Towards Identification of Relevant Variables in the observed Aerosol Optical Depth Bias between MODIS and AERONET observations

Measurements made by satellite remote sensing, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and globally distributed Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) are compared. Comparison of the two datasets measurements for aerosol optical depth values show that there are biases between the two data products. In this paper, we present a general framework towards identifying relevant set of variables responsible for the observed bias. We present a general framework to identify the possible factors influencing the bias, which might be associated with the measurement conditions such as the solar and sensor zenith angles, the solar and sensor azimuth, scattering angles, and surface reflectivity at the various measured wavelengths, etc. Specifically, we performed analysis for remote sensing Aqua-Land data set, and used machine learning technique, neural network in this case, to perform multivariate regression between the ground-truth and the training data sets. Finally, we used mutual information between the observed and the predicted values as the measure of similarity to identify the most relevant set of variables. The search is brute force method as we have to consider all possible combinations. The computations involves a huge number crunching exercise, and we implemented it by writing a job-parallel program

Spectroscopic and Photometric Study of the Contact Binary BO CVn

We present the results of the study of the contact binary system BO CVn. We have obtained physical parameters of the components based on combined analysis of new, multi-color light curves and spectroscopic mass ratio. This is the first time the latter has been determined for this object. We derived the contact configuration for the system with a very high filling factor of about 88 percent. We were able to reproduce the observed light curve, namely the flat bottom of the secondary minimum, only if a third light has been added into the list of free parameters. The resulting third light contribution is significant, about 20-24 percent, while the absolute parameters of components are: M1=1.16, M2=0.39, R1=1.62 and R2=1.00 (in solar units). The O-C diagram shows an upward parabola which, under the conservative mass transfer assumption, would correspond to a mass transfer rate of dM/dt = 6.3 \times 10-8M\odot/yr, matter being transferred from the less massive component to the more massive one. No cyclic, short-period variations have been found in the O-C diagram (but longer-term variations remain a possibility)Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication by New Astronom

Studies of ecomorphological variations of the European hare (Lepus europaeus) in Turkey

Hares (Lepus spp.) are widely distributed across the globe and are adapted to diverse climatic conditions. In order to study the ecomorphological variations of hares from Turkey, the body and cranial measurements and body weight, as well as coat color types, of 138 hares collected from all over Turkey between 2006 and 2012, were examined. Statistically significant differences between regional samples (p <0.05, ANOVA) only in terms of body weight and hindfoot length were found; however, there were a good number of external phenotypes, particularly in terms of coat color variants of the hare specimens. Furthermore, populations had similar variations in terms of morphometric measurement, body weight and coat coloration between different geographical regions. Turkish hares did not exhibit clinal variations from south to north in body and cranial measurements depending on the mean annual temperatures and precipitation. Therefore, it was assumed that all of these variations might be a polymorphism related to the local adaptations and high level of admixture of gene pools in Anatolia

A New, Highly Conductive, Lithium Salt/Nonionic Surfactant, Lyotropic Liquid-Crystalline Mesophase and Its Application

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Salty water! Lithium salts (LiCl, LiNO3, and LiClO4) at very high concentrations in water form lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) mesophases with a nonionic surfactant (10-lauryl ether) and display high ionic conductivities (10−2–10−4 S cm−1) over a broad temperature range (−10 to 80 °C) with excellent behavior as gel electrolytes in electrochemical applications

Evaluation of Seismic Performance of Steel Lattice Transmission Towers

The electricity transmission systems are an important lifeline for modern societies. They are used for overhead power lines as supporting structures. Transmission towers are designed to meet electrical and structural requirements. They are designed according to the weight of conductors and environmental effects such as wind and ice loads. They also considered other extraordinary stresses such as cable breakage and ice-breaking effects. Because of a common perception that transmission line (TL) towers show low sensitivity to earthquakes, the effects of the earthquake in TL tower construction are not considered. For this reason, TL towers are investigated with regard to the seismic performance in this study. The principal objectives of this research are: i) to assess the sensitivity of typical TL towers to earthquake loads, ii) to retrofit an existing steel lattice tower using a new section Centre To Center (CTC). In this study, a finite element model of a representative 154 KV transmission tower in Turkey was performed using a set of 10 recorded earthquake ground movements. The four-legged square TL tower has been analyzed and designed for Turkey, Eskisehir seismic zone considering 42.95 m height using finite element (FE) software. Therefore, a new section Centre To Center (CTC) type has been designed and the failed sections have been replaced with a designed section using the SAP2000 section designer. The results show that the load of failure increased after retrofitting. The retrofitting method was effective and easily conducted in fields. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-03091600 Full Text: PD

Genetic insight into an extinct population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the Near East

