353 research outputs found
Gap-filling strategies for annual VOC flux data sets
Up to now the limited
knowledge about the exchange of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) between the
biosphere and the atmosphere is one of the factors which hinders more
accurate climate predictions. Complete long-term flux data sets of several
VOCs to quantify the annual exchange and validate recent VOC models are
basically not available. In combination with long-term VOC flux measurements
the application of gap-filling routines is inevitable in order to replace
missing data and make an important step towards a better understanding of the
VOC ecosystemâatmosphere exchange on longer timescales.
<br><br>
We performed VOC flux measurements above a mountain meadow in Austria during
two complete growing seasons (from snowmelt in spring to snow reestablishment
in late autumn) and used this data set to test the performance of four
different gap-filling routines, mean diurnal variation (MDV), mean gliding
window (MGW), look-up tables (LUT) and linear interpolation (LIP), in terms
of their ability to replace missing flux data in order to obtain reliable VOC
sums. According to our findings the MDV routine was outstanding with regard
to the minimization of the gap-filling error for both years and all
quantified VOCs. The other gap-filling routines, which performed gap-filling
on 24 h average values, introduced considerably larger uncertainties. The
error which was introduced by the application of the different filling
routines increased linearly with the number of data gaps. Although average
VOC fluxes measured during the winter period (complete snow coverage) were
close to zero, these were highly variable and the filling of the winter
period resulted in considerably higher uncertainties compared to the
application of gap-filling during the measurement period.
<br><br>
The annual patterns of the overall cumulative fluxes for the quantified VOCs
showed a completely different behaviour in 2009, which was an exceptional
year due to the occurrence of a severe hailstorm, compared to 2011. Methanol
was the compound which, at 381.5 mg C m<sup>−2</sup> and 449.9 mg
C m<sup>−2</sup>, contributed most to the cumulative VOC carbon emissions in
2009 and 2011, respectively. In contrast to methanol emissions, however,
considerable amounts of monoterpenes (â327.3 mg C m<sup>−2</sup>) were
deposited onto the mountain meadow during 2009 caused by a hailstorm. Other
quantified VOCs had considerably lower influences on the annual patterns
Risk of post-pregnancy hypertension in women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: nationwide cohort study.
Objectives To determine how soon after delivery the risk of post-pregnancy hypertension increases in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and how the risk evolves over time.Design Nationwide register based cohort study.Setting Denmark.Populations 482â972 primiparous women with a first live birth or stillbirth between 1995 and 2012 (cumulative incidence analyses), and 1â025â118 women with at least one live birth or stillbirth between 1978 and 2012 (Cox regression analyses).Main outcome measures 10 year cumulative incidences of post-pregnancy hypertension requiring treatment with prescription drugs, and hazard ratios estimated using Cox regression.Results Of women with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy in a first pregnancy in their 20s, 14% developed hypertension in the first decade post partum, compared with 4% of women with normotensive first pregnancies in their 20s. The corresponding percentages for women with a first pregnancy in their 40s were 32% and 11%, respectively. In the year after delivery, women with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy had 12-fold to 25-fold higher rates of hypertension than did women with a normotensive pregnancy. Rates in women with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy were threefold to 10-fold higher 1-10 years post partum and remained twice as high even 20 or more years later.Conclusions The risk of hypertension associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is high immediately after an affected pregnancy and persists for more than 20 years. Up to one third of women with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy may develop hypertension within a decade of an affected pregnancy, indicating that cardiovascular disease prevention in these women should include blood pressure monitoring initiated soon after pregnancy
Analysis of microstructural effects in multi layer lithium ion battery cathodes
A possible way to increase the energy density in lithium-ion batteries, and, at the same time, reduce the production costs, is to use thicker electrodes. However, transport limitations can occur in thick electrodes, leading to a drawback in performance. A way to mitigate this problem is a more sophisticated microstructure of the electrode, using, e.g., structural gradients. This can, for instance, be achieved by multi-layer casting, i.e., casting and drying of a first layer, and then adding a second layer. An important question is how the interface between the two layers is shaped and how the corresponding microstructure influences the electrochemical performance. In the present paper, two different two-layer cathodes are analyzed and compared to single-layer cathodes of the same thickness. The analysis involved tomographic imaging, a statistical analysis of the 3D microstructure of the active material particle systems with a focus on the interface between the layers, and electrochemical characterization of the active material systems using experimental measurements as well as electrochemical simulations. The analysis showed that at the interface the connectivity of active material particles decreases, which results in higher electric resistivity. This effect is stronger if an intermediate calendering step is performed, i.e., the first layer is calendered before casting the second layer
Mean square displacement and reorientational correlation function in entangled polymer melts revealed by field cycling 1H and 2H NMR relaxometry
Mixtures of protonated and deuterated polybutadiene and polydimethylsiloxane are studied by means of field-cycling (FC) 1H NMR relaxometry in order to analyze the intra- and intermolecular contributions to spin-lattice relaxation. They reflect reorientational and translational dynamics,respectively. Master curves in the susceptibility representation Ïâł(ÏÏ s) are constructed by employing frequency-temperature superposition with Ï s denoting the segmental correlation time. The intermolecular contribution is dominating at low frequencies and allows extracting the segmental mean square displacement ăR 2(t)ă, which reveals two power-law regimes. The one at short times agrees with t 0.5 predicted for the free Rouse regime and at long times a lower exponent is observed in fair agreement with t 0.25 expected for the constrained Rouse regime of the tube-reptation model. Concomitantly the reorientational rank-two correlation function C 2(t/Ï s) is obtained from the intramolecular part. Again two power-law regimes t -Δ are identified for polybutadiene. The first agrees with t -1 of free Rouse dynamics whereas at long times Δ = 0.49 is obtained. The latter is corroborated by the 2H relaxation of deuterated polybutadiene, yet, it does not agree with Δ = 0.25 predicted for constrained Rouse dynamics. Thus, the relation C 2(t) â ăR 2(t)ă -1 as assumed by the tube-reptation model is not confirmed. © 2012 American Chemical Society
Feasibility studies of the time-like proton electromagnetic form factor measurements with PANDA at FAIR
The possibility of measuring the proton electromagnetic form factors in the
time-like region at FAIR with the \PANDA detector is discussed. Detailed
simulations on signal efficiency for the annihilation of into a
lepton pair as well as for the most important background channels have been
performed. It is shown that precision measurements of the differential cross
section of the reaction can be obtained in a wide
angular and kinematical range. The individual determination of the moduli of
the electric and magnetic proton form factors will be possible up to a value of
momentum transfer squared of (GeV/c). The total cross section will be measured up to (GeV/c).
The results obtained from simulated events are compared to the existing data.
Sensitivity to the two photons exchange mechanism is also investigated.Comment: 12 pages, 4 tables, 8 figures Revised, added details on simulations,
4 tables, 9 figure
Feasibility studies of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors at PANDA at FAIR
Simulation results for future measurements of electromagnetic proton form
factors at \PANDA (FAIR) within the PandaRoot software framework are reported.
The statistical precision with which the proton form factors can be determined
is estimated. The signal channel is studied on the basis
of two different but consistent procedures. The suppression of the main
background channel, , is studied.
Furthermore, the background versus signal efficiency, statistical and
systematical uncertainties on the extracted proton form factors are evaluated
using two different procedures. The results are consistent with those of a
previous simulation study using an older, simplified framework. However, a
slightly better precision is achieved in the PandaRoot study in a large range
of momentum transfer, assuming the nominal beam conditions and detector
performance
- âŠ