Mixing of mineral dust with urban pollution aerosol over Dakar (Senegal): Impact on dust physico-chemical and radiative properties.

In the framework of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) in 2008, the mixing of the urban pollution plume of Dakar (Senegal) with mineral dust was studied in detail using the German research aircraft Falcon which was equipped with a nadir-looking high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) and extensive aerosol in situ instrumentation. The mineral dust layer as well as the urban pollution plume were probed remotely by the HSRL and in situ. Back trajectory analyses were used to attribute aerosol samples to source regions.We found that the emission from the region of Dakar increased the aerosol optical depth (532 nm) from approximately 0.30 over sea and over land east of Dakar to 0.35 in the city outflow. In the urban area, local black carbon (BC) emissions, or soot respectively, contributed more than 75% to aerosol absorption at 530 nm. In the dust layer, the single-scattering albedo at 530 nm was 0.96 â�� 0.99, whereas we found a value of 0.908 �± 0.018 for the aerosol dominated by urban pollution. After 6h of transport over the North Atlantic, the externally mixed mode of secondary aerosol particles had almost completely vanished, whereas the BC agglomerates (soot) were still externally mixed with mineral dust particles

Increased susceptibility to cortical spreading depression and epileptiform activity in a mouse model for FHM2

Migraine is a highly prevalent, debilitating, episodic headache disorder affecting roughly 15% of the population. Familial hemiplegic migraine type 2 (FHM2) is a rare subtype of migraine caused by mutations in the ATP1A2 gene, encoding the α2 isoform of the Na+/K+-ATPase, predominantly expressed in astrocytes. Differential comorbidities such as epilepsy and psychiatric disorders manifest in patients. Using a mouse model harboring the G301R disease-mutation in the α2 isoform, we set to unravel whether α2 +/G301R mice show an increased susceptibility for epilepsy and cortical spreading depression (CSD). We performed in vivo experiments involving cortical application of KCl in awake head-restrained male and female mice of different age groups (adult and aged). Interestingly, α2 +/G301R mice indeed showed an increased susceptibility to both CSD and epileptiform activity, closely replicating symptoms in FHM2 patients harboring the G301R and other FHM2-causing mutations. Additionally, this epileptiform activity was superimposed on CSDs. The age-related alteration towards CSD indicates the influence of female sex hormones on migraine pathophysiology. Therefore, the FHM2, α2 +/G301R mouse model can be utilized to broaden our understanding of generalized epilepsy and comorbidity hereof in migraine, and may be utilized toward future selection of possible treatment options for migraine

Product costing and activity-based costing/management in Bacalhôa Vinhos de Portugal

The present Work Project introduces a case study addressing the adoption of an ABC/M system in a winemaking company. The system was implemented in only one area of the company, and its adoption allows the company to perform ABM analysis resorting to the ABC information. A mixed approach is used to cost the products: both traditional and ABC systems are used although in different areas of the company. ABC/M implementation was perceived as ‘successful’ despite not following recommendations prescribed in literature

Ground-based off-line aerosol measurements at Praia, Cape Verde, during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment: Microphysical properties and mineralogy

A large field experiment of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) was performed in Praia, Cape Verde, in January and February 2008. This work reports on the aerosol mass concentrations, size distributions and mineralogical composition of the aerosol arriving at Praia. Three dust periods were recorded during the measurements, divided by transitional periods and embedded in maritime-influenced situations. The total suspended particle mass/PM10/PM2.5 were 250/180/74μg/m3 on average for the first dust period (17–21 January) and 250/230/83μg/m3 for the second (24–26 January). The third period (28 January to 2 February) was the most intensive with 410/340/130 μg/m3. Four modes were identified in the size distribution. The first mode (50–70 nm) and partly the second (700–1100 nm) can be regarded as of marine origin, but some dust contributes to the latter. The third mode (2–4 μm) is dominated by advected dust, while the intermittently occurring fourth mode (15–70 μm) may have a local contribution. The dust consisted of kaolinite (dust/maritime period: 35%wt./25%wt.),K-feldspar (20%wt./25%wt.), illite (14%wt./10%wt.), quartz (11%wt./8%wt.), smectites (6%wt./4%wt.), plagioclase (6%wt./1%wt.), gypsum (4%wt./7%wt.), halite (2%wt./17%wt.) and calcite (2%wt./3%wt.)

