Thermostatic Radiator Valve Evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dentz, Jordan [Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative, New York, NY (United States); Ansanelli, Eric [Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative, New York, NY (United States)

2015-01-01

A large stock of multifamily buildings in the Northeast and Midwest are heated by steam distribution systems. Losses from these systems are typically high and a significant number of apartments are overheated much of the time. Thermostatically controlled radiator valves (TRVs) are one potential strategy to combat this problem, but have not been widely accepted by the residential retrofit market.

Smart Thermostats: An Experimental Facility to Test Their Capabilities and Savings Potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Bustamante

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The European Commission has explained how heating and cooling in buildings and industry account for half of the energy consumption of the EU. Several studies explain how to achieve an energy saving at home, and the use of smart thermostats will help to reduce energy consumption while increasing the efficiency of households. In this article, a comparative evaluation was carried out between four smart thermostats that are now on the market, whose characteristics vary in terms of price, precision of measurements and set temperature, algorithms, etc. A thermal test chamber was designed and constructed from a refrigerator, a thermal blanket, a Raspberry Pi and the necessary electronic components for its control and data collection. From the tests carried out in the thermal chamber, data on the operation of the four thermostats such as the maintenance and the anticipation of the setpoint temperature, were obtained. It was necessary to run the system enough times for each thermostat to memorize the housing characteristics, such as its inertia and its thermal insulation. This would also allow for the generation of a better algorithm to regulate the temperature, which would create a lower oscillation with respect to the setpoint temperature. The learning of the thermostats was not demonstrated and for the anticipation mode it was seen that the thermostats failed to improve or learn in this aspect, as they did not improve the start-up times of the heating system, with the consequent increase in energy consumption.

Deterministic thermostats, theories of nonequilibrium systems and parallels with the ergodic condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jepps, Owen G; Rondoni, Lamberto

2010-01-01

Deterministic 'thermostats' are mathematical tools used to model nonequilibrium steady states of fluids. The resulting dynamical systems correctly represent the transport properties of these fluids and are easily simulated on modern computers. More recently, the connection between such thermostats and entropy production has been exploited in the development of nonequilibrium fluid theories. The purpose and limitations of deterministic thermostats are discussed in the context of irreversible thermodynamics and the development of theories of nonequilibrium phenomena. We draw parallels between the development of such nonequilibrium theories and the development of notions of ergodicity in equilibrium theories. (topical review)

Large Scale Demand Response of Thermostatic Loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Totu, Luminita Cristiana

This study is concerned with large populations of residential thermostatic loads (e.g. refrigerators, air conditioning or heat pumps). The purpose is to gain control over the aggregate power consumption in order to provide balancing services for the electrical grid. Without affecting the temperat......This study is concerned with large populations of residential thermostatic loads (e.g. refrigerators, air conditioning or heat pumps). The purpose is to gain control over the aggregate power consumption in order to provide balancing services for the electrical grid. Without affecting....... The control architecture is defined by parsimonious communication requirements that also have a high level data privacy, and it furthermore guarantees a robust and secure local operation. Mathematical models are put forward, and the effectiveness is shown by numerical simulations. A case study of 10000...

A unified thermostat scheme for efficient configurational sampling for classical/quantum canonical ensembles via molecular dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhijun; Liu, Xinzijian; Chen, Zifei; Zheng, Haifeng; Yan, Kangyu; Liu, Jian

2017-07-01

We show a unified second-order scheme for constructing simple, robust, and accurate algorithms for typical thermostats for configurational sampling for the canonical ensemble. When Langevin dynamics is used, the scheme leads to the BAOAB algorithm that has been recently investigated. We show that the scheme is also useful for other types of thermostats, such as the Andersen thermostat and Nosé-Hoover chain, regardless of whether the thermostat is deterministic or stochastic. In addition to analytical analysis, two 1-dimensional models and three typical real molecular systems that range from the gas phase, clusters, to the condensed phase are used in numerical examples for demonstration. Accuracy may be increased by an order of magnitude for estimating coordinate-dependent properties in molecular dynamics (when the same time interval is used), irrespective of which type of thermostat is applied. The scheme is especially useful for path integral molecular dynamics because it consistently improves the efficiency for evaluating all thermodynamic properties for any type of thermostat.

Determination of the mechanical thermostat electrical contacts switching quality with sound and vibration analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rejc, Jure; Munih, Marko [University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

2017-05-15

A mechanical thermostat is a device that switches heating or cooling appliances on or off based on temperature. For this kind of use, electronic or mechanical switching concepts are applied. During the production of electrical contacts, several irregularities can occur leading to improper switching events of the thermostat electrical contacts. This paper presents a non-obstructive method based on the fact that when the switching event occurs it can be heard and felt by human senses. We performed several laboratory tests with two different methods. The first method includes thermostat switch sound signal analysis during the switching event. The second method is based on sampling of the accelerometer signal during the switching event. The results show that the sound analysis approach has great potential. The approach enables an accurate determination of the switching event even if the sampled signal carries also the switching event of the neighbour thermostat.

Design and Implementation of Frequency-responsive Thermostat Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nyeng, Preben; Østergaard, Jacob; Togeby, Mikael

2010-01-01

properties and needs of each application, and on the other hand the requirements of the system operator. The control algorithms are implemented on a microcontroller unit that is interfaced with existing thermostats for each application. To validate the control algorithms and overall system design, a series...

The nighttime winter anomaly (NWA) effect at the Asian longitude sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakowski, N.; Landrock, R.; Jungstand, A.

1990-01-01

Ionospheric electron content N F and vertical sounding f.F2 data obtained in Havana/Cuba are used to demonstrate some features of the NWA effect. The assumed close correlation with the solar geomagnetic-geographic control of the ionospheric/plasmaspheric plasma is probed by a comparison with ionosonde data obtained at the Asian sector characterized by a hemispherically reversed but besides that very similar geomagnetic-geographic relationship. The f.F2 data from Mundaring/Australia indicate the existence of the NWA effect at low solar activity as well as a very similar monthly variation of night-time f.F2 data between Mundaring and the magnetically conjugated region represented by f.F2 data obtained in Irkutsk/USSR. In order to explain these observations the same mechanism is suggested as it was proposed for Havana. (author)

An Inductive Water Thermostat Using On‐Off Triac Control and Platinum Sensing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Diamond, Joseph M.

1971-01-01

An on‐off thermostat is described using novel means for heating, sensing, and triac control. Heating is performed by sending the water through a coil of silver tubing which forms the short‐circuited secondary winding of a transformer. This arrangement permits extremely good insulation, which...... was essential in the medical application (a dialysis water thermostat) for which it was designed; its quick response also contributes to the excellent regulation achieved with simple on‐off control. Sensing is provided by a very low resistance platinum coil in direct contact with the water, thus providing quick...

A Microwave Thermostatic Reactor for Processing Liquid Materials Based on a Heat-Exchanger.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yongqiang; Zhang, Chun; Xie, Tian; Hong, Tao; Zhu, Huacheng; Yang, Yang; Liu, Changjun; Huang, Kama

2017-10-08

Microwaves have been widely used in the treatment of different materials. However, the existing adjustable power thermostatic reactors cannot be used to analyze materials characteristics under microwave effects. In this paper, a microwave thermostatic chemical reactor for processing liquid materials is proposed, by controlling the velocity of coolant based on PLC (programmable logic controller) in different liquid under different constant electric field intensity. A nonpolar coolant (Polydimethylsiloxane), which is completely microwave transparent, is employed to cool the liquid materials. Experiments are performed to measure the liquid temperature using optical fibers, the results show that the precision of temperature control is at the range of ±0.5 °C. Compared with the adjustable power thermostatic control system, the effect of electric field changes on material properties are avoided and it also can be used to detect the properties of liquid materials and special microwave effects.

Time step MOTA thermostat simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guthrie, G.L.

1978-09-01

The report details the logic, program layout, and operating procedures for the time-step MOTA (Materials Open Test Assembly) thermostat simulation program known as GYRD. It will enable prospective users to understand the operation of the program, run it, and interpret the results. The time-step simulation analysis was the approach chosen to determine the maximum value gain that could be used to minimize steady temperature offset without risking undamped thermal oscillations. The advantage of the GYRD program is that it directly shows hunting, ringing phenomenon, and similar events. Programs BITT and CYLB are faster, but do not directly show ringing time

End users heat energy savings using thermostat regulation valves radiators, v. 16(64)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakimovska, Emilija Misheva; Potsev, Eftim

2008-01-01

Billing the used heat energy offers the opportunity to motivate end users to use the heat energy rationally and to save the energy. Installing the thermostat valves on the radiators it is possible frequently to regulate the room temperature and to use the heat gains, obtaining comfortable climate in the apartments and saving the energy. Thermostat valves give the possibility to use the heat energy rationally and save the energy, and these way and users can regulate the heat energy consumption according to their own level of thermal comfort. (Author)

End users heat energy savings using thermostat regulation valves radiators, v. 16(63)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakimovska, Emilija Misheva; Potsev, Eftim

2008-01-01

Billing the used heat energy offers the opportunity to motivate end users to use the heat energy rationally and to save the energy. Installing the thermostat valves on the radiators it is possible frequently to regulate the room temperature and to use the heat gains, obtaining comfortable climate in the apartments and saving the energy. Thermostat valves give the possibility to use the heat energy rationally and save the energy, and these way and users can regulate the heat energy consumption according to their own level of thermal comfort. (Author)

A model of residential energy end-use in Canada: Using conditional demand analysis to suggest policy options for community energy planners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newsham, Guy R.; Donnelly, Cara L.

2013-01-01

We applied conditional demand analysis (CDA) to estimate the average annual energy use of various electrical and natural gas appliances, and derived energy reductions associated with certain appliance upgrades and behaviours. The raw data came from 9773 Canadian households, and comprised annual electricity and natural gas use, and responses to >600 questions on dwelling and occupant characteristics, appliances, heating and cooling equipment, and associated behaviours. Replacing an old (>10 years) refrigerator with a new one was estimated to save 100 kW h/year; replacing an incandescent lamp with a CFL/LED lamp was estimated to save 20 kW h/year; and upgrading an old central heating system with a new one was estimated to save 2000 kW h/year. This latter effect was similar to that of reducing the number of walls exposed to the outside. Reducing the winter thermostat setpoint during occupied, waking hours was estimated to lower annual energy use by 200 kW h/°C-reduction, and lowering the thermostat setting overnight in winter relative to the setting during waking hours (night-time setback) was estimated to have a similar effect. This information may be used by policy-makers to optimize incentive programs, information campaigns, or other energy use change instruments. - Highlights: ► Conditional demand analysis (CDA) applied to data from 9773 Canadian households. ► Energy savings associated with certain appliance upgrades estimated. ► Energy savings associated with thermostat behaviours estimated. ► Policy-makers can use findings to optimize incentives and information campaigns

A thermostatted kinetic theory model for event-driven pedestrian dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Bianca, Carlo; Mogno, Caterina

2018-06-01

This paper is devoted to the modeling of the pedestrian dynamics by means of the thermostatted kinetic theory. Specifically the microscopic interactions among pedestrians and an external force field are modeled for simulating the evacuation of pedestrians from a metro station. The fundamentals of the stochastic game theory and the thermostatted kinetic theory are coupled for the derivation of a specific mathematical model which depicts the time evolution of the distribution of pedestrians at different exits of a metro station. The perturbation theory is employed in order to establish the stability analysis of the nonequilibrium stationary states in the case of a metro station consisting of two exits. A general sensitivity analysis on the initial conditions, the magnitude of the external force field and the number of exits is presented by means of numerical simulations which, in particular, show how the asymptotic distribution and the convergence time are affected by the presence of an external force field. The results show how, in evacuation conditions, the interaction dynamics among pedestrians can be negligible with respect to the external force. The important role of the thermostat term in allowing the reaching of the nonequilibrium stationary state is stressed out. Research perspectives are underlined at the end of paper, in particular for what concerns the derivation of frameworks that take into account the definition of local external actions and the introduction of the space and velocity dynamics.

Nighttime NOx Chemistry in Coal-Fired Power Plant Plumes

Science.gov (United States)

Fibiger, D. L.; McDuffie, E. E.; Dube, W. P.; Veres, P. R.; Lopez-Hilfiker, F.; Lee, B. H.; Green, J. R.; Fiddler, M. N.; Ebben, C. J.; Sparks, T.; Weinheimer, A. J.; Montzka, D.; Campos, T. L.; Cohen, R. C.; Bililign, S.; Holloway, J. S.; Thornton, J. A.; Brown, S. S.

2015-12-01

Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) play a key role in atmospheric chemistry. During the day, they catalyze ozone (O3) production, while at night they can react to form nitric acid (HNO3) and nitryl chloride (ClNO2) and remove O3 from the atmosphere. These processes are well studied in the summer, but winter measurements are more limited. Coal-fired power plants are a major source of NOx to the atmosphere, making up approximately 30% of emissions in the US (epa.gov). NOx emissions can vary seasonally, as well as plant-to-plant, with important impacts on the details of the plume chemistry. In particular, due to inefficient plume dispersion, nighttime NOx emissions from power plants are held in concentrated plumes, where rates of mixing with ambient O3 have a strong influence on plume evolution. We will show results from the aircraft-based WINTER campaign over the northeastern United States, where several nighttime intercepts of power plant plumes were made. Several of these intercepts show complete O3 titration, which can have a large influence on NOx lifetime, and thus O3 production, in the plume. When power plant NO emissions exceed background O3 levels, O3 is completely consumed converting NO to NO2. In the presence of O3, NO2 will be oxidized to NO3, which will then react with NO2 to form N2O5, which can then form HNO3 and/or ClNO2 and, ultimately, remove NOx from the atmosphere or provide next-day oxidant sources. If there is no O3 present, however, no further chemistry can occur and NO and NO2 will be transported until mixing with sufficient O3 for higher oxidation products. Modeling results of plume development and mixing, which can tell us more about this transport, will also be presented.

Thermostatic Radiator Valve Evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dentz, J. [Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative (ARIES), New York, NY (United States); Ansanelli, E. [Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative (ARIES), New York, NY (United States)

2015-01-01

A large stock of multifamily buildings in the Northeast and Midwest are heated by steam distribution systems. Losses from these systems are typically high and a significant number of apartments are overheated much of the time. Thermostatically controlled radiator valves (TRVs) are one potential strategy to combat this problem, but have not been widely accepted by the residential retrofit market. In this project, the ARIES team sought to better understand the current usage of TRVs by key market players in steam and hot water heating and to conduct limited experiments on the effectiveness of new and old TRVs as a means of controlling space temperatures and reducing heating fuel consumption. The project included a survey of industry professionals, a field experiment comparing old and new TRVs, and cost-benefit modeling analysis using BEopt™ (Building Energy Optimization software).

Modeling Populations of Thermostatic Loads with Switching Rate Actuation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Totu, Luminita Cristiana; Wisniewski, Rafal; Leth, John-Josef

2015-01-01

We model thermostatic devices using a stochastic hybrid description, and introduce an external actuation mechanism that creates random switch events in the discrete dynamics. We then conjecture the form of the Fokker-Planck equation and successfully verify it numerically using Monte Carlo...... simulations. The actuation mechanism and subsequent modeling result are relevant for power system operation....

Evaluating functions of positive-definite matrices using colored-noise thermostats

Science.gov (United States)

Nava, Marco; Ceriotti, Michele; Dryzun, Chaim; Parrinello, Michele

2014-02-01

Many applications in computational science require computing the elements of a function of a large matrix. A commonly used approach is based on the the evaluation of the eigenvalue decomposition, a task that, in general, involves a computing time that scales with the cube of the size of the matrix. We present here a method that can be used to evaluate the elements of a function of a positive-definite matrix with a scaling that is linear for sparse matrices and quadratic in the general case. This methodology is based on the properties of the dynamics of a multidimensional harmonic potential coupled with colored-noise, generalized Langevin equation thermostats. This "f-thermostat" approach allows us to calculate directly elements of functions of a positive-definite matrix by carefully tailoring the properties of the stochastic dynamics. We demonstrate the scaling and the accuracy of this approach for both dense and sparse problems and compare the results with other established methodologies.

Longitudinal effect in the night-time mid-latitude ionosphere according to the Interkosmos-19 data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deminov, M.G.; Karpachev, A.T.

1988-01-01

Longitudinal effects in the night-time mid-latitude external ionosphere for summer and winter conditions of the high solar activity period are analysed. The high amplitude of longitudinal changes of the external ionosphere, including changes of the height (upto 150 km) and the concentration (7-8 times) of the F2-layer maximum, is shown to be provided under winter mid-night-time conditions with high values of the zone component of the wind velocity and strong latitude gradients and with longitudinal changes of the meridional projection of the wind velocity. N changes with the longitude before the Sun setting, when the zone component of the wind velocity is maximum, made the main contribution in summer to longitudinal changes of the electron concentration of the N night ionosphere. The wind velocity phase shift during the season lleads to the fact that the maximum amplitude of N longitudinal changes is observed till midnight in summer and after midnight in winter

Modeling heterogeneous populations of thermostatically controlled loads using diffusion-advection PDEs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moura, Scott; Ruiz, Victor; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon

2013-01-01

This paper focuses on developing a partial differential equation (PDE)-based model and parameter identification scheme for heterogeneous populations of thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs). First, a coupled two-state hyperbolic PDE model for homogenous TCL populations is derived. This model i...

CubeSat Nighttime Earth Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Pack, D. W.; Hardy, B. S.; Longcore, T.

2017-12-01

Satellite monitoring of visible emissions at night has been established as a useful capability for environmental monitoring and mapping the global human footprint. Pioneering work using Defense Meteorological Support Program (DMSP) sensors has been followed by new work using the more capable Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). Beginning in 2014, we have been investigating the ability of small visible light cameras on CubeSats to contribute to nighttime Earth science studies via point-and-stare imaging. This paper summarizes our recent research using a common suite of simple visible cameras on several AeroCube satellites to carry out nighttime observations of urban areas and natural gas flares, nighttime weather (including lighting), and fishing fleet lights. Example results include: urban image examples, the utility of color imagery, urban lighting change detection, and multi-frame sequences imaging nighttime weather and large ocean areas with extensive fishing vessel lights. Our results show the potential for CubeSat sensors to improve monitoring of urban growth, light pollution, energy usage, the urban-wildland interface, the improvement of electrical power grids in developing countries, light-induced fisheries, and oil industry flare activity. In addition to orbital results, the nighttime imaging capabilities of new CubeSat sensors scheduled for launch in October 2017 are discussed.

Thermostatic system of sensor in NIR spectrometer based on PID control

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhihong; Qiao, Liwei; Ji, Xufei

2016-11-01

Aiming at the shortcomings of the primary sensor thermostatic control system in the near infrared (NIR) spectrometer, a novel thermostatic control system based on proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control technology was developed to improve the detection precision of the NIR spectrometer. There were five parts including bridge amplifier circuit, analog-digital conversion (ADC) circuit, microcontroller, digital-analog conversion (DAC) circuit and drive circuit in the system. The five parts formed a closed-loop control system based on PID algorithm that was used to control the error between the temperature calculated by the sampling data of ADC and the designed temperature to ensure the stability of the spectrometer's sensor. The experimental results show that, when the operating temperature of sensor is -11°, compared with the original system, the temperature control precision of the new control system is improved from ±0.64° to ±0.04° and the spectrum signal to noise ratio (SNR) is improved from 4891 to 5967.

Capillary Tube and Thermostatic Expansion Valve Comparative Analysis in Water Chiller Air Conditioning

Science.gov (United States)

Wijaya Sunu, Putu; Made Rasta, I.; Anakottapary, Daud Simon; Made Suarta, I.; Cipta Santosa, I. D. M.

2018-01-01

The aims of this study to compares the performance characteristics of a water chiller air conditioning simulation equipped with thermostatic expansion valve (TEV) with those of a capillary tube. Water chiller system filled with the same charge of refrigerant. Comparative analyses were performed based on coefficient of performance (COP) and performance parameter of the refrigeration system, carried out at medium cooling load level with the ambient temperature of 29-31°C, constant compressor speed and fixed chilled water volume flowrate at 15 lpm. It was shown that the TEV system showed better energy consumption compared to that of capillary tube. From the coefficient of performance perspective, the thermostatic expansion valve system showed higher COP (± 21.4%) compared to that of capillary tube system.

Endothelial function in postmenopausal women with nighttime systolic hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Routledge, Faye S; Hinderliter, Alan L; McFetridge-Durdle, Judith; Blumenthal, James A; Paine, Nicola J; Sherwood, Andrew

2015-08-01

Hypertension becomes more prevalent in women during their postmenopausal years. Nighttime systolic blood pressure (SBP) is especially predictive of adverse cardiac events, and the relationship between rising nighttime SBP and cardiovascular risk increases more rapidly in women compared with men. The reasons for the prognostic significance of nighttime SBP are not completely known but may involve vascular endothelial dysfunction. The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between nighttime SBP and endothelial function, as assessed by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and to determine whether postmenopausal women with nighttime hypertension (SBP ≥120 mm Hg) evidenced greater endothelial dysfunction compared with women with normal nighttime SBP. One hundred postmenopausal women (mean [SD] age, 65.8 [7.5] y; mean [SD] body mass index, 28.3 [4.7] kg/m; hypertension, 47%; coronary artery disease, 51%; mean [SD] clinic SBP, 137 [17] mm Hg; mean [SD] clinic diastolic blood pressure, 67 [11] mm Hg; nighttime hypertension, 34 women) underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, actigraphy, and brachial artery FMD assessment. Multivariate regression models showed that higher nighttime SBP and larger baseline artery diameter were inversely related to FMD. Nighttime SBP and baseline artery diameter accounted for 23% of the variance in FMD. After adjustment for baseline artery diameter, women with nighttime hypertension had lower mean (SD) FMD than women with normal nighttime SBP (2.95% [0.65%] vs 5.52% [0.46%], P = 0.002). Nighttime hypertension is associated with reduced endothelial function in postmenopausal women. Research examining the therapeutic benefits of nighttime hypertension treatment on endothelial function and future cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women is warranted.

Universal time dependence of nighttime F region densities at high latitudes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaujardiere, O.D.L.; Wickwar, V.B.; Caudal, G.

1985-01-01

Coordinated EISCAT, Chatanika, and Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar observations have revealed that in the auroral zone, the nighttime F region densities vary substantially with the longitude of the observing site: EISCAT's densities are the largest and Millstone Hill's are the lowest. The nighttime F region densities measured by the individual radars are not uniform: the regions where the densities are maximum are the so-called ''blobs'' or ''patches'' that have been reported previously. The observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the nighttime densities are produced in significant amounts not by particle precipitation, but by solar EUV radiation, and that they have been transported across the polar cap. The observed differences can be explained by the offset of the geographic and geomagnetic poles. A larger portion of the magnetospheric convection pattern is sunlit when EISCAT is in the midnight sector than when Chatanika is. In winter, when Millstone Hill is in the midnight sector, almost all the auroral oval is in darkness. This universal time effect, which was observed on all coordinated three-radar experiments (September 1981 to February 1982), is illustrated using two periods of coincident radar and satellite observations: November 18--19, and December 15--16, 1981. These two periods were selected because they corresponded to relatively steady conditions. Dynamics Explorer (DE) measurements are used to aid in interpreting the radar observations. De 1 auroral images show what portion of the oval was sunlit. DE 2 data are used to measure the ion drift across the polar cap. Because the altitude of the ionization peak was high, the decay time of the F region density was substantially longer than the transit time across the polar cap

PIXE analysis of airborne particulate matter from Xalostoc, Mexico: winter to summer comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores M, J.; Aldape, F.; Diaz, R.V.; Hernandez-Mendez, B.; Garcia G, R.

1999-01-01

A study of elemental contents in airborne particulate matter from the industrial city of Xalostoc, Estado de Mexico, was performed using PIXE. The place has a great variety of industries, it is a heavily populated, and it is a part of Mexico City's conurbation, thus contributing significantly to its atmospheric pollution. At present, there is few information available about elemental contents in airborne particulate matter from that region. In this study, two sets of samples of airborne particulate matter were collected daily during periods of four weeks in summer 1996 and winter 1997; two samples a day, 12 h each, night-time and day-time. Results revealed important information about elemental contents in airborne particulate matter from that area, especially in the respirable fraction PM 2.5 . Comparison of night and day figures showed the presence of some elements such as Cu, Zn, and Pb, attributed, as it was expected, to uninterrupted industrial processes. Appearance of some other elements was more consistent only in either day-time or night-time due to diurnal or nocturnal industrial activities, or produced by human activities such as fuel combustion of automotive vehicles. Comparison of winter to summer results showed some other important features such as higher concentrations of pollutants in winter, because of the dry and cold weather, while summer samples exhibited lower concentrations mainly due to the presence of rain showers

Nighttime atmospheric chemistry of iodine

Science.gov (United States)

Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso; Plane, John M. C.; Cuevas, Carlos A.; Mahajan, Anoop S.; Lamarque, Jean-François; Kinnison, Douglas E.

2016-12-01

Little attention has so far been paid to the nighttime atmospheric chemistry of iodine species. Current atmospheric models predict a buildup of HOI and I2 during the night that leads to a spike of IO at sunrise, which is not observed by measurements. In this work, electronic structure calculations are used to survey possible reactions that HOI and I2 could undergo at night in the lower troposphere, and hence reduce their nighttime accumulation. The new reaction NO3+ HOI → IO + HNO3 is proposed, with a rate coefficient calculated from statistical rate theory over the temperature range 260-300 K and at a pressure of 1000 hPa to be k(T) = 2.7 × 10-12 (300 K/T)2.66 cm3 molecule-1 s-1. This reaction is included in two atmospheric models, along with the known reaction between I2 and NO3, to explore a new nocturnal iodine radical activation mechanism. The results show that this iodine scheme leads to a considerable reduction of nighttime HOI and I2, which results in the enhancement of more than 25 % of nighttime ocean emissions of HOI + I2 and the removal of the anomalous spike of IO at sunrise. We suggest that active nighttime iodine can also have a considerable, so far unrecognized, impact on the reduction of the NO3 radical levels in the marine boundary layer (MBL) and hence upon the nocturnal oxidizing capacity of the marine atmosphere. The effect of this is exemplified by the indirect effect on dimethyl sulfide (DMS) oxidation.

An Overview on Data Mining of Nighttime Light Remote Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LI Deren

2015-06-01

Full Text Available When observing the Earth from above at night, it is clear that the human settlement and major economic regions emit glorious light. At cloud-free nights, some remote sensing satellites can record visible radiance source, including city light, fishing boat light and fire, and these nighttime cloud-free images are remotely sensed nighttime light images. Different from daytime remote sensing, nighttime light remote sensing provides a unique perspective on human social activities, thus it has been widely used for spatial data mining of socioeconomic domains. Historically, researches on nighttime light remote sensing mostly focus on urban land cover and urban expansion mapping using DMSP/OLS imagery, but the nighttime light images are not the unique remote sensing source to do these works. Through decades of development of nighttime light product, the nighttime light remote sensing application has been extended to numerous interesting and scientific study domains such as econometrics, poverty estimation, light pollution, fishery and armed conflict. Among the application cases, it is surprising to see the Gross Domestic Production (GDP data can be corrected using the nighttime light data, and it is interesting to see mechanism of several diseases can be revealed by nighttime light images, while nighttime light are the unique remote sensing source to do the above works. As the nighttime light remote sensing has numerous applications, it is important to summarize the application of nighttime light remote sensing and its data mining fields. This paper introduced major satellite platform and sensors for observing nighttime light at first. Consequently, the paper summarized the progress of nighttime light remote sensing data mining in socioeconomic parameter estimation, urbanization monitoring, important event evaluation, environmental and healthy effects, fishery dynamic mapping, epidemiological research and natural gas flaring monitoring. Finally, future

Night-Time Light Dynamics during the Iraqi Civil War

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Li

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, we analyzed the night-time light dynamics in Iraq over the period 2012–2017 by using Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS monthly composites. The data quality of VIIRS images was improved by repairing the missing data, and the Night-time Light Ratio Indices (NLRIs, derived from urban extent map and night-time light images, were calculated for different provinces and cities. We found that when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS attacked or occupied a region, the region lost its light rapidly, with the provinces of Al-Anbar, At-Ta’min, Ninawa, and Sala Ad-din losing 63%, 73%, 88%, and 56%, of their night-time light, respectively, between December 2013 and December 2014. Moreover, the light returned after the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF recaptured the region. In addition, we also found that the night-time light in the Kurdish Autonomous Region showed a steady decline after 2014, with the Arbil, Dihok, and As-Sulaymaniyah provinces losing 47%, 18%, and 31% of their night-time light between December 2013 and December 2016 as a result of the economic crisis in the region. The night-time light in Southern Iraq, the region controlled by Iraqi central government, has grown continuously; for example, the night-time light in Al Basrah increased by 75% between December 2013 and December 2017. Regions formerly controlled by ISIS experienced a return of night-time light during 2017 as the ISF retook almost all this territory in 2017. This indicates that as reconstruction began, electricity was re-supplied in these regions. Our analysis shows the night-time light in Iraq is directly linked to the socioeconomic dynamics of Iraq, and demonstrates that the VIIRS monthly night-time light images are an effective data source for tracking humanitarian disasters in that country.

Peltier battery thermostat for semiconductor detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caini, V.

1980-01-01

The description is given of a Peltier battery cooling thermostat for semiconductor detectors, whose sensing element is the detector itself. A signal proportional to the leakage current is amplified and compared with a chosen reference voltage. The difference, amplified and sensed, regulates the cooling current to the Peltier battery. Special mechanical devices speed up measurement-taking. The leakage current proved to be reducible to as little as 1/1000 of that at ambient temperature and the stabilization obtained is between +-5 nA (although between +-1 nA is also feasible). Hence it is possible to use very high load resistance preamplifiers to reduce noise and to improve stability and pulse height resolution in α spectroscopy, even with a detector unsuitable for work at very low temperatures. Other applications can be foreseen. (orig.)

Load management: Model-based control of aggregate power for populations of thermostatically controlled loads

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perfumo, Cristian; Kofman, Ernesto; Braslavsky, Julio H.; Ward, John K.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Characterisation of power response of a population of air conditioners. ► Implementation of demand side management on a group of air conditioners. ► Design of a controller for the power output of a group of air conditioners. ► Quantification of comfort impact of demand side management. - Abstract: Large groups of electrical loads can be controlled as a single entity to reduce their aggregate power demand in the electricity network. This approach, known as load management (LM) or demand response, offers an alternative to the traditional paradigm in the electricity market, where matching supply and demand is achieved solely by regulating how much generation is dispatched. Thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs), such as air conditioners (ACs) and fridges, are particularly suitable for LM, which can be implemented using feedback control techniques to regulate their aggregate power. To achieve high performance, such feedback control techniques require an accurate mathematical model of the TCL aggregate dynamics. Although such models have been developed, they appear too complex to be effectively used in control design. In this paper we develop a mathematical model aimed at the design of a model-based feedback control strategy. The proposed model analytically characterises the aggregate power response of a population of ACs to a simultaneous step change in temperature set points. Based on this model, we then derive, and completely parametrise in terms of the ACs ensemble properties, a reduced-order mathematical model to design an internal-model controller that regulates aggregate power by broadcasting temperature set-point offset changes. The proposed controller achieves high LM performance provided the ACs are equipped with high resolution thermostats. With coarser resolution thermostats, which are typical in present commercial and residential ACs, performance deteriorates significantly. This limitation is overcome by subdividing the population

Learning Agent for a Heat-Pump Thermostat with a Set-Back Strategy Using Model-Free Reinforcement Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frederik Ruelens

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The conventional control paradigm for a heat pump with a less efficient auxiliary heating element is to keep its temperature set point constant during the day. This constant temperature set point ensures that the heat pump operates in its more efficient heat-pump mode and minimizes the risk of activating the less efficient auxiliary heating element. As an alternative to a constant set-point strategy, this paper proposes a learning agent for a thermostat with a set-back strategy. This set-back strategy relaxes the set-point temperature during convenient moments, e.g., when the occupants are not at home. Finding an optimal set-back strategy requires solving a sequential decision-making process under uncertainty, which presents two challenges. The first challenge is that for most residential buildings, a description of the thermal characteristics of the building is unavailable and challenging to obtain. The second challenge is that the relevant information on the state, i.e., the building envelope, cannot be measured by the learning agent. In order to overcome these two challenges, our paper proposes an auto-encoder coupled with a batch reinforcement learning technique. The proposed approach is validated for two building types with different thermal characteristics for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. The simulation results indicate that the proposed learning agent can reduce the energy consumption by 4%–9% during 100 winter days and by 9%–11% during 80 summer days compared to the conventional constant set-point strategy.

Nighttime Fears and Fantasy-Reality Differentiation in Preschool Children

Science.gov (United States)

Zisenwine, Tamar; Kaplan, Michal; Kushnir, Jonathan; Sadeh, Avi

2013-01-01

Nighttime fears are very common in preschool years. During these years, children's fantasy-reality differentiation undergoes significant development. Our study was aimed at exploring the links between nighttime fears and fantasy-reality differentiation in preschool children. Eighty children (aged: 4-6 years) suffering from severe nighttime fears…

Investigation of charges for thermostatic expansion valves containing condensable and non condensable gas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langmaack, Lasse Nicolai; Knudsen, Hans-Jørgen Høgaard

2006-01-01

The bulb of a thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) is basically a temperature-pressure converter. It senses the temperature at the outlet of the evaporator, and the substance in the bulb (charge) generates the corresponding saturation pressure inside the bulb. The aim of the work presented in this ...

Control for large scale demand response of thermostatic loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Totu, Luminita Cristiana; Leth, John; Wisniewski, Rafal

2013-01-01

appliances with on/off operation. The objective is to reduce the consumption peak of a group of loads composed of both flexible and inflexible units. The power flexible units are the thermostat-based appliances. We discuss a centralized, model predictive approach and a distributed structure with a randomized......Demand response is an important Smart Grid concept that aims at facilitating the integration of volatile energy resources into the electricity grid. This paper considers a residential demand response scenario and specifically looks into the problem of managing a large number thermostatbased...

Control characteristics and heating performance analysis of automatic thermostatic valves for radiant slab heating system in residential apartments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Byung-Cheon [Department of Building Equipment System Engineering, Kyungwon University, Seongnam City (Korea); Song, Jae-Yeob [Graduate School, Building Equipment System Engineering, Kyungwon University, Seongnam City (Korea)

2010-04-15

Computer simulations and experiments are carried out to research the control characteristics and heating performances for a radiant slab heating system with automatic thermostatic valves in residential apartments. An electrical equivalent R-C circuit is applied to analyze the unsteady heat transfer in the house. In addition, the radiant heat transfer between slabs, ceilings and walls in the room is evaluated by enclosure analysis method. Results of heating performance and control characteristics were determined from control methods such as automatic thermostatic valves, room air temperature-sensing method, water-temperature-sensing method, proportional control method, and On-Off control method. (author)

Fatal accidents in nighttime vs. daytime highway construction work zones.

Science.gov (United States)

Arditi, David; Lee, Dong-Eun; Polat, Gul

2007-01-01

Awareness about worker safety in nighttime construction has been a major concern because it is believed that nighttime construction creates hazardous work conditions. However, only a few studies provide valuable comparative information about accident characteristics of nighttime and daytime highway construction activities. This study investigates fatal accidents that occurred in Illinois highway work zones in the period 1996-2001 in order to determine the safety differences between nighttime and daytime highway construction. The lighting and weather conditions were included into the study as control parameters to see their effects on the frequency of fatal accidents occurring in work zones. According to this study, there is evidence that nighttime construction is more hazardous than daytime construction. The inclusion of a weather parameter into the analysis has limited effect on this finding. The study justifies establishing an efficient work zone accident reporting system and taking all necessary measures to enhance safety in nighttime work zones.

Passive Cooling of buildings by night-time ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Artmann, Nikolai; Manz, Heinrich; Heiselberg, Per

coefficients below about 4 W/m2K. Heat transfer during night-time ventilation in case of mixing and displacement ventilation was investigated in a full scale test room at Aalborg University. In the experiments the temperature efficiency of the ventilation was determined. Based on the previous re-sults a method...... are still hesitant to apply passive cooling techniques. As night-time ventilation is highly dependent on climatic conditions, a method for quantifying the climatic cooling potential was developed and the impact of climate warming was investigated. Although a clear decrease was found, significant potential...... will remain, especially if night-time ventilation is applied in combination with other cooling methods. Building energy simulations showed that the performance of night-time ventilation is also affected by the heat transfer at internal room surfaces, as the cooling effect is very limited for heat transfer...

Construction and Start-up of a Large-Volume Thermostat for Dielectric-Constant Gas Thermometry

Science.gov (United States)

Merlone, A.; Moro, F.; Zandt, T.; Gaiser, C.; Fellmuth, B.

2010-07-01

A liquid-bath thermostat with a volume of about 800 L was designed to provide a suitable thermal environment for a dielectric-constant gas thermometer (DCGT) in the range from the triple point of mercury to the melting point of gallium. In the article, results obtained with the unique, huge thermostat without the DCGT measuring chamber are reported to demonstrate the capability of controlling the temperature of very large systems at a metrological level. First tests showed that the bath together with its temperature controller provide a temperature variation of less than ±0.5mK peak-to-peak. This temperature instability could be maintained over a period of several days. In the central working volume (diameter—500mm, height—650mm), in which the vacuum chamber containing the measuring system of the DCGT will be placed later, the temperature inhomogeneity has been demonstrated to be also well below 1mK.

Electrodeposition of nickel onto steel, using a thermostatic cell and movable anode by a variable current

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vega G, J.D.

1994-01-01

In this work, metallic coatings of nickel was made over carbon steel using two different electrolytic solutions: The Watts's bath and the nickel sulfamate bath, using a pulse variable current. The method use was the traditional method, its means a thermostatic cell and one movable anode, which is a few know technique nowadays, it allow realize depositions away from any laboratory or special workshop, it has the advantage to be a portable dispositive. At last of all the electro depositions the coatings quality was valuable by them physical properties like: adhesion, hardness, wrinkled and thickness. The best results was obtain by the Nickel sulfamate bath and movable anode, less in the thickness, which has higher on the thermostatic cell. The variable current was obtain by a Pulse Generator and a Cathodic galvanometer. (Author)

Air pollution episodes associated with East Asian winter monsoons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hien, P.D., E-mail: pdhien@gmail.com [Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency, 59 Ly Thuong Kiet str. Hanoi (Viet Nam); Loc, P.D.; Dao, N.V. [National Hydro-Meteorological Center, 62-A2 Nguyen Chi Thanh str. Hanoi (Viet Nam)

2011-11-01

A dozen multi-day pollution episodes occur from October to February in Hanoi, Vietnam due to prolonged anticyclonic conditions established after the northeast monsoon surges (cold surges). These winter pollution episodes (WPEs) account for most of the 24-h PM{sub 10} exceedances and the highest concentrations of gaseous pollutants in Hanoi. In this study, WPEs were investigated using continuous air quality monitoring data and information on upper-air soundings and air mass trajectories. The 24-h pollutant concentrations are lowest during cold surges; concurrently rise thereafter reaching the highest levels toward the middle of a monsoon cycle, then decline ahead of the next cold surge. Each monsoon cycle usually proceeds through a dry phase and a humid phase as Asiatic continental cold air arrives in Hanoi through inland China then via the East China Sea. WPEs are associated with nighttime radiation temperature inversions (NRTIs) in the dry phase and subsidence temperature inversions (STIs) in the humid phase. In NRTI periods, the rush hour pollution peak is more pronounced in the evening than in the morning and the pollution level is about two times higher at night than in daytime. In STI periods, broad morning and evening traffic peaks are observed and pollution is as high at night as in daytime. The close association between pollution and winter monsoon meteorology found in this study for the winter 2003-04 may serve as a basis for advance warning of WPEs and for forecasting the 24-h pollutant concentrations. - Highlights: {yields} Dozen pollution episodes from Oct. to Feb in Hanoi associated with anticyclones after monsoon surges. {yields} 24-h concentrations of PM{sub 10}, SO{sub 2}, NO{sub 2}, CO rise after surge and decline ahead of the next. {yields} Episodes caused by nighttime radiation and subsidence inversions in dry and humid monsoon phases. {yields} Distinct diurnal variations of pollutant concentrations observed in the two periods. {yields} Close

Demand Response of Thermostatic Loads by Optimized Switching-Fraction Broadcast

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Totu, Luminita Cristiana; Wisniewski, Rafal

2014-01-01

Demand response is an important Smart Grid concept that aims at facilitating the integration of volatile energy resources into the electricity grid. This paper considers the problem of managing large populations of thermostat-based devices with on/off operation. The objective is to enable demand...... Method is used to spatially discretize these equations. Next, a broadcast strategy with two switching-fraction signals is proposed for actuating the population. This is applied in an open-loop scenario for tracking a power reference by running an optimization with a multilinear objective....

Demand Response on domestic thermostatically controlled loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lakshmanan, Venkatachalam

. For a safe and reliable operation of electric power systems, the balance between electricity generation and consumption has to be maintained. The conventional fossil fuel based power generation achieves this balance by adjusting the generation to follow the consumption. In the electric power system......Electricity has become an inevitable part of human life in present day world. In the past two centuries, the electric power system has undergone a lot of changes. Due to the awareness about the adverse impact of the fossil fuels, the power industry is adopting green and sustainable energy sources....... In general, the electricity consumers are classified as industrial, commercial and domestic. In this dissertation, only the thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) in the domestic segment are considered for the demand response study. The study is funded by Danish Council for Strategic Research (DCSR...

Design and Development of Autonomous High Voltage Driving System for DEAP Actuator in Radiator Thermostat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huang, Lina; Zhang, Zhe; Andersen, Michael A. E.

2014-01-01

In radiator thermostat applications, DEAP (Dielectric Electro Active Polymer) actuator tends to be a good candidate to replace the conventional self-actuating or step motor based actuator due to its intrinsic advantages. The capacitive property and high voltage (HV) driving demand of DEAP actuator...

Design and Modelling of Thermostatically Controlled Loads as Frequency Controlled Reserve

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Zhao; Østergaard, Jacob; Togeby, Mikael

2007-01-01

Using demand as frequency controlled reserve (DFR) is beneficial to power systems in many aspects. To study the impacts of this technology on power system operation, control logics and simulation models of relevant loads should be carefully developed. Two advanced control logics for using demand...... frequency, is developed. The developed simulation model is able to represent a variety of aggregated thermostatically controlled loads, such as heaters or refrigerators. Uncertainties including customer behaviours and ambient temperature variation are also modelled. Preliminary simulation results...

Association between Nighttime Sleep and Napping in Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Goldman, Suzanne E.; Hall, Martica; Boudreau, Robert; Matthews, Karen A.; Cauley, Jane A.; Ancoli-Israel, Sonia; Stone, Katie L.; Rubin, Susan M.; Satterfield, Suzanne; Simonsick, Eleanor M.; Newman, Anne B.

2008-01-01

Study Objectives: Napping might indicate deficiencies in nighttime sleep, but the relationship is not well defined. We assessed the association of nighttime sleep duration and fragmentation with subsequent daytime sleep. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: 235 individuals (47.5% men, 29.7% black), age 80.1 (2.9) years. Measurements and Results: Nighttime and daytime sleep were measured with wrist actigraphy and sleep diaries for an average of 6.8 (SD 0.7) nights. Sleep parameters included total nighttime sleep (h), movement and fragmentation index (fragmentation), and total daytime sleep (h). The relationship of total nighttime sleep and fragmentation to napping (yes/no) was assessed using logistic regression. In individuals who napped, mixed random effects models were used to determine the association between the previous night sleep duration and fragmentation and nap duration, and nap duration and subsequent night sleep duration. All models were adjusted for age, race, gender, BMI, cognitive status, depression, cardiovascular disease, respiratory symptoms, diabetes, pain, fatigue, and sleep medication use. Naps were recorded in sleep diaries by 178 (75.7%) participants. The odds ratios (95% CI) for napping were higher for individuals with higher levels of nighttime fragmentation (2.1 [0.8, 5.7]), respiratory symptoms (2.4 [1.1, 5.4]), diabetes (6.1 [1.2, 30.7]), and pain (2.2 [1.0, 4.7]). Among nappers, neither sleep duration nor fragmentation the preceding night was associated with nap duration the next day. Conclusion: More sleep fragmentation was associated with higher odds of napping although not with nap duration. Further research is needed to determine the causal association between sleep fragmentation and daytime napping. Citation: Goldman SE; Hall M; Boudreau R; Matthews KA; Cauley JA; Ancoli-Israel S; Stone KL; Rubin SM; Satterfield S; Simonsick EM; Newman AB. Association between nighttime sleep and napping in older adults. SLEEP 2008

Development of modular thermostatic vapour-cooled current leads for cryogenic service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blessing, H.; Lebrun, P.

1983-01-01

Cryogenic current leads cooled by helium vapour have been developed, built and tested. Their construction, based on standard electrolytic copper braids crimped at the ends, is such as to provide flexible cold terminations and make possible a modular design. The warm terminations combine electrical insulation, leak-tightness and integrated thermostatic valves controlling lead temperature and avoiding thermal run-away or ice build-up. After giving a detailed description of their construction, this report presents results of performance and reliability tests made on prototype units. (orig.)

Desert heat island study in winter by mobile transect and remote sensing techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Chen-Yi; Brazel, Anthony J.; Chow, Winston T. L.; Hedquist, Brent C.; Prashad, Lela

2009-10-01

A familiar problem in urban environments is the urban heat island (UHI), which potentially increases air conditioning demands, raise pollution levels, and could modify precipitation patterns. The magnitude and pattern of UHI effects have been major concerns of a lot of urban environment studies. Typically, research on UHI magnitudes in arid regions (such as Phoenix, AZ, USA) focuses on summer. UHI magnitudes in Phoenix (more than three million population) attain values in excess of 5°C. This study investigated the early winter period—a time when summer potential evapotranspiration >250 mm has diminished to 8.0°C, comparable to summertime UHI conditions. Through analysis of the Oke (1998) weather factor ΦW, it was determined thermally induced nighttime cool drainage winds could account for inflating the UHI magnitude in winter.

The presence and growth of Legionella species in thermostatic shower mixer taps: an exploratory field study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Joost van Hoof; P.W.J.J. van der Wielen; E. van der Blom; O.W.W. Nuijten; L. Hornstra

2014-01-01

Legislation in the Netherlands requires routine analysis of drinking water samples for cultivable Legionella species from high-priority installations. A field study was conducted to investigate the presence of Legionella species in thermostatic shower mixer taps. Water samples and the interior of

Passive cooling of buildings by night-time ventilation - Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Artmann, N.; Manz, H. [Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), Duebendorf (Switzerland); Heiselberg, P. [Aalborg University, Aalborg (Denmark)

2008-07-01

Due to an overall trend towards an increasing cooling energy demand in buildings in many European countries over the last few decades, passive cooling by night-time ventilation is seen as a promising concept. However, because of uncertainties in thermal comfort predictions, architects and engineers are still hesitant to apply passive cooling techniques. As night-time ventilation is highly dependent on climatic conditions, a method for quantifying the climatic cooling potential was developed and the impact of climate warming was investigated. Although a clear temperature decrease was found, significant potential will remain, especially if night-time ventilation is applied in combination with other cooling methods. Building energy simulations showed that the performance of night-time ventilation is also affected by the heat transfer at internal room surfaces, as the cooling effect is very limited due to heat transfer coefficients below about 4 W/m{sup 2}K. Heat transfer during night-time ventilation in case of mixing and displacement ventilation was investigated in a full scale test room at Aalborg University. In the experiments the temperature efficiency of the ventilation was determined. Based on the previous results a method for estimating the potential for cooling by night-time ventilation at an early stage of design was developed. (author)

State planning for winter energy emergencies: workshop materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-04-01

Workshops were conducted in 5 cities to improve communications between the states and the Federal government so that both might be better prepared to avoid or mitigate the impacts of energy emergencies during the winter; to provide a forum for the exchange of technical information regarding selected energy demand restraint measures which could be implemented by individual states or regions in an energy emergency; and to promote the concept of pre-crisis contingency planning and strategy development, with particuliar emphasis on the need for interstate coordination of emergency plans. The major topics addressed by the discussion guide involved net energy use impact, implementation procedures and problems, and social and economic effects. The Task Force performed extensive research into the technical considerations and prior experience in implementing each of the demand restraint measures selected for discussion. Results and conclusions are summarized for reduction of thermostat setting for space conditioning and water heating; reduction in hours of operation and lighting in commercial establishments; reduction in hours of operation in school, and industrial fuel substitution. (MCW)

Small causes, big effects. For environment and sales: Check of thermostat valves in the internet; Kleine Ursache, grosse Wirkung. Zugunsten Umwelt und Umsatz: Thermostatventil-Check jetzt im Internet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

2008-04-15

Fifty percent of all installed thermostat valves are assumed to be lacking in energy efficiency, according to the ''Optimus'' research report. Industry has reacted to this by developing a ThermostatCheck, which can be accessed in the internet by builder-owners and fitters. (orig.)

Daytime Napping, Nighttime Sleeping, and Parkinson Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Jianjun; Huang, Xuemei; Park, Yikyung; Hollenbeck, Albert; Blair, Aaron; Schatzkin, Arthur; Chen, Honglei

2011-01-01

Preliminary evidence suggests that daytime sleepiness may predate clinical diagnosis of Parkinson disease. The authors examined daytime napping and nighttime sleeping durations, reported in 1996–1997 by 220,934 US NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study participants, in relation to Parkinson disease diagnoses at 3 clinical stages: established (cases diagnosed before 1995, n = 267), recent (1995–1999, n = 396), and prediagnostic (2000 and after, n = 770). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were derived from multivariate logistic regression models. Longer daytime napping was associated with higher odds of Parkinson disease at all 3 clinical stages: the odds ratios comparing long nappers (>1 hour/day) with nonnappers were 3.9 (95% confidence interval: 2.8, 5.6) for established cases, 2.2 (95% confidence interval: 1.7, 3.0) for recent cases, and 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.2, 1.9) for prediagnostic cases. Further control for health status or nighttime sleeping duration attenuated the association for established cases but made little difference for recent or prediagnostic cases. In the nighttime sleeping analysis, a clear U-shaped association with Parkinson disease was observed for established cases; however, this association was attenuated markedly for recent cases and disappeared for prediagnostic cases. This study supports the notion that daytime sleepiness, but not nighttime sleeping duration, is one of the early nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson disease. PMID:21402730

Initial experience with the providence nighttime bracing in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quisth, Lena; Beuschau, Inge; Simony, A.

2015-01-01

Background: Since 2008 the primary non-surgical treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) in the southern part of Denmark, went from full-time bracing with Boston brace, to Providence nighttime bracing. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of nighttime bracing, with the Providence brace...... with the Providence nighttime brace and an acceptable 18 % failure rate. The nighttime brace is an excellent alternative to standard conservative treatment, and reduces the need for physiotherapy after brace termination. The patients tolerate the nighttime brace treatment well, and compliance within the cohort......, in AIS. Method: Patients diagnosed with AIS. With an apex from TH7 and below and with a cobb angel between 20-45 degrees. The patients were evaluated every 6 months with standing x-rays and the brace treatment was continued until two years post menarche. Cobb angle of the major curve pretreatment, in...

Effects of Nighttime Light Radiance on the Sleep of the General Population

Science.gov (United States)

Ohayon, Maurice M.; Milesi, Cristina

2015-01-01

The objectives of this study is to verify if the exposure to greater nighttime radiance is associated with changes in the sleep/wake schedule and with greater sleep disturbances. Methods: The target population was the adults (18 years and older) living in California, USA. This represents 24 million of inhabitants. A total of 3,104 subjects participated in the survey (participation rate 85.6%). The participants were interviewed by telephone using the Sleep-EVAL system. The interviews covered several topics including sleeping habits, sleep quality, sleep disturbances, physical symptoms related to menopause. Chronic insomnia was defined as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep for at least 3 months. Global nighttime light emissions have been collected by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) sensors. We extracted the radiance calibrated nighttime lights corresponding to the date of the interviews for a three by three window centered on each coordinate corresponding to an interview address. Results: Dissatisfaction with sleep quantity and/or quality was associated with an increased nighttime radiance (p=0.02). Similarly, excessive sleepiness accompanied with impaired functioning was significantly associated with an increased nighttime radiance (p (is) less than 0.0001). The association remained significant after controlling for age, gender and use of a night lamp in the bedroom. Confusional arousals were also significantly associated with an increased nighttime radiance (p (is) less than 0.0001). Bedtime hour was linearly increasing with the intensity of nighttime radiance: the later the bedtime, the greater the nighttime radiance (p (is) less than 0.0001). Similarly, wakeup time became progressively later as the nighttime radiance increased (p (is) less than 0.0001). Both associations remained significant after controlling for age, gender and use of a night lamp in the bedroom. Circadian Rhythm Disorders were the

When Thinking Impairs Sleep: Trait, Daytime and Nighttime Repetitive Thinking in Insomnia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lancee, Jaap; Eisma, Maarten C; van Zanten, Kristopher B; Topper, Maurice

2017-01-01

We performed two studies in individuals with sleep problems to investigate trait, daytime, and nighttime repetitive thinking as risk factors for insomnia. In Study 1, 139 participants completed questionnaires on worry, rumination, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and a sleep diary. Trait rumination and trait worry were not associated with sleep impairment. In Study 2, 64 participants completed similar measures and a daytime and nighttime sleep-related worry diary. Only nighttime sleep-related worry was consistently associated with sleep impairment. Overall, results indicate that nighttime sleep-related worry is important in the maintenance of insomnia, whereas effects of trait and daytime repetitive thinking are more benign. Treatment for insomnia can potentially be improved by focusing more on nighttime sleep-related worry.

Nuclear quantum effects in solids using a colored-noise thermostat.

Science.gov (United States)

Ceriotti, Michele; Bussi, Giovanni; Parrinello, Michele

2009-07-17

We present a method, based on a non-Markovian Langevin equation, to include quantum corrections to the classical dynamics of ions in a quasiharmonic system. By properly fitting the correlation function of the noise, one can vary the fluctuations in positions and momenta as a function of the vibrational frequency, and fit them so as to reproduce the quantum-mechanical behavior, with minimal a priori knowledge of the details of the system. We discuss the application of the thermostat to diamond and to ice Ih. We find that results in agreement with path-integral methods can be obtained using only a fraction of the computational effort.

Night-time activity forecast by season and weather in a longitudinal design - natural light effects on three years' rest-activity cycles in nursing home residents with dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wahnschaffe, Amely; Nowozin, Claudia; Rath, Andreas; Floessner, Theresa; Appelhoff, Stefan; Münch, Mirjam; Kunz, Dieter

2017-12-01

Backround: Night-time agitation is a frequent symptom of dementia. It often causes nursing home admission and has been linked to circadian rhythm disturbances. A positive influence of light interventions on night-time agitation was shown in several studies. The aim of our study was to investigate whether there is a long-term association between regional weather data (as indicator for daylight availability) and 24-hour variations of motor activity. Motor activity of 20 elderly nursing home residents living with dementia was analyzed using recordings of continuously worn wrist activity monitors over a three-year period. The average recording duration was 479 ± 206 days per participant (mean ± SD). Regional cloud amount and day length data from the local weather station (latitude: 52°56'N) were included in the analysis to investigate their effects on several activity variables. Nocturnal rest, here defined as the five consecutive hours with the least motor activity during 24 hours (L5), was the most predictable activity variable per participant. There was a significant interaction of night-time activity with day length and cloud amount (F 1,1174 = 4.39; p = 0.036). Night-time activity was higher on cloudy short days than on clear short days (p = 0.007), and it was also higher on cloudy short days than on cloudy long days (p = 0.032). The need for sufficient zeitgeber (time cue) strength during winter time, especially when days are short and skies are cloudy, is crucial for elderly people living with dementia. Activity forecast by season and weather might be a valuable approach to anticipate adequately complementary use of electrical light and thereby foster lower night-time activity.

Generation Following with Thermostatically Controlled Loads via Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers Sharing Algorithm

OpenAIRE

Burger, Eric M.; Moura, Scott J.

2015-01-01

A fundamental requirement of the electric power system is to maintain a continuous and instantaneous balance between generation and load. The intermittency and uncertainty introduced by renewable energy generation requires the expansion of ancillary power system services to maintain such a balance. In this paper, we examine the potential of thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs), such as refrigerators and electric water heaters, to provide generation following services in real-time energy m...

The Health Impact of Nighttime Eating: Old and New Perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amber W. Kinsey

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Nighttime eating, particularly before bed, has received considerable attention. Limiting and/or avoiding food before nighttime sleep has been proposed as both a weight loss strategy and approach to improve health and body composition. Indeed, negative outcomes have been demonstrated in response to large mixed meals in populations that consume a majority of their daily food intake during the night. However, data is beginning to mount to suggest that negative outcomes may not be consistent when the food choice is small, nutrient-dense, low energy foods and/or single macronutrients rather than large mixed-meals. From this perspective, it appears that a bedtime supply of nutrients can promote positive physiological changes in healthy populations. In addition, when nighttime feeding is combined with exercise training, any adverse effects appear to be eliminated in obese populations. Lastly, in Type I diabetics and those with glycogen storage disease, eating before bed is essential for survival. Nevertheless, nighttime consumption of small (~150 kcals single nutrients or mixed-meals does not appear to be harmful and may be beneficial for muscle protein synthesis and cardiometabolic health. Future research is warranted to elucidate potential applications of nighttime feeding alone and in combination with exercise in various populations of health and disease.

Enhancement system of nighttime infrared video image and visible video image

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yue; Piao, Yan

2016-11-01

Visibility of Nighttime video image has a great significance for military and medicine areas, but nighttime video image has so poor quality that we can't recognize the target and background. Thus we enhance the nighttime video image by fuse infrared video image and visible video image. According to the characteristics of infrared and visible images, we proposed improved sift algorithm andαβ weighted algorithm to fuse heterologous nighttime images. We would deduced a transfer matrix from improved sift algorithm. The transfer matrix would rapid register heterologous nighttime images. And theαβ weighted algorithm can be applied in any scene. In the video image fusion system, we used the transfer matrix to register every frame and then used αβ weighted method to fuse every frame, which reached the time requirement soft video. The fused video image not only retains the clear target information of infrared video image, but also retains the detail and color information of visible video image and the fused video image can fluency play.

Thermostat Controlled Loads Flexibility Assessment for Enabling Load Shifting – An Experimental Proof in a Low Voltage Grid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lakshmanan, Venkatachalam; Marinelli, Mattia; Kosek, Anna M.

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the usability of thermostat controlled domestic appliances for load shift in LV distribution grids. The proposed method uses refrigerators for the demonstration of adaptive load prediction to estimate its flexibility and perform scheduling based on load threshold limit. Tw...

Thermal response of a Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain with Andersen thermostats

Science.gov (United States)

D'Ambrosio, Federico; Baiesi, Marco

2017-11-01

The linear response to temperature variations is well characterised for equilibrium systems but a similar theory is not available, for example, for inertial heat conducting systems, whose paradigm is the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) model driven by two different boundary temperatures. For models of inertial systems out of equilibrium, including relaxing systems, we show that Andersen thermostats are a natural tool for studying the thermal response. We derive a fluctuation-response relation that allows to predict thermal expansion coefficients or the heat capacitance in nonequilibrium regimes. Simulations of the FPU chain of oscillators suggest that estimates of susceptibilities obtained with our relation are better than those obtained via a small perturbation.

Night-time warming and the greenhouse effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kukla, G.; Karl, T.R.

1993-01-01

Studies of temperature data collected mainly from rural stations in North America, China, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Australia, Sudan, Japan, Denmark, Northern Finland, several Pacific Islands, Pakistan, South Africa and Europe suggest that the reported warming of the Northern Hemisphere since WWII is principally a result of an increase in night-time temperatures. The average monthly maximum and minimum temperatures, as well as the mean diurnal temperature range (DTR), were calculated for various regions from data supplied by 1000 stations from 1951 to 1990. Average and minimum temperatures generally rose during the analysed interval and the rise in night-time temperatures was more pronounced than the increase in daily maximum temperatures. As a result, the mean DTR decreased almost everywhere. The most probable causes of the rise in night-time temperatures are: an increase in cloudiness owing to natural changes in the circulation patterns of oceans and the atmosphere; increased cloud cover density caused by industrial pollution; urban heat islands, generated by cities, which are strongest during the night; irrigation which keeps the surface warmer at night and cooler by day; and anthropogenic greenhouse gases. 18 refs., 3 figs

Bad seeds sprout perilous dynamics: stochastic thermostat induced trajectory synchronization in biomolecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voter, A. F.; Sindhikara, Daniel J.; Kim, Seonah; Roitberg, Adrian E.

