Aerosol – remote sensing, characterization and aerosol-radiation interaction

Die Wechselwirkung von Aerosol und Strahlung in der Atmosphäre beeinflusst stark die Energiebilanz der Erde. Durch die großräumige Erfassung der horizontalen und vertikalen Verteilung von Aerosoleigenschaften in der Atmosphäre liefern Fernerkundungstechniken einen wichtigen Beitrag zu unserem Verständnis des Klimasystems. Genaue Beobachtungen durch langfristige operationelle Satellitenmissionen und zuverlässige Referenzmessungen vom Boden aus sind auch für die Ableitung und Verbesserung satelliten- und modellgestützter Aerosoldatensätze unerlässlich. Dies gilt insbesondere über dem Ozean. Mittels Fernerkundungsmethoden werden in dieser Dissertation bestimmte optische Eigenschaften von Aerosol und dessen Strahlungseffekt untersucht. Ein Teil der Datengrundlage hierfür wurde auf fünf Fahrten mit dem Forschungsschiff Polarstern mittels eines multispektralen Schattenbandradiometers erhoben. Anhand dieser Daten werden die aus theoretischen Betrachtungen abgeleitete Unsicherheit der Irradianzmessung von etwa 2 % anhand eines Vergleichs mit Sonnenphotometerbeobachtungen an Land und auf dem Schiff bestätigt. Unter Verwendung Schiffs-gestützter Referenzdaten werden im Rahmen dieser Dissertation mehrere weitere Aerosoldatensätze evaluiert. Für zwei satellitengestützte Datensätze können die erwarteten Fehlergrenzen bestätigt und die vom Aerosoltyp abhängigen Einschränkungen aufgrund von Modellannahmen diskutiert werden. Darüber hinaus werden die optischen Eigenschaften von Aerosol in der CAMS-Reanalyse betrachtet. Dabei findet sich die größte Diskrepanz in der Aerosolabsorption, die von der CAMS-Reanalyse um etwa 30 % überschätzt wird. Schließlich wird der Strahlungseffekt von Aerosol für die Region Deutschland und das Jahr 2015 unter unbewölkten Bedingungen mit zwei komplementären Ansätzen untersucht. Hierbei werden Messungen der solaren Einstrahlung an 25 Stationen des Beobachtungsnetzes des Deutschen Wetterdienstes als Datengrundlage verwendet. Einerseits wird ein Ensemble von empirischen Modellen verwendet, um die direkte Strahlungswirkung von Aerosol am Boden mithilfe einer Fehlerminimierung zu bestimmen. Die zugrundeliegenden Annahmen über Aerosol- und atmosphärische Eigenschaften in diesen Modellen werden kritisch analysiert und diskutiert. Im zweiten Ansatz werden explizite Strahlungstransfersimulationen des Strahlungseffekts unter Verwendung der CAMS-Reanalyse genutzt. Weiterhin wird die Sensitivität der Simulationen auf Unsicherheiten in den Eingangsgrößen untersucht, und damit die resultierende Unsicherheit im Strahlungseffekt abgeschätzt. Nach Korrektur von systematischen Abweichungen in der CAMS-Reanalyse hat Aerosol im Jahre 2015 einen mittleren abkühlenden Strahlungseffekt von -10.6 Wm-2 am Boden in Deutschland.The interaction of aerosol and radiation in the atmosphere exerts a strong influence on the Earth's energy balance. Remote sensing techniques provide an important contribution to our understanding of the climate system, by observing the horizontal and vertical distribution of aerosol properties in the atmosphere on a large scale. Accurate observations from long-term operational satellite missions and reliable ground-based reference measurements are essential for deriving and improving satellite- and model-based aerosol data sets. This is especially true over the ocean. In this dissertation, certain optical properties of aerosol particles and their radiation effect are investigated using remote sensing methods. Parts of the considered data basis were collected on five cruises with the research vessel Polarstern using a multispectral shadow-band radiometer. This unique data set contributes to the global available reference observations over the ocean by partially filling known gaps. On this database, an algorithm to evaluate shadow-band radiometer observations for the determination of spectral irradiance and optical properties of aerosol has been advanced. The basis algorithm was developed by the author as part of his master's thesis. The uncertainty of the irradiance measurement of about 2 % derived from theoretical considerations is validated by comparison with sun photometer observations on land and on ship. Using ship-borne reference data, several aerosol products are evaluated as part of this dissertation. For two satellite-based datasets, the expected error bounds has been confirmed and the aerosol-type dependent limitations due to model assumptions in the satellite retrievals are discussed. Furthermore, the optical properties of aerosol considered in the CAMS reanalysis are evaluated. The largest discrepancy is found in the aerosol absorption, which is overestimated by the CAMS reanalysis by about 30 %. Finally, the radiative effect of aerosol is investigated for the region of Germany and the year 2015 under cloud-free conditions using two complementary approaches. Here, measurements of solar irradiance at 25 stations of the observation network of the German Weather Service are used as a data basis. In the first approach, an ensemble of empirical models is used to determine the direct radiative effect of aerosols on the ground using error minimization. The underlying assumptions about aerosol and atmospheric properties in these models are critically analysed and discussed. The second approach quantifies the radiative effect by applying explicit radiative transfer simulations using CAMS reanalysis. The uncertainty in the radiative effect is estimated by studying the sensitivity of the simulations to uncertainties in the input variables. After correcting for systematic deviations in the CAMS reanalysis, aerosol has a cooling radiative effect of -10.6 Wm-2 on the ground in Germany in the annual mean of 2015

