4,706 research outputs found
Advances in representing interactive methane in ModelE2-YIBs (version 1.1)
This is the final version. Available on open access from EGU via the DOI in this recordCode and data availability:
The source code for the site-level YIBs model version 1.0 (Yue and Unger, 2015) is available at https://github.com/YIBS01/YIBS site (last access: 5 August 2015). The source code for the frozen CMIP5/AR5 version of the GISS ModelE2 (Schmidt et al., 2014) can be obtained from NASA GISS (https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/modelE/, last access: 31 July 2014). Included as supplemental information are the gridded natural methane fluxes and the numerical model output used to make the figures. Gridded files of natural methane fluxes associated with the Fung et al. (1991) dataset were obtained from NASA GISS (https://data.giss.nasa.gov/ch4_fung/, last access: 4 June 2014). Column-averaged methane concentrations from SCIAMACHY (Schneising et al., 2009) were obtained from the University of Bremen (http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de/sciamachy/NIR_NADIR_WFM_DOAS/index.html, last access: 27 April 2015). Other data used as model input or for analysis of model output are listed in the references.Methane (CH4) is both a greenhouse gas and a precursor of tropospheric ozone, making it an important focus of chemistry-climate interactions. Methane has both anthropogenic and natural emission sources, and reaction with the atmosphere's principal oxidizing agent, the hydroxyl radical (OH), is the dominant tropospheric loss process of methane. The tight coupling between methane and OH abundances drives indirect linkages between methane and other short-lived air pollutants and prompts the use of interactive methane chemistry in global chemistry-climate modeling. In this study, an updated contemporary inventory of natural methane emissions and the soil sink is developed using an optimization procedure that applies published emissions data to the NASA GISS ModelE2-Yale Interactive terrestrial Biosphere (ModelE2-YIBs) global chemistry-climate model. Methane observations from the global surface air-sampling network of the Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are used to guide refinement of the natural methane inventory. The wetland methane flux is calculated as a best fit; thus, the accuracy of this derived flux assumes accurate simulation of methane chemical loss in the atmosphere and accurate prescription of the other methane fluxes (anthropogenic and natural). The optimization process indicates global annual wetland methane emissions of 140 Tg CH4 yr-1. The updated inventory includes total global annual methane emissions from natural sources of 181 Tg CH4 yr-1 and a global annual methane soil sink of 60 Tg CH4 yr-1. An interactive methane simulation is run using ModelE2-YIBs, applying dynamic methane emissions and the updated natural methane emissions inventory that results from the optimization process. The simulated methane chemical lifetime of 10.4±0.1 years corresponds well to observed lifetimes. The simulated year 2005 global-mean surface methane concentration is 1.1 % higher than the observed value from the NOAA ESRL measurements. Comparison of the simulated atmospheric methane distribution with the NOAA ESRL surface observations at 50 measurement locations finds that the simulated annual methane mixing ratio is within 1 % (i.e., +1 % to-1 %) of the observed value at 76 % of locations. Considering the 50 stations, the mean relative difference between the simulated and observed annual methane mixing ratio is a model overestimate of only 0.5 %. Comparison of simulated annual column-averaged methane concentrations with SCIAMACHY satellite retrievals provides an independent post-optimization evaluation of modeled methane. The comparison finds a slight model underestimate in 95 % of grid cells, suggesting that the applied methane source in the model is slightly underestimated or the model's methane sink strength is slightly too strong outside of the surface layer. Overall, the strong agreement between simulated and observed methane lifetimes and concentrations indicates that the ModelE2-YIBs chemistry-climate model is able to capture the principal processes that control atmospheric methane
Report of the Working Group on the Composition of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays
For the first time a proper comparison of the average depth of shower maximum
() published by the Pierre Auger and Telescope Array Observatories
is presented. The distributions measured by the Pierre Auger
Observatory were fit using simulated events initiated by four primaries
(proton, helium, nitrogen and iron). The primary abundances which best describe
the Auger data were simulated through the Telescope Array (TA) Middle Drum (MD)
fluorescence and surface detector array. The simulated events were analyzed by
the TA Collaboration using the same procedure as applied to their data. The
result is a simulated version of the Auger data as it would be observed by TA.
This analysis allows a direct comparison of the evolution of with energy of both data sets. The
measured by TA-MD is consistent with a preliminary simulation of the Auger data
through the TA detector and the average difference between the two data sets
was found to be .Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the UHECR workshop, Springdale USA,
201
The instability of Alexander-McTague crystals and its implication for nucleation
We show that the argument of Alexander and McTague, that the bcc crystalline
structure is favored in those crystallization processes where the first order
character is not too pronounced, is not correct. We find that any solution that
satisfies the Alexander-McTague condition is not stable. We investigate the
implication of this result for nucleation near the pseudo- spinodal in
near-meanfield systems.Comment: 20 pages, 0 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Confidential Boosting with Random Linear Classifiers for Outsourced User-generated Data
User-generated data is crucial to predictive modeling in many applications.