2009-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations starting from different initial conditions are commonly used to mimic the behavior of an experimental ensemble. We show in this article that when a Langevin thermostat is used to maintain constant temperature during such simulations, extreme care must be taken when choosing the random number seeds used in order to prevent statistical correlation among the MD trajectories. While recent studies have shown that stochastically thermostatted trajectories evolving within a single potential basin with identical random number seeds tend to synchronize, we show that there is a synchronization effect even for complex, biologically relevant systems. We demonstrate this effect in simulations of Alanine trimer and pentamer and in a simulation of a temperature-jump experiment for peptide folding of a 14-residue peptide. Even in replica-exchange simulations, in which the trajectories are at different temperatures, we find partial synchronization occurring when the same random number seed is employed. We explain this by extending the recent derivation of the synchronization effect for two trajectories in a harmonic well to the case in which the trajectories are at two different temperatures. Our results suggest several ways in which mishandling selection of a pseudo random number generator initial seed can lead to corruption of simulation data. Simulators can fall into this trap in simple situations such as neglecting to specifically indicate different random seeds in either parallel or sequential restart simulations, utilizing a simulation package with a weak pseudorandom number generator, or using an advanced simulation algorithm that hasn't been programmed to distribute initial seeds

Bad Seeds Sprout Perilous Dynamics: Stochastic Thermostat Induced Trajectory Synchronization in Biomolecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Sindhikara, Daniel J; Kim, Seonah; Voter, Arthur F; Roitberg, Adrian E

2009-06-09

Molecular dynamics simulations starting from different initial conditions are commonly used to mimic the behavior of an experimental ensemble. We show in this article that when a Langevin thermostat is used to maintain constant temperature during such simulations, extreme care must be taken when choosing the random number seeds to prevent statistical correlation among the MD trajectories. While recent studies have shown that stochastically thermostatted trajectories evolving within a single potential basin with identical random number seeds tend to synchronize, we show that there is a synchronization effect even for complex, biologically relevant systems. We demonstrate this effect in simulations of alanine trimer and pentamer and in a simulation of a temperature-jump experiment for peptide folding of a 14-residue peptide. Even in replica-exchange simulations, in which the trajectories are at different temperatures, we find partial synchronization occurring when the same random number seed is employed. We explain this by extending the recent derivation of the synchronization effect for two trajectories in a harmonic well to the case in which the trajectories are at two different temperatures. Our results suggest several ways in which mishandling selection of a pseudorandom number generator initial seed can lead to corruption of simulation data. Simulators can fall into this trap in simple situations such as neglecting to specifically indicate different random seeds in either parallel or sequential restart simulations, utilizing a simulation package with a weak pseudorandom number generator, or using an advanced simulation algorithm that has not been programmed to distribute initial seeds.

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Nighttime Symptoms of COPD Instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mocarski M

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Michelle Mocarski,1 Erica Zaiser,2 Dylan Trundell,2 Barry J Make,3 Asha Hareendran21Forest Research Institute, Inc., an affiliate of Actavis, Inc., Jersey City, NJ, USA; 2Evidera, London, UK; 3National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA Background: Nighttime symptoms can negatively impact the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD. The Nighttime Symptoms of COPD Instrument (NiSCI was designed to measure the occurrence and severity of nighttime symptoms in patients with COPD, the impact of symptoms on nighttime awakenings, and rescue medication use. The objective of this study was to explore item reduction, inform scoring recommendations, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the NiSCI.Methods: COPD patients participating in a Phase III clinical trial completed the NiSCI daily. Item analyses were conducted using weekly mean and single day scores. Descriptive statistics (including percentage of respondents at floor/ceiling and inter-item correlations, factor analyses, and Rasch model analyses were conducted to examine item performance and scoring. Test–retest reliability was assessed for the final instrument using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC. Correlations with assessments conducted during study visits were used to evaluate convergent and known-groups validity.Results: Data from 1,663 COPD patients aged 40–93 years were analyzed. Item analyses supported the generation of four scores. A one-factor structure was confirmed with factor analysis and Rasch analysis for the symptom severity score. Test–retest reliability was confirmed for the six-item symptom severity (ICC, 0.85, number of nighttime awakenings (ICC, 0.82, and rescue medication (ICC, 0.68 scores. Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations between the NiSCI, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire, and Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Tool-Respiratory Symptoms scores.Conclusion: The

On the winter anomaly of the night-to-day ratio of ozone in the middle to upper mesosphere in middle to high latitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Sonnemann, G. R.; Hartogh, P.; Jarchow, Ch.; Grygalashvyly, M.; Berger, U.

Long-term measurements of ozone by means of the microwave technique performed at Lindau (51.66°N, 10.13°E), Germany, revealed a winter anomaly of the night-to-day ratio (NDR) which is more clearly pronounced as the so-called tertiary nighttime ozone maximum. The domain of occurrence also differs somewhat from that of the nighttime ozone enhancement. The maximum winter-to-summer ratio amounts to a value of two to three in 70 km height. The annual variation of the NDR is modulated by oscillations of planetary time scale. 3D-calculations on the basis of the advanced GCM LIMA essentially reflect the observations but also show some typical differences which probably result from a somewhat too humid model atmosphere in middle latitudes. We analyzed the most important impacts on the middle mesospheric ozone. The strongest impacts are connected with the annual variation of water vapor and the so-called Doppler-Sonnemann effect considering the influence of the zonal wind on the chemistry due to the fact that ozone is subjected to an effective dissociation longer than molecular oxygen for an increasing solar zenith angle. Because of that the net odd oxygen production decreases faster than the formation of atomic oxygen from ozone which is involved in an odd oxygen destructing catalytic cycle. A shortening of the time of sunset by a west wind regime increases the nighttime ozone level relatively, whereas the daytime ozone is less influenced by the zonal wind in the domain considered.

Tree Species with Photosynthetic Stems Have Greater Nighttime Sap Flux

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xia Chen

2018-01-01

Full Text Available An increasing body of evidence has shown that nighttime sap flux occurs in most plants, but the physiological implications and regulatory mechanism are poorly known. The significance of corticular photosynthesis has received much attention during the last decade, however, the knowledge of the relationship between corticular photosynthesis and nocturnal stem sap flow is limited at present. In this study, we divided seven tree species into two groups according to different photosynthetic capabilities: trees of species with (Castanopsis hystrix, Michelia macclurei, Eucalyptus citriodora, and Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla and without (Castanopsis fissa, Schima superba, and Acacia auriculiformis photosynthetic stems, and the sap flux (Js and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters for these species were measured. One-way ANOVA analysis showed that the Fv/Fm (Maximum photochemical quantum yield of PSII and ΦPSII (effective photochemical quantum yield of PSII values were lower in non-photosynthetic stem species compared to photosynthetic stem species. The linear regression analysis showed that Js,d (daytime sap flux and Js,n (nighttime sap flux of non-photosynthetic stem species was 87.7 and 60.9% of the stem photosynthetic species. Furthermore, for a given daytime transpiration water loss, total nighttime sap flux was higher in species with photosynthetic stems (SlopeSMA = 2.680 than in non-photosynthetic stems species (SlopeSMA = 1.943. These results mean that stem corticular photosynthesis has a possible effect on the nighttime water flow, highlighting the important eco-physiological relationship between nighttime sap flux and corticular photosynthesis.

Tree Species with Photosynthetic Stems Have Greater Nighttime Sap Flux

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xia; Gao, Jianguo; Zhao, Ping; McCarthy, Heather R.; Zhu, Liwei; Ni, Guangyan; Ouyang, Lei

2018-01-01

An increasing body of evidence has shown that nighttime sap flux occurs in most plants, but the physiological implications and regulatory mechanism are poorly known. The significance of corticular photosynthesis has received much attention during the last decade, however, the knowledge of the relationship between corticular photosynthesis and nocturnal stem sap flow is limited at present. In this study, we divided seven tree species into two groups according to different photosynthetic capabilities: trees of species with (Castanopsis hystrix, Michelia macclurei, Eucalyptus citriodora, and Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla) and without (Castanopsis fissa, Schima superba, and Acacia auriculiformis) photosynthetic stems, and the sap flux (Js) and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters for these species were measured. One-way ANOVA analysis showed that the Fv/Fm (Maximum photochemical quantum yield of PSII) and ΦPSII (effective photochemical quantum yield of PSII) values were lower in non-photosynthetic stem species compared to photosynthetic stem species. The linear regression analysis showed that Js,d (daytime sap flux) and Js,n (nighttime sap flux) of non-photosynthetic stem species was 87.7 and 60.9% of the stem photosynthetic species. Furthermore, for a given daytime transpiration water loss, total nighttime sap flux was higher in species with photosynthetic stems (SlopeSMA = 2.680) than in non-photosynthetic stems species (SlopeSMA = 1.943). These results mean that stem corticular photosynthesis has a possible effect on the nighttime water flow, highlighting the important eco-physiological relationship between nighttime sap flux and corticular photosynthesis. PMID:29416547

[Pathological nighttime fears in children: Clinical specificities and effective therapeutics].

Science.gov (United States)

Ducasse, D; Denis, H

2015-09-01

Pathological nighttime fears in children have been little studied. However, this disorder is commonly encountered in medical consultations and is discomforting and dysfunctional for both the child and the family. Most nighttime fears are part and parcel of normal development, and emanate from increasingly sophisticated cognitive development in the growing child. Thus, most children report a variety of coping strategies generally helpful in reducing their anxiety, which resolves spontaneously in the growing child. Nevertheless, in about 10% of children, nighttime fears are related to one or more anxiety disorders according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria. Then, it is estimated that severe nighttime fears and sleep problems occur in 20-30% of children. This problem is not transient and has to be treated. This study aims to review clinical features of nighttime fears and possible treatments for these patients and their families. This systematic review follows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement guidelines. Two databases (Medline and Web of Science) were searched combining the search terms: nighttime fears AND children. English and French languages were imposed. There were no publication date or publication status limitations. Pathological nighttime fears are responsible for emotional (crying, panic, tantrums at bedtime, loss of confidence, self-disparaging negative statements, and feeling of social embarrassment) and behavioral (wandering alone in the house at night, calls for parental or sibling comfort, bed sharing with parents or siblings, light source at night, refusal to go to the toilet alone at night) disturbances. This leads to a poor quality of sleep interfering with school learning, and also affects social development and family functioning. A full assessment has to be made to eliminate organic causes, have a baseline functioning, and search for comorbid anxiety diseases

Relationships between brightness of nighttime lights and population density

Science.gov (United States)

Naizhuo, Z.

2012-12-01

Brightness of nighttime lights has been proven to be a good proxy for socioeconomic and demographic statistics. Moreover, the satellite nighttime lights data have been used to spatially disaggregate amounts of gross domestic product (GDP), fossil fuel carbon dioxide emission, and electric power consumption (Ghosh et al., 2010; Oda and Maksyutov, 2011; Zhao et al., 2012). Spatial disaggregations were performed in these previous studies based on assumed linear relationships between digital number (DN) value of pixels in the nighttime light images and socioeconomic data. However, reliability of the linear relationships was never tested due to lack of relative high-spatial-resolution (equal to or finer than 1 km × 1 km) statistical data. With the similar assumption that brightness linearly correlates to population, Bharti et al. (2011) used nighttime light data as a proxy for population density and then developed a model about seasonal fluctuations of measles in West Africa. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory used sub-national census population data and high spatial resolution remotely-sensed-images to produce LandScan population raster datasets. The LandScan population datasets have 1 km × 1 km spatial resolution which is consistent with the spatial resolution of the nighttime light images. Therefore, in this study I selected 2008 LandScan population data as baseline reference data and the contiguous United State as study area. Relationships between DN value of pixels in the 2008 Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) stable light image and population density were established. Results showed that an exponential function can more accurately reflect the relationship between luminosity and population density than a linear function. Additionally, a certain number of saturated pixels with DN value of 63 exist in urban core areas. If directly using the exponential function to estimate the population density for the whole brightly

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Nighttime Symptoms of COPD Instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Mocarski, Michelle; Zaiser, Erica; Trundell, Dylan; Make, Barry J; Hareendran, Asha

2015-01-01

Nighttime symptoms can negatively impact the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Nighttime Symptoms of COPD Instrument (NiSCI) was designed to measure the occurrence and severity of nighttime symptoms in patients with COPD, the impact of symptoms on nighttime awakenings, and rescue medication use. The objective of this study was to explore item reduction, inform scoring recommendations, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the NiSCI. COPD patients participating in a Phase III clinical trial completed the NiSCI daily. Item analyses were conducted using weekly mean and single day scores. Descriptive statistics (including percentage of respondents at floor/ceiling and inter-item correlations), factor analyses, and Rasch model analyses were conducted to examine item performance and scoring. Test-retest reliability was assessed for the final instrument using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Correlations with assessments conducted during study visits were used to evaluate convergent and known-groups validity. Data from 1,663 COPD patients aged 40-93 years were analyzed. Item analyses supported the generation of four scores. A one-factor structure was confirmed with factor analysis and Rasch analysis for the symptom severity score. Test-retest reliability was confirmed for the six-item symptom severity (ICC, 0.85), number of nighttime awakenings (ICC, 0.82), and rescue medication (ICC, 0.68) scores. Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations between the NiSCI, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire, and Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Tool-Respiratory Symptoms scores. The results suggest that the NiSCI can be used to determine the severity of nighttime COPD symptoms, the number of nighttime awakenings due to COPD symptoms, and the nighttime use of rescue medication. The NiSCI is a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate these concepts in COPD patients in clinical

Economic MPC based on LPV model for thermostatically controlled loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zemtsov, Nikita; Hlava, Jaroslav; Frantsuzova, Galina

2017-01-01

Rapid increase of the renewable energy share in electricity production requires optimization and flexibility of the power consumption side. Thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) have a large potential for regulation service provision. Economic model predictive control (MPC) is an advanced...... control method which can be used to syncronize the power consumption with undispatchable renewable electricity production. Thermal behavior of TCLs can be described by linear models based on energy balance of the system. In some cases, parameters of the model may be time-varying. In this work, we present...... a modified economic MPC based on linear parameter-varying model. In particular, we provide an exact transformation from a standard economic MPC formulation to a linear program. We assume that the variables influencing the model parameters are known (predictable) for the prediction horizon of the controller...

FPI observations of nighttime mesospheric and thermospheric winds in China and their comparisons with HWM07

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Yuan

2013-08-01

Full Text Available We analyzed the nighttime horizontal neutral winds in the middle atmosphere (~ 87 and ~ 98 km and thermosphere (~ 250 km derived from a Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI, which was installed at Xinglong station (40.2° N, 117.4° E in central China. The wind data covered the period from April 2010 to July 2012. We studied the annual, semiannual and terannual variations of the midnight winds at ~ 87 km, ~ 98 km and ~ 250 km for the first time and compared them with Horizontal Wind Model 2007 (HWM07. Our results show the following: (1 at ~ 87 km, both the observed and model zonal winds have similar phases in the annual and semiannual variations. However, the HWM07 amplitudes are much larger. (2 At ~ 98 km, the model shows strong eastward wind in the summer solstice, resulting in a large annual variation, while the observed strongest component is semiannual. The observation and model midnight meridional winds agree well. Both are equatorward throughout the year and have small amplitudes in the annual and semiannual variations. (3 There are large discrepancies between the observed and HWM07 winds at ~ 250 km. This discrepancy is largely due to the strong semiannual zonal wind in the model and the phase difference in the annual variation of the meridional wind. The FPI annual variation coincides with the results from Arecibo, which has similar geomagnetic latitude as Xinglong station. In General, the consistency of FPI winds with model winds is better at ~ 87 and ~ 98 km than that at ~ 250 km. We also studied the seasonally and monthly averaged nighttime winds. The most salient features include the following: (1 the seasonally averaged zonal winds at ~ 87 and ~ 98 km typically have small variations throughout the night. (2 The model zonal and meridional nighttime wind variations are typically much larger than those of observations at ~ 87 km and ~ 98 km. (3 At ~ 250 km, model zonal wind compares well with the observation in the winter. For spring and

Tree Species with Photosynthetic Stems Have Greater Nighttime Sap Flux.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xia; Gao, Jianguo; Zhao, Ping; McCarthy, Heather R; Zhu, Liwei; Ni, Guangyan; Ouyang, Lei

2018-01-01

An increasing body of evidence has shown that nighttime sap flux occurs in most plants, but the physiological implications and regulatory mechanism are poorly known. The significance of corticular photosynthesis has received much attention during the last decade, however, the knowledge of the relationship between corticular photosynthesis and nocturnal stem sap flow is limited at present. In this study, we divided seven tree species into two groups according to different photosynthetic capabilities: trees of species with ( Castanopsis hystrix, Michelia macclurei, Eucalyptus citriodora , and Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla ) and without ( Castanopsis fissa, Schima superba , and Acacia auriculiformis ) photosynthetic stems, and the sap flux ( J s ) and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters for these species were measured. One-way ANOVA analysis showed that the F v / F m (Maximum photochemical quantum yield of PSII) and Φ PSII (effective photochemical quantum yield of PSII) values were lower in non-photosynthetic stem species compared to photosynthetic stem species. The linear regression analysis showed that J s,d (daytime sap flux) and J s,n (nighttime sap flux) of non-photosynthetic stem species was 87.7 and 60.9% of the stem photosynthetic species. Furthermore, for a given daytime transpiration water loss, total nighttime sap flux was higher in species with photosynthetic stems (Slope SMA = 2.680) than in non-photosynthetic stems species (Slope SMA = 1.943). These results mean that stem corticular photosynthesis has a possible effect on the nighttime water flow, highlighting the important eco-physiological relationship between nighttime sap flux and corticular photosynthesis.

Improving the effectiveness of nighttime temporary traffic control warning devices, volume 2 : evaluation of nighttime mobile warning lights.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-01

Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protection to workers and the driving : public. Alerting the traveling public of the approaching work activity and providing guidance is vital to maintaining safe...

Daytime Sleep Aids and Nighttime Cognitive Performance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Eddy, Douglas; Barton, Emily; Cardenas, Rebecca; French, Jonathan; Gibbons, John; Hickey, Patrick; Miller, James; Ramsey, Carol; Storm, William

2005-01-01

.... This study compared two doses of the hypnotic zolpidem, two doses of melatonin and placebo for their effects on daytime sleep, on nighttime cognitive performance and on mood in an operationally...

Quantum Oscillator in the Thermostat as a Model in the Thermodynamics of Open Quantum Systems

OpenAIRE

Sukhanov, Aleksander

2005-01-01

The quantum oscillator in the thermostat is considered as the model of an open quantum system. Our analysis will be heavily founded on the use of the Schroedinger generalized uncertainties relations (SUR). Our first aim is to demonstrate that for the quantum oscillator the state of thermal equilibrium belongs to the correlated coherent states (CCS), which imply the saturation of SUR at any temperature. The obtained results open the perspective for the search of some statistical theory, which ...

Nighttime Aerosol Optical Depth Measurements Using a Ground-based Lunar Photometer

Science.gov (United States)

Berkoff, Tim; Omar, Ali; Haggard, Charles; Pippin, Margaret; Tasaddaq, Aasam; Stone, Tom; Rodriguez, Jon; Slutsker, Ilya; Eck, Tom; Holben, Brent;

Overview of Existing and Future Residential Use Cases for Connected Thermostats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rotondo, Julia [Energetics Inc., Washington, DC (United States); Johnson, Robert [Energetics Inc., Washington, DC (United States); Gonzalez, Nancy [Energetics Inc., Washington, DC (United States); Waranowski, Alexandra [Energetics Inc., Washington, DC (United States); Badger, Chris [Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Burlington, VT (United States); Lange, Nick [Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Burlington, VT (United States); Goldman, Ethan [Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Burlington, VT (United States); Foster, Rebecca [Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Burlington, VT (United States)

2017-03-01

This paper is intended to help inform future technology deployment opportunities for connected thermostats (CTs), based on investigation and review of the U.S. residential housing and CT markets, as well as existing, emerging, and future use cases for CT hardware and CT-generated data. The CT market has experienced tremendous growth over the last 5 years—both in terms of the number of units sold and the number of firms offering competing products—and can be characterized by its rapid pace of technological innovation. Despite many assuming CTs would become powerful tools for increasing comfort while saving energy, there remains a great deal of uncertainty about the actual energy and cost savings that are likely to be realized from deployment of CTs, particularly under different conditions.

Building America Case Study: The Impact of Thermostat Placement in Low-Load Homes in Sunny Climates, Denver, Colorado

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-02-01

Modern, energy-efficient homes conforming to the Zero Energy Ready Home standard face the challenge of meeting high customer expectations for comfort. Traditional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) sizing and control strategies may be insufficient to adequately condition each zone due to unique load patterns in each room caused by a number of factors. These factors include solar heat gains, occupant-related gains, and gains associated with appliances and electronics. Because of shrinking shell loads, these intermittent factors are having an increasingly significant impact on the thermal load in each zone. Consequently, occupant comfort can be compromised. To evaluate the impact of climate and house geometry, as well as HVAC system and control strategies on comfort conditions, IBACOS analyzed the results of 99 TRNSYS multiple-zone simulations. The results of this analysis indicate that for simple-geometry and single-story plans, a single zone and thermostat can adequately condition the entire house. Demanding house geometry and houses with multiple stories require the consideration of multiple thermostats and multiple zones.

Nighttime exposure to electromagnetic fields and childhood leukemia: an extended pooled analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schüz, Joachim; Svendsen, Anne Louise; Linet, Martha S

2007-01-01

analysis of case-control studies on ELF EMF exposure and risk of childhood leukemia to examine nighttime residential exposures. Data from four countries (Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States) were included in the analysis, comprising 1,842 children diagnosed with leukemia and 3......,099 controls (diagnosis dates ranged from 1988 to 1996). The odds ratios for nighttime ELF EMF exposure for categories of 0.1-or=0.4 microT as compared with ... that nighttime measures are more appropriate; hence, the observed association between ELF EMF and childhood leukemia still lacks a plausible explanation....

Winter-to-winter variations in indoor radon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mose, D.G.; Mushrush, G.W.; Kline, S.W.

1989-01-01

Indoor radon concentrations in northern Virginia and central Maryland show a strong dependence on weather. Winter tends to be associated with higher than average indoor radon, and summer with lower than average. However, compared to the winter of 1986-1987, the winter of 1987-1988 was warmer and drier. Consequently, winter-to-winter indoor radon decreased by about 25%. This winter-to-winter decrease is unexpectedly large, and simulates winter-to-summer variations that have been reported

How the Invisible Hand is Supposed to Adjust the Natural Thermostat: A Guide for the Perplexed

OpenAIRE

Storm, Servaas

2016-01-01

Mainstream climate economics takes global warming seriously, but perplexingly concludes that the optimal economic policy is to almost do nothing about it. This conclusion can be traced to just a few “normative” assumptions, over which there exists fundamental disagreement amongst economists. This paper explores two axes of this disagreement. The first axis (“market vs. regulation”) measures faith in the invisible hand to adjust the natural thermostat. The second axis expresses differences in ...

Overview of Existing and Future Residential Use Cases for Connected Thermostats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rotondo, Julia [Energetics Inc., Washington, DC (United States); Johnson, Robert [Energetics Inc., Washington, DC (United States); Gonzales, Nancy [Energetics Inc., Washington, DC (United States); Waranowski, Alexandra [Energetics Inc., Washington, DC (United States); Badger, Chris [Vermont Energy Investment Corp., Burlington, VT (United States); Lange, Nack [Vermont Energy Investment Corp., Burlington, VT (United States); Goldman, Ethan [Vermont Energy Investment Corp., Burlington, VT (United States); Foster, Rebecca [Vermont Energy Investment Corp., Burlington, VT (United States)

2016-12-01

This paper is intended to help inform future technology deployment opportunities for connected thermostats (CTs), based on investigation and review of the U.S. residential housing and CT markets, as well as existing, emerging, and future use cases for CT hardware and CT-generated data. The CT market has experienced tremendous growth over the last five years — both in terms of the number of units sold and the number of firms offering competing products — and can be characterized by its rapid pace of technological innovation. Despite many assuming CTs would become powerful tools for increasing comfort while saving energy, there remains a great deal of uncertainty about the actual energy and cost savings that are likely to be realized from deployment of CTs, particularly under different conditions.

Factors associated with night-time calf muscle cramps: a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawke, Fiona; Chuter, Vivienne; Burns, Joshua

2013-03-01

Although highly prevalent and painful, night-time calf muscle cramping is poorly understood, and no treatment has shown consistent efficacy or safety. One hundred sixty adults were recruited from New South Wales, Australia, including 80 who had night-time calf cramping at least once per week and 80 age- and gender-matched adults who did not. Participants were assessed using reliable tests of lower limb strength, flexibility, morphometrics, circulation, and sensation, and were questioned about health and lifestyle factors, diet, medications, exercise, symptomatology, sleeping habits, and footwear. Conditional logistic regression identified 3 factors independently associated with night-time calf muscle cramps: muscle twitching (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.6-15.5, P = 0.01); lower limb tingling (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.6-10.3, P = 0.003); and foot dorsiflexion weakness (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03, P = 0.002), which represented other measures of lower limb weakness in the model. Night-time calf muscle cramps were associated with markers of neurological dysfunction and potential musculoskeletal therapeutic targets. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley company.

Determination of vehicle density from traffic images at day and nighttime

Science.gov (United States)

Mehrübeoğlu, Mehrübe; McLauchlan, Lifford

2007-02-01

In this paper we extend our previous work to address vehicle differentiation in traffic density computations1. The main goal of this work is to create vehicle density history for given roads under different weather or light conditions and at different times of the day. Vehicle differentiation is important to account for connected or otherwise long vehicles, such as trucks or tankers, which lead to over-counting with the original algorithm. Average vehicle size in pixels, given the magnification within the field of view for a particular camera, is used to separate regular cars and long vehicles. A separate algorithm and procedure have been developed to determine traffic density after dark when the vehicle headlights are turned on. Nighttime vehicle recognition utilizes blob analysis based on head/taillight images. The high intensity of vehicle lights are identified in binary images for nighttime vehicle detection. The stationary traffic image frames are downloaded from the internet as they are updated. The procedures are implemented in MATLAB. The results of both nighttime traffic density and daytime long vehicle identification algorithms are described in this paper. The determination of nighttime traffic density, and identification of long vehicles at daytime are improvements over the original work1.

Methods for a Smart Thermostat to Estimate the Characteristics of a House Based on Sensor Data with Varying Extent of Completeness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ham, Wim; Klein, Michel; Tabatabaei, Seyed Amin; Thilakarathne, Dilhan; Treur, Jan

Smart thermostats can play an important role in achieving more economic energy usage in domestic situations. This paper focuses on the energy used for natural gas-based heating, and monitoring of gas usages versus indoor and outdoor temperatures over time. Two methods are presented that enable the

The importance of neutral hydrogen for the maintenance of the midlatitude winter nighttime ionosphere: Evidence from IS observations at Kharkiv, Ukraine, and field line interhemispheric plasma model simulations

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kotov, K. V.; Richards, P. G.; Bogomaz, O. V.; Chernogor, L. F.; Truhlík, Vladimír; Emelyanov, L. Ya.; Chepurnyy, Ya. M.; Domnin, I. F.

2016-01-01

Roč. 121, č. 7 (2016), s. 7013-7025 ISSN 2169-9380 Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : ionosphere * thermosphere * hydrogen * electron density * nighttime Nm F2 enhancement * plasmasphere Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 2.733, year: 2016 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016JA022442/full

Night-time road construction operations synthesis of practice.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-05-01

report synthesizes existing literature on nighttime construction operations, identifies gaps in the current state of knowledge, and summarizes research in progress studies that are planned or underway. The literature review and synthesis found the fo...

Rayleigh-Taylor and wind-driven instabilities of the nighttime equatorial ionosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiu, Y.T.; Straus, J.M.

1979-01-01

We have made a thorough re-examination of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the nighttime equatorial ionosphere from approx.100 km to the bottomside F region. We have taken into account explicitly the following effects which have been ignored by other workers in various combinations: (1) The eastward drift of the ionosphere caused by the nighttime polarization electric field, (2) the eastward nighttime neutral wind, and (3) recombination in the F and E regions. We found that, well below the bottomside F region, the Rayleigh-Taylor mode can be unstable and is driven by an eastward neutral wind rather than by gravitational drift. Formation of ionospheric bubbles below the bottomside F region is consistent with the observation of lower ionospheric ions in F region ionospheric holes; furthermore, seasonal and shorter term variations in spread-F occurrence may be associated with variations in the neutral wind and polarization electric field

Nighttime Insomnia Symptoms and Perceived Health in the America Insomnia Survey (AIS)

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Walsh, James K.; Coulouvrat, Catherine; Hajak, Goeran; Lakoma, Matthew D.; Petukhova, Maria; Roth, Thomas; Sampson, Nancy A.; Shahly, Victoria; Shillington, Alicia; Stephenson, Judith J.; Kessler, Ronald C.

2011-01-01

Study Objectives: To explore the distribution of the 4 cardinal nighttime symptoms of insomnia—difficulty initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS), early morning awakening (EMA), and nonrestorative sleep (NRS)—in a national sample of health plan members and the associations of these nighttime symptoms with sociodemographics, comorbidity, and perceived health. Design/Setting/Participants: Cross-sectional telephone survey of 6,791 adult respondents. Intervention: None. Measurements/Results: Current insomnia was assessed using the Brief Insomnia Questionnaire (BIQ)—a fully structured validated scale generating diagnoses of insomnia using DSM-IV-TR, ICD-10, and RDC/ICSD-2 inclusion criteria. DMS (61.0%) and EMA (52.2%) were more prevalent than DIS (37.7%) and NRS (25.2%) among respondents with insomnia. Sociodemographic correlates varied significantly across the 4 symptoms. All 4 nighttime symptoms were significantly related to a wide range of comorbid physical and mental conditions. All 4 also significantly predicted decrements in perceived health both in the total sample and among respondents with insomnia after adjusting for comorbid physical and mental conditions. Joint associations of the 4 symptoms predicting perceived health were additive and related to daytime distress/impairment. Individual-level associations were strongest for NRS. At the societal level, though, where both prevalence and strength of individual-level associations were taken into consideration, DMS had the strongest associations. Conclusions: The extent to which nighttime insomnia symptoms are stable over time requires future long-term longitudinal study. Within the context of this limitation, the results suggest that core nighttime symptoms are associated with different patterns of risk and perceived health and that symptom-based subtyping might have value. Citation: Walsh JK; Coulouvrat C; Hajak G; Lakoma MD; Petukhova M; Roth T; Sampson NA; Shahly V; Shillington A

Influence of room heating on ambulatory blood pressure in winter: a randomised controlled study.

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Saeki, Keigo; Obayashi, Kenji; Iwamoto, Junko; Tanaka, Yuu; Tanaka, Noriyuki; Takata, Shota; Kubo, Hiroko; Okamoto, Nozomi; Tomioka, Kimiko; Nezu, Satoko; Kurumatani, Norio

2013-06-01

Previous studies have proposed that higher blood pressure (BP) in winter is an important cause of increased mortality from cardiovascular disease during the winter. Some observational and physiological studies have shown that cold exposure increases BP, but evidence from a randomised controlled study assessing the effectiveness of intensive room heating for lowering BP was lacking. The present study aimed to determine whether intensive room heating in winter decreases ambulatory BP as compared with weak room heating resulting in a 10°C lower target room temperature when sufficient clothing and bedclothes are available. We conducted a parallel group, assessor blinded, simple randomised controlled study with 1:1 allocation among 146 healthy participants in Japan from November 2009 to March 2010. Ambulatory BP was measured while the participants stayed in single experimental rooms from 21:00 to 8:00. During the session, participants could adjust the amount of clothing and bedclothes as required. Compared with the weak room heating group (mean temperature ± SD: 13.9 ± 3.3°C), systolic morning BP (mean BP 2 h after getting out of bed) of the intensive room heating group (24.2 ± 1.7°C) was significantly lower by 5.8 mm Hg (95% CI 2.4 to 9.3). Sleep-trough morning BP surges (morning BP minus lowest night-time BP) in the intensive room heating group were significantly suppressed to about two thirds of the values in the weak room heating group (14.3 vs 21.9 mm Hg; pheating decreased morning BP and the morning BP surge in winter.

Daytime warming has stronger negative effects on soil nematodes than night-time warming

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Yan, Xiumin; Wang, Kehong; Song, Lihong; Wang, Xuefeng; Wu, Donghui

2017-03-01

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, that is, stronger warming during night-time than during daytime. Here we focus on how soil nematodes respond to the current asymmetric warming. A field infrared heating experiment was performed in the western of the Songnen Plain, Northeast China. Three warming modes, i.e. daytime warming, night-time warming and diurnal warming, were taken to perform the asymmetric warming condition. Our results showed that the daytime and diurnal warming treatment significantly decreased soil nematodes density, and night-time warming treatment marginally affected the density. The response of bacterivorous nematode and fungivorous nematode to experimental warming showed the same trend with the total density. Redundancy analysis revealed an opposite effect of soil moisture and soil temperature, and the most important of soil moisture and temperature in night-time among the measured environment factors, affecting soil nematode community. Our findings suggested that daily minimum temperature and warming induced drying are most important factors affecting soil nematode community under the current global asymmetric warming.

Description of nighttime cough epochs in patients with stable COPD GOLD II-IV.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Patrick; Gross, Volker; Kroenig, Johannes; Weissflog, Andreas; Hildebrandt, Olaf; Sohrabi, Keywan; Koehler, Ulrich

Chronic cough is one of the main symptoms of COPD. Ambulatory objective monitoring provides novel insights into the determinants and characteristics of nighttime cough in COPD. Nighttime cough was monitored objectively by LEOSound lung sound monitor in patients with stable COPD II-IV. In 30 patients, with 10 patients in each stage group, nighttime cough was analyzed for epoch frequency, epoch severity (epoch length and coughs per epoch), and pattern (productive or nonproductive). Cough was found in all patients ranging from 1 to 294 events over the recording period. In 29 patients, cough epochs were monitored, ranging from 1 to 75 epochs. The highest amount of cough epochs was found in patients with COPD stage III. Active smokers had significantly more productive cough epochs (61%) than nonsmokers (24%). We found a high rate of nighttime cough epochs in patients with COPD, especially in those in stage III. Productive cough was predominantly found in patients with persistent smoking. LEOSound lung sound monitor offers a practical and valuable opportunity to evaluate cough objectively.

The Value of Darkness: A Moral Framework for Urban Nighttime Lighting.

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Taylor

2018-04-01

The adverse effects of artificial nighttime lighting, known as light pollution, are emerging as an important environmental issue. To address these effects, current scientific research focuses mainly on identifying what is bad or undesirable about certain types and uses of lighting at night. This paper adopts a value-sensitive approach, focusing instead on what is good about darkness at night. In doing so, it offers a first comprehensive analysis of the environmental value of darkness at night from within applied ethics. A design for values orientation is utilized to conceptualize, define, and categorize the ways in which value is derived from darkness. Nine values are identified and categorized via their type of good, temporal outlook, and spatial characteristics. Furthermore, these nine values are translated into prima facie moral obligations that should be incorporated into future design choices, policy-making, and innovations to nighttime lighting. Thus, the value of darkness is analyzed with the practical goal of informing future decision-making about urban nighttime lighting.

Assessing Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Urbanization Dynamics in Southeast Asia Using Time Series of DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Zhao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Intraregional spatial variations of satellite-derived anthropogenic nighttime light signals are gradually applied to identify different lighting areas with various socioeconomic activity and urbanization levels when characterizing urbanization dynamics. However, most previous partitioning approaches are carried out at local scales, easily leading to multi-standards of the extracted results from local areas, and this inevitably hinders the comparative analysis on the urbanization dynamics of the large region. Therefore, a partitioning approach considering the characteristics of nighttime light signals at both local and regional scales is necessary for studying spatiotemporal characteristics of urbanization dynamics across the large region using nighttime light imagery. Based on the quadratic relationships between the pixel-level nighttime light brightness and the corresponding spatial gradient for individual cities, we here proposed an improved partitioning approach to quickly identify different types of nighttime lighting areas for the entire region of Southeast Asia. Using the calibrated Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Line-scan System (DMSP/OLS data with greater comparability, continuity, and intra-urban variability, the annual nighttime light imagery spanning years 1992–2013 were divided into four types of nighttime lighting areas: low, medium, high, and extremely high, associated with different intensity of anthropogenic activity. The results suggest that Southeast Asia has experienced a rapid and diverse urbanization process from 1992 to 2013. Areas with moderate or low anthropogenic activity show a faster growth rate for the spatial expansion than the developed areas with intense anthropogenic activity. Transitions between different nighttime lighting types potentially depict the trajectory of urban development, the darker areas are gradually transitioning to areas with higher lighting, indicating conspicuous trends

Social crowding in the night-time reduces an anxiety-like behavior and increases social interaction in adolescent mice.

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Ago, Yukio; Tanaka, Tatsunori; Ota, Yuki; Kitamoto, Mari; Imoto, Emina; Takuma, Kazuhiro; Matsuda, Toshio

2014-08-15

Rearing in crowded conditions is a psychosocial stressor that affects biological functions. The effects of continuous crowding for many days have been studied, but those of crowding over a limited time have not. In this study, we examined the effects of night-time or daytime crowding over 2 weeks on behavior in adolescent and adult mice. Crowding (20 mice/cage) in either the night-time or daytime did not affect locomotor activity in the open field test or cognitive function in the fear conditioning test. In contrast, night-time crowding, but not daytime crowding, had an anxiolytic effect in the elevated plus-maze test and increased social interaction in adolescent mice, but not in adult mice. The first night-time, but not daytime, crowding increased plasma corticosterone levels in adolescent mice, although night-time crowding over 2 weeks did not affect the corticosterone levels. Furthermore, no significant effects of the first crowding were observed in adult mice. In a second crowding condition (six mice/small cage), the anxiolytic-like effects of night-time crowding and the change in plasma corticosterone levels were not observed, suggesting that the density of mice is not important for the behavioral consequences of crowding. Night-time crowding did not affect neurotrophic/growth factor levels and hippocampal neurogenesis in adolescent mice. These findings suggest that night-time crowding leads to anxiolytic-like behaviors in adolescent mice, and imply that night-time crowding stress in adolescence may be beneficial to brain functions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nighttime BP in Elderly Individuals with Prediabetes/Diabetes with and without CKD: The HEIJO-KYO Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Obayashi, Kenji; Saeki, Keigo; Kurumatani, Norio

2016-05-06

and objectives Although previous studies suggested that nighttime BP is elevated in diabetes mellitus, the association between prediabetes and nighttime BP remains unclear. In addition, the relationship between diabetic status, renal function, and nighttime BP has not been evaluated in large populations. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed diabetic status, renal function, and ambulatory BP parameters among 1081 community-dwelling elderly individuals (mean age, 71.8±7.0 years). Participants were classified into six categories based on diabetic status (normoglycemia, prediabetes, or diabetes mellitus) and renal function (normal function or CKD). BP was measured at 30-minute intervals for 48 hours using a validated ambulatory recorder. The mean nighttime systolic BP (SBP) was 115.7±16.1 mmHg. The multivariable analysis, adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, and daytime SBP, revealed that, compared with participants with normoglycemia but without CKD (n=378), mean nighttime SBP was significantly higher in participants with both prediabetes and CKD (n=93) by 2.9 mmHg (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.2 to 5.6; P=0.03) and in patients with both diabetes mellitus and CKD (n=30) by 7.8 mmHg (95% CI, 3.5 to 12.2; Pprediabetes without CKD (n=374), or patients with diabetes mellitus without CKD (n=131). Notably, the multivariable analysis indicated that the interaction terms of diabetic status and renal function were significantly associated with nighttime SBP (P=0.03). Nighttime SBP was significantly higher in participants with prediabetes and CKD but not in participants with prediabetes without CKD, compared with participants with normoglycemia and without CKD. In addition, a significant interaction effect of diabetic status and renal function on nighttime SBP was detected in a general elderly population. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Daily light integral and day light quality: Potentials and pitfalls of nighttime UV treatments on cucumber powdery mildew.

Science.gov (United States)

Suthaparan, Aruppillai; Solhaug, Knut Asbjørn; Stensvand, Arne; Gislerød, Hans Ragnar

2017-10-01

Nighttime ultraviolet (UV) radiation, if applied properly, has a significant potential for management of powdery mildews in many crop species. In this study, the role of growth light duration, irradiance, a combination of both (daily light integral) and light spectral quality (blue or red) on the efficacy of UV treatments against powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera xanthii and the growth performance of cucumber plants was studied in growth chambers. Increasing daily light integral provided by high-pressure sodium lamps (HPS) decreased efficacy of nighttime UV treatments against P. xanthii, but it increased plant growth. Furthermore, the efficacy of nighttime UV decreased when day length was increased from 16 to 20h at a constant daily light integral. The efficacy of nighttime UV increased if red light was applied after UV treatment, showing the possibility of day length extension without reducing the effect of UV. Increasing the dose of blue light during daytime reduced the efficacy of nighttime UV in controlling the disease, whereas blue deficient growth light (light after nighttime UV reduced its disease control efficacy. This showed the importance of maintaining a minimum of blue light in the growth light before nighttime UV treatment. Findings from this study showed that optimization of nighttime UV for management of powdery mildew is dependent on the spectral composition of the photosynthetically active radiation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dissociations among daytime sleepiness, nighttime sleep, and cognitive status in Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldman, Jennifer G; Ghode, Reena A; Ouyang, Bichun; Bernard, Bryan; Goetz, Christopher G; Stebbins, Glenn T

2013-09-01

Daytime and nighttime sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment occur frequently in Parkinson's disease (PD), but little is known about the interdependence of these non-motor complications. Thus, we examined the relationships among excessive daytime sleepiness, nighttime sleep quality and cognitive impairment in PD, including severity and specific cognitive deficits. Ninety-three PD patients underwent clinical and neuropsychological evaluations including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Patients were classified as having normal cognition (PD-NC), mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), or dementia (PDD) using recently proposed Movement Disorder Society PD-MCI and PDD criteria. Relationships between the sleep and cognitive measures and PD cognitive groups were examined. The PD cohort included PD-NC (n = 28), PD-MCI (n = 40), and PDD (n = 25) patients. ESS scores, as a measure of daytime sleepiness, were significantly worse (p = 0.005) in cognitively impaired PD patients, particularly PDD patients. ESS scores correlated significantly with Mini-Mental State Examination scores and also with cognitive domain scores for attention/working memory, executive function, memory, and visuospatial function. In contrast, PSQI scores, as a measure of nighttime sleep quality, neither differed among cognitive groups nor correlated with any cognitive measures. Daytime sleepiness in PD, but not nighttime sleep problems, is associated with cognitive impairment in PD, especially in the setting of dementia, and attention/working memory, executive function, memory, and visuospatial deficits. The presence of nighttime sleep problems is pervasive across the PD cognitive spectrum, from normal cognition to dementia, and is not independently associated with cognitive impairment or deficits in cognitive domains. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Unintended environmental impacts of nighttime freight logistics activities

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

In recent years, the reduction of freight vehicle trips during peak hours has been a common : policy goal. To this end, policies have been implemented to shift logistics operations to : nighttime hours. The purpose of such policies has generally been...

CALIPSO lidar calibration at 532 nm: version 4 nighttime algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Kar, Jayanta; Vaughan, Mark A.; Lee, Kam-Pui; Tackett, Jason L.; Avery, Melody A.; Garnier, Anne; Getzewich, Brian J.; Hunt, William H.; Josset, Damien; Liu, Zhaoyan; Lucker, Patricia L.; Magill, Brian; Omar, Ali H.; Pelon, Jacques; Rogers, Raymond R.; Toth, Travis D.; Trepte, Charles R.; Vernier, Jean-Paul; Winker, David M.; Young, Stuart A.

2018-03-01

Data products from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) on board Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) were recently updated following the implementation of new (version 4) calibration algorithms for all of the Level 1 attenuated backscatter measurements. In this work we present the motivation for and the implementation of the version 4 nighttime 532 nm parallel channel calibration. The nighttime 532 nm calibration is the most fundamental calibration of CALIOP data, since all of CALIOP's other radiometric calibration procedures - i.e., the 532 nm daytime calibration and the 1064 nm calibrations during both nighttime and daytime - depend either directly or indirectly on the 532 nm nighttime calibration. The accuracy of the 532 nm nighttime calibration has been significantly improved by raising the molecular normalization altitude from 30-34 km to the upper possible signal acquisition range of 36-39 km to substantially reduce stratospheric aerosol contamination. Due to the greatly reduced molecular number density and consequently reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at these higher altitudes, the signal is now averaged over a larger number of samples using data from multiple adjacent granules. Additionally, an enhanced strategy for filtering the radiation-induced noise from high-energy particles was adopted. Further, the meteorological model used in the earlier versions has been replaced by the improved Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), model. An aerosol scattering ratio of 1.01 ± 0.01 is now explicitly used for the calibration altitude. These modifications lead to globally revised calibration coefficients which are, on average, 2-3 % lower than in previous data releases. Further, the new calibration procedure is shown to eliminate biases at high altitudes that were present in earlier versions and consequently leads to an improved representation of

Comparison of daytime and night-time populations adjacent to interstate highways in metropolitan areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, G.S.; Neuhauser, K.S.

1999-01-01

Daytime and night-time population densities bordering Interstate highway routes in metropolitan areas are compared at the traffic analysis zone level. In three of the metropolitan areas studied, histograms of daytime to night-time population density ratios are peaked at 1.0. In a smaller metropolitan area, the peak of the histogram moves to values greater than 1.0 but less than 2.0. In view of the typical uncertainties in calculating radiological transport effects (∼2), this study indicates that a distinction between daytime and night-time transport is not warranted, especially since a typical route includes extensive transport outside metropolitan areas. (author)

Climatic potential for passive cooling of buildings by night-time ventilation in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Artmann, N.; Manz, H.; Heiselberg, P.

2007-01-01

Due to an overall trend towards less heating and more cooling demands in buildings in many European countries over the last few decades, passive cooling by night-time ventilation is seen as a promising technique, particularly for commercial buildings in the moderate or cold climates of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe. The basic concept involves cooling the building structure overnight in order to provide a heat sink that is available during the occupancy period. In this study, the potential for passive cooling of buildings by night-time ventilation was evaluated by analysing climatic data, without considering any building-specific parameters. An approach for calculating degree-hours based on a variable building temperature - within a standardized range of thermal comfort - is presented and applied to climatic data of 259 stations all over Europe. The results show a high potential for night-time ventilative cooling over the whole of Northern Europe and still significant potential in Central, Eastern and even some regions of Southern Europe. However, due to the inherent stochastic properties of weather patterns, a series of warmer nights can occur at some locations, where passive cooling by night-time ventilation alone might not be sufficient to guarantee thermal comfort

Sleep Habits and Nighttime Texting among Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Garmy, Pernilla; Ward, Teresa M.

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine sleep habits (i.e., bedtimes and rising times) and their association with nighttime text messaging in 15- to 17-year-old adolescents. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from a web-based survey of adolescent students attending secondary schools in southern Sweden (N = 278, 50% female). Less than 8 hr of…

Impact of nighttime paving operations on asphalt roughness behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-01

The relationship between nighttime construction scheduling and future road quality in terms of roughness was investigated. Research was three-phased: interviews with local leaders in paving, on-site observations, and historical data analyses. Intervi...

Urban Summertime Ozone of China: Peak Ozone Hour and Nighttime Mixing

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, H.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, R.

2017-12-01

We investigate the observed diurnal cycle of summertime ozone in the cities of China using a regional chemical transport model. The simulated daytime ozone is in general agreement with the observations. Model simulations suggest that the ozone peak time and peak concentration are a function of NOx (NO + NO2) and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. The differences between simulated and observed ozone peak time and peak concentration in some regions can be applied to understand biases in the emission inventories. For example, the VOCs emissions are underestimated over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, and either NOx emissions are underestimated or VOC emissions are overestimated over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) regions. In contrast to the general good daytime ozone simulations, the simulated nighttime ozone has a large low bias of up to 40 ppbv. Nighttime ozone in urban areas is sensitive to the nocturnal boundary-layer mixing, and enhanced nighttime mixing (from the surface to 200-500 m) is necessary for the model to reproduce the observed level of ozone.

Napping, nighttime sleep, and cardiovascular risk factors in mid-life adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, Jane F; Buysse, Daniel J; Hall, Martica; Kamarck, Thomas W; Lee, Laisze; Strollo, Patrick J; Reis, Steven E; Matthews, Karen A

2010-08-15

To evaluate the relations between sleep characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors and napping behavior, and to assess whether daytime napping leads to subsequent better or worse sleep. The sample consisted of 224 (African American, Caucasian, and Asian) middle-aged men and women. Sleep measures included nine nights of actigraphy and sleep diaries, sleep questionnaires, and one night of polysomnography to measure sleep disordered breathing. More frequent napping was associated with shorter nighttime sleep duration averaged across the nine nights of actigraphy (especially among African Americans), more daytime sleepiness, more pain and fatigue by diary, and increased body mass index and waist circumference. Shorter nighttime sleep duration was associated with taking a nap during the next day and taking a nap was associated with less efficient sleep the next night. Napping in middle-aged men and women is associated with overall less nighttime sleep in African Americans and lower sleep efficiency as measured by actigraphy, and increased BMI and central adiposity. These findings point to the importance of measuring of napping in understanding associations of sleep with cardiovascular risk.

The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution: a mechanistic appraisal.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaston, Kevin J; Bennie, Jonathan; Davies, Thomas W; Hopkins, John

2013-11-01

The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution have been a longstanding source of concern, accentuated by realized and projected growth in electrical lighting. As human communities and lighting technologies develop, artificial light increasingly modifies natural light regimes by encroaching on dark refuges in space, in time, and across wavelengths. A wide variety of ecological implications of artificial light have been identified. However, the primary research to date is largely focused on the disruptive influence of nighttime light on higher vertebrates, and while comprehensive reviews have been compiled along taxonomic lines and within specific research domains, the subject is in need of synthesis within a common mechanistic framework. Here we propose such a framework that focuses on the cross-factoring of the ways in which artificial lighting alters natural light regimes (spatially, temporally, and spectrally), and the ways in which light influences biological systems, particularly the distinction between light as a resource and light as an information source. We review the evidence for each of the combinations of this cross-factoring. As artificial lighting alters natural patterns of light in space, time and across wavelengths, natural patterns of resource use and information flows may be disrupted, with downstream effects to the structure and function of ecosystems. This review highlights: (i) the potential influence of nighttime lighting at all levels of biological organisation (from cell to ecosystem); (ii) the significant impact that even low levels of nighttime light pollution can have; and (iii) the existence of major research gaps, particularly in terms of the impacts of light at population and ecosystem levels, identification of intensity thresholds, and the spatial extent of impacts in the vicinity of artificial lights. © 2013 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2013 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Fast natural color mapping for night-time imagery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hogervorst, M.A.; Toet, A.

2010-01-01

We present a new method to render multi-band night-time imagery (images from sensors whose sensitive range does not necessarily coincide with the visual part of the electromagnetic spectrum, e.g. image intensifiers, thermal camera's) in natural daytime colors. The color mapping is derived from the

Summer does not always mean lower: seasonality of 24 h, daytime, and night-time blood pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Fedecostante, Massimiliano; Barbatelli, Paolo; Guerra, Federico; Espinosa, Emma; Dessì-Fulgheri, Paolo; Sarzani, Riccardo

2012-07-01

Evaluation of seasonal influences on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) values in a very large population living in a mild-climate geographic area. Among patients referred to our Hypertension Center between September 2002 and January 2011 with a reliable ABPM, we considered those in the two hottest (July and August) vs. those in the two coldest (January and February) months. Seven hundred and forty-two men (53.2%) and 653 women (46.8%) were studied; 1245 (89.3%) were hypertensive patients of which 795 (63.9%) were drug-treated. In winter, mean daytime SBP and DBP were higher (P = 0.001 and P hottest summer months are associated with lower daytime BP and also lower 24-h DBP. However, we found an inverse relationship regarding night-time BP, dipping pattern, and INH that were higher or more common in summer. These findings were even more evident in treated patients, especially when not at target. Different sleeping behaviors or improper dose reduction of drug therapy in summer may explain the findings.

饱和蒸汽压式波纹管疏水阀热动元件实验研究%Experimental study on the saturated vapor pressure type thermostatic bellows for steam traps

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

李树勋; 徐登伟; 把桥环

2011-01-01

针对液体膨胀式波纹管蒸汽疏水阀排量不稳定、漏汽率高等问题,分析波纹管热动元件的热工特性.基于Riedel蒸汽压方程和气液平衡方程,建立饱和蒸汽压式波纹管热动元件的热力学模型,设计相应实验系统,进行不同参数下的实验研究.结果表明,饱和蒸汽压式波纹管热动元件伸长量是相变温度的单值函数,近似呈指数关系；采用不同混合比、刚度及填充方式,可调节疏水阀的排水过冷度.%In view of the instabilities of displacement and high steam leakage rate for the liquid-expansion type ther-mostatic bellows steam traps, thermodynamic characteristical of thermostatic bellows was analyzed. Based on the Riedel equation and the vapor-liquid equilibrium equation, thermodynamic model of the saturated vapor pressure type thermostatic bellows was set up, corresponding experimental system was designed, and experimental studies with different parameters was carried out. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical analysis. The results show that the elongation A/I of the saturated vapor pressure type thermostatic bellows is monodrome function of phase transition temperature T, and relationship between the elongation A/I and the phase change temperature t is an exponential function. The subcooled temperature of steam trap can be adjusted by using different mixture ratio, different bellows' stiffness and different sufficient attire method. This paper establishes theoretical and experimental foundation for improving the performance of thermostatic bellows steam traps.

Near-real time Monitoring of the widespread winter Fog over the Indo-Gangetic Plains using satellite data

Science.gov (United States)

Patil, D. L.; Gautam, R.; Rizvi, S.; Singh, M. K.

2016-12-01

The persistent and widespread winter fog impacts the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) on an annual basis, disrupting day-to-day lives of millions of people in parts of northern India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The IGP is a densely-populated region located south of the Himalaya, in the northern parts of south Asia. During the past three decades or so, associated with growing population and energy demands, the IGP has witnessed strong upward trends in air pollution, particularly leading to poor air quality in the winter months. Co-occurring with the dense haze over the IGP, severe fog episodes persist throughout the months of December and January. Building on our recent work on satellite-based detection of fog, we have further extended the detection capability towards the development of a near-real time (NRT) fog monitoring system using satellite radiances and products. Here, we use multi-spectral radiances and aerosol/cloud retrievals from Terra/Aqua MODIS data for NRT fog monitoring over the IGP for both daytime as well as nighttime. Specifically, the nighttime fog detection algorithm employs a bi-spectral brightness temperature difference technique between two spectral channels: 3.9 μm and 11 μm. Our ongoing efforts also include extending fog detection capability in NRT to geostationary satellites, for providing continuous monitoring of the onset, evolution and spatial-temporal variation of fog, as well as the geospatial integration of surface meteorological observations of visibility, relative humidity, temperature. We anticipate that the ongoing and future development of a fog monitoring system may be of particular assistance to air and rail transportation management, as well as of general interest to the public. The outputs of fog detection algorithm and related aerosol/cloud parameters are operationally disseminated via http://fogsouthasia.com/.

Equatorial enhancement of the nighttime OH mesospheric infrared airglow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, D J; Thurgood, B K; Harrison, W K; Mlynczak, M G; Russell, J M

2007-01-01

Global measurements of the hydroxyl mesospheric airglow over an extended period of time have been made possible by the NASA SABER infrared sensor aboard the TIMED satellite which has been functioning since December of 2001. The orbital mission has continued over a significant portion of a solar cycle. Experimental data from SABER for several years have exhibited equatorial enhancements of the nighttime mesospheric OH (Δv=2) airglow layer consistent with the high average diurnal solar flux. The brightening of the OH airglow typically means more H+O 3 is being reacted. At both the spring and autumn seasonal equinoxes when the equatorial solar UV irradiance mean is greatest, the peak volume emission rate (VER) of the nighttime Meinel infrared airglow typically appears to be both significantly brighter plus lower in altitude by several kilometres at low latitudes compared with midlatitude findings

Daytime warming has stronger negative effects on soil nematodes than night-time warming

OpenAIRE

Yan, Xiumin; Wang, Kehong; Song, Lihong; Wang, Xuefeng; Wu, Donghui

2017-01-01

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, that is, stronger warming during night-time than during daytime. Here we focus on how soil nematodes respond to the current asymmetric warming. A field infrared heating experiment was performed in the western of the Songnen Plain, Northeast China. Three warming modes, i.e. daytime warming, night-time warming and diurnal warming, were taken to perform the asymmetric warming condition. Our results showed that the daytime and diurnal warming treatmen...

Nocturnal surface ozone enhancement over Portugal during winter: Influence of different atmospheric conditions

KAUST Repository

Kulkarni, Pavan S.

2016-09-24

Four distinct nocturnal surface ozone (NSO) enhancement events were observed, with NSO concentration exceeding 80μg/m3, at multiple ozone (O3) monitoring stations (32 sites) in January, November and December between year 2000–2010, in Portugal. The reasonable explanation for the observed bimodal pattern of surface ozone with enhanced NSO concentration during nighttime has to be transport processes, as the surface ozone production ceases at nighttime. Simultaneous measurements of O3 at multiple stations during the study period in Portugal suggest that horizontal advection alone cannot explain the observed NSO enhancement. Thus, detailed analysis of the atmospheric conditions, simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, were performed to evaluate the atmospheric mechanisms responsible for NSO enhancement in the region. Simulations revealed that each event occurred as a result of one or the combination of different atmospheric processes such as, passage of a cold front followed by a subsidence zone; passage of a moving surface trough, with associated strong horizontal wind speed and vertical shear; combination of vertical and horizontal transport at the synoptic scale; formation of a low level jet with associated vertical mixing below the jet stream. The study confirmed that large-scale flow pattern resulting in enhanced vertical mixing in the nocturnal boundary layer, plays a key role in the NSO enhancement events, which frequently occur over Portugal during winter months. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Nocturnal surface ozone enhancement over Portugal during winter: Influence of different atmospheric conditions

KAUST Repository

Kulkarni, Pavan S.; Dasari, Hari Prasad; Sharma, Ashish; Bortoli, D.; Salgado, Rui; Silva, A.M.

2016-01-01

Four distinct nocturnal surface ozone (NSO) enhancement events were observed, with NSO concentration exceeding 80μg/m3, at multiple ozone (O3) monitoring stations (32 sites) in January, November and December between year 2000–2010, in Portugal. The reasonable explanation for the observed bimodal pattern of surface ozone with enhanced NSO concentration during nighttime has to be transport processes, as the surface ozone production ceases at nighttime. Simultaneous measurements of O3 at multiple stations during the study period in Portugal suggest that horizontal advection alone cannot explain the observed NSO enhancement. Thus, detailed analysis of the atmospheric conditions, simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, were performed to evaluate the atmospheric mechanisms responsible for NSO enhancement in the region. Simulations revealed that each event occurred as a result of one or the combination of different atmospheric processes such as, passage of a cold front followed by a subsidence zone; passage of a moving surface trough, with associated strong horizontal wind speed and vertical shear; combination of vertical and horizontal transport at the synoptic scale; formation of a low level jet with associated vertical mixing below the jet stream. The study confirmed that large-scale flow pattern resulting in enhanced vertical mixing in the nocturnal boundary layer, plays a key role in the NSO enhancement events, which frequently occur over Portugal during winter months. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Is nighttime laparoscopic general surgery under general anesthesia safe?

Science.gov (United States)

Koltka, Ahmet Kemalettin; İlhan, Mehmet; Ali, Achmet; Gök, Ali Fuat Kaan; Sivrikoz, Nükhet; Yanar, Teoman Hakan; Günay, Mustafa Kayıhan; Ertekin, Cemalettin

2018-01-01

Fatigue and sleep deprivation can affect rational decision-making and motor skills, which can decrease medical performance and quality of patient care. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between times of the day when laparoscopic general surgery under general anesthesia was performed and their adverse outcomes. All laparoscopic cholecystectomies and appendectomies performed at the emergency surgery department of a tertiary university hospital from 01. 01. 2016 to 12. 31. 2016 were included. Operation times were divided into three groups: 08.01-17.00 (G1: daytime), 17.01-23.00 (G2: early after-hours), and 23.01-08.00 (G3: nighttime). The files of the included patients were evaluated for intraoperative and postoperative surgery and anesthesia-related complications. We used multiple regression analyses of variance with the occurrence of intraoperative complications as a dependent variable and comorbidities, age, gender, body mass index (BMI), ASA score, and operation time group as independent variables. This revealed that nighttime operation (p<0.001; OR, 6.7; CI, 2.6-16.9) and older age (p=0.004; OR, 1.04; CI, 1.01-1.08) were the risk factor for intraoperative complications. The same analysis was performed for determining a risk factor for postoperative complications, and none of the dependent variables were found to be associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications. Nighttime surgery and older patient age increased the risk of intraoperative complications without serious morbidity or mortality, but no association was observed between the independent variables and the occurrence of postoperative complications.

Examination of the current practice of lighting in Virginia : nighttime work zones and improving safety through the development of nighttime lighting specifications : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

This project evaluated current nighttime work zone lighting practices for limited-access highways and primary routes in Virginia through (1) an on-site evaluation of lighting levels in work zones; (2) an illuminance characterization of various commer...