Airborne observations of the Eyjafjalla volcano ash cloud over Europe during air space closure in April and May 2010

© Author(s) 2011. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 LicenseAirborne lidar and in-situ measurements of aerosols and trace gases were performed in volcanic ash plumes over Europe between Southern Germany and Iceland with the Falcon aircraft during the eruption period of the Eyjafjalla1 volcano between 19 April and 18 May 2010. Flight planning and measurement analyses were supported by a refined Meteosat ash product and trajectory model analysis. The volcanic ash plume was observed with lidar directly over the volcano and up to a distance of 2700 km downwind, and up to 120 h plume ages. Aged ash layers were between a few 100 m to 3 km deep, occurred between 1 and 7 km altitude, and were typically 100 to 300 km wide. Particles collected by impactors had diameters up to 20 μm diameter, with size and age dependent composition. Ash mass concentrations were derived from optical particle spectrometers for a particle density of 2.6 g cm-3 and various values of the refractive index (RI, real part: 1.59; 3 values for the imaginary part: 0, 0.004 and 0.008). The mass concentrations, effective diameters and related optical properties were compared with ground-based lidar observations. Theoretical considerations of particle sedimentation constrain the particle diameters to those obtained for the lower RI values. The ash mass concentration results have an uncertainty of a factor of two. The maximum ash mass concentration encountered during the 17 flights with 34 ash plume penetrations was below 1 mg m-3. The Falcon flew in ash clouds up to about 0.8 mg m-3 for a few minutes and in an ash cloud with approximately 0.2 mg -3 mean-concentration for about one hour without engine damage. The ash plumes were rather dry and correlated with considerable CO and SO2 increases and O3 decreases. To first order, ash concentration and SO2 mixing ratio in the plumes decreased by a factor of two within less than a day. In fresh plumes, the SO2 and CO concentration increases were correlated with the ash mass concentration. The ash plumes were often visible slantwise as faint dark layers, even for concentrations below 0.1 mg m-3. The large abundance of volatile Aitken mode particles suggests previous nucleation of sulfuric acid droplets. The effective diameters range between 0.2 and 3 μm with considerable surface and volume contributions from the Aitken and coarse mode aerosol, respectively. The distal ash mass flux on 2 May was of the order of 500 (240-1600) kgs -1. The volcano induced about 10 (2.5-50) Tg of distal ash mass and about 3 (0.6-23) Tg of SO2 during the whole eruption period. The results of the Falcon flights were used to support the responsible agencies in their decisions concerning air traffic in the presence of volcanic ash.Peer reviewe

Polygenetic risk scores do not add predictive power to clinical models for response to anti-TNFα therapy in inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND: Anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) therapy is widely used in the management of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). However, up to a third of patients do not respond to induction therapy and another third of patients lose response over time. To aid patient stratification, polygenetic risk scores have been identified as predictors of response to anti-TNFα therapy. We aimed to replicate the association between polygenetic risk scores and response to anti-TNFα therapy in an independent cohort of patients, to establish its clinical validity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Primary non-response, primary response, durable response and loss of response to anti-TNFα therapy was retrospectively assessed for each patient using stringent definitions. Genome wide genotyping was performed and previously described polygenetic risk scores for primary non-response and durable response were calculated. We compared polygenetic risk scores between patients with primary response and primary non-response, and between patients with durable response and loss of response, using separate analyses for CD and UC. RESULTS: Out of 334 patients with CD, 15 (4%) patients met criteria for primary non-response, 221 (66%) for primary response, 115 (34%) for durable response and 35 (10%) for loss of response. Out of 112 patients with UC, 12 (11%) met criteria for primary non-response, 68 (61%) for primary response, 19 (17%) for durable response and 20 (18%) for loss of response. No significant differences in polygenetic risk scores were found between primary non-responders and primary responders, and between durable responders and loss of responders. CONCLUSIONS: We could not replicate the previously reported association between polygenetic risk scores and response to anti-TNFα therapy in an independent cohort of patients with CD or UC. Currently, there is insufficient evidence to use polygenetic risk scores to predict response to anti-TNFα therapy in patients with IBD

Size distribution, mass concentration, chemical and mineralogical composition and derived optical parameters of the boundary layer aerosol at Tinfou, Morocco, during SAMUM 2006

