Basic concepts for convection parameterization in weather forecast and climate models: COST Action ES0905 final report

The research network “Basic Concepts for Convection Parameterization in Weather Forecast and Climate Models” was organized with European funding (COST Action ES0905) for the period of 2010–2014. Its extensive brainstorming suggests how the subgrid-scale parameterization problem in atmospheric modeling, especially for convection, can be examined and developed from the point of view of a robust theoretical basis. Our main cautions are current emphasis on massive observational data analyses and process studies. The closure and the entrainment–detrainment problems are identified as the two highest priorities for convection parameterization under the mass–flux formulation. The need for a drastic change of the current European research culture as concerns policies and funding in order not to further deplete the visions of the European researchers focusing on those basic issues is emphasized

A new methodology to assess the performance and uncertainty of source apportionment models II: The results of two European intercomparison exercises

The performance and the uncertainty of receptor models (RMs) were assessed in intercomparison exercises employing real-world and synthetic input datasets. To that end, the results obtained by different practitioners using ten different RMs were compared with a reference. In order to explain the differences in the performances and uncertainties of the different approaches, the apportioned mass, the number of sources, the chemical profiles, the contribution-to-species and the time trends of the sources were all evaluated using the methodology described in Belis et al. (2015). In this study, 87% of the 344 source contribution estimates (SCEs) reported by participants in 47 different source apportionment model results met the 50% standard uncertainty quality objective established for the performance test. In addition, 68% of the SCE uncertainties reported in the results were coherent with the analytical uncertainties in the input data. The most used models, EPA-PMF v.3, PMF2 and EPA-CMB 8.2, presented quite satisfactory performances in the estimation of SCEs while unconstrained models, that do not account for the uncertainty in the input data (e.g. APCS and FA-MLRA), showed below average performance. Sources with well-defined chemical profiles and seasonal time trends, that make appreciable contributions (>10%), were those better quantified by the models while those with contributions to the PM mass close to 1% represented a challenge. The results of the assessment indicate that RMs are capable of estimating the contribution of the major pollution source categories over a given time window with a level of accuracy that is in line with the needs of air quality management

Adult lung function and long-term air pollution exposure. ESCAPE: a multicentre cohort study and meta-analysis.

The chronic impact of ambient air pollutants on lung function in adults is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with lung function in adult participants from five cohorts in the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE). Residential exposure to nitrogen oxides (NO\u2082, NOx) and particulate matter (PM) was modelled and traffic indicators were assessed in a standardised manner. The spirometric parameters forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV\u2081) and forced vital capacity (FVC) from 7613 subjects were considered as outcomes. Cohort-specific results were combined using meta-analysis. We did not observe an association of air pollution with longitudinal change in lung function, but we observed that a 10 \u3bcg\ub7m(-3) increase in NO\u2082 exposure was associated with lower levels of FEV\u2081 (-14.0 mL, 95% CI -25.8 to -2.1) and FVC (-14.9 mL, 95% CI -28.7 to -1.1). An increase of 10 \u3bcg\ub7m(-3) in PM10, but not other PM metrics (PM2.5, coarse fraction of PM, PM absorbance), was associated with a lower level of FEV\u2081 (-44.6 mL, 95% CI -85.4 to -3.8) and FVC (-59.0 mL, 95% CI -112.3 to -5.6). The associations were particularly strong in obese persons. This study adds to the evidence for an adverse association of ambient air pollution with lung function in adults at very low levels in Europe

Variation of NO2 and NOx concentrations between and within 36 European study areas: Results from the ESCAPE study

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Differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells and the regulation of protein kinase C-alpha

Dedifferentiation and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are important features of atherosclerosis. The molecular mechanisms are largely unclear; however, protein kinase C (PKC) is a key enzyme in the intracellular signaling pathways that mediate this process. We studied the activity and immunoreactivity of PKC-alpha in primary cultures of VSMCs from rat aortas under different conditions of growth and differentiation. PKC-alpha was determined under the following conditions: (1) during the growth phase and after confluence of cultured (passages 1 through 3) VSMCs, (2) before and after induction of differentiation in VSMCs by retinoic acid, and (3) in primary cultures of VSMCs from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats during early passages. PKC activity was measured by in vitro substrate phosphorylation. PKC-alpha immunoreactivity was assessed by Western blot using specific polyclonal antibodies and by immunostaining with confocal microscopy. Cell proliferation was measured by direct count. The cell phenotype was characterized by immunostaining and Western blot for alpha-actin and desmin. PKC-alpha expression and PKC activity during VSMC growth showed a decrease during rapid growth and an increase in confluent cells. This pattern was associated with the respective changes in cell differentiation. Retinoic acid induced an increase in PKC-alpha expression together with a more differentiated phenotype. Subcultured, rapidly growing VSMCs from SHR showed a decreased PKC-alpha expression compared with cells from WKY rats. To establish cause and effect, we next microinjected either PKC-alpha or inactivated material directly into dedifferentiated cells. We found that cells injected with active PKC-alpha expressed increased amounts of actin compared with control cells