Examination of the current practice of lighting in Virginia : nighttime work zones and improving safety through the development of nighttime lighting specifications : summary report.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

This project evaluated current nighttime work zone lighting practices for limited-access highways and primary routes in Virginia through (1) an on-site evaluation of lighting levels in work zones; (2) an illuminance characterization of various commer...

Providence nighttime bracing, in treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simony, A.; Beuschau, Inge; Quisth, Lena

2015-01-01

Introduction: Since 2008 the non-surgical treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) in the southern part of Denmark, went from full-time bracing with Boston brace, to Providence night-time bracing. Methods: Since 2008, skeletally immature patients diagnosed with AIS and a primary curve w...

The Suitability of Different Nighttime Light Data for GDP Estimation at Different Spatial Scales and Regional Levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaoxin Dai

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Nighttime light data offer a unique view of the Earth’s surface and can be used to estimate the spatial distribution of gross domestic product (GDP. Historically, using a simple regression function, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS has been used to correlate regional and global GDP values. In early 2013, the first global Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP visible infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS nighttime light data were released. Compared with DMSP/OLS, they have a higher spatial resolution and a wider radiometric detection range. This paper aims to study the suitability of the two nighttime light data sources for estimating the GDP relationship between the provincial and city levels in Mainland China, as well as of different regression functions. First, NPP/VIIRS nighttime light data for 2014 are corrected with DMSP/OLS data for 2013 to reduce the background noise in the original data. Subsequently, three regression functions are used to estimate the relationship between nighttime light data and GDP statistical data at the provincial and city levels in Mainland China. Then, through the comparison of the relative residual error (RE and the relative root mean square error (RRMSE parameters, a systematical assessment of the suitability of the GDP estimation is provided. The results show that the NPP/VIIRS nighttime light data are better than the DMSP/OLS data for GDP estimation, whether at the provincial or city level, and that the power function and polynomial models are better for GDP estimation than the linear regression model. This study reveals that the accuracy of GDP estimation based on nighttime light data is affected by the resolution of the data and the spatial scale of the study area, as well as by the land cover types and industrial structures of the study area.

Small Business Demand Response with Communicating Thermostats: SMUD's Summer Solutions Research Pilot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herter, Karen; Wayland, Seth; Rasin, Josh

2009-09-25

This report documents a field study of 78 small commercial customers in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District service territory who volunteered for an integrated energy-efficiency/demand-response (EE-DR) program in the summer of 2008. The original objective for the pilot was to provide a better understanding of demand response issues in the small commercial sector. Early findings justified a focus on offering small businesses (1) help with the energy efficiency of their buildings in exchange for occasional load shed, and (2) a portfolio of options to meet the needs of a diverse customer sector. To meet these expressed needs, the research pilot provided on-site energy efficiency advice and offered participants several program options, including the choice of either a dynamic rate or monthly payment for air-conditioning setpoint control. An analysis of hourly load data indicates that the offices and retail stores in our sample provided significant demand response, while the restaurants did not. Thermostat data provides further evidence that restaurants attempted to precool and reduce AC service during event hours, but were unable to because their air-conditioning units were undersized. On a 100 F reference day, load impacts of all participants during events averaged 14%, while load impacts of office and retail buildings (excluding restaurants) reached 20%. Overall, pilot participants including restaurants had 2007-2008 summer energy savings of 20% and bill savings of 30%. About 80% of participants said that the program met or surpassed their expectations, and three-quarters said they would probably or definitely participate again without the $120 participation incentive. These results provide evidence that energy efficiency programs, dynamic rates and load control programs can be used concurrently and effectively in the small business sector, and that communicating thermostats are a reliable tool for providing air-conditioning load shed and enhancing the ability

Impact of thermostatically controlled loads' demand response activation on aggregated power: A field experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lakshmanan, Venkatachalam; Marinelli, Mattia; Kosek, Anna Magdalena

2015-01-01

activation. The outcome of this experimental study quantifies the actual flexibility of household TCLs and the consequence for the different parties with respect to power behaviour. Each DR activation method adopts different scenarios to meet the power reduction, and has different impacts on the parameters......This paper describes the impacts of different types of DR (demand response) activation on TCLs' (thermostatically controlled loads) aggregated power. The different parties: power system operators, DR service providers (or aggregators) and consumers, have different objectives in relation to DR....... The experiments are conducted with real domestic refrigerators representing TCL. Activating refrigerators for DR with a delay reduces the ISE (integral square error) in power limitation by 28.46%, overshoot by 7.69%. The delay in refrigerator activation causes reduction in power ramp down rate by 39.90%, ramp up...

Development and analysis of a variable position thermostat for smart cooling system of a light duty diesel vehicles and engine emissions assessment during NEDC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, Eid S.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A new concept of the variable position electromagnetic thermostat in MCS is proposed. • A series of experiments were conducted on a light duty diesel vehicle operated over the NEDC test. • A comparative study was done on emission characteristics of the MCS and the conventional cooling system. • Engine cold start and steady-state coolant flow rate and emissions are presented. • The effect of MCS on engine accumulation FC and emissions over NEDC are evaluated. - Graphical Abstract: Display Omitted - Abstract: Smart cooling control systems for IC engines can better regulate the combustion process and heat, a variable position thermostat and electric coolant pumps (EWP) for IC engines are under development by a number of researchers. However, the aim of this study is to assess the performance of a variable position electromagnetic thermostat (VPEMT) to provide more flexible control of the engine temperature and coolant mass flow rate of modification cooling system (MCS). The measurement procedure was applied to two phases under new European drive cycle (NEDC) on a chassis dynamometer, with conventional cooling system (baseline engine) and MCS of a light duty diesel engine. The experimental results revealed that MCS using a VPEMT and EWP contributed to a reduction of engine warm-up period. As a consequence, important reduces in coolant flow rate and most exhaust emission compounds (THC, CO_2, CO and smoke opacity) were obtained. In contrast, NOx emission was observed to increase in these conditions. Comparative results are given for various engine speeds during a cold start and engine fully warm-up tests when the engine was equipped by conventional cooling system and MCS operation under NEDC, revealing the effect of MCS on engine fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.

Clinical trial: esomeprazole for moderate-to-severe nighttime heartburn and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease-related sleep disturbances.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, D; Crawley, J A; Hwang, C; Brown, K

2010-07-01

Nighttime heartburn, common among patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is associated with substantial clinical effects. GERD-related sleep disturbances are underappreciated and undertreated. To evaluate the efficacy of esomeprazole on GERD-related nighttime heartburn and associated sleep disturbances. In this multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, patients with moderate-to-severe nighttime heartburn and GERD-related sleep disturbances (endoscopies not required) received esomeprazole 20 mg or placebo each morning for 4 weeks. Heartburn symptoms and GERD-related sleep disturbances were evaluated using the validated Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and validated Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire. The analysis included 262 patients (esomeprazole, n = 137; placebo, n = 125). Significantly more patients receiving esomeprazole achieved nighttime heartburn relief (primary end point) than those receiving placebo (34.3% vs. 10.4%; P heartburn and GERD-related sleep disturbances, improving heartburn symptoms, sleep quality, work productivity and functionality.

Cuff inflations do not affect night-time blood pressure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Emilie H; Theilade, Simone; Hansen, Tine W

2015-01-01

Discomfort related to cuff inflation may bias 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) measurements, especially during night-time. We accessed the impact of cuff inflations by comparing 24 h BP recorded with a cuff-less tonometric wrist device and an upper-arm oscillometric cuff device. Fifty...

Modelled hydraulic redistribution by sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) matches observed data only after including night-time transpiration.

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Rebecca B; Cardon, Zoe G; Teshera-Levye, Jennifer; Rockwell, Fulton E; Zwieniecki, Maciej A; Holbrook, N Michele

2014-04-01

The movement of water from moist to dry soil layers through the root systems of plants, referred to as hydraulic redistribution (HR), occurs throughout the world and is thought to influence carbon and water budgets and ecosystem functioning. The realized hydrologic, biogeochemical and ecological consequences of HR depend on the amount of redistributed water, whereas the ability to assess these impacts requires models that correctly capture HR magnitude and timing. Using several soil types and two ecotypes of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in split-pot experiments, we examined how well the widely used HR modelling formulation developed by Ryel et al. matched experimental determination of HR across a range of water potential driving gradients. H. annuus carries out extensive night-time transpiration, and although over the last decade it has become more widely recognized that night-time transpiration occurs in multiple species and many ecosystems, the original Ryel et al. formulation does not include the effect of night-time transpiration on HR. We developed and added a representation of night-time transpiration into the formulation, and only then was the model able to capture the dynamics and magnitude of HR we observed as soils dried and night-time stomatal behaviour changed, both influencing HR. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

How the Invisible Hand is Supposed to Adjust the Natural Thermostat: A Guide for the Perplexed.

Science.gov (United States)

Storm, Servaas

2017-10-01

Mainstream climate economics takes global warming seriously, but perplexingly concludes that the optimal economic policy is to almost do nothing about it. This conclusion can be traced to just a few "normative" assumptions, over which there exists fundamental disagreement amongst economists. This paper explores two axes of this disagreement. The first axis ("market vs. regulation") measures faith in the invisible hand to adjust the natural thermostat. The second axis expresses differences in views on the efficiency and equity implications of climate action. The two axes combined lead to a classification of conflicting approaches in climate economics. The variety of approaches does not imply a post-modern "anything goes", as the contradictions between climate and capitalism cannot be wished away.

Lane Departure System Design using with IR Camera for Night-time Road Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osman Onur Akırmak

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Today, one of the largest areas of research and development in the automobile industry is road safety. Many deaths and injuries occur every year on public roads from accidents caused by sleepy drivers, that technology could have been used to prevent. Lane detection at night-time is an important issue in driving assistance systems. This paper deals with vision-based lane detection and tracking at night-time. This project consists of a research and development of an algorithm for automotive systems to detect the departure of vehicle from out of lane. Once the situation is detected, a warning is issued to the driver with sound and visual message through “Head Up Display” (HUD system. The lane departure is detected through the images obtained from a single IR camera, which identifies the departure at a satisfactory accuracy via improved quality of video stream. Our experimental results and accuracy evaluation show that our algorithm has good precision and our detecting method is suitable for night-time road conditions.

Sleeping position and reported night-time asthma symptoms and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A 49 years old man, known case of bronchial asthma for 43 years, with history of frequent asthmatic attacks, usually responding to double dose of intravenous Aminophylline and double dose of Hydrocortisone was received at medical emergency care unit at midnight with night-time asthma attack. The attack did not settle ...

Nighttime ionospheric D region: Equatorial and nonequatorial

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, Neil R.; McRae, Wayne M.

2009-08-01

Nighttime ionospheric D region parameters are found to be generally well modeled by the traditional H‧ and β as used by Wait and by the U.S. Navy in their Earth-ionosphere VLF radio waveguide programs. New comparisons with nonequatorial, mainly all-sea VLF path observations reported over several decades are shown to be consistent with the previously determined height H‧ ˜ 85.0 km and sharpness β ˜ 0.63 km-1. These paths include NPM (Hawaii) to Washington, D. C., Omega Hawaii and NLK (Seattle) to Japan, NWC (N.W. Australia) to Madagascar, and NBA (Panama) to Colorado. In marked contrast, transequatorial path observations (even when nearly all-sea) are found to be often not well modeled: for example, for Omega Japan and JJI (Japan) to Dunedin, New Zealand, the observed amplitudes are markedly lower than those which would be expected from H‧ ˜ 85.0 km and β ˜ 0.63 km-1, or any other realistic values of H‧ and β. Other transequatorial observations compared with modeling include NWC to Japan, Omega Hawaii to Dunedin, and NPM (Hawaii) to Dunedin. It is suggested that the effects of irregularities in the equatorial electrojet may extend down into the nighttime D region and so account for the observed equatorial VLF perturbations through scattering or mode conversion.

Napping in college students and its relationship with nighttime sleep.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Lichuan; Hutton Johnson, Stacy; Keane, Kathleen; Manasia, Michael; Gregas, Matt

2015-01-01

Abstract. To examine the habit of napping and its relationship with nighttime sleep in college students. Four hundred and forty undergraduate students who responded to an anonymous online survey in April 2010. Three questions were asked to determine the frequency, length, and timing of napping during the past month. Sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The PSQI score significantly differed among self-reported nap-frequency (p=.047) and nap-length (p=.017) groups, with those who napped more than 3 times per week and those who napped more than 2 hours having the poorest sleep quality. Students who napped between 6 and 9 pm had shorter sleep on school nights compared with students in other nap-timing groups (p=.002). College students who are self-reported frequent, long, and late nappers may have a higher risk of poor nighttime sleep quality and more severe sleep deprivation.

Development of a model performance-based sign sheeting specification based on the evaluation of nighttime traffic signs using legibility and eye-tracker data.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

This project focused on the evaluation of traffic sign sheeting performance in terms of meeting the nighttime : driver needs. The goal was to develop a nighttime driver needs specification for traffic signs. The : researchers used nighttime sign legi...

Shadow Detection Based on Regions of Light Sources for Object Extraction in Nighttime Video

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gil-beom Lee

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Intelligent video surveillance systems detect pre-configured surveillance events through background modeling, foreground and object extraction, object tracking, and event detection. Shadow regions inside video frames sometimes appear as foreground objects, interfere with ensuing processes, and finally degrade the event detection performance of the systems. Conventional studies have mostly used intensity, color, texture, and geometric information to perform shadow detection in daytime video, but these methods lack the capability of removing shadows in nighttime video. In this paper, a novel shadow detection algorithm for nighttime video is proposed; this algorithm partitions each foreground object based on the object’s vertical histogram and screens out shadow objects by validating their orientations heading toward regions of light sources. From the experimental results, it can be seen that the proposed algorithm shows more than 93.8% shadow removal and 89.9% object extraction rates for nighttime video sequences, and the algorithm outperforms conventional shadow removal algorithms designed for daytime videos.

Association between light exposure at night and nighttime blood pressure in the elderly independent of nocturnal urinary melatonin excretion.

Science.gov (United States)

Obayashi, Kenji; Saeki, Keigo; Iwamoto, Junko; Ikada, Yoshito; Kurumatani, Norio

2014-07-01

Circadian misalignment between internal and environmental rhythms dysregulates blood pressure (BP) variability because of disruption of the biological clock, resulting in increased nighttime BP. Although exposure to light-at-night is associated with the circadian misalignment, it remains unclear whether exposure to light-at-night in home settings is associated with nighttime BP. In this cross-sectional analysis of 528 elderly individuals (mean age: 72.8 years), we measured bedroom light intensity at 1-min intervals on two consecutive nights along with ambulatory BP, overnight urinary melatonin excretion and actigraphy. With regard to adjusted mean comparisons using analysis of covariance, the light-at-night group (average: ≥5 lux; n = 109) showed significantly higher nighttime systolic BP (SBP; adjusted mean: 120.8 vs. 116.5 mmHg, p = 0.01) and diastolic BP (70.1 vs. 67.1 mmHg, p light-at-night and nighttime BP in different cutoff values for light-at-night intensity (i.e. 3 and 10 lux). In conclusion, exposure to light-at-night in home settings is significantly associated with increased nighttime BP in elderly individuals independently of overnight urinary melatonin excretion. A 4.3 mmHg increase in nighttime SBP is associated with a 6.1% increase in total mortality, which corresponds to approximately 10 000 annual excess deaths in Japanese elderly population.

Using billing and weather data to separate thermostat from insulation effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fels, M F; Goldberg, M L

1984-05-01

A simple methodology, which uses aggregate utility sales data to measure and decompose residential conservation trends, is demonstrated. The data base is the aggregate natural gas consumption of the nearly one million houses in New Jersey which use gas for heating. The conservation index resulting from the analysis is normalized annual consumption, which adjusts per-household consumption to typical weather conditions. To smooth erratic year-to-year changes, four-year composite analyses are moved forward in time over the period 1970-82. Dramatic decreases in consumption, totaling 26% since the oil embargo, are evident. A decomposition of the results for the four years following the embargo suggests that over half of this conservation effect is due to changes in interior temperatures, with the policy implication that thermostat setbacks have played a far greater conservation role than have either structural change through retrofitting or modifications in appliance usage. In more recent years, for which the overall reduction in energy usage is lower, the dominant conservation role appears to have shifted to reductions in temperature-independent, base-level consumption by water heaters and appliances, while the effects of retrofitting remain relatively small.

Low-Income Mothers' Nighttime and Weekend Work: Daily Associations with Child Behavior, Mother-Child Interactions, and Mood

Science.gov (United States)

Gassman-Pines, Anna

2011-01-01

This study investigated low-income mothers' daily nighttime and weekend work and family outcomes. Sixty-one mothers of preschool-aged children reported daily on work hours, mood, mother-child interaction, and child behavior for two weeks (N = 724 person-days). Although nighttime and weekend work are both nonstandard schedules, results showed…

Parameter study on performance of building cooling by night-time ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Artmann, Nikolai; Manz, H.; Heiselberg, Per

2008-01-01

of different parameters such as building construction, heat gains, air change rates, heat transfer coefficients and climatic conditions including annual variations on the number of overheating degree hours (operative room temperature >26 °C) was evaluated. Climatic conditions and air flow rate during night......Especially for commercial buildings in moderate climates, night-time ventilation seems to be a simple and energy-efficient approach to improve thermal comfort in summer. However, due to uncertainties in the prediction of thermal comfort in buildings with night-time ventilation, architects...... and engineers are still hesitant to apply this technique. In order to reduce the uncertainties, the most important parameters affecting night ventilation performance need to be identified. A typical office room was therefore modelled using a building energy simulation programme (HELIOS), and the effect...

Impact of Air Distribution on Heat Transfer during Night-Time Ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiselberg, Per; Artmann, Nikolai; Jensen, Rasmus Lund

2009-01-01

Passive cooling by night-time ventilation is seen as a promising approach for energy efficient cooling of buildings. However, uncertainties in prediction of cooling potential and consequenses for thermal comfort restrain architects and engineers from applying this technique. Heat transfer...... at internal room surfaces determines the performance of night-time ventilation. In order to improve predictability, heat transfer mechanism in case of either mixing or displacement ventilation has been investigated in a full scale test room with an exposed ceiling as the dominating thermal mass. The influence...... of air distribution principle, air flow rate and inlet air temperature were investigated. Results show that for low air flow rates displacement ventilation is more efficient than mixing ventilation. For higher airflow rates the air jet flowing along the ceiling has a significant effect, and mixing...

Detection of Nighttime Melatonin Level in Chinese Original Quiet Sitting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chien-Hui Liou

2010-10-01

Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that meditation might elevate the nighttime salivary melatonin levels. It suggests that COQS can be used as a psychophysiological stimulus to increase endogenous secretion of melatonin, which in turn, might contribute to an improved sense of well-being.

Contribution of biogenic and photochemical sources to ambient VOCs during winter to summer transition at a semi-arid urban site in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, L K; Tripathi, Nidhi; Yadav, Ravi

2017-10-01

This paper presents the sources and characteristics of ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) measured using PTR-TOF-MS instrument in a metropolitan city of India during winter to summer transition period. Mixing ratios of VOCs exhibited strong diurnal, day-to-day and episodic variations. Methanol was the most dominant species with monthly mean values of 18-22 pbbv. The emission ratios of VOCs relative to benzene calculated from nighttime data were used to estimate the relative contributions of vehicle exhaust and other sources. The increasing daytime ratios of oxygenated-VOCs (OVOCs)/benzene and isoprene/benzene from February to March indicates increasing contribution of photo-oxidation and biogenic sources. Daytime fractions of acetone (18%), acetaldehyde (15%) and isoprene (4.5%) to the sum of measured VOCs in March were higher than those in February. Variations of VOCs at lower temperatures (biogenic emissions. The emissions of OVOCs from vehicle exhaust were estimated to be smaller (20-40%) than those from other sources. The contributions of biogenic and secondary sources to OVOCs and isoprene increased by 10-15% from winter to summer. This study provides evidence that the winter-to-summer transition has an impact on sources and composition of VOCs in tropical urban areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CALIPSO lidar calibration at 532 nm: version 4 nighttime algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Kar

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Data products from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP on board Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO were recently updated following the implementation of new (version 4 calibration algorithms for all of the Level 1 attenuated backscatter measurements. In this work we present the motivation for and the implementation of the version 4 nighttime 532 nm parallel channel calibration. The nighttime 532 nm calibration is the most fundamental calibration of CALIOP data, since all of CALIOP's other radiometric calibration procedures – i.e., the 532 nm daytime calibration and the 1064 nm calibrations during both nighttime and daytime – depend either directly or indirectly on the 532 nm nighttime calibration. The accuracy of the 532 nm nighttime calibration has been significantly improved by raising the molecular normalization altitude from 30–34 km to the upper possible signal acquisition range of 36–39 km to substantially reduce stratospheric aerosol contamination. Due to the greatly reduced molecular number density and consequently reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR at these higher altitudes, the signal is now averaged over a larger number of samples using data from multiple adjacent granules. Additionally, an enhanced strategy for filtering the radiation-induced noise from high-energy particles was adopted. Further, the meteorological model used in the earlier versions has been replaced by the improved Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2, model. An aerosol scattering ratio of 1.01 ± 0.01 is now explicitly used for the calibration altitude. These modifications lead to globally revised calibration coefficients which are, on average, 2–3 % lower than in previous data releases. Further, the new calibration procedure is shown to eliminate biases at high altitudes that were present in earlier versions and

Predictive role of the nighttime blood pressure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Tine W; Li, Yan; Boggia, José

2011-01-01

Numerous studies addressed the predictive value of the nighttime blood pressure (BP) as captured by ambulatory monitoring. However, arbitrary cutoff limits in dichotomized analyses of continuous variables, data dredging across selected subgroups, extrapolation of cross-sectional studies...... of conclusive evidence proving that nondipping is a reversible risk factor, the option whether or not to restore the diurnal blood pressure profile to a normal pattern should be left to the clinical judgment of doctors and should be individualized for each patient. Current guidelines on the interpretation...

Propagation of a whistler wave incident from above on the lower nighttime ionosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Bespalov

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The problems of reflection and transmission of a whistler wave incident in the nighttime ionosphere from above are considered. Numerical solution of the wave equations for a typical condition of the lower ionosphere is found. The solution area comprises both the region of strong wave refraction and a sharp boundary of the nighttime ionosphere (∼ 100 km. The energy reflection coefficient and horizontal wave magnetic field on the ground surface are calculated. The results obtained are important for analysis of the extremely low-frequency and very low-frequency (ELF–VLF emission phenomena observed from both the satellites and the ground-based observatories.

Maternal Caffeine Consumption and Infant Nighttime Waking: Prospective Cohort Study

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Iná S.; Matijasevich, Alicia

2012-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Coffee and other caffeinated beverages are commonly consumed in pregnancy. In adults, caffeine may interfere with sleep onset and have a dose-response effect similar to those seen during insomnia. In infancy, nighttime waking is a common event. With this study, we aimed to investigate if maternal caffeine consumption during pregnancy and lactation leads to frequent nocturnal awakening among infants at 3 months of age. METHODS: All children born in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, during 2004 were enrolled on a cohort study. Mothers were interviewed at delivery and after 3 months to obtain information on caffeine drinking consumption, sociodemographic, reproductive, and behavioral characteristics. Infant sleeping pattern in the previous 15 days was obtained from a subsample. Night waking was defined as an episode of infant arousal that woke the parents during nighttime. Multivariable analysis was performed by using Poisson regression. RESULTS: The subsample included 885 of the 4231 infants born in 2004. All but 1 mother consumed caffeine in pregnancy. Nearly 20% were heavy consumers (≥300 mg/day) during pregnancy and 14.3% at 3 months postpartum. Prevalence of frequent nighttime awakeners (>3 episodes per night) was 13.8% (95% confidence interval: 11.5%–16.0%). The highest prevalence ratio was observed among breastfed infants from mothers consuming ≥300 mg/day during the whole pregnancy and in the postpartum period (1.65; 95% confidence interval: 0.86–3.17) but at a nonsignificant level. CONCLUSIONS: Caffeine consumption during pregnancy and by nursing mothers seems not to have consequences on sleep of infants at the age of 3 months. PMID:22473365

Climatic warming increases winter wheat yield but reduces grain nitrogen concentration in east China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunlu Tian

Full Text Available Climatic warming is often predicted to reduce wheat yield and grain quality in China. However, direct evidence is still lacking. We conducted a three-year experiment with a Free Air Temperature Increase (FATI facility to examine the responses of winter wheat growth and plant N accumulation to a moderate temperature increase of 1.5°C predicted to prevail by 2050 in East China. Three warming treatments (AW: all-day warming; DW: daytime warming; NW: nighttime warming were applied for an entire growth period. Consistent warming effects on wheat plant were recorded across the experimental years. An increase of ca. 1.5°C in daily, daytime and nighttime mean temperatures shortened the length of pre-anthesis period averagely by 12.7, 8.3 and 10.7 d (P<0.05, respectively, but had no significant impact on the length of the post-anthesis period. Warming did not significantly alter the aboveground biomass production, but the grain yield was 16.3, 18.1 and 19.6% (P<0.05 higher in the AW, DW and NW plots than the non-warmed plot, respectively. Warming also significantly increased plant N uptake and total biomass N accumulation. However, warming significantly reduced grain N concentrations while increased N concentrations in the leaves and stems. Together, our results demonstrate differential impacts of warming on the depositions of grain starch and protein, highlighting the needs to further understand the mechanisms that underlie warming impacts on plant C and N metabolism in wheat.

Evaluation of NPP-VIIRS Nighttime Light Data for Mapping Global Fossil Fuel Combustion CO2 Emissions: A Comparison with DMSP-OLS Nighttime Light Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ou, Jinpei; Liu, Xiaoping; Li, Xia; Li, Meifang; Li, Wenkai

2015-01-01

Recently, the stable light products and radiance calibrated products from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) have been useful for mapping global fossil fuel carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at fine spatial resolution. However, few studies on this subject were conducted with the new-generation nighttime light data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Satellite, which has a higher spatial resolution and a wider radiometric detection range than the traditional DMSP-OLS nighttime light data. Therefore, this study performed the first evaluation of the potential of NPP-VIIRS data in estimating the spatial distributions of global CO2 emissions (excluding power plant emissions). Through a disaggregating model, three global emission maps were then derived from population counts and three different types of nighttime lights data (NPP-VIIRS, the stable light data and radiance calibrated data of DMSP-OLS) for a comparative analysis. The results compared with the reference data of land cover in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou show that the emission areas of map from NPP-VIIRS data have higher spatial consistency of the artificial surfaces and exhibit a more reasonable distribution of CO2 emission than those of other two maps from DMSP-OLS data. Besides, in contrast to two maps from DMSP-OLS data, the emission map from NPP-VIIRS data is closer to the Vulcan inventory and exhibits a better agreement with the actual statistical data of CO2 emissions at the level of sub-administrative units of the United States. This study demonstrates that the NPP-VIIRS data can be a powerful tool for studying the spatial distributions of CO2 emissions, as well as the socioeconomic indicators at multiple scales.

Evaluation of NPP-VIIRS Nighttime Light Data for Mapping Global Fossil Fuel Combustion CO2 Emissions: A Comparison with DMSP-OLS Nighttime Light Data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinpei Ou

Full Text Available Recently, the stable light products and radiance calibrated products from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's (DMSP Operational Linescan System (OLS have been useful for mapping global fossil fuel carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions at fine spatial resolution. However, few studies on this subject were conducted with the new-generation nighttime light data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS sensor on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP Satellite, which has a higher spatial resolution and a wider radiometric detection range than the traditional DMSP-OLS nighttime light data. Therefore, this study performed the first evaluation of the potential of NPP-VIIRS data in estimating the spatial distributions of global CO2 emissions (excluding power plant emissions. Through a disaggregating model, three global emission maps were then derived from population counts and three different types of nighttime lights data (NPP-VIIRS, the stable light data and radiance calibrated data of DMSP-OLS for a comparative analysis. The results compared with the reference data of land cover in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou show that the emission areas of map from NPP-VIIRS data have higher spatial consistency of the artificial surfaces and exhibit a more reasonable distribution of CO2 emission than those of other two maps from DMSP-OLS data. Besides, in contrast to two maps from DMSP-OLS data, the emission map from NPP-VIIRS data is closer to the Vulcan inventory and exhibits a better agreement with the actual statistical data of CO2 emissions at the level of sub-administrative units of the United States. This study demonstrates that the NPP-VIIRS data can be a powerful tool for studying the spatial distributions of CO2 emissions, as well as the socioeconomic indicators at multiple scales.

Cognitive-behavioral versus non-directive therapy for preschoolers with severe nighttime fears and sleep-related problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahn, Michal; Ronen, Alon; Apter, Alan; Sadeh, Avi

2017-04-01

To compare the efficacy of a developmentally appropriate cognitive-behavioral therapy protocol for preschoolers with severe nighttime fears and sleep-related problems, with an active control treatment. Ninety children aged four to six years (63% boys) with severe nighttime fears and their parents were randomized to either cognitive-behavioral therapy including parent involved play (CBT-PIP) or to a structurally equivalent non-directive treatment (TEPT; triadic expressive play therapy). Treatment conditions were also equivalent in parent- and child-rated credibility and expectancy, and in therapist-rated compliance. Children and parents were assessed at baseline, during the first intervention week and four weeks after treatment. Measures included actigraphy, daily sleep logs, structured diagnostic interviews and parent questionnaires. Significant reductions were observed in nighttime fears and objectively and subjectively measured sleep disruptions in both intervention groups following treatment. Parent reports indicated more advantageous outcomes for CBT-PIP compared to TEPT, with greater reductions in sleep problems and co-sleeping as well as higher customer satisfaction in the former group. While CBT-PIP showed no significant advantage compared to the active control in reducing fears or in improving objectively measured sleep, it was significantly more beneficial in reducing the adverse behavioral features of nighttime fears. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Daytime and Nighttime Populations Adjacent to Interstate Highways in Metropolitan Areas Using LandScan USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Paul E

2007-01-01

An article of similar title was published in the International Journal of Radioactive Materials Transport in 1999. The study concluded that the daytime and nighttime populations are not substantially different for the metropolitan areas examined. This study revisits the issue, but using the LandScan USA high resolution population distribution data, which includes daytime and night-time population. Segments of Interstate highway beltways, along with the direct route through the city, for Atlanta, St. Louis, and Kansas City are examined with an 800m buffer from either side of the highways. The day/night ratio of population is higher using the LandScan USA data. LandScan USA daytime and night-time data will be incorporated into the TRAGIS routing model in future

Winters fuels report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The outlook for distillate fuel oil this winter is for increased demand and a return to normal inventory patterns, assuming a resumption of normal, cooler weather than last winter. With industrial production expected to grow slightly from last winter's pace, overall consumption is projected to increase 3 percent from last winter, to 3.4 million barrels per day during the heating season (October 1, 1995-March 31, 1996). Much of the supply win come from stock drawdowns and refinery production. Estimates for the winter are from the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) 4th Quarter 1995 Short-Tenn Energy Outlook (STEO) Mid-World Oil Price Case forecast. Inventories in place on September 30, 1995, of 132 million barrels were 9 percent below the unusually high year-earlier level. Inventories of high-sulfur distillate fuel oil, the principal type used for heating, were 13 percent lower than a year earlier. Supply problems are not anticipated because refinery production and the ready availability of imports should be adequate to meet demand. Residential heating off prices are expected to be somewhat higher than last winter's, as the effects of lower crude oil prices are offset by lower distillate inventories. Heating oil is forecast to average $0.92 per gallon, the highest price since the winter of 1992-93. Diesel fuel (including tax) is predicted to be slightly higher than last year at $1.13 per gallon. This article focuses on the winter assessment for distillate fuel oil, how well last year's STEO winter outlook compared to actual events, and expectations for the coming winter. Additional analyses include regional low-sulfur and high-sulfur distillate supply, demand, and prices, and recent trends in distillate fuel oil inventories

Gender differences in nighttime sleep and daytime napping as predictors of mortality in older adults: the Rancho Bernardo study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Kyu-In; Song, Chan-Hee; Ancoli-Israel, Sonia; Barrett-Connor, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

Many studies suggest optimal sleep duration for survival is 7-8h/night. We report the gender-specific independent association of all-cause mortality with nighttime sleep and daytime nap duration in older adults who were followed for up to 19years. Between 1984 and 1987, 2001 community-dwelling, mostly retired, adults (1112 women), age 60-96years, answered questions about health, mood, medications, life-style, daytime napping, and nighttime sleep duration. Vital status was confirmed for 96% through July 2001. At baseline, men reported significantly longer nighttime sleep and daytime napping than women. In both men and women, nighttime sleep Napping ⩾30min was associated with prevalent depressed mood, coronary heart disease, and cancer. Of the group, 61% died over the next 19years, at an average age of 85.6years. Mortality risk was lowest among those sleeping 7-7.9h/night in both men and women. Multiple-adjusted analyses showed that increased mortality was associated with nighttime sleep ⩾9h in women (HR 1.51: 95% CI=1.05-2.18), and with daytime napping ⩾30min in men (HR 1.28: 95% CI, 1.00-1.64). Mechanisms for these differences are unknown. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Napping in College Students and Its Relationship with Nighttime Sleep

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Lichuan; Hutton Johnson, Stacy; Keane, Kathleen; Manasia, Michael; Gregas, Matt

2015-01-01

Objective: To examine the habit of napping and its relationship with nighttime sleep in college students. Participants: Four hundred and forty undergraduate students who responded to an anonymous online survey in April 2010. Methods: Three questions were asked to determine the frequency, length, and timing of napping during the past month. Sleep…

Is shade beneficial for mediterranean shrubs experiencing periods of extreme drought and late-winter frosts?

Science.gov (United States)

Valladares, Fernando; Zaragoza-Castells, Joana; Sánchez-Gómez, David; Matesanz, Silvia; Alonso, Beatriz; Portsmuth, Angelika; Delgado, Antonio; Atkin, Owen K

2008-12-01

Plants are naturally exposed to multiple, frequently interactive stress factors, most of which are becoming more severe due to global change. Established plants have been reported to facilitate the establishment of juvenile plants, but net effects of plant-plant interactions are difficult to assess due to complex interactions among environmental factors. An investigation was carried out in order to determine how two dominant evergreen shrubs (Quercus ilex and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) co-occurring in continental, Mediterranean habitats respond to multiple abiotic stresses and whether the shaded understorey conditions ameliorate the negative effects of drought and winter frosts on the physiology of leaves. Microclimate and ecophysiology of sun and shade plants were studied at a continental plateau in central Spain during 2004-2005, with 2005 being one of the driest and hottest years on record; several late-winter frosts also occurred in 2005. Daytime air temperature and vapour pressure deficit were lower in the shade than in the sun, but soil moisture was also lower in the shade during the spring and summer of 2005, and night-time temperatures were higher in the shade. Water potential, photochemical efficiency, light-saturated photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and leaf 13C composition differed between sun and shade individuals throughout the seasons, but differences were species specific. Shade was beneficial for leaf-level physiology in Q. ilex during winter, detrimental during spring for both species, and of little consequence in summer. The results suggest that beneficial effects of shade can be eclipsed by reduced soil moisture during dry years, which are expected to be more frequent in the most likely climate change scenarios for the Mediterranean region.

Decision Support Tool for Nighttime Construction and Air Quality - User’s Guide

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-01

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Research Project 0-6864 Investigate the Air Quality Benefits of Nighttime Construction in Non-attainment Counties investigated the potential air quality benefits of shifting construction/maintenance acti...

A natural-color mapping for single-band night-time image based on FPGA

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yilun; Qian, Yunsheng

2018-01-01

A natural-color mapping for single-band night-time image method based on FPGA can transmit the color of the reference image to single-band night-time image, which is consistent with human visual habits and can help observers identify the target. This paper introduces the processing of the natural-color mapping algorithm based on FPGA. Firstly, the image can be transformed based on histogram equalization, and the intensity features and standard deviation features of reference image are stored in SRAM. Then, the real-time digital images' intensity features and standard deviation features are calculated by FPGA. At last, FPGA completes the color mapping through matching pixels between images using the features in luminance channel.

Winter to winter recurrence of atmospheric circulation anomalies over East Asia and its impact on winter surface air temperature anomalies.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xia; Yang, Guang

2017-01-01

The persistence of atmospheric circulation anomalies over East Asia shows a winter to winter recurrence (WTWR) phenomenon. Seasonal variations in sea level pressure anomalies and surface wind anomalies display significantly different characteristics between WTWR and non-WTWR years. The WTWR years are characterized by the recurrence of both a strong (weak) anomalous Siberian High and an East Asian winter monsoon over two successive winters without persistence through the intervening summer. However, anomalies during the non-WTWR years have the opposite sign between the current and ensuing winters. The WTWR of circulation anomalies contributes to that of surface air temperature anomalies (SATAs), which is useful information for improving seasonal and interannual climate predictions over East Asia and China. In the positive (negative) WTWR years, SATAs are cooler (warmer) over East Asia in two successive winters, but the signs of the SATAs are opposite in the preceding and subsequent winters during the non-WTWR years.

Homicides with direct and indirect links to the night-time economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomsen, Stephen

2018-06-11

Alcohol use and homicide are a wide community concern with particular interest in understanding and preventing attacks (e.g. 'one punch' male on male attacks) in commercial nightlife settings with high levels of collective drinking. There is insufficient knowledge of the long-term patterns in this violence or the relationship between public drinking and flow on violence in other social settings. Alcohol-related homicides were those in which alcohol consumption was a contributing factor. Those also linked to purchase or consumption in locations where alcohol is sold after dark were classified as night-time economy related. The study comprised a first-hand analysis of files in the archive of the Australian National Homicide Monitoring Program in 2 years with a decade gap (1998/1999-2007/2008), and it classified 73 of all 238 alcohol-related incidents by direct or indirect relation to public nightlife settings. Related homicides in these years were not highly concentrated in developed night-time economies, but more spread outside major nightlife zones. Indirectly related killings were even more dispersed and included more women victims killed in domestic settings. There is a consistent though dispersed relationship between heavy public drinking at night and homicide. Concerns about homicide and night-time drinking leisure with mostly male victims attacked in well-known areas of busy city nightlife, must also consider the broader gendered patterns of 'flow on' nightlife-related incidents, including fatal semi-private and domestic violence that is indirectly but importantly related to drinking and alcohol purchase in public commercial nightlife. © 2018 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Temperature Inversions and Nighttime Convection in the Martian Tropics

Science.gov (United States)

Hinson, D. P.; Spiga, A.; Lewis, S.; Tellmann, S.; Paetzold, M.; Asmar, S. W.; Häusler, B.

2013-12-01

We are using radio occultation measurements from Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Mars Global Surveyor to characterize the diurnal cycle in the lowest scale height above the surface. We focus on northern spring and summer, using observations from 4 Martian years at local times of 4-5 and 15-17 h. We supplement the observations with results obtained from large-eddy simulations and through data assimilation by the UK spectral version of the LMD Mars Global Circulation Model. We previously investigated the depth of the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL) and its variations with surface elevation and surface properties. We are now examining unusual aspects of the temperature structure observed at night. Most important, predawn profiles in the Tharsis region contain an unexpected layer of neutral static stability at pressures of 200-300 Pa with a depth of 4-5 km. The mixed layer is bounded above by a midlevel temperature inversion and below by another strong inversion adjacent to the surface. The sharp temperature minimum at the base of the midlevel inversion suggests the presence of a thin water ice cloud layer, with the further implication that radiative cooling at cloud level can induce convective activity at lower altitudes. Conversely, nighttime profiles in Amazonis show no sign of a midlevel inversion or a detached mixed layer. These regional variations in the nighttime temperature structure appear to arise in part from large-scale variations in topography, which have several notable effects. First, the CBL is much deeper in the Tharsis region than in Amazonis, owing to a roughly 6-km difference in surface elevation. Second, large-eddy simulations show that daytime convection is not only deeper above Tharsis but also considerably more intense than it is in Amazonis. Finally, the daytime surface temperatures are comparable in the two regions, so that Tharsis acts as an elevated heat source throughout the CBL. These topographic effects are expected

Nighttime parenting strategies and sleep-related risks to infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Volpe, Lane E; Ball, Helen L; McKenna, James J

2013-02-01

A large social science and public health literature addresses infant sleep safety, with implications for infant mortality in the context of accidental deaths and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). As part of risk reduction campaigns in the USA, parents are encouraged to place infants supine and to alter infant bedding and elements of the sleep environment, and are discouraged from allowing infants to sleep unsupervised, from bed-sharing either at all or under specific circumstances, or from sofa-sharing. These recommendations are based on findings from large-scale epidemiological studies that generate odds ratios or relative risk statistics for various practices; however, detailed behavioural data on nighttime parenting and infant sleep environments are limited. To address this issue, this paper presents and discusses the implications of four case studies based on overnight observations conducted with first-time mothers and their four-month old infants. These case studies were collected at the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab at the University of Notre Dame USA between September 2002 and June 2004. Each case study provides a detailed description based on video analysis of sleep-related risks observed while mother-infant dyads spent the night in a sleep lab. The case studies provide examples of mothers engaged in the strategic management of nighttime parenting for whom sleep-related risks to infants arose as a result of these strategies. Although risk reduction guidelines focus on eliminating potentially risky infant sleep practices as if the probability of death from each were equal, the majority of instances in which these occur are unlikely to result in infant mortality. Therefore, we hypothesise that mothers assess potential costs and benefits within margins of risk which are not acknowledged by risk-reduction campaigns. Exploring why mothers might choose to manage sleep and nighttime parenting in ways that appear to increase potential risks to infants may

Delineating Spatial Patterns in Human Settlements Using VIIRS Nighttime Light Data: A Watershed-Based Partition Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ting Ma

2018-03-01

Full Text Available As an informative proxy measure for a range of urbanization and socioeconomic variables, satellite-derived nighttime light data have been widely used to investigate diverse anthropogenic activities in human settlements over time and space from the regional to the national scale. With a higher spatial resolution and fewer over-glow and saturation effects, nighttime light data derived from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS instrument with day/night band (DNB, which is on the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership satellite (Suomi-NPP, may further improve our understanding of spatiotemporal dynamics and socioeconomic activities, particularly at the local scale. Capturing and identifying spatial patterns in human settlements from VIIRS images, however, is still challenging due to the lack of spatially explicit texture characteristics, which are usually crucial for general image classification methods. In this study, we propose a watershed-based partition approach by combining a second order exponential decay model for the spatial delineation of human settlements with VIIRS-derived nighttime light images. Our method spatially partitions the human settlement into five different types of sub-regions: high, medium-high, medium, medium-low and low lighting areas with different degrees of human activity. This is primarily based on the local coverage of locally maximum radiance signals (watershed-based and the rank and magnitude of the nocturnal radiance signal across the whole region, as well as remotely sensed building density data and social media-derived human activity information. The comparison results for the relationship between sub-regions with various density nighttime brightness levels and human activities, as well as the densities of different types of interest points (POIs, show that our method can distinctly identify various degrees of human activity based on artificial nighttime radiance and ancillary data. Furthermore

The Value of Darkness : A Moral Framework for Urban Nighttime Lighting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stone, T.W.

2017-01-01

The adverse effects of artificial nighttime lighting, known as light pollution, are emerging as an important environmental issue. To address these effects, current scientific research focuses mainly on identifying what is bad or undesirable about certain types and uses of lighting at night. This

Characterization of winter airborne particles at Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Museum, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Tafeng; Lee, Shuncheng; Cao, Junji; Chow, Judith C.; Watson, John G.; Ho, Kinfai; Ho, Wingkei; Rong, Bo; An, Zhisheng

2009-01-01

Daytime and nighttime total suspended particulate matters (TSP) were collected inside and outside Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Museum, the most popular on-site museum in China, in winter 2008. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of visitors to indoor airborne particles in two display halls with different architectural and ventilating conditions, including Exhibition Hall and Pit No.1. Morphological and elemental analyses of 7-day individual particle samples were performed with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDX). Particle mass concentrations in Exhibition Hall and Pit No.1 were in a range of 54.7-291.7 μg m -3 and 95.3-285.4 μg m -3 with maximum diameters of 17.5 μm and 26.0 μm, respectively. In most sampling days, daytime/nighttime particle mass ratios in Exhibition Hall (1.30-3.12) were higher than those in Pit No.1 (0.96-2.59), indicating more contribution of the tourist flow in Exhibition Hall than in Pit No. 1. The maximum of particle size distributions were in a range of 0.5-1.0 μm, with the highest abundance (43.4%) occurred in Exhibition Hall at night. The majority of airborne particles at the Museum was composed of soil dust, S-containing particles, and low-Z particles like soot aggregate and biogenic particles. Both size distributions and particle types were found to be associated with visitor numbers in Exhibition Hall and with natural ventilation in Pit No.1. No significant influence of visitors on indoor temperature and relative humidity (RH) was found in either display halls. Those baseline data on the nature of the airborne particles inside the Museum can be incorporated into the maintenance criteria, display management, and ventilation strategy by conservators of the museum.

Prevalence and correlates of drink driving within patrons of Australian night-time entertainment precincts.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Ashlee; Coomber, Kerri; Hyder, Shannon; Droste, Nic; Pennay, Amy; Jenkinson, Rebecca; Mayshak, Richelle; Miller, Peter G

2016-10-01

Drink driving is a significant public health concern, and contributes to many road fatalities worldwide. The current study is the first to examine the prevalence and correlates of drink driving behavior in a sample of night-time entertainment precinct attendees in Australia. Interviews were conducted with 4214 night-time entertainment precinct attendees in two metropolitan and three regional cities in Australia. Seven correlates of self-reported drink driving were examined: gender, age, occupation, blood alcohol concentration (BAC), alcohol consumed prior to attending a licensed venue, energy drink consumption, and other drug consumption. Fourteen percent of night-time entertainment precinct attendees reported drink driving in the past three months. Bivariate logistic regression models indicated that males were significantly more likely than females to report drink driving in the past three months. Blue-collar workers and sales/clerical/administrative workers were significantly more likely to report drink driving behavior in the past three months than white-collar workers. The likelihood of reporting drink driving during the three months prior to interview significantly increased as BAC on the current night out increased, and when patrons reported engaging in pre-drinking or other drug use. The multivariate model presented a similar pattern of results, however BAC and pre-drinking on the night of the interview were no longer independent significant predictors. Males, blue collar/sales/clerical/administrative workers, and illicit drug consumers were more likely to report engaging in drink driving behavior than their counterparts. Interventions should focus on addressing the considerable proportion night-time entertainment precinct attendees who report engaging in drink driving behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model for Simulating Winter Ozone Formation in the Uinta Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Matichuk, Rebecca; Tonnesen, Gail; Luecken, Deborah; Gilliam, Rob; Napelenok, Sergey L.; Baker, Kirk R.; Schwede, Donna; Murphy, Ben; Helmig, Detlev; Lyman, Seth N.; Roselle, Shawn

2017-12-01

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models were used to simulate a 10 day high-ozone episode observed during the 2013 Uinta Basin Winter Ozone Study (UBWOS). The baseline model had a large negative bias when compared to ozone (O3) and volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements across the basin. Contrary to other wintertime Uinta Basin studies, predicted nitrogen oxides (NOx) were typically low compared to measurements. Increases to oil and gas VOC emissions resulted in O3 predictions closer to observations, and nighttime O3 improved when reducing the deposition velocity for all chemical species. Vertical structures of these pollutants were similar to observations on multiple days. However, the predicted surface layer VOC mixing ratios were generally found to be underestimated during the day and overestimated at night. While temperature profiles compared well to observations, WRF was found to have a warm temperature bias and too low nighttime mixing heights. Analyses of more realistic snow heat capacity in WRF to account for the warm bias and vertical mixing resulted in improved temperature profiles, although the improved temperature profiles seldom resulted in improved O3 profiles. While additional work is needed to investigate meteorological impacts, results suggest that the uncertainty in the oil and gas emissions contributes more to the underestimation of O3. Further, model adjustments based on a single site may not be suitable across all sites within the basin.

Dry eye signs and symptoms in night-time workers

OpenAIRE

Ali Makateb; Hamed Torabifard

2017-01-01

Purpose: To determine the effect of night-time working on dry eye signs and symptoms. Methods: A total of 50 healthy subjects completed a dry eye questionnaire and underwent clinical examinations including basic Schirmer's test and tear breakup time (TBUT) test on two consecutive days, before and after the night shift (12-hrs night-shift). Results: All dry eye symptoms were aggravated significantly after the night shift (P 

Nighttime dissolution in a temperate coastal ocean ecosystem increases under acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwiatkowski, Lester; Gaylord, Brian; Hill, Tessa; Hosfelt, Jessica; Kroeker, Kristy J; Nebuchina, Yana; Ninokawa, Aaron; Russell, Ann D; Rivest, Emily B; Sesboüé, Marine; Caldeira, Ken

2016-03-18

Anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing ocean acidification, lowering seawater aragonite (CaCO3) saturation state (Ω arag), with potentially substantial impacts on marine ecosystems over the 21(st) Century. Calcifying organisms have exhibited reduced calcification under lower saturation state conditions in aquaria. However, the in situ sensitivity of calcifying ecosystems to future ocean acidification remains unknown. Here we assess the community level sensitivity of calcification to local CO2-induced acidification caused by natural respiration in an unperturbed, biodiverse, temperate intertidal ecosystem. We find that on hourly timescales nighttime community calcification is strongly influenced by Ω arag, with greater net calcium carbonate dissolution under more acidic conditions. Daytime calcification however, is not detectably affected by Ω arag. If the short-term sensitivity of community calcification to Ω arag is representative of the long-term sensitivity to ocean acidification, nighttime dissolution in these intertidal ecosystems could more than double by 2050, with significant ecological and economic consequences.

Nutrient and water addition effects on day- and night-time conductance and transpiration in a C3 desert annual.

Science.gov (United States)

Ludwig, Fulco; Jewitt, Rebecca A; Donovan, Lisa A

2006-06-01

Recent research has shown that many C3 plant species have significant stomatal opening and transpire water at night even in desert habitats. Day-time stomatal regulation is expected to maximize carbon gain and prevent runaway cavitation, but little is known about the effect of soil resource availability on night-time stomatal conductance (g) and transpiration (E). Water (low and high) and nutrients (low and high) were applied factorially during the growing season to naturally occurring seedlings of the annual Helianthus anomalus. Plant height and biomass were greatest in the treatment where both water and nutrients were added, confirming resource limitations in this habitat. Plants from all treatments showed significant night-time g (approximately 0.07 mol m(-2) s(-1)) and E (approximately 1.5 mol m(-2) s(-1)). In July, water and nutrient additions had few effects on day- or night-time gas exchange. In August, however, plants in the nutrient addition treatments had lower day-time photosynthesis, g and E, paralleled by lower night-time g and E. Lower predawn water potentials and higher integrated photosynthetic water-use efficiency suggests that the nutrient addition indirectly induced a mild water stress. Thus, soil resources can affect night-time g and E in a manner parallel to day-time, although additional factors may also be involved.

Non-thermal distribution of O(1D) atoms in the night-time thermosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Yee, Jeng-Hwa

1988-01-01

The 6300 A O(1D-3P) emission has been used for many years to remotely monitor the thermospheric temperature from the Doppler width of its line profile. The O(1D) atoms in the nighttime thermosphere are initially produced by the dissociative recombination of O2(+) ions with kinetic energy much greater than the thermal energy of the ambient neutrals. The validity of the technique to monitor neutral ambient temperature by measuring O(1D) 6300 A emission depends on the degree of thermalization of the O(1D) atoms. The object of this study is to calculate the velocity distribution of the O(1D) atoms and to examine the effect of nonthermal distribution on the nighttime thermospheric neutral temperature determined.

Winter is losing its cool

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, S.

2017-12-01

Winter seasons have significant societal impacts across all sectors ranging from direct human health to ecosystems, transportation, and recreation. This study quantifies the severity of winter and its spatial-temporal variations using a newly developed winter severity index and daily temperature, snowfall and snow depth. The winter severity and the number of extreme winter days are decreasing across the global terrestrial areas during 1901-2015 except the southeast United States and isolated regions in the Southern Hemisphere. These changes are dominated by winter warming, while the changes in daily snowfall and snow depth played a secondary role. The simulations of multiple CMIP5 climate models can well capture the spatial and temporal variations of the observed changes in winter severity and extremes during 1951-2005. The models are consistent in projecting a future milder winter under various scenarios. The winter severity is projected to decrease 60-80% in the middle-latitude Northern Hemisphere under the business-as-usual scenario. The winter arrives later, ends earlier and the length of winter season will be notably shorter. The changes in harsh winter in the polar regions are weak, mainly because the warming leads to more snowfall in the high latitudes.

Equivalent electricity storage capacity of domestic thermostatically controlled loads

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sossan, Fabrizio

2017-01-01

A method to quantify the equivalent storage capacity inherent the operation of thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) is developed. Equivalent storage capacity is defined as the amount of power and electricity consumption which can be deferred or anticipated in time with respect to the baseline consumption (i.e. when no demand side event occurs) without violating temperature limits. The analysis is carried out for 4 common domestic TCLs: an electric space heating system, freezer, fridge, and electric water heater. They are simulated by applying grey-box thermal models identified from measurements. They describe the heat transfer of the considered TCLs as a function of the electric power consumption and environment conditions. To represent typical TCLs operating conditions, Monte Carlo simulations are developed, where models inputs and parameters are sampled from relevant statistical distributions. The analysis provides a way to compare flexible demand against competitive storage technologies. It is intended as a tool for system planners to assess the TCLs potential to support electrical grid operation. In the paper, a comparison of the storage capacity per unit of capital investment cost is performed considering the selected TCLs and two grid-connected battery storage systems (a 720 kVA/500 kWh lithium-ion unit and 15 kVA/120 kWh Vanadium flow redox) is performed. - Highlights: • The equivalent storage capacity of domestic TCLs is quantified • A comparison with battery-based storage technologies is performed • We derive metrics for system planners to plan storage in power system networks • Rule-of-thumb cost indicators for flexible demand and battery-based storage

When thinking impairs sleep : Trait, daytime and nighttime repetitive thinking in insomnia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lancee, J.; Eisma, M.C.; van Zanten, K.B.; Topper, M.

2017-01-01

We performed two studies in individuals with sleep problems to investigate trait, daytime, and nighttime repetitive thinking as risk factors for insomnia. In Study 1, 139 participants completed questionnaires on worry, rumination, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and a sleep diary. Trait rumination

A Simulation Study on the Urban Population of China Based on Nighttime Light Data Acquired from DMSP/OLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qingxu Huang

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The urban population (UP measure is one of the most direct indicators that reflect the urbanization process and the impacts of human activities. The dynamics of UP is of great importance to studying urban economic, social development, and resource utilization. Currently, China lacks long time series UP data with consistent standards and comparability over time. The nighttime light images from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s (DMSP Operational Linescan System (OLS allow the acquisition of continuous and highly comparable long time series UP information. However, existing studies mainly focus on simulating the total population or population density level based on the nighttime light data. Few studies have focused on simulating the UP in China. Based on three regression models (i.e., linear, power function, and exponential, the present study discusses the relationship between DMSP/OLS nighttime light data and the UP and establishes optimal regression models for simulating the UPs of 339 major cities in China from 1990 to 2010. In addition, the present study evaluated the accuracy of UP and non-agricultural population (NAP simulations conducted using the same method. The simulation results show that, at the national level, the power function model is the optimal regression model between DMSP/OLS nighttime light data and UP data for 1990–2010. At the provincial scale, the optimal regression model varies among different provinces. The linear regression model is the optimal regression model for more than 60% of the provinces. In addition, the comparison results show that at the national, provincial, and city levels, the fitting results of the UP based on DMSP/OLS nighttime light data are better than those of the NAP. Therefore, DMSP/OLS nighttime light data can be used to effectively retrieve the UP of a large-scale region. In the context of frequent population flows between urban and rural areas in China and difficulty in obtaining

Remote sensing of PM2.5 during cloudy and nighttime periods using ceilometer backscatter

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Siwei; Joseph, Everette; Min, Qilong; Yin, Bangsheng; Sakai, Ricardo; Payne, Megan K.

2017-06-01

Monitoring PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter d ≤ 2.5 µm) mass concentration has become of more importance recently because of the negative impacts of fine particles on human health. However, monitoring PM2.5 during cloudy and nighttime periods is difficult since nearly all the passive instruments used for aerosol remote sensing are not able to measure aerosol optical depth (AOD) under either cloudy or nighttime conditions. In this study, an empirical model based on the regression between PM2.5 and the near-surface backscatter measured by ceilometers was developed and tested using 6 years of data (2006 to 2011) from the Howard University Beltsville Campus (HUBC) site. The empirical model can explain ˜ 56, ˜ 34 and ˜ 42 % of the variability in the hourly average PM2.5 during daytime clear, daytime cloudy and nighttime periods, respectively. Meteorological conditions and seasons were found to influence the relationship between PM2.5 mass concentration and the surface backscatter. Overall the model can explain ˜ 48 % of the variability in the hourly average PM2.5 at the HUBC site when considering the seasonal variation. The model also was tested using 4 years of data (2012 to 2015) from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, which was geographically and climatologically different from the HUBC site. The results show that the empirical model can explain ˜ 66 and ˜ 82 % of the variability in the daily average PM2.5 at the ARM SGP site and HUBC site, respectively. The findings of this study illustrate the strong need for ceilometer data in air quality monitoring under cloudy and nighttime conditions. Since ceilometers are used broadly over the world, they may provide an important supplemental source of information of aerosols to determine surface PM2.5 concentrations.

Unknotting night-time muscle cramp: a survey of patient experience, help-seeking behaviour and perceived treatment effectiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blyton Fiona

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Night-time calf cramping affects approximately 1 in 3 adults. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of night-time calf cramp; if and where people seek treatment advice; and perceived treatment effectiveness. Methods 80 adults who experienced night-time calf cramp at least once per week were recruited from the Hunter region, NSW, Australia through newspaper, radio and television advertisements. All participants completed a pilot-tested survey about muscle cramp. Quantitative data were analysed with independent-sample t-tests, Chi square tests and Fisher's tests. Qualitative data were transcribed and sorted into categories to identify themes. Results Median recalled age of first night-time calf cramp was 50 years. Most participants recalled being awoken from sleep by cramping, and experiencing cramping of either calf muscle, calf-muscle soreness in the days following cramp and cramping during day-time. Despite current therapies, mean usual pain intensity was 66 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale. Participants described their cramps as being 'unbearable', 'unmanageable' and 'cruel'. One participant stated that 'sometimes I just wish I could cut my legs open' and another reported 'getting about 2 h sleep a night due to cramps'. Most participants had sought advice about their night-time calf cramps from a health professional. Participants identified 49 different interventions used to prevent night-time calf cramp. Of all treatment ratings, 68% described the intervention used to prevent cramp as being 'useless' or of 'a little help'. Of 14 participants who provided additional information regarding their use of quinine, eight had a current prescription of quinine for muscle cramp at the time of the survey. None had been asked by their prescribing doctor to stop using quinine. Conclusion Night time calf cramps typically woke sufferers from sleep, affected either leg and caused ongoing pain. Most participants

Safety, surveillance and policing in the night-time economy: a visitor perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brands, J.

2014-01-01

The current doctoral thesis takes particular interest in the city-centre night-time economy (NTE), against a background of literatures that link economic vitality of city-centres, consumption and safety to greater need for surveillance and policing. Increasingly, nightlife is being problematized in

Sleeping position and reported night-time asthma symptoms and medication.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalolella, Admirabilis Beno

2016-01-01

A 49 years old man, known case of bronchial asthma for 43 years, with history of frequent asthmatic attacks, usually responding to double dose of intravenous Aminophylline and double dose of Hydrocortisone was received at medical emergency care unit at midnight with night-time asthma attack. The attack did not settle with Aminophylline single Intravenous injection. He was then admitted and put in supine sleep position for re-evaluation while his asthma symptoms were monitored while waiting for the medical officer's evaluation of his asthma status. After 3 hours of observation, asthma symptoms were relieved, and patient was discharged home and advised to sleep in supine position throughout every night to prevent asthma symptoms. The patient was followed up through nighttime sleep diary for one month. After one month period of monitoring, the patient had significance reduction in asthma symptoms and reduced night time medication, reduced episodes of night awakening due to asthma symptoms, and improved capability for normal works. This case report describes a novel approach of management and prophylaxis of asthmatic episodes through sleeping position that reduces and control asthma symptoms resulting in reduced drug consumption.

New winter hardy winter bread wheat cultivar (Triticum aestivum L. Voloshkova

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Л. М. Голик

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Creation of Initial raw for breeding of winter wheat by change of the development type under low temperatures influence was described. Seeds of spring wheat were vernalized in aluminum weighting bottle. By using low temperatures at sawing of M2-6 at the begin ind of optimal terms of sawing of winter wheat, new winter-hardy variety of Voloshkova was bred.

33 CFR 100.109 - Winter Harbor Lobster Boat Race, Winter Harbor, ME.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Winter Harbor Lobster Boat Race, Winter Harbor, ME. 100.109 Section 100.109 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY REGATTAS AND MARINE PARADES SAFETY OF LIFE ON NAVIGABLE WATERS § 100.109 Winter Harbor...