During the SAMUM 2006 field campaign in southern Morocco, physical and chemical properties of desert aerosols were measured. Mass concentrations ranging from 30μgm−3 for PM2.5 under desert background conditions up to 300 000μgm−3 for total suspended particles (TSP) during moderate dust storms were measured. TSP dust concentrations are correlated with the local wind speed, whereasPM10 andPM2.5 concentrations are determined by advection from distant sources. Size distributions were measured for particles with diameter between 20 nm and 500μm (parametrizations are given). Two major regimes of the size spectrum can be distinguished. For particles smaller than 500 nm diameter, the distributions show maxima around 80 nm, widely unaffected of varying meteorological and dust emission conditions. For particles larger than 500 nm, the range of variation may be up to one order of magnitude and up to three orders of magnitude for particles larger than 10μm. The mineralogical composition of aerosol bulk samples was measured by X-ray powder diffraction. Major constituents of the aerosol are quartz, potassium feldspar, plagioclase, calcite, hematite and the clay minerals illite, kaolinite and chlorite. A small temporal variability of the bulk mineralogical composition was encountered. The chemical composition of approximately 74 000 particles was determined by electron microscopic single particle analysis. Three size regimes are identified: for smaller than 500 nm in diameter, the aerosol consists of sulphates and mineral dust. For larger than 500 nm up to 50μm, mineral dust dominates, consisting mainly of silicates, and—to a lesser extent—carbonates and quartz. For diameters larger than 50μm, approximately half of the particles consist of quartz. Time series of the elemental composition show a moderate temporal variability of the major compounds. Calcium-dominated particles are enhanced during advection from a prominent dust source in Northern Africa (Chott El Djerid and surroundings). The particle aspect ratio was measured for all analysed particles. Its size dependence reflects that of the chemical composition. For larger than 500 nm particle diameter, a median aspect ratio of 1.6 is measured. Towards smaller particles, it decreases to about 1.3 (parametrizations are given). From the chemical/mineralogical composition, the aerosol complex refractive index was determined for several wavelengths from ultraviolet to near-infrared. Both real and imaginary parts show lower values for particles smaller than 500 nm in diameter (1.55–2.8 × 10−3i at 530 nm) and slightly higher values for larger particles (1.57–3.7 × 10−3i at 530 nm)

Quasiparticle spin susceptibility in heavy-fermion superconductors : An NMR study compared with specific heat results

Quasi-particle spin susceptibility ($\chi^{qp}$) for various heavy-fermion (HF) superconductors are discussed on the basis of the experimental results of electronic specific heat ($\gamma_{el}$), NMR Knight shift ($K$) and NMR relaxation rate ($1/T_1$) within the framework of the Fermi liquid model for a Kramers doublet crystal electric field (CEF) ground state. $\chi^{qp}_{\gamma}$ is calculated from the enhanced Sommerfeld coefficient $\gamma_{el}$ and $\chi^{qp}_{T_1}$ from the quasi-particle Korringa relation $T_1T(K^{qp}_{T_1})^2=const.$ via the relation of $\chi^{qp}_{T_1}=(N_A\mu_B/A_{hf})K^{qp}_{T_1}$ where $A_{hf}$ is the hyperfine coupling constant, $N_A$ the Abogadoro's number and $\mu_B$ the Bohr magneton. For the even-parity (spin-singlet) superconductors CeCu$_2$Si$_2$, CeCoIn$_5$ and UPd$_2$Al$_3$, the fractional decrease in the Knight shift, $\delta K^{obs}$, below the superconducting transition temperature ($T_c$) is due to the decrease of the spin susceptibility of heavy quasi-particle estimated consistently from $\chi^{qp}_{\gamma}$ and $\chi^{qp}_{T_1}$. This result allows us to conclude that the heavy quasi-particles form the spin-singlet Cooper pairs in CeCu$_2$Si$_2$, CeCoIn$_5$ and UPd$_2$Al$_3$. On the other hand, no reduction in the Knight shift is observed in UPt$_3$ and UNi$_2$Al$_3$, nevertheless the estimated values of $\chi^{qp}_{\gamma}$ and $\chi^{qp}_{T_1}$ are large enough to be probed experimentally. The odd-parity superconductivity is therefore concluded in these compounds. The NMR result provides a convincing way to classify the HF superconductors into either even- or odd- parity paring together with the identification for the gap structure, as long as the system has Kramers degeneracy.Comment: 11 pages, 3 tables, 5 figures, RevTex4(LaTex2e

Behavioral and cognitive functioning in individuals with Cantu syndrome

Cantú syndrome (CS) is caused by pathogenic variants in ABCC9 and KCNJ8 encoding the regulatory and pore-forming subunits of ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP ) channels. CS is characterized by congenital hypertrichosis, distinctive facial features, peripheral edema, and cardiac and neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Behavioral and cognitive issues have been self-reported by some CS individuals, but results of formal standardized investigations have not been published. To assess the cognitive profile, social functioning, and psychiatric symptoms in a large group of CS subjects systematically in a cross-sectional manner, we invited 35 individuals (1-69 years) with confirmed ABCC9 variants and their relatives to complete various commonly applied standardized age-related questionnaires, including the Kaufman brief intelligence test 2, the social responsiveness scale-2, and the Achenbach system of empirically based assessment. The majority of CS individuals demonstrated average verbal and nonverbal intelligence compared to the general population. Fifteen percent of cases showed social functioning strongly associated with a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Both externalizing and internalizing problems were also present in this cohort. In particular, anxiety, anxiety or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum behaviors were predominantly observed in the younger subjects in the cohort (≥25%), but this percentage decreased markedly in adults