New Technological Interventions in Conservation Conflicts : Countering Emotions and Contested Knowledge

RCUK Digital Economy programme Grant number EP/G066051/1 Open access via Springer Compact AgreementPeer reviewedPublisher PD

A New Retrieval of Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence in Water from Ocean Colour Measurements Applied on OLCI L-1b and L-2

The retrieval of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence is greatly beneficial to studies of marine phytoplankton biomass, physiology, and composition, and is required for user applications and services. Customarily phytoplankton chlorophyll fluorescence is determined from satellite measurements through a fluorescence line-height algorithm using three bands around 680 nm. We propose here a modified retrieval, making use of all available bands in the relevant wavelength range, with the goal to improve the effectiveness of the algorithm in optically complex waters. For the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), we quantify a Fluorescence Peak Height by fitting a Gaussian function and related terms to the top-of-atmosphere reflectance bands between 650 and 750 nm. This algorithm retrieves, what we call Fluorescence Peak Height by fitting a Gaussian function upon other terms to top-of-atmosphere reflectance bands between 650 and 750 nm. This approach is applicable to Level-1 and Level-2 data. We find a good correlation of the retrieved fluorescence product to global in-situ chlorophyll measurements, as well as a consistent relation between chlorophyll concentration and fluorescence from radiative transfer modelling and OLCI/in-situ comparison. Evidence suggests, the algorithm is applicable to complex waters without needing an atmospheric correction and vicarious calibration, and features an inherent correction of small spectral shifts, as required for OLCI measurements

Using ESA’s MERIS as a Proxy for DSCOVR-EPIC

Medium Spectral Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) oxygen A band measurements were used as a proxy for the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC),to be launched on NASA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). The high spatial resolution of MERIS (1 × 1 km2) is exploited to study the effects of subscale spatialheterogeneity of clouds on the cloud-top pressure retrieved at the coarser spatial resolutionof EPIC (10 × 10 km2). In general, for a sub- scale cloud fraction less than 1, a shift of cloud-top pressure toward the middle atmosphere is found, with a low-bias for highclouds and a high-bias for low clouds. In addition, the deviation is found to be a function of surface reflectance. The subscale variability of fully clouded EPIC pixels causes a weak underestimation of cloud-top pressure, when compared to averaged high- resolution retrievals. View Full-Tex

The dynamics of volunteer motivations for engaging in the management of invasive plants : Insights from a mixed-methods study on Scottish seabird islands

Acknowledgments The authors thank the SOS Puffin volunteers and the Craigleith Management Group for their support in this research project. We also thank John Hunt (SOS Puffin), Anja Byg and Kerry Waylen (The James Hutton Institute), Norman Dandy (Plunkett Foundation), Michelle Pinard (University of Aberdeen), and four anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier versions of this paper. We acknowledge funding by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland. (NERC).Peer reviewedPostprin

Retrieval of daytime total columnar water vapour from MODIS measurements over land surfaces

A retrieval of total column water vapour (TCWV) from MODIS (Moderate- resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) measurements is presented. The algorithm is adapted from a retrieval for MERIS (Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) from Lindstrot et al. (2012). It obtains the TCWV for cloud-free scenes above land at spatial resolution of 1 km×1 km and provides uncertainties on a pixel- by-pixel basis. The algorithm has been extended by introducing correction coefficients for the transmittance calculation within the forward operator. With that a wet bias of the MODIS algorithm against ARMMicrowave Radiometer data has been eliminated. An extensive validation against other ground-based measurements (GNSS-water vapour stations, GUAN Radiosondes) on a global scale reveals a bias between −0.8 and −1.6mm and root mean square deviations between 0.9 and 1.9 mm. This is an improvement in comparison to the operational TCWV Level 2 product (bias between −1.9 and −3.2mm and root mean square deviations between 1.9 and 2.7 mm)

Estimation of Aerosol Layer Height from OLCI Measurements in the O2A-Absorption Band over Oceans