Satellite instrument provides nighttime sensing capability

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

2012-12-01

"This is not your father's low-light sensor," Steve Miller, senior research scientist and deputy director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, said at a 5 December news briefing at the AGU Fall Meeting. He and others at the briefing were showing off the nighttime sensing capability of the day/night band of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) of instruments onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Earth-observing research satellite, a joint NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite that was launched on 28 October 2011. Noting that low-light satellite technology has been available for about 40 years, Miller said that the VIIRS day/night band "is truly a paradigm shift in the technology and capability."

A Region Tracking-Based Vehicle Detection Algorithm in Nighttime Traffic Scenes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianqiang Wang

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The preceding vehicles detection technique in nighttime traffic scenes is an important part of the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS. This paper proposes a region tracking-based vehicle detection algorithm via the image processing technique. First, the brightness of the taillights during nighttime is used as the typical feature, and we use the existing global detection algorithm to detect and pair the taillights. When the vehicle is detected, a time series analysis model is introduced to predict vehicle positions and the possible region (PR of the vehicle in the next frame. Then, the vehicle is only detected in the PR. This could reduce the detection time and avoid the false pairing between the bright spots in the PR and the bright spots out of the PR. Additionally, we present a thresholds updating method to make the thresholds adaptive. Finally, experimental studies are provided to demonstrate the application and substantiate the superiority of the proposed algorithm. The results show that the proposed algorithm can simultaneously reduce both the false negative detection rate and the false positive detection rate.

Nighttime Fire/Smoke Detection System Based on a Support Vector Machine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao-Ching Ho

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Currently, video surveillance-based early fire smoke detection is crucial to the prevention of large fires and the protection of life and goods. To overcome the nighttime limitations of video smoke detection methods, a laser light can be projected into the monitored field of view, and the returning projected light section image can be analyzed to detect fire and/or smoke. If smoke appears within the monitoring zone created from the diffusion or scattering of light in the projected path, the camera sensor receives a corresponding signal. The successive processing steps of the proposed real-time algorithm use the spectral, diffusing, and scattering characteristics of the smoke-filled regions in the image sequences to register the position of possible smoke in a video. Characterization of smoke is carried out by a nonlinear classification method using a support vector machine, and this is applied to identify the potential fire/smoke location. Experimental results in a variety of nighttime conditions demonstrate that the proposed fire/smoke detection method can successfully and reliably detect fires by identifying the location of smoke.

Monitoring the trajectory of urban nighttime light hotspots using a Gaussian volume model

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Qiming; Jiang, Ruowei; Wang, Ke; Huang, Lingyan; Ye, Ziran; Gan, Muye; Ji, Biyong

2018-03-01

Urban nighttime light hotspot is an ideal representation of the spatial heterogeneity of human activities within a city, which is sensitive to regional urban expansion pattern. However, most of previous studies related to nighttime light imageries focused on extracting urban extent, leaving the spatial variation of radiance intensity insufficiently explored. With the help of global radiance calibrated DMSP-OLS datasets (NTLgrc), we proposed an innovative framework to explore the spatio-temporal trajectory of polycentric urban nighttime light hotspots. Firstly, NTLgrc was inter-annually calibrated to improve the consistency. Secondly, multi-resolution segmentation and region-growing SVM classification were employed to remove blooming effect and to extract potential clusters. At last, the urban hotspots were identified by a Gaussian volume model, and the resulting parameters were used to quantitatively depict hotspot features (i.e., intensity, morphology and centroid dynamics). The result shows that our framework successfully captures hotspots in polycentric urban area, whose Ra2 are over 0.9. Meanwhile, the spatio-temporal dynamics of the hotspot features intuitively reveal the impact of the regional urban growth pattern and planning strategies on human activities. Compared to previous studies, our framework is more robust and offers an effective way to describe hotspot pattern. Also, it provides a more comprehensive and spatial-explicit understanding regarding the interaction between urbanization pattern and human activities. Our findings are expected to be beneficial to governors in term of sustainable urban planning and decision making.

Multi-instrument observations of midlatitude summer nighttime anomaly from satellite and ground

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Mamoru; Thampi, Smitha V.; Liu, Huixin; Lin, Charles

"Midlatitude Summer Nighttime Anomaly (MSNA)" is a phenomenon that the nighttime elec-tron densities exceed the daytime values on almost all days in summer over latitudes of 33-34N of more. We recently found the MSNA over the northeast Asian region from multi-instrument observations. The observations include the tomography analysis based on the chain of digital beacon receivers at Shionomisaki (33.45N, 135.8E), Shigaraki (34.85N, 136.1E), and Fukui (36.06N,136E), the ionosonde network over Japan (especially data from Wakkanai (45.4N, 141.7E)), ground-based GPS TEC observations using the GEONET. Also from satellites, CHAMP in situ electron density measurements, and Formosat3/COSMIC (F3/C) occultation measurements are useful to confirm the presence of MSNA over this region. In the presen-tation we show detailed features of the MSNA based on these multi-instrument, and discuss importance of the neutral atmosphere as a driver of the phenomenon.

The impact of time of delivery on gestations complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes: daytime versus nighttime.

Science.gov (United States)

Moussa, Hind; Hosseini Nasab, Susan; Fournie, David; Ontiveros, Alejandra; Alkawas, Rim; Chauhan, Suneet; Blackwell, Sean; Sibai, Baha

2018-04-09

Perinatal death, in particular intrapartum stillbirth and short-term neonatal death, as well as neonatal short term and long term morbidity have been associated with the time of day that the birth occurs. Indeed, evening and nighttime deliveries were associated with an increased risk of an adverse perinatal outcome when compared to similar daytime deliveries. Impact of shift change, as well as time of day delivery have been extensively studied in the context of maternal and neonatal complications of cesarean delivery, however, no studies were previously performed on timing of delivery and its effect on the outcome of pregnancies complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes. Our objective was to compare obstetric, neonatal as well as long-term outcomes between women delivered in the daytime versus nighttime, in singleton gestations whose pregnancies were complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes. This was a secondary analysis of a trial of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network "A Randomized Clinical Trial of the Beneficial Effects of Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate for the Prevention of Cerebral Palsy". For this analysis, the time of delivery was divided into the daytime, from 07:01 to 19:00, and the nighttime, from 19:01 to 07:00. Epidemiological, obstetric characteristics as well as neonatal and long-term outcomes were compared between deliveries occurring during the daytime versus the nighttime periods. Inclusion criteria consisted of singleton gestations diagnosed with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). Multifetal gestations and pregnancies with preterm labor without preterm premature rupture of membranes were excluded. A total of 1752 patients met inclusion criteria, 881 delivering during the daytime, while 871 during the nighttime. There were no differences in demographic maternal variables. There were no differences in the number of patients

VLF modal interference distance and nighttime D region VLF reflection height for west-east and east-west propagation paths to Fiji

Science.gov (United States)

Chand, Atishnal Elvin; Kumar, Sushil

2017-08-01

Very low frequency (VLF) signals from navigational transmitters propagate through the Earth-ionosphere waveguide formed by the Earth and the lower conducting ionosphere and show the pronounced minima during solar terminator transition between transmitter and receiver. Pronounced amplitude minima observed on 19.8 kHz (NWC transmitter) and 24.8 kHz (NLK transmitter) signals recorded at Suva (18.149°S, 178.446°E), Fiji, during 2013-2014, have been used to estimate the VLF modal interference distance (DMS) and nighttime D region VLF reflection height (hN). The NWC transmitter signal propagates mostly in west-east direction, and the NLK transmitter follows a transequatorial path propagating significantly in the east-west direction. The values of DMS calculated using midpath terminator speed are 2103 ± 172 km and 2507 ± 373 km for these paths having west-east and east-west components of VLF subionospheric propagation, respectively, which agree with previously published results and within 10% with theoretical values. We have also compared the DMS estimated using a terminator time method with that calculated using terminator speed for a particular day and found both the values to be consistent. The hN values were found to be maximum during winter of Southern Hemisphere for NWC signal and winter of Northern Hemisphere for NLK signal VLF propagation paths to Suva. The hN also shows significant day-to-day and seasonal variabilities with a maximum of about 10 km and 23 km for NWC and NLK signal propagation paths, respectively, which could be due to the atmospheric gravity waves associated with solar terminator transition, as well as meteorological factors such as strong lightnings.

Assessing Light Pollution in China Based on Nighttime Light Imagery

OpenAIRE

Wei Jiang; Guojin He; Tengfei Long; Chen Wang; Yuan Ni; Ruiqi Ma

2017-01-01

Rapid urbanization and economic development inevitably lead to light pollution, which has become a universal environmental issue. In order to reveal the spatiotemporal patterns and evolvement rules of light pollution in China, images from 1992 to 2012 were selected from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) and systematically corrected to ensure consistency. Furthermore, we employed a linear regression trend method and nighttime light index method...

Age differences in workplace intervention effects on employees' nighttime and daytime sleep.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Soomi; Almeida, David M; Berkman, Lisa; Olson, Ryan; Moen, Phyllis; Buxton, Orfeu M

2016-12-01

To examine the effects of a workplace flexibility/support intervention on employees' sleep quantity and quality during nights and days and whether the effects differ by employee age. Cluster-randomized controlled trial. Information technology industry workplaces. US employees ( M age = 46.9 years) at an information technology firm who provided actigraphy at baseline and a 12-month follow-up (N = 396; n = 195 intervention, n = 201 control). The Work, Family, and Health Study intervention aimed to increase workplace flexibility and support. The intervention consisted of facilitated discussions to help employees increase control over when and where they work as well as manager-specific training sessions to increase manager support for employees' work-family issues. Nighttime sleep duration, wake after sleep onset (WASO), and nap duration were measured with wrist actigraphy. Day-to-day variability in these variables (min 2 ) was also estimated. Intervention employees increased nighttime sleep duration at 12 months, by 9 minutes per day, relative to control employees. There were interaction effects between the intervention and age on daytime nap duration and day-to-day variability in WASO. Older employees (56-70 years) in the intervention condition decreased nap duration at 12 months relative to older employees in the control condition. Older employees in the intervention condition also exhibited a greater decrease in day-to-day variability of WASO at 12 months compared with their baseline. The workplace flexibility/support intervention was effective in enhancing employees' sleep health by increasing nighttime sleep duration. Furthermore, the intervention was particularly effective for older employees in decreasing their daytime nap duration and day-to-day variability in WASO.

Tracking Dynamic Changes and Monitoring Socioeconomic Parameters in Algeria Between 1993 and 2012, Using Nighttime Light Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Faouzi, B.; Washaya, P.

2017-09-01

This paper is based on using DMSP-OLS data from satellites nighttime light observations to detect both sources of light emissions in Algeria from human settlement areas and gas flaring from oil-extraction and natural gas production. We used the time series of data from DMSP-OLS images to examine the spatial and temporal characteristics of urban development in 48 Algerian provinces from 1993 to 2012. A systematic nighttime light calibration method was used to improve the consistency and comparability of the DSMPOSL images and then a separation is made between light detected from human settlements and light detected from gas flaring in order to allow us to study human settlements without other light emissions and then assess the suitability of using DMSP data in southern Algeria and its ability to monitor gas flaring. Linear regression methods were developed to identify the dynamic change of nighttime light and estimated its growth directions at pixel level. This work is the first to use nighttime light observations to detect and monitor the growth of human settlements in North Africa. In this study, we made use of DMSP-OLS data as a return ticket to the years of crises and we found the most affected provinces during that period. The DMSP-OLS data proved to be an index of growth in the economy during the period of stability in Algeria expressed by positive dynamic changes in the lighted area in all Algerian provinces. We used NTL data as an alternative to annual growth indexes for each province, which are unavailable, and its help as a monitoring system for socioeconomic parameters to fill the gap of data availability. We also proposed nighttime light remote sensing data as a useful tool to control and reduce CO2 emissions in Algeria's petroleum sector.

Characterization of winter airborne particles at Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Museum, China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Tafeng, E-mail: hutafeng@hotmail.com [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, 710049 (China); SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi' an, 710075 (China); Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Lee, Shuncheng [Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Cao, Junji [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, 710049 (China); SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi' an, 710075 (China); Chow, Judith C.; Watson, John G. [SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi' an, 710075 (China); Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert of Research Institute, Reno (United States); Ho, Kinfai; Ho, Wingkei [Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Rong, Bo [Emperor Qin' s Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, Xi' an (China); An, Zhisheng [SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi' an, 710075 (China)

2009-10-01

Daytime and nighttime total suspended particulate matters (TSP) were collected inside and outside Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Museum, the most popular on-site museum in China, in winter 2008. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of visitors to indoor airborne particles in two display halls with different architectural and ventilating conditions, including Exhibition Hall and Pit No.1. Morphological and elemental analyses of 7-day individual particle samples were performed with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDX). Particle mass concentrations in Exhibition Hall and Pit No.1 were in a range of 54.7-291.7 {mu}g m{sup -3} and 95.3-285.4 {mu}g m{sup -3} with maximum diameters of 17.5 {mu}m and 26.0 {mu}m, respectively. In most sampling days, daytime/nighttime particle mass ratios in Exhibition Hall (1.30-3.12) were higher than those in Pit No.1 (0.96-2.59), indicating more contribution of the tourist flow in Exhibition Hall than in Pit No. 1. The maximum of particle size distributions were in a range of 0.5-1.0 {mu}m, with the highest abundance (43.4%) occurred in Exhibition Hall at night. The majority of airborne particles at the Museum was composed of soil dust, S-containing particles, and low-Z particles like soot aggregate and biogenic particles. Both size distributions and particle types were found to be associated with visitor numbers in Exhibition Hall and with natural ventilation in Pit No.1. No significant influence of visitors on indoor temperature and relative humidity (RH) was found in either display halls. Those baseline data on the nature of the airborne particles inside the Museum can be incorporated into the maintenance criteria, display management, and ventilation strategy by conservators of the museum.

Nighttime Convection, Temperature Inversions, and Diurnal Variations at Low Altitudes in the Martian Tropics

Science.gov (United States)

Hinson, D. P.; Haberle, R. M.; Spiga, A.; Tellmann, S.; Paetzold, M.; Asmar, S. W.; Haeusler, B.

2014-07-01

We are using radio occultation measurements and numerical simulations to explore the atmospheric structure and diurnal variations in the lowest few scale heights of the martian atmosphere, with emphasis on nighttime convective layers.

Winter Weather Emergencies

Science.gov (United States)

Severe winter weather can lead to health and safety challenges. You may have to cope with Cold related health problems, including ... there are no guarantees of safety during winter weather emergencies, you can take actions to protect yourself. ...

Remote sensing of PM2.5 during cloudy and nighttime periods using ceilometer backscatter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Li

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Monitoring PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter d ≤  2.5 µm mass concentration has become of more importance recently because of the negative impacts of fine particles on human health. However, monitoring PM2.5 during cloudy and nighttime periods is difficult since nearly all the passive instruments used for aerosol remote sensing are not able to measure aerosol optical depth (AOD under either cloudy or nighttime conditions. In this study, an empirical model based on the regression between PM2.5 and the near-surface backscatter measured by ceilometers was developed and tested using 6 years of data (2006 to 2011 from the Howard University Beltsville Campus (HUBC site. The empirical model can explain  ∼  56,  ∼  34 and  ∼  42 % of the variability in the hourly average PM2.5 during daytime clear, daytime cloudy and nighttime periods, respectively. Meteorological conditions and seasons were found to influence the relationship between PM2.5 mass concentration and the surface backscatter. Overall the model can explain  ∼  48 % of the variability in the hourly average PM2.5 at the HUBC site when considering the seasonal variation. The model also was tested using 4 years of data (2012 to 2015 from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP site, which was geographically and climatologically different from the HUBC site. The results show that the empirical model can explain  ∼  66 and  ∼  82 % of the variability in the daily average PM2.5 at the ARM SGP site and HUBC site, respectively. The findings of this study illustrate the strong need for ceilometer data in air quality monitoring under cloudy and nighttime conditions. Since ceilometers are used broadly over the world, they may provide an important supplemental source of information of aerosols to determine surface PM2.5 concentrations.

Detecting and Characterizing Nighttime Lighting Using Multispectral and Hyperspectral Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-01

are a wide variety of statistically based methods for analysis of MSI data, but they can also be analyzed to some degree using MSI spectral signatures...the received signal for the detection of clouds at night using moonlight . The implementation of the PMT system allowed for an unintentional ability...been known since the 1970s, the early night-time mapping products were derived from analog data ( film ). Elvidge et al. (1997) presented the first

Increasing sensitivity of methane emission measurements in rice through deployment of ‘closed chambers’ at nighttime

Science.gov (United States)

Wassmann, Reiner; Alberto, Ma. Carmelita; Tirol-Padre, Agnes; Hoang, Nghia Trong; Romasanta, Ryan; Centeno, Caesar Arloo; Sander, Bjoern Ole

2018-01-01

This study comprises field experiments on methane emissions from rice fields conducted with an Eddy-Covariance (EC) system as well as test runs for a modified closed chamber approach based on measurements at nighttime. The EC data set covers 4 cropping seasons with highly resolved emission rates (raw data in 10 Hz frequency have been aggregated to 30-min records). The diel patterns were very pronounced in the two dry seasons with peak emissions at early afternoon and low emissions at nighttime. These diel patterns were observed at all growing stages of the dry seasons. In the two wet seasons, the diel patterns were only visible during the vegetative stages while emission rates during reproductive and ripening stages remained within a fairly steady range and did not show any diel patterns. In totality, however, the data set revealed a very strong linear relationship between nocturnal emissions (12-h periods) and the full 24-h periods resulting in an R2-value of 0.8419 for all data points. In the second experiment, we conducted test runs for chamber measurements at nighttime with much longer deployment times (6 h) as compared to measurements at daylight (typically for 30 min). Conducting chamber measurements at nighttime excluded drastic changes of temperatures and CO2 concentrations. The data also shows that increases in CH4 concentrations remained on linear trajectory over a 6h period at night. While end CH4 concentrations were consistently >3.5 ppm, this long-term enclosure represents a very robust approach to quantify emissions as compared to assessing short-term concentration increases over time near the analytical detection limit. Finally, we have discussed the potential applications of this new approach that would allow emission measurements even when conventional (daytime) measurements will not be suitable. Nighttime chamber measurements offer an alternative to conventional (daytime) measurements if either (i) baseline emissions are at a very low level, (ii

Winter wheat optimizes allocation in response to carbon limitation

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jianbei; Hammerbacher, Almuth; Trumbore, Susan; Hartmann, Henrik

2016-04-01

• Plant photosynthesis is not carbon-saturated at current atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) thus carbon allocation priority is of critical importance in determining plant response to environmental changes, including increasing [CO2]. • We quantified the percentage of daytime net assimilation (A) allocated to whole-plant nighttime respiration (R) and structural growth (SG), nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) and secondary metabolites (SMs) during winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) vegetative growth (over 4 weeks) at glacial, ambient, and elevated [CO2] (170, 390 and 680 ppm). • We found that R/A remained relatively constant (11-14%) across [CO2] treatments, whereas plants allocated less C to growth and more C to export at low [CO2] than elevated [CO2]; low [CO2] grown plants tended to invest overall less C into NSC and SMs than to SG due to reduced NSC availability; while leaf SMs/NSC was greater at 170 ppm than at 680 ppm [CO2] this was the opposite for root SMs/NSC; biomass, especially NSC, were preferentially allocated to leaves instead of stems and roots, likely to relieve C limitation induced by low [CO2]. • We conclude that C limitation may force plants to reduce C allocation to long-term survival in order to secure short-term survival. Furthermore, they optimized allocation of the available resource by concentrating biomass and storage to those tissues responsible for assimilation.

Nighttime vision-based car detection and tracking for smart road lighting system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Matsiki, D.; Shrestha, P.; With, de P.H.N.

2011-01-01

The objective of this paper is to detect cars in nighttime videos for controlling the illumination of level of road lights, thereby saving power consumption. We present an e??ective method to detect and track cars based on the presence of head lights or rear lights. We detect the headlights and rear

Improvements to Lunar BRDF-Corrected Nighttime Satellite Imagery: Uses and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Tony A.; Molthan, Andrew L.; Schultz, Lori A.; Roman, Miguel O.; Wanik, David W.

2016-01-01

Observations made by the VIIRS day/night band (DNB) provide daily, nighttime measurements to monitor Earth surface processes.However, these observations are impacted by variations in reflected solar radiation on the moon's surface. As the moon transitions from new to full phase, increasing radiance is reflected to the Earth's surface and contributes additional reflected moonlight from clouds and land surface, in addition to emissions from other light sources observed by the DNB. The introduction of a bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) algorithm serves to remove these lunar variations and normalize observed radiances. Provided by the Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center, a 1 km gridded lunar BRDF-corrected DNB product and VIIRS cloud mask can be used for a multitude of nighttime applications without influence from the moon. Such applications include the detection of power outages following severe weather events using pre-and post-event DNB imagery, as well as the identification of boat features to curtail illegal fishing practices. This presentation will provide context on the importance of the lunar BRDF correction algorithm and explore the aforementioned uses of this improved DNB product for applied science applications.

Improvements to Lunar BRDF-Corrected Nighttime Satellite Imagery: Uses and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, T.; Molthan, A.; Schultz, L. A.; Roman, M. O.; Wanik, D. W.

2016-12-01

Observations made by the VIIRS day/night band (DNB) provide daily, nighttime measurements to monitor Earth surface processes. However, these observations are impacted by variations in reflected solar radiation on the moon's surface. As the moon transitions from new to full phase, increasing radiance is reflected to the Earth's surface and contributes additional reflected moonlight from clouds and land surface, in addition to emissions from other light sources observed by the DNB. The introduction of a bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) algorithm serves to remove these lunar variations and normalize observed radiances. Provided by the Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center, a 1 km gridded lunar BRDF-corrected DNB product and VIIRS cloud mask can be used for a multitude of nighttime applications without influence from the moon. Such applications include the detection of power outages following severe weather events using pre- and post-event DNB imagery, as well as the identification of boat features to curtail illegal fishing practices. This presentation will provide context on the importance of the lunar BRDF correction algorithm and explore the aforementioned uses of this improved DNB product for applied science applications.

Night-time heart rate cut-off point definition by resting office tachycardia in untreated hypertensive patients: data of the Spanish ABPM registry.

Science.gov (United States)

Vinyoles, Ernest; de la Sierra, Alejandro; Roso, Albert; de la Cruz, Juan J; Gorostidi, Manuel; Segura, Julián; Banegas, José R; Martell-Claros, Nieves; Ruilope, Luís M

2014-05-01

Epidemiological studies have shown that an elevated resting heart rate (HR) is a risk factor for both total and cardiovascular mortality. Our aim was to estimate the night-time HR cut-off point that best predicts cardiovascular risk office tachycardia in hypertensive patients. Untreated hypertensive patients without concomitant cardiovascular diseases were included. Office and ambulatory HRs were measured. Cardiovascular risk office tachycardia was defined by office HR at least 85 beats per minute (bpm). Different night-time HR cut-offs were estimated by receiver operating characteristic curve analyses to predict cardiovascular risk office tachycardia. The best cut-off was selected on the basis of its combined sensitivity and specificity. A total of 32 569 hypertensive patients were included: 46.5% women, mean age (SD) 52 (14) years, office blood pressure 146 (16)/89 (11) mmHg, diabetes 10.3%, smoking 19.2%, BMI 29 (6.8) kg/m, office HR 77 (11.2) bpm, and night-time HR 64.9 (9.3) bpm. A total of 7070 (21.7%) patients were found to have cardiovascular risk office tachycardia. The night-time HR value that better predicted cardiovascular risk office tachycardia was more than 66 bpm. In comparison with patients with night HR below this value, those with night-time tachycardia were predominantly women, younger, with higher ambulatory blood pressure, greater BMI, and higher prevalence of diabetes and smoking. All comparisons were statistically significant (P less than 0.001). A mean night-time HR more than 66 bpm is a good predictor of cardiovascular risk office tachycardia in untreated hypertensive patients and could be considered a variable associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.

Wave Characteristics of Temperature Inversion Process of Nighttime Radiation,

Science.gov (United States)

1983-12-09

CHARACTERISTICS OF TEMPERATURE INVERSION PROCESS OF NIGHTTIME RADIATION By: Zhou Mingyu and Zhang ¥i English pages: 8 Source: Kexue Tongbao, 1982, pp. 156...lJournal of Meteorology], 39 (1981), 1:70-81. 3. Drazin, P. G., J. Fluid. Mech., 4 (1958), 214-224. 4. Zhou Mingyu et al., QIXIANG XUEBAO, 38 (1980), 3: 250...258. 5. Emnanuel, C. B., B-L. Meteor., 5(1973), N(1/2)8 19-27. 6. Zhou Mingyu et al., J. Acoust. Soc., A. m., 68 (1980), 1: 303-308. 8 I iI

Suppression of nighttime sap flux with lower stem photosynthesis in Eucalyptus trees.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Jianguo; Zhou, Juan; Sun, Zhenwei; Niu, Junfeng; Zhou, Cuiming; Gu, Daxing; Huang, Yuqing; Zhao, Ping

2016-04-01

It is widely accepted that substantial nighttime sap flux (J s,n) or transpiration (E) occurs in most plants, but the physiological implications are poorly known. It has been hypothesized that J s,n or E serves to enhance nitrogen uptake or deliver oxygen; however, no clear evidence is currently available. In this study, sap flux (J s) in Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla with apparent stem photosynthesis was measured, including control trees which were covered by aluminum foil (approximately 1/3 of tree height) to block stem photosynthesis. We hypothesized that the nighttime water flux would be suppressed in trees with lower stem photosynthesis. The results showed that the green tissue degraded after 3 months, demonstrating a decrease in stem photosynthesis. The daytime J s decreased by 21.47%, while J s,n decreased by 12.03% in covered trees as compared to that of control, and the difference was statistically significant (P photosynthesis in covered trees. Predawn (ψ pd) of covered trees was marginally higher than that of control while lower at predawn stomatal conductance (g s), indicating a suppressed water flux in covered trees. There was no difference in leaf carbon content and δ(13)C between the two groups, while leaf nitrogen content and δ(15)N were significantly higher in covered trees than that of the control (P < 0.05), indicating that J s,n was not used for nitrogen uptake. These results suggest that J s,n may act as an oxygen pathway since green tissue has a higher respiration or oxygen demand than non-green tissue. Thus, this study demonstrated the physiological implications of J s,n and the possible benefits of nighttime water use or E by the tree.

Electrodeposition of nickel onto steel, using a thermostatic cell and movable anode by a variable current.; Electrodeposicion de niquel sobre acero al carbon, empleando una celda termostatizada y un anodo movil, por medio de una corriente pulsada rectangular.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vega G, J D

1994-12-31

In this work, metallic coatings of nickel was made over carbon steel using two different electrolytic solutions: The Watts`s bath and the nickel sulfamate bath, using a pulse variable current. The method use was the traditional method, its means a thermostatic cell and one movable anode, which is a few know technique nowadays, it allow realize depositions away from any laboratory or special workshop, it has the advantage to be a portable dispositive. At last of all the electro depositions the coatings quality was valuable by them physical properties like: adhesion, hardness, wrinkled and thickness. The best results was obtain by the Nickel sulfamate bath and movable anode, less in the thickness, which has higher on the thermostatic cell. The variable current was obtain by a Pulse Generator and a Cathodic galvanometer. (Author).

Constraints of using thermostatic expansion valves to operate air-cooled chillers at lower condensing temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, F.W.; Chan, K.T.; Chu, H.Y.

2006-01-01

Thermostatic expansion valves (TXVs) have long been used in air-cooled chillers to implement head pressure control under which the condensing temperature is kept high at around 50 o C by staging condenser fans as few as possible. This paper considers how TXVs prevent the chillers from operating with an increased COP at lower condensing temperatures when the chiller load or outdoor temperature drops. An analysis on an existing air-cooled reciprocating chiller showed that the range of differential pressures across TXVs restricts the maximum heat rejection airflow required to increase the chiller COP, though the set point of condensing temperature is reduced to 22 o C from a high level of 45 o C. It is possible to use electronic expansion valves to meet the differential pressure requirements for maximum chiller COP. There is a maximum of 28.7% increase in the chiller COP when the heat rejection airflow is able to be maximized in various operating conditions. The results of this paper emphasize criteria for lowering the condensing temperature to enhance the performance of air-cooled chillers

Winter nightime ion temperatures and energetic electrons from 0go 6 plasma measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanatani, S.; Breig, E.L.

1981-01-01

This paper presents and discusses ion temperature and suprathermal electron flux data acquired with the retarding potential analyzer on board the ogo 6 satellite when it was in solar eclipse. Attention is directed to measurements in the 400- to 800-km height interval between midnight and predawn in the northern winter nonpolar ionosphere. Statistical analysis of data recorded during a 1-month time span permits a decoupling of horizontal and altitude effects. A distinct longitudinal variation is observed for ion temperature above 500 km, with a significant relative enhancement over the western North Altantic Altitude distributions of ion temperature are compatible with Millstone Hill profiles within the common region of this enhancement. Large fluxes of energetic electrons are observed and extend to mush lower geomagnetic latitudes in the same longitude sector. Both a direct correlation in magnitude and a strong similarity in spatial extent are demonstrated for these ion temperature and electron flux data. The location of the limiting low-altitude boundary for observation of the electron fluxes is variable, dependent on local time and season as well as longitude. Variations in this boundary are found to be consistent with a calculated conjugate solar zenith angle of 99 0 +- 2 0 describing photoproduction of energetic electrons in the southern hemisphere. The ogo 6 data are considered to be indicative of an energy source originating in the sunlit summer hemisphere and providing heat via transport of photoelectrons to a broad but preferential segment of the winter nighttime mid-latitude ionosphere. Ions at other longitudes are without access to this energy source and cool to near the neutral temperature at heights to above 800 km inthe predawn hours

Green Grape Detection and Picking-Point Calculation in a Night-Time Natural Environment Using a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD Vision Sensor with Artificial Illumination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juntao Xiong

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Night-time fruit-picking technology is important to picking robots. This paper proposes a method of night-time detection and picking-point positioning for green grape-picking robots to solve the difficult problem of green grape detection and picking in night-time conditions with artificial lighting systems. Taking a representative green grape named Centennial Seedless as the research object, daytime and night-time grape images were captured by a custom-designed visual system. Detection was conducted employing the following steps: (1 The RGB (red, green and blue. Color model was determined for night-time green grape detection through analysis of color features of grape images under daytime natural light and night-time artificial lighting. The R component of the RGB color model was rotated and the image resolution was compressed; (2 The improved Chan–Vese (C–V level set model and morphological processing method were used to remove the background of the image, leaving out the grape fruit; (3 Based on the character of grape vertical suspension, combining the principle of the minimum circumscribed rectangle of fruit and the Hough straight line detection method, straight-line fitting for the fruit stem was conducted and the picking point was calculated using the stem with an angle of fitting line and vertical line less than 15°. The visual detection experiment results showed that the accuracy of grape fruit detection was 91.67% and the average running time of the proposed algorithm was 0.46 s. The picking-point calculation experiment results showed that the highest accuracy for the picking-point calculation was 92.5%, while the lowest was 80%. The results demonstrate that the proposed method of night-time green grape detection and picking-point calculation can provide technical support to the grape-picking robots.

Determinants of day-night difference in blood pressure, a comparison with determinants of daytime and night-time blood pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Musameh, M D; Nelson, C P; Gracey, J; Tobin, M; Tomaszewski, M; Samani, N J

2017-01-01

Blunted day-night difference in blood pressure (BP) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor, although there is limited information on determinants of diurnal variation in BP. We investigated determinants of day-night difference in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP and how these compared with determinants of daytime and night-time SBP and DBP. We analysed the association of mean daytime, mean night-time and mean day-night difference (defined as (mean daytime-mean night-time)/mean daytime) in SBP and DBP with clinical, lifestyle and biochemical parameters from 1562 adult individuals (mean age 38.6) from 509 nuclear families recruited in the GRAPHIC Study. We estimated the heritability of the various BP phenotypes. In multivariate analysis, there were significant associations of age, sex, markers of adiposity (body mass index and waist-hip ratio), plasma lipids (total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides), serum uric acid, alcohol intake and current smoking status on daytime or night-time SBP and/or DBP. Of these, only age (P=4.7 × 10 -5 ), total cholesterol (P=0.002), plasma triglycerides (P=0.006) and current smoking (P=3.8 × 10 -9 ) associated with day-night difference in SBP, and age (P=0.001), plasma triglyceride (P=2.2 × 10 -5 ) and current smoking (3.8 × 10 -4 ) associated with day-night difference in DBP. 24-h, daytime and night-time SBP and DBP showed substantial heritability (ranging from 18-43%). In contrast day-night difference in SBP showed a lower heritability (13%) while heritability of day-night difference in DBP was not significant. These data suggest that specific clinical, lifestyle and biochemical factors contribute to inter-individual variation in daytime, night-time and day-night differences in SBP and DBP. Variation in day-night differences in BP is largely non-genetic.

Determinants of day–night difference in blood pressure, a comparison with determinants of daytime and night-time blood pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Musameh, M D; Nelson, C P; Gracey, J; Tobin, M; Tomaszewski, M; Samani, N J

2017-01-01

Blunted day–night difference in blood pressure (BP) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor, although there is limited information on determinants of diurnal variation in BP. We investigated determinants of day–night difference in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP and how these compared with determinants of daytime and night-time SBP and DBP. We analysed the association of mean daytime, mean night-time and mean day–night difference (defined as (mean daytime−mean night-time)/mean daytime) in SBP and DBP with clinical, lifestyle and biochemical parameters from 1562 adult individuals (mean age 38.6) from 509 nuclear families recruited in the GRAPHIC Study. We estimated the heritability of the various BP phenotypes. In multivariate analysis, there were significant associations of age, sex, markers of adiposity (body mass index and waist–hip ratio), plasma lipids (total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides), serum uric acid, alcohol intake and current smoking status on daytime or night-time SBP and/or DBP. Of these, only age (P=4.7 × 10−5), total cholesterol (P=0.002), plasma triglycerides (P=0.006) and current smoking (P=3.8 × 10−9) associated with day–night difference in SBP, and age (P=0.001), plasma triglyceride (P=2.2 × 10−5) and current smoking (3.8 × 10−4) associated with day–night difference in DBP. 24-h, daytime and night-time SBP and DBP showed substantial heritability (ranging from 18–43%). In contrast day–night difference in SBP showed a lower heritability (13%) while heritability of day–night difference in DBP was not significant. These data suggest that specific clinical, lifestyle and biochemical factors contribute to inter-individual variation in daytime, night-time and day–night differences in SBP and DBP. Variation in day–night differences in BP is largely non-genetic. PMID:26984683

Fast and true-to-life application of daytime colours to night-time imagery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hogervorst, M.A.; Toet, A.

2007-01-01

We developed a fast and efficient method to derive and apply a natural colour mapping for night-time imagery from multi-band sensors. The colour mapping is derived from the combination of a multi-band image and a corresponding natural colour reference image. The mapping optimizes the match between

Clinical trial: lansoprazole 15 or 30 mg once daily vs. placebo for treatment of frequent nighttime heartburn in self-treating subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Peura, D A; Riff, D S; Snoddy, A M; Fennerty, M B

2009-09-01

Frequent nighttime heartburn is common. Lansoprazole 15 mg is indicated for treatment of heartburn and other gastro-oesophageal reflux disease-related symptoms. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of lansoprazole in self-treating subjects with frequent nocturnal heartburn. A total of 864 subjects with heartburn on >or=2 days/week over the past month were randomized to double-blind treatment with lansoprazole 15 or 30 mg or placebo each morning. Endpoints were percentage of night times without heartburn (primary), percentage of 24-h days without heartburn and percentage of subjects without heartburn on day 1. Mean percentage of night times without heartburn was significantly greater with lansoprazole 15 mg (61.3%) or lansoprazole 30 mg (61.7%) vs. placebo (47.8%) over 14 days (P heartburn and percentage of subjects without heartburn on day 1 were significantly greater with lansoprazole 15 or 30 mg vs. placebo. Both lansoprazole 15 and 30 mg were highly effective and well tolerated in reducing symptoms in subjects with frequent nighttime heartburn. The benefit of therapy on 24-h heartburn and nighttime heartburn on day 1 of treatment was also evident. Lansoprazole 15 mg is a suitable choice for management of frequent nighttime heartburn.

Experimental analysis of flexibility change with different levels of power reduction by demand response activation on thermostat controlled loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lakshmanan, Venkatachalam; Marinelli, Mattia; Hu, Junjie

2017-01-01

This paper studies the flexibility available with thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) to provide power system services by demand response (DR) activation. Although the DR activation on TCLs can provide power system ancillary services, it is important to know how long such services can...... be provided for when different levels of power reduction are imposed. The flexibility change with different levels of power reduction is tested experimentally with domestic fridges used by real customers with unknown user interaction. The investigation quantifies the flexibility of household fridges...... and the impact of DR activation in terms of deviation in the average temperature. The maximum possible power reduction with the cluster of refrigerators is 67% and the available flexibility with the cluster of refrigerators is 10%. The resulting deviation in the average temperature is 14%....

Poverty assessment using DMSP/OLS night-time light satellite imagery at a provincial scale in China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wen; Cheng, Hui; Zhang, Li

2012-04-01

All countries around the world and many international bodies, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), have to eliminate rural poverty. Estimation of regional poverty level is a key issue for making strategies to eradicate poverty. Most of previous studies on regional poverty evaluations are based on statistics collected typically in administrative units. This paper has discussed the deficiencies of traditional studies, and attempted to research regional poverty evaluation issues using 3-year DMSP/OLS night-time light satellite imagery. In this study, we adopted 17 socio-economic indexes to establish an integrated poverty index (IPI) using principal component analysis (PCA), which was proven to provide a good descriptor of poverty levels in 31 regions at a provincial scale in China. We also explored the relationship between DMSP/OLS night-time average light index and the poverty index using regression analysis in SPSS and a good positive linear correlation was modelled, with R2 equal to 0.854. We then looked at provincial poverty problems in China based on this correlation. The research results indicated that the DMSP/OLS night-time light data can assist analysing provincial poverty evaluation issues.

New Model of the night-time CO2 4.3 µm emissions in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Panka, P.; Kutepov, A. A.; Kalogerakis, K. S.; Janches, D.; Russell, J. M., III; Rezac, L.; Feofilov, A.; Mlynczak, M. G.; Yiğit, E.

2016-12-01

We present a new non-LTE model of the night-time CO2 4.3 µm emissions in the MLT which accounts for various mechanisms of the non-thermal excitation of CO2 molecules. We pay specific attention to the transfer of vibrational energy of OH(v), produced in the chemical reaction H + O3, to the CO2(v3) vibrational mode. Two energy transfer channels are studied: 1) the "direct" mechanism, OH(v)→N2(v)→CO2(v3)→4.3 µm, suggested by Kumer et al, [1978], and 2) the new "indirect" mechanism, OH(v)→O(1D)→N2(v)→CO2(ν3)→4.3 µm, recently suggested by Sharma et al. [2015]. We show that for various seasonal scenarios above 75 km, the "direct" mechanism alone under-predicts the observed radiance between 30-70%, from 60°S-80°N. However, considering both the "direct" and "indirect" mechanism brings differences between simulated and measured nighttime SABER 4.3 µm limb radiances down to ±10% from 75-85 km and ±20% from 85-110km for the same region. These results suggest that the important mechanism of the nighttime 4.3 µm emission generation, which was missing in previous models [Lopez-Puertas and Taylor, 2001, Lopez-Puertas et al, 2004], has finally been found. This is an important step towards developing the algorithm suitable for retrieving CO2 densities in the MLT from nighttime limb radiances obtained by SABER, which has been taking continuous measurements for the past 15 years.

Association of shift-work, daytime napping, and nighttime sleep with cancer incidence and cancer-caused mortality in Dongfeng-tongji cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Yansen; Li, Xiaoliang; Wang, Ke; Chen, Shi; Wang, Suhan; Chen, Zhuowang; Wu, Xiulong; Fu, Wenshan; Wei, Sheng; Yuan, Jing; Yao, Ping; Miao, Xiaoping; Zhang, Xiaomin; He, Meian; Yang, Handong; Wu, Tangchun; Guo, Huan

2016-12-01

Few studies investigated the combined effects of night-shift work, daytime napping, and nighttime sleep on cancer incidence and mortality. A total of 25,377 participants were included in this study. Information on sleep habits, cancer incidences, and mortalities were collected. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate the adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (HRs, 95%CIs). Male subjects experienced ≥20 years of night-shift work, or without daytime napping had an increased risk of cancer, when compared with males who did not have night-shift work or napped for 1-30 min [HR (95%CI) = 1.27 (1.01-1.59) and 2.03 (1.01-4.13), respectively]. Nighttime sleep for ≥10 h was associated with a separate 40% and 59% increased risk of cancer [HR (95%CI) = 1.40 (1.04-1.88)] and cancer-caused mortality [HR (95%CI) = 1.59 (1.01-2.49)] than sleep for 7-8 h/night. Combined effects of three sleep habits were further identified. Male participants with at least two above risk sleep habits had a 43% increased risk of cancer [HR (95%CI) = 1.43 (1.07-2.01)] and a 2.07-fold increased cancer-caused mortality [HR (95%CI) = 2.07 (1.25-3.29)] than those who did not have any above risk sleep habits. However, no significant associations were observed among women. Long night-shift work history, without daytime napping, and long nighttime sleep duration were independently and jointly associated with higher cancer incidence among males. KEY MESSAGES Night-shift work of ≥20 years, without napping, and nighttime sleep of ≥10 h were associated with increased cancer incidence. Nighttime sleep ≥10 h was associated with a 2.07-fold increased cancer-caused mortality among males. Combined effects of night-shift work ≥20 years, without napping, and nighttime sleep ≥10 h on increasing cancer incidence were existed among males.

Differences in night-time and daytime ambulatory blood pressure when diurnal periods are defined by self-report, fixed-times, and actigraphy: Improving the Detection of Hypertension study.

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, John N; Muntner, Paul; Abdalla, Marwah; Diaz, Keith M; Viera, Anthony J; Reynolds, Kristi; Schwartz, Joseph E; Shimbo, Daichi

2016-02-01

To determine whether defining diurnal periods by self-report, fixed-time, or actigraphy produce different estimates of night-time and daytime ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). Over a median of 28 days, 330 participants completed two 24-h ABP and actigraphy monitoring periods with sleep diaries. Fixed night-time and daytime periods were defined as 0000-0600 h and 1000-2000 h, respectively. Using the first ABP period, within-individual differences for mean night-time and daytime ABP and kappa statistics for night-time and daytime hypertension (systolic/diastolic ABP≥120/70 mmHg and ≥135/85 mmHg, respectively) were estimated comparing self-report, fixed-time, or actigraphy for defining diurnal periods. Reproducibility of ABP was also estimated. Within-individual mean differences in night-time systolic ABP were small, suggesting little bias, when comparing the three approaches used to define diurnal periods. The distribution of differences, represented by 95% confidence intervals (CI), in night-time systolic and diastolic ABP and daytime systolic and diastolic ABP was narrowest for self-report versus actigraphy. For example, mean differences (95% CI) in night-time systolic ABP for self-report versus fixed-time was -0.53 (-6.61, +5.56) mmHg, self-report versus actigraphy was 0.91 (-3.61, +5.43) mmHg, and fixed-time versus actigraphy was 1.43 (-5.59, +8.46) mmHg. Agreement for night-time and daytime hypertension was highest for self-report versus actigraphy: kappa statistic (95% CI) = 0.91 (0.86,0.96) and 1.00 (0.98,1.00), respectively. The reproducibility of mean ABP and hypertension categories was similar using each approach. Given the high agreement with actigraphy, these data support using self-report to define diurnal periods on ABP monitoring. Further, the use of fixed-time periods may be a reasonable alternative approach.

Snow precipitation on Mars driven by cloud-induced night-time convection

Science.gov (United States)

Spiga, Aymeric; Hinson, David P.; Madeleine, Jean-Baptiste; Navarro, Thomas; Millour, Ehouarn; Forget, François; Montmessin, Franck

2017-09-01

Although it contains less water vapour than Earth's atmosphere, the Martian atmosphere hosts clouds. These clouds, composed of water-ice particles, influence the global transport of water vapour and the seasonal variations of ice deposits. However, the influence of water-ice clouds on local weather is unclear: it is thought that Martian clouds are devoid of moist convective motions, and snow precipitation occurs only by the slow sedimentation of individual particles. Here we present numerical simulations of the meteorology in Martian cloudy regions that demonstrate that localized convective snowstorms can occur on Mars. We show that such snowstorms--or ice microbursts--can explain deep night-time mixing layers detected from orbit and precipitation signatures detected below water-ice clouds by the Phoenix lander. In our simulations, convective snowstorms occur only during the Martian night, and result from atmospheric instability due to radiative cooling of water-ice cloud particles. This triggers strong convective plumes within and below clouds, with fast snow precipitation resulting from the vigorous descending currents. Night-time convection in Martian water-ice clouds and the associated snow precipitation lead to transport of water both above and below the mixing layers, and thus would affect Mars' water cycle past and present, especially under the high-obliquity conditions associated with a more intense water cycle.

Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer during Night-Time Ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Artmann, Nikolai; Jensen, Rasmus Lund; Manz, H.

2010-01-01

is the heat transfer at the internal room surfaces. Increased convection is expected due to high air flow rates and the possibility of a cold air jet flowing along the ceiling, but the magnitude of these effects is hard to predict. In order to improve the predictability, heat transfer during night......-time ventilation in case of mixing and displacement ventilation has been investigated in a full scale test room. The results show that for low air flow rates displacement ventilation is more efficient than mixing ventilation. For higher air flow rates the air jet flowing along the ceiling has a significant effect...

Daytime space cooling with phase change material ceiling panels discharged using rooftop photovoltaic/thermal panels and night-time ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bourdakis, Eleftherios; Pean, Thibault Quentin; Gennari, Luca

2016-01-01

The possibility of using photovoltaic/thermal panels for producing cold water through the process of night-time radiative cooling was experimentally examined. The cold water was used to discharge phase change material in ceiling panels in a climatic chamber. Both night-time radiative cooling...... the photovoltaic/thermal varied from 56% to 122%. The phase change material ceiling panels were thus, capable of providing an acceptable thermal environment and the photovoltaic/thermal panels were able to provide most of the required electricity and cold water needed for cooling....

The relation between residential property and its surroundings and day- and night-time residential burglary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Montoya, Lorena; Junger, Marianne; Ongena, Yfke

This article examines how residential property and its surroundings influence day- and night-time residential burglary. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles of territoriality, surveillance, access control, target hardening, image maintenance, and activity support underpin

The Relation Between Residential Property and its Surroundings and Day- and Night-Time Residential Burglary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Montoya, L.; Junger, Marianne; Ongena, Yfke

This article examines how residential property and its surroundings influence day- and night-time residential burglary. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles of territoriality, surveillance, access control, target hardening, image maintenance, and activity support underpin

Efficacy of night-time compression for breast cancer related lymphedema (LYNC): protocol for a multi-centre, randomized controlled efficacy trial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNeely, Margaret L.; Campbell, Kristin L.; Webster, Marc; Kuusk, Urve; Tracey, Karen; Mackey, John

2016-01-01

Lymphedema is a prevalent long-term effect of breast cancer treatment that is associated with reduced quality of life. More recent observational data suggest that the addition of night-time compression to day-time use of a compression garment results in better long-term control of arm lymphedema. The primary objectives of the randomized controlled phase of the trial are to determine the efficacy of night-time compression on arm lymphedema volume maintenance and quality of life in breast cancer survivors who have completed intensive reduction treatment for their lymphedema. The study will be a parallel 3-arm, multi-centre randomized fast-track trial. A total of 120 women with breast cancer related lymphedema will be recruited from 3 centres in Canada and randomized to group 1: Day-time compression garment alone or Group 2: Day-time compression garment + night-time compression bandaging or Group 3: Day-time compression garment + use of a night-time compression system garment. The duration of the primary intervention period will be 12 weeks. The follow-up period after the intervention (weeks 13 to 24) will follow a longitudinal observational design. The primary outcome variables: differences from baseline to week 12 in arm volume and quality of life (Lymphoedema Functioning, Disability and Health Questionnaire: Lymph-ICF). Secondary outcomes include bioimpedance analysis, sleep disturbance and self-efficacy. All measurements are standardized and will be performed prior to randomization, and at weeks 6, 12, 18 and 24. The use of night-time compression as a self-management strategy for chronic breast cancer related lymphedema is seen as an innovative approach to improve long-term control over the condition. This trial aims to advance the knowledge on self-management strategies for lymphedema

Winter maintenance performance measure.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

The Winter Performance Index is a method of quantifying winter storm events and the DOTs response to them. : It is a valuable tool for evaluating the States maintenance practices, performing post-storm analysis, training : maintenance personnel...

Estimating winter survival of winter wheat by simulations of plant frost tolerance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bergjord Olsen, A.K.; Persson, T.; Wit, de A.; Nkurunziza, L.; Sindhøj, E.; Eckersten, H.

2018-01-01

Based on soil temperature, snow depth and the grown cultivar's maximum attainable level of frost tolerance (LT50c), the FROSTOL model simulates development of frost tolerance (LT50) and winter damage, thereby enabling risk calculations for winter wheat survival. To explore the accuracy of this

Incorporating Yearly Derived Winter Wheat Maps Into Winter Wheat Yield Forecasting Model

Science.gov (United States)

Skakun, S.; Franch, B.; Roger, J.-C.; Vermote, E.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C.; Santamaría-Artigas, A.

2016-01-01

Wheat is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. Timely and accurate forecast of wheat yield and production at global scale is vital in implementing food security policy. Becker-Reshef et al. (2010) developed a generalized empirical model for forecasting winter wheat production using remote sensing data and official statistics. This model was implemented using static wheat maps. In this paper, we analyze the impact of incorporating yearly wheat masks into the forecasting model. We propose a new approach of producing in season winter wheat maps exploiting satellite data and official statistics on crop area only. Validation on independent data showed that the proposed approach reached 6% to 23% of omission error and 10% to 16% of commission error when mapping winter wheat 2-3 months before harvest. In general, we found a limited impact of using yearly winter wheat masks over a static mask for the study regions.

Winter weather demand considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-04-01

Winter weather has varied effects on travel behavior. Using 418 survey responses from the Northern Virginia : commuting area of Washington, D.C. and binary logit models, this study examines travel related changes under : different types of winter wea...

Enhanced Statistical Estimation of Air Temperature Incorporating Nighttime Light Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunhao Chen

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Near surface air temperature (Ta is one of the most critical variables in climatology, hydrology, epidemiology, and environmental health. In situ measurements are not efficient for characterizing spatially heterogeneous Ta, while remote sensing is a powerful tool to break this limitation. This study proposes a mapping framework for daily mean Ta using an enhanced empirical regression method based on remote sensing data. It differs from previous studies in three aspects. First, nighttime light data is introduced as a predictor (besides land surface temperature, normalized difference vegetation index, impervious surface area, black sky albedo, normalized difference water index, elevation, and duration of daylight considering the urbanization-induced Ta increase over a large area. Second, independent components are extracted using principal component analysis considering the correlations among the above predictors. Third, a composite sinusoidal coefficient regression is developed considering the dynamic Ta-predictor relationship. This method was performed at 333 weather stations in China during 2001–2012. Evaluation shows overall mean error of −0.01 K, root mean square error (RMSE of 2.53 K, correlation coefficient (R2 of 0.96, and average uncertainty of 0.21 K. Model inter-comparison shows that this method outperforms six additional empirical regressions that have not incorporated nighttime light data or considered predictor independence or coefficient dynamics (by 0.18–2.60 K in RMSE and 0.00–0.15 in R2.

The influence of sowing period and seeding norm on autumn vegetation, winter hardiness and yield of winter cereal crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Potapova G. N.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available the winter wheat and triticale in the middle part of the Ural Mountains haven’t been seeded before. The technology of winter crop cultivation should be improved due to the production of new varieties of winter rye. Winter hardiness and yield of winter rye are higher in comparison with winter triticale and especially with winter wheat. The sowing period and the seeding rate influence the amount of yield and winter hardiness. The winter hardiness of winter cereals and the yield of the rye variety Iset sowed on August 25 and the yield of the triticale variety Bashkir short-stalked and wheat Kazanskaya 560 sowed on August 15 were higher. It is important to sow winter grain in local conditions in the second half of August. The sowing this period allows to provide plants with the necessary amount of positive temperatures (450–500 °C. This helps the plants to form 3–4 shoots of tillering and a mass of 10 dry plants reaching 3–5 grams. The winter grain crops in the middle part of the Ural Mountains should be sown with seeding rates of 6 and 7 million of sprouting grains per 1 ha, and the seeds must be cultivated with fungicidal preparation before seeding.

The nuclear winter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velikhow, Y.P.

1986-01-01

Nuclear winter is an example of possible secondary effects, and if we speak of secondary we are thinking of small-scale second-order effects, but a nuclear winter is not a second-order effect. If you calculate the amount of heat produced by a nuclear explosion, it is a very small amount which does not have any chance of changing the Earth's climate, but a nuclear explosion drives or stars some new mechanism - the mechanism of nuclear winter - after 100 megatons of dust are transferred to the upper atmosphere. Another example of such amplification is radioactive fall-out, especially long-life radioactive fall-out after the possible elimination of the nuclear power industry, nuclear storage and distribution of storage waste around the globe. This is a very powerful amplification mechanism

Dim nighttime light impairs cognition and provokes depressive-like responses in a diurnal rodent.

Science.gov (United States)

Fonken, Laura K; Kitsmiller, Emily; Smale, Laura; Nelson, Randy J

2012-08-01

Circadian disruption is a common by-product of modern life. Although jet lag and shift work are well-documented challenges to circadian organization, many more subtle environmental changes cause circadian disruption. For example, frequent fluctuations in the timing of the sleep/wake schedule, as well as exposure to nighttime lighting, likely affect the circadian system. Most studies of these effects have focused on nocturnal rodents, which are very different from diurnal species with respect to their patterns of light exposure and the effects that light can have on their activity. Thus, the authors investigated the effect of nighttime light on behavior and the brain of a diurnal rodent, the Nile grass rat. Following 3 weeks of exposure to standard light/dark (LD; 14:10 light [~150 lux] /dark [0 lux]) or dim light at night (dLAN; 14:10 light [~150 lux] /dim [5 lux]), rats underwent behavioral testing, and hippocampal neurons within CA1, CA3, and the dentate gyrus (DG) were examined. Three behavioral effects of dLAN were observed: (1) decreased preference for a sucrose solution, (2) increased latency to float in a forced swim test, and (3) impaired learning and memory in the Barnes maze. Light at night also reduced dendritic length in DG and basilar CA1 dendrites. Dendritic length in the DG positively correlated with sucrose consumption in the sucrose anhedonia task. Nighttime light exposure did not disrupt the pattern of circadian locomotor activity, and all grass rats maintained a diurnal activity pattern. Together, these data suggest that exposure to dLAN can alter affective responses and impair cognition in a diurnal animal.

a Cross-Sectional Study on Insomnia among Japanese Adult Women in Relation to Night-Time Road Traffic Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Kageyama, T.; Kabuto, M.; Nitta, N.; Kurokawa, Y.; Taira, K.; Suzuki, S.; Takemoto, T.

1997-08-01

In an effort to determine the contribution of night-time road traffic noise to insomnia in the general population, 3600 adult Japanese women living in urban residential areas were surveyed. Living near a road with a heavy traffic volume is one of the risk factors for insomnia. The risk for insomnia in the zones 0-20 m from the main roads increased linearly with the night-time traffic volume. This suggests that road traffic noise raises the sound level in bedrooms in such zones, and consequently the prevalence rate of insomnia among the residents, and that noise-induced insomnia is an important public health problem, at least in highly urbanized areas.

Nighttime road-traffic noise and arterial hypertension in an urban population.

Science.gov (United States)

Belojević, Goran A; Jakovljević, Branko D; Stojanov, Vesna J; Slepcević, Vesna Z; Paunović, Katarina Z

2008-04-01

Commonly used daytime measurements in previous investigations on community noise and arterial hypertension (AH) may be a source of exposure bias, as urban residents spend most of their daytime hours out of the home on workdays. For this reason, we focused on the relation of nighttime noise and AH. A cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 2,503 (995 men and 1,508 women) adult residents of a downtown Belgrade municipality. The inclusion criteria were a period of residence longer than 10 years and a bedroom oriented toward the street. The exclusion criteria were a high level of noise annoyance at work and diseases related to AH. Noise measurements were performed in all 70 streets of the municipality. The streets were grouped into noisy areas (equivalent noise level [Leq]>45 dB(A)) and quiet areas (Leqquiet areas were 23.6% and 17.5%, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for AH was 1.58; the 95% confidence interval (CI) ranged from 1.03-2.42; and the probability value was 0.038, when men living in quiet streets were taken as a reference category. This relation was statistically insignificant for women: adjusted OR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.59-1.38; p: 0.644. This cross-sectional study showed that nighttime urban road-traffic noise might be related to occurrence of AH in men.

Novel approaches to study climate change effects on terrestrial ecosystems: drought and passive nighttime warming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beier, J.C.; Emmett, B.; Gundersen, P.; Tietema, A.; Peñuelas, J.; Estiarte, M.; Gordon, C.; Gorissen, A.; Llorens, L.; Roda, F.; Williams, D.G.

2004-01-01

This article describes new approaches for manipulation of temperature and water input in the field. Nighttime warming was created by reflection of infrared radiation. Automatically operated reflective curtains covered the vegetation at night to reduce heat loss to the atmosphere. This approach

From OLS to VIIRS, an overview of nighttime satellite aerosol retrievals using artificial light sources

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J.; Miller, S. D.; Reid, J. S.; Hyer, E. J.; McHardy, T. M.

2015-12-01

Compared to abundant daytime satellite-based observations of atmospheric aerosol, observations at night are relatively scarce. In particular, conventional satellite passive imaging radiometers, which offer expansive swaths of spatial coverage compared to non-scanning lidar systems, lack sensitivity to most aerosol types via the available thermal infrared bands available at night. In this talk, we make the fundamental case for the importance of nighttime aerosol information in forecast models, and the need to mitigate the existing nocturnal gap. We review early attempts at estimating nighttime aerosol optical properties using the modulation of stable artificial surface lights. Initial algorithm development using DMSP Operational Linescan System (OLS) has graduated to refined techniques based on the Suomi-NPP Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB). We present examples of these retrievals for selected cases and compare the results to available surface-based point-source validation data.

Prevalence of operator fatigue in winter maintenance operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Camden, Matthew C; Medina-Flintsch, Alejandra; Hickman, Jeffrey S; Bryce, James; Flintsch, Gerardo; Hanowski, Richard J

2018-02-02

Similar to commercial motor vehicle drivers, winter maintenance operators are likely to be at an increased risk of becoming fatigued while driving due to long, inconsistent shifts, environmental stressors, and limited opportunities for sleep. Despite this risk, there is little research concerning the prevalence of winter maintenance operator fatigue during winter emergencies. The purpose of this research was to investigate the prevalence, sources, and countermeasures of fatigue in winter maintenance operations. Questionnaires from 1043 winter maintenance operators and 453 managers were received from 29 Clear Road member states. Results confirmed that fatigue was prevalent in winter maintenance operations. Over 70% of the operators and managers believed that fatigue has a moderate to significant impact on winter maintenance operations. Approximately 75% of winter maintenance operators reported to at least sometimes drive while fatigued, and 96% of managers believed their winter maintenance operators drove while fatigued at least some of the time. Furthermore, winter maintenance operators and managers identified fatigue countermeasures and sources of fatigue related to winter maintenance equipment. However, the countermeasures believed to be the most effective at reducing fatigue during winter emergencies (i.e., naps) were underutilized. For example, winter maintenance operators reported to never use naps to eliminate fatigue. These results indicated winter maintenance operations are impacted by operator fatigue. These results support the increased need for research and effective countermeasures targeting winter maintenance operator fatigue. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Columnar Aerosol Properties from Sun-and-star Photometry: Statistical Comparisons and Day-to-night Dynamic

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, Daniel Perez; Lyamani, H.; Olmo, F. J.; Whiteman, D. N.; Alados-Arboledas, L.

