On the Radiative Impact of Biomass-Burning Aerosols in the Arctic: The August 2017 Case Study

Boreal fires have increased during the last years and are projected to become more intense and frequent as a consequence of climate change. Wildfires produce a wide range of effects on the Arctic climate and ecosystem, and understanding these effects is crucial for predicting the future evolution of the Arctic region. This study focuses on the impact of the long-range transport of biomass-burning aerosol into the atmosphere and the corresponding radiative perturbation in the shortwave frequency range. As a case study, we investigate an intense biomass-burning (BB) event which took place in summer 2017 in Canada and subsequent northeastward transport of gases and particles in the plume leading to exceptionally high values (0.86) of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 500 nm measured in northwestern Greenland on 21 August 2017. This work characterizes the BB plume measured at the Thule High Arctic Atmospheric Observatory (THAAO; 76.53° N, °68.74° W) in August 2017 by assessing the associated shortwave aerosol direct radiative impact over the THAAO and extending this evaluation over the broader region (60° N-80° N, 110° W-0° E). The radiative transfer simulations with MODTRAN6.0 estimated an aerosol heating rate of up to 0.5 K/day in the upper aerosol layer (8-12 km). The direct aerosol radiative effect (ARE) vertical profile shows a maximum negative value of -45.4 Wm-2 for a 78° solar zenith angle above THAAO at 3 km altitude. A cumulative surface ARE of -127.5 TW is estimated to have occurred on 21 August 2017 over a portion (3.1 10^6 km2) of the considered domain (60° N-80° N, 110° W-0° E). ARE regional mean daily values over the same portion of the domain vary between -65 and -25 Wm-2. Although this is a limited temporal event, this effect can have significant influence on the Arctic radiative budget, especially in the anticipated scenario of increasing wildfires

Biogenic Aerosol in the Artic from Eight Years of MSA Data from Ny Ålesund (Svalbard Islands) and Thule (Greenland)

In remote marine areas, biogenic productivity and atmospheric particulate are coupled through dimethylsulfide (DMS) emission by phytoplankton. Once in the atmosphere, the gaseous DMS is oxidized to produce H2SO4 and methanesulfonic acid (MSA); both species can a ect the formation of cloud condensation nuclei. This study analyses eight years of biogenic aerosol evolution and variability at two Arctic sites: Thule (76.5 N, 68.8 W) and Ny Ålesund (78.9 N, 11.9 E). Sea ice plays a key role in determining the MSA concentration in polar regions. At the beginning of the melting season, in April, up to June, the biogenic aerosol concentration appears inversely correlated with sea ice extent and area, and positively correlated with the extent of the ice-free area in the marginal ice zone (IF-MIZ). The upper ocean stratification induced by sea ice melting might have a role in these correlations, since the springtime formation of this surface layer regulates the accumulation of phytoplankton and nutrients, allowing the DMS to escape from the sea to the atmosphere. The multiyear analysis reveals a progressive decrease in MSA concentration in May at Thule and an increase in July August at Ny Ålesund. Therefore, while the MSA seasonal evolution is mainly related with the sea ice retreat in April, May, and June, the IF-MIZ extent appears as the main factor a ecting the longer-term behavior of MSA.MIUR PRIN 2007 and PRIN 2009, PNRA 2010-2012, PNRA 2015-2016, PNRA 2016-2018Publishedid 3495A. Ricerche polari e paleoclimaJCR Journa

The Ma_Miss instrument performance, II: Band parameters of rocks powders spectra by Martian VNIR spectrometer

We wish to thank the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for funding and fully supporting the Ma_Miss experiment (ASI/INAF grant I/ 060/10/0). We also thank G.F. De Astis (INGV) for providing the Aeolian samples, and A.Frigeri for providing the red micritic limestone. We thank an anonymous reviewer for useful comments and suggestions.The Ma_Miss instrument (Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies, Coradini et al. (2001)) is a Visible and Near Infrared miniaturized spectrometer that will observe the Martian subsurface in the 0.4-2.2 μm spectral range. The instrument will be entirely hosted within the Drill of the ExoMars-2018 Pasteur Rover: it will allow analyzing the borehole wall excavated by the Drill, at different depths, down to 2 m. The aim will be to investigate and characterize the mineralogy and stratigraphy of the shallow Martian subsurface. A series of spectroscopic measurements have been performed in order to characterize the spectral performances of the laboratory model of the instrument (breadboard). A set of six samples have been analyzed. Each sample (four volcanic rocks, a micritic limestone and a calcite) has been reduced in particulate form, ground, sieved and divided into nine different grain sizes in the range d<0.02÷0.8 mm. Spectroscopic measurements have been performed on all samples using two distinct experimental setup: (a) the Ma_Miss breadboard, and (b) the Spectro-Goniometer setup, both in use in the laboratory at INAF - IAPS. In a previous paper spectral parameters such as the continuum slope and the reflectance level of the spectra have been discussed (De Angelis et al., 2014). In this work we focus our discussion on absorption band parameters (position, depth, area, band slope and asymmetry). We analyzed/investigated the absorption features at 1 μm for the volcanic samples and at 1.4, 1.9 and 2.2 μm for the two carbonate samples. Band parameters have been retrieved from spectra measured with both experimental setup and then compared. The comparison shows that band parameters are mutually consistent: band centers (for carbonate samples) are similar within few percent, and band depth and area values (for carbonates) show consistent trends vs. grain size (decreasing towards coarser grains) for most of samples

