the ground. Total ozone values as measured by Dobson spectrophotometer and Brewer spectrometer as well as turbidity were used as input to the model calculation. The performance of the model was tested by spectroradiometric measurements of solar global UV radiation at Potsdam. There are small differences that can be explained by the uncertainty of the measurements, by the uncertainty of input data to the model and by the uncertainty of the radiative transfer algorithms of the model itself. Some effects of solar radiation to the biosphere and to air chemistry are discussed. Model calculations and spectroradiometric measurements can be used to study variations of the effective radiation in space in space time. The comparability of action spectra and their uncertainties are also addressed

Book Review: Pottery Works: Potteries of New York State\u27s Capital District and Upper Hudson Region by Warren F. Broderick and William Bouck

Book Review: Pottery Works: Potteries of New York State\u27s Capital District and Upper Hudson Region by Warren F. Broderick and William Bouck 1995, Dickinson University Press, Canbury, NJ, 285 pages, $59.50

18th- and Early 19th-Century Brickmaking at the John Jay Homestead: The Process, Products, and Craftsmen

On-site brick kilns were established routinely for construction projects at non-urban sites in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Archaeological excavations at the brick lot at the John Jay Homestead State Historic Site revealed features relating to the manufacture of a brick. Documentary and scientific research revealed information about the brickmakers and established a baseline for the identification of brick sources from three different areas of New York State. Comparisons between brickmakers at the Jay and Schuyler houses and between brickmakers and other craftsmen are discussed here

Long-term solar UV radiation reconstructed by Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)

International audienceArtificial Neural Networks (ANN) are efficient tools to derive solar UV radiation from measured meteorological parameters such as global radiation, aerosol optical depths and atmospheric column ozone. The ANN model has been tested with different combinations of data from the two sites Potsdam and Lindenberg, and used to reconstruct solar UV radiation at eight European sites by more than 100 years into the past. Annual totals of UV radiation derived from reconstructed daily UV values reflect interannual variations and long-term patterns that are compatible with variabilities and changes of measured input data, in particular global dimming by about 1980?1990, subsequent global brightening, volcanic eruption effects such as that of Mt. Pinatubo, and the long-term ozone decline since the 1970s. Patterns of annual erythemal UV radiation are very similar at sites located at latitudes close to each other, but different patterns occur between UV radiation at sites in different latitude regions

Portland Airport Runway Extension: Challenges and Successes

A runway extension at the Portland Airport was recently opened to traffic and was the culmination of well over a decade of effort. The project presented numerous engineering challenges beyond design, such as environmental approval, land acquisition, and ditch mitigation. Phase I required the enclosure of Alexander Ditch and substantial soil for grading the site. Phase II included the paving and lighting of the runway and taxiway extensions. Join us for a discussion of this project

Systemic chemotherapies retain antitumor activity in desmoid tumors independent of specific mutations in CTNNB1 or APC: A multi-institutional retrospective study

PURPOSE: Determine whether specific CTNNB1 or APC mutations in patients with desmoid tumor were associated with differences in clinical responses to systemic treatments. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We established a multi-institutional dataset of previously treated patients with desmoid tumor across four U.S. sarcoma centers, including demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment regimens, and clinical and radiographic responses. CTNNB1 or APC mutation status was determined from prior pathology records, or archival tissue was requested and analyzed by Sanger sequencing and/or next-generation sequencing. Evaluable patients with mutation results were analyzed to determine clinical progression-free survival (cPFS), RECIST 1.1 PFS (rPFS), time to next treatment (TTNT), and overall survival (OS). Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression were performed to identify differences in cPFS, rPFS, TTNT, and OS by mutation subtype, desmoid tumor location, and treatment regimen. RESULTS: A total of 259 evaluable patients were analyzed for at least one of the survival outcomes, with 177 patients having mutation data. First- and second-line cPFS, rPFS, and TTNT were not significantly affected by mutation subtype; however, APC-mutant desmoid tumors demonstrated nonstatistically significant inferior outcomes. Extremity/trunk desmoid tumor location and treatment with doxorubicin-based, methotrexate/vinca alkaloids and sorafenib regimens were associated with better clinical outcomes compared with surgery or other therapies, including estrogen-receptor blockade and imatinib. OS was significantly worse with APC or CTNNB1 negative/other mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Mutation subtype did not affect responses to specific systemic therapies. APC mutations and nonextremity desmoid tumor locations remain prognostic for worse outcomes, and earlier initiation of systemic therapy for these higher-risk desmoid tumors should be prospectively evaluated. See related commentary by Greene and Van Tine, p. 3911