Meteorology applied to urban air pollution problems: concepts from COST 715

International audienceThis selective review of the COST 715 considers simple descriptive concepts in urban meteorology with particular attention to air pollution assessment. It is shown that these are helpful for understanding the complex structure of the urban boundary layer, but that simple concepts only apply under a limited number of occasions. However such concepts are necessary for insight into how both simple and complex air pollution models perform. Wider considerations are needed when considering routine air quality assessments involving an air quality model's formulation and pedigree. It is argued that there is a reluctance from model developers to move away from familiar concepts of the atmospheric boundary layer even if they are not appropriate to urban areas. An example is given from COST 715 as to how routine urban meteorological measurements of wind speed may be used and adapted for air quality assessments. Reference to the full COST 715 study is made which provides further details

Charge and Spin Response of the Spin--Polarized Electron Gas

The charge and spin response of a spin--polarized electron gas is investigated including terms beyond the random phase approximation. We evaluate the charge response, the longitudinal and transverse spin response, and the mixed spin--charge response self--consistently in terms of the susceptibility functions of a non--interacting system. Exchange--correlation effects between electrons of spin $\sigma$ and $\sigma^{'}$ are included following Kukkonen and Overhauser, by using spin--polarization dependent generalized Hubbard local field factors ${G_\sigma}^{\pm}$ and ${G_{\bar\sigma}}^{\pm}$. The general condition for charge--density and spin--density--wave excitations of the system is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, latex, no figure

Tracing the fate of microplastic carbon in the aquatic food web by compound-specific isotope analysis

Increasing abundance of microplastics (MP) in marine and freshwaters is currently one of the greatest environmental concerns. Since plastics are fairly resistant to chemical decomposition, breakdown and reutilization of MP carbon complexes requires microbial activity. Currently, only a few microbial isolates have been shown to degrade MPs, and direct measurements of the fate of the MP carbon are still lacking. We used compound-specific isotope analysis to track the fate of fully labelled 13C-polyethylene (PE) MP carbon across the aquatic microbial-animal interface. Isotopic values of respired CO2 and membrane lipids showed that MP carbon was partly mineralized and partly used for cell growth. Microbial mineralization and assimilation of PE-MP carbon was most active when inoculated microbes were obtained from highly humic waters, which contain recalcitrant substrate sources. Mixotrophic algae (Cryptomonas sp.) and herbivorous zooplankton (Daphnia magna) used microbial mediated PE-MP carbon in their cell membrane fatty acids. Moreover, heteronanoflagellates and mixotrophic algae sequestered MP carbon for synthesizing essential ω-6 and ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Thus, this study demonstrates that aquatic micro-organisms can produce, biochemically upgrade, and trophically transfer nutritionally important biomolecules from PE-MP.Increasing abundance of microplastics (MP) in marine and freshwaters is currently one of the greatest environmental concerns. Since plastics are fairly resistant to chemical decomposition, breakdown and reutilization of MP carbon complexes requires microbial activity. Currently, only a few microbial isolates have been shown to degrade MPs, and direct measurements of the fate of the MP carbon are still lacking. We used compound-specific isotope analysis to track the fate of fully labelled C-13-polyethylene (PE) MP carbon across the aquatic microbial-animal interface. Isotopic values of respired CO2 and membrane lipids showed that MP carbon was partly mineralized and partly used for cell growth. Microbial mineralization and assimilation of PE-MP carbon was most active when inoculated microbes were obtained from highly humic waters, which contain recalcitrant substrate sources. Mixotrophic algae (Cryptomonas sp.) and herbivorous zooplankton (Daphnia magna) used microbial mediated PE-MP carbon in their cell membrane fatty acids. Moreover, heteronanoflagellates and mixotrophic algae sequestered MP carbon for synthesizing essential omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Thus, this study demonstrates that aquatic micro-organisms can produce, biochemically upgrade, and trophically transfer nutritionally important biomolecules from PE-MP.Peer reviewe