Supporting English Language Learners in a Co-Taught Classroom through the Curriculum

Co-teaching is a common strategy used to support English Language Learners in the content classroom. However, English Language Learners can still struggle in these classrooms. Research has shown that co-teaching can be a benefit for students, but this takes collaboration between the content teacher and the English Language teacher to make the class accessible. This project was designed to take an existing English Language Arts curriculum and modify and adapt the curriculum to better meet the needs of English Language Learners. The WIDA 2020 standards and Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s Understanding by Design were used as resources in developing the curriculum. The project involved modifying the English 11 curriculum currently in place in my school setting. The curriculum will be used in the co-taught English 11 class, but the curriculum planning and design can be used to modify the curriculums of other content classes in a collaborative effort between English Language teachers and the content teachers. The goal of the curriculum is to support the English Language Learners who need extra language support with the ultimate goal of helping students complete their required classes and graduate from high school

World War I: The Soldiers of Kearney State Normal School

The purpose of this article is to help modern scholars and members of the UNK community understand the significance the Great War at KSNS by discussing the specific experiences of students and staff that served during the conflict. The goal is that by sharing these experiences, the UNK community might be better able to identify, understand, and overcome new challenges that will no doubt shape the future of the University and the country

Evaluation of the glucometers Accu-Chek Aviva and gPet PLUS for feline blood samples