2012-01-01

This work presents the first analysis of longterm correlative day-to-night columnar aerosol optical properties. The aim is to better understand columnar aerosol dynamic from ground-based observations, which are poorly studied until now. To this end we have used a combination of sun-and-star photometry measurements acquired in the city of Granada (37.16 N, 3.60 W, 680 ma.s.l.; South-East of Spain) from 2007 to 2010. For the whole study period, mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) around 440 nm (+/-standard deviation) is 0.18 +/- 0.10 and 0.19 +/- 0.11 for daytime and nighttime, respectively, while the mean Angstr¨om exponent (alpha ) is 1.0 +/- 0.4 and 0.9 +/- 0.4 for daytime and nighttime. The ANOVA statistical tests reveal that there are no significant differences between AOD and obtained at daytime and those at nighttime. Additionally, the mean daytime values of AOD and obtained during this study period are coherent with the values obtained in the surrounding AERONET stations. On the other hand, AOD around 440 nm present evident seasonal patterns characterised by large values in summer (mean value of 0.20 +/- 0.10 both at daytime and nighttime) and low values in winter (mean value of 0.15 +/- 0.09 at daytime and 0.17 +/- 0.10 at nighttime). The Angstr¨om exponents also present seasonal patterns, but with low values in summer (mean values of 0.8 +/- 0.4 and 0.9 +/- 0.4 at dayand night-time) and relatively large values in winter (mean values of 1.2 +/- 0.4 and 1.0 +/- 0.3 at daytime and nighttime). These seasonal patterns are explained by the differences in the meteorological conditions and by the differences in the strength of the aerosol sources. To take more insight about the changes in aerosol particles between day and night, the spectral differences of the Angstrom exponent as function of the Angstr¨om exponent are also studied. These analyses reveal increases of the fine mode radius and of the fine mode contribution to AOD during nighttime, being more

Characterization of Nighttime Light Variability Over the Southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Tony A.; Molthan, Andrew L.; Schultz, Lori A.

2016-01-01

City lights provide indications of human activity at night. Nighttime satellite imagery offers daily snapshots of this activity. With calibrated, science-quality imagery, long-term monitoring can also be achieved. The degree to which city lights fluctuate, however, is not well known. For the application of detecting power outages, this degree of variability is crucial for assessing reductions to city lights based on historical trends. Eight southeastern U.S. cities are analyzed to understand the relationship between emission variability and several population centers. A preliminary, example case power outage study is also discussed as a transition into future work.

A comparative study of night-time enhancement of TEC at a low latitude station on storm and quiet nights including the local time, seasonal and solar activity dependence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Unnikrishnan

Full Text Available The main characteristics of night-time enhancements in TEC during magnetic storms are compared with those during quiet nights for different seasons and solar activity conditions at Palehua, a low latitude station during the period 1980–1989. We find that the mean amplitude has both a seasonal and solar activity dependence: in winter, the values are higher for weak storms as compared to those during quiet nights and increase with an increase in solar activity. In summer, the mean amplitude values during weak storms and quiet nights are almost equal. But during equinox, the mean amplitude values for quiet nights are greater than those during weak storms. The mean half-amplitude duration is higher during weak storms as compared to that during quiet nights in summer. However, during winter and equinox, the durations are almost equal for both quiet and weak storm nights. For the mean half-amplitude duration, the quiet night values for all the seasons and equinoctial weak storm values increase with an increase in solar activity. The occurrence frequency (in percent of TEC enhancement during weak storms is greater than during quiet nights for all seasons. The mean amplitude, the mean half-amplitude duration and the occurrence frequency (in percent of TEC enhancement values are higher during major storms as compared to those during quiet nights. The above parameters have their highest values during pre-midnight hours. From the data analysed, this behaviour is true in the case of major storms also.

Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric disturbances; plasma convection Magnetospheric physics (storms and substorms

Sport Transition of JPSS VIIRS Imagery for Night-time Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Fuell, Kevin; LeRoy, Anita; Smith, Matt; Miller, Steve; Kann, Diedre; Bernhardt, David; Reydell, Nezette; Cox, Robert

2014-01-01

The NASA/Short-term Prediction, Research, and Transition (SPoRT) Program and NOAA/Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) work within the NOAA/Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Proving Ground to demonstrate the unique capabilities of the VIIRS instrument. Very similar to MODIS, the VIIRS instrument provides many high-resolution visible and infrared channels in a broad spectrum. In addition, VIIRS is equipped with a low-light sensor that is able to detect light emissions from the land and atmosphere as well as reflected sunlight by the lunar surface. This band is referred to as the Day-Night Band due to the sunlight being used at night to see cloud and topographic features just as one would typically see in day-time visible imagery. NWS forecast offices that collaborate with SPoRT and CIRA have utilized MODIS imagery in operations, but have longed for more frequent passes of polar-orbiting data. The VIIRS instrument enhances SPoRT collaborations with WFOs by providing another day and night-time pass, and at times two additional passes due to its large swath width. This means that multi-spectral, RGB imagery composites are more readily available to prepare users for their use in GOES-R era and high-resolution imagery for use in high-latitudes is more frequently able to supplement standard GOES imagery within the SPoRT Hybrid GEO-LEO product. The transition of VIIRS also introduces the new Day-Night Band capability to forecast operations. An Intensive Evaluation Period (IEP) was conducted in Summer 2013 with a group of "Front Range" NWS offices related to VIIRS night-time imagery. VIIRS single-channel imagery is able to better analyze the specific location of fire hotspots and other land features, as well as provide a more true measurement of various cloud and aerosol properties than geostationary measurements, especially at night. Viewed within the SPoRT Hybrid imagery, the VIIRS data allows forecasters to better interpret the more frequent, but

Convolutional Neural Network-Based Human Detection in Nighttime Images Using Visible Light Camera Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jong Hyun; Hong, Hyung Gil; Park, Kang Ryoung

2017-05-08

Because intelligent surveillance systems have recently undergone rapid growth, research on accurately detecting humans in videos captured at a long distance is growing in importance. The existing research using visible light cameras has mainly focused on methods of human detection for daytime hours when there is outside light, but human detection during nighttime hours when there is no outside light is difficult. Thus, methods that employ additional near-infrared (NIR) illuminators and NIR cameras or thermal cameras have been used. However, in the case of NIR illuminators, there are limitations in terms of the illumination angle and distance. There are also difficulties because the illuminator power must be adaptively adjusted depending on whether the object is close or far away. In the case of thermal cameras, their cost is still high, which makes it difficult to install and use them in a variety of places. Because of this, research has been conducted on nighttime human detection using visible light cameras, but this has focused on objects at a short distance in an indoor environment or the use of video-based methods to capture multiple images and process them, which causes problems related to the increase in the processing time. To resolve these problems, this paper presents a method that uses a single image captured at night on a visible light camera to detect humans in a variety of environments based on a convolutional neural network. Experimental results using a self-constructed Dongguk night-time human detection database (DNHD-DB1) and two open databases (Korea advanced institute of science and technology (KAIST) and computer vision center (CVC) databases), as well as high-accuracy human detection in a variety of environments, show that the method has excellent performance compared to existing methods.

Convolutional Neural Network-Based Human Detection in Nighttime Images Using Visible Light Camera Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jong Hyun Kim

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Because intelligent surveillance systems have recently undergone rapid growth, research on accurately detecting humans in videos captured at a long distance is growing in importance. The existing research using visible light cameras has mainly focused on methods of human detection for daytime hours when there is outside light, but human detection during nighttime hours when there is no outside light is difficult. Thus, methods that employ additional near-infrared (NIR illuminators and NIR cameras or thermal cameras have been used. However, in the case of NIR illuminators, there are limitations in terms of the illumination angle and distance. There are also difficulties because the illuminator power must be adaptively adjusted depending on whether the object is close or far away. In the case of thermal cameras, their cost is still high, which makes it difficult to install and use them in a variety of places. Because of this, research has been conducted on nighttime human detection using visible light cameras, but this has focused on objects at a short distance in an indoor environment or the use of video-based methods to capture multiple images and process them, which causes problems related to the increase in the processing time. To resolve these problems, this paper presents a method that uses a single image captured at night on a visible light camera to detect humans in a variety of environments based on a convolutional neural network. Experimental results using a self-constructed Dongguk night-time human detection database (DNHD-DB1 and two open databases (Korea advanced institute of science and technology (KAIST and computer vision center (CVC databases, as well as high-accuracy human detection in a variety of environments, show that the method has excellent performance compared to existing methods.

High day- and night-time temperatures affect grain growth dynamics in contrasting rice genotypes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shi, Wanju; Yin, Xinyou; Struik, Paul C.; Solis, Celymar; Xie, Fangming; Schmidt, Ralf C.; Huang, Min; Zou, Yingbin; Ye, Changrong; Jagadish, S.V.K.

2017-01-01

Rice grain yield and quality are predicted to be highly vulnerable to global warming. Five genotypes including heat-tolerant and susceptible checks, a heat-tolerant near-isogenic line and two hybrids were exposed to control (31 °C/23 °C, day/night), high night-time temperature (HNT; 31 °C/30 °C),

A Lunchtime Walk in Nature Enhances Restoration of Autonomic Control during Night-Time Sleep: Results from a Preliminary Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gladwell, Valerie F; Kuoppa, Pekka; Tarvainen, Mika P; Rogerson, Mike

2016-03-03

Walking within nature (Green Exercise) has been shown to immediately enhance mental well-being but less is known about the impact on physiology and longer lasting effects. Heart rate variability (HRV) gives an indication of autonomic control of the heart, in particular vagal activity, with reduced HRV identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Night-time HRV allows vagal activity to be assessed whilst minimizing confounding influences of physical and mental activity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a lunchtime walk in nature increases night-time HRV. Participants (n = 13) attended on two occasions to walk a 1.8 km route through a built or a natural environment. Pace was similar between the two walks. HRV was measured during sleep using a RR interval sensor (eMotion sensor) and was assessed at 1-2 h after participants noted that they had fallen asleep. Markers for vagal activity were significantly greater after the walk in nature compared to the built walk. Lunchtime walks in nature-based environments may provide a greater restorative effect as shown by vagal activity than equivalent built walks. Nature walks may improve essential recovery during night-time sleep, potentially enhancing physiological health.

Portable Microplate Analyzer with a Thermostatic Chamber Based on a Smartphone for On-site Rapid Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Zijian; Zhong, Longjie; Pan, Yuxiang; Li, Hongbo; Zou, Quchao; Su, Kaiqi; Wang, Ping

2017-01-01

A microplate method provides an efficient way to use modern detection technology. However, there are some difficulties concerning on-site detection, such as being non-portable and time-consuming. In this work, a novel portable microplate analyzer with a thermostatic chamber based on a smartphone was designed for rapid on-site detection. An analyzer with a wide-angle lens and an optical filter provides a proper environment for the microplate. A smartphone app-iPlate Monitor was used for RGB analyze of image. After a consistency experiment with a microtiter plate reader (MTPR), the normalized calibration curves were y = 0.7276x + 0.0243 (R 2 = 0.9906) and y = 0.3207x + 0.0094 (R 2 = 0.9917) with a BCA protein kit as well as y = 0.182x + 0.0134 (R 2 = 0.994) and y = 0.0674x + 0.0003 (R 2 = 0.9988) with a glucose kit. The times for obtaining the detection requirement were 15 and 10 min for the BCA protein kit and the glucose kit at 37°C; in contrast, it required more than 30 and 20 min at ambient temperature. Meanwhile, it also showed good repeatability for detections.

An Estimate of the Pixel-Level Connection between Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day/Night Band (VIIRS DNB Nighttime Lights and Land Features across China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ting Ma

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Satellite-derived nighttime light images are increasingly used for various studies in relation to demographic, socioeconomic and urbanization dynamics because of the salient relationships between anthropogenic lighting signals at night and statistical variables at multiple scales. Owing to a higher spatial resolution and fewer over-glow and saturation effects, the new generation of nighttime light data derived from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS day/night band (DNB, which is located on board the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP satellite, is expected to facilitate the performance of nocturnal luminosity-based investigations of human activity in a spatially explicit manner. In spite of the importance of the spatial connection between the VIIRS DNB nighttime light radiance (NTL and the land surface type at a fine scale, the crucial role of NTL-based investigations of human settlements is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the pixel-level relationship between the VIIRS DNB-derived NTL, a Landsat-derived land-use/land-cover dataset, and the map of point of interest (POI density over China, especially with respect to the identification of artificial surfaces in urban land. Our estimates suggest that notable differences in the NTL between urban (man-made surfaces and other types of land surfaces likely allow us to spatially identify most of the urban pixels with relatively high radiance values in VIIRS DNB images. Our results also suggest that current nighttime light data have a limited capability for detecting rural residential areas and explaining pixel-level variations in the POI density at a large scale. Moreover, the impact of non-man-made surfaces on the partitioned results appears inevitable because of the spatial heterogeneity of human settlements and the nature of remotely sensed nighttime light data. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve-based analysis, we obtained

46 CFR 45.73 - Winter freeboard.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Winter freeboard. 45.73 Section 45.73 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) LOAD LINES GREAT LAKES LOAD LINES Freeboards § 45.73 Winter freeboard. The minimum winter freeboard (fw) in inches is obtained by the formula: fw=f(s)+T s...

Ionospheric storm effects in the nighttime E region caused by neutralized ring current particles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Bauske

1997-03-01

Full Text Available During magnetic storms an anomalous increase in the ionization density of the nighttime E region is observed at low and middle latitudes. It has been suggested that this effect is caused by the precipitation of neutralized ring current particles. Here a coupled ring current decay-ionosphere model is used to confirm the validity of this explanation.

Leveraging CubeSat Technology to Address Nighttime Imagery Requirements over the Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, J. J.; Mamula, D.; Caulfield, M.; Gallagher, F. W., III; Spencer, D.; Petrescu, E. M.; Ostroy, J.; Pack, D. W.; LaRosa, A.

2017-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has begun planning for the future operational environmental satellite system by conducting the NOAA Satellite Observing System Architecture (NSOSA) study. In support of the NSOSA study, NOAA is exploring how CubeSat technology funded by NASA can be used to demonstrate the ability to measure three-dimensional profiles of global temperature and water vapor. These measurements are critical for the National Weather Service's (NWS) weather prediction mission. NOAA is conducting design studies on Earth Observing Nanosatellites (EON) for microwave (EON-MW) and infrared (EON-IR) soundings, with MIT Lincoln Laboratory and NASA JPL, respectively. The next step is to explore the technology required for a CubeSat mission to address NWS nighttime imagery requirements over the Arctic. The concept is called EON-Day/Night Band (DNB). The DNB is a 0.5-0.9 micron channel currently on the operational Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument, which is part of the Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership and Joint Polar Satellite System satellites. NWS has found DNB very useful during the long periods of darkness that occur during the Alaskan cold season. The DNB enables nighttime imagery products of fog, clouds, and sea ice. EON-DNB will leverage experiments carried out by The Aerospace Corporation's CUbesat MULtispectral Observation System (CUMULOS) sensor and other related work. CUMULOS is a DoD-funded demonstration of COTS camera technology integrated as a secondary mission on the JPL Integrated Solar Array and Reflectarray Antenna mission. CUMULOS is demonstrating a staring visible Si CMOS camera. The EON-DNB project will leverage proven, advanced compact visible lens and focal plane camera technologies to meet NWS user needs for nighttime visible imagery. Expanding this technology to an operational demonstration carries several areas of risk that need to be addressed prior to an operational mission

Reducing the ecological consequences of night-time light pollution: options and developments.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaston, Kevin J; Davies, Thomas W; Bennie, Jonathan; Hopkins, John

2012-12-01

1. Much concern has been expressed about the ecological consequences of night-time light pollution. This concern is most often focused on the encroachment of artificial light into previously unlit areas of the night-time environment, but changes in the spectral composition, duration and spatial pattern of light are also recognized as having ecological effects.2. Here, we examine the potential consequences for organisms of five management options to reduce night-time light pollution. These are to (i) prevent areas from being artificially lit; (ii) limit the duration of lighting; (iii) reduce the 'trespass' of lighting into areas that are not intended to be lit (including the night sky); (iv) change the intensity of lighting; and (v) change the spectral composition of lighting.3. Maintaining and increasing natural unlit areas is likely to be the most effective option for reducing the ecological effects of lighting. However, this will often conflict with other social and economic objectives. Decreasing the duration of lighting will reduce energy costs and carbon emissions, but is unlikely to alleviate many impacts on nocturnal and crepuscular animals, as peak times of demand for lighting frequently coincide with those in the activities of these species. Reducing the trespass of lighting will maintain heterogeneity even in otherwise well-lit areas, providing dark refuges that mobile animals can exploit. Decreasing the intensity of lighting will reduce energy consumption and limit both skyglow and the area impacted by high-intensity direct light. Shifts towards 'whiter' light are likely to increase the potential range of environmental impacts as light is emitted across a broader range of wavelengths.4.Synthesis and applications. The artificial lightscape will change considerably over coming decades with the drive for more cost-effective low-carbon street lighting solutions and growth in the artificially lit area. Developing lighting strategies that minimize adverse

A vision-based driver nighttime assistance and surveillance system based on intelligent image sensing techniques and a heterogamous dual-core embedded system architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yen-Lin; Chiang, Hsin-Han; Chiang, Chuan-Yen; Liu, Chuan-Ming; Yuan, Shyan-Ming; Wang, Jenq-Haur

2012-01-01

This study proposes a vision-based intelligent nighttime driver assistance and surveillance system (VIDASS system) implemented by a set of embedded software components and modules, and integrates these modules to accomplish a component-based system framework on an embedded heterogamous dual-core platform. Therefore, this study develops and implements computer vision and sensing techniques of nighttime vehicle detection, collision warning determination, and traffic event recording. The proposed system processes the road-scene frames in front of the host car captured from CCD sensors mounted on the host vehicle. These vision-based sensing and processing technologies are integrated and implemented on an ARM-DSP heterogamous dual-core embedded platform. Peripheral devices, including image grabbing devices, communication modules, and other in-vehicle control devices, are also integrated to form an in-vehicle-embedded vision-based nighttime driver assistance and surveillance system.

The Chamber for Studying Rice Response to Elevated Nighttime Temperature in Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Song Chen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available An in situ temperature-controlled field chamber was developed for studying a large population of rice plant under different nighttime temperature treatments while maintaining conditions similar to those in the field during daytime. The system consists of a pipe hoop shed-type chamber with manually removable covers manipulated to provide a natural environment at daytime and a relatively stable and accurate temperature at night. Average air temperatures of 22.4 ± 0.3°C at setting of 22°C, 27.6 ± 0.4°C at 27°C, and 23.8 ± 0.7°C ambient conditions were maintained with the system. No significant horizontal and vertical differences in temperature were found and only slight changes in water temperatures were observed between the chambers and ambient conditions at 36 days after transplanting. A slight variation in CO2 concentration was observed at the end of the treatment during the day, but the 10-μmol CO2 mol−1 difference was too small to alter plant response. The present utilitarian system, which only utilizes an air conditioner/heater, is suitable for studying the effect of nighttime temperature on plant physiological responses with minimal perturbation of other environmental factors. At the same time, it will enable in situ screening of many rice genotypes.

Source apportionment of fine (PM1.8) and ultrafine (PM0.1) airborne particulate matter during a severe winter pollution episode.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleeman, Michael J; Riddle, Sarah G; Robert, Michael A; Jakober, Chris A; Fine, Phillip M; Hays, Michael D; Schauer, James J; Hannigan, Michael P

2009-01-15

Size-resolved samples of airborne particulate matter (PM) collected during a severe winter pollution episode at three sites in the San Joaquin Valley of California were extracted with organic solvents and analyzed for detailed organic compounds using GC-MS. Six particle size fractions were characterized with diameter (Dp) < 1.8 microm; the smallest size fraction was 0.056 < Dp < 0.1 microm which accounts for the majority of the mass in the ultrafine (PM0.1) size range. Source profiles for ultrafine particles developed during previous studies were applied to the measurements at each sampling site to calculate source contributions to organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations. Ultrafine EC concentrations ranged from 0.03 microg m(-3) during the daytime to 0.18 microg m(-3) during the nighttime. Gasoline fuel, diesel fuel, and lubricating oil combustion products accounted for the majority of the ultrafine EC concentrations, with relatively minor contributions from biomass combustion and meat cooking. Ultrafine OC concentrations ranged from 0.2 microg m(-3) during the daytime to 0.8 microg m(-3) during the nighttime. Wood combustion was found to be the largest source of ultrafine OC. Meat cooking was also identified as a significant potential source of PM0.1 mass but further study is required to verify the contributions from this source. Gasoline fuel, diesel fuel, and lubricating oil combustion products made minor contributions to PM0.1 OC mass. Total ultrafine particulate matter concentrations were dominated by contributions from wood combustion and meat cooking during the current study. Future inhalation exposure studies may wish to target these sources as potential causes of adverse health effects.

Winter warming from large volcanic eruptions

Science.gov (United States)

Robock, Alan; Mao, Jianping

1992-01-01

An examination of the Northern Hemisphere winter surface temperature patterns after the 12 largest volcanic eruptions from 1883-1992 shows warming over Eurasia and North America and cooling over the Middle East which are significant at the 95-percent level. This pattern is found in the first winter after tropical eruptions, in the first or second winter after midlatitude eruptions, and in the second winter after high latitude eruptions. The effects are independent of the hemisphere of the volcanoes. An enhanced zonal wind driven by heating of the tropical stratosphere by the volcanic aerosols is responsible for the regions of warming, while the cooling is caused by blocking of incoming sunlight.

Potential for passive cooling of buildings by night-time ventilation in present and future climates in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Artmann, Nikolai; Manz, Heinrich; Heiselberg, Per

2006-01-01

Given the general shift in recent decades towards a lower heating and higher cooling demand for buildings in many European countries, passive cooling by night-time ventilation has come to be seen as a promising option, particularly in the moderate or cold climates of Central, Eastern and Northern...... Europe. The basic concept involves cooling the building structure overnight in order to provide a heat sink that is available during the occupancy period. In this study, the potential for the passive cooling of buildings by night-time ventilation is evaluated by analysing climatic data, irrespective...... of any building-specific parameters. An approach for calculating degree-hours based on a variable building temperature - within a standardized range of thermal comfort - is presented and applied to climatic data from 259 stations throughout Europe. The results show a very high potential for night...

Safe protocols for generating power pulses with heterogeneous populations of thermostatically controlled loads

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinitsyn, Nikolai A.; Kundu, Soumya; Backhaus, Scott

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Algorithms to produce useful load response from a heterogeneous group of TCLs. ► Generation of sharp power pulses without initiating any unwanted oscillation. ► Open-loop methods, not requiring any detailed system modeling. ► One-way, utility-to-consumer, communication. ► Potential use in secondary frequency regulation, generation-load balancing, etc. - Abstract: We explore methods to use thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs), such as water heaters and air conditioners, to provide ancillary services by assisting in balancing generation and load. We show that by adding simple imbedded instructions and a small amount of memory to temperature controllers of TCLs, it is possible to design open-loop control algorithms capable of creating short-term pulses of demand response without unwanted power oscillations associated with temporary synchronization of the TCL dynamics. By moving a small amount of intelligence to each of the end point TCL devices, we are able to leverage our knowledge of the time dynamics of TCLs to shape the demand response pulses for different power system applications. A significant benefit of our open-loop method is the reduction from two-way to one-way broadcast communication which also eliminates many basic consumer privacy issues. In this work, we focus on developing the algorithms to generate a set of fundamental pulse shapes that can subsequently be used to create demand response with arbitrary profiles. Demand response control methods, such as the one developed here, open the door to fast, nonperturbative control of large aggregations of TCLs

Modeling the night-time CO2 4.3 μm emissions in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Panka, Peter; Kutepov, Alexander; Feofilov, Artem; Rezac, Ladislav; Janches, Diego

2016-04-01

We present a detailed non-LTE model of the night-time CO2 4.3 μm emissions in the MLT. The model accounts for various mechanisms of the non-thermal excitation of CO2 molecules and both for inter- and intra-molecular vibrational-vibrational (VV) and vibrational-translational (VT) energy exchanges. In this model, we pay a specific attention to the transfer of vibrational energy of OH(ν), produced in the chemical reaction H + O3, to the CO2(ν3) vibrational mode. With the help of this model, we simulated a set of non-LTE 4.3 μm MLT limb emissions for typical atmospheric scenarios and compared the vertical profiles of integrated radiances with the corresponding SABER/TIMED observations. The implications, which follow from this comparison, for selecting non-LTE model parameters (rate coefficients), as well as for the night-time CO2 density retrieval in the MLT are discussed.

Obese children and adolescents have elevated nighttime blood pressure independent of insulin resistance and arterial stiffness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvidt, Kristian N; Olsen, Michael H; Holm, Jens-Christian

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance has been related to elevated blood pressure (BP) in obese children and may adversely affect the vasculature by arterial stiffening. The objective was to investigate whether daytime and nighttime BP were elevated and related to insulin resistance and arterial stiffness...... in obese children and adolescents. METHODS: Ninety-two obese patients aged 10-18 years were compared with 49 healthy control individuals. Insulin resistance was measured as the homeostatic assessment model (HOMA), and arterial stiffness was measured as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). RESULTS......: Mean ± SD daytime systolic BP (SBP) (obese: 125±8.3mm Hg; control: 121±10.1mm Hg; P = 0.03) and nighttime SBP (obese: 108±10.7mm Hg; control: 102±8.2mm Hg; P = 0.0001) were higher in the obese group when compared with the control group. No difference was found in daytime diastolic BP (DBP), whereas...

Experimental Investigation of the Heat Transfer in a Room using Night-Time Coling by Mixing Ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Rasmus Lund; Nørgaard, Jesper; Daniels, Ole

2011-01-01

of full-scale measurements. The efficiency of night-time ventilation depends on the outdoor temperature and the heat transfer between the room air and the building constructions. In a full-scale test room the heat transfer was investigated during 12 hour of discharging by night-time ventilation. Three...... areas and the convective heat transfer coefficient ranged between 5 and 30 W/m2. The ratio of convective to total heat flow from the ceiling depends on the air change rate, ranging from approximately 40% at the low air change rates to approximately 70% at the high air change rate. Even though radiation......For many years focus has been on reducing the energy need for heating in buildings. This has lead to buildings with low energy demands for heating but often at the expense of the need for cooling of the building. In order to design buildings with low or zero energy need energy efficient strategies...

Nighttime Foreground Pedestrian Detection Based on Three-Dimensional Voxel Surface Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Li

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Pedestrian detection is among the most frequently-used preprocessing tasks in many surveillance application fields, from low-level people counting to high-level scene understanding. Even though many approaches perform well in the daytime with sufficient illumination, pedestrian detection at night is still a critical and challenging problem for video surveillance systems. To respond to this need, in this paper, we provide an affordable solution with a near-infrared stereo network camera, as well as a novel three-dimensional foreground pedestrian detection model. Specifically, instead of using an expensive thermal camera, we build a near-infrared stereo vision system with two calibrated network cameras and near-infrared lamps. The core of the system is a novel voxel surface model, which is able to estimate the dynamic changes of three-dimensional geometric information of the surveillance scene and to segment and locate foreground pedestrians in real time. A free update policy for unknown points is designed for model updating, and the extracted shadow of the pedestrian is adopted to remove foreground false alarms. To evaluate the performance of the proposed model, the system is deployed in several nighttime surveillance scenes. Experimental results demonstrate that our method is capable of nighttime pedestrian segmentation and detection in real time under heavy occlusion. In addition, the qualitative and quantitative comparison results show that our work outperforms classical background subtraction approaches and a recent RGB-D method, as well as achieving comparable performance with the state-of-the-art deep learning pedestrian detection method even with a much lower hardware cost.

Nighttime Foreground Pedestrian Detection Based on Three-Dimensional Voxel Surface Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing; Zhang, Fangbing; Wei, Lisong; Yang, Tao; Lu, Zhaoyang

2017-10-16

Pedestrian detection is among the most frequently-used preprocessing tasks in many surveillance application fields, from low-level people counting to high-level scene understanding. Even though many approaches perform well in the daytime with sufficient illumination, pedestrian detection at night is still a critical and challenging problem for video surveillance systems. To respond to this need, in this paper, we provide an affordable solution with a near-infrared stereo network camera, as well as a novel three-dimensional foreground pedestrian detection model. Specifically, instead of using an expensive thermal camera, we build a near-infrared stereo vision system with two calibrated network cameras and near-infrared lamps. The core of the system is a novel voxel surface model, which is able to estimate the dynamic changes of three-dimensional geometric information of the surveillance scene and to segment and locate foreground pedestrians in real time. A free update policy for unknown points is designed for model updating, and the extracted shadow of the pedestrian is adopted to remove foreground false alarms. To evaluate the performance of the proposed model, the system is deployed in several nighttime surveillance scenes. Experimental results demonstrate that our method is capable of nighttime pedestrian segmentation and detection in real time under heavy occlusion. In addition, the qualitative and quantitative comparison results show that our work outperforms classical background subtraction approaches and a recent RGB-D method, as well as achieving comparable performance with the state-of-the-art deep learning pedestrian detection method even with a much lower hardware cost.

Global Night-Time Lights for Observing Human Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Hipskind, Stephen R.; Elvidge, Chris; Gurney, K.; Imhoff, Mark; Bounoua, Lahouari; Sheffner, Edwin; Nemani, Ramakrishna R.; Pettit, Donald R.; Fischer, Marc

2011-01-01

We present a concept for a small satellite mission to make systematic, global observations of night-time lights with spatial resolution suitable for discerning the extent, type and density of human settlements. The observations will also allow better understanding of fine scale fossil fuel CO2 emission distribution. The NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey recommends more focus on direct observations of human influence on the Earth system. The most dramatic and compelling observations of human presence on the Earth are the night light observations taken by the Defence Meteorological System Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS). Beyond delineating the footprint of human presence, night light data, when assembled and evaluated with complementary data sets, can determine the fine scale spatial distribution of global fossil fuel CO2 emissions. Understanding fossil fuel carbon emissions is critical to understanding the entire carbon cycle, and especially the carbon exchange between terrestrial and oceanic systems.

Titan's Emergence from Winter

Science.gov (United States)

Flasar, F. Michael; Achterberg, Richard; Jennings, Donald; Schinder, Paul

2011-01-01

We summarize the changes in Titans thermal structure derived from Cassini CIRS and radio-occultation data during the transition from winter to early spring. Titan's surface, and middle atmosphere show noticeable seasonal change, whereas that in most of the troposphere is mated. This can be understood in terms of the relatively small radiative relaxation time in the middle atmosphere and much larger time scale in the troposphere. The surface exhibits seasonal change because the heat capacity in an annual skin depth is much smaller than that in the lowest scale height of the troposphere. Surface temperatures rise 1 K at raid and high latitudes in the winter northern hemisphere and cool in the southern hemisphere. Changes in in the middle atmosphere are more complicated. Temperatures in the middle stratosphere (approximately 1 mbar) increase by a few kelvin at mid northern latitudes, but those at high latitudes first increase as that region moves out of winter shadow, and then decrease. This probably results from the combined effect of increased solar heating as the suit moves higher in the sky and the decreased adiabatic warming as the sinking motions associated with the cross-equatorial meridional cell weaken. Consistent with this interpretation, the warm temperatures observed higher up at the winter polar stratopause cool significantly.

Availability and night-time use of electronic entertainment and communication devices are associated with short sleep duration and obesity among Canadian children.

Science.gov (United States)

Chahal, H; Fung, C; Kuhle, S; Veugelers, P J

2013-02-01

What is already known about this subject Short sleep duration is a risk factor for obesity. Television (TV) in the bedroom has been shown to be associated with excess body weight in children. Children increasingly use other electronic entertainment and communication devices (EECDs) such as video games, computers, and smart phones. What this study adds Access to and night-time use of EECDs are associated with shortened sleep duration, excess body weight, poorer diet quality, and lower physical activity levels. Our findings reinforce existing recommendations pertaining to TV and Internet access by the American Academy of Pediatrics and suggest to have these expanded to restricted availability of video games and smart phones in children's bedrooms. While the prevalence of childhood obesity and access to and use of electronic entertainment and communication devices (EECDs) have increased in the past decades, no earlier study has examined their interrelationship. To examine whether night-time access to and use of EECDs are associated with sleep duration, body weights, diet quality, and physical activity of Canadian children. A representative sample of 3398 grade 5 children in Alberta, Canada, was surveyed. The survey included questions on children's lifestyles and health behaviours, the Harvard Youth/Adolescent Food Frequency questionnaire, a validated questionnaire on physical activity, and measurements of heights and weights. Random effect models were used to assess the associations of night-time access to and use of EECDs with sleep, diet quality, physical activity, and body weights. Sixty-four percent of parents reported that their child had access to one or more EECDs in their bedroom. Access to and night-time use of EECDs were associated with shortened sleep duration, excess body weight, poorer diet quality, and lower physical activity levels in a statistically significant manner. Limiting the availability of EECDs in children's bedrooms and discouraging their

36 CFR 1002.19 - Winter activities.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... RECREATION § 1002.19 Winter activities. (a) Skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, sledding, innertubing, tobogganing and similar winter sports are prohibited on Presidio Trust roads and in parking areas open to...

Robust design method and thermostatic experiment for multiple piezoelectric vibration absorber system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nambu, Yohsuke; Takashima, Toshihide; Inagaki, Akiya

2015-01-01

This paper examines the effects of connecting multiplexing shunt circuits composed of inductors and resistors to piezoelectric transducers so as to improve the robustness of a piezoelectric vibration absorber (PVA). PVAs are well known to be effective at suppressing the vibration of an adaptive structure; their weakness is low robustness to changes in the dynamic parameters of the system, including the main structure and the absorber. In the application to space structures, the temperature-dependency of capacitance of piezoelectric ceramics is the factor that causes performance reduction. To improve robustness to the temperature-dependency of the capacitance, this paper proposes a multiple-PVA system that is composed of distributed piezoelectric transducers and several shunt circuits. The optimization problems that determine both the frequencies and the damping ratios of the PVAs are multi-objective problems, which are solved using a real-coded genetic algorithm in this paper. A clamped aluminum beam with four groups of piezoelectric ceramics attached was considered in simulations and experiments. Numerical simulations revealed that the PVA systems designed using the proposed method had tolerance to changes in the capacitances. Furthermore, experiments using a thermostatic bath were conducted to reveal the effectiveness and robustness of the PVA systems. The maximum peaks of the transfer functions of the beam with the open circuit, the single-PVA system, the double-PVA system, and the quadruple-PVA system at 20 °C were 14.3 dB, −6.91 dB, −7.47 dB, and −8.51 dB, respectively. The experimental results also showed that the multiple-PVA system is more robust than a single PVA in a variable temperature environment from −10 °C to 50 °C. In conclusion, the use of multiple PVAs results in an effective, robust vibration control method for adaptive structures. (paper)

Cooling of the Building Structure by Night-time Ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Artmann, Nikolai

In modern, extensively glazed office buildings, due to high solar and internal loads and increased comfort expectations, air conditioning is increasingly applied even in moderate and cold climates, like in Central and Northern Europe. Particularly in these cases, night-time ventilation is often......, without considering any building-specific parameters. A method for quantifying the climatic cooling potential (CCP) was developed based on degree-hours of the difference between building and external air temperature. Applying this method to climatic data of 259 stations shows very high night cooling...... potential over the whole of Northern Europe and still significant potential in Central, Eastern and even some regions of Southern Europe. However, due to the inherent stochastic properties of weather patterns, series of warmer nights can occur at some locations, where passive cooling by night...

Examining winter visitor use in Yellowstone National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Mae A. Davenport; Wayne A. Freimund; William T. Borrie; Robert E. Manning; William A. Valliere; Benjamin Wang

2000-01-01

This research was designed to assist the managers of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) in their decision making about winter visitation. The focus of this report is on winter use patterns and winter visitor preferences. It is the author’s hope that this information will benefit both the quality of winter experiences and the stewardship of the park resources. This report...

Winter Dew Harvest in Mexico City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arias-Torres Jorge Ernesto

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study presents experimental and theoretical results of winter dew harvest in México City in terms of condensation rate. A simplified theoretical model based on a steady-state energy balance on a radiator-condenser was fitted, as a function of the ambient temperature, the relative humidity and the wind velocity. A glass sheet and aluminum sheet white-painted were used as samples over the outdoor experiments. A good correlation was obtained between the theoretical and experimental data. The experimental results show that there was condensation in 68% of the winter nights on both condensers. The total winter condensed mass was 2977 g/m2 and 2888 g/m2 on the glass sheet and aluminum sheet white-painted, respectively. Thus, the condensed mass on the glass was only 3% higher than that on the painted surface. The maximum nightly dew harvests occurred during December, which linearly reduced from 50 g/m2 night to 22 g/m2 night as the winter months went by. The condensation occurred from 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., with maximum condensation rates between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. The dew harvest can provide a partial alternative to the winter water shortage in certain locations with similar climates to the winter in Mexico City, as long as pollution is not significant.

Leadership in American Indian Communities: Winter Lessons

Science.gov (United States)

Metoyer, Cheryl A.

2010-01-01

Winter lessons, or stories told in the winter, were one of the ways in which tribal elders instructed and directed young men and women in the proper ways to assume leadership responsibilities. Winter lessons stressed the appropriate relationship between the leader and the community. The intent was to remember the power and purpose of that…

Temporal characteristics of inhalable mercury and arsenic aerosols in the urban atmosphere in southern Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Ying I.; Kuo, Su-Ching; Lin, Yi-Hsuan

Urban aerosol samples for PM 10 and PM 2.5 were collected during summer (August) and winter (December) 2000 in southern Taiwan (Tainan City) to demonstrate the temporal variations of Hg and As in particulate matter (PM). The mean mass concentrations with standard deviations were 80.0±26.8 μg m -3 for PM 10 and 50.6±16.6 μg m -3 for PM 2.5. The average PM 2.5/PM 10 mass ratio for the two periods combined was 63%, indicating that fine particles were a large portion of PM 10. Particulate samples of Hg and As were analyzed within 2 days following sampling and weighing, because of the highly volatile nature of PM Hg and As. The average Hg and As values in PM 10, PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 in summer were significantly lower than those in winter. PM 2.5 Hg constituted 0.34 to 5.8 ng m -3 and PM 2.5-10 Hg 0.05 to 3.1 ng m -3. PM 2.5 As constituted 1.09 to 9.51 ng m -3 and PM 2.5-10 As 0.18 to 4.14 ng m -3. In summer and winter PM 10, the Hg contents showed regular daily variation, with the higher values at daytime and lower values at nighttime, indicating conversion of gaseous Hg to the particulate phase by reaction with atmospheric oxidants under strong solar radiation during the daytime in both summer and winter. PM As behaved similar to Hg in the summer, but in the winter higher concentrations were observed during the nighttime than during the daytime, implying that the stable temperature inversion during winter nighttime caused the accumulation of PM As near the ground. In summer, SE-WSW winds carried As from an As-emitting fossil power plant to the sample area. In a similar vein, NE-WNW winter winds contributed to aerosol Hg, especially in PM 2.5, originating from a waste incinerator located NW of Tainan City.

Average electron content gradients and nighttime electron fluxes in the mid-latitude ionosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebel, A.; Schmidt, G.; Tauriainen, A.

1976-01-01

Observations of the total electron content (TEC) made at Lindau (52 0 N, 10 0 E) by means of low orbiting satellites during the period March 1970 to December 1972 enabled evaluation of the meridional component of the TEC gradient over the station. The behaviour of this component is investigated in connection with the temporal TEC changes using the medians of both quantities. The gradient reflects well known seasonal changes in the ionosphere such as the semiannual anomaly around noon which leads to relatively strong TEC increases towards the south (up to 9 x 10 15 m -2 degree -1 ). For the time shortly after midnight, a second semiannual variation of the gradient shows up with enhanced southward TEC increases. Regular northward ionization increases are found near sunrise in summer. Average TEC increases or markedly reduced decreases during the night were obtained for almost every month during the observation period. This special phenomenon of the nighttime ionosphere is discussed with respect to maximum input fluxes of different kinds, which would be necessary to produce the observed effects. Under normal nighttime conditions, the TEC gradients can lead to changes in the ionization of up to 3 x 10 12 m -2 s -1 due to horizontal plasma transport, when electric fields of reasonable strength (approximately 2 mV/m) are present. (author)

Association of napping and night-time sleep with impaired glucose regulation, insulin resistance and glycated haemoglobin in Chinese middle-aged adults with no diabetes: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Baoying, Huang; Hongjie, Chen; Changsheng, Qiu; Peijian, Wu; Qingfei, Lin; Yinghua, Lin; Huibin, Huang; Jixing, Liang; Liantao, Li; Ling, Chen; Kaka, Tang; Zichun, Chen; Lixiang, Lin; Jieli, Lu; Yufang, Bi; Guang, Ning; Penli, Zhu; Junping, Wen; Gang, Chen

2014-07-23

To assess associations between napping and night-time sleep duration with impaired glucose regulation, insulin resistance (IR) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Cross-sectional study. Fujian Province, China, from June 2011 to January 2012. This study enrolled 9028 participants aged 40-65 years. Data of 7568 participants with no diabetes were included for analysis. Type 2 diabetes was defined applying WHO criteria. Participants' daytime napping and night-time sleep duration data were collected using a standardised self-reported Chinese-language questionnaire about sleep frequency and quality. Anthropometric and laboratory parameters were also measured. IR was defined as a HOMA-IR index value >2.50. ORs and 95% CIs were derived from multivariate logistic regression models. Participants (mean age 51.1±7.0 years) included 3060 males and 4508 females with average night-time sleep of 7.9 h. A higher proportion of males napped than females. After adjustment for potential confounders, ORs for HbA1c >6.0% were 1.28 and 1.26 for those napping ≤1 h and >1 h (p=0.002 and p=0.018), respectively. Statistically significant differences in IR between nappers and non-nappers were only marginal clinically. Odds for HbA1c >6.0% were significantly lower in participants with longer night-time sleep durations than in the reference group (>8 h vs 6-8 h). Odds for IR were significantly lower in participants whose night-time sleep hours deviated from the reference group (8 h vs 6-8 h) Chinese middle-aged adults with no diabetes who napped had higher HbA1c and IR; those with shorter night-time sleep durations had increased HbA1c. Night-time sleep hours that are either 8 tend to be associated with lower odds for IR. Further studies are necessary to determine the underlying clinical significance and mechanisms behind these associations. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Predictive value of night-time heart rate for cardiovascular events in hypertension. The ABP-International study.

Science.gov (United States)

Palatini, Paolo; Reboldi, Gianpaolo; Beilin, Lawrence J; Eguchi, Kazuo; Imai, Yutaka; Kario, Kazuomi; Ohkubo, Takayoshi; Pierdomenico, Sante D; Saladini, Francesca; Schwartz, Joseph E; Wing, Lindon; Verdecchia, Paolo

2013-09-30

Data from prospective cohort studies regarding the association between ambulatory heart rate (HR) and cardiovascular events (CVE) are conflicting. To investigate whether ambulatory HR predicts CVE in hypertension, we performed 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure and HR monitoring in 7600 hypertensive patients aged 52 ± 16 years from Italy, U.S.A., Japan, and Australia, included in the 'ABP-International' registry. All were untreated at baseline examination. Standardized hazard ratios for ambulatory HRs were computed, stratifying for cohort, and adjusting for age, gender, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, serum total cholesterol and serum creatinine. During a median follow-up of 5.0 years there were 639 fatal and nonfatal CVE. In a multivariable Cox model, night-time HR predicted fatal combined with nonfatal CVE more closely than 24h HR (p=0.007 and =0.03, respectively). Daytime HR and the night:day HR ratio were not associated with CVE (p=0.07 and =0.18, respectively). The hazard ratio of the fatal combined with nonfatal CVE for a 10-beats/min increment of the night-time HR was 1.13 (95% CI, 1.04-1.22). This relationship remained significant when subjects taking beta-blockers during the follow-up (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.05-1.25) or subjects who had an event within 5 years after enrollment (hazard ratio, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.05-1.45) were excluded from analysis. At variance with previous data obtained from general populations, ambulatory HR added to the risk stratification for fatal combined with nonfatal CVE in the hypertensive patients from the ABP-International study. Night-time HR was a better predictor of CVE than daytime HR. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Barriers to wheelchair use in the winter.

Science.gov (United States)

Ripat, Jacquie D; Brown, Cara L; Ethans, Karen D

2015-06-01

To test the hypothesis that challenges to community participation posed by winter weather are greater for individuals who use scooters, manual and power wheelchairs (wheeled mobility devices [WMDs]) than for the general ambulatory population, and to determine what WMD users identify as the most salient environmental barriers to community participation during the winter. Cross-sectional survey organized around 5 environmental domains: technological, natural, physical, social/attitudinal, and policy. Urban community in Canada. Convenience sample of WMD users or their proxy (N=99). Not applicable. Not applicable. Forty-two percent identified reduced outing frequency in winter months, associated with increased age (χ(3)=6.4, P=.04), lack of access to family/friends for transportation (χ(2)=8.1, P=.04), and primary type of WMD used in the winter (scooter χ(2)=8.8, P=.003). Most reported tires/casters becoming stuck in the snow (95%) or slipping on the ice (91%), difficulty ascending inclines/ramps (92%), and cold hands while using controls or pushing rims (85%); fewer identified frozen wheelchair/scooter batteries, seat cushions/backrests, or electronics. Sidewalks/roads were reported to be problematic by 99%. Eighty percent reported needing additional help in the winter. Limited community access in winter led to a sense of loneliness/isolation, and fear/anxiety related to safety. Respondents identified policies that limited participation during winter. People who use WMDs decrease their community participation in cold weather because of multiple environmental barriers. Clinicians, researchers, and policymakers can take a multidimensional approach to mitigate these barriers in order to enhance community participation by WMD users in winter. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

AGA predicts winter jump in residential gas price

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

The American Gas Association predicts the average heating bill for residential gas consumers could increase by as much as 18% this winter. AGA Pres. Mike Baly said, Last year's winter was warmer than normal. If the 1992-93 winter is similar, AGA projects that residential natural gas heating bills will go up about 6%. If we see a return to normal winter weather, our projection show the average bill could rise by almost 18%

Impaired endogenous nighttime melatonin secretion relates to intrarenal renin-angiotensin system activation and renal damage in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishigaki, Sayaka; Ohashi, Naro; Isobe, Shinsuke; Tsuji, Naoko; Iwakura, Takamasa; Ono, Masafumi; Sakao, Yukitoshi; Tsuji, Takayuki; Kato, Akihiko; Miyajima, Hiroaki; Yasuda, Hideo

2016-12-01

Activation of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypertension. The circadian rhythm of intrarenal RAS activation leads to renal damage and hypertension, which are associated with diurnal blood pressure (BP) variation. The activation of intrarenal RAS following reactive oxygen species (ROS) activation, sympathetic hyperactivity and nitric oxide (NO) inhibition leads to the development of renal damage. Melatonin is a hormone regulating the circadian rhythm, and has multiple functions such as anti-oxidant and anti-adrenergic effects and enhancement of NO bioavailability. Nocturnal melatonin concentrations are lower in CKD patients. However, it is not known if impaired endogenous melatonin secretion is related to BP, intrarenal RAS, or renal damage in CKD patients. We recruited 53 CKD patients and conducted 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring. urine was collected during the daytime and nighttime. We investigated the relationship among the melatonin metabolite urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (U-aMT6s), BP, renal function, urinary angiotensinogen (U-AGT), and urinary albumin (U-Alb). Patients' U-aMT6s levels were significantly and negatively correlated with clinical parameters such as renal function, systolic BP, U-AGT, and U-Alb, during both day and night. Multiple regression analyses for U-aMT6s levels were performed using age, gender, renal function, and each parameter (BPs, U-AGT or U-Alb), at daytime and nighttime. U-aMT6s levels were significantly associated with U-AGT (β = -0.31, p = 0.044) and U-Alb (β = -0.25, p = 0.025) only at night. Impaired nighttime melatonin secretion may be associated with nighttime intrarenal RAS activation and renal damage in CKD patients.

Root development of fodder radish and winter wheat before winter in relation to uptake of nitrogen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wahlström, Ellen Margrethe; Hansen, Elly Møller; Mandel, A.

2015-01-01

occurred. Quantitative data is missing on N leaching of a catch crop compared to a winter cereal in a conventional cereal-based cropping system. The aim of the study was to investigate whether fodder radish (Raphanus sativus L.) (FR) would be more efficient than winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (WW...

Observational study of surface wind along a sloping surface over mountainous terrain during winter

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Young-Hee; Lee, Gyuwon; Joo, Sangwon; Ahn, Kwang-Deuk

2018-03-01

The 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Pyeongchang, Korea, during February and March. We examined the near surface winds and wind gusts along the sloping surface at two outdoor venues in Pyeongchang during February and March using surface wind data. The outdoor venues are located in a complex, mountainous terrain, and hence the near-surface winds form intricate patterns due to the interplay between large-scale and locally forced winds. During February and March, the dominant wind at the ridge level is westerly; however, a significant wind direction change is observed along the sloping surface at the venues. The winds on the sloping surface are also influenced by thermal forcing, showing increased upslope flow during daytime. When neutral air flows over the hill, the windward and leeward flows show a significantly different behavior. A higher correlation of the wind speed between upper- and lower-level stations is shown in the windward region compared with the leeward region. The strong synoptic wind, small width of the ridge, and steep leeward ridge slope angle provide favorable conditions for flow separation at the leeward foot of the ridge. The gust factor increases with decreasing surface elevation and is larger during daytime than nighttime. A significantly large gust factor is also observed in the leeward region.

The meaning of nuclear winter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geiger, H.J.

1987-01-01

In this paper the author reviews the history and origins of the basic ideas underlying nuclear winter; and findings and predictions of several groups regarding this topic. The author reviews some of the further developments and scientific analyses regarding nuclear winter since the initial announcements of 1983, touching on some of the revisions and controversies and trying to indicate the current status of the field

Winter climate limits subantarctic low forest growth and establishment.

Science.gov (United States)

Harsch, Melanie A; McGlone, Matt S; Wilmshurst, Janet M

2014-01-01

Campbell Island, an isolated island 600 km south of New Zealand mainland (52 °S, 169 °E) is oceanic (Conrad Index of Continentality  =  -5) with small differences between mean summer and winter temperatures. Previous work established the unexpected result that a mean annual climate warming of c. 0.6 °C since the 1940's has not led to upward movement of the forest limit. Here we explore the relative importance of summer and winter climatic conditions on growth and age-class structure of the treeline forming species, Dracophyllum longifolium and Dracophyllum scoparium over the second half of the 20th century. The relationship between climate and growth and establishment were evaluated using standard dendroecological methods and local climate data from a meteorological station on the island. Growth and establishment were correlated against climate variables and further evaluated within hierarchical regression models to take into account the effect of plot level variables. Winter climatic conditions exerted a greater effect on growth and establishment than summer climatic conditions. Establishment is maximized under warm (mean winter temperatures >7 °C), dry winters (total winter precipitation <400 mm). Growth, on the other hand, is adversely affected by wide winter temperature ranges and increased rainfall. The contrasting effect of winter warmth on growth and establishment suggests that winter temperature affects growth and establishment through differing mechanisms. We propose that milder winters enhance survival of seedlings and, therefore, recruitment, but increases metabolic stress on established plants, resulting in lower growth rates. Future winter warming may therefore have complex effects on plant growth and establishment globally.

Sage-grouse habitat selection during winter in Alberta

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Jennifer L.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Boyce, Mark S.

2010-01-01

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are dependent on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) for food and shelter during winter, yet few studies have assessed winter habitat selection, particularly at scales applicable to conservation planning. Small changes to availability of winter habitats have caused drastic reductions in some sage-grouse populations. We modeled winter habitat selection by sage-grouse in Alberta, Canada, by using a resource selection function. Our purpose was to 1) generate a robust winter habitat-selection model for Alberta sage-grouse; 2) spatially depict habitat suitability in a Geographic Information System to identify areas with a high probability of selection and thus, conservation importance; and 3) assess the relative influence of human development, including oil and gas wells, in landscape models of winter habitat selection. Terrain and vegetation characteristics, sagebrush cover, anthropogenic landscape features, and energy development were important in top Akaike's Information Criterionselected models. During winter, sage-grouse selected dense sagebrush cover and homogenous less rugged areas, and avoided energy development and 2-track truck trails. Sage-grouse avoidance of energy development highlights the need for comprehensive management strategies that maintain suitable habitats across all seasons. ?? 2010 The Wildlife Society.

The Unusual Southern Hemisphere Stratosphere Winter of 2002

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Paul A.; Nash, Eric R.

2003-01-01

The southern hemisphere stratospheric winter of 2002 was the most unusual winter yet observed in the southern hemisphere climate record. Temperatures near the edge of the Antarctic polar vortex were considerably warmer than normal over the entire course of the winter. The polar night jet was considerably weaker than normal, and was displaced more poleward than has been observed in previous winters. These record high temperatures and weak jet resulted from a series of wave events that took place over the course of the winter. The first large event occurred on 15 May, and the final warming occurred on 25 October. The propagation of these wave events from the troposphere is diagnosed from time series of Eliassen-Palm flux vectors. The wave events tended to occur irregularly over the course of the winter, and pre-conditioned the polar night jet for the extremely large wave event of 22 September. This large wave event resulted in the first ever observed major stratospheric warming in the southern hemisphere. This wave event split the Antarctic ozone hole. The combined effect of the wave events of the 2002 winter resulted in the smallest ozone hole observed since 1988.

NOAA JPSS Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Nighttime Cloud Optical Microphysical Properties (NCOMP) Environmental Data Record (EDR) from NDE

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains a high quality Environmental Data Record (EDR) of nighttime cloud optical and microphysical properties (NCOMP) from the Visible Infrared...

Chemistry of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Los Angeles basin: Nighttime Removal of Alkenes and Determination of Emission Ratios

Science.gov (United States)

de Gouw, J. A.; Gilman, J. B.; Kim, S.-W.; Lerner, B. M.; Isaacman-VanWertz, G.; McDonald, B. C.; Warneke, C.; Kuster, W. C.; Lefer, B. L.; Griffith, S. M.; Dusanter, S.; Stevens, P. S.; Stutz, J.

2017-11-01

We reanalyze a data set of hydrocarbons in ambient air obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at a surface site in Pasadena in the Los Angeles basin during the NOAA California Nexus study in 2010. The number of hydrocarbon compounds quantified from the chromatograms is expanded through the use of new peak-fitting data analysis software. We also reexamine hydrocarbon removal processes. For alkanes, small alkenes, and aromatics, the removal is determined by the reaction with hydroxyl (OH) radicals. For several highly reactive alkenes, the nighttime removal by ozone and nitrate (NO3) radicals is also significant. We discuss how this nighttime removal affects the determination of emission ratios versus carbon monoxide (CO) and show that previous estimates based on nighttime correlations with CO were too low. We analyze model output from the Weather Research and Forecasting-Chemistry model for hydrocarbons and radicals at the Pasadena location to evaluate our methods for determining emission ratios from the measurements. We find that our methods agree with the modeled emission ratios for the domain centered on Pasadena and that the modeled emission ratios vary by 23% across the wider South Coast basin. We compare the alkene emission ratios with published results from ambient measurements and from tunnel and dynamometer studies of motor vehicle emissions. We find that with few exceptions the composition of alkene emissions determined from the measurements in Pasadena closely resembles that of motor vehicle emissions.

Deer Wintering Areas

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — Deer winter habitat is critical to the long term survival of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Vermont. Being near the northern extreme of the...

Winter climate limits subantarctic low forest growth and establishment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie A Harsch

Full Text Available Campbell Island, an isolated island 600 km south of New Zealand mainland (52 °S, 169 °E is oceanic (Conrad Index of Continentality  =  -5 with small differences between mean summer and winter temperatures. Previous work established the unexpected result that a mean annual climate warming of c. 0.6 °C since the 1940's has not led to upward movement of the forest limit. Here we explore the relative importance of summer and winter climatic conditions on growth and age-class structure of the treeline forming species, Dracophyllum longifolium and Dracophyllum scoparium over the second half of the 20th century. The relationship between climate and growth and establishment were evaluated using standard dendroecological methods and local climate data from a meteorological station on the island. Growth and establishment were correlated against climate variables and further evaluated within hierarchical regression models to take into account the effect of plot level variables. Winter climatic conditions exerted a greater effect on growth and establishment than summer climatic conditions. Establishment is maximized under warm (mean winter temperatures >7 °C, dry winters (total winter precipitation <400 mm. Growth, on the other hand, is adversely affected by wide winter temperature ranges and increased rainfall. The contrasting effect of winter warmth on growth and establishment suggests that winter temperature affects growth and establishment through differing mechanisms. We propose that milder winters enhance survival of seedlings and, therefore, recruitment, but increases metabolic stress on established plants, resulting in lower growth rates. Future winter warming may therefore have complex effects on plant growth and establishment globally.

Winter Climate Limits Subantarctic Low Forest Growth and Establishment

Science.gov (United States)

Harsch, Melanie A.; McGlone, Matt S.; Wilmshurst, Janet M.

2014-01-01

Campbell Island, an isolated island 600 km south of New Zealand mainland (52°S, 169°E) is oceanic (Conrad Index of Continentality  = −5) with small differences between mean summer and winter temperatures. Previous work established the unexpected result that a mean annual climate warming of c. 0.6°C since the 1940's has not led to upward movement of the forest limit. Here we explore the relative importance of summer and winter climatic conditions on growth and age-class structure of the treeline forming species, Dracophyllum longifolium and Dracophyllum scoparium over the second half of the 20th century. The relationship between climate and growth and establishment were evaluated using standard dendroecological methods and local climate data from a meteorological station on the island. Growth and establishment were correlated against climate variables and further evaluated within hierarchical regression models to take into account the effect of plot level variables. Winter climatic conditions exerted a greater effect on growth and establishment than summer climatic conditions. Establishment is maximized under warm (mean winter temperatures >7 °C), dry winters (total winter precipitation <400 mm). Growth, on the other hand, is adversely affected by wide winter temperature ranges and increased rainfall. The contrasting effect of winter warmth on growth and establishment suggests that winter temperature affects growth and establishment through differing mechanisms. We propose that milder winters enhance survival of seedlings and, therefore, recruitment, but increases metabolic stress on established plants, resulting in lower growth rates. Future winter warming may therefore have complex effects on plant growth and establishment globally. PMID:24691026

Chapter 7: Migration and winter ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Deborah M. Finch; Jeffrey F. Kelly; Jean-Luc E. Cartron

2000-01-01

The willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) is a Neotropical migrant that breeds in North America, but winters in Central and northern South America. Little specific information is known about migration and wintering ecology of the southwestern willow flycatcher (E. t. extimus) (Yong and Finch 1997). Our report applies principally...

A novel SNP associated with nighttime pulse pressure in young-onset hypertension patients could be a genetic prognostic factor for cardiovascular events in a general cohort in Taiwan.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsin-Bang Leu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Pulse pressure (PP is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It has been reported that ambulatory blood pressure (BP and nighttime BP parameters are heritable traits. However, the genetic association of pulse pressure and its clinical impact remain undetermined. METHOD AND RESULTS: We conducted a genome-wide association study of PP using ambulatory BP monitoring in young-onset hypertensive patients and found a significant association between nighttime PP and SNP rs897876 (p = 0.009 at chromosome 2p14, which contains the predicted gene FLJ16124. Young-onset hypertension patients carrying TT genotypes at rs897876 had higher nighttime PP than those with CT and CC genotypes (TT, 41.6 ± 7.3 mm Hg; CT, 39.1 ± 6.0 mm Hg; CC, 38.9 ± 6.3 mm Hg; p<0.05,. The T risk allele resulted in a cumulative increase in nighttime PP (β = 1.036 mm Hg, se. = 0.298, p<0.001 per T allele. An independent community-based cohort containing 3325 Taiwanese individuals (mean age, 50.2 years was studied to investigate the genetic impact of rs897876 polymorphisms in determining future cardiovascular events. After an average 7.79 ± 0.28 years of follow-up, the TT genotype of rs897876 was independently associated with an increased risk (in a recessive model of coronary artery disease (HR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.20-4.03; p = 0.01 and total cardiovascular events (HR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.29-3.06; p = 0.002, suggesting that the TT genotype of rs897876C, which is associated with nighttime pulse pressure in young-onset hypertension patients, could be a genetic prognostic factor of cardiovascular events in the general cohort. CONCLUSION: The TT genotype of rs897876C at 2p14 identified in young-onset hypertensive had higher nighttime PP and could be a genetic prognostic factor of cardiovascular events in the general cohort in Taiwan.

Autumn Weather and Winter Increase in Cerebrovascular Disease Mortality

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McDonagh, R

2016-11-01

Mortality from cerebrovascular disease increases in winter but the cause is unclear. Ireland’s oceanic climate means that it infrequently experiences extremes of weather. We examined how weather patterns relate to stroke mortality in Ireland. Seasonal data for Sunshine (% of average), Rainfall (% of average) and Temperature (degrees Celsius above average) were collected for autumn (September-November) and winter (December-February) using official Irish Meteorological Office data. National cerebrovascular mortality data was obtained from Quarterly Vital Statistics. Excess winter deaths were calculated by subtracting (nadir) 3rd quarter mortality data from subsequent 1st quarter data. Data for 12 years were analysed, 2002-2014. Mean winter mortality excess was 24.7%. Winter mortality correlated with temperature (r=.60, p=0.04). Rise in winter mortality correlated strongly with the weather in the preceding autumn (Rainfall: r=-0.19 p=0.53, Temperature: r=-0.60, p=0.03, Sunshine, r=0.58, p=0.04). Winter cerebrovascular disease mortality appears higher following cool, sunny autum

Climatic potential for passive cooling of buildings by night-time ventilation in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Artmann, Nikolai; Manz, H.; Heiselberg, Per

2006-01-01

Due to an overall trend towards less heating and more cooling demands in buildings in many European countries over the last few decades, passive cooling by night-time ventilation is seen as a promising technique, particularly for commercial buildings in the moderate or cold climates of Central......, without considering any building-specific parameters. An approach for calculating degree-hours based on a variable building temperature - within a standardized range of thermal comfort - is presented and applied to climatic data of 259 stations all over Europe. The results show a high potential for night...