The current range of the Asian elephant is fragmented and restricted to southern Asia. Its historical range was far wider and extended from Anatolia and the Levant to Central China. The fossil record from these peripheral populations is scant and we know little of their relationship to modern Asian elephants. To gain a first insight to the genetic affinity of an E. maximus population that once inhabited Turkey we sequenced ca. 570 bp mtDNA from four individuals dating to ~3500 cal. BP. We show that these elephants carried a rare haplotype previously only observed in one modern elephant from Thailand. These results clarify the taxonomic identity of specimens with indeterminate morphologies and show that this ancient population groups within extant genetic variation. By placing the age of the common ancestor of this haplotype in the interval 3.7–58.7 kya (mean = 23.5 kya) we show that range-wide connectivity occurred at some time or times since the start of MIS 3, ~57 kya, probably reflecting range and population expansion during a favourable climatic episode. The genetic data do not distinguish natural versus anthropogenic origin of the Near Eastern Bronze Age population, but together with archaeological and paleoclimatic data they allow the possibility of a natural westward expansion around that time

The effect of cationic surfactant and some organic/inorganic additives on the morphology of mesostructured silica templated by pluronics

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Tri-block copolymers (poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide), represented as EOxPOyEOx), pluronics (F127=EO106PO70EO106, P65=EO20PO30EO20, P85=EO27PO39EO27, P103= EO17PO55EO17, and P123 = EO20PO70EO20) and cationic surfactants (cethyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)), two surfactant systems, form complex micelles that self-assemble into mesostructured particles with distinct morphology depending on the pluronic type, the concentration of the cationic surfactant and the organic-inorganic ingredients in a siliceous reaction media under acidic conditions. The CTAB-P65 and CTAB-P85 systems form spheres, CTAB-P103 and CTAB-P123 systems form wormlike particles, and CTAB-F127 system form single crystals of mesostructured silica particles under very similar conditions. However addition of various salts (such as KCI and NaNO3) into a CTAB-P103 or CTAB-P123 solution system and cyclohexane and KCI into a CTAB-P85 solution system produces the mesostructured silica spheres and wormlike particles, respectively. By controlling the hydrophilic-hydrophobic character of the pluronics, core-corona interface, by means of additives, such as small organic molecules or salts, one could obtain the desired morphology that is dictated by the shape of the micelles of the pluronic-cationic surfactant complex. The effects of the additives and the formation mechanism of those morphologies have been discussed using spectroscopy (FT-IR and Raman), diffraction (XRD) and microscopy (POM and SEM) data. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

X-ray Doppler Imaging of 44i Boo with Chandra

Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating observations of the bright eclipsing contact binary 44i Boo show X-ray line profiles which are Doppler-shifted by orbital motions. The X-ray emission spectrum contains a multitude of lines superimposed on a weak continuum, with strong lines of O VIII, Ne X, Fe XVII, and Mg XII. The profiles of these lines from the total observed spectrum show Doppler-broadened widths of ~ 550 km s^{-1}. Line centroids vary with orbital phase, indicating velocity changes of > 180 km s^{-1}. The first-order light curve shows significant variability, but no clear evidence for either primary or secondary eclipses. Flares are observed for all spectral ranges; additionally, the light curve constructed near the peak of the emission measure distribution (T_e = 5 to 8 X 10^6 K) shows quiescent variability as well as flares. The phase-dependences of line profiles and light curves together imply that at least half of the emission is localized at high latitude. A simple model with two regions on the primary star at relatively high latitude reproduces the observed line profile shifts and quiescent light curve. These first clear X-ray Doppler shifts of stellar coronal material illustrate the power of Chandra.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures to be published in Astrophysical Journal Letter

16S rRNA gene profiling and genome reconstruction reveal community metabolic interactions and prebiotic potential of medicinal herbs used in neurodegenerative disease and as nootropics.

The prebiotic potential of nervine herbal medicines has been scarcely studied. We therefore used anaerobic human fecal cultivation to investigate whether medicinal herbs commonly used as treatment in neurological health and disease in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine modulate gut microbiota. Profiling of fecal cultures supplemented with either Kapikacchu, Gotu Kola, Bacopa/Brahmi, Shankhapushpi, Boswellia/Frankincense, Jatamansi, Bhringaraj, Guduchi, Ashwagandha or Shatavari by 16S rRNA sequencing revealed profound changes in diverse taxa. Principal coordinate analysis highlights that each herb drives the formation of unique microbial communities predicted to display unique metabolic potential. The relative abundance of approximately one-third of the 243 enumerated species was altered by all herbs. Additional species were impacted in an herb-specific manner. In this study, we combine genome reconstruction of sugar utilization and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) pathways encoded in the genomes of 216 profiled taxa with monosaccharide composition analysis of each medicinal herb by quantitative mass spectrometry to enhance the interpretation of resulting microbial communities and discern potential drivers of microbiota restructuring. Collectively, our results indicate that gut microbiota engage in both protein and glycan catabolism, providing amino acid and sugar substrates that are consumed by fermentative species. We identified taxa that are efficient amino acid fermenters and those capable of both amino acid and sugar fermentation. Herb-induced microbial communities are predicted to alter the relative abundance of taxa encoding SCFA (butyrate and propionate) pathways. Co-occurrence network analyses identified a large number of taxa pairs in medicinal herb cultures. Some of these pairs displayed related culture growth relationships in replicate cultures highlighting potential functional interactions among medicinal herb-induced taxa