Det är viktigt att koncentrationen av glukos i blodet hålls inom snäva gränser. Vid mätningar av koncentrationen av blodglukos (BG) tros resultatet kunna variera beroende på ett antal faktorer, exempelvis om mätningen utförs på venöst eller kapillärt blod. Diabetes mellitus är idag en av kattens vanligaste endokrina sjukdomar. Obehandlad diabetes mellitus kan leda till kroniska eller akut livshotande komplikationer. Behandling kan bland annat innefatta monitorering av BG, vilket kan utföras med portabla blodglukosmätare (PBGM). De erbjuder ett snabbare och billigare alternativ än standardmetoderna för mätning och monitorering av BG. Andra fördelar är att metoden för provtagning är mindre invasiv, en mindre provvolym krävs, och att mätarna möjliggör provtagning i hemmet av djurägare. Det är viktigt att mätningarna är tillförlitliga nog att basera terapeutiska beslut på. Det finns dock ett flertal felkällor vid jämförelse av PBGM och referensmetoder, vilka bör tas i beaktande. Syftet med denna studie var att utröna riktigheten hos de båda PBGM Accu-Chek (AC) Aviva och gPet PLUS vid mätning av BG-koncentration i prover från katter, samt att undersöka om koncentrationen av BG skiljer sig åt i kapillärt och venöst blod. Studiepopulationen bestod av 40 katter. Efter insamling av ett venöst blodprov användes AC Aviva och gPet PLUS för att analysera blod ur samma kanyl eller stickställe, och därefter användes de båda PBGM för att analysera BG i kapillärt blod. Resultaten från PBGM jämfördes med BG-koncentrationen i de venösa proven analyserade med referensmetoden Architect c4000. För att utvärdera mätarna användes Bland-Altman diagram och totalt tillåtet fel. Parat t-test användes för att undersöka hur BG-koncentrationen skiljde sig åt i venöst och kapillärt blod. För att undersöka hur BG-koncentrationen påverkades av tiden sedan senaste fodergiva användes regressionsanalys. Av de 40 medverkande katterna bidrog 13 med enbart venöst blod, resterande 27 bidrog med både venöst och kapillärt. Alla prover som samlades in låg inom respektive mätares mätbara intervall för BG-koncentration. Ingen av proverna var hypoglykemiska. Tiden då katterna senast åt varierade från 1 till 26 timmar. Hematokrit analyserades hos 24 av de 40 katter som deltog i studien med resultat mellan 32–50 %. Generellt underskattade AC Aviva koncentrationen av BG och gPet PLUS överskattade den. Baserat på rekommenderade gränser för totalt tillåtet fel (20 % för normo- och hyperglykemiska prover) var alla prover av mätningarna i venöst och kapillärt prov inom gränserna för AC Aviva. I kapillärt blod hade gPet PLUS lägst andel av prover inom gränserna för totalt tillåtet fel (80,0 %) och i venöst prov låg 97,5 % inom uppsatta gränser. AC Aviva, men inte gPet PLUS, uppmätte en signifikant högre BG-koncentration i kapillärt blod jämfört med venöst. Vid mätning av BG-koncentration i kattprover visade den veterinära mätaren gPet PLUS inte bättre resultat än den humana mätaren AC Aviva. För att kunna dra mer tillförlitliga slutsatser om AC Avivas och gPet PLUS´ riktighet samt om BG-koncentrationen faktiskt varierar i venöst och kapillärt blod krävs fler studier med en studiepopulation som inkluderar hypoglykemiska prover.It´s important that the concentration of glucose is kept at an adequate level in the blood. When measuring the blood glucose (BG) concentration, the result is thought to vary depending on various factors, for example whether it´s measured in venous or capillary blood. Diabetes mellitus has over the recent decades come to be one of the most common endocrine diseases affecting cats. If left untreated it may lead to acute or chronic complications. Treatment may include at home monitoring of BG concentration, which can be performed using a portable blood glucose meter (PBGM). These portable meters provide a faster and cheaper alternative to the regular methods used when determining BG concentration. The sampling method is less invasive and requires a lesser volume of blood to perform the test. In addition, a PBGM can be handled at home by most pet owners. However, it is essential that the results are reliable enough to generate accurate therapeutical decisions. It is also important to be aware of the sources of error when using these devices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of Accu-Chek (AC) Aviva and gPet PLUS when assessing BG concentration for feline blood samples. In addition, this study investigates if the concentration of BG for cats differs depending on if the blood is venous or capillary. The study population consisted of 40 cats. AC Aviva and gPet PLUS were used after collection of venous blood by analyzing a drop of blood from the same cannula or site of injection. This was followed by a measurement of capillary blood. The results obtained from the PBGM was compared to the BG-concentration according to a reference method, the Architect c4000. Bland-Altman plots and allowable (desirable) total error were performed to evaluate AC Aviva and gPet PLUS. Paired t-test was used to assess how BG-concentration in venous and capillary blood differed. Regression analysis was used to evaluate how BG-concentration was affected by the time passed since feeding. Of the 40 cats who participated in the study, 13 contributed with venous blood and 27 with both venous and capillary blood. All of the samples obtained in the study were within the measurable range of BG concentration for the PBGM: s. None of the samples were hypoglycemic. The estimated time which had passed since the cats last fed varied from 1 to 26 hours. Hematocrit was analyzed in 24 of the 40 individuals included in the study, results varied between 32-50%. In general, AC Aviva underestimated the concentration of BG whereas gPet PLUS overestimated. Based on the recommendations regarding allowable (desirable) total error (20% for normo- and hyperglycemic samples), all measurements by AC Aviva in both venous and capillary samples were within the limits. In capillary blood, gPet PLUS had the smallest proportion of samples within the limits (80,0%). In venous blood. 97,5% of the measurements were within the limits. Furthermore, the capillary results were significantly higher than the venous when using AC Aviva, this was not seen for gPet PLUS. These results indicate that the veterinary PBGM gPet PLUS did not perform better than the human PBGM AC Aviva, when measuring BG-concentration in feline blood samples. More studies and a greater study population including hypoglycemic samples are required to form reliable conclusions regarding the accuracy of AC Aviva and gPet PLUS. The same applies to the issue regar-ding whether there is a significant difference in BG concentration between venous and capillary blood or not

