Use of satellite erythemal UV products in analysing the global UV changes

Long term changes in solar UV radiation affect global bio-geochemistry and climate. The satellite-based dataset of TOMS (Total Ozone Monitoring System) and OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) of erythemal UV product was applied for the first time to estimate the long-term ultraviolet (UV) changes at the global scale. The analysis of the uncertainty related to the different input information is presented. OMI and GOME-2 (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2) products were compared in order to analyse the differences in the global UV distribution and their effect on the linear trend estimation. <br></br> The results showed that the differences in the inputs (mainly surface albedo and aerosol information) used in the retrieval, affect significantly the UV change calculation, pointing out the importance of using a consistent dataset when calculating long term UV changes. The areas where these differences played a major role were identified using global maps of monthly UV changes. Despite the uncertainties, significant positive UV changes (ranging from 0 to about 5 %/decade) were observed, with higher values in the Southern Hemisphere at mid-latitudes during spring-summer, where the largest ozone decrease was observed

The D-Bar Method for Diffuse Optical Tomography : A Computational Study

The D-bar method at negative energy is numerically implemented. Using the method, we are able to numerically reconstruct potentials and investigate exceptional points at negative energy. Subsequently, applying the method to diffuse optical tomography, a new way of reconstructing the diffusion coefficient from the associated Complex Geometrics Optics solution is suggested and numerically validated.Peer reviewe

Performance comparison of point and spatial access methods

In the past few years a large number of multidimensional point access methods, also called multiattribute index structures, has been suggested, all of them claiming good performance. Since no performance comparison of these structures under arbitrary (strongly correlated nonuniform, short "ugly") data distributions and under various types of queries has been performed, database researchers and designers were hesitant to use any of these new point access methods. As shown in a recent paper, such point access methods are not only important in traditional database applications. In new applications such as CAD/CIM and geographic or environmental information systems, access methods for spatial objects are needed. As recently shown such access methods are based on point access methods in terms of functionality and performance. Our performance comparison naturally consists of two parts. In part I we w i l l compare multidimensional point access methods, whereas in part I I spatial access methods for rectangles will be compared. In part I we present a survey and classification of existing point access methods. Then we carefully select the following four methods for implementation and performance comparison under seven different data files (distributions) and various types of queries: the 2-level grid file, the BANG file, the hB-tree and a new scheme, called the BUDDY hash tree. We were surprised to see one method to be the clear winner which was the BUDDY hash tree. It exhibits an at least 20 % better average performance than its competitors and is robust under ugly data and queries. In part I I we compare spatial access methods for rectangles. After presenting a survey and classification of existing spatial access methods we carefully selected the following four methods for implementation and performance comparison under six different data files (distributions) and various types of queries: the R-tree, the BANG file, PLOP hashing and the BUDDY hash tree. The result presented two winners: the BANG file and the BUDDY hash tree. This comparison is a first step towards a standardized testbed or benchmark. We offer our data and query files to each designer of a new point or spatial access method such that he can run his implementation in our testbed

Quantification of uncertainty in aerosol optical thickness retrieval arising from aerosol microphysical model and other sources, applied to Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) measurements

Satellite instruments are nowadays successfully utilised for measuring atmospheric aerosol in many applications as well as in research. Therefore, there is a growing need for rigorous error characterisation of the measurements. Here, we introduce a methodology for quantifying the uncertainty in the retrieval of aerosol optical thickness (AOT). In particular, we concentrate on two aspects: uncertainty due to aerosol microphysical model selection and uncertainty due to imperfect forward modelling. We apply the introduced methodology for aerosol optical thickness retrieval of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura satellite, launched in 2004. We apply statistical methodologies that improve the uncertainty estimates of the aerosol optical thickness retrieval by propagating aerosol microphysical model selection and forward model error more realistically. For the microphysical model selection problem, we utilise Bayesian model selection and model averaging methods. Gaussian processes are utilised to characterise the smooth systematic discrepancies between the measured and modelled reflectances (i.e. residuals). The spectral correlation is composed empirically by exploring a set of residuals. The operational OMI multi-wavelength aerosol retrieval algorithm OMAERO is used for cloud-free, over-land pixels of the OMI instrument with the additional Bayesian model selection and model discrepancy techniques introduced here. The method and improved uncertainty characterisation is demonstrated by several examples with different aerosol properties: weakly absorbing aerosols, forest fires over Greece and Russia, and Sahara desert dust. The statistical methodology presented is general; it is not restricted to this particular satellite retrieval application

mm-Wave DRW Antenna Phase Centre Determination

This document presents an approach to the phase centre determination of a dielectric rod waveguide (DRW) antenna by means of measurements obtained with a planar measuring system at millimeter wave lengths. Phase centre determination by the least squares fit technique is described in this document for different DRW antennas (silicon and sapphire). Results at different operating frequencies are offered