With a web/mobile/wearable interface, a data owner can continuously record data
generated by distributed users and build various predictive models from the
data to improve their operations, services, and revenue. Due to the large size
and evolving nature of users data, data owners may rely on public cloud service
providers (Cloud) for storage and computation scalability. Exposing sensitive
user-generated data and advanced analytic models to Cloud raises privacy
concerns. We present a confidential learning framework, SecureBoost, for data
owners that want to learn predictive models from aggregated user-generated data
but offload the storage and computational burden to Cloud without having to
worry about protecting the sensitive data. SecureBoost allows users to submit
encrypted or randomly masked data to designated Cloud directly. Our framework
utilizes random linear classifiers (RLCs) as the base classifiers in the
boosting framework to dramatically simplify the design of the proposed
confidential boosting protocols, yet still preserve the model quality. A
Cryptographic Service Provider (CSP) is used to assist the Cloud's processing,
reducing the complexity of the protocol constructions. We present two
constructions of SecureBoost: HE+GC and SecSh+GC, using combinations of
homomorphic encryption, garbled circuits, and random masking to achieve both
security and efficiency. For a boosted model, Cloud learns only the RLCs and
the CSP learns only the weights of the RLCs. Finally, the data owner collects
the two parts to get the complete model. We conduct extensive experiments to
understand the quality of the RLC-based boosting and the cost distribution of
the constructions. Our results show that SecureBoost can efficiently learn
high-quality boosting models from protected user-generated data
Drug Loaded Biodegradable Load-Bearing Nanocomposites for Damaged Bone Repair
In this paper we present a short review-scientific report on processing and properties, including in vitro degradation, of load bearing biodegradable nanocomposites as well as of macroporous 3D scaffolds for bone ingrowth. Biodegradable implantable devices should slowly degrade over time and disappear with ingrown of natural bone replacing the synthetic graft. Compared to low strength biodegradable polymers, and brittle CaP ceramics, biodegradable CaP-polymer and CaP-metal nanocomposites, mimicking structure of natural bone, as well as strong and ductile metal nanocomposites can provide to implantable devices both strengths and toughness. Nanostructuring of biodegradable [beta]- TCP (tricalcium phosphate)-polymer (PCL and PLA), [beta]-TCP-metal (FeMg and FeAg) and of Fe-Ag composites was achieved employing high energy attrition milling of powder blends. Nanocomposite powders were consolidated to densities close to theoretical by high pressure consolidation at ambient temperature-cold sintering, with retention of nanoscale structure. The strength of developed nanocomposites was significantly higher as compared with microscale composites of the same or similar composition. Heat treatment at moderate temperatures in hydrogen flow resulted in retention of nanoscale structure and higher ductility. Degradation of developed biodegradable [beta]-TCP-polymer, [beta]-TCPmetal and of Fe-Ag nanocomposites was studied in physiological solutions. Immersion tests in Ringer's and saline solution for 4 weeks resulted in 4 to 10% weight loss and less than 50% decrease in compression or bending strength, the remaining strength being significantly higher than the values reported for other biodegradable materials. Nanostructuring of Fe-Ag based materials resulted also in an increase of degradation rate because of creation on galvanic Fe-Ag nanocouples. In cell culture experiments, the developed nanocomposites supported the attachment the human osteoblast cells and exhibited no signs of cytotoxicity. Interconnected system of nanopores formed during processing of nanocomposites was used for incorporation of drugs, including antibiotics and anticancer drugs, and can be used for loading of bioactive molecules enhancing bone ingrowth
Debated Role of Ovarian Protection with Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Agonists During Chemotherapy for Preservation of Ovarian Function and Fertility in Women with Cancer
Comparing the efficacy, safety, and utility of intensive insulin algorithms for a primary care practice
Diabetes management is firmly based within the primary care community. Landmark randomized, controlled trials have demonstrated that even modest reductions in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) can yield improvements in economic and medical end-points. Diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease associated with loss of pancreatic β-cell function. Therefore, most patients will eventually require insulin therapies in order to achieve their individualized targeted HbA1c as their β-cell function and mass wanes. Although clinicians understand the importance of early insulin initiation, there is little agreement as to when to introduce insulin as a therapeutic option. Once initiated, questions remain as to whether to allow the patients to self-titrate their dose or whether the dosing should be tightly regulated by the clinician. Physicians have many evidence-based basal insulin protocols from which to choose, all of which have been shown to drive HbA1c levels to the American Diabetes Association target of ≤7%. This article will discuss ways by which insulin therapies can be effectively introduced to patients within busy primary care practices. Published evidence-based basal insulin protocols will be evaluated for safety and efficacy