Experimental Investigation of the Influence of Obstacle in the Room on Passive Night-Time Cooling using Displacement Ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pomianowski, Michal Zbigniew; Khalegi, Farzad; Domarks, Giedrius

2011-01-01

Night-time ventilation is a promising approach for reducing the energy needed for cooling buildings without reducing thermal comfort. The objective of this paper is to determine how an internal obstacle, such as a table, will influence the heat transfer in the room and the efficiency of night......-time ventilation which uses displacement ventilation. Experimental work was conducted on the basis of the work in a similar previous study, performed by (Artmann 2010), and this is an extension of that work. Experimental results obtained for a case with a table were compared with the results obtained by Artmann et...... al. for a room with displacement ventilation, but without table. The results obtained in the experiment with the table indicated that the mean heat flux was slightly lower but very similar compared to the case without the table. The heat flux at the ceiling was measured to be the same for both setups...

Winter climate variability and classification in the Bulgarian Mountainous Regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petkova, Nadezhda; Koleva, Ekaterina

2004-01-01

The problems of snowiness and thermal conditions of winters are of high interest of investigations because of the more frequent droughts, occurred in the region. In the present study an attempt to reveal tendencies existing during the last 70 years of 20 th century in the course winter precipitation and,temperature as well as in some of the snow cover parameters. On the base of mean winter air temperature winters in the Bulgarian mountains were analyzed and classified. The main results of the study show that winter precipitation has decrease tendencies more significant in the highest parts of the mountains. On the other hand winter air temperature increases. It shows a relatively well-established maximum at the end of the studied period. In the Bulgarian mountains normal winters are about 35-40% of all winters. (Author)

Interim Report 'Winter smog and traffic'.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bloemen, H.; Blom, T.; Bogaard, van den C.; Boluyt, N.; Bree, van L.; Brunekreef, B.; Hoek, G.; Zee, van der S.

1994-01-01

This report presents a halfway score of the research project "Winter smog and Traffic", one of the themes of the research programme "Air Pollution and Health". A state of the art is presented of the health effects associated with exposure to winter smog and of the toxicological effects caused by the

Home advantage in the Winter Paralympic Games 1976-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Darryl; Ramchandani, Girish

2017-01-01

There is a limited amount of home advantage research concerned with winter sports. There is also a distinct lack of studies that investigate home advantage in the context of para sport events. This paper addresses this gap in the knowledge by examining home advantage in the Winter Paralympic Games. Using a standardised measure of success, we compared the performances of host nations at home with their own performances away from home between 1976 and 2014. Both country level and individual sport level analysis is conducted for this time period. Comparisons are also drawn with the Winter Olympic Games since 1992, the point from which both the Winter Olympic Games and the Winter Paralympic Games have been hosted by the same nations and in the same years. Clear evidence of a home advantage effect in the Winter Paralympic Games was found at country level. When examining individual sports, only alpine skiing and cross country skiing returned a significant home advantage effect. When comparing home advantage in the Winter Paralympic Games with the Winter Olympic Games for the last seven host nations (1992-2014), we found that home advantage was generally more pronounced (although not a statistically significant difference) in the case of the former. The causes of home advantage in the Winter Paralympic Games are unclear and should be investigated further.

Real-time weed detection, decision making and patch spraying in maize, sugarbeet, winter wheat and winter barley

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerhards, R; Christensen, Svend

2003-01-01

with weed infestation levels higher than the economic weed threshold; a review of such work is provided. This paper presents a system for site-specific weed control in sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), maize (Zea mays L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), including...

Warmed Winter Water Temperatures Alter Reproduction in Two Fish Species

Science.gov (United States)

Firkus, Tyler; Rahel, Frank J.; Bergman, Harold L.; Cherrington, Brian D.

2018-02-01

We examined the spawning success of Fathead Minnows ( Pimephales promelas) and Johnny Darters ( Etheostoma nigrum) exposed to elevated winter water temperatures typical of streams characterized by anthropogenic thermal inputs. When Fathead Minnows were exposed to temperature treatments of 12, 16, or 20 °C during the winter, spawning occurred at 16 and 20 °C but not 12 °C. Eggs were deposited over 9 weeks before winter spawning ceased. Fathead Minnows from the three winter temperature treatments were then exposed to a simulated spring transition. Spawning occurred at all three temperature treatments during the spring, but fish from the 16° and 20 °C treatment had delayed egg production indicating a latent effect of warm winter temperatures on spring spawning. mRNA analysis of the egg yolk protein vitellogenin showed elevated expression in female Fathead Minnows at 16 and 20 °C during winter spawning that decreased after winter spawning ceased, whereas Fathead Minnows at 12 °C maintained comparatively low expression during winter. Johnny Darters were exposed to 4 °C to represent winter temperatures in the absence of thermal inputs, and 12, 16, and 20 °C to represent varying degrees of winter thermal pollution. Johnny Darters spawned during winter at 12, 16, and 20 °C but not at 4 °C. Johnny Darters at 4 °C subsequently spawned following a simulated spring period while those at 12, 16, and 20 °C did not. Our results indicate elevated winter water temperatures common in effluent-dominated streams can promote out-of-season spawning and that vitellogenin expression is a useful indicator of spawning readiness for fish exposed to elevated winter temperatures.

The influence of nighttime feeding of carbohydrate or protein combined with exercise training on appetite and cardiometabolic risk in young obese women.

Science.gov (United States)

Ormsbee, Michael J; Kinsey, Amber W; Eddy, Wyatt R; Madzima, Takudzwa A; Arciero, Paul J; Figueroa, Arturo; Panton, Lynn B

2015-01-01

Single macronutrient intake prior to sleep reduces appetite but may negatively impact insulin sensitivity in sedentary obese women. The present study examined the additive impact of nighttime feeding of whey (WH), casein (CAS), or carbohydrate (CHO) combined with exercise training on appetite, cardiometabolic health, and strength in obese women. Thirty-seven sedentary obese women (WH, n = 13, body mass index (BMI) 34.4 ± 1.3 kg/m(2); CAS, n = 14, BMI 36.5 ± 1.8 kg/m(2); CHO, n = 10, BMI 33.1 ± 1.7 kg/m(2)) consumed WH, CAS, or CHO (140-150 kcal/serving), every night of the week, within 30 min of sleep, for 4 weeks. Supervised exercise training (2 days of resistance training and 1 day of high-intensity interval training) was completed 3 days per week. Pre- and post-testing measurements included appetite ratings, mood state, resting metabolic rate, fasting lipids, glucose, and hormonal responses (insulin, leptin, adiponectin, hs-CRP, IGF-1, and cortisol), body composition, and strength. Nighttime intake of CAS significantly (p < 0.05) increased morning satiety (pretraining, 25 ± 5; post-training 41 ± 6) more than WH (pretraining, 34 ± 5; post-training, 35 ± 6) or CHO (pre 40 ± 8, post 43 ± 7). Exercise training increased lean mass and strength, decreased body fat, and improved mood state in all groups. No other differences were noted. Nighttime feeding of CAS combined with exercise training increased morning satiety more than WH or CHO. Nighttime feeding for 4 weeks did not impact insulin sensitivity (assessed via homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance) when combined with exercise training in obese women. ClinicalTrial.gov: NCT01830946.

Winter barley mutants created in the Ukraine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zayats, O.M.

2001-01-01

Full text: Increasing fodder and protein production is one of the objectives of the development of agriculture in Ukraine. Higher productivity of fodder crops, due to new highly productive varieties, is the means to meet this aim. Winter barley is an important crop for fodder purposes. The climate of the Ukraine is favourable for growing this crop. The areas used for the growth of winter barley are however, small (500,000-550,000 ha) and there is a shortage of good quality varieties. The main aim of the work was therefore to create new varieties of highly productive winter barley, of good quality. The new varieties and mutation lines of winter barley were created under the influence of water solutions of N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMH - 0,012, 0,005%), N-nitroso-N-ethylurea (NEH - 0,05; 0.025; 0,012%) ethyleneimine (EI - 0,02; 0,01; 0,005%) on winter barley seeds of the varieties of local and foreign selections. On the basis of many years of investigations (1984-94) the following mutations were described: hard-grained, winter-hardiness, earliness, middle-maturity, late-maturity, wide and large leaves, narrow leaves, multinodal, great number of leaves, great number of flowers, strong stem (lodging resistant), tallness, semi-dwarfness, dwarfness, and high productivity. Particularly valuable are mutants with high productivity of green bulk. Their potential yield is 70 t/ha. As a result of the work two varieties of winter barley 'Shyrokolysty' and 'Kormovy' were released into the State register of plant varieties of the Ukraine. The other valuable mutant genotypes are used in cross breeding programmes. (author)

Impacts of winter NPO on subsequent winter ENSO: sensitivity to the definition of NPO index

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shangfeng; Wu, Renguang

2018-01-01

This study investigates the linkage between boreal winter North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) and subsequent winter El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) based on seven different NPO indices. Results show that the influence of winter NPO on the subsequent winter El Niño is sensitive to how the NPO is defined. A significant NPO-El Niño connection is obtained when the NPO-related anomalous cyclone over the subtropical North Pacific extends to near-equatorial regions. The anomalous cyclone induces warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies through modulating surface heat fluxes. These warm SST anomalies are able to maintain into the following spring and summer through an air-sea coupled process and in turn induce significant westerly wind anomalies over the tropical western Pacific. In contrast, the NPO-El Niño relationship is unclear when the NPO-related anomalous cyclone over the subtropical North Pacific is confined to off-equatorial regions and cannot induce significant warm SST anomalies over the subtropical North Pacific. The present study suggests that definitions of NPO should be taken into account when using NPO to predict ENSO. In particular, we recommend defining the NPO index based on the empirical orthogonal function technique over appropriate region that does not extend too far north.

Excess mortality in winter in Finnish intensive care.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinikainen, M; Uusaro, A; Ruokonen, E; Niskanen, M

2006-07-01

In the general population, mortality from acute myocardial infarctions, strokes and respiratory causes is increased in winter. The winter climate in Finland is harsh. The aim of this study was to find out whether there are seasonal variations in mortality rates in Finnish intensive care units (ICUs). We analysed data on 31,040 patients treated in 18 Finnish ICUs. We measured severity of illness with acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) scores and intensity of care with therapeutic intervention scoring system (TISS) scores. We assessed mortality rates in different months and seasons and used logistic regression analysis to test the independent effect of various seasons on hospital mortality. We defined 'winter' as the period from December to February, inclusive. The crude hospital mortality rate was 17.9% in winter and 16.4% in non-winter, P = 0.003. Even after adjustment for case mix, winter season was an independent risk factor for increased hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio 1.13, 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.22, P = 0.005). In particular, the risk of respiratory failure was increased in winter. Crude hospital mortality was increased during the main holiday season in July. However, the severity of illness-adjusted risk of death was not higher in July than in other months. An increase in the mean daily TISS score was an independent predictor of increased hospital mortality. Severity of illness-adjusted hospital mortality for Finnish ICU patients is higher in winter than in other seasons.

Tamsulosin reduces nighttime urine production in benign prostatic hyperplasia patients with nocturnal polyuria: a prospective open-label long-term study using frequency-volume chart.

Science.gov (United States)

Kojima, Yoshiyuki; Sasaki, Shoichi; Imura, Makoto; Kubota, Yasue; Hayashi, Yutaro; Kohri, Kenjiro

2012-01-01

The effects of tamsulosin treatment on changes in frequency-volume chart (FVC) data, especially nighttime urine production, over time were assessed, and the mechanisms underlying the improvement of nocturia in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients with nocturnal polyuria (NP) are discussed. A total of 104 patients with lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to BPH were enrolled. After enrollment in the study, the patients were treated with tamsulosin (0.2 mg) once daily. Visits were scheduled every 4 weeks until week 12 (month 3) after study entry, and then every 12 weeks subsequently. All patients completed the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (QOL) index, and 3-day FVC, and underwent uroflowmetry at enrollment and on each visit. Eighty-two patients (mean age: 70.9 ± 7.1 years) were analyzed for 24 months after treatment. Patients were divided into two groups, NP and nonNP, based on FVC outcome. The IPSS, QOL index, and maximum flow rate improved during the 24-month period after treatment in both groups. Mean daytime urine volume significantly increased in the NP group, but no changes were detected in the nonNP group. Mean nighttime urine frequency significantly decreased in the NP group over a 24-month period, and was associated with a significant decrease in nighttime urine volume that was not found in the nonNP group. Maximum voided volume increased most months after treatment in both groups. The present long-term prospective study using FVC demonstrated that tamsulosin reduced nighttime urine production in BPH patients with NP. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Essential Outdoor Sun Safety Tips for Winter

Science.gov (United States)

... Weekend Warriors expand/collapse Vitamin D Essential Outdoor Sun Safety Tips for Winter Winter sports enthusiasts are ... skiing! Be Mindful of Time Spent in the Sun, Regardless of the Season If possible, ski early ...

Night-time care routine interaction and sleep disruption in adult cardiac surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Casida, Jesus M; Davis, Jean E; Zalewski, Aaron; Yang, James J

2018-04-01

To explore the context and the influence of night-time care routine interactions (NCRIs) on night-time sleep effectiveness (NSE) and daytime sleepiness (DSS) of patients in the cardiac surgery critical-care and progressive-care units of a hospital. There exists a paucity of empirical data regarding the influence of NCRIs on sleep and associated outcomes in hospitalised adult cardiac surgery patients. An exploratory repeated-measures research design was employed on the data provided by 38 elective cardiac surgery patients (mean age 60.0 ± 15.9 years). NCRI forms were completed by the bedside nurses and patients completed a 9-item Visual Analogue Sleep Scale (100-mm horizontal lines measuring NSE and DSS variables). All data were collected during postoperative nights/days (PON/POD) 1 through 5 and analysed with IBM SPSS software. Patient assessment, medication administration and laboratory/diagnostic procedures were the top three NCRIs reported between midnight and 6:00 a.m. During PON/POD 1 through 5, the respective mean NSE and DSS scores ranged from 52.9 ± 17.2 to 57.8 ± 13.5 and from 27.0 ± 22.6 to 45.6 ± 16.5. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant changes in DSS scores (p  .05). Finally, of 8 NCRIs, only 1 (postoperative exercises) was significantly related to sleep variables (r > .40, p disruptions and daytime sleepiness in adult cardiac surgery. Worldwide, acute and critical-care nurses are well positioned to lead initiatives aimed at improving sleep and clinical outcomes in cardiac surgery. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Winter Season Mortality: Will Climate Warming Bring Benefits?

Science.gov (United States)

Kinney, Patrick L; Schwartz, Joel; Pascal, Mathilde; Petkova, Elisaveta; Tertre, Alain Le; Medina, Sylvia; Vautard, Robert

2015-06-01

Extreme heat events are associated with spikes in mortality, yet death rates are on average highest during the coldest months of the year. Under the assumption that most winter excess mortality is due to cold temperature, many previous studies have concluded that winter mortality will substantially decline in a warming climate. We analyzed whether and to what extent cold temperatures are associated with excess winter mortality across multiple cities and over multiple years within individual cities, using daily temperature and mortality data from 36 US cities (1985-2006) and 3 French cities (1971-2007). Comparing across cities, we found that excess winter mortality did not depend on seasonal temperature range, and was no lower in warmer vs. colder cities, suggesting that temperature is not a key driver of winter excess mortality. Using regression models within monthly strata, we found that variability in daily mortality within cities was not strongly influenced by winter temperature. Finally we found that inadequate control for seasonality in analyses of the effects of cold temperatures led to spuriously large assumed cold effects, and erroneous attribution of winter mortality to cold temperatures. Our findings suggest that reductions in cold-related mortality under warming climate may be much smaller than some have assumed. This should be of interest to researchers and policy makers concerned with projecting future health effects of climate change and developing relevant adaptation strategies.

Warmed Winter Water Temperatures Alter Reproduction in Two Fish Species.

Science.gov (United States)

Firkus, Tyler; Rahel, Frank J; Bergman, Harold L; Cherrington, Brian D

2018-02-01

We examined the spawning success of Fathead Minnows (Pimephales promelas) and Johnny Darters (Etheostoma nigrum) exposed to elevated winter water temperatures typical of streams characterized by anthropogenic thermal inputs. When Fathead Minnows were exposed to temperature treatments of 12, 16, or 20 °C during the winter, spawning occurred at 16 and 20 °C but not 12 °C. Eggs were deposited over 9 weeks before winter spawning ceased. Fathead Minnows from the three winter temperature treatments were then exposed to a simulated spring transition. Spawning occurred at all three temperature treatments during the spring, but fish from the 16° and 20 °C treatment had delayed egg production indicating a latent effect of warm winter temperatures on spring spawning. mRNA analysis of the egg yolk protein vitellogenin showed elevated expression in female Fathead Minnows at 16 and 20 °C during winter spawning that decreased after winter spawning ceased, whereas Fathead Minnows at 12 °C maintained comparatively low expression during winter. Johnny Darters were exposed to 4 °C to represent winter temperatures in the absence of thermal inputs, and 12, 16, and 20 °C to represent varying degrees of winter thermal pollution. Johnny Darters spawned during winter at 12, 16, and 20 °C but not at 4 °C. Johnny Darters at 4 °C subsequently spawned following a simulated spring period while those at 12, 16, and 20 °C did not. Our results indicate elevated winter water temperatures common in effluent-dominated streams can promote out-of-season spawning and that vitellogenin expression is a useful indicator of spawning readiness for fish exposed to elevated winter temperatures.

Winter Wonderlands

Science.gov (United States)

Coy, Mary

2011-01-01

Listening to people complain about the hardships of winter and the dreariness of the nearly constant gray sky prompted the author to help her sixth graders recognize and appreciate the beauty that surrounds them for nearly five months of the year in western New York. The author opines that if students could see things more artistically, the winter…

Atmospheric implications of simultaneous nighttime measurements of NO3 radicals and hono

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitts, J.N. Jr.; Biermann, H.W.; Atkinson, R.; Winer, A.M.

1984-01-01

Atmospheric concentrations of gaseous HONO and the NO 3 radical were measured simultaneously for the first time using long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy. Diurnal profiles are reported for two successive nights following days of moderate pollution at Riverside, California, together with concurrent measurements of NO 2 , O 3 and NO concentrations and an upper limit for HCHO levels. These measurements permit an examination of selected aspects of the nighttime atmospheric chemistry of HONO and the NO 3 radical and related species. Our data do not support a recently proposed homogeneous gas phase mechanism for HONO formation initiated by the reaction of the NO 3 radical with HCHO

Classification guide: Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games classification guide is designed to provide National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) and International Federations (IFs) with information about the classification policies and procedures that will apply to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Lixiviation of heavy metals of hazardous industrial wastes by means of thermostatized columns and design of a pilot plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vite T, J.; Leon, C.C. de; Vite T, M.; Soto T, J.L.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of lixiviation of heavy metals, using thermostatized columns and hazardous industrial residual wastes: those by the volume with which are generated and its high toxicity, its represent a great problem for it treatment and disposition, in this work a diagram of a pilot plant for extraction of heavy metals is included. The process and equipment were patented in United States and in Mexico. For the development of this study four thermostated columns were used that were coupled. The waste were finely milled and suspended in an aqueous pulp adding of 10 - 40gL -1 of mineral acid or sodium hydroxide until reaching an interval of pH of 2,5,7 and 10. Its were used of 4-10 gL -1 of a reducer agent and of 0.3-1.5 g of a surfactant agent. In some cases with this method was possible to remove until 100% of heavy metals. It was used Plasma Emission Spectroscopy to determine the concentrations of the cations in the lixiviation liquors. For studying the metallic alloys the X-ray diffraction technique was used. (Author)

Winter chilling speeds spring development of temperate butterflies.

Science.gov (United States)

Stålhandske, Sandra; Gotthard, Karl; Leimar, Olof

2017-07-01

Understanding and predicting phenology has become more important with ongoing climate change and has brought about great research efforts in the recent decades. The majority of studies examining spring phenology of insects have focussed on the effects of spring temperatures alone. Here we use citizen-collected observation data to show that winter cold duration, in addition to spring temperature, can affect the spring emergence of butterflies. Using spatial mixed models, we disentangle the effects of climate variables and reveal impacts of both spring and winter conditions for five butterfly species that overwinter as pupae across the UK, with data from 1976 to 2013 and one butterfly species in Sweden, with data from 2001 to 2013. Warmer springs lead to earlier emergence in all species and milder winters lead to statistically significant delays in three of the five investigated species. We also find that the delaying effect of winter warmth has become more pronounced in the last decade, during which time winter durations have become shorter. For one of the studied species, Anthocharis cardamines (orange tip butterfly), we also make use of parameters determined from previous experiments on pupal development to model the spring phenology. Using daily temperatures in the UK and Sweden, we show that recent variation in spring temperature corresponds to 10-15 day changes in emergence time over UK and Sweden, whereas variation in winter duration corresponds to 20 days variation in the south of the UK versus only 3 days in the south of Sweden. In summary, we show that short winters delay phenology. The effect is most prominent in areas with particularly mild winters, emphasising the importance of winter for the response of ectothermic animals to climate change. With climate change, these effects may become even stronger and apply also at higher latitudes. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2017 British Ecological Society.

Meta-analysis of timolol on diurnal and nighttime intraocular pressure and blood pressure.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Lee, Princeton Wen-Yuan

2012-02-01

PURPOSE: To evaluate the nighttime intraocular pressure (IOP) and blood pressure (BP) response to timolol treatment in patients with ocular hypertension or primary open-angle glaucoma. METHODS: This was a meta-analysis of previously published studies that must have been randomized, prospective, crossover or parallel, single or double-masked trials. The treatment period must have been >\\/=2 weeks with >\\/=19 patients per treatment arm for a crossover, and >\\/=50 patients for a parallel designed trial. Studies must have included both baseline and treated 24-hour curves. RESULTS: For the IOP analysis, we included 8 articles with 340 patients. A reduction from baseline was observed for timolol at each time point and for the 24-hour curve (p<\\/=0.009). When 2 studies, in which timolol was used adjunctively, were removed, a similar difference was observed as above at each time point and for the 24-hour curve (p<\\/=0.003). In 2 studies, there were small reductions from baseline for the mean diastolic and systolic BPs at most time points and for the 24-hour curve (3.9 and 4.2 mmHg, respectively) with timolol treatment. The ocular perfusion pressure did not show any difference between baseline and timolol treatment at any time point or for the 24-hour curve (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests that topical timolol therapy provides an ocular hypotensive effect over the 24-hour curve, including the nighttime hours, and while small reductions in the systolic and diastolic pressures occur, the ocular perfusion pressure is not altered over 24 hours.

Postmodern Investigations: The Case of Christopher Boone in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

Science.gov (United States)

Ciocia, Stefania

2009-01-01

Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", the first novel to be published simultaneously for the UK adult and children's market, exemplifies the phenomenon of crossover literature better perhaps than the "Harry Potter" series, whose appeal to a dual-aged audience had caught the publishing industry by…

AUTOMATIC CONTROL SYSTEM OF WINTER AUTOMOBILE-ROAD MAINTENANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. I. Leonovich

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In order to ensure a rational usage of financial and material resources directed on winter automobile-road maintenance in theRepublicofBelarusan automatic control system of winter maintenance is under its development and introduction.  The main purpose of the system is to obtain and use meteorological information on the state of a road network that allows to take necessary organizational and technological solutions ensuring safety and continuity of traffic during winter. This system also presupposes to ensure constant control over the state of roadway covering, expenditure of anti-glazed frost materials at all levels of management.The paper considers main aspects pertaining to introduction of the automatic control system of winter maintenance

Postharvest tillage reduces Downy Brome infestations in winter wheat

Science.gov (United States)

In the Pacific Northwest, downy brome continues to infest winter wheat producing regions especially in low-rainfall areas where the winter wheat-summer fallow rotation is the dominate production system. In Washington, a study was conducted for 2 years at each of two locations in the winter wheat -su...

Nighttime behavioral study of flying foxes on the southern coast of West Java, Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hengjan, Yupadee; Saputra, Vidi; Pramono, Didik; Basri, Chaerul; Ando, Takeshi; Ohmori, Yasushige; Agungpriyono, Srihadi; Hondo, Eiichi

2018-05-30

Flying foxes are important in the maintenance of forests and diversity. However, knowledge of their behavioral ecology, especially of movement and foraging patterns, which are essential for conservation and management of their populations, are not well known. Therefore, movement behavior of two individuals of Pteropus vampyrus were examined using an Argos telemetry system, and foraging pattern of Pteropus spp. was directly observed, at West Java province, Indonesia in October 2017. The maximum distance between the location at which bats were released and their furthest roost, recorded via satellite telemetry, was approximately 100 km. This reflects the long-distance flight ability of P. vampyrus. Daytime roosting sites and nighttime foraging places consisted of several types of habitats, such as intact forests, agricultural lands, and residential areas. This evidence indicated that there was habitat overlap between humans and bats in West Java province. According to direct observation of the behaviors of flying foxes at two locations within residental areas, various activities such as wing spreading, excretion, fighting, aggressive calls, movement, hanging relax, and hanging alert were found. The number of bat-visits to the trees varied among night hours, and had a positive correlation with the number of fruit dropping. The data obtained in this study have improved our understanding of nighttime behavior and habitat utilization of P. vampyrus, that can be used to support landscape management, species conservation, and disease prevention in regions of Southeast Asia.

How to Have a Healthy Winter | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

Without a doubt, winter is here. Between the icy weather and the recent hustle and bustle of the holidays, everyone is at an increased risk of getting sick. With that in mind, Occupational Health Services has a few simple tips for staying healthy this winter.

Carbon Isotope Composition of Nighttime Leaf-Respired CO2 in the Agricultural-Pastoral Zone of the Songnen Plain, Northeast China

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Haiying; Wang, Yunbo; Jiang, Qi; Chen, Shiping; Ma, Jian-Ying; Sun, Wei

2015-01-01

Variations in the carbon isotope signature of leaf dark-respired CO2 (δ13CR) within a single night is a widely observed phenomenon. However, it is unclear whether there are plant functional type differences with regard to the amplitude of the nighttime variation in δ13CR. These differences, if present, would be important for interpreting the short-term variations in the stable carbon signature of ecosystem respiration and the partitioning of carbon fluxes. To assess the plant functional type differences relating to the magnitude of the nighttime variation in δ13CR and the respiratory apparent fractionation, we measured the δ13CR, the leaf gas exchange, and the δ13C of the respiratory substrates of 22 species present in the agricultural-pastoral zone of the Songnen Plain, northeast China. The species studied were grouped into C3 and C4 plants, trees, grasses, and herbs. A significant nocturnal shift in δ13CR was detected in 20 of the studied species, with the magnitude of the shift ranging from 1‰ to 5.8‰. The magnitude of the nighttime variation in δ13CR was strongly correlated with the daytime cumulative carbon assimilation, which suggests that variation in δ13CR were influenced, to some extent, by changes in the contribution of malate decarboxylation to total respiratory CO2 flux. There were no differences in the magnitude of the nighttime variation in δ13CR between the C3 and C4 plants, as well as among the woody plants, herbs and graminoids. Leaf respired CO2 was enriched in 13C compared to biomass, soluble carbohydrates and lipids; however the magnitude of enrichment differed between 8 pm and 4 am, which were mainly caused by the changes in δ13CR. We also detected the plant functional type differences in respiratory apparent fractionation relative to biomass at 4 am, which suggests that caution should be exercised when using the δ13C of bulk leaf material as a proxy for the δ13C of leaf-respired CO2. PMID:26356083

Risk management model of winter navigation operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valdez Banda, Osiris A.; Goerlandt, Floris; Kuzmin, Vladimir; Kujala, Pentti; Montewka, Jakub

2016-01-01

The wintertime maritime traffic operations in the Gulf of Finland are managed through the Finnish–Swedish Winter Navigation System. This establishes the requirements and limitations for the vessels navigating when ice covers this area. During winter navigation in the Gulf of Finland, the largest risk stems from accidental ship collisions which may also trigger oil spills. In this article, a model for managing the risk of winter navigation operations is presented. The model analyses the probability of oil spills derived from collisions involving oil tanker vessels and other vessel types. The model structure is based on the steps provided in the Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and adapted into a Bayesian Network model. The results indicate that ship independent navigation and convoys are the operations with higher probability of oil spills. Minor spills are most probable, while major oil spills found very unlikely but possible. - Highlights: •A model to assess and manage the risk of winter navigation operations is proposed. •The risks of oil spills in winter navigation in the Gulf of Finland are analysed. •The model assesses and prioritizes actions to control the risk of the operations. •The model suggests navigational training as the most efficient risk control option.

Drought and Winter Drying (Pest Alert)

Science.gov (United States)

USDA Forest Service

Drought and winter drying have periodically caused major damage to trees. Drought reduces the amount of water available in the soil. In the case of winter drying, the water may be in the soil, but freezing of the soil makes the water unavailable to the tree. In both cases, more water is lost through transpiration than is available to the plant. Symptoms of drought and...

Nighttime Environmental Products from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite: Science Rationale

Science.gov (United States)

Roman, M. O.; Wang, Z.; Kalb, V.; Cole, T.; Oda, T.; Stokes, E.; Molthan, A.

2016-12-01

A new generation of satellite instruments, represented by the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), offer global measurements of nocturnal visible and near-infrared light suitable for urban science research. While many promising urban-focused applications have been developed using nighttime satellite imagery in the past 25 years, most studies to-date have been limited by the quality of the captured imagery and the retrieval methods used in heritage (DMSP/OLS) products. Instead, science-quality products that are temporally consistent, global in extent, and local in resolution were needed to monitor human settlements worldwide —particularly for studies within dense urban areas. Since the first-light images from the VIIRS were received in January 2012, the NASA Land Science Investigator-led Processing System (Land SIPS) team has worked on maximizing the capabilities of these low-light measurements to generate a wealth of new information useful for understanding urbanization processes, urban functions, and the vulnerability of urban areas to climate hazards. In a recent case study, our team demonstrated that tracking daily dynamic VIIRS nighttime measurements can provide valuable information about the character of the human activities and behaviors that shape energy consumption and vulnerability (Roman and Stokes, 2015). Moving beyond mapping the physical qualities of urban areas (e.g. land cover and impervious area), VIIRS measurements provide insight into the social, economic, and cultural activities that shape energy and infrastructure use. Furthermore, as this time series expands and is merged with other sources of optical remote sensing data (e.g., Landsat-8 and Sentinel 2), VIIRS has the potential to increase our understanding of changes in urban form, structure, and infrastructure—factors that may also influence urban resilience—and how the increasing frequency and severity of climate

Global characteristics of extreme winters from a multi-millennial simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hunt, B.G. [CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, PO Box 1, Aspendale (Australia)

2011-10-15

Output from a multi-millennial simulation with the CSIRO Mark 2 coupled global climatic model has been analysed to determine the principal characteristics of extreme winters over the globe for ''present conditions''. Thus, this study is not concerned with possible changes in winter conditions associated with anthropogenically induced climatic change. Defining an extreme winter as having a surface temperature anomaly of below -2 standard deviations (sd) revealed a general occurrence rate over the globe of between 100 and 200 over a 6,000-year period of the simulation, with somewhat higher values over northwest North America. For temperature anomalies below -3 sd the corresponding occurrence rate drops to about 10. Spatial correlation studies revealed that extreme winters over regions in Europe, North America or Asia were very limited geographically, with time series of the surface temperature anomalies for these regions having mutual correlation coefficients of about 0.2. The temporal occurrence rates of winters (summers) having sd below -3 (above +3) were very asymmetric and sporadic, suggesting that such events arise from stochastic influences. Multi-year sequences of extreme winters were comparatively rare events. Detailed analysis revealed that the temporal and spatial evolution of the monthly surface temperature anomalies associated with an individual extreme winter were well replicated in the simulation, as were daily time series of such anomalies. Apart from an influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on extreme winters in Europe, other prominent climatic oscillations were very poorly correlated with such winters. Rather modest winter temperature anomalies were found in the southern hemisphere. (orig.)

On the relation between ionospheric winter anomalies and solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rumi, G.C.

2001-01-01

There are two different winter anomalies. A small one that appears in connection with ionization at relatively low latitudes in the bottom of the D-region of the ionosphere. There, the electron densities in the winter happen to be less than should be expected. On the other hand, the classic winter anomaly is present when in the winter the upper D-region, again at relatively low latitudes, has more ionization than should be expected. Both these effects are due to the slant compression of the geomagnetic field produced by the solar wind in the wind in the winter season (which is, of course, the summer season when reference is made to events in the other hemisphere). It is shown that the small winter anomaly is a consequence of a hemispheric imbalance in the flux of galactic cosmic rays determined by the obliquely distorted geomagnetic field. It is shown that the standard winter anomaly can be ascribed to the influx of a super solar wind, which penetrates into the Earth's polar atmosphere down to E-region, heights and, duly concentrated through a funneling action at the winter pole of the distorted geomagnetic field, slows down the winter polar vortex. An equatorward motion of the polar air with its content of nitric oxide brings about the excess of ionization in the upper D-region at lower latitudes. The experimentally observed rhythmic recurrence of the upper winter anomaly is correlated to a possible rhythmic recurrence of the super solar wind. The actual detection of the upper winter anomaly could yield some information on the velocity of the basic solar wind. A by-product of the present analysis, the determination of Γ, the coefficient of collisional detachment of the electrons from the O 2 - ions, is presented in the Appendix

On the relation between ionospheric winter anomalies and solar wind

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rumi, G.C. [Lecco, (Italy)

2001-06-01

There are two different winter anomalies. A small one that appears in connection with ionization at relatively low latitudes in the bottom of the D-region of the ionosphere. There, the electron densities in the winter happen to be less than should be expected. On the other hand, the classic winter anomaly is present when in the winter the upper D-region, again at relatively low latitudes, has more ionization than should be expected. Both these effects are due to the slant compression of the geomagnetic field produced by the solar wind in the wind in the winter season (which is, of course, the summer season when reference is made to events in the other hemisphere). It is shown that the small winter anomaly is a consequence of a hemispheric imbalance in the flux of galactic cosmic rays determined by the obliquely distorted geomagnetic field. It is shown that the standard winter anomaly can be ascribed to the influx of a super solar wind, which penetrates into the Earth's polar atmosphere down to E-region, heights and, duly concentrated through a funneling action at the winter pole of the distorted geomagnetic field, slows down the winter polar vortex. An equatorward motion of the polar air with its content of nitric oxide brings about the excess of ionization in the upper D-region at lower latitudes. The experimentally observed rhythmic recurrence of the upper winter anomaly is correlated to a possible rhythmic recurrence of the super solar wind. The actual detection of the upper winter anomaly could yield some information on the velocity of the basic solar wind. A by-product of the present analysis, the determination of {gamma}, the coefficient of collisional detachment of the electrons from the O{sub 2} {sup -} ions, is presented in the Appendix.

Coming to grips with nuclear winter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scherr, S.J.

1985-01-01

This editorial examines the politics related to the concept of nuclear winter which is a term used to describe temperature changes brought on by the injection of smoke into the atmosphere by the massive fires set off by nuclear explosions. The climate change alone could cause crop failures and lead to massive starvation. The author suggests that the prospect of a nuclear winter should be a deterrent to any nuclear exchange

Physiological Sleep Propensity Might Be Unaffected by Significant Variations in Self-Reported Well-Being, Activity, and Mood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arcady A. Putilov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective. Depressive state is often associated with such physical symptoms as general weakness, fatigue, tiredness, slowness, reduced activity, low energy, and sleepiness. The involvement of the sleep-wake regulating mechanisms has been proposed as one of the plausible explanations of this association. Both physical depressive symptoms and increased physiological sleep propensity can result from disordered and insufficient sleep. In order to avoid the influence of disordered and insufficient sleep, daytime and nighttime sleepiness were tested in winter depression characterized by normal night sleep duration and architecture. Materials and Methods. A total sample consisted of 6 healthy controls and 9 patients suffered from depression in the previous winter season. Sleep latency was determined across 5 daytime and 4 nighttime 20-min attempts to nap in summer as well as in winter before and after a week of 2-hour evening treatment with bright light. Results and Conclusions. Patients self-reported abnormally lowered well-being, activity, and mood only in winter before the treatment. Physiological sleep propensity was neither abnormal nor linked to significant changes in well-being, activity, and mood following the treatment and change in season. It seems unlikely that the mechanisms regulating the sleep-wake cycle contributed to the development of the physical depressive symptoms.

Are individuals' nighttime sleep characteristics prior to shift-work exposure predictive for parameters of daytime sleep after commencing shift work?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lammers-van der Holst, H.M.; van Dongen, H.P.A.; Kerkhof, G.A.

2006-01-01

This study aimed to examine prospectively whether individual nighttime sleep characteristics at baseline (prior to shift‐work exposure) are related to parameters of daytime sleep after commencing shift work. A longitudinal field study was carried out with novice police officers of the Dutch Police

Winter/Summer Monsoon Experiment

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Winter/Summer Monsoon Experiment (MONEX) was conducted during the First Global GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program) Experiment (FGGE). An international...

Heritability of siesta and night-time sleep as continuously assessed by a circadian-related integrated measure

OpenAIRE

Lopez-Minguez, J.; Morosoli, J. J.; Madrid, J. A.; Garaulet, M.; Ordoñana, J. R.

2017-01-01

Siesta is a relevant aspect of sleep due to its posited relationship with health or cognitive function. However, unlike night-time sleep, studies about daytime-sleep determinants and characteristics are scarce, and the genetic/environmental structure of siesta is still unknown. Our aim was to explore the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to variation in sleep-wake rhythm, measured by a continuous assessment of temperature-activity-position (TAP), which allows for diur...

我的寒假%My Winter Holidays

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2008-01-01

@@ Winter holidays have about twenty days.During winter holidays, I do all kinds of interesting thing.I like climbing the hill,because it can make me heMthy.I like fishing,it can give me a lot of fun.I like visiting some places of interest, it can enlarge my knowledge.

Analysis of Human Activities in Nature Reserves Based on Nighttime Light Remote Sensing and Microblogging Data - by the Case of National Nature Reserves in Jiangxi Province

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, F.; Li, X.; Xu, H.

2017-09-01

The study used the mainstream social media in china - Sina microblogging data combined with nighttime light remote sensing and various geographical data to reveal the pattern of human activities and light pollution of the Jiangxi Provincial National Nature Reserves. Firstly, we performed statistical analysis based on both functional areas and km-grid from the perspective of space and time, and selected the key areas for in-depth study. Secondly, the relationship between microblogging data and nighttime light remote sensing, population, GDP, road coverage, road distance and road type in nature reserves was analyzed by Spearman correlation coefficient method, so the distribution pattern and influencing factors of the microblogging data were explored. Thirdly, a region where the luminance value was greater than 0.2 was defined as a light region. We evaluated the management status by analyzing the distribution of microblogging data in both light area and non-light area. Final results showed that in all nature reserves, the top three were the Lushan Nature Reserve, the Jinggangshan Nature Reserve, the Taohongling National Nature Reserve of Sikas both on the total number and density of microblogging ; microblogging had a significant correlation with nighttime light remote sensing , the GDP, population, road and other factors; the distribution of microblogging near roads in protected area followed power laws; luminous radiance of Lushan Nature Reserve was the highest, with 43 percent of region was light at night; analysis combining nighttime light remote sensing with microblogging data reflected the status of management of nature reserves.

Resolving the mesospheric nighttime 4.3 µm emission puzzle: comparison of the CO2(ν3) and OH(ν) emission models

Science.gov (United States)

Panka, Peter A.; Kutepov, Alexander A.; Kalogerakis, Konstantinos S.; Janches, Diego; Russell, James M.; Rezac, Ladislav; Feofilov, Artem G.; Mlynczak, Martin G.; Yiğit, Erdal

2017-08-01

In the 1970s, the mechanism of vibrational energy transfer from chemically produced OH(ν) in the nighttime mesosphere to the CO2(ν3) vibration, OH(ν) ⇒ N2(ν) ⇒ CO2(ν3), was proposed. In later studies it was shown that this "direct" mechanism for simulated nighttime 4.3 µm emissions of the mesosphere is not sufficient to explain space observations. In order to better simulate these observations, an additional enhancement is needed that would be equivalent to the production of 2.8-3 N2(1) molecules instead of one N2(1) molecule in each quenching reaction of OH(ν) + N2(0). Recently a new "indirect" channel of the OH(ν) energy transfer to N2(ν) vibrations, OH(ν) ⇒ O(1D) ⇒ N2(ν), was suggested and then confirmed in a laboratory experiment, where its rate for OH(ν = 9) + O(3P) was measured. We studied in detail the impact of the "direct" and "indirect" mechanisms on CO2(ν3) and OH(ν) vibrational level populations and emissions. We also compared our calculations with (a) the SABER/TIMED nighttime 4.3 µm CO2 and OH 1.6 and 2.0 µm limb radiances of the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) and (b) with ground- and space-based observations of OH(ν) densities in the nighttime mesosphere. We found that the new "indirect" channel provides a strong enhancement of the 4.3 µm CO2 emission, which is comparable to that obtained with the "direct" mechanism alone but assuming an efficiency that is 3 times higher. The model based on the "indirect" channel also produces OH(ν) density distributions which are in good agreement with both SABER limb OH emission observations and ground and space measurements. This is, however, not true for the model which relies on the "direct" mechanism alone. This discrepancy is caused by the lack of an efficient redistribution of the OH(ν) energy from higher vibrational levels emitting at 2.0 µm to lower levels emitting at 1.6 µm. In contrast, the new  indirect  mechanism efficiently removes at least five quanta in each

Combined Use of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A Images for Winter Crop Mapping and Winter Wheat Yield Assessment at Regional Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Skakun, Sergii; Vermote, Eric; Roger, Jean-Claude; Franch, Belen

2017-01-01

Timely and accurate information on crop yield and production is critical to many applications within agriculture monitoring. Thanks to its coverage and temporal resolution, coarse spatial resolution satellite imagery has always been a source of valuable information for yield forecasting and assessment at national and regional scales. With availability of free images acquired by Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 remote sensing satellites, it becomes possible to provide temporal resolution of an image every 3-5 days, and therefore, to develop next generation agriculture products at higher spatial resolution (10-30 m). This paper explores the combined use of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A for winter crop mapping and winter wheat yield assessment at regional scale. For the former, we adapt a previously developed approach for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument at 250 m resolution that allows automatic mapping of winter crops taking into account a priori knowledge on crop calendar. For the latter, we use a generalized winter wheat yield forecasting model that is based on estimation of the peak Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from MODIS image time-series, and further downscaled to be applicable at 30 m resolution. We show that integration of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A improves both winter crop mapping and winter wheat yield assessment. In particular, the error of winter wheat yield estimates can be reduced up to 1.8 times compared to using a single satellite.

Combined Use of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A Images for Winter Crop Mapping and Winter Wheat Yield Assessment at Regional Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergii Skakun

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Timely and accurate information on crop yield and production is critical to many applications within agriculture monitoring. Thanks to its coverage and temporal resolution, coarse spatial resolution satellite imagery has always been a source of valuable information for yield forecasting and assessment at national and regional scales. With availability of free images acquired by Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 remote sensing satellites, it becomes possible to provide temporal resolution of 3–5 days, and therefore, to develop next generation agriculture products at higher spatial resolution (10–30 m. This paper explores the combined use of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A for winter crop mapping and winter wheat yield assessment at regional scale. For the former, we adapt a previously developed approach for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS instrument at 250 m resolution that allows automatic mapping of winter crops taking into account a priori knowledge on crop calendar. For the latter, we use a generalized winter wheat yield forecasting model that is based on estimation of the peak Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI from MODIS image time-series, and further downscaled to be applicable at 30 m resolution. We show that integration of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A improves both winter crop mapping and winter wheat yield assessment. In particular, the error of winter wheat yield estimates can be reduced up to 1.8 times compared to using a single satellite.

Payment mechanisms for winter road maintenance services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adel Abdi

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In countries with severe winters a major part of the annual budget for road maintenance is allocated on performance of winter road maintenance tasks. Finding appropriate remuneration forms to compensate entrepreneurs for performed road measures during winter is not an easy task in order to minimise or eliminate disputes and satisfy both client organisations and contractors. On the other hand improper reimbursement models lead either to the client’s annual budget imbalance due to unnecessary cost overruns or affect contractor’s cash-flow. Such cases in turn affect just-in-time winter road maintenance and then traffic safety. To solve such problems, a number of countries in cold regions like Sweden have developed different remuneration models based more on weather data called Weather Index. Therefore the objective of this paper is to investigate and evaluate the payment models applied in Sweden. The study uses a number of approaches namely; domestic questionnaire survey, analysis of a number of contract documents, a series of meetings with the project managers and an international benchmarking. The study recognised four remuneration models for winter maintenance service of which one based on weather data statistics. The study reveals the payment model based on weather data statistics is only applied for the roads with higher traffic flow and the model generates most uncertainty.

Wintering bald eagle trends in northern Arizona, 1975-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Teryl G. Grubb

2003-01-01

Between 1975 and 2000, 4,525 sightings of wintering bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were recorded at Mormon Lake in northern Arizona. Numbers of wintering eagles fluctuated little in the 20 years from 1975 through 1994 (5.5 ± 3.0 mean sightings per day). However, during the winters of 1995 through 1997 local record highs of 59 to 118 eagles...

Effects of sowing time on pink snow mould, leaf rust and winter damage in winter rye varieties in Finland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. SERENIUS

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Disease infection in relation to sowing time of winter rye (Secale cereale was studied in southern Finland in order to compare overwintering capacity of modern rye varieties and to give recommendations for rye cultivation. This was done by using three sowing times and four rye varieties in field trials conducted at three locations in 1999–2001. The early sown rye (beginning of August was severely affected by diseases caused by Puccinia recondita and Microdochium nivale, whereas postponing sowing for two weeks after the recommended sowing time resulted in considerably less infection. The infection levels of diseases differed among rye varieties. Finnish rye varieties Anna and Bor 7068 were more resistant to snow mould and more winter hardy than the Polish variety Amilo, or the German hybrid varieties Picasso and Esprit. However, Amilo was the most resistant to leaf rust. In the first year snow mould appeared to be the primary cause of winter damage, but in the second year the winter damage was positively correlated with leaf rust. No significant correlation between frit fly infestation and winter damage or disease incidence of snow mould or leaf rust was established. The late sowing of rye (in the beginning of September is recommended in Finland, particularly with hybrid varieties, to minimize the need for chemical plant protection in autumn.;

Mapping of QTLs for leaf area and the association with winter ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Variations in plant architecture are often associated with the ability of plants to survive cold stress during winter. In studies of winter hardiness in lentil, it appeared that small leaf area was associated with improved winter survival. Based on this observation, the inheritance of leaf area and the relationship with winter ...

Short-term nighttime wind turbine noise and cardiovascular events: A nationwide case-crossover study from Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulsen, Aslak Harbo; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Peña, Alfredo; Hahmann, Andrea N; Nordsborg, Rikke Baastrup; Ketzel, Matthias; Brandt, Jørgen; Sørensen, Mette

2018-05-01

The number of people exposed to wind turbine noise (WTN) is increasing. WTN is reported as more annoying than traffic noise at similar levels. Long-term exposure to traffic noise has consistently been associated with cardiovascular disease, whereas effects of short-term exposure are much less investigated due to little day-to-day variation of e.g. road traffic noise. WTN varies considerably due to changing weather conditions allowing investigation of short-term effects of WTN on cardiovascular events. We identified all hospitalisations and deaths from stroke (16,913 cases) and myocardial infarction (MI) (17,559 cases) among Danes exposed to WTN between 1982 and 2013. We applied a time-stratified, case-crossover design. Using detailed data on wind turbine type and hourly wind data at each wind turbine, we simulated mean nighttime outdoor (10-10,000 Hz) and nighttime low frequency (LF) indoor WTN (10-160 Hz) over the 4 days preceding diagnosis and reference days. For indoor LF WTN between 10 and 15 dB(A) and above 15 dB(A), odds ratios (ORs) for MI were 1.27 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97-1.67; cases = 198) and 1.62 (95% CI: 0.76-3.45; cases = 21), respectively, when compared to indoor LF WTN below 5 dB(A). For stroke, corresponding ORs were 1.17 (95% CI: 0.95-1.69; cases = 166) and 2.30 (95% CI: 0.96-5.50; cases = 15). The elevated ORs above 15 dB(A) persisted across sensitivity analyses. When looking at specific lag times, noise exposure one day before MI events and three days before stroke events were associated with the highest ORs. For outdoor WTN at night, we observed both increased and decreased risk estimates. This study did not provide conclusive evidence of an association between WTN and MI or stroke. It does however suggest that indoor LF WTN at night may trigger cardiovascular events, whereas these events seemed largely unaffected by nighttime outdoor WTN. These findings need reproduction, as they were based on few cases

High day- and night-time temperatures affect grain growth dynamics in contrasting rice genotypes.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Wanju; Yin, Xinyou; Struik, Paul C; Solis, Celymar; Xie, Fangming; Schmidt, Ralf C; Huang, Min; Zou, Yingbin; Ye, Changrong; Jagadish, S V Krishna

2017-11-02

Rice grain yield and quality are predicted to be highly vulnerable to global warming. Five genotypes including heat-tolerant and susceptible checks, a heat-tolerant near-isogenic line and two hybrids were exposed to control (31 °C/23 °C, day/night), high night-time temperature (HNT; 31 °C/30 °C), high day-time temperature (HDT; 38 °C/23 °C) and high day- and night-time temperature (HNDT; 38 °C/30 °C) treatments for 20 consecutive days during the grain-filling stage. Grain-filling dynamics, starch metabolism enzymes, temporal starch accumulation patterns and the process of chalk formation were quantified. Compensation between the rate and duration of grain filling minimized the impact of HNT, but irreversible impacts on seed-set, grain filling and ultimately grain weight were recorded with HDT and HNDT. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated irregular and smaller starch granule formation affecting amyloplast build-up with HDT and HNDT, while a quicker but normal amylopast build-up was recorded with HNT. Our findings revealed temporal variation in the starch metabolism enzymes in all three stress treatments. Changes in the enzymatic activity did not derail starch accumulation under HNT when assimilates were sufficiently available, while both sucrose supply and the conversion of sucrose into starch were affected by HDT and HNDT. The findings indicate differential mechanisms leading to high day and high night temperature stress-induced loss in yield and quality. Additional genetic improvement is needed to sustain rice productivity and quality under future climates. © Society for Experimental Biology 2017.

The Anomalous Winter of 1783-1784: Was the Laki Eruption or an Analog of the 2009-2010 Winter to Blame?

Science.gov (United States)

D'Arrigo, Rosanne; Seager, Richard; Smerdon, Jason E.; LeGrande, Allegra N.; Cook, Edward R.

2011-01-01

The multi ]stage eruption of the Icelandic volcano Laki beginning in June, 1783 is speculated to have caused unusual dry fog and heat in western Europe and cold in North America during the 1783 summer, and record cold and snow the subsequent winter across the circum-North Atlantic. Despite the many indisputable impacts of the Laki eruption, however, its effect on climate, particularly during the 1783.1784 winter, may be the most poorly constrained. Here we test an alternative explanation for the unusual conditions during this time: that they were caused primarily by a combined negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and an El Nino ]Southern Oscillation (ENSO) warm event. A similar combination of NAO ]ENSO phases was identified as the cause of record cold and snowy conditions during the 2009.2010 winter in Europe and eastern North America. 600-year tree-ring reconstructions of NAO and ENSO indices reveal values in the 1783.1784 winter second only to their combined severity in 2009.2010. Data sources and model simulations support our hypothesis that a combined, negative NAO ]ENSO warm phase was the dominant cause of the anomalous winter of 1783.1784, and that these events likely resulted from natural variability unconnected to Laki.

Comparison of monthly nighttime cloud fraction products from MODIS and AIRS and ground-based camera over Manila Observatory (14.64N, 121.07E)

Science.gov (United States)

Gacal, G. F. B.; Lagrosas, N.

2017-12-01

Cloud detection nowadays is primarily achieved by the utilization of various sensors aboard satellites. These include MODIS Aqua, MODIS Terra, and AIRS with products that include nighttime cloud fraction. Ground-based instruments are, however, only secondary to these satellites when it comes to cloud detection. Nonetheless, these ground-based instruments (e.g., LIDARs, ceilometers, and sky-cameras) offer significant datasets about a particular region's cloud cover values. For nighttime operations of cloud detection instruments, satellite-based instruments are more reliably and prominently used than ground-based ones. Therefore if a ground-based instrument for nighttime operations is operated, it ought to produce reliable scientific datasets. The objective of this study is to do a comparison between the results of a nighttime ground-based instrument (sky-camera) and that of MODIS Aqua and MODIS Terra. A Canon Powershot A2300 is placed ontop of Manila Observatory (14.64N, 121.07E) and is configured to take images of the night sky at 5min intervals. To detect pixels with clouds, the pictures are converted to grayscale format. Thresholding technique is used to screen pixels with cloud and pixels without clouds. If the pixel value is greater than 17, it is considered as a cloud; otherwise, a noncloud (Gacal et al., 2016). This algorithm is applied to the data gathered from Oct 2015 to Oct 2016. A scatter plot between satellite cloud fraction in the area covering the area 14.2877N, 120.9869E, 14.7711N and 121.4539E and ground cloud cover is graphed to find the monthly correlation. During wet season (June - November), the satellite nighttime cloud fraction vs ground measured cloud cover produce an acceptable R2 (Aqua= 0.74, Terra= 0.71, AIRS= 0.76). However, during dry season, poor R2 values are obtained (AIRS= 0.39, Aqua & Terra = 0.01). The high correlation during wet season can be attributed to a high probability that the camera and satellite see the same clouds

Nuclear Winter: Scientists in the Political Arena

Science.gov (United States)

Badash, Lawrence

2001-03-01

The nuclear winter phenomenon is used to illustrate the many paths by which scientific advice reaches decision makers in the United States government. Because the Reagan administration was hostile to the strategic policy that the scientific discovery seemed to demand, the leading proponent of nuclear winter, Carl Sagan, used his formidable talent for popularization to reach a larger audience.

The engineering approach to winter sports

CERN Document Server

Cheli, Federico; Maldifassi, Stefano; Melzi, Stefano; Sabbioni, Edoardo

2016-01-01

The Engineering Approach to Winter Sports presents the state-of-the-art research in the field of winter sports in a harmonized and comprehensive way for a diverse audience of engineers, equipment and facilities designers, and materials scientists. The book examines the physics and chemistry of snow and ice with particular focus on the interaction (friction) between sports equipment and snow/ice, how it is influenced by environmental factors, such as temperature and pressure, as well as by contaminants and how it can be modified through the use of ski waxes or the microtextures of blades or ski soles. The authors also cover, in turn, the different disciplines in winter sports:  skiing (both alpine and cross country), skating and jumping, bob sledding and skeleton, hockey and curling, with attention given to both equipment design and on the simulation of gesture and  track optimization.

Nuclear Winter: Implications for civil defense

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chester, C.V.; Perry, A.M.; Hobbs, B.F.

1988-05-01

''Nuclear Winter'' is the term given to the cooling hypothesized to occur in the Northern Hemisphere following a nuclear war as the result of the injection of smoke from burning cities into the atmosphere. The voluminous literature on this subject produced since the paper was published in 1983 by Turco, Toon, Ackerman, Pollack, and Sagen (TTAPS) has been reviewed. Three-dimensional global circulation models have resulted in reduced estimates of cooling---15 to 25/degree/C for a summer war and a few degrees for a winter war. More serious may be the possibility of suppression of convective precipitation by the altered temperature profiles in the atmosphere. However, very large uncertainties remain in input parameters, the models, and the results of calculations. We believe the state of knowledge about nuclear winter is sufficiently developed to conclude: Neither cold nor drought is likely to be a direct threat to human survival for populations with the wherewithal to survive normal January temperatures. The principal threat from nuclear winter is to food production, and this could present problems to third parties who are without food reserves. Loss of a crop year is neither a new nor an unexpected threat from nuclear war to the United States and the Soviet Union. Both have at least a year's food reserve at all times. Both face formidable organizational problems in distributing their reserves in a war-damaged environment. The consequences of nuclear winter could be expected to fall more heavily on the Soviet Union than the United States due to its higher latitude and less productive agriculture. This may be especially true if disturbances of rainfall amounts and distribution persist for more than a year.

Winter precipitation and fire in the Sonoran Desert

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogers, G.F.; Vint, M.K.

1987-01-01

Historical fire and climate records from the Arizona Upland portion of the Tonto National forest were used to test the hypothesis that fires burn larger areas in the Sonoran Desert after two wet winters than after one. We found that many more hectares burn in years following two winters that are wetter than normal, than during any other years. We agree with other ecologists, that desert fire occurrence is probably related to increased production of winter annual plants, and we suggest ways that the relationship may be clarified.

Relationship of deer and moose populations to previous winters' snow

Science.gov (United States)

Mech, L.D.; McRoberts, R.E.; Peterson, R.O.; Page, R.E.

1987-01-01

(1) Linear regression was used to relate snow accumulation during single and consecutive winters with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn:doe ratios, mosse (Alces alces) twinning rates and calf:cow ratios, and annual changes in deer and moose populations. Significant relationships were found between snow accumulation during individual winters and these dependent variables during the following year. However, the strongest relationships were between the dependent variables and the sums of the snow accumulations over the previous three winters. The percentage of the variability explained was 36 to 51. (2) Significant relationships were also found between winter vulnerability of moose calves and the sum of the snow accumulations in the current, and up to seven previous, winters, with about 49% of the variability explained. (3) No relationship was found between wolf numbers and the above dependent variables. (4) These relationships imply that winter influences on maternal nutrition can accumulate for several years and that this cumulative effect strongly determines fecundity and/or calf and fawn survivability. Although wolf (Canis lupus L.) predation is the main direct mortality agent on fawns and calves, wolf density itself appears to be secondary to winter weather in influencing the deer and moose populations.

Novel psychrotolerant picocyanobacteria isolated from Chesapeake Bay in the winter.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yongle; Jiao, Nianzhi; Chen, Feng

2015-08-01

Picocyanobacteria are major primary producers in the ocean, especially in the tropical or subtropical oceans or during warm seasons. Many "warm" picocyanobacterial species have been isolated and characterized. However, picocyanobacteria in cold environments or cold seasons are much less studied. In general, little is known about the taxonomy and ecophysiology of picocyanobacteria living in the winter. In this study, 17 strains of picocyanobacteria were isolated from Chesapeake Bay, a temperate estuarine ecosystem, during the winter months. These winter isolates belong to five distinct phylogenetic lineages, and are distinct from the picocyanobacteria previously isolated from the warm seasons. The vast majority of the winter isolates were closely related to picocyanobacteria isolated from other cold environments like Arctic or subalpine waters. The winter picocyanobacterial isolates were able to maintain slow growth or prolonged dormancy at 4°C. Interestingly, the phycoerythrin-rich strains outperformed the phycocyanin-rich strains at cold temperature. In addition, winter picocyanobacteria changed their morphology when cultivated at 4°C. The close phylogenetic relationship between the winter picocyanobacteria and the picocyanobacteria living in high latitude cold regions indicates that low temperature locations select specific ecotypes of picocyanobacteria. © 2015 Phycological Society of America.

An induced mutant of Coastcross 1 Bermudagrass with improved winter hardiness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burton, G.W.; Constantin, M.J.; Dobson, J.W. Jr.; Hanna, W.W.; Powell, J.B.

1980-01-01

Coastcross 1 bermudagrass, a sterile F 1 hybrid, (Coastal x PI 255445) establishes faster, yields as much dry matter, is 12% more digestible, and gives 30-35% better daily gains and liveweight gains per ha when fed to cattle than does the Coastal clone but fails to develop rhizomes and lacks the winter hardiness of Coastal. To create a winter hardy mutant, 500,000 green stems were exposed to 7000 rad of 60 -Co rays at Oak Ridge, TN June 21, 1971 and were immediately planted at Blairsville, GA where relatively severe winters occur frequently. One of 4 plants surviving the 1971-72 winter was like Coastcross 1 in yield, in vitro dry matter digestibility and appearance in a 3-yr test during mild winters at Tifton, GA. Following the moderate winter of 1976-77, Coastcross 1-M3 yielded more than Coastcross 1 but only about half as much as Coastal. The severe winter of 1977-78 destroyed about 98% of the plants of Coastcross 1 and Coastcross 1-M3 but reduced the stand of Coastal very little. The small gain in winter hardiness by Coastcross 1-M3 suggests that several genes control the winter hardiness of well-established Coastal bermudagrass. (author)

Winter Bottom Trawl Survey

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The standardized NEFSC Winter Bottom Trawl Survey was initiated in 1992 and covered offshore areas from the Mid-Atlantic to Georges Bank. Inshore strata were covered...