Infering Air Quality from Traffic Data using Transferable Neural Network Models

This work presents a neural network based model for inferring air quality from traffic measurements. It is important to obtain information on air quality in urban environments in order to meet legislative and policy requirements. Measurement equipment tends to be expensive to purchase and maintain. Therefore, a model based approach capable of accurate determination of pollution levels is highly beneficial. The objective of this study was to develop a neural network model to accurately infer pollution levels from existing data sources in Leicester, UK. Neural Networks are models made of several highly interconnected processing elements. These elements process information by their dynamic state response to inputs. Problems which were not solvable by traditional algorithmic approaches frequently can be solved using neural networks. This paper shows that using a simple neural network with traffic and meteorological data as inputs, the air quality can be estimated with a good level of generalisation and in near real-time. By applying these models to links rather than nodes, this methodology can directly be used to inform traffic engineers and direct traffic management decisions towards enhancing local air quality and traffic management simultaneously.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Ryhmäilmiöt ja opettaja ryhmän toiminnan kehittäjänä liikunnassa

Tiivistelmä. Tämä kandidaatintutkielma on systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus, jossa tarkasteltiin ryhmäilmiöihin liittyviä teemoja sekä opettajan persoonan, vuorovaikutustaitojen ja pedagogisten ratkaisujen vaikutusta ryhmän toimintaan ja sen yksilöihin. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, mitä asioita liikunnanopettajan tulee ottaa huomioon organisoidessaan liikuntatunteja, jotta ryhmän toiminta olisi tavoitteellista ja mielekästä. Tässä kirjallisuuskatsauksessa on käytetty sekä kotimaisia että ulkomaisia lähteitä. Kerätyn aineiston pohjalta tarkasteltiin ryhmän toiminnan kannalta keskeisimpiä teemoja ja kuinka opettaja voi kehittää ryhmän toimintaa sekä huomioida sen jäsenten tarpeet, siten että kaikki saisivat positiivisia kokemuksia liikunnasta. Jotta liikuntatunneilla saataisiin oppilaille onnistumisen kokemuksia sekä pätevyyden tuntemuksia, on opettajan syytä huomioida ryhmän toimintaan, sen välisiin suhteisiin ja vuorovaikutukseen liittyviä tekijöitä, ja että nämä tekijät ovat jatkuvassa vuorovaikutuksessa keskenään. Opettajan on myös tärkeää tiedostaa, että yksittäisellä ryhmän jäsenellä on merkittävä vaikutus ryhmään ja sen motivaatioilmastoon. Yksilöiden vaikutusten myötä ryhmä on dynaaminen kaiken aikaa muuttuva ilmiö, jonka vuoksi opettajalla tulee olla valmiuksia muokata opetustaan ja omaa toimintaansa tilanteisiin sopivilla tavoilla. Liikuntatuntien suunnittelussa ja toteuttamisessa tulee ottaa huomioon monia ryhmän ja sen yksilöiden toimintaan liittyviä asioita. Ryhmäilmiöt huomioiden ja erilaisia pedagogisia ratkaisuja käyttäen opettaja voi vaikuttaa liikuntatuntien motivaatioilmastoon, tavoitteiden mukaiseen toimintaan ja liikunnallisen elämäntavan omaksumiseen. Myös opettajan oma persoona sekä hänen vuorovaikutus- ja tunnetaidot ovat merkittäviä tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat ryhmän ja sen yksilöiden toimintaan liikuntatunnilla

A numerical model of birch pollen emission and dispersion in the atmosphere. Description of the emission module

A birch pollen emission model is described and its main features are discussed. The development of the model is based on a double-threshold temperature sum model that describes the propagation of the flowering season and naturally links to the thermal time models to predict the onset and duration of flowering. For the flowering season, the emission model considers ambient humidity and precipitation rate, both of which suppress the pollen release, as well as wind speed and turbulence intensity, which promote it. These dependencies are qualitatively evaluated using the aerobiological observations. Reflecting the probabilistic character of the flowering of an individual tree in a population, the model introduces relaxation functions at the start and end of the season. The physical basis of the suggested birch pollen emission model is compared with another comprehensive emission module reported in literature. The emission model has been implemented in the SILAM dispersion modelling system, the results of which are evaluated in a companion paper

