Potential of the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor for the monitoring of terrestrial chlorophyll fluorescence

Global monitoring of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is improving our knowledge about the photosynthetic functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. The feasibility of SIF retrievals from spaceborne atmospheric spectrometers has been demonstrated by a number of studies in the last years. In this work, we investigate the potential of the upcoming TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite mission for SIF retrieval. TROPOMI will sample the 675–775 nm spectral window with a spectral resolution of 0.5 nm and a pixel size of 7 km × 7 km. We use an extensive set of simulated TROPOMI data in order to assess the uncertainty of single SIF retrievals and subsequent spatio-temporal composites. Our results illustrate the enormous improvement in SIF monitoring achievable with TROPOMI with respect to comparable spectrometers currently in-flight, such as the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) instrument. We find that TROPOMI can reduce global uncertainties in SIF mapping by more than a factor of 2 with respect to GOME-2, which comes together with an approximately 5-fold improvement in spatial sampling. Finally, we discuss the potential of TROPOMI to map other important vegetation parameters at a global scale with moderate spatial resolution and short revisit time. Those include leaf photosynthetic pigments and proxies for canopy structure, which will complement SIF retrievals for a self-contained description of vegetation condition and functioning

Outcome of renal grafts after simultaneous kidney/ pancreas transplantation

Nineteen patients with endstage renal failure due to Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus received simultaneous pancreas/kidney transplants using bladder drainage technique. Another group of 25 Type 1 diabetic patients received pancreas/kidney transplants by the duct occlusion technique. We observed a higher incidence of rejection episodes in the patients of the bladder drainage group than those in the duct occlusion group, 14 of 19 patients (74%) vs 7 of 25 (28%) respectively. Anti CD3 antibodies (Orthoclone, OKT3) as a part of induction treatment was used more often in the bladder drainage group (58%) than in the control group (20%)

OPTIMIST: A new conflict resolution algorithm for ACT-R.

Several studies have suggested recently that a more dynamic conflict resolution mechanism in the ACT-R cognitive architecture (Anderson & Lebiere, 1998) could improve the decision-making behaviour of cognitive models. This part of ACT-R theory is revisited and a new solution is proposed. The new algorithm (OPTIMIST) has been implemented as an overlay to the ACT-R architecture, and can be used as an alternative mechanism. The operation of the new algorithm is tested in a model of the classical Yerkes and Dodson experiement of animals' learning. When OPTIMIST is used, the resulting model fits the data better than the previous model (e.g. R2 (R squared) increases from .85 to .93 in one example)

Estudo preliminar do vermicomposto produzido a partir de lodo de esgoto doméstico e solo

O lodo de esgoto doméstico é um resíduo gerado durante os processos de tratamento de esgoto, podendo ser estabilizado por diversos processos químicos, físicos e biológicos. O lodo de esgoto estabilizado (biossólido) não possui um destino final adequado e gera diversos problemas no sentido de sua disposição final. Dentre os muitos processos que visam à disposição do biossólido, destaca-se a reciclagem agrícola. A utilização da vermicompostagem como meio de estabilização do lodo de esgoto mostra-se como uma ferramenta útil na estabilização deste resíduo. O processo de vermicompostagem apresentou características físico-químicas satisfatórias para ser utilizado como técnica de estabilização do lodo de esgoto doméstico. O produto final apresentou potencial para ser utilizado na agricultura como fertilizante ou condicionador de solos.Domestic waste, a residue generated during sewage treatments, can be stabilized by many chemical, physical and biological processes. However, the stabilized waste (biosoil) currently lacks proper disposal alternatives. A new and promising disposal method is called farm recycling. The use of vermicomposting has shown to be useful as a mean to stabilize domestic waste. The biosoil achieved through this method exhibits high humidity-retaining capacity, good C/N relationship, as well as a satisfactory percentage of humic acid, thus being able to be incorporated into the soil as a conditioner and fertilizer

Justiça como reconhecimento do outro: dimensões éticas e pedagógicas das políticas de ação afirmativa

