Performance of the FMI cosine error correction method for the Brewer spectral UV measurements

Non-ideal angular response of a spectroradiometer is a well-known error source of spectral UV measurements and for that reason instrument specific cosine error correction is applied. In this paper, the performance of the cosine error correction method of Brewer spectral UV measurements in use at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is studied. Ideally, the correction depends on the actual sky radiation distribution, which can change even during one spectral scan due to rapid changes in cloudiness. The FMI method has been developed to take into account the changes in the ratio of direct to diffuse sky radiation and it derives a correction coefficient for each measured wavelength. Measurements of five Brewers were corrected for the cosine error and the results were compared to the reference travelling spectroradiometer (QASUME). Measurements were performed during the RBCC-E (Regional Brewer Calibration Center – Europe) X Campaign held at El Arenosillo, Huelva (37∘ N, 7∘ W), Spain, in 2015. In addition, results of site audits of FMI's Brewers in Sodankylä (67∘ N, 27∘ E) and Jokioinen (61∘ N, 24∘ E) during 2002–2014 were studied. The results show that the spectral cosine error correction varied between 4 and 14 %. After that the correction was applied to Brewer UV spectra the relative differences between the QASUME and the Brewer diminished even by 10 %. The study confirms that the method, originally developed for measurements at high latitudes, can be used at mid-latitudes as well. The method is applicable to other Brewers as far as the required input parameters, i.e. total ozone, aerosol information, albedo, instrument specific angular response and slit function are available.This article is based upon work from the COST Action ES1207 “A European Brewer Network (EUBREWNET)”, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). This study was partially supported by the research projects CGL2014-56255-C2-1-R and CGL2014-56255-C2-2-R granted by the Ministerio de Economa y Competitividad from Spain

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Base station energy use in dense urban and suburban areas

Abstract Growing energy consumption is a global problem. The information and communications technology (ICT) industry is in a critical role as an enabler of energy savings in other sectors. However, the power consumption of the ICT sector also needs to be addressed, to contribute to the overall reduction of power consumption and carbon emissions. A new era has begun as the fifth generation (5G) mobile data connection rollouts are advancing globally and are expected to reach a 10% share of end-user devices and connections by 2023. The available references on energy consumption in global mobile networks are rather old and highly averaged — only estimates of energy consumption relative to data volumes are available. There is an information gap regarding the energy consumption of emerging 5G and advanced 4G technologies. Therefore, it has been difficult to understand the actual electricity consumption differences between generations and spatially aggregated electricity consumption once these generations are combined to offer capacity and coverage. This article fills this gap by providing a reference on the energy consumption of base transceiver stations for reported mobile data usage for different Radio Access Technologies; 3G, 4G and 5G respectively. To the best of our knowledge, there is no reference to scientific research on the comparison of energy intensity per square kilometer for 3G, 4G and 5G mobile radio technologies, using actual operator data. The objective of this research was to improve the understanding of the actual energy consumption of different Radio Access Technologies (RAT). The results also give insight to decision makers on when to modernize the operator radio access network. The article reports on the results of field measurements on data and visitor volumes and shares of different RATs. The research contains two statistical RAT combination cases, one representing the European average and the other Finnish mobile networks. The analyses were done for dense urban (DU) and suburban (SU) areas

Road map for implementing AI-driven Oulu Smart excavator

Abstract Evolving machine control systems for excavators are getting more capable every year in civil engineering, now they are usually equipped with hydraulic motion control, localization, and design models in form of building information modelling (BIM). Machine control systems are advancing side by side with the adoption of fast wireless connections like 5G and growing trends of internet of things (IoT) and machine learning. AI across our ecosystem has made autonomous excavator more ubiquitous in nature. The autonomous excavators have gained significant interest in earth works area, due to their enhanced productivity for long hours, safety and lack of skilled human operators, and space exploration for unmanned mining and construction work. However, A great amount of effort is required to address many existing challenges such as, adaptive movement and control, task planning (digging, moving debris etc.), continuous environment sensing, avoiding collision (moving animals or objects on site), collaborative work with other machines and humans. In this study, we review state of the art and provide a artificial intelligence (AI-) driven road map for implementing a complete autonomous framework for earthmoving machine to our autonomous excavator test platform ’Smart Excavator’. Furthermore, the challenges and required effort to implement the framework are also discussed in comparison with existing literature