Napping and Nighttime Sleep: Findings From an Occupation-Based Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Leland, Natalie E; Fogelberg, Donald; Sleight, Alix; Mallinson, Trudy; Vigen, Cheryl; Blanchard, Jeanine; Carlson, Mike; Clark, Florence

2016-01-01

To describe sleeping behaviors and trends over time among an ethnically diverse group of community-living older adults. A descriptive secondary data analysis of a subsample (n = 217) from the Lifestyle Redesign randomized controlled trial was done to explore baseline napping and sleeping patterns as well as 6-mo changes in these outcomes. At baseline, the average time sleeping was 8.2 hr daily (standard deviation = 1.7). Among all participants, 29% reported daytime napping at baseline, of which 36% no longer napped at follow-up. Among participants who stopped napping, those who received an occupation-based intervention (n = 98) replaced napping time with nighttime sleep, and those not receiving an intervention (n = 119) experienced a net loss of total sleep (p napping, the occupation-based intervention may be related to enhanced sleep. More research examining the role of occupation-based interventions in improving sleep is warranted. Copyright © 2016 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Severe European winters in a secular perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Hoy, Andreas; Hänsel, Stephanie

2017-04-01

Temperature conditions during the winter time are substantially shaped by a strong year-to-year variability. European winters since the late 1980s - compared to previous decades and centuries - were mainly characterised by a high temperature level, including recent record-warm winters. Yet, comparably cold winters and severe cold spells still occur nowadays, like recently observed from 2009 to 2013 and in early 2017. Central England experienced its second coldest December since start of observations more than 350 years ago in 2010, and some of the lowest temperatures ever measured in northern Europe (below -50 °C in Lapland) were recorded in January 1999. Analysing thermal characteristics and spatial distribution of severe (historical) winters - using early instrumental data - helps expanding and consolidating our knowledge of past weather extremes. This contribution presents efforts towards this direction. We focus on a) compiling and assessing a very long-term instrumental, spatially widespread and well-distributed, high-quality meteorological data set to b) investigate very cold winter temperatures in Europe from early measurements until today. In a first step, we analyse the longest available time series of monthly temperature averages within Europe. Our dataset extends from the Nordic countries up to the Mediterranean and from the British Isles up to Russia. We utilise as much as possible homogenised times series in order to ensure reliable results. Homogenised data derive from the NORDHOM (Scandinavia) and HISTALP (greater alpine region) datasets or were obtained from national weather services and universities. Other (not specifically homogenised) data were derived from the ECA&D dataset or national institutions. The employed time series often start already during the 18th century, with Paris & Central England being the longest datasets (from 1659). In a second step, daily temperature averages are involved. Only some of those series are homogenised, but

Playing it safe: Patron safety strategies and experience of violence in night-time entertainment districts.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jin; Droste, Nicolas; Curtis, Ashlee; Zinkiewicz, Lucy; Miller, Peter

2018-03-01

Incidences of violence are elevated in night-time entertainment districts. Research suggests that safety-related behavioural strategies adopted while drinking can reduce negative alcohol-related outcomes. The current study investigates the use of safety strategies and its association with experiences of violence among patrons from the general population. Patron interviews (N = 3949) were conducted in and around licenced venues in Newcastle (New South Wales) and Geelong (Victoria) during peak trading hours (Friday and Saturday, 21:00-01:00 h). Participants (mean age = 24.3, SD = 5.8; male 54.4%) were asked to report what measures, if any, they used to keep safe when drinking and whether they had been involved in a violent incident in the last 12 months. After controlling for patron demographics and location, the use of multiple (more than one) safety strategies was significantly associated with reduced odds of involvement in a violent incident (odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.49-0.85, P = 0.002). Significant gender differences were observed in the number and type of safety strategies reported. Increasing the number of safety-related behaviours during drinking occasions is associated with a small but significant reduction in experiencing alcohol-related harms, such as violence. [Zhou J, Droste N, Curtis A, Zinkiewicz L, Miller P. Playing it safe: Patron safety strategies and experience of violence in night-time entertainment districts. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Field-aligned flows of H+ and He+ in the mid-latitude topside ionosphere at solar maximum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, G.J.; Sellek, R.

1992-01-01

A time-dependent mathematical model of the Earth's ionosphere and plasmasphere has been used to investigate the field-aligned flows of H + and He + in the topside ionosphere at L = 3 during solar maximum. When the flux-tube content is low there are upward flows of H + and He + during daytime in both the winter and summer topside ionospheres. During winter night-time the directions of flow are, in general, downwards for He + , because of the night-time decrease in He + scale height, and upwards for H + , because of the replenishment needs of the flux tube. In the winter topside ionosphere, during the later stages of flux-tube replenishment, H + generally flows downwards during both day and night as a result of the greater plasma pressure in the summer hemisphere whilst He + flows upwards during the day and downwards at night. In the summer topside ionosphere H + flows upward to replace the H + lost from the plasmasphere to the winter topside ionosphere whilst the winter helium bulge leads to flows of He + that are in the direction winter hemisphere to summer hemisphere. When the flux-tube content is low, counterstreaming of H + and He + , with H + flowing upwards and He + downwards, occurs for most of the day above about 5000 km altitude in the summer hemisphere. There are occurrences of this type of counterstreaming in both the summer and winter hemispheres during the night. When the flux-tube content is high, counterstreaming of H + and He + occurs less frequently and over smaller regions of the flux tube. There are regions in both hemispheres where H + flows downwards whilst He + flows upwards. (Author)

Regional greenhouse gas emissions from cultivation of winter wheat and winter rapeseed for biofuels in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elsgaard, Lars; Olesen, Jørgen E; Hermansen, John Erik

2013-01-01

Biofuels from bioenergy crops may substitute a significant part of fossil fuels in the transport sector where, e.g., the European Union has set a target of using 10% renewable energy by 2020. Savings of greenhouse gas emissions by biofuels vary according to cropping systems and are influenced...... by such regional factors as soil conditions, climate and input of agrochemicals. Here we analysed at a regional scale the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with cultivation of winter wheat for bioethanol and winter rapeseed for rapeseed methyl ester (RME) under Danish conditions. Emitted CO2 equivalents...

Nighttime assaults: using a national emergency department monitoring system to predict occurrence, target prevention and plan services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bellis Mark A

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Emergency department (ED data have the potential to provide critical intelligence on when violence is most likely to occur and the characteristics of those who suffer the greatest health impacts. We use a national experimental ED monitoring system to examine how it could target violence prevention interventions towards at risk communities and optimise acute responses to calendar, holiday and other celebration-related changes in nighttime assaults. Methods A cross-sectional examination of nighttime assault presentations (6.01 pm to 6.00 am; n = 330,172 over a three-year period (31st March 2008 to 30th March 2011 to English EDs analysing changes by weekday, month, holidays, major sporting events, and demographics of those presenting. Results Males are at greater risk of assault presentation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.14, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 3.11-3.16; P 2 = 0.918; P  Conclusions To date, the role of ED data has focused on helping target nightlife police activity. Its utility is much greater; capable of targeting and evaluating multi-agency life course approaches to violence prevention and optimising frontline resources. National ED data are critical for fully engaging health services in the prevention of violence.

The influence of winter swimming on the rheological properties of blood.

Science.gov (United States)

Teległów, Aneta; Dąbrowski, Zbigniew; Marchewka, Anna; Tyka, Aleksander; Krawczyk, Marcin; Głodzik, Jacek; Szyguła, Zbigniew; Mleczko, Edward; Bilski, Jan; Tyka, Anna; Tabarowski, Zbigniew; Czepiel, Jacek; Filar-Mierzwa, Katarzyna

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in blood rheology resulting from regular winter swimming. The study was carried out on 12 male winter swimmers. Venous blood for morphological, biochemical and rheological analysis was sampled twice from each winter swimmer - at the beginning of the season and after its completion. There were no significant changes detected in the median values of most blood morphological parameters. The only exception pertained to MCHC which was significantly lower after the season. Winter swimming entailed significant decrease in median elongation index values at shear stress levels of 0.30 Pa and 0.58 Pa, and significant increase in median values of this parameter at shear stress levels ≥1.13 Pa. No significant changes were observed in winter swimmers' median values of aggregation indices and plasma viscosity. The median level of glucose was lower post winter swimming in comparison to the pre-seasonal values. In contrast, one season of winter swimming did not influence swimmers' median value of fibrinogen concentration. In summary, this study revealed positive effects of winter swimming on the rheological properties of blood, manifested by an increase in erythrocyte deformability without accompanying changes in erythrocyte aggregation.

Mortality impact of extreme winter temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, Julio; García, Ricardo; López, César; Linares, Cristina; Tobías, Aurelio; Prieto, Luis

2005-01-01

During the last few years great attention has been paid to the evaluation of the impact of extreme temperatures on human health. This paper examines the effect of extreme winter temperature on mortality in Madrid for people older than 65, using ARIMA and GAM models. Data correspond to 1,815 winter days over the period 1986 1997, during which time a total of 133,000 deaths occurred. The daily maximum temperature (Tmax) was shown to be the best thermal indicator of the impact of climate on mortality. When total mortality was considered, the maximum impact occured 7 8 days after a temperature extreme; for circulatory diseases the lag was between 7 and 14 days. When respiratory causes were considered, two mortality peaks were evident at 4 5 and 11 days. When the impact of winter extreme temperatures was compared with that associated with summer extremes, it was found to occur over a longer term, and appeared to be more indirect.

Increasing Winter Maximal Metabolic Rate Improves Intrawinter Survival in Small Birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Petit, Magali; Clavijo-Baquet, Sabrina; Vézina, François

Small resident bird species living at northern latitudes increase their metabolism in winter, and this is widely assumed to improve their chances of survival. However, the relationship between winter metabolic performance and survival has yet to be demonstrated. Using capture-mark-recapture, we followed a population of free-living black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) over 3 yr and evaluated their survival probability within and among winters. We also measured the size-independent body mass (M s ), hematocrit (Hct), basal metabolic rate (BMR), and maximal thermogenic capacity (Msum) and investigated how these parameters influenced survival within and among winters. Results showed that survival probability was high and constant both within (0.92) and among (0.96) winters. They also showed that while M s , Hct, and BMR had no significant influence, survival was positively related to Msum-following a sigmoid relationship-within but not among winter. Birds expressing an Msum below 1.26 W (i.e., similar to summer levels) had a winter. Our data therefore suggest that black-capped chickadees that are either too slow or unable to adjust their phenotype from summer to winter have little chances of survival and thus that seasonal upregulation of metabolic performance is highly beneficial. This study is the first to document in an avian system the relationship between thermogenic capacity and winter survival, a proxy of fitness.

Resting, night-time, and 24 h heart rate as markers of cardiovascular risk in middle-aged and elderly men and women with no apparent heart disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Christine D; Olsen, Rasmus H; Pedersen, Lene R

2013-01-01

AimsIncreased heart rate (HR) is a predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality. We tested which measure of HR had the strongest prognostic value in a population with no apparent heart disease.Methods and resultsSix hundred and fifty-three men and women between the age of 55 and 75...... adjusted model, only night-time HR remained in the model, hazard ratio = 1.17 (1.05-1.30), P = 0.005.ConclusionIn middle-aged subjects with no apparent heart disease, all measures of increased HR were associated with increased mortality and CV risk. However, night-time HR was the only parameter...

Winter cover crop effect on corn seedling pathogens

Science.gov (United States)

Cover crops are an excellent management tool to improve the sustainability of agriculture. Winter rye cover crops have been used successfully in Iowa corn-soybean rotations. Unfortunately, winter rye cover crops occasionally reduce yields of the following corn crop. We hypothesize that one potential...

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus and climate change: Importance of winter forage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thrine Moen Heggberget

2002-06-01

Full Text Available As a consequence of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, climate change is predicted to be particularly pronounced, although regionally variable, in the vast arctic, sub-arctic and alpine tundra areas of the northern hemisphere. Here, we review winter foraging conditions for reindeer and caribou (Rangifer tarandus living in these areas, and consider diet, forage quality and distribution, accessibility due to snow variation, and effects of snow condition on reindeer and caribou populations. Finally, we hypothesise how global warming may affect wild mountain reindeer herds in South Norway. Energy-rich lichens often dominate reindeer and caribou diets. The animals also prefer lichens, and their productivity has been shown to be higher on lichen-rich than on lichen-poor ranges. Nevertheless, this energy source appears to be neither sufficient as winter diet for reindeer or caribou (at least for pregnant females nor necessary. Some reindeer and caribou populations seem to be better adapted to a non-lichen winter diet, e.g. by a larger alimentary tract. Shrubs appear to be the most common alternative winter forage, while some grasses appear to represent a good, nutritionally-balanced winter diet. Reindeer/caribou make good use of a wide variety of plants in winter, including dead and dry parts that are digested more than expected based on their fibre content. The diversity of winter forage is probably important for the mineral content of the diet. A lichen-dominated winter diet may be deficient in essential dietary elements, e.g. minerals. Sodium in particular may be marginal in inland winter ranges. Our review indicates that most Rangifer populations with lichen-dominated winter diets are either periodically or continuously heavily harvested by humans or predators. However, when population size is mainly limited by food, accessible lichen resources are often depleted. Plant studies simulating climatic change indicate that a warmer, wetter

Planning of traumatological hospital resources for a major winter sporting event as illustrated by the 2005 Winter Universiad.

Science.gov (United States)

Oberladstaetter, J; Kamelger, F S; Rosenberger, R; Dallapozza, Ch; Struve, P; Luger, T; Fink, Ch; Attal, R

2009-03-01

The 22nd Student World Winter Games took place in January 2005 in Innsbruck and Seefeld, Austria. Exactly 1,500 athletes of 50 nationalities competed in 69 events in ten winter sports. A total number of 750 functionaries, 800 volunteers and 85,000 spectators participated in the second largest winter sports event behind the Olympic winter games. The aim of this study was to evaluate the needed resources to ensure traumatological care for an event of that size. At the medical "call-center" all consultations, as well as patient data, diagnosis, and medical treatment were recorded using a preset protocol. Further, all patients treated in the University Hospital Innsbruck were registered with an emphasis on trauma patients. Forty-eight of 65 patients transported to the hospital as a result of the Universiade were trauma patients, 37 of whom were athletes. The gender distribution was 34:14 (m:f). Ice hockey players had the highest rate of injury (25% of all injured athletes), followed by alpine skiers (20.8% of injured athletes). The highest ISS was nine. Forty-three patients got ambulatory treatment, five were admitted to the hospital and surgical treatment was conducted in three cases. Mean patient number was 4.8 per day. No additional personnel, structural, or technical hospital resources were needed to accommodate a large winter sports event like the Universiad. Thus, a level-B trauma center with an emergency room and independent traumatological department with around the clock surgical capability seems to be sufficient to provide traumatological care for an event of this size if the possibility of patient transport to a larger facility exists in the case of catastrophic events.

Aircraft measurements to characterize polluted winter boundary layers: Overview of twin otter flights during the Utah Winter Fine Particulate Matter Study

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, S. S.; Baasandorj, M.; Franchin, A.; Middlebrook, A. M.; Goldberger, L.; Thornton, J. A.; Dube, W. P.; McDuffie, E. E.; Womack, C.; Fibiger, D. L.; Moravek, A.; Clark, J. C.; Murphy, J. G.; Mitchell, R.

2017-12-01

Winter air pollution is a significant public health concern. In many regions of the U.S., Europe and Asia, wintertime particulate matter concentrations exceed national and / or international air quality standards. Winter air pollution also represents a scientific challenge because these events occur during stagnation events in shallow, vertically stratified boundary layers whose composition is difficult to probe from surface level measurements. Chemical processes responsible for the conversion of primary emissions to secondary pollutants such as ammonium nitrate aerosol vary with height above ground level. Sources of oxidants are poorly understood and may result from both local chemical production and mixing between shallow inversion layers and background air. During the Utah Winter Fine Particulate Study (UWFPS) in January - February 2017, the NOAA twin otter executed 23 research flights with a payload designed to characterize the formation of ammonium nitrate aerosol in three mountain valleys of northern Utah (Salt Lake, Cache, and Utah). These valleys are subject to periodic episodes of winter aerosol pollution well in excess of U.S. national ambient air quality standards. This presentation will describe the measurement strategy of the twin otter flights to address the specific features of aerosol pollution within winter boundary layer of this region. This strategy is relevant to understanding the broader issue of winter air pollution in other regions and potentially to the design of future studies. The presentation will summarize findings from UWFPS related to boundary layer structure, emissions and chemical processes responsible for ammonium nitrate aerosol in this region.

Resolving the mesospheric nighttime 4.3 µm emission puzzle: comparison of the CO2(ν3 and OH(ν emission models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. A. Panka

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In the 1970s, the mechanism of vibrational energy transfer from chemically produced OH(ν in the nighttime mesosphere to the CO2(ν3 vibration, OH(ν ⇒ N2(ν ⇒ CO2(ν3, was proposed. In later studies it was shown that this "direct" mechanism for simulated nighttime 4.3 µm emissions of the mesosphere is not sufficient to explain space observations. In order to better simulate these observations, an additional enhancement is needed that would be equivalent to the production of 2.8–3 N2(1 molecules instead of one N2(1 molecule in each quenching reaction of OH(ν + N2(0. Recently a new "indirect" channel of the OH(ν energy transfer to N2(ν vibrations, OH(ν ⇒ O(1D ⇒ N2(ν, was suggested and then confirmed in a laboratory experiment, where its rate for OH(ν = 9 + O(3P was measured. We studied in detail the impact of the "direct" and "indirect" mechanisms on CO2(ν3 and OH(ν vibrational level populations and emissions. We also compared our calculations with (a the SABER/TIMED nighttime 4.3 µm CO2 and OH 1.6 and 2.0 µm limb radiances of the mesosphere–lower thermosphere (MLT and (b with ground- and space-based observations of OH(ν densities in the nighttime mesosphere. We found that the new "indirect" channel provides a strong enhancement of the 4.3 µm CO2 emission, which is comparable to that obtained with the "direct" mechanism alone but assuming an efficiency that is 3 times higher. The model based on the "indirect" channel also produces OH(ν density distributions which are in good agreement with both SABER limb OH emission observations and ground and space measurements. This is, however, not true for the model which relies on the "direct" mechanism alone. This discrepancy is caused by the lack of an efficient redistribution of the OH(ν energy from higher vibrational levels emitting at 2.0 µm to lower levels emitting at 1.6 µm. In contrast, the new  indirect  mechanism

Zimbabwean fourth social workers conference and winter school ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Such steps include running the Annual Social Workers Conference & Winter School. This annual observance creates a platform to showcase the goals and accomplishments of diverse social work professionals in the country, give a report on progress and convening a social work winter school for exchanging professional ...

Winter-APK voor bijen : Helpt u deze winter mee bij het praktijkonderzoek?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Som de Cerff, B.; Cornelissen, B.; Moens, F.

2013-01-01

Om de risico’s van een aanrijding bij sneeuw en gladheid te verminderen, laten steeds meer automobilisten bij het monteren van winterbanden ook een wintercontrole uitvoeren. Zou een dergelijke controle voor de winter ook schade aan onze volken in de vorm van wintersterfte kunnen verminderen? Dat zou

STIMULATION OF RESISTANCE OF BEE FAMILIES DURING WINTERING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

nicolae eremia

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Honey bees use as food nectar, honey, pollen and bee bread. They collect nectar and pollen on flowers, that process in food - honey and bee bread. Food provides the bees body with energy due to carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes, lipids, vitamins, minerals. The goal of the studies was to stimulate the bees’ resistance during wintering against nesemosa disease in bee families’ survival after winter time and productivity increasing. There was established that the optimal dose of feed additive Pramix Bionorm P (symbiotic complex, in reserves supplementing of food of bee families during autumn is 150 mg of sugar syrup. There was revealed that using of the feed additive Pramix Bionorm P (symbiotic complex, in bees feeding for reserves supplementing of bees food ensures a stimulating of resistance at wintering of bees, decreases the quantity of used honey during wintering at one space between honey combs populated with bees, as well increases the productivity.

European seasonal mortality and influenza incidence due to winter temperature variability

Science.gov (United States)

Rodó, X.; Ballester, J.; Robine, J. M.; Herrmann, F. R.

2017-12-01

Recent studies have vividly emphasized the lack of consensus on the degree of vulnerability (sensu IPCC) of European societies to current and future winter temperatures. Here we consider several climate factors, influenza incidence and daily numbers of deaths to characterize the relationship between winter temperature and mortality in a very large ensemble of European regions representing more than 400 million people. Analyses highlight the strong association between the year-to-year fluctuations in winter mean temperature and mortality, with higher seasonal cases during harsh winters, in all of the countries except the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium. This spatial distribution contrasts with the well-documented latitudinal orientation of the dependency between daily temperature and mortality within the season. A theoretical framework is proposed to reconcile the apparent contradictions between recent studies, offering an interpretation to regional differences in the vulnerability to daily, seasonal and long-term winter temperature variability. Despite the lack of a strong year-to-year association between winter mean values in some countries, it can be concluded that warmer winters will contribute to the decrease in winter mortality everywhere in Europe. More information in Ballester J, et al. (2016) Nature Climate Change 6, 927-930, doi:10.1038/NCLIMATE3070.

Migration and wintering sites of Pelagic Cormorants determined by satellite telemetry

Science.gov (United States)

Hatch, Shyla A.; Gill, V.A.; Mulcahy, D.M.

2011-01-01

Factors affecting winter survival may be key determinants of status and population trends of seabirds, but connections between breeding sites and wintering areas of most populations are poorly known. Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus; N= 6) surgically implanted with satellite transmitters migrated from a breeding colony on Middleton Island, northern Gulf of Alaska, to wintering sites in southeast Alaska and northern British Columbia. Winter locations averaged 920 km (range = 600-1190 km) from the breeding site. Migration flights in fall and spring lasted ???5 d in four instances. After reaching wintering areas, cormorants settled in narrowly circumscribed inshore locations (~10-km radius) and remained there throughout the nonbreeding period (September- March). Two juveniles tagged at the breeding colony as fledglings remained at their wintering sites for the duration of the tracking interval (14 and 22 mo, respectively). Most cormorants used multiple sites within their winter ranges for roosting and foraging. Band recoveries show that Pelagic Cormorants in southern British Columbia and Washington disperse locally in winter, rather than migrating like the cormorants in our study. Radio-tagging and monitoring cormorants and other seabirds from known breeding sites are vital for understanding migratory connectivity and improving conservation strategies for local populations. ?? 2011 The Authors. Journal of Field Ornithology ?? 2011 Association of Field Ornithologists.

Comparison of Selected Morphological, Rheological and Biochemical Parameters of Winter Swimmers' Blood at the End of One Winter Swimming Season and at the Beginning of Another.

Science.gov (United States)

Teległów, Aneta; Marchewka, Jakub; Tabarowski, Zbigniew; Rembiasz, Konrad; Głodzik, Jacek; Scisłowska-Czarnecka, Anna

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to examine potential differences in the morphological, rheological and biochemical blood parameters of winter swimmers who remained physically active during the period between the end of one winter swimming season and the beginning of another. The study included a group of healthy winter swimmers (n = 17, all between 30 and 60 years of age). Six months following the end of winter season, the levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and mean corpuscular hemoglobin turned out to be significantly higher, while erythrocyte count and hematocrit level significantly lower than at the baseline. Moreover, the break in winter swimming was reflected by a significant increase in median erythrocyte elongation index at all shear stress levels ≥ 1.13 Pa. The only significant changes in biochemical parameters of the blood pertained to an increase in the concentration of transferrin and to a decrease in the total protein, albumin and beta-1 globulin concentrations. Seasonal effort of winter swimmers between the end of one winter swimming season and the beginning of another has a positive influence on morphological, rheological and biochemical blood parameters.

Polar vortex evolution during Northern Hemispheric winter 2004/05

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T. Chshyolkova

2007-06-01

Full Text Available As a part of the project "Atmospheric Wave Influences upon the Winter Polar Vortices (0–100 km" of the CAWSES program, data from meteor and Medium Frequency radars at 12 locations and MetO (UK Meteorological Office global assimilated fields have been analyzed for the first campaign during the Northern Hemispheric winter of 2004/05. The stratospheric state has been described using the conventional zonal mean parameters as well as Q-diagnostic, which allows consideration of the longitudinal variability. The stratosphere was cold during winter of 2004/05, and the polar vortex was relatively strong during most of the winter with relatively weak disturbances occurring at the end of December and the end of January. For this winter the strongest deformation with the splitting of the polar vortex in the lower stratosphere was observed at the end of February. Here the results show strong latitudinal and longitudinal differences that are evident in the stratospheric and mesospheric data sets at different stations. Eastward winds are weaker and oscillations with planetary wave periods have smaller amplitudes at more poleward stations. Accordingly, the occurrence, time and magnitude of the observed reversal of the zonal mesospheric winds associated with stratospheric disturbances depend on the local stratospheric conditions. In general, compared to previous years, the winter of 2004/05 could be characterized by weak planetary wave activity at stratospheric and mesospheric heights.

Overhead irrigation increased winter chilling and floral bud ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eucalyptus nitens requires a sufficiently cold winter to produce flower buds. In areas in South Africa where E. nitens commercial plantations as well as breeding and production seed orchards are located, winter chilling is often insufficient for floral bud initiation. Hence, under such conditions, E. nitens floral bud and seed ...

Does Wyoming's Core Area Policy Protect Winter Habitats for Greater Sage-Grouse?

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kurt T.; Beck, Jeffrey L.; Pratt, Aaron C.

2016-10-01

Conservation reserves established to protect important habitat for wildlife species are used world-wide as a wildlife conservation measure. Effective reserves must adequately protect year-round habitats to maintain wildlife populations. Wyoming's Sage-Grouse Core Area policy was established to protect breeding habitats for greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus). Protecting only one important seasonal habitat could result in loss or degradation of other important habitats and potential declines in local populations. The purpose of our study was to identify the timing of winter habitat use, the extent which individuals breeding in Core Areas used winter habitats, and develop resource selection functions to assess effectiveness of Core Areas in conserving sage-grouse winter habitats in portions of 5 Core Areas in central and north-central Wyoming during winters 2011-2015. We found that use of winter habitats occured over a longer period than current Core Area winter timing stipulations and a substantial amount of winter habitat outside of Core Areas was used by individuals that bred in Core Areas, particularly in smaller Core Areas. Resource selection functions for each study area indicated that sage-grouse were selecting habitats in response to landscapes dominated by big sagebrush and flatter topography similar to other research on sage-grouse winter habitat selection. The substantial portion of sage-grouse locations and predicted probability of selection during winter outside small Core Areas illustrate that winter requirements for sage-grouse are not adequately met by existing Core Areas. Consequently, further considerations for identifying and managing important winter sage-grouse habitats under Wyoming's Core Area Policy are warranted.

A multistage multinational triangulation approach to hazard identification in night-time offshore helicopter operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nascimento, Felipe A.C.; Majumdar, Arnab; Ochieng, Washington Y.; Jarvis, Steve R.

2012-01-01

When visibility is poor offshore helicopter operations are prone to accidents. Given that a significant increase in night-time activities is predicted in the near future, this paper proposes a systemic approach to account for all the factors underlying such accidents. It presents the results of accident analysis and interviews of pilots from five different scenarios using cognitive task analysis, followed by rigorous application of Grounded Theory and Template Analysis to the narratives. The results are used to compile a comprehensive list of the factors that affect the ability of pilots to fly at night. These factors should form the basis for future data collection and safety interventions.

A multistage multinational triangulation approach to hazard identification in night-time offshore helicopter operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nascimento, Felipe A.C., E-mail: f.a.c.nascimento@imperial.ac.uk [Imperial College London, The Lloyd' s Register Educational Trust Transport Risk Management Centre, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, South Kensington campus, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Majumdar, Arnab [Imperial College London, The Lloyd' s Register Educational Trust Transport Risk Management Centre, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, South Kensington campus, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Ochieng, Washington Y., E-mail: w.ochieng@imperial.ac.uk [Imperial College London, Centre for Transport Studies, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, South Kensington campus, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Jarvis, Steve R., E-mail: s.r.jarvis@cranfield.ac.uk [Cranfield University, Cranfield Centre for Aviation Human Factors, Department of Air Transport, School of Engineering, Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL (United Kingdom)

2012-12-15

When visibility is poor offshore helicopter operations are prone to accidents. Given that a significant increase in night-time activities is predicted in the near future, this paper proposes a systemic approach to account for all the factors underlying such accidents. It presents the results of accident analysis and interviews of pilots from five different scenarios using cognitive task analysis, followed by rigorous application of Grounded Theory and Template Analysis to the narratives. The results are used to compile a comprehensive list of the factors that affect the ability of pilots to fly at night. These factors should form the basis for future data collection and safety interventions.

Perspectives in Winter Limnology: Closing the annual cycle of freezing lakes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salonen, K.; Leppäranta, M.; Viljanen, M.; Gulati, R.D.

2009-01-01

Winter has traditionally been considered as an ecologically insignificant season and, together with technical difficulties, this has led winter limnology to lag behind summer limnology. Recently, rapidly expanding interest in climate warming has increased water research in winter. It has also become

Migration and winter distribution of the Chestnutcollared Longspur

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ellison Kevin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus is one of five grassland songbirds, endemic within North America, with populations that have declined >65% since the 1960s. These species breed and winter in the northern and southern Great Plains, respectively. Identifying migration routes, wintering sites, and the timing of their habitat use is key for understanding the relative magnitude of threats across the annual cycle and effectively targeting habitats for conservation. We tracked migratory movements of seven Chestnut-collared Longspurs with light-level geolocators deployed in Canada. Individuals wintered up to 112-1,200km apart. All followed the Central Flyway, circumvented high-elevation terrain, and traveled east of the breeding location. Unlike most songbirds, the durations of spring and fall migrations were similar; on average 42 ± 7d and 41 ± 5d during fall and spring migrations, respectively, for an approximately 2,000km migration; this highlights the need to better understand habitat requirements during migration for grassland songbirds. Using geospatial habitat data, we assessed winter distribution overlap with four other endemic grassland songbirds; wintering range overlapped 63-99%. Future studies should use more precise devices (e.g., archival GPS units, programmed for data collection dates from this study, to identify specific migratory sites for better conserving this and associated grassland species.

Neurotic psychopathology and alexithymia among winter swimmers and controls--a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindeman, Sari; Hirvonen, Jorma; Joukamaa, Matti

2002-05-01

Random samples of 25 voluntary Finnish winter swimmers (7 males, 18 females) and 11 controls (3 males, 8 females were followed prospectively during the winter season from October 1999 to May 2000 to (determine whether winter swimming is beneficial for mental well-being, as many of its practitioners claim. The Crown-Crisp Experimental Index (CCEI) was used for measuring free-floating anxiety, phobic anxiety, obsessionality, depression, somatic anxiety and hysteria, and the 20-item version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) for measuring alexithymia. Self-reported somatic and mental health and the reasons for and the frequency of winter-swimming were asked, too. As resealed by open questions, the winter swimmers reported positive effects of winter swimming. Several of the swimmers also told that they had started winter swimming to improve their physical and mental health. Their experience was that the swimming had relieved physical symptoms and made their mood more positive. However, we found no major differences between winter swimmers and controls in any CCEI or TAS variables. The structured questionnaires do not necessarily, however, reach subjective feelings and experiences.

Nuclear Winter: The implications for civil defense

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chester, C.V.; Perry, A.M.; Hobbs, B.F.

1987-01-01

''Nuclear Winter'' is the term given to hypothesized cooling in the northern hemisphere following a nuclear war due to injection of smoke from burning cities into the atmosphere. The voluminous literature on this subject produced since the original paper in 1983 by Turco, Toon, Ackerman, Pollack, and Sagen (TTAPS) has been reviewed. The widespread use of 3-dimensional global circulation models have resulted in reduced estimates of cooling; 15 to 25 0 C for a summer war and a few degrees for a winter war. More serious may be the possibility of suppression of convective precipitation by the altered temperature profiles in the atmosphere. However, very large uncertainties remain in input parameters, the models, and the results of calculations. We believe the state of knowledge about nuclear winter is sufficiently developed to conclude: Neither cold nor drought are likely to be direct threats to human survival for populations with the wherewithal to survive normal January temperatures; The principal threat from nuclear winter is to food production, and could present problems to third parties without food reserves; and Loss of a crop year is neither a new nor unexpected threat from nuclear war to the US and the Soviet Union. Both have at least a year's food reserve at all times. Both face formidable organizational problems in distributing their reserves in a war-damaged environment. The consequences of nuclear winter could be expected to fall more heavily on the Soviet Union than the US due to its higher latitude and less productive agriculture. This may be especially true if disturbances of rainfall amounts and distribution persist for more than a year. 6 refs

Mapping and Evaluating the Urbanization Process in Northeast China Using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kunpeng Yi

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, an Urban Light Index (ULI is constructed to facilitate analysis and quantitative evaluation of the process of urbanization and expansion rate by using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data during the years from 1992 to 2010. A unit circle urbanization evaluation model is established to perform a comprehensive analysis of the urbanization process of 34 prefecture-level cities in Northeast China. Furthermore, the concept of urban light space is put forward. In this study, urban light space is divided into four types: the core urban area, the transition zone between urban and suburban areas, suburban area and fluorescent space. Proceeding from the temporal and spatial variation of the four types of light space, the pattern of morphologic change and space-time evolution of the four principal cities in Northeast China (Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian is analyzed and given particular attention. Through a correlation analysis between ULI and the traditional urbanization indexes (urban population, proportion of the secondary and tertiary industries in the regional GDP and the built-up area, the advantages and disadvantages as well as the feasibility of using the ULI in the study of urbanization are evaluated. The research results show that ULI has a strong correlation with urban built-up area (R2 ＝ 0.8277. The morphologic change and history of the evolving urban light space can truly reflect the characteristics of urban sprawl. The results also indicate that DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data is applicable for extracting urban space information and has strong potential to urbanization research.

CAN WINTER DEPRESSION BE PREVENTED BY LIGHT TREATMENT

NARCIS (Netherlands)

MEESTERS, Y; LAMBERS, PA; JANSEN, JHC; BOUHUYS, AL; BEERSMA, DGM; VANDENHOOFDAKKER, RH

1991-01-01

The administration of light at the development of the first signs of a winter depression appears to prevent it from developing into a full-blown depression. No patient from a group of 10 treated in this way developed any signs of depression during the rest of the winter season, while five of seven

Can winter depression be prevented by light treatment?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meesters, Ybe; Lambers, Petrus A.; Jansen, Jacob; Bouhuys, Antoinette L.; Beersma, Domien G.M.; Hoofdakker, Rutger H. van den

1991-01-01

The administration of light at the development of the first signs of a winter depression appears to prevent it from developing into a full-blown depression. No patient from a group of 10 treated in this way developed any signs of depression during the rest of the winter season, while five of seven

Are cold winters in Europe associated with low solar activity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lockwood, M; Harrison, R G; Woollings, T; Solanki, S K

2010-01-01

Solar activity during the current sunspot minimum has fallen to levels unknown since the start of the 20th century. The Maunder minimum (about 1650-1700) was a prolonged episode of low solar activity which coincided with more severe winters in the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Motivated by recent relatively cold winters in the UK, we investigate the possible connection with solar activity. We identify regionally anomalous cold winters by detrending the Central England temperature (CET) record using reconstructions of the northern hemisphere mean temperature. We show that cold winter excursions from the hemispheric trend occur more commonly in the UK during low solar activity, consistent with the solar influence on the occurrence of persistent blocking events in the eastern Atlantic. We stress that this is a regional and seasonal effect relating to European winters and not a global effect. Average solar activity has declined rapidly since 1985 and cosmogenic isotopes suggest an 8% chance of a return to Maunder minimum conditions within the next 50 years (Lockwood 2010 Proc. R. Soc. A 466 303-29): the results presented here indicate that, despite hemispheric warming, the UK and Europe could experience more cold winters than during recent decades.

Going outside in Winter: A Qualitative Study of Preschool Dressing Routines

Science.gov (United States)

Hatcher, Beth; Squibb, Betsy

2011-01-01

The exploratory study focused on describing typical routines of preparing for winter outdoor play with preschool children and their teachers. Naturalistic observations, interviews and photographs resulted in extensive examples of children's development in cognitive understanding of winter and winter-related concepts. Observations of teachers and…

Modeling of Electric Demand for Sustainable Energy and Management in India Using Spatio-Temporal DMSP-OLS Night-Time Data

Science.gov (United States)

Tripathy, Bismay Ranjan; Sajjad, Haroon; Elvidge, Christopher D.; Ting, Yu; Pandey, Prem Chandra; Rani, Meenu; Kumar, Pavan

2018-04-01

Changes in the pattern of electric power consumption in India have influenced energy utilization processes and socio-economic development to greater extent during the last few decades. Assessment of spatial distribution of electricity consumption is, thus, essential for projecting availability of energy resource and planning its infrastructure. This paper makes an attempt to model the future electricity demand for sustainable energy and its management in India. The nighttime light database provides a good approximation of availability of energy. We utilized defense meteorological satellite program-operational line-scan system (DMSP-OLS) nighttime satellite data, electricity consumption (1993-2013), gross domestic product (GDP) and population growth to construct the model. We also attempted to examine the sensitiveness of electricity consumption to GDP and population growth. The results revealed that the calibrated DMSP and model has provided realistic information on the electric demand with respect to GDP and population, with a better accuracy of r 2 = 0.91. The electric demand was found to be more sensitive to GDP ( r = 0.96) than population growth ( r = 0.76) as envisaged through correlation analysis. Hence, the model proved to be useful tool in predicting electric demand for its sustainable use and management.

Genetic differentiation between sympatric and allopatric wintering populations of Snow Geese

Science.gov (United States)

Humphries, E.M.; Peters, J.L.; Jonsson, J.E.; Stone, R.; Afton, A.D.; Omland, K.E.

2009-01-01

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Delmarva Peninsula, Maryland, USA has been the wintering area of a small population of Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens; LSGO) since the 1930s. Snow Geese primarily pair in wintering areas and gene flow could be restricted between this and other LSGO wintering populations. Winter pair formation also could facilitate interbreeding with sympatric but morphologically differentiated Greater Snow Geese (C. c. atlantica; GSGO).We sequenced 658 bp of the mitochondrial DNA control region for 68 Snow Geese from East Coast and Louisiana wintering populations to examine the level of genetic differentiation among populations and subspecies. We found no evidence for genetic differentiation between LSGO populations but, consistent with morphological differences, LSGO and GSGO were significantly differentiated. We also found a lack of genetic differentiation between different LSGO morphotypes from Louisiana. We examined available banding data and found the breeding range of Delmarva LSGO overlaps extensively with LSGO that winter in Louisiana, and documented movements between wintering populations. Our results suggest the Delmarva population of LSGO is not a unique population unit apart from Mid-Continent Snow Geese. ?? 2009 by the Wilson Ornithological Society.

Downtown People Mover (DPM) Winterization Test Demonstration : Otis Elevator

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

The Otis Elevator Company Transportation Technology Division (OTIS-TTD) Downtown People Mover (DPM) Winterization Test Demonstration Final Report covers the 1978-79 and 1979-80 winter periods. Tests were performed at the Otis test track in Denver, Co...

Small Winter Thunderstorm with Sprites and Strong Positive Discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Tomoyuki; Hayakawa, Masashi; Michimoto, Koichiro

A sprite campaign was conducted in the Hokuriku area of Japan during a winter of 2004/2005. On the basis of a combined analysis of the data from various instruments (CCD cameras, radar, VHF/LF∼MF lightning mapping system, field mill network, and ELF detector), we studied meteorological and electrical structures for winter thunderstorms and sprite-producing positive discharge. Typical winter sprite parent thunderstorms had a meso-scale cloud area with embedded small convective cells. Some small winter thunderstorms accompanied by the most frequent sprite events were found to cause 2∼3 sprite events during a short interval of about 3∼5 min. When the sprites were observed, the extent of the convective cells at 20 dBZ counter was atmost ∼20 × 20 km. The VHF sources associated with sprites were located near south of the convective cell and were mapped within very small areas of at most ∼10 × 10 km. This fact shows that some small winter thunderstorms can generate large positive charge associated with sprites. We will present the analysis of such a small thunderstorms with sprites and positive lightning discharges.

Controls on winter ecosystem respiration in temperate and boreal ecosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Wang

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Winter CO₂ fluxes represent an important component of the annual carbon budget in northern ecosystems. Understanding winter respiration processes and their responses to climate change is also central to our ability to assess terrestrial carbon cycle and climate feedbacks in the future. However, the factors influencing the spatial and temporal patterns of winter ecosystem respiration (R_eco of northern ecosystems are poorly understood. For this reason, we analyzed eddy covariance flux data from 57 ecosystem sites ranging from ~35° N to ~70° N. Deciduous forests were characterized by the highest winter R_eco rates (0.90 ± 0.39 g C m⁻² d⁻¹, when winter is defined as the period during which daily air temperature remains below 0 °C. By contrast, arctic wetlands had the lowest winter R_eco rates (0.02 ± 0.02 g C m⁻² d⁻¹. Mixed forests, evergreen needle-leaved forests, grasslands, croplands and boreal wetlands were characterized by intermediate winter R_eco rates (g C m⁻² d⁻¹ of 0.70(±0.33, 0.60(±0.38, 0.62(±0.43, 0.49(±0.22 and 0.27(±0.08, respectively. Our cross site analysis showed that winter air (T_air and soil (T_soil temperature played a dominating role in determining the spatial patterns of winter R_eco in both forest and managed ecosystems (grasslands and croplands. Besides temperature, the seasonal amplitude of the leaf area index (LAI, inferred from satellite observation, or growing season gross primary productivity, which we use here as a proxy for the amount of recent carbon available for R_eco in the subsequent winter, played a marginal role in winter CO₂ emissions from forest ecosystems. We found that winter R_eco sensitivity to temperature variation across space (

Kleptoparasitism by bald eagles wintering in south-central Nebraska

Science.gov (United States)

Jorde, Dennis G.; Lingle, G.R.

1988-01-01

Kleptoparasitism on other raptors was one means by which Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) secured food along the North Platte and Platte rivers during the winters of 1978-1980. Species kelptoparasitized were Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis), Red-tailed Hawk (B. jamaicensis), Rough-legged Hawk (B. lagopus), Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and Bald Eagle. Stealing of prey occurred more often during the severe winter of 1978-1979 when ice cover restricted eagles from feeding on fish than during the milder winter of 1979-1980. Kleptoparasitism occurred principally in agricultural habitats where large numbers of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were foraging. Subadults watched adults steal food and participated in food-stealing with adults, which indicated interspecific kleptoparasitism may be a learned behavior. We suggest factors that may favor interspecific kleptoparasitism as a foraging strategy of Bald Eagles in obtaining waterfowl during severe winters.

Night-Time Decibel Hell: Mapping Noise Exposure Zones and Individual Annoyance Ratings in an Urban Environment in Ghana

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Rachel N. Zakpala

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Although accumulating evidence over the past thirty years indicates that noise is an environmental stressor in residential settings, much of the data emanated from studies in high-intensity, noise impact zones around airports or major roads. Little is known about religious noise, especially at night, which is increasingly a growing concern for both the general public and policy-makers in sub-Saharan Africa. Using geographical information systems (GIS, this study measured and mapped exposure to religious noise in a rapidly urbanising municipality in Ghana. Quantitative noise risk assessment was used to evaluate the risk of religious noise-induced hearing loss to residents in the exposed neighbourhoods. The results show that all neighbourhoods where churches were situated had at least one location with significant risk of noise-induced hearing loss. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between neighbourhoods where religious noise exposure was the highest and where noise annoyance was the highest. The magnitude of the noise values for night-time exposure is remarkable particularly given that excessive night-time noise exposure has the greatest detrimental effect on public health. There is the need to focus on vulnerable groups, sensitive hours of the night, and possible confounding with air pollution in order to wholly address this potential hazard.

Winter severity determines functional trait composition of phytoplankton in seasonally ice-covered lakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Özkundakci, Deniz; Gsell, Alena S; Hintze, Thomas; Täuscher, Helgard; Adrian, Rita

2016-01-01

How climate change will affect the community dynamics and functionality of lake ecosystems during winter is still little understood. This is also true for phytoplankton in seasonally ice-covered temperate lakes which are particularly vulnerable to the presence or absence of ice. We examined changes in pelagic phytoplankton winter community structure in a north temperate lake (Müggelsee, Germany), covering 18 winters between 1995 and 2013. We tested how phytoplankton taxa composition varied along a winter-severity gradient and to what extent winter severity shaped the functional trait composition of overwintering phytoplankton communities using multivariate statistical analyses and a functional trait-based approach. We hypothesized that overwintering phytoplankton communities are dominated by taxa with trait combinations corresponding to the prevailing winter water column conditions, using ice thickness measurements as a winter-severity indicator. Winter severity had little effect on univariate diversity indicators (taxon richness and evenness), but a strong relationship was found between the phytoplankton community structure and winter severity when taxon trait identity was taken into account. Species responses to winter severity were mediated by the key functional traits: motility, nutritional mode, and the ability to form resting stages. Accordingly, one or the other of two functional groups dominated the phytoplankton biomass during mild winters (i.e., thin or no ice cover; phototrophic taxa) or severe winters (i.e., thick ice cover; exclusively motile taxa). Based on predicted milder winters for temperate regions and a reduction in ice-cover durations, phytoplankton communities during winter can be expected to comprise taxa that have a relative advantage when the water column is well mixed (i.e., need not be motile) and light is less limiting (i.e., need not be mixotrophic). A potential implication of this result is that winter severity promotes different

Winter School Les Houches

CERN Document Server

Lannoo, Michel; Bastard, Gérald; Voos, Michel; Boccara, Nino

1986-01-01

The Winter School held in Les Houches on March 12-21, 1985 was devoted to Semiconductor Heterojunctions and Superlattices, a topic which is recognized as being now one of the most interesting and active fields in semiconductor physics. In fact, following the pioneering work of Esaki and Tsu in 1970, the study of these two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures has developed rapidly, both from the point of view of basic physics and of applications. For instance, modulation-doped heterojunctions are nowadays currently used to investigate the quantum Hall effect and to make very fast transistors. This book contains the lectures presented at this Winter School, showing in particular that many aspects of semiconductor heterojunctions and super­ lattices were treated, extending from the fabrication of these two-dimensional systems to their basic properties and applications in micro-and opto-electron­ ics. Among the subjects which were covered, one can quote as examples: molecular beam epitaxy and metallorgani...

Editorial - The winter Atomiades

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2011-01-01

As we wrote in our previous editorial, the Staff Association gives direct support to sports events, such as the Atomiades, a section of the Association of Sports Communities of European Research Institutes, which brings together sportsmen and women from 38 European research centres in 13 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Russia, and Switzerland). The summer Atomiades take place between the months of June and September every three years. Thirteen such events have taken place since 1973, the last one in June 2009 in Berlin. As far as the winter Atomiades are concerned, also organized every three years, and alternating with the summer Atomiades, there have been eleven since 1981, the last one at the end of January this year in neighbouring France. The following article tells the wonderful adventure of the CERN staff who took part in this event. A positive outcome for CERN skiers at the winter Atomiades The 11t...

Impact of warm winters on microbial growth

Science.gov (United States)

Birgander, Johanna; Rousk, Johannes; Axel Olsson, Pål

2014-05-01

Growth of soil bacteria has an asymmetrical response to higher temperature with a gradual increase with increasing temperatures until an optimum after which a steep decline occurs. In laboratory studies it has been shown that by exposing a soil bacterial community to a temperature above the community's optimum temperature for two months, the bacterial community grows warm-adapted, and the optimum temperature of bacterial growth shifts towards higher temperatures. This result suggests a change in the intrinsic temperature dependence of bacterial growth, as temperature influenced the bacterial growth even though all other factors were kept constant. An intrinsic temperature dependence could be explained by either a change in the bacterial community composition, exchanging less tolerant bacteria towards more tolerant ones, or it could be due to adaptation within the bacteria present. No matter what the shift in temperature tolerance is due to, the shift could have ecosystem scale implications, as winters in northern Europe are getting warmer. To address the question of how microbes and plants are affected by warmer winters, a winter-warming experiment was established in a South Swedish grassland. Results suggest a positive response in microbial growth rate in plots where winter soil temperatures were around 6 °C above ambient. Both bacterial and fungal growth (leucine incorporation, and acetate into ergosterol incorporation, respectively) appeared stimulated, and there are two candidate explanations for these results. Either (i) warming directly influence microbial communities by modulating their temperature adaptation, or (ii) warming indirectly affected the microbial communities via temperature induced changes in bacterial growth conditions. The first explanation is in accordance with what has been shown in laboratory conditions (explained above), where the differences in the intrinsic temperature relationships were examined. To test this explanation the

A winter severity index for the state of Maine.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

Winter maintenance in the Sate of Maine consumes around twenty percent of the Bureau of : Maintenance and Operations budget each year. Costs are directly related to the length and severity : of a winter season. In addition, the cost of materials and ...

Effects of Thermal Mass, Window Size, and Night-Time Ventilation on Peak Indoor Air Temperature in the Warm-Humid Climate of Ghana

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S. Amos-Abanyie

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Most office buildings in the warm-humid sub-Saharan countries experience high cooling load because of the predominant use of sandcrete blocks which are of low thermal mass in construction and extensive use of glazing. Relatively, low night-time temperatures are not harnessed in cooling buildings because office openings remain closed after work hours. An optimization was performed through a sensitivity analysis-based simulation, using the Energy Plus (E+ simulation software to assess the effects of thermal mass, window size, and night ventilation on peak indoor air temperature (PIAT. An experimental system was designed based on the features of the most promising simulation model, constructed and monitored, and the experimental data used to validate the simulation model. The results show that an optimization of thermal mass and window size coupled with activation of night-time ventilation provides a synergistic effect to obtain reduced peak indoor air temperature. An expression that predicts, indoor maximum temperature has been derived for models of various thermal masses.

Monster in My Closet: An Exploratory Study of the Relationship between Parent-Child Co-Sleeping and Nighttime Fears of Preschool Children

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, I. Joyce; Pettit, Rebecca W.; Kennedy, Gregory

2004-01-01

Children's nighttime fears, such as monsters in the closet, have been a common issue for the American. In children's cognitive development, vivid imagination has been recognized as a cause of fear, but not all children around the globe share this common experience. This qualitative, exploratory study examined the relationship between parent-child…

Marine assemblages respond rapidly to winter climate variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Morley, James W; Batt, Ryan D; Pinsky, Malin L

2017-07-01

Even species within the same assemblage have varied responses to climate change, and there is a poor understanding for why some taxa are more sensitive to climate than others. In addition, multiple mechanisms can drive species' responses, and responses may be specific to certain life stages or times of year. To test how marine species respond to climate variability, we analyzed 73 diverse taxa off the southeast US coast in 26 years of scientific trawl survey data and determined how changes in distribution and biomass relate to temperature. We found that winter temperatures were particularly useful for explaining interannual variation in species' distribution and biomass, although the direction and magnitude of the response varied among species from strongly negative, to little response, to strongly positive. Across species, the response to winter temperature varied greatly, with much of this variation being explained by thermal preference. A separate analysis of annual commercial fishery landings revealed that winter temperatures may also impact several important fisheries in the southeast United States. Based on the life stages of the species surveyed, winter temperature appears to act through overwinter mortality of juveniles or as a cue for migration timing. We predict that this assemblage will be responsive to projected increases in temperature and that winter temperature may be broadly important for species relationships with climate on a global scale. © The Authors Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Excess winter mortality and cold temperatures in a subtropical city, Guangzhou, China.

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Chun-Quan Ou

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A significant increase in mortality was observed during cold winters in many temperate regions. However, there is a lack of evidence from tropical and subtropical regions, and the influence of ambient temperatures on seasonal variation of mortality was not well documented. METHODS: This study included 213,737 registered deaths from January 2003 to December 2011 in Guangzhou, a subtropical city in Southern China. Excess winter mortality was calculated by the excess percentage of monthly mortality in winters over that of non-winter months. A generalized linear model with a quasi-Poisson distribution was applied to analyze the association between monthly mean temperature and mortality, after controlling for other meteorological measures and air pollution. RESULTS: The mortality rate in the winter was 26% higher than the average rate in other seasons. On average, there were 1,848 excess winter deaths annually, with around half (52% from cardiovascular diseases and a quarter (24% from respiratory diseases. Excess winter mortality was higher in the elderly, females and those with low education level than the young, males and those with high education level, respectively. A much larger winter increase was observed in out-of-hospital mortality compared to in-hospital mortality (45% vs. 17%. We found a significant negative correlation of annual excess winter mortality with average winter temperature (rs=-0.738, P=0.037, but not with air pollution levels. A 1 °C decrease in monthly mean temperature was associated with an increase of 1.38% (95% CI:0.34%-2.40% and 0.88% (95% CI:0.11%-1.64% in monthly mortality at lags of 0-1 month, respectively. CONCLUSION: Similar to temperate regions, a subtropical city Guangzhou showed a clear seasonal pattern in mortality, with a sharper spike in winter. Our results highlight the role of cold temperature on the winter mortality even in warm climate. Precautionary measures should be strengthened to mitigate

Significant Improvements in Pyranometer Nighttime Offsets Using High-Flow DC Ventilation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kutchenreiter, Mark; Michalski, J.J.; Long, C.N.; Habte, Aron

2017-05-22

Accurate solar radiation measurements using pyranometers are required to understand radiative impacts on the Earth's energy budget, solar energy production, and to validate radiative transfer models. Ventilators of pyranometers, which are used to keep the domes clean and dry, also affect instrument thermal offset accuracy. This poster presents a high-level overview of the ventilators for single-black-detector pyranometers and black-and-white pyranometers. For single-black-detector pyranometers with ventilators, high-flow-rate (50-CFM and higher), 12-V DC fans lower the offsets, lower the scatter, and improve the predictability of nighttime offsets compared to lower-flow-rate (35-CFM), 120-V AC fans operated in the same type of environmental setup. Black-and-white pyranometers, which are used to measure diffuse horizontal irradiance, sometimes show minor improvement with DC fan ventilation, but their offsets are always small, usually no more than 1 W/m2, whether AC- or DC-ventilated.

Probing ionospheric structures using the LOFAR radio telescope

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mevius, M.; van der Tol, S.; Pandey, V.N.; Vedantham, H. K.; Brentjens, M. A.; Bruyn, A. G.; Abdalla, F. B.; Asad, K. M. B.; Bregman, J. D.; Brouw, W. N.; Bus, S.; Chapman, E.; Ciardi, B.; Fernandez, E. R.; Ghosh, A.; Harker, G.; Iliev, I. T.; Jelic, Vibor; Kazemi, S.; Koopmans, L. V. E.; Noordam, J. E.; Offringa, A. R.; Patil, A. H.; Weeren, R. J.; Wijnholds, S.; Yatawatta, S.; Zaroubi, S.

2016-01-01

LOFAR is the LOw-Frequency Radio interferometer ARray located at midlatitude (52°53'N). Here we present results on ionospheric structures derived from 29 LOFAR nighttime observations during the winters of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014. We show that LOFAR is able to determine differential ionospheric total

Latitudinal trends in human primary activities: characterizing the winter day as a synchronizer.

Science.gov (United States)

Martín-Olalla, José María

2018-03-28

This work analyzes time use surveys from 19 countries (17 European and 2 American) in the middle latitude (38-61 degree) accounting for 45% of world population in this range. Time marks for primary activities are contrasted against light/dark conditions. The analysis reveals winter sunrise synchronizes labor start time below 54 degree, occurring within winter civil twilight. Winter sunset is a source of synchronization for labor end times. Winter terminator punctuate meal times in Europe: dinner occurs 3 h after winter sunset time within 1 h; 40% narrower than variability of dinner local times. The sleep-wake cycle of laborers is shown to be related to winter sunrise whereas standard population's appears to be irrespective of latitude. The significance of the winter terminator depends on two competing factors average labor time (~7 h30 m) and the shortest photoperiod. Winter terminator gains significance when both roughly matches. That is within a latitude range from 38 degree to 54 degree. The significance of winter terminator as a source of synchronization is also related to contemporary year round time schedules: the shortest photoperiod represents the worst case scenario the society faces.

Low-visibility and night-time oil spill response operations; Operacoes noturnas e com baixa visibilidade em resposta a vazamentos com oleo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyra, Geraldo Marcelo Barroso; Margem, Henrique da Cunha; Skrepnek, Clarissa Cavalheiro; Lyra, Ana Paula Lopes Coelho de Castro; Silva, Ana Claudia Andriolli Vieira da; Antoun, Augusto Resende [Hidroclean Protecao Ambiental, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2008-07-01

The expansion on E and P area and the raise on importation and exportation activities by sea, cause not only commercial benefits, but also expressive environmental risks. This fact is reaffirmed by the actions of Brazilian environmental agencies in order to control potential polluter activities. However, these agencies are against any activity related to oil spill incidents that operate at night-time or during low-visibility condition because of the elevated risk of accidents on this kind of operation. In the other hand, delays on start response operation can be expensive by reducing recovery rates and increasing environmental impacts. Thus, this paper objective is to analyze studies and reports of night-time and low-visibility oil spill response operations occurred in other countries, concluding that when the right equipment is used, it is possible to start or continue oil spill operation independent of weather. However, before choose to start an operation at night, an assessment should be make to know if the risks outweigh the benefits, remarking that safety is always the primary concern. (author)

Winter active bumblebees (Bombus terrestris achieve high foraging rates in urban Britain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralph J Stelzer

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Foraging bumblebees are normally associated with spring and summer in northern Europe. However, there have been sightings of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris during the warmer winters in recent years in southern England. But what floral resources are they relying upon during winter and how much winter forage can they collect?To test if urban areas in the UK provide a rich foraging niche for bees we set up colonies of B. terrestris in the field during two late winter periods (2005/6 & 2006/7 in London, UK, and measured their foraging performance. Fully automatic radio-frequency identification (RFID technology was used in 2006/7 to enable us to record the complete foraging activity of individually tagged bees. The number of bumblebees present during winter (October 2007 to March 2008 and the main plants they visited were also recorded during transect walks. Queens and workers were observed throughout the winter, suggesting a second generation of bee colonies active during the winter months. Mass flowering shrubs such as Mahonia spp. were identified as important food resources. The foraging experiments showed that bees active during the winter can attain nectar and pollen foraging rates that match, and even surpass, those recorded during summer.B. terrestris in the UK are now able to utilise a rich winter foraging resource in urban parks and gardens that might at present still be under-exploited, opening up the possibility of further changes in pollinator phenology.

Winter active bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) achieve high foraging rates in urban Britain.

Science.gov (United States)

Stelzer, Ralph J; Chittka, Lars; Carlton, Marc; Ings, Thomas C

2010-03-05

Foraging bumblebees are normally associated with spring and summer in northern Europe. However, there have been sightings of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris during the warmer winters in recent years in southern England. But what floral resources are they relying upon during winter and how much winter forage can they collect? To test if urban areas in the UK provide a rich foraging niche for bees we set up colonies of B. terrestris in the field during two late winter periods (2005/6 & 2006/7) in London, UK, and measured their foraging performance. Fully automatic radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology was used in 2006/7 to enable us to record the complete foraging activity of individually tagged bees. The number of bumblebees present during winter (October 2007 to March 2008) and the main plants they visited were also recorded during transect walks. Queens and workers were observed throughout the winter, suggesting a second generation of bee colonies active during the winter months. Mass flowering shrubs such as Mahonia spp. were identified as important food resources. The foraging experiments showed that bees active during the winter can attain nectar and pollen foraging rates that match, and even surpass, those recorded during summer. B. terrestris in the UK are now able to utilise a rich winter foraging resource in urban parks and gardens that might at present still be under-exploited, opening up the possibility of further changes in pollinator phenology.

The decline in winter excess mortality in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kunst, A. E.; Looman, C. W.; Mackenbach, J. P.

1991-01-01

In most countries, numbers of deaths rise considerably during the winter season. This winter excess in mortality has, however, been declining during recent decades. The causes of this decline are hardly known. This paper attempts to derive a number of hypotheses on the basis of a detailed

GDP Spatialization and Economic Differences in South China Based on NPP-VIIRS Nighttime Light Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, M.

2017-12-01

Accurate data on gross domestic product (GDP) at pixel level are needed to understand the dynamics of regional economies. GDP spatialization is the basis of quantitative analysis on economic diversities of different administrative divisions and areas with different natural or humanistic attributes. Data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), carried by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, are capable of estimating GDP, but few studies have been conducted for mapping GDP at pixel level and further pattern analysis of economic differences in different regions using the VIIRS data. This paper produced a pixel-level (500 m × 500 m) GDP map for South China in 2014 and quantitatively analyzed economic differences among diverse geomorphological types. Based on a regression analysis, the total nighttime light (TNL) of corrected VIIRS data were found to exhibit R2 values of 0.8935 and 0.9243 for prefecture GDP and county GDP, respectively. This demonstrated that TNL showed a more significant capability in reflecting economic status (R2 > 0.88) than other nighttime light indices (R2 simple linear correlations at both prefecture and county levels. The corrected NPP-VIIRS data showed a better fit than the original data, and the estimation at the county level was better than at the prefecture level. The pixel-level GDP map indicated that: (a) economic development in coastal areas was higher than that in inland areas; (b) low altitude plains were the most developed areas, followed by low altitude platforms and low altitude hills; and (c) economic development in middle altitude areas, and low altitude hills and mountains remained to be strengthened.