Constraining the ship contribution to the aerosol of the Central Mediterranean

Abstract. Particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters lower than 10 µm, (PM10) aerosol samples were collected during summer 2013 within the framework of the Chemistry and Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx) at two sites located north (Capo Granitola) and south (Lampedusa Island), respectively, of the main Mediterranean shipping route in the Straight of Sicily. The PM10 samples were collected with 12 h time resolutions at both sites. Selected metals, main anions, cations and elemental and organic carbon were determined. The evolution of soluble V and Ni concentrations (typical markers of heavy fuel oil combustion) was related to meteorology and ship traffic intensity in the Straight of Sicily, using a high-resolution regional model for calculation of back trajectories. Elevated concentration of V and Ni at Capo Granitola and Lampedusa are found to correspond with air masses from the Straight of Sicily and coincidences between trajectories and positions of large ships; the vertical structure of the planetary boundary layer also appears to play a role, with high V values associated with strong inversions and a stable boundary layer. The V concentration was generally lower at Lampedusa than at Capo Granitola V, where it reached a peak value of 40 ng m−3. Concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs), La and Ce in particular, were used to identify possible contributions from refineries, whose emissions are also characterized by elevated V and Ni amounts; refinery emissions are expected to display high La ∕ Ce and La ∕ V ratios due to the use of La in the fluid catalytic converter systems. In general, low La ∕ Ce and La ∕ V ratios were observed in the PM samples. The combination of the analyses based on chemical markers, air mass trajectories and ship routes allows us to unambiguously identify the large role of the ship source in the Straight of Sicily. Based on the sampled aerosols, ratios of the main aerosol species arising from ship emission with respect to V were estimated with the aim of deriving a lower limit for the total ship contribution to PM10. The estimated minimum ship emission contributions to PM10 were 2.0 µg m−3 at Lampedusa and 3.0 µg m−3 at Capo Granitola, corresponding with 11 and 8.6 % of PM10, respectively

The spectral imaging facility: Setup characterization

The SPectral IMager (SPIM) facility is a laboratory visible infrared spectrometer developed to support space borne observations of rocky bodies of the solar system. Currently, this laboratory setup is used to support the DAWN mission, which is in its journey towards the asteroid 1-Ceres, and to support the 2018 Exo-Mars mission in the spectral investigation of the Martian subsurface. The main part of this setup is an imaging spectrometer that is a spare of the DAWN visible infrared spectrometer. The spectrometer has been assembled and calibrated at Selex ES and then installed in the facility developed at the INAF-IAPS laboratory in Rome. The goal of SPIM is to collect data to build spectral libraries for the interpretation of the space borne and in situ hyperspectral measurements of planetary materials. Given its very high spatial resolution combined with the imaging capability, this instrument can also help in the detailed study of minerals and rocks. In this paper, the instrument setup is first described, and then a series of test measurements, aimed to the characterization of the main subsystems, are reported. In particular, laboratory tests have been performed concerning (i) the radiation sources, (ii) the reference targets, and (iii) linearity of detector response; the instrumental imaging artifacts have also been investigated. <P /

Blood transcriptomics of drug-na\uefve sporadic Parkinson's disease patients

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is clinically defined in terms of motor symptoms. These are preceded by prodromal non-motor manifestations that prove the systemic nature of the disease. Identifying genes and pathways altered in living patients provide new information on the diagnosis and pathogenesis of sporadic PD. METHODS: Changes in gene expression in the blood of 40 sporadic PD patients and 20 healthy controls ("Discovery set") were analyzed by taking advantage of the Affymetrix platform. Patients were at the onset of motor symptoms and before initiating any pharmacological treatment. Data analysis was performed by applying Ranking-Principal Component Analysis, PUMA and Significance Analysis of Microarrays. Functional annotations were assigned using GO, DAVID, GSEA to unveil significant enriched biological processes in the differentially expressed genes. The expressions of selected genes were validated using RT-qPCR and samples from an independent cohort of 12 patients and controls ("Validation set"). RESULTS: Gene expression profiling of blood samples discriminates PD patients from healthy controls and identifies differentially expressed genes in blood. The majority of these are also present in dopaminergic neurons of the Substantia Nigra, the key site of neurodegeneration. Together with neuronal apoptosis, lymphocyte activation and mitochondrial dysfunction, already found in previous analysis of PD blood and post-mortem brains, we unveiled transcriptome changes enriched in biological terms related to epigenetic modifications including chromatin remodeling and methylation. Candidate transcripts as CBX5, TCF3, MAN1C1 and DOCK10 were validated by RT-qPCR. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the use of blood transcriptomics to study neurodegenerative diseases. It identifies changes in crucial components of chromatin remodeling and methylation machineries as early events in sporadic PD suggesting epigenetics as target for therapeutic intervention

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good