Orexin-A measurement in narcolepsy : A stability study and a comparison of LC-MS/MS and immunoassays

Background: Orexin-A and-B are neuropeptides involved in sleep-wake regulation. In human narcolepsy type 1, this cycle is disrupted due to loss of orexin-producing neurons in the hypothalamus. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) orexin-A measurement is used in the diagnosis of narcolepsy type 1. Currently available immunoassays may lack specificity for accurate orexin quantification. We developed and validated a liquid chromatography mass spectrometry assay (LC-MS/MS) for CSF orexin-A and B. Methods: We used CSF samples from narcolepsy type 1 (n = 22) and type 2 (n = 6) and non-narcoleptic controls (n = 44). Stable isotope-labeled orexin-A and-B internal standards were added to samples before solid-phase extraction and quantification by LC-MS/MS. The samples were also assayed by commercial radioimmunoassay (RIA, n = 42) and enzymatic immunoassay (EIA, n = 72) kits. Stability of orexins in CSF was studied for 12 months. Results: Our assay has a good sensitivity (10 pmol/L = 35 pg/mL) and a wide linear range (35-3500 pg/mL). Added orexin-A and-B were stable in CSF for 12 and 3 months, respectively, when frozen. The median orexin-A concentration in CSF from narcolepsy type 1 patients was <35 pg/mL (range <35-131 pg/mL), which was lower than that in CSF from control individuals (98 pg/mL, range <35-424 pg/mL). Orexin-A concentrations determined using our LC-MS/MS assay were five times lower than those measured with a commercial RIA. Orexin-B concentrations were undetectable Conclusions: Orexin-A concentrations measured by our LC-MS/MS assay were lower in narcolepsy type 1 patients as compared to controls. RIA yielded on average higher concentrations than LC-MS/MS.Peer reviewe

Time-dependent density-functional theory approach to nonlinear particle-solid interactions in comparison with scattering theory

An explicit expression for the quadratic density-response function of a many-electron system is obtained in the framework of the time-dependent density-functional theory, in terms of the linear and quadratic density-response functions of noninteracting Kohn-Sham electrons and functional derivatives of the time-dependent exchange-correlation potential. This is used to evaluate the quadratic stopping power of a homogeneous electron gas for slow ions, which is demonstrated to be equivalent to that obtained up to second order in the ion charge in the framework of a fully nonlinear scattering approach. Numerical calculations are reported, thereby exploring the range of validity of quadratic-response theory.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte

Suppression of hole-hole scattering in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures under uniaxial compression

Resistance, magnetoresistance and their temperature dependencies have been investigated in the 2D hole gas at a [001] p-GaAs/Al$_{0.5}$Ga$_{0.5}$As heterointerface under [110] uniaxial compression. Analysis performed in the frame of hole-hole scattering between carriers in the two spin splitted subbands of the ground heavy hole state indicates, that h-h scattering is strongly suppressed by uniaxial compression. The decay time $\tau_{01}$ of the relative momentum reveals 4.5 times increase at a uniaxial compression of 1.3 kbar.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. submitted to Phys.Rev.

Spin-fluctuation exchange study of superconductivity in two- and three-dimensional single-band Hubbard models

In order to identify the most favorable situation for superconductivity in the repulsive single-band Hubbard model, we have studied instabilities for d-wave pairing mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations and p-pairing mediated by ferromagnetic fluctuations with the fluctuation exchange approximation in both two dimensions and three dimensions. By systematically varying the band filling and band structure we have shown that (i) d-pairing is stronger in two dimensions than in three dimensions, and (ii) p-pairing is much weaker than the d-pairing.Comment: RevTex, 5 figures in Postscript, to be published in Phys. Rev.