The aerosol layer height (ALH) is an important parameter that characterizes aerosol interaction with the environment. An estimation of the vertical distribution of aerosol is necessary for studies of those interactions, their effect on radiance and for aerosol transport models. ALH can be retrieved from satellite-based radiance measurements within the oxygen absorption band between 760 and 770 nm (2A band). The oxygen absorption is reduced when light is scattered by an elevated aerosol layer. The Ocean and Land Colour Imager (OLCI) has three bands within the oxygen absorption band. We show a congruent sensitivity study with respect to ALH for dust and smoke cases over oceans. Furthermore, we developed a retrieval of the ALH for those cases and an uncertainty estimation by applying linear uncertainty propagation and a bootstrap method. The sensitivity study and the uncertainty estimation are based on radiative transfer simulations. The impact of ALH, aerosol optical thickness (AOT), the surface roughness (wind speed) and the central wavelength on the top of atmosphere (TOA) radiance is discussed. The OLCI bands are sufficiently sensitive to ALH for cases with AOTs larger than 0.5 under the assumption of a known aerosol type. With an accurate spectral characterization of the OLCI 2A bands better than 0.1 nm, ALH can be retrieved with an uncertainty of a few hundred meters. The retrieval of ALH was applied successfully on an OLCI dust and smoke scene. The found ALH is similar to parallel measurements by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI). OLCI’s high spatial resolution and coverage allow a detailed overview of the vertical aerosol distribution over oceans

Effective microRNAs for cell line engineering and cellular mechanisms of action

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) constitute an important class of small non-coding RNAs and are imperative for the regulation of gene expression in mammalian cells. By post-transcriptionally modulating the expression of hundreds of different genes concomitantly, miRNAs are capable of regulating entire cellular pathways to control cellular phenotypes. Thus, miRNAs represent promising tools for cell engineering of biopharmaceutical production cells. By taking advantage of a functional high-content miRNA screening procedure we were able to identify \u3e750 miRNAs significantly affecting protein expression, cell growth, apoptosis and necrosis in CHO cells. Functionality of impactful miRNAs could be successfully validated in secondary screening approaches as well as by stable miRNA overexpression. Furthermore, we demonstrate that identified pro-productive miRNAs were able to substantially increase monoclonal antibody yields of two industrial high-producing CHO cell lines expressing different monoclonal antibodies. To better understand the molecular mechanisms behind this improved phenotype, we analyzed selected pro-productive miRNAs and were able to reveal downstream mRNA targets and underlying cellular mechanisms of action. In this conjunction, we identified the ubiquitin pathway to be involved in enhanced protein production induced by the miR-30 family, miR-2861 was discovered as a potential HDAC5 inhibitor enhancing productivity in CHO cells while maintaining product quality and miR-483 was shown to act as species independent universal enhancer of cellular antibody and viral productivity while mimicking mild hypothermia. These significant findings reveal not only the existence of effective miRNAs for the use in cell line engineering but also shed light on underlying mechanisms of action within the cellular environment supporting the hypothesis that miRNAs regulate diverse and essential cellular pathways important for industrial protein production. Engineering production cell lines using miRNAs therefore constitutes a highly attractive and easy-to-use methodology to substantially enhance cellular productivity

Diseño aplicación y evaluación de un programa de enseñanza básica de polo acuático.

Documento en pdf.La Provincia del Guayas cuenta con escenarios deportivos para la natación, públicos y privados; hace aproximadamente 40 años se inició el polo acuático, con la participación de nadadores salidos de academias y clubes que decidieron pasar a la práctica competitiva del polo acuático, complementando la técnica de natación con las técnicas específicas de nado del Polo Acuático, el dominio del balón y las tácticas de juego. Pero estos deportistas jóvenes desafiaban el nivel técnico-táctico de otros países obteniendo pocos resultados. Por ello surgió la elaboración de un programa de enseñanza básica para llegar a la masificación de este deporte, con ejecución de un plan práctico, que lleve desde el inicio una secuencia en la formación y enseñanza de la natación, hasta la aplicación de las diferentes técnicas de nado y dominio de balón; habiéndose invitado a técnicos, monitores de natación y profesores de Cultura Física a involucrarse en el presente proyecto, con el fin de lograr el fomento y desarrollo del Polo Acuático competitivo a nivel local y provincial. La ejecución de este programa, que tuvo el apoyo de la Federación Deportiva del Guayas y un técnico docente en actividades acuáticas y deportivas, involucró a 30 participantes menores de 12 años durante el período 2013