Fingerprinting and Identification of Bacteria Present in UASB Granules Used to Treat Winery, Brewery, Distillery or Peach-lye Canning Wastewater

The effective operation of the anaerobic digestion process in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) bioreactoris dependent on the microbial composition of the UASB granules. The granules contain a consortium of bacteria,with a specific metabolic function for each group, contributing to the overall efficiency and stability of thebioreactor. The aim of this study was to fingerprint and identify the bacteria present in four different types of SouthAfrican UASB granules that are used to treat winery, brewery, distillery and peach-lye canning wastewaters. Thiswas done by combining conventional microbiological platings with PCR-based denaturing gradient gelelectrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA sequence analysis. Each granule type showed distinct PCR-based DGGEfingerprints with unique bands, while other bands were found to be present in all the granules, regardless of thewastewater being treated. Sixty-eight different bacteria (40 pure isolates and 28 clones) were partially sequencedand identified from the winery, brewery, distillery and peach-lye canning granules. Thirty-five percent of theidentified bacteria represented the unculturable bacteria and 65% represented the culturable bacteria, whichincluded members of the following genera: Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Bacteroides, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes,Clostridium, Shewanella, Microbacterium, Leuconostoc, Sulfurospirillum, Acidaminococcus, Vibrio, Aeromonas,Nitrospira, Synergistes, Rhodococcus, Rhodocyclus and Syntrophobacter. A DGGE marker was successfullyconstructed, representing members of the bacterial consortium in UASB granules

PCR-based DGGE Identification of Bacteria Present in Pasteurised South African Fruit Juices

The contamination of pasteurised fruit juice products by thermophilic acidophilic bacteria (TAB) has become aconcern for producers. The aim of this study was to identify the bacteria present in South African fruit juices beforeand after pasteurisation, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE). Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris was found to be present in apple, pear, white grape and aloe vera juice.White grape juice was found to contain Alicyclobacillus pomorum, while two uncultured bacteria in the orange,apple, mango and pear juices were presumptively identified as members of the genus Bacillus, and one unculturedbacteria was identified as being closely related to Alcaligenes faecalis. The results emphasise the need for rapid andaccurate detection of TAB in food products

Evaluation of satellite-based aerosol datasets and the CAMS reanalysis over the ocean utilizing shipborne reference observations

Reliable reference measurements over the ocean are essential for the evaluation and improvement of satelliteand model-based aerosol datasets. Within the framework of the Maritime Aerosol Network, shipborne reference datasets have been collected over the Atlantic Ocean since 2004 with Microtops Sun photometers. These were recently complemented by measurements with the multi-spectral GUVis- 3511 shadowband radiometer during five cruises with the research vessel Polarstern. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) uncertainty estimate of both shipborne instruments of ±0:02 can be confirmed if the GUVis instrument is cross calibrated to the Microtops instrument to account for differences in calibration, and if an empirical correction to account for the broad shadowband as well as the effects of forward scattering is introduced. Based on these two datasets, a comprehensive evaluation of aerosol products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flown on NASA's Earth Observing System satellites, the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) aboard the geostationary Meteosat satellite, and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reanalysis (CAMS RA) is presented. For this purpose, focus is given to the accuracy of the AOD at 630 nm in combination with the Ångström exponent (AE), discussed in the context of the ambient aerosol type. In general, the evaluation of MODIS AOD from the official level-2 aerosol products of C6.1 against the Microtops AOD product confirms that 76% of data points fall into the expected error limits given by previous validation studies. The SEVIRI-based AOD product exhibits a 25% larger scatter than the MODIS AOD products at the instrument's native spectral channels. Further, the comparison of CAMS RA and MODIS AOD versus the shipborne reference shows similar performance for both datasets, with some differences arising from the assimilation and model assumptions. When considering aerosol conditions, an overestimation of AE is found for scenes dominated by desert dust for MODIS and SEVIRI products versus the shipborne reference dataset. As the composition of the mixture of aerosol in satellite products is constrained by model assumptions, this highlights the importance of considering the aerosol type in evaluation studies for identifying problematic aspects. © Author(s) 2020