Decoding music-evoked emotions in the auditory and motor cortex

Music can induce strong subjective experience of emotions, but it is debated whether these responses engage the same neural circuits as emotions elicited by biologically significant events. We examined the functional neural basis of music-induced emotions in a large sample (n = 102) of subjects who listened to emotionally engaging (happy, sad, fearful, and tender) pieces of instrumental music while their haemodynamic brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Ratings of the four categorical emotions and liking were used to predict haemodynamic responses in general linear model (GLM) analysis of the fMRI data. Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) was used to reveal discrete neural signatures of the four categories of music-induced emotions. To map neural circuits governing non-musical emotions, the subjects were scanned while viewing short emotionally evocative film clips. The GLM revealed that most emotions were associated with activity in the auditory, somatosensory and motor cortices, cingulate gyrus, insula, and precuneus. Fear and liking also engaged the amygdala. In contrast, the film clips strongly activated limbic and cortical regions implicated in emotional processing. MVPA revealed that activity in the auditory cortex in particular as well as in the primary motor cortices reliably discriminated the emotion categories. Our results indicate that different music-induced emotions have distinct representations in regions supporting auditory processing, motor control, somatosensation and interoception but do not strongly rely on limbic and medial prefrontal regions critical for emotions with survival value

Trench visualisation from a semiautonomous excavator with a base grid map using a TOF 2D profilometer

Abstract Real-time, three-dimensional (3D) visualisation technology can be used at construction sites to improve the quality of work. A 3D view of the landscape under work can be compared to a target 3D model of the landscape to conveniently show needed excavation tasks to a human excavator operator or to show the progress of an autonomous excavator. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate surface visualisation from measurements taken with a pulsed time-of-flight (TOF) 2D profilometer on-board a semiautonomous excavator. The semiautomatic excavator was implemented by recording the feedback script parameters from the work performed on the excavator by a human driver. 3D visualisation maps based on the triangle mesh technique were generated from the 3D point cloud using measurements of the trenches dug by a human and an autonomous excavator. The accuracy of the 3D maps was evaluated by comparing them to a high-resolution commercial 3D scanner. An analysis of the results shows that the 2D profilometer attached to the excavator can achieve almost the same 3D results as a high-quality on-site static commercial 3D scanner, whilst more easily providing an unobstructed view of the trench during operation (a 3D scanner placed next to a deep trench might not have a full view of the trench). The main technical advantages of our 2D profilometer are its compact size, measurement speed, lack of moving parts, robustness, low-cost technology that enables visualisations from a unique viewpoint on the boom of the excavator, and readiness for real-time control of the excavator’s system. This research is expected to encourage the efficiency of the digging process in the future, as well as to provide a remarkable view of trench work using an excavator as a moving platform to facilitate data visualisation

4D modeling of soil surface during excavation using a solid-state profilometer mounted on the arm of an excavator

Abstract The aim of this research is to create a 4D point cloud map from a trench through a solid-state 2D profilometer. The profilometer is integrated with an 8.5-ton medium-size excavator’s machine control system with pose calculation. Accordingly, the point cloud was transformed to a work coordinate system. We used a recently developed pulsed time-of-flight laser light detection and ranging profilometer, which makes possible simultaneous depth measurements to 256 directions in an angle range of ±20° and measurement range from 1 m to 8 m with a frame rate of 25 frames per second under sunlight conditions (≈50 Klux). The analysis is based on a 4D map, which consists of 3D data (XYZ) and intensity information. The XYZ coordinates give the position of an object, and the intensity data can be used to roughly identify materials and recognise surface markings, such as texts. An analysis of the results shows that the detection accuracy of the profilometer is better than ±10 mm. The main advantages of our method are accuracy, high update rate, compact size, real-time measurement and a construction without moving parts. Our technique has a great potential in construction applications, where accurate measurements of a surface shape are needed