344 research outputs found
An Analysis of Residential Water Demand Schedules in Arkansas
Water has held man\u27s interest for centuries, and a considerable body of knowledqe has been developed about this subject, but it has only been considered only recently by decision makers in an economic sense. Because water is required to sustain life, the thought of its being an economic good to individuals has not been considered applicable or fair by those individuals who are concerned with its acquisition and distribution. Moreover, water has been in fairly abundant supply relative to demand for most of the country. However, as this situation is upset by increases in population and water use, a realization of the situation must be confronted
Magnetohydrodynamic simulation of an equatorial dipolar paleomagnetosphere
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95191/1/jgra17407.pd
Evaluating the capabilities and uncertainties of droplet measurements for the fog droplet spectrometer (FM-100)
Droplet size spectra measurements are crucial to obtain a quantitative microphysical description of clouds and fog. However, cloud droplet size measurements are subject to various uncertainties. This work focuses on the error analysis of two key measurement uncertainties arising during cloud droplet size measurements with a conventional droplet size spectrometer (FM-100): first, we addressed the precision with which droplets can be sized with the FM-100 on the basis of the Mie theory. We deduced error assumptions and proposed a new method on how to correct measured size distributions for these errors by redistributing the measured droplet size distribution using a stochastic approach. Second, based on a literature study, we summarized corrections for particle losses during sampling with the FM-100. We applied both corrections to cloud droplet size spectra measured at the high alpine site Jungfraujoch for a temperature range from 0 °C to 11 °C. We showed that Mie scattering led to spikes in the droplet size distributions using the default sizing procedure, while the new stochastic approach reproduced the ambient size distribution adequately. A detailed analysis of the FM-100 sampling efficiency revealed that particle losses were typically below 10% for droplet diameters up to 10 ÎŒm. For larger droplets, particle losses can increase up to 90% for the largest droplets of 50 ÎŒm at ambient wind speeds below 4.4 m s<sup>â1</sup> and even to >90% for larger angles between the instrument orientation and the wind vector (sampling angle) at higher wind speeds. Comparisons of the FM-100 to other reference instruments revealed that the total liquid water content (LWC) measured by the FM-100 was more sensitive to particle losses than to re-sizing based on Mie scattering, while the total number concentration was only marginally influenced by particle losses. Consequently, for further LWC measurements with the FM-100 we strongly recommend to consider (1) the error arising due to Mie scattering, and (2) the particle losses, especially for larger droplets depending on the set-up and wind conditions
The Phylogeography of Rabies in Grenada, West Indies, and Implications for Control
In Grenada, West Indies, rabies is endemic, and is thought to be maintained in a wildlife host, the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) with occasional spillover into other hosts. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to improve understanding of rabies epidemiology in Grenada and to inform rabies control policy. Mongooses were trapped island-wide between April 2011 and March 2013 and examined for the presence of Rabies virus (RABV) antigen using the direct fluorescent antibody test (dFAT) and PCR, and for serum neutralizing antibodies (SNA) using the fluorescent antibody virus neutralization test (FAVN). An additional cohort of brain samples from clinical rabies suspects submitted between April 2011 and March 2014 were also investigated for the presence of virus. Two of the 171 (1.7%) live-trapped mongooses were RABV positive by FAT and PCR, and 20 (11.7%) had SNAs. Rabies was diagnosed in 31 of the submitted animals with suspicious clinical signs: 16 mongooses, 12 dogs, 2 cats and 1 goat. Our investigation has revealed that rabies infection spread from the northeast to the southwest of Grenada within the study period. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the viruses from Grenada formed a monophyletic clade within the cosmopolitan lineage with a common ancestor predicted to have occurred recently (6â23 years ago), and are distinct from those found in Cuba and Puerto Rico, where mongoose rabies is also endemic. These data suggest that it is likely that this specific strain of RABV was imported from European regions rather than the Americas. These data contribute essential information for any potential rabies control program in Grenada and demonstrate the importance of a sound evidence base for planning interventions