Public awareness and knowledge of the National Health Insurance in South Africa

Introduction: Individuals residing in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces who had access to public health services were surveyed to determine public knowledge and awareness of the new National Health Insurance (NHI). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted and a total of 748 adult respondents were sampled using a two-stage systematic sampling design. Data were  collected using mobile phone assisted personal interviews. Results: The study found that 80.3% of the respondents were aware of the NHI and slightly less than half (49.8%) of the respondents did not have knowledge of how the NHI works and 71.8% lacked awareness  about the origin of the development of the NHI concept in South Africa. The knowledge of what the NHI would pay for was poor and 48.1% knew that the NHI Fund would pay for medical expenses if a person got sick and 45.7% knew that with health insurance, basic health requirement is ensured and that if one  becomes ill, medical treatment would be paid for by the NHI Fund, 50.9% of respondents did not  understand how the NHI Fund will pay for health care received, only 44.8% understood how the NHI will pay for health care services received. Conclusion: The public education campaigns to increase knowledge and understanding of the NHI  scheme might have been inadequate hence might not have penetrated many communities. It is  recommended that a comprehensive community consultation plan be established to increase awareness and knowledge of the NHI among community members targeting clinics, schools, pension pay points and other community sites.Key words: Awareness, knowledge, National health insurance, South Afric

Identifying challenges related to providing community-based environmental health education and promotion programmes

This research study was initiated by the desire to identify the constraining and enabling factors experienced by environmental health officers (EH Os) and their management in the implementation of environmental health education and promotion programmes in the environmental health sector. The research contextualises the issues of health promotion, the role of education in health promotion, and community-based environmental health service provision with specific reference to the role of the EHO in relation to these issues. The foremost value ofthis study lies in the fact that it profiles the need for change in the delivery of community-based environmental health education and promotion programmes and identifies distinctive policy changes and skills development needs in the field of environmental health promotion which are central to improved and sustainable community-based environmental health education and promotion.Educational StudiesM. Ed. (Environmental Education

Algorithms and uncertainties for the determination of multispectral irradiance components and aerosol optical depth from a shipborne rotating shadowband radiometer

The 19-channel rotating shadowband radiometer GUVis-3511 built by Biospherical Instruments provides automated shipborne measurements of the direct, diffuse and global spectral irradiance components without a requirement for platform stabilization. Several direct sun products, including spectral direct beam transmittance, aerosol optical depth, Ångström exponent and precipitable water, can be derived from these observations. The individual steps of the data analysis are described, and the different sources of uncertainty are discussed. The total uncertainty of the observed direct beam transmittances is estimated to be about 4% for most channels within a 95% confidence interval for shipborne operation. The calibration is identified as the dominating contribution to the total uncertainty. A comparison of direct beam transmittance with those obtained from a Cimel sunphotometer at a land site and a manually operated Microtops II sunphotometer on a ship is presented. Measurements deviate by less than 3 and 4% on land and on ship, respectively, for most channels and in agreement with our previous uncertainty estimate. These numbers demonstrate that the instrument is well suited for shipborne operation, and the applied methods for motion correction work accurately. Based on spectral direct beam transmittance, aerosol optical depth can be retrieved with an uncertainty of 0.02 for all channels within a 95% confidence interval. The different methods to account for Rayleigh scattering and gas absorption in our scheme and in the Aerosol Robotic Network processing for Cimel sunphotometers lead to minor deviations. Relying on the cross calibration of the 940 nm water vapor channel with the Cimel sunphotometer, the column amount of precipitable water can be estimated with an uncertainty of ±0.034 cm