Este breve ensaio tem por objetivo analisar as dimensões éticas das políticas de ação afirmativa (para a população negra) que tenham referência à justiça como reconhecimento do outro, seu valor central. Pretende-se, aqui, apresentar de forma limitada alguns apontamentos e questionamentos que dizem respeito à tematização das políticas de ação afirmativa na problemática da desigualdade racial no Brasil. Trata-se de um esboço inicial, já que à medida que a temática da questão racial avança, consolida-se a necessidade do debate sobre o reconhecimento ético do combate ao racismo e de todas as formas de desigualdades raciais. Em linhas gerais, a ação afirmativa deve ser entendida como todo e qualquer esforço de promoção da igualdade dos grupos que sofrem ou são vulneráveis à discriminação. No entanto, não tratamos o tema da igualdade racial como significado de justiça de forma automática, trata-se aqui da necessidade do reconhecimento do outro como uma dimensão ética fundamental. Nesse sentido, tomamos como referência o pensamento da alteridade de Emmanuel Levinas, no qual nos deparamos com a centralidade do sentido ético e da própria interpelação da alteridade na busca da justiça. Palavras-chave: Justiça. Reconhecimento. Levinas. Ação afirmativa.

Intranasally Applied Neuropeptide S Shifts a High-Anxiety Electrophysiological Endophenotype in the Ventral Hippocampus towards a "Normal"-Anxiety One

The neurobiological basis of pathological anxiety and the improvement of its pharmacological treatment are a matter of intensive investigation. Here, using electrophysiological techniques in brain slices from animals of the high anxiety-related behavior (HAB) and normal anxiety-related behavior (NAB) mouse model, we show that basal neurotransmission at ventral hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses is weaker in HAB compared to NAB mice. We further demonstrate that paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) and long-term potentiation (LTP) at these synapses are more pronounced in slices from HAB animals. Based on previous findings, we also examined whether intranasal delivery of neuropeptide S (NPS), which increasingly emerges as a potential novel treatment option for anxiety symptoms occurring in a variety of diseases like anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and major depression, impacts on the high-anxiety electrophysiological endophenotype in HAB mice. Strikingly, we detected enhanced basal neurotransmission and reduced PPF and LTP in slices from NPS-treated HAB animals. Collectively, our study uncovers a multifaceted high-anxiety neurophysiological endophenotype in the murine ventral hippocampus and provides the first evidence that an intranasally applied neuropeptide can shift such an endophenotype in an anxiety-regulating brain structure towards a "normal"-anxiety one

Retrieval of stratospheric aerosol density profiles from SCIAMACHY limb radiance measurements in the O₂ A-band

In this paper we present an approach to retrieve stratospheric aerosol number densities in the altitude range 10–40 km from SCIAMACHY limb radiance measurements in the spectral range of the O2 A absorption band, near 760 nm. Here, the characteristic light paths differ for the measured light in the O2 A-band and in the spectral continuum next to the absorption band. This difference is used to distinguish the effect of stratospheric aerosol scattering and ground reflection on the limb measurement. The capability to disentangle both effects is illustrated for SCIAMACHY limb observations over the Libyan desert, where the measurements are not affected by tropospheric clouds. Comparison of the SCIAMACHY retrieval and the SAGE II aerosol extinction product between 75&deg; southern and northern latitude shows the clear need for prior knowledge of the mean size of the stratospheric aerosol for the SCIAMACHY retrieval. We found best agreement between SCIAMACHY and SAGE II aerosol extinction for the period 2003–2005 for a prior choice of the mean aerosol size radius of 0.2 μm. The overall agreement between both data sets is in the range <50% root mean square difference at 14–30 km with a minimum of 30% at 22 km

Well-posedness of minimal time problems with constant dynamics in Banach spaces

This paper concerns the study of a general minimal time problem with a convex constant dynamics and a closed target set in Banach spaces. We pay the main attention to deriving sufficient conditions for the major well-posedness properties that include the existence and uniqueness of optimal solutions as well as certain regularity of the optimal value function with respect to state variables. Most of the results obtained are new even in finite-dimensional spaces. Our approach is based on advanced tools of variational analysis and generalized differentiation