Effects of relative humidity on aerosol light scattering in the Arctic
Aerosol particles experience hygroscopic growth in the ambient atmosphere. Their optical properties â especially the aerosol light scattering â are therefore strongly dependent on the ambient relative humidity (RH). In-situ light scattering measurements of long-term observations are usually performed under dry conditions (RH&gt;30â40%). The knowledge of this RH effect is of eminent importance for climate forcing calculations or for the comparison of remote sensing with in-situ measurements. This study combines measurements and model calculations to describe the RH effect on aerosol light scattering for the first time for aerosol particles present in summer and fall in the high Arctic. For this purpose, a field campaign was carried out from July to October 2008 at the Zeppelin station in Ny-Ă
lesund, Svalbard. The aerosol light scattering coefficient &sigma;<sub>sp</sub>(&lambda;) was measured at three distinct wavelengths (λ=450, 550, and 700 nm) at dry and at various, predefined RH conditions between 20% and 95% with a recently developed humidified nephelometer (WetNeph) and with a second nephelometer measuring at dry conditions with an average RH&lt;10% (DryNeph). In addition, the aerosol size distribution and the aerosol absorption coefficient were measured. The scattering enhancement factor <i>f</i>(RH, &lambda;) is the key parameter to describe the RH effect on &sigma;<sub>sp</sub>(&lambda;) and is defined as the RH dependent &sigma;<sub>sp</sub>(RH, &lambda;) divided by the corresponding dry &sigma;<sub>sp</sub>(RH<sub>dry</sub>, &lambda;). During our campaign the average <i>f</i>(RH=85%, λ=550 nm) was 3.24&plusmn;0.63 (mean &plusmn; standard deviation), and no clear wavelength dependence of <i>f</i>(RH, &lambda;) was observed. This means that the ambient scattering coefficients at RH=85% were on average about three times higher than the dry measured in-situ scattering coefficients. The RH dependency of the recorded <i>f</i>(RH, &lambda;) can be well described by an empirical one-parameter equation. We used a simplified method to retrieve an apparent hygroscopic growth factor <i>g</i>(RH), defined as the aerosol particle diameter at a certain RH divided by the dry diameter, using the WetNeph, the DryNeph, the aerosol size distribution measurements and Mie theory. With this approach we found, on average, <i>g</i>(RH=85%) values to be 1.61&plusmn;0.12 (mean&plusmn;standard deviation). No clear seasonal shift of <i>f</i>(RH, &lambda;) was observed during the 3-month period, while aerosol properties (size and chemical composition) clearly changed with time. While the beginning of the campaign was mainly characterized by smaller and less hygroscopic particles, the end was dominated by larger and more hygroscopic particles. This suggests that compensating effects of hygroscopicity and size determined the temporal stability of <i>f</i>(RH, &lambda;). During sea salt influenced periods, distinct deliquescence transitions were observed. At the end we present a method on how to transfer the dry in-situ measured aerosol scattering coefficients to ambient values for the aerosol measured during summer and fall at this location
Probing IMF using nanodust measurements from inside Saturn's magnetosphere
We present a new concept of monitoring the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) by using in situ measurements of nanodust stream particles in Saturn's magnetosphere. We show that the nanodust detection pattern obtained inside the magnetosphere resembles those observed in interplanetary space and is associated with the solar wind compression regions. Our dust dynamics model reproduces the observed nanodust dynamical properties as well as the detection pattern, suggesting that the ejected stream particles can reenter Saturn's magnetosphere at certain occasions due to the dynamical influence from the timeâvarying IMF. This method provides information on the IMF direction and a rough estimation on the solar wind compression arrival time at Saturn. Such information can be useful for studies related to the solar windâmagnetosphere interactions, especially when the solar wind parameters are not directly available. Key Points A new method to probe IMF with nanodust measurements inside the magnetosphere Under changing IMF, ejected nanoparticles can reâenter Saturnâs magnetosphere IMF direction and solar wind compression arrival time can be derivedPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99078/1/grl50604.pd