Advances in representing interactive methane in ModelE2-YIBs (version 1.1)
Methane (CH4) is both a greenhouse gas and a
precursor of tropospheric ozone, making it an important focus of
chemistry–climate interactions. Methane has both anthropogenic and natural
emission sources, and reaction with the atmosphere's principal oxidizing
agent, the hydroxyl radical (OH), is the dominant tropospheric loss process
of methane. The tight coupling between methane and OH abundances drives
indirect linkages between methane and other short-lived air pollutants and
prompts the use of interactive methane chemistry in global
chemistry–climate modeling. In this study, an updated contemporary
inventory of natural methane emissions and the soil sink is developed using
an optimization procedure that applies published emissions data to the NASA
GISS ModelE2-Yale Interactive terrestrial Biosphere (ModelE2-YIBs) global
chemistry–climate model. Methane observations from the global surface
air-sampling network of the Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) of the
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are used to
guide refinement of the natural methane inventory. The wetland methane flux
is calculated as a best fit; thus, the accuracy of this derived flux assumes
accurate simulation of methane chemical loss in the atmosphere and accurate
prescription of the other methane fluxes (anthropogenic and natural). The
optimization process indicates global annual wetland methane emissions of
140 Tg CH4 yr−1. The updated inventory includes total global annual
methane emissions from natural sources of 181 Tg CH4 yr−1 and a
global annual methane soil sink of 60 Tg CH4 yr−1. An
interactive methane simulation is run using ModelE2-YIBs, applying dynamic
methane emissions and the updated natural methane emissions inventory that
results from the optimization process. The simulated methane chemical
lifetime of 10.4±0.1 years corresponds well to observed lifetimes.
The simulated year 2005 global-mean surface methane concentration is 1.1 %
higher than the observed value from the NOAA ESRL measurements.
Comparison of the simulated atmospheric methane distribution with the NOAA
ESRL surface observations at 50 measurement locations finds that the
simulated annual methane mixing ratio is within 1 % (i.e., +1 % to
−1 %) of the observed value at 76 % of locations. Considering the 50
stations, the mean relative difference between the simulated and observed
annual methane mixing ratio is a model overestimate of only 0.5 %.
Comparison of simulated annual column-averaged methane concentrations with
SCIAMACHY satellite retrievals provides an independent post-optimization
evaluation of modeled methane. The comparison finds a slight model
underestimate in 95 % of grid cells, suggesting that the applied methane
source in the model is slightly underestimated or the model's methane sink
strength is slightly too strong outside of the surface layer. Overall, the
strong agreement between simulated and observed methane lifetimes and
concentrations indicates that the ModelE2-YIBs chemistry–climate model is
able to capture the principal processes that control atmospheric methane.</p
A Search for OH Megamasers at z > 0.1. III. The Complete Survey
We present the final results from the Arecibo Observatory OH megamaser
survey. We discuss in detail the properties of the remaining 18 OH megamasers
detected in the survey, including 3 redetections. We place upper limits on the
OH emission from 85 nondetections and examine the properties of 25 ambiguous
cases for which the presence or absence of OH emission could not be determined.
The complete survey has discovered 50 new OH megamasers (OHMs) in
(ultra)luminous infrared galaxies ([U]LIRGs) which doubles the sample of known
OHMs and increases the sample at z>0.1 sevenfold. The Arecibo OH megamaser
survey indicates that the OHM fraction in LIRGs is an increasing function of
the far-IR luminosity (L_{FIR}) and far-IR color, reaching a fraction of
roughly one third in the warmest ULIRGs. Significant relationships between OHMs
and their hosts are few, primarily due to a mismatch in size scales of measured
properties and an intrinsic scatter in OHM properties roughly equal to the span
of the dataset. We investigate relationships between OHMs and their hosts with
a variety of statistical tools including survival analysis, partial correlation
coefficients, and a principal component analysis. There is no apparent OH
megamaser ``fundamental plane.'' We compile data on all previously known OHMs
and evaluate the possible mechanisms and relationships responsible for OHM
production in merging systems. The OH-FIR relationship is reexamined using the
doubled OHM sample and found to be significantly flatter than previously
thought: L_{OH} ~ L_{FIR}^{1.2 +/- 0.1}. This near-linear dependence suggests a
mixture of saturated and unsaturated masers, either within individual galaxies
or across the sample.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, accepted by AJ. (AASTeX, includes emulateapj5
and onecolfloat5
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