Simulation and data processing of GOMOS measurements

In this paper the data simulation and data inversion studies for stellar occultation measurements are discussed. The specific application is the Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars (GOMOS) instrument which has been proposed for the first European Platform, Polar Orbiting Earth Mission (POEM-1)

PENDIDIKAN ISLAM ERA RASULULLAH SEBAGAI REFLEKSI PENDIDIKAN ISLAM KEKINIAN

The Islamic education in the era of Rasulullah was known as an ideal Islamic education even though it wascarried out in circumstances and limitations. Islamic education in the era of Muhammad has proven successfulin giving birth to a golden generation in the Islamic world. This is inversely proportional to contemporary Islamiceducation which with various facilities and adequate learning media has given birth to some individuals whoembarrass the Islamic world itself. This paper aims to reflect on the era of the Prophet’s education to improvethe current state of Islamic education, ranging from educational institutions, educational goals, educationmethods to Islamic education material itself. With the hope of minimizing corruption and immoral acts committedby individuals who are alumni of Islamic education institutions and can revive the marwah of Islamic educationin the proper and proper position as aspired by the Prophet.Key Word: Pendidikan Islam, Era, Refleksi, Kekinian AbstrakPendidikan Islam di era Rasulullah dikenal sebagai pendidikan Islam yang ideal walaupun dilaksanakan dalamkeadaan serta keterbatasan. Pendidikan Islam era Rasulullah telah terbukti berhasil melahirkan generasi emasdalam dunia Islam. Hal itu berbanding terbalik dengan pendidikan Islam kekinian yang dengan berbagai fasilitasdan media pembelajaran yang memadai telah melahirkan beberapa oknum yang membuat malu dunia Islam itusendiri. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk merefleksikan pendidikan era Rasulullah untuk memperbaiki keadaan duniapendidikan Islam kekinian, mulai dari lembaga pendidikan, tujuan pendidikan, metode pendidikan sampai padamateri pendidikan Islam itu sendiri. Dengan harapan dapat meminimalisir tindakan korupsi dan asusila yangdilakukan oleh oknum yang merupakan alumni lembaga pendidikan Islam dan dapat mengangkat kembalimarwah pendidikan Islam pada posisi yang seharusnya dan selayaknya sebagaimana yang dicita-citakanRasulullah.Kata Kunci: Pendidikan Islam, Era, Refleksi, Kekinia

Impacts of Data Synthesis: A Metric for Quantifiable Data Standards and Performances

Clinical data analysis could lead to breakthroughs. However, clinical data contain sensitive information about participants that could be utilized for unethical activities, such as blackmailing, identity theft, mass surveillance, or social engineering. Data anonymization is a standard step during data collection, before sharing, to overcome the risk of disclosure. However, conventional data anonymization techniques are not foolproof and also hinder the opportunity for personalized evaluations. Much research has been done for synthetic data generation using generative adversarial networks and many other machine learning methods; however, these methods are either not free to use or are limited in capacity. This study evaluates the performance of an emerging tool named synthpop, an R package producing synthetic data as an alternative approach for data anonymization. This paper establishes data standards derived from the original data set based on the utilities and quality of information and measures variations in the synthetic data set to evaluate the performance of the data synthesis process. The methods to assess the utility of the synthetic data set can be broadly divided into two approaches: general utility and specific utility. General utility assesses whether synthetic data have overall similarities in the statistical properties and multivariate relationships with the original data set. Simultaneously, the specific utility assesses the similarity of a fitted model’s performance on the synthetic data to its performance on the original data. The quality of information is assessed by comparing variations in entropy bits and mutual information to response variables within the original and synthetic data sets. The study reveals that synthetic data succeeded at all utility tests with a statistically non-significant difference and not only preserved the utilities but also preserved the complexity of the original data set according to the data standard established in this study. Therefore, synthpop fulfills all the necessities and unfolds a wide range of opportunities for the research community, including easy data sharing and information protection

Archaea are prominent members of the prokaryotic communities colonizing common forest mushrooms

In this study, the abundance and composition of prokaryotic communities associated with the inner tissue of fruiting bodies of Suillus bovinus, Boletus pinophilus, Cantharellus cibarius, Agaricus arvensis, Lycoperdon perlatum, and Piptoporus betulinus were analyzed using culture-independent methods. Our findings indicate that archaea and bacteria colonize the internal tissues of all investigated specimens and that archaea are prominent members of the prokaryotic community. The ratio of archaeal 16S rRNA gene copy numbers to those of bacteria was >1 in the fruiting bodies of four out of six fungal species included in the study. The largest proportion of archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences belonged to thaumarchaeotal classes Terrestrial group, Miscellaneous Crenar-chaeotic Group (MCG), and Thermoplasmata. Bacterial communities showed characteristic compositions in each fungal species. Bacterial classes Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacilli, and Clostridia were prominent among communities in fruiting body tissues. Bacterial populations in each fungal species had different characteristics. The results of this study imply that fruiting body tissues are an important habitat for abundant and diverse populations of archaea and bacteria.Peer reviewe