Intralingual and Intrapleural AAV Gene Therapy Prolongs Survival in a SOD1 ALS Mouse Model
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that results in death from respiratory failure. No cure exists for this devastating disease, but therapy that directly targets the respiratory system has the potential to prolong survival and improve quality of life in some cases of ALS. The objective of this study was to enhance breathing and prolong survival by suppressing superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) expression in respiratory motor neurons using adeno-associated virus (AAV) expressing an artificial microRNA targeting the SOD1 gene. AAV-miR(SOD1) was injected in the tongue and intrapleural space of SOD1(G93A) mice, and repetitive respiratory and behavioral measurements were performed until the end stage. Robust silencing of SOD1 was observed in the diaphragm and tongue as well as systemically. Silencing of SOD1 prolonged survival by approximately 50 days, and it delayed weight loss and limb weakness in treated animals compared to untreated controls. Histologically, there was preservation of the neuromuscular junctions in the diaphragm as well as the number of axons in the phrenic and hypoglossal nerves. Although SOD1 suppression improved breathing and prolonged survival, it did not ameliorate the restrictive lung phenotype. Suppression of SOD1 expression in motor neurons that underlie respiratory function prolongs survival and enhances breathing until the end stage in SOD1(G93A) ALS mice
Revealing the chemical characteristics of Arctic low-level cloud residuals â in situ observations from a mountain site
The role aerosol chemical composition plays in Arctic
low-level cloud formation is still poorly understood. In this study we
address this issue by combining in situ observations of the chemical
characteristics of cloud residuals (dried liquid cloud droplets or ice
crystals) and aerosol particles from the Zeppelin Observatory in
Ny-Ă
lesund, Svalbard (approx. 480âmâa.s.l.). These measurements were
part of the 1-year-long Ny-Ă
lesund Aerosol and Cloud Experiment
2019â2020 (NASCENT). To obtain the chemical composition of cloud residuals
at molecular level, we deployed a Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols
coupled to a Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (FIGAERO-CIMS) with
iodide as the reagent ion behind a ground-based counterflow virtual impactor
(GCVI). The station was enshrouded in clouds roughly 15â% of the time
during NASCENT, out of which we analyzed 14 cloud events between December
2019 and December 2020. During the entire year, the composition of the cloud
residuals shows contributions from oxygenated organic compounds, including
organonitrates, and traces of the biomass burning tracer levoglucosan. In
summer, methanesulfonic acid (MSA), an oxidation product of dimethyl sulfide
(DMS), shows large contributions to the sampled mass, indicating marine
natural sources of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleating
particle (INP) mass during the sunlit part of the year. In addition, we
also find contributions of the inorganic acids nitric acid and sulfuric acid,
with outstanding high absolute signals of sulfuric acid in one cloud
residual sample in spring and one in late summer (21 May and 12 September 2020), probably caused by high anthropogenic sulfur emissions near the
Barents Sea and Kara Sea. During one particular cloud event, on 18 May 2020,
the air mass origin did not change before, during, or after the
cloud. We therefore chose it as a case study to investigate cloud impact on
aerosol physicochemical properties. We show that the overall chemical
composition of the organic aerosol particles was similar before, during, and
after the cloud, indicating that the particles had already undergone one or
several cycles of cloud processing before being measured as residuals at the
Zeppelin Observatory and/or that, on the timescales of the observed cloud event, cloud
processing of the organic fraction can be neglected. Meanwhile, there were on
average fewer particles but relatively more in the accumulation mode after
the cloud. Comparing the signals of sulfur-containing compounds of cloud
residuals with aerosols during cloud-free conditions, we find that sulfuric
acid had a higher relative contribution to the cloud residuals than to
aerosols during cloud-free conditions, but we did not observe an increase in
particulate MSA due to the cloud. Overall, the chemical composition,
especially of the organic fraction of the Arctic cloud residuals, reflected
the overall composition of the general aerosol population well. Our results
thus suggest that most aerosols can serve as seeds for low-level clouds in
the Arctic.</p
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