Observing wind, aerosol particles, clouds and precipitation: Finland's new ground-based remote-sensing network

The Finnish Meteorological Institute, in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, has established a new ground-based remote-sensing network in Finland. The network consists of five topographically, ecologically and climatically different sites distributed from southern to northern Finland. The main goal of the network is to monitor air pollution and boundary layer properties in near real time, with a Doppler lidar and ceilometer at each site. In addition to these operational tasks, two sites are members of the Aerosols, Clouds and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (ACTRIS); a Ka band cloud radar at Sodankylä will provide cloud retrievals within CloudNet, and a multi-wavelength Raman lidar, PollyXT (POrtabLe Lidar sYstem eXTended), in Kuopio provides optical and microphysical aerosol properties through EARLINET (the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network). Three C-band weather radars are located in the Helsinki metropolitan area and are deployed for operational and research applications. We performed two inter-comparison campaigns to investigate the Doppler lidar performance, compare the backscatter signal and wind profiles, and to optimize the lidar sensitivity through adjusting the telescope focus length and data-integration time to ensure sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in low-aerosol-content environments. In terms of statistical characterization, the wind-profile comparison showed good agreement between different lidars. Initially, there was a discrepancy in the SNR and attenuated backscatter coefficient profiles which arose from an incorrectly reported telescope focus setting from one instrument, together with the need to calibrate. After diagnosing the true telescope focus length, calculating a new attenuated backscatter coefficient profile with the new telescope function and taking into account calibration, the resulting attenuated backscatter profiles all showed good agreement with each other. It was thought that harsh Finnish winters could pose problems, but, due to the built-in heating systems, low ambient temperatures had no, or only a minor, impact on the lidar operation – including scanning-head motion. However, accumulation of snow and ice on the lens has been observed, which can lead to the formation of a water/ice layer thus attenuating the signal inconsistently. Thus, care must be taken to ensure continuous snow removal

The effect of multiple stimuli on the modulation of the 'nociceptive' blink reflex

The 'nociceptive' blink reflex is a method of examining human trigeminal pain pathways. We explored temporal summation of this reflex by using a train of pulses, rather than a single pulse, and remote activation of diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC), to improve reliability, flexibility and nociceptive specificity of this technique. The R2 component of the nociceptive blink reflex response (nR2) was assessed in 28 healthy volunteers using between I and 7 pulses per stimulus train (inter-pulse interval 5 ms). The effect of DNIC on single-, double-, and triple-pulse nR2 was investigated. Compared to single pulses, double and triple pulses increased the sensation of pain, reduced the tactile and pain thresholds, and facilitated the blink reflex responses (reduced onset latency, increased magnitude and persistence of nR2). The maximal reflex facilitation was achieved using a triple pulse. Higher pulse numbers had no additional facilitatory effect. Activation of the DNIC system using heterotopic pain suppressed the nR2 evoked by double and triple stimulation by 16 and 42%, respectively, but not the nR2 from a single pulse. Stimulation with double and triple pulses may be more suitable to study influences on nociceptive pathways than single pulses and may widen the methodological flexibility of the nociceptive blink reflex technique. This technique may be useful in studying the trigeminal nociceptive system with particular reference to primary headache disorders and their neuropharmacology. (C) 2004 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Benefit/Cost Analysis of Geothermal Technology R&D. Volume III: Energy Extraction and Utilization Technology

This document describes the benefit/cost relationship for 44 research and development (R and D) projects being funded by the Utilization Technology Branch (UTB) of the Division of Geothermal Energy (DGE), Department of Energy (DOE) as a part of its Energy Extraction and Conversion Technology program. The benefits were computed in terms of the savings resulting from the reduction in the cost of electricity projected to be generated at 27 hydrothermal prospects in the US between 1978 and 2000, due to technological improvements brought about by successful R and D. The costs of various projects were estimated by referring to the actual expenditures already incurred and the projected future budgets for these projects. In certain cases, the expected future expenditures had to be estimated on the basis of the work which would need to be done to carry a project to the commercialization stage

Mouse genetic background influences whether expression plus knockdown causes angiosarcoma or undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare mesenchymal tumours accounting for 1% of adult malignancies and are fatal in approximately one third of patients. Two of the most aggressive and lethal forms of soft tissue sarcomas are angiosarcomas and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas (UPS). To examine sarcoma-relevant molecular pathways, we employed a lentiviral gene regulatory system to attempt to generate models that reflect common molecular alterations of human angiosarcoma and UPS. Mice were intraveneously injected with MuLE lentiviruses expressing combinations of shRNA against , , and with or without expression of , or . The systemic injection of an ecotropic lentivirus expressing oncogenic together with the knockdown of or was sufficient to initiate angiosarcoma and/or UPS development, providing a flexible system to generate autochthonous mouse models of these diseases. Unexpectedly, different mouse strains developed different types of sarcoma in response to identical genetic drivers, implicating genetic background as a contributor to the genesis and spectrum of sarcomas

Higher Education, the Health Care Industry and Metropolitan Regional Economic Development: What Can “Eds & Meds ” Do for the Economic Fortunes of a Metro Area’s Residents? by

help in matching metro areas from the various Censuses. This paper should not be construed as official views of any of the sponsors of this conference, or of the Upjohn Institute. 1

Determining the current polarization in Al/Co nanostructured point contacts

We present a study of the Andreev reflections in superconductor/ferromagnet nanostructured point contacts. The experimental data are analyzed in the frame of a model with two spin-dependent transmission coefficients for the majority and minority charge carriers in the ferromagnet. This model consistently describes the whole set of conductance measurements as a function of voltage, temperature, and magnetic field. The ensemble of our results shows that the degree of spin polarization of the current can be unambiguously determined using Andreev physics