Genetic architecture of winter hardiness and frost tolerance in triticale.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenxin Liu

Full Text Available Abiotic stress experienced by autumn-sown crops during winter is of great economic importance as it can have a severe negative impact on yield. In this study, we investigated the genetic architecture of winter hardiness and frost tolerance in triticale. To this end, we used a large mapping population of 647 DH lines phenotyped for both traits in combination with genome-wide marker data. Employing multiple-line cross QTL mapping, we identified nine main effect QTL for winter hardiness and frost tolerance of which six were overlapping between both traits. Three major QTL were identified on chromosomes 5A, 1B and 5R. In addition, an epistasis scan revealed the contribution of epistasis to the genetic architecture of winter hardiness and frost tolerance in triticale. Taken together, our results show that winter hardiness and frost tolerance are complex traits that can be improved by phenotypic selection, but also that genomic approaches hold potential for a knowledge-based improvement of these important traits in elite triticale germplasm.

A comparison of pine and spruce in recovery from winter stress; changes in recovery kinetics, and the abundance and phosphorylation status of photosynthetic proteins during winter.

Science.gov (United States)

Merry, Ryan; Jerrard, Jacob; Frebault, Julia; Verhoeven, Amy

2017-09-01

During winter evergreens maintain a sustained form of thermal energy dissipation that results in reduced photochemical efficiency measured using the chlorophyll fluorescence parameter Fv/Fm. Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) and white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss] have been shown to differ in their rate of recovery of Fv/Fm from winter stress. The goal of this study was to monitor changes in photosynthetic protein abundance and phosphorylation status during winter recovery that accompany these functional changes. An additional goal was to determine whether light-dependent changes in light harvesting complex II (LHCII) phosphorylation occur during winter conditions. We used a combination of field measurements and recovery experiments to monitor chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic protein content and phosphorylation status. We found that pine recovered three times more slowly than spruce, and that the kinetics of recovery in spruce included a rapid and slow component, while in pine there was only a rapid component to recovery. Both species retained relatively high amounts of the light harvesting protein Lhcb5 (CP26) and the PsbS protein during winter, suggesting a role for these proteins in sustained thermal dissipation. Both species maintained high phosphorylation of LHCII and the D1 protein in darkness during winter. Pine and spruce differed in the kinetics of the dephosphorylation of LHCII and D1 upon warming, suggesting the rate of dephosphorylation of LHCII and D1 may be important in the rapid component of recovery from winter stress. Finally, we demonstrated that light-dependent changes in LHII phosphorylation do not continue to occur on subzero winter days and that needles are maintained in a phosphorylation pattern consistent with the high light conditions to which those needles are exposed. Our results suggest a role for retained phosphorylation of both LHCII and D1 in maintenance of the photosynthetic machinery in a winter conformation

75 FR 4842 - Winter Use Plan, Environmental Impact Statement, Yellowstone National Park

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-29

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Winter Use Plan, Environmental Impact Statement... to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Winter Use Plan, Yellowstone National Park... Park Service (NPS) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Winter Use Plan for...

The elusive gene for keratolytic winter erythema | Hull | South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Keratolytic winter erythema (KWE), also known as Oudtshoorn skin disease, is characterised by a cyclical disruption of normal epidermal keratinisation affecting primarily the palmoplantar skin with peeling of the palms and soles, which is worse in the winter. It is a rare monogenic, autosomal dominant condition of unknown ...

Assessing winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency using a water quality simulation model

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, In-Young; Lee, Sangchui; Sadeghi, Ali M.; Beeson, Peter C.; Hively, W. Dean; McCarty, Greg W.; Lang, Megan W.

2013-01-01

Winter cover crops are an effective conservation management practice with potential to improve water quality. Throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW), which is located in the Mid-Atlantic US, winter cover crop use has been emphasized and federal and state cost-share programs are available to farmers to subsidize the cost of winter cover crop establishment. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effect of planting winter cover crops at the watershed scale and to identify critical source areas of high nitrate export. A physically-based watershed simulation model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was calibrated and validated using water quality monitoring data and satellite-based estimates of winter cover crop species performance to simulate hydrological processes and nutrient cycling over the period of 1991–2000. Multiple scenarios were developed to obtain baseline information on nitrate loading without winter cover crops planted and to investigate how nitrate loading could change with different winter cover crop planting scenarios, including different species, planting times, and implementation areas. The results indicate that winter cover crops had a negligible impact on water budget, but significantly reduced nitrate leaching to groundwater and delivery to the waterways. Without winter cover crops, annual nitrate loading was approximately 14 kg ha−1, but it decreased to 4.6–10.1 kg ha−1 with winter cover crops resulting in a reduction rate of 27–67% at the watershed scale. Rye was most effective, with a potential to reduce nitrate leaching by up to 93% with early planting at the field scale. Early planting of winter cover crops (~30 days of additional growing days) was crucial, as it lowered nitrate export by an additional ~2 kg ha−1 when compared to late planting scenarios. The effectiveness of cover cropping increased with increasing extent of winter cover crop implementation. Agricultural fields with well-drained soils

Contrasting Seasonal Survivorship of Two Migratory Songbirds Wintering in Threatened Mangrove Forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna M. Calvert

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Long-distance migrants wintering in tropical regions face a number of critical conservation threats throughout their lives, but seasonal estimates of key demographic parameters such as winter survival are rare. Using mist-netting-based mark-recapture data collected in coastal Costa Rica over a six-year period, we examined variation in within- and between-winter survivorship of the Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea; 753 young and 376 adults banded, a declining neotropical habitat specialist that depends on threatened mangrove forests during the nonbreeding season. We derived parallel seasonal survivorship estimates for the Northern Waterthrush (Seiurus noveboracensis; 564 young and 93 adults banded, a cohabitant mangrove specialist that has not shown the same population decline in North America, to assess whether contrasting survivorship might contribute to the observed differences in the species’ population trajectories. Although average annual survival probability was relatively similar between the two species for both young and adult birds, monthly estimates indicated that relative to Northern Waterthrush, Prothonotary Warblers exhibited: greater interannual variation in survivorship, especially within winters; greater variation in survivorship among the three study sites; lower average between-winter survivorship, particularly among females, and; a sharp decline in between-winter survivorship from 2003 to 2009 for both age groups and both sexes. Rather than identifying one seasonal vital rate as a causal factor of Prothonotary Warbler population declines, our species comparison suggests that the combination of variable within-winter survival with decreasing between-winter survival demands a multi-seasonal approach to the conservation of this and other tropical-wintering migrants.

Spirit's Winter Work Site

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Annotated Version This portion of an image acquired by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera shows the Spirit rover's winter campaign site. Spirit was parked on a slope tilted 11 degrees to the north to maximize sunlight during the southern winter season. 'Tyrone' is an area where the rover's wheels disturbed light-toned soils. Remote sensing and in-situ analyses found the light-toned soil at Tyrone to be sulfate rich and hydrated. The original picture is catalogued as PSP_001513_1655_red and was taken on Sept. 29, 2006. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo.

Comparison of snowpack and winter wet-deposition chemistry in the Rocky Mountains, USA: implications for winter dry deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Clow, David W.; Ingersoll, George P.; Mast, M. Alisa; Turk, John T.; Campbell, Donald H.

Depth-integrated snowpack chemistry was measured just prior to maximum snowpack depth during the winters of 1992-1999 at 12 sites co-located with National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trend Network (NADP/NTN) sites in the central and southern Rocky Mountains, USA. Winter volume-weighted mean wet-deposition concentrations were calculated for the NADP/NTN sites, and the data were compared to snowpack concentrations using the paired t-test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. No statistically significant differences were indicated in concentrations of SO 42- or NO 3- ( p>0.1). Small, but statistically significant differences ( p⩽0.03) were indicated for all other solutes analyzed. Differences were largest for Ca 2+ concentrations, which on average were 2.3 μeq l -1 (43%) higher in the snowpack than in winter NADP/NTN samples. Eolian carbonate dust appeared to influence snowpack chemistry through both wet and dry deposition, and the effect increased from north to south. Dry deposition of eolian carbonates was estimated to have neutralized an average of 6.9 μeq l -1 and a maximum of 12 μeq l -1 of snowpack acidity at the southernmost sites. The good agreement between snowpack and winter NADP/NTN SO 42- and NO 3- concentrations indicates that for those solutes the two data sets can be combined to increase data density in high-elevation areas, where few NADP/NTN sites exist. This combination of data sets will allow for better estimates of atmospheric deposition of SO 42- and NO 3- across the Rocky Mountain region.

Participatory Research to Design a Novel Telehealth System to Support the Night-Time Needs of People with Dementia: NOCTURNAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzanne Martin

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Strategies to support people living with dementia are broad in scope, proposing both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions as part of the care pathway. Assistive technologies form part of this offering as both stand-alone devices to support particular tasks and the more complex offering of the “smart home” to underpin ambient assisted living. This paper presents a technology-based system, which expands on the smart home architecture, orientated to support people with daily living. The system, NOCTURNAL, was developed by working directly with people who had dementia, and their carers using qualitative research methods. The research focused primarily on the nighttime needs of people living with dementia in real home settings. Eight people with dementia had the final prototype system installed for a three month evaluation at home. Disturbed sleep patterns, night-time wandering were a focus of this research not only in terms of detection by commercially available technology but also exploring if automated music, light and visual personalized photographs would be soothing to participants during the hours of darkness. The NOCTURNAL platform and associated services was informed by strong user engagement of people with dementia and the service providers who care for them. NOCTURNAL emerged as a holistic service offering a personalised therapeutic aspect with interactive capabilities.

Modeling of Electric Demand for Sustainable Energy and Management in India Using Spatio-Temporal DMSP-OLS Night-Time Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Tripathy, Bismay Ranjan; Sajjad, Haroon; Elvidge, Christopher D; Ting, Yu; Pandey, Prem Chandra; Rani, Meenu; Kumar, Pavan

2018-04-01

Changes in the pattern of electric power consumption in India have influenced energy utilization processes and socio-economic development to greater extent during the last few decades. Assessment of spatial distribution of electricity consumption is, thus, essential for projecting availability of energy resource and planning its infrastructure. This paper makes an attempt to model the future electricity demand for sustainable energy and its management in India. The nighttime light database provides a good approximation of availability of energy. We utilized defense meteorological satellite program-operational line-scan system (DMSP-OLS) nighttime satellite data, electricity consumption (1993-2013), gross domestic product (GDP) and population growth to construct the model. We also attempted to examine the sensitiveness of electricity consumption to GDP and population growth. The results revealed that the calibrated DMSP and model has provided realistic information on the electric demand with respect to GDP and population, with a better accuracy of r 2  = 0.91. The electric demand was found to be more sensitive to GDP (r = 0.96) than population growth (r = 0.76) as envisaged through correlation analysis. Hence, the model proved to be useful tool in predicting electric demand for its sustainable use and management.

Participatory research to design a novel telehealth system to support the night-time needs of people with dementia: NOCTURNAL.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Suzanne; Augusto, Juan Carlos; McCullagh, Paul; Carswell, William; Zheng, Huiru; Wang, Haiying; Wallace, Jonathan; Mulvenna, Maurice

2013-12-04

Strategies to support people living with dementia are broad in scope, proposing both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions as part of the care pathway. Assistive technologies form part of this offering as both stand-alone devices to support particular tasks and the more complex offering of the "smart home" to underpin ambient assisted living. This paper presents a technology-based system, which expands on the smart home architecture, orientated to support people with daily living. The system, NOCTURNAL, was developed by working directly with people who had dementia, and their carers using qualitative research methods. The research focused primarily on the nighttime needs of people living with dementia in real home settings. Eight people with dementia had the final prototype system installed for a three month evaluation at home. Disturbed sleep patterns, night-time wandering were a focus of this research not only in terms of detection by commercially available technology but also exploring if automated music, light and visual personalized photographs would be soothing to participants during the hours of darkness. The NOCTURNAL platform and associated services was informed by strong user engagement of people with dementia and the service providers who care for them. NOCTURNAL emerged as a holistic service offering a personalised therapeutic aspect with interactive capabilities.

Night-Time Vehicle Detection Algorithm Based on Visual Saliency and Deep Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yingfeng Cai

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Night vision systems get more and more attention in the field of automotive active safety field. In this area, a number of researchers have proposed far-infrared sensor based night-time vehicle detection algorithm. However, existing algorithms have low performance in some indicators such as the detection rate and processing time. To solve this problem, we propose a far-infrared image vehicle detection algorithm based on visual saliency and deep learning. Firstly, most of the nonvehicle pixels will be removed with visual saliency computation. Then, vehicle candidate will be generated by using prior information such as camera parameters and vehicle size. Finally, classifier trained with deep belief networks will be applied to verify the candidates generated in last step. The proposed algorithm is tested in around 6000 images and achieves detection rate of 92.3% and processing time of 25 Hz which is better than existing methods.

Monitoring Disaster-Related Power Outages Using NASA Black Marble Nighttime Light Product

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Z.; Román, M. O.; Sun, Q.; Molthan, A. L.; Schultz, L. A.; Kalb, V. L.

2018-04-01

Timely and accurate monitoring of disruptions to the electricity grid, including the magnitude, spatial extent, timing, and duration of net power losses, is needed to improve situational awareness of disaster response and long-term recovery efforts. Satellite-derived Nighttime Lights (NTL) provide an indication of human activity patterns and have been successfully used to monitor disaster-related power outages. The global 500 m spatial resolution National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Black Marble NTL daily standard product suite (VNP46) is generated from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) onboard the NASA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi- NPP) satellite, which began operations on 19 January 2012. With its improvements in product accuracy (including critical atmospheric and BRDF correction routines), the VIIRS daily Black Mable product enables systematic monitoring of outage conditions across all stages of the disaster management cycle.

Comparative proteomics reveals the physiological differences between winter tender shoots and spring tender shoots of a novel tea (Camellia sinensis L.) cultivar evergrowing in winter.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shengjie; Gao, Jiadong; Chen, Zhongjian; Qiao, Xiaoyan; Huang, Hualin; Cui, Baiyuan; Zhu, Qingfeng; Dai, Zhangyan; Wu, Hualing; Pan, Yayan; Yang, Chengwei; Liu, Jun

2017-11-20

A recently discovered tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] cultivar can generate tender shoots in winter. We performed comparative proteomics to analyze the differentially accumulated proteins between winter and spring tender shoots of this clonal cultivar to reveal the physiological basis of its evergrowing character during winter. We extracted proteins from the winter and spring tender shoots (newly formed two leaves and a bud) of the evergrowing tea cultivar "Dongcha11" respectively. Thirty-three differentially accumulated high-confidence proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF / TOF MS). Among these, 24 proteins had increased abundance while nine showed were decreased abundance in winter tender shoots as compared with the spring tender shoots. We categorized the differentially accumulated proteins into eight critical biological processes based on protein function annotation including photosynthesis, cell structure, protein synthesis & destination, transporters, metabolism of sugars and polysaccharides, secondary metabolism, disease/defense and proteins with unknown functions. Proteins with increased abundance in winter tender shoots were mainly related to the processes of photosynthesis, cytoskeleton and protein synthesis, whereas those with decreased abundance were correlated to metabolism and the secondary metabolism of polyphenolic flavonoids. Biochemical analysis showed that the total contents of soluble sugar and amino acid were higher in winter tender shoots while tea polyphenols were lower as compared with spring tender shoots. Our study suggested that the simultaneous increase in the abundance of photosynthesis-related proteins rubisco, plastocyanin, and ATP synthase delta chain, metabolism-related proteins eIF4 and protease subunits, and the cytoskeleton-structure associated proteins phosphatidylinositol transfer protein and profilin may be because of the adaptation of the

Learning at old age: a study on winter bees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Behrends

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Ageing is often accompanied by a decline in learning and memory abilities across the animal kingdom. Understanding age-related changes in cognitive abilities is therefore a major goal of current research. The honey bee is emerging as a novel model organism for age-related changes in brain function, because learning and memory can easily be studied in bees under controlled laboratory conditions. In addition, genetically similar workers naturally display life expectancies from six weeks (summer bees to six months (winter bees. We studied whether in honey bees, extreme longevity leads to a decline in cognitive functions. Six-month-old winter bees were conditioned either to odours or to tactile stimuli. Afterwards, long-term memory and discrimination abilities were analysed. Winter bees were kept under different conditions (flight /no flight opportunity to test for effects of foraging activity on learning performance. Despite their extreme age, winter bees did not display an age-related decline in learning or discrimination abilities, but had a slightly impaired olfactory long-term memory. The opportunity to forage indoors led to a slight decrease in learning performance. This suggests that in honey bees, unlike in most other animals, age per se does not impair associative learning. Future research will show which mechanisms protect winter bees from age-related deficits in learning.

[Winter sport injuries in childhood (author's transl)].

Science.gov (United States)

Hausbrandt, D; Höllwarth, M; Ritter, G

1979-01-01

3374 accidents occurring on the field of sport during the years 1975--1977 accounted for 19% of all accidents dealt with at the Institute of Kinderchirurgie in Graz. 51% of the accidents were caused by the typical winter sports: skiing, tobogganing, ice-skating and ski-jumping with skiing accounting for 75% of the accidents. The fracture localization typical of the different kinds of winter sport is dealt with in detail. The correct size and safety of the equipment were found to be particularly important in the prevention of such accidents in childhood.

Nuclear winter: The evidence and the risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greene, O.

1985-01-01

Global concern over nuclear extinction, centered on the holocaust itself, now has turned to the more terrifying consequences of a post-war nuclear winter: ''the long-term effects - destruction of the environment, spread of epidemic diseases, contamination by radioactivity, and ... collapse of agriculture-[that] would spread famine and death to every country.'' Nuclear Winter, the latest in a series of studies by a number of different groups is clinical, analytical, systematic, and detailed. Two physicists and biologist analyze the effects on the climate, plants, animals, and living systems; the human costs; the policy implications

Climatologies of nighttime upper thermospheric winds measured by ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometers during geomagnetically quiet conditions: 2. High-latitude circulation and interplanetary magnetic field dependence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emmert, J.T.; Hernandez, G.; Jarvis, M.J.

2006-01-01

We analyze upper thermospheric (similar to 250 km) nighttime horizontal neutral wind patterns, during geomagnetically quiet (Kp S), Halley (76 degrees S, 27 degrees W), Millstone Hill (43 degrees N, 72 degrees W), Sondre...

THE EVOLUTION OF THE WINTER PARALYMPIC GAMES AND SPORTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasilios Giovanis

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this research was to record and the evolution of the winter paralympic games and sports since 1976 until 2010. The history of the Winter Paralympic Games is relatively recent compared to that one of the Olympic Games. The first Games were held in 1976 in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden and the most recent, 38 years later in 2014, in Sochi, Russia. This article will examine the Winter Paralympic Games up until the ones in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. During these years, there have been many changes in relation to the Games itself, the governing body of the Paralympic Movement, the sports’ facilities, the sports involved and sports’ categories. The motivation for writing this paper was the need to record and gather all of these items in one paper. Gathering information for the Winter Paralympic Games will be an important theoretical background. This information will create a database for the structure of the governing body of the Paralympic Games, for the organization of the Games [Local Organizing Committee (LOC, venues and equipment], for the evolution of the Winter Paralympic Sports and the categories of the athletes, as well as the evolution of the athletes’ and sports’ participation. Material : The research material that was used was mainly from the bibliography and records of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC, from the Official Post Games Reports and the Internet, while the research method that was used was descriptive. Moreover, the use of diagrams will depict the distribution of the participation of athletes and countries in each Games. Results : The participation of countries grew continuously and steadily from 16 to 44, during the years of 1976 to 2010 respectively. Regarding the athletes’ participation, starting in the first Games with 198 athletes, they reached the number of 502 in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympic Games. The participation percentages of the athletes coming from Europe constituted the bulk

Communicating Certainty About Nuclear Winter

Science.gov (United States)

Robock, A.

2013-12-01

I have been spending much of my time in the past several years trying to warn the world about the continuing danger of nuclear weapons, and that the solution is a rapid reduction in the nuclear arsenal. I feel that a scientist who discovers dangers to society has an ethical duty to issue a warning, even if the danger is so scary that it is hard for people to deal with. The debate about nuclear winter in the 1980s helped to end the nuclear arms race, but the planet still has enough nuclear weapons, even after reductions planned for 2017 under the New START treaty, to produce nuclear winter, with temperatures plunging below freezing in the summer in major agricultural regions, threatening the food supply for most of the planet. New research by myself, Brian Toon, Mike Mills, and colleagues over the past six years has found that a nuclear war between any two countries, such as India and Pakistan, using 50 atom bombs each of the size dropped on Hiroshima could produce climate change unprecedented in recorded human history, and a world food crisis because of the agricultural effects. This is much less than 1% of the current global arsenal. Communicating certainty - what we know for sure - has been much more effective than communicating uncertainty. The limited success I have had has come from persistence and serendipity. The first step was to do the science. We have published peer-reviewed articles in major journals, including Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Physics Today, and Climatic Change. But policymakers do not read these journals. Through fairly convoluted circumstances, which will be described in this talk, we were able to get papers published in Scientific American and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. I have also published several encyclopedia articles on the subject. As a Lead Author of Chapter 8 (Radiative Forcing) of the recently published Fifth Assessment

Addressing challenges for youths with mobility devices in winter conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, Ernesto; Lindsay, Sally; Edwards, Geoffrey; Howell, Lori; Vincent, Claude; Yantzi, Nicole; Gauthier, Véronique

2018-01-01

Winter-related research about the experience of navigating in the urban context has mostly focused on the elderly population with physical disabilities. The aim of this project was to explore potential design solutions to enhance young people's mobility devices and the built environment to improve accessibility and participation in winter. A multi-method qualitative design process included the following steps: (1) in-depth interviews; (2) photo elicitation; (3) individual co-design sessions; and (4) group co-design sessions (i.e., focus group). The participants were 13 youths (nine males and four females), aged 12-21, who used a wheelchair (12 power chair users and one manual wheelchair), for some with their parents, others without their parents, according to the parents' willingness to participate or not in the study (n = 13). The first two authors conducted group co-design sessions with mechanical engineers and therapists/clinicians in two Canadian cities to discuss the feasibility of the designs. Results (findings): The youths and their parents reported different winter-related challenges and proposed specific design solutions to enhance their participation and inclusion in winter activities. Seven of these designs were presented at two group co-design sessions of therapists/clinicians and engineers. Two designs were found to be feasible: (1) a traction device for wheelchairs in snow and (2) a mat made of rollers to clean snow and dirt from tires. The results of this research highlight the frustrations and challenges youths who use wheelchairs encounter in winter and a need for new solutions to ensure greater accessibility in winter. Therapists/clinicians and designers should address winter-related accessibility problems in areas with abundant snow. Implications for Rehabilitation Several studies show that current urban contexts do not necessarily respond accurately to the needs of individuals with limited mobility. Winter-related research about the

Winter survival of Scots pine seedlings under different snow conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Domisch, Timo; Martz, Françoise; Repo, Tapani; Rautio, Pasi

2018-04-01

Future climate scenarios predict increased air temperatures and precipitation, particularly at high latitudes, and especially so during winter. Soil temperatures, however, are more difficult to predict, since they depend strongly on the fate of the insulating snow cover. 'Rain-on-snow' events and warm spells during winter can lead to thaw-freeze cycles, compacted snow and ice encasement, as well as local flooding. These adverse conditions could counteract the otherwise positive effects of climatic changes on forest seedling growth. In order to study the effects of different winter and snow conditions on young Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings, we conducted a laboratory experiment in which 80 1-year-old Scots pine seedlings were distributed between four winter treatments in dasotrons: ambient snow cover (SNOW), compressed snow and ice encasement (ICE), flooded and frozen soil (FLOOD) and no snow (NO SNOW). During the winter treatment period and a 1.5-month simulated spring/early summer phase, we monitored the needle, stem and root biomass of the seedlings, and determined their starch and soluble sugar concentrations. In addition, we assessed the stress experienced by the seedlings by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence, electric impedance and photosynthesis of the previous-year needles. Compared with the SNOW treatment, carbohydrate concentrations were lower in the FLOOD and NO SNOW treatments where the seedlings had almost died before the end of the experiment, presumably due to frost desiccation of aboveground parts during the winter treatments. The seedlings of the ICE treatment showed dead needles and stems only above the snow and ice cover. The results emphasize the importance of an insulating and protecting snow cover for small forest tree seedlings, and that future winters with changed snow patterns might affect the survival of tree seedlings and thus forest productivity.

Traveling to Canada for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Heggie, Travis W

2009-07-01

The 21st Winter Olympic Games will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from February 12 to 28, 2010. Following the Winter Olympic Games, the Winter Paralympic Games will be held from March 12 to 21, 2010. There will be 86 winter sporting events hosted in Vancouver with 5500 athletes staying in two Olympic Villages. Another 2800 members of the media, 25,000 volunteers, and 1 million spectators are expected in attendance. This paper reviews health and safety issues for all travelers to Canada for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games with a specific focus on pre-travel planning, road and transportation safety in British Columbia, natural and environmental hazards, Olympic medical facilities, safety and security, and infectious disease.

Reproductive arrest and stress resistance in winter-acclimated Drosophila suzukii.

Science.gov (United States)

Toxopeus, Jantina; Jakobs, Ruth; Ferguson, Laura V; Gariepy, Tara D; Sinclair, Brent J

2016-06-01

Overwintering insects must survive the multiple-stress environment of winter, which includes low temperatures, reduced food and water availability, and cold-active pathogens. Many insects overwinter in diapause, a developmental arrest associated with high stress tolerance. Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), spotted wing drosophila, is an invasive agricultural pest worldwide. Its ability to overwinter and therefore establish in temperate regions could have severe implications for fruit crop industries. We demonstrate here that laboratory populations of Canadian D. suzukii larvae reared under short-day, low temperature, conditions develop into dark 'winter morph' adults similar to those reported globally from field captures, and observed by us in southern Ontario, Canada. These winter-acclimated adults have delayed reproductive maturity, enhanced cold tolerance, and can remain active at low temperatures, although they do not have the increased desiccation tolerance or survival of fungal pathogen challenges that might be expected from a more heavily melanised cuticle. Winter-acclimated female D. suzukii have underdeveloped ovaries and altered transcript levels of several genes associated with reproduction and stress. While superficially indicative of reproductive diapause, the delayed reproductive maturity of winter-acclimated D. suzukii appears to be temperature-dependent, not regulated by photoperiod, and is thus unlikely to be 'true' diapause. The traits of this 'winter morph', however, likely facilitate overwintering in southern Canada, and have probably contributed to the global success of this fly as an invasive species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Winter in the Ouachitas--a severe winter storm signature in Pinus echinata in the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas J. Stevenson; Thomas B. Lynch; Pradip Saud; Robert Heineman; Randal Holeman; Dennis Wilson; Keith Anderson; Chris Cerny; James M. Guldin

2016-01-01

Each year severe winter storms (≈ice storms) damage trees throughout the southern USA. Arkansas and Oklahoma have a history of severe winter storms. To extend that history back beyond the reach of written records, a distinctive tree ring pattern or signature is needed. Storm-caused breakage, branch loss and bending stress provide that signature. We found a severe storm...

Research on spatial distribution of photosynthetic characteristics of Winter Wheat

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Q. Q.; Zhou, Q. Y.; Zhang, B. Z.; Han, X.; Han, N. N.; Li, S. M.

2018-03-01

In order to explore the spatial distribution of photosynthetic characteristics of winter wheat leaf, the photosynthetic rate on different parts of leaf (leaf base-leaf middle-leaf apex) and that on each canopy (top layer-middle layer-bottom layer) leaf during the whole growth period of winter wheat were measured. The variation of photosynthetic rate with PAR and the spatial distribution of winter wheat leaf during the whole growth periods were analysed. The results showed that the photosynthetic rate of different parts of winter wheat increased with the increase of PAR, which was showed as leaf base>leaf middle>leaf apex. In the same growth period, photosynthetic rate in different parts of the tablet was showed as leaf middle>leaf base>leaf apex. For the different canopy layer of winter wheat, the photosynthetic rate of the top layer leaf was significantly greater than that of the middle layer and lower layer leaf. The photosynthetic rate of the top layer leaf was the largest in the leaf base position. The photosynthetic rate of leaf of the same canopy layer at different growth stages were showed as tasseling stage >grain filling stage > maturation stage.

Comparing Model Ozone Loss during the SOLVE and SOLVE-2 Winters

Science.gov (United States)

Drdla, K.

2003-01-01

Model simulations have been used to analyze the factors influencing ozone loss during the 1999-2000 and 2002-2003 js. For both winters, the evolution of the Arctic vortex from November to April has been simulated using a trajectory-based microphysical and photochemical model. Extensive PSC formation and strong ozone depletion are evident in both winters. However, the ozone loss begins earlier in the 2002-2003 winter, with significant ozone depletion by early January. Analysis of the model results shows that during December 2002 not only cold temperatures but also the vortex structure was critical, allowing PSC-processed air parcels to experience significant solar exposure. The resultant ozone loss can be differentiated from ozone loss that occurs in the springtime, in particular because of the continued exposure to PSCs. For example, chlorine reactivation by the PSCs causes ozone loss to be insensitive to denitrification. Therefore, diagnosing the extent of ozone loss early in the winter is critical In understanding the overall winter-long ozone depletion.

46 CFR 42.30-10 - Southern Winter Seasonal Zone.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Island; thence the rhumb line to Black Rock Point on Stewart Island; thence the rhumb line to the point... BY SEA Zones, Areas, and Seasonal Periods § 42.30-10 Southern Winter Seasonal Zone. (a) The northern boundary of the Southern Winter Seasonal Zone is the rhumb line from the east coast of the American...

Evaluation of winter resistance of age-1+ galician carp in Рrikarpattya ponds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Hrytsynyak

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To evaluate the winter resistance of age-1+ Galician carp in pond conditions of the Prykarpattya region. Methodology. Analysis of the winter resistance of age-1+ Galician carp was carried out at the base of the fish farm “Korop” during 2015-2017. Wintering took place in a 2.5 ha pond. Hydrochemical parameters were determined using general chemical tests. The temperature and oxygen regimes of water in ponds were determined by a thermo-oximeter. The material for the study were age-1+ Galician carp. Determination of fish culture parameters of the preparedness for wintering of the Galician carp was carried out according to the instructions for organizing the wintering of fish seeds in ponds. To analyze the physiological preparedness of carp for wintering, the method of zootechnical analysis was used. Findings. The stocking density of age-1+ Galician carp in the wintering pond was 1000 kg/ha. The average individual weight of fish seeds ranged from 1650 g during 2015-2016 season and 1760 g during 2016-2017. The condition factor of age-1+ Galician carp was within the normative values. During the wintering season, the chemical composition of the meat-fillet of the Galician carp at the second year of culturing was within the normative parameters. During wintering, the environmental conditions corresponded to the necessary fish culture requirements. The dissolved oxygen content in water during the winter period did not exceed the critical limits. The water temperature ranged from 1 ° C to 8 ° C. As a result of fish harvesting in the wintering pond, 1483 and 1291 specimens of age-2 Galician carp were obtained in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The average individual weight of fish was 1450 ± 191 g and 1528 ± 124 g. The total yield from wintering exceeded 90%. Originality. For the first time, an evaluation of winter resistance of age-1+ Galician carp in pond conditions of the Prykarpattya region was carried out. Practical value. The results of

Over-winter ecology of Oncorhynchus nerka in the Sawtooth Valley Lakes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinhart, G.B.; Wurtsbaugh, W.A.

1996-05-01

Included in this section of the report on limnology of Lakes in the Snake River Plain are descriptions of winter limnological conditions and kokanee growth characteristics from 1993 to 1995. The winter is usually a very harsh period for animals, and little is know about the over-winter ecology os sockeye salmon. They are active a temperatures below 4 F. The chapter discusses methods and results. 14 figs, 4 tabs.

Over-winter ecology of Oncorhynchus nerka in the Sawtooth Valley Lakes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinhart, G.B.; Wurtsbaugh, W.A.

1996-01-01

Included in this section of the report on limnology of Lakes in the Snake River Plain are descriptions of winter limnological conditions and kokanee growth characteristics from 1993 to 1995. The winter is usually a very harsh period for animals, and little is know about the over-winter ecology os sockeye salmon. They are active a temperatures below 4 F. The chapter discusses methods and results. 14 figs, 4 tabs

Establishing Winter Origins of Migrating Lesser Snow Geese Using Stable Isotopes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viviane Hénaux

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Increases in Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens populations and large-scale habitat changes in North America have contributed to the concentration of migratory waterfowl on fewer wetlands, reducing resource availability, and enhancing risks of disease transmission. Predicting wintering locations of migratory individuals is critical to guide wildlife population management and habitat restoration. We used stable carbon (δ13C, nitrogen (δ15N, and hydrogen (δ2H isotope ratios in muscle tissue of wintering Snow Geese to discriminate four major wintering areas, the Playa Lake Region, Texas Gulf Coast, Louisiana Gulf Coast, and Arkansas, and infer the wintering locations of individuals collected later during the 2007 and 2008 spring migrations in the Rainwater Basin (RWB of Nebraska. We predicted the wintering ground derivation of migrating Snow Geese using a likelihood-based approach. Our three-isotope analysis provided an efficient discrimination of the four wintering areas. The assignment model predicted that 53% [95% CI: 37-69] of our sample of Snow Geese from the RWB in 2007 had most likely originated in Louisiana, 38% [23-54] had wintered on Texas Gulf Coast, and 9% [0-20] in Arkansas; the assessment suggested that 89% [73-100] of our 2008 sample had most likely come from Texas Gulf Coast, 9% [0-27] from Louisiana Gulf Coast, and 2% [0-9] from Arkansas. Further segregation of wintering grounds and additional sampling of spring migrating Snow Geese would refine overall assignment and help explain interannual variations in migratory connectivity. The ability to distinguish origins of northbound geese can support the development of spatially-adaptive management strategies for the midcontinent Snow Goose population. Establishing migratory connectivity using isotope assignment techniques can be extended to other waterfowl species to determine critical habitat, evaluate population energy requirements, and inform waterfowl conservation and management

Simulating the influences of various fire regimes on caribou winter habitat

Science.gov (United States)

Rupp, T. Scott; Olson, Mark; Adams, Layne G.; Dale, Bruce W.; Joly, Kyle; Henkelman, Jonathan; Collins, William B.; Starfield, Anthony M.

2006-01-01

Caribou are an integral component of high‐latitude ecosystems and represent a major subsistence food source for many northern people. The availability and quality of winter habitat is critical to sustain these caribou populations. Caribou commonly use older spruce woodlands with adequate terrestrial lichen, a preferred winter forage, in the understory. Changes in climate and fire regime pose a significant threat to the long‐term sustainability of this important winter habitat. Computer simulations performed with a spatially explicit vegetation succession model (ALFRESCO) indicate that changes in the frequency and extent of fire in interior Alaska may substantially impact the abundance and quality of winter habitat for caribou. We modeled four different fire scenarios and tracked the frequency, extent, and spatial distribution of the simulated fires and associated changes to vegetation composition and distribution. Our results suggest that shorter fire frequencies (i.e., less time between recurring fires) on the winter range of the Nelchina caribou herd in eastern interior Alaska will result in large decreases of available winter habitat, relative to that currently available, in both the short and long term. A 30% shortening of the fire frequency resulted in a 3.5‐fold increase in the area burned annually and an associated 41% decrease in the amount of spruce–lichen forest found on the landscape. More importantly, simulations with more frequent fires produced a relatively immature forest age structure, compared to that which currently exists, with few stands older than 100 years. This age structure is at the lower limits of stand age classes preferred by caribou from the Nelchina herd. Projected changes in fire regime due to climate warming and/or additional prescribed burning could substantially alter the winter habitat of caribou in interior Alaska and lead to changes in winter range use and/or population dynamics.

Climate change affects winter chill for temperate fruit and nut trees.

Science.gov (United States)

Luedeling, Eike; Girvetz, Evan H; Semenov, Mikhail A; Brown, Patrick H

2011-01-01

Temperate fruit and nut trees require adequate winter chill to produce economically viable yields. Global warming has the potential to reduce available winter chill and greatly impact crop yields. We estimated winter chill for two past (1975 and 2000) and 18 future scenarios (mid and end 21st century; 3 Global Climate Models [GCMs]; 3 greenhouse gas emissions [GHG] scenarios). For 4,293 weather stations around the world and GCM projections, Safe Winter Chill (SWC), the amount of winter chill that is exceeded in 90% of all years, was estimated for all scenarios using the "Dynamic Model" and interpolated globally. We found that SWC ranged between 0 and about 170 Chill Portions (CP) for all climate scenarios, but that the global distribution varied across scenarios. Warm regions are likely to experience severe reductions in available winter chill, potentially threatening production there. In contrast, SWC in most temperate growing regions is likely to remain relatively unchanged, and cold regions may even see an increase in SWC. Climate change impacts on SWC differed quantitatively among GCMs and GHG scenarios, with the highest GHG leading to losses up to 40 CP in warm regions, compared to 20 CP for the lowest GHG. The extent of projected changes in winter chill in many major growing regions of fruits and nuts indicates that growers of these commodities will likely experience problems in the future. Mitigation of climate change through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can help reduce the impacts, however, adaption to changes will have to occur. To better prepare for likely impacts of climate change, efforts should be undertaken to breed tree cultivars for lower chilling requirements, to develop tools to cope with insufficient winter chill, and to better understand the temperature responses of tree crops.

Thermal tolerance, net CO2 exchange and growth of a tropical tree species, Ficus insipida, cultivated at elevated daytime and nighttime temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, G Heinrich; Cheesman, Alexander W; Winter, Klaus; Krause, Barbara; Virgo, Aurelio

2013-06-15

Global warming and associated increases in the frequency and amplitude of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, may adversely affect tropical rainforest plants via significantly increased tissue temperatures. In this study, the response to two temperature regimes was assessed in seedlings of the neotropical pioneer tree species, Ficus insipida. Plants were cultivated in growth chambers at strongly elevated daytime temperature (39°C), combined with either close to natural (22°C) or elevated (32°C) nighttime temperatures. Under both growth regimes, the critical temperature for irreversible leaf damage, determined by changes in chlorophyll a fluorescence, was approximately 51°C. This is comparable to values found in F. insipida growing under natural ambient conditions and indicates a limited potential for heat tolerance acclimation of this tropical forest tree species. Yet, under high nighttime temperature, growth was strongly enhanced, accompanied by increased rates of net photosynthetic CO2 uptake and diminished temperature dependence of leaf-level dark respiration, consistent with thermal acclimation of these key physiological parameters. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Effects of prescribed burns on wintering cavity-nesting birds

Science.gov (United States)

Heather L. Bateman; Margaret A. O' Connell

2006-01-01

Primary cavity-nesting birds play a critical role in forest ecosystems by excavating cavities later used by other birds and mammals as nesting or roosting sites. Several species of cavity-nesting birds are non-migratory residents and consequently subject to winter conditions. We conducted winter bird counts from 1998 to 2000 to examine the abundance and habitat...

Prevalentie van broek- en/of bedplassen bij hinderen met aandachtsproblemen [Prevalence of daytime and/or night-time incontinence in children with attention problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leerdam, F.J.M. van; Reijneveld, S.A.; Hoog, N. de; Heijden, A.J. van der; Hirasing, R.A.

2005-01-01

Aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of daytime and/or night-time incontinence in children with a clinical score on Attention Problems. Of the population sample of 4970 children, 4480 participated (response 90.1%). Parents of 4171 children (2069 boys and 2102 girls) aged between 4 and 15

A winter chronicle. The coldness of the winter in the Federal Republic of Germany between 1960/61 and 2007/2008; Eine Winterchronik. Die Kaelte der Winter in Deutschland von 1960/61 bis 2007/08

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinemann, Hans-Joachim

2008-07-01

Since the beginning of the nineteen-sixties a review of the past winter period was published each spring. These publications based on weather maps and measurements from different places across the Federal Republic of Germany. Since 1991 further locations from the new German states were added. With the aid of data such as the sum of negative daily mean air temperature from 1st November to 31st March and the amount of days with negative daily mean air temperature, the wintriness and the length of the winter for each season were calculated and compared with long-time statistical values. In addition, a no dimensional so called coldness value was generated to characterize the strength of each winter period with direct comparability between all locations in Germany. All essential information from these papers is presented chronologically.

Employment and winter construction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place; Larsen, Jacob Norvig

2011-01-01

Reduced seasonal building activity in the construction sector is often assumed to be related to hard winter conditions for building activities and poor working conditions for construction workers, resulting in higher costs and poor quality of building products, particularly in the northern hemisp...... of contracts for workers is more likely to explain differences in seasonal activity than climatic or technological factors....

Development of a model system to identify differences in spring and winter oat.

Science.gov (United States)

Chawade, Aakash; Lindén, Pernilla; Bräutigam, Marcus; Jonsson, Rickard; Jonsson, Anders; Moritz, Thomas; Olsson, Olof

2012-01-01

Our long-term goal is to develop a Swedish winter oat (Avena sativa). To identify molecular differences that correlate with winter hardiness, a winter oat model comprising of both non-hardy spring lines and winter hardy lines is needed. To achieve this, we selected 294 oat breeding lines, originating from various Russian, German, and American winter oat breeding programs and tested them in the field in south- and western Sweden. By assaying for winter survival and agricultural properties during four consecutive seasons, we identified 14 breeding lines of different origins that not only survived the winter but also were agronomically better than the rest. Laboratory tests including electrolytic leakage, controlled crown freezing assay, expression analysis of the AsVrn1 gene and monitoring of flowering time suggested that the American lines had the highest freezing tolerance, although the German lines performed better in the field. Finally, six lines constituting the two most freezing tolerant lines, two intermediate lines and two spring cultivars were chosen to build a winter oat model system. Metabolic profiling of non-acclimated and cold acclimated leaf tissue samples isolated from the six selected lines revealed differential expression patterns of 245 metabolites including several sugars, amino acids, organic acids and 181 hitherto unknown metabolites. The expression patterns of 107 metabolites showed significant interactions with either a cultivar or a time-point. Further identification, characterisation and validation of these metabolites will lead to an increased understanding of the cold acclimation process in oats. Furthermore, by using the winter oat model system, differential sequencing of crown mRNA populations would lead to identification of various biomarkers to facilitate winter oat breeding.

Responses of Winter Wheat Yields to Warming-Mediated Vernalization Variations Across Temperate Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiuchen Wu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Rapid climate warming, with much higher warming rates in winter and spring, could affect the vernalization fulfillment, a critical process for induction of crop reproductive growth and consequent grain filling in temperate winter crops. However, regional observational evidence of the effects of historical warming-mediated vernalization variations on temperate winter crop yields is lacking. Here, we statistically quantified the interannual sensitivity of winter wheat yields to vernalization degree days (VDD during 1975–2009 and its spatial relationship with multi-year mean VDD over temperate Europe (TE, using EUROSTAT crop yield statistics, observed and simulated crop phenology data and gridded daily climate data. Our results revealed a pervasively positive interannual sensitivity of winter wheat yields to variations in VDD (γVDD over TE, with a mean γVDD of 2.8 ± 1.5 kg ha−1 VDD−1. We revealed a significant (p < 0.05 negative exponential relationship between γVDD and multi-year mean VDD for winter wheat across TE, with higher γVDD in winter wheat planting areas with lower multi-year mean VDD. Our findings shed light on potential vulnerability of winter wheat yields to warming-mediated vernalization variations over TE, particularly considering a likely future warmer climate.

Exploring the Constraint Profile of Winter Sports Resort Tourist Segments.

Science.gov (United States)

Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios; Vassiliadis, Chris A; Bellou, Victoria; Andronikidis, Andreas

2015-09-01

Many studies have confirmed the importance of market segmentation both theoretically and empirically. Surprisingly though, no study has so far addressed the issue from the perspective of leisure constraints. Since different consumers face different barriers, we look at participation in leisure activities as an outcome of the negotiation process that winter sports resort tourists go through, to balance between related motives and constraints. This empirical study reports the findings on the applicability of constraining factors in segmenting the tourists who visit winter sports resorts. Utilizing data from 1,391 tourists of winter sports resorts in Greece, five segments were formed based on their constraint, demographic, and behavioral profile. Our findings indicate that such segmentation sheds light on factors that could potentially limit the full utilization of the market. To maximize utilization, we suggest customizing marketing to the profile of each distinct winter sports resort tourist segment that emerged.

Exploring the Constraint Profile of Winter Sports Resort Tourist Segments

Science.gov (United States)

Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios; Vassiliadis, Chris A.; Bellou, Victoria; Andronikidis, Andreas

2014-01-01

Many studies have confirmed the importance of market segmentation both theoretically and empirically. Surprisingly though, no study has so far addressed the issue from the perspective of leisure constraints. Since different consumers face different barriers, we look at participation in leisure activities as an outcome of the negotiation process that winter sports resort tourists go through, to balance between related motives and constraints. This empirical study reports the findings on the applicability of constraining factors in segmenting the tourists who visit winter sports resorts. Utilizing data from 1,391 tourists of winter sports resorts in Greece, five segments were formed based on their constraint, demographic, and behavioral profile. Our findings indicate that such segmentation sheds light on factors that could potentially limit the full utilization of the market. To maximize utilization, we suggest customizing marketing to the profile of each distinct winter sports resort tourist segment that emerged. PMID:29708114

Effects of vegetation, structural and human factors on the thermal performance of residences in a semi-arid environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kliman, Susan Schaefer

The objectives of the study were to examine and quantify the relationship between vegetation and the thermal performance of residences in a hot arid environment. Also explored were structural and human influences on residential energy consumption. A primary goal was to determine how much energy savings could be realized through strategic planting of vegetation. This study sought to validate previous simulation and modeling studies that documented annual savings of 2--11% on residential cooling loads. Also examined was whether shrubs and grass could provide a benefit similar to that of trees, assessing the importance of evapotranspiration versus shading. An empirical study was conducted using 105 existing homes in the metropolitan area of Tucson, Arizona. Data included construction type, amenities, living habits of occupants, and energy consumption for heating and cooling over a two-year period. These data were analyzed with a combination of bivariate and multivariate analyses to examine direct correlations between specific variables and energy consumption and the relative importance of each variable. These analyses were unable to document any measurable savings in summer cooling loads as a result of vegetation adjacent to the house, and the presence of trees actually increased the winter heating load by 2%. While trees provide important shading benefits, and can reduce the direct solar gain through the windows of a house, analysis demonstrated that structural and human factors were the most important aspects in residential energy consumption. The size of the house is of primary importance. Houses with evaporative cooling consumed significantly less energy than those with air conditioning. Thermostat settings and habits regarding thermostat operation were the most critical human factors. Occupants who adjusted their thermostats a few degrees cooler in winter and warmer in summer realized measurable savings. Occupants who turned their heating and cooling equipment

Mechanical weed control in organic winter wheat

OpenAIRE

Euro Pannacci; Francesco Tei; Marcello Guiducci

2017-01-01

Three field experiments were carried out in organic winter wheat in three consecutive years (exp. 1, 2005-06; exp. 2, 2006- 07; exp. 3, 2007-08) in central Italy (42°57’ N - 12°22’ E, 165 m a.s.l.) in order to evaluate the efficacy against weeds and the effects on winter wheat of two main mechanical weed control strategies: i) spring tine harrowing used at three different application times (1 passage at T1, 2 passages at the time T1, 1 passage at T1 followed by 1 passage at T1 + 14 days) in t...

Nuclear winter: The evidence and the risks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greene, O.

1985-01-01

Global concern over nuclear extinction, centered on the holocaust itself, now has turned to the more terrifying consequences of a post-war nuclear winter: ''the long-term effects - destruction of the environment, spread of epidemic diseases, contamination by radioactivity, and ... collapse of agriculture-(that) would spread famine and death to every country.'' Nuclear Winter, the latest in a series of studies by a number of different groups is clinical, analytical, systematic, and detailed. Two physicists and biologist analyze the effects on the climate, plants, animals, and living systems; the human costs; the policy implications.

MONITORING DISASTER-RELATED POWER OUTAGES USING NASA BLACK MARBLE NIGHTTIME LIGHT PRODUCT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Wang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Timely and accurate monitoring of disruptions to the electricity grid, including the magnitude, spatial extent, timing, and duration of net power losses, is needed to improve situational awareness of disaster response and long-term recovery efforts. Satellite-derived Nighttime Lights (NTL provide an indication of human activity patterns and have been successfully used to monitor disaster-related power outages. The global 500 m spatial resolution National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Black Marble NTL daily standard product suite (VNP46 is generated from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB onboard the NASA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi- NPP satellite, which began operations on 19 January 2012. With its improvements in product accuracy (including critical atmospheric and BRDF correction routines, the VIIRS daily Black Mable product enables systematic monitoring of outage conditions across all stages of the disaster management cycle.

Sustainable winter cities: Future directions for planning, policy and design

Science.gov (United States)

Pressman, Norman E. P.

Attempts to generate a "climate-responsive" northern urban form are part of a relatively recent phenomenon and field of investigation. In conjunction with the international "winter cities" movement, the need has been established for explicit, systematic inquiry directed toward national and local action to improve the comfort and lifestyles of all northern inhabitants. It is important to recognize that winter-induced discomforts exist and that they must be acknowledged in planning theory and practice. For northern cities to function more satisfactorily, the negative impacts of winter must be reduced while its beneficial characteristics are enhanced. While not all summer activities can or should be abandoned during winter, proper micro-climatic control is essential if human life is to be retained outside. The outdoor season should be extended since so much indoor isolation occurs. The main principles to be incorporated in exemplary "winter city" design should be contact with nature, year-round usability, user participation, cultural continuity, and the creation of comfortable micro-climatic conditions throughout much of the city's open spaces. All valuable sources of inspiration must be harnessed in the attempt to mediate between organic regionalism and internationalism, on the one hand, and romanticism and pragmatic realism, on the other. Creating optimum conditions for human well-being, habitation, work and intellectual development in each of the four seasons is vital under harsh environments. Adopting a climate-sensitive approach to planning policy and urban design can render everyday life less stressful, especially during the lengthy winter periods found in many northern latitude and high altitude settings.

78 FR 12353 - Winter Use Plan, Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Yellowstone National Park

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-22

...] Winter Use Plan, Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Yellowstone National Park AGENCY: National... Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for a Winter Use Plan for Yellowstone National... link to the 2012 Supplemental Winter Use Plan EIS), and at Yellowstone National Park headquarters...

Notes on winter feeding behavior and molt in Wilson's phalaropes

Science.gov (United States)

Burger, J.; Howe, M.

1975-01-01

Wilson's Phalaropes, Steganopus tricolor, migrate in late summer from the prairie regions of North America to their wintering grounds in the highlands of Peru and the inland and coastal waters of Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina (Holmes 1939, Meyer de Schauensee 1970). Reports on these birds from their wintering habitat are few. This paper describes numbers, feeding behavior, and molt of Wilson's Phalaropes wintering in a freshwater marsh in central Argentina. Fieldwork in Argentina was conducted by the senior author. The junior author analyzed molt patterns of birds collected there and added data he collected in North Dakota in 1968 and 1969.

Seasonal foreign bodies: the dangers of winter holiday ornamentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Trout, Andrew T; Towbin, Alexander J

2014-12-01

Foreign bodies, whether ingested, aspirated or retained in the soft tissues, are a particular hazard to pediatric patients. Ornamentation associated with the winter holidays is an uncommon source of foreign bodies in children, and many of these foreign bodies have a distinct appearance on imaging. Knowledge of these appearances and the unusual features of winter holiday foreign bodies might facilitate their identification.

Road salt application planning tool for winter de-icing operations

Science.gov (United States)

Trenouth, William R.; Gharabaghi, Bahram; Perera, Nandana

2015-05-01

Road authorities, who are charged with the task of maintaining safe, driveable road conditions during severe winter storm events are coming under increasing pressure to protect salt vulnerable areas (SVAs). For the purpose of modelling urban winter hydrology, the temperature index method was modified to incorporate ploughing and salting considerations and was calibrated using winter field data from two sites in Southern Ontario and validated using data collected from a section of Highway 401 - Canada's busiest highway. The modified temperature index model (MTIM) accurately predicted salt-induced melt (R2 = 0.98 and 0.99, RMSE = 19.9 and 282.4 m3, CRM = -0.003 and 0.006 for calibration and validation sites respectively), and showed a demonstrable ability to calculate the Bare Pavement Regain Time (BPRT). The BPRT is a key factor on road safety and the basis for many winter maintenance performance standards for different classes of highways. Optimizing salt application rate scenarios can be achieved using the MTIM with only two meteorological forecast inputs for the storm event - readily available on-line through the Road Weather Information System (RWIS) - and can serve as a simple yet effective tool for winter road maintenance practitioners seeking to optimize salt application rates for a given storm event in salt vulnerable areas.

Influence of age and sex on winter site fidelity of sanderlings Calidris alba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro M. Lourenço

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Many migratory bird species show high levels of site fidelity to their wintering sites, which confers advantages due to prior knowledge, but may also limit the ability of the individual to move away from degrading sites or to detect alternative foraging opportunities. Winter site fidelity often varies among age groups, but sexual differences have seldom been recorded in birds. We studied a population of individually colour-marked sanderlings wintering in and around the Tejo estuary, a large estuarine wetland on the western coast of Portugal. For 160 individuals, sighted a total of 1,249 times between November 2009 and March 2013, we calculated the probability that they moved among five distinct wintering sites and how this probability is affected by distance between them. To compare site fidelity among age classes and sexes, as well as within the same winter and over multiple winters, we used a Site Fidelity Index (SFI. Birds were sexed using a discriminant function based on biometrics of a large set of molecularly sexed sanderlings (n = 990. The vast majority of birds were observed at one site only, and the probability of the few detected movements between sites was negatively correlated with the distance among each pair of sites. Hardly any movements were recorded over more than 15 km, suggesting small home ranges. SFI values indicated that juveniles were less site-faithful than adults which may reflect the accumulated knowledge and/or dominance of older animals. Among adults, females were significantly less site faithful than males. A sexual difference in winter site fidelity is unusual in shorebirds. SFI values show site-faithfulness is lower when multiple winters were considered, and most birds seem to chose a wintering site early in the season and use that site throughout the winter. Sanderlings show a very limited tendency to explore alternative wintering options, which might have implications for their survival when facing habitat change

Unusial winter 2011/2012 in Slovakia

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Faško, P.; Lapin, M.; Matejovič, P.; Pecho, Jozef

2012-01-01

Roč. 15, č. 1 (2012), s. 19-26 ISSN 1335-339X Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : winter characteristics * climate variabilit * climate change * global warming Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology

Winter therapy for the accelerators

CERN Multimedia

Corinne Pralavorio

2016-01-01

Hundreds of people are hard at work during the year-end technical stop as all the accelerators are undergoing maintenance, renovation and upgrade operations in parallel.   The new beam absorber on its way to Point 2 before being lowered into the LHC tunnel for installation. The accelerator teams didn’t waste any time before starting their annual winter rejuvenation programme over the winter. At the end of November, as the LHC ion run was beginning, work got under way on the PS Booster, where operation had already stopped. On 14 December, once the whole complex had been shut down, the technical teams turned their attention to the other injectors and the LHC. The year-end technical stop (YETS) provides an opportunity to carry out maintenance work on equipment and repair any damage as well as to upgrade the machines for the upcoming runs. Numerous work projects are carried out simultaneously, so good coordination is crucial. Marzia Bernardini's team in the Enginee...

Development of a model performance-based sign sheeting specification based on the evaluation of nighttime traffic signs using legibility and eye-tracker data : data and analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

This report presents data and technical analyses for Texas Department of Transportation Project 0-5235. This : project focused on the evaluation of traffic sign sheeting performance in terms of meeting the nighttime : driver needs. The goal was to de...

Seasonal variation in orthopedic health services utilization in Switzerland: the impact of winter sport tourism.

Science.gov (United States)

Matter-Walstra, Klazien; Widmer, Marcel; Busato, André

2006-03-03

Climate- or holiday-related seasonality in hospital admission rates is well known for many diseases. However, little research has addressed the impact of tourism on seasonality in admission rates. We therefore investigated the influence of tourism on emergency admission rates in Switzerland, where winter and summer leisure sport activities in large mountain regions can generate orthopedic injuries. Using small area analysis, orthopedic hospital service areas (HSAo) were evaluated for seasonality in emergency admission rates. Winter sport areas were defined using guest bed accommodation rate patterns of guest houses and hotels located above 1000 meters altitude that show clear winter and summer peak seasons. Emergency admissions (years 2000-2002, n = 135'460) of local and nonlocal HSAo residents were evaluated. HSAo were grouped according to their area type (regular or winter sport area) and monthly analyses of admission rates were performed. Of HSAo within the defined winter sport areas 70.8% show a seasonal, summer-winter peak hospital admission rate pattern and only 1 HSAo outside the defined winter sport areas shows such a pattern. Seasonal hospital admission rates in HSAo in winter sport areas can be up to 4 times higher in winter than the intermediate seasons, and they are almost entirely due to admissions of nonlocal residents. These nonlocal residents are in general -and especially in winter- younger than local residents, and nonlocal residents have a shorter length of stay in winter sport than in regular areas. The overall geographic distribution of nonlocal residents admitted for emergencies shows highest rates during the winter as well as the summer in the winter sport areas. Small area analysis using orthopedic hospital service areas is a reliable method for the evaluation of seasonality in hospital admission rates. In Switzerland, HSAo defined as winter sport areas show a clear seasonal fluctuation in admission rates of only nonlocal residents, whereas

A Study on the Impact of Household Occupants’ Behavior on Energy Consumption Using an Integrated Computer Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaolin eLin

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, several models are integrated into a thermal model to study the impact of occupants’ behaviors on the building energy consumption. An air flow model is developed to simulate ventilation related to the occupant’s patterns of window opening and closing. An electric consumption model is developed to simulate the usage pattern and the electricity input to household electric appliances. The thermostat setpoint temperature and window shading schemes are varied with different occupants’ behavior norms and are included in the model. The simulation was applied to a typical household located in the city of Oshawa in Ontario, Canada. The results show that the window opening has the greatest impact on the energy consumption during the heating season, and the shading scheme has the greatest impact on the A/C energy consumption during the cooling season. The electricity consumption of the A/C can be significantly reduced by appropriately applying the shading and opening schemes and resetting the thermostat setpoint temperature to a slightly higher degree. Keeping the windows closed and allowing the solar radiation to be transmitted through the window in winter help reduce the energy usage to heat the house.

Yantarnaya is a new variety of fodder winter rye

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bezgodov A.V.

2017-11-01

Full Text Available the article has evaluation of four years observation of the prospective varieties of winter rye Yantarnaya in comparison with the standard in the nursery of the competitive variety trial of the Ural Scientific Research Institute for Agriculture in Yekaterinburg and the results of a two year test in the system of FGBU «Gossortkomissiya». A winter rye is widely used for bread baking mainly. This culture has resistance from negative environmental factors. The main cause of limited use of a winter rye grain for forage is high content water-soluble pentosans over 1.5%. They reduce availability of nutrients to an organism. Creation of varieties with low content of water-soluble pentosans is the rational solution of increase in use of parts of grain of a winter rye in forage production. Together with VIR, a variety with the required characteristics was transferred to the state grade testing. The observation took place in 2013–2017, with contrasts on the weather conditions. According to FGBU «Gossorgkomissiya», the variety has high potential productivity and significantly exceeds same low pentosan variety in the yield.

Impacts of +2 °C global warming on winter tourism demand in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damm, Andrea; Greuell, Wouter; Landgren, Oskar; Prettenthaler, Franz

2017-01-01

Increasing temperatures and snow scarce winter seasons challenge the winter tourism industry. In this study the impacts of +2 °C global warming on winter tourism demand in Europe's ski tourism related NUTS-3 regions are quantified. Using time series regression models, the relationship between

Seasonal forecasts of northern hemisphere winter 2009/10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fereday, D R; Maidens, A; Arribas, A; Scaife, A A; Knight, J R

2012-01-01

Northern hemisphere winter 2009/10 was exceptional for atmospheric circulation: the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index was the lowest on record for over a century. This contributed to cold conditions over large areas of Eurasia and North America. Here we use two versions of the Met Office GloSea4 seasonal forecast system to investigate the predictability of this exceptional winter. The first is the then operational version of GloSea4, which uses a low top model and successfully predicted a negative NAO in forecasts produced in September, October and November 2009. The second uses a new high top model, which better simulates sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). This is particularly relevant for 2009/10 due to its unusual combination of a strong El Niño and an easterly quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) phase, favouring SSW development. SSWs are shown to play an influential role in surface conditions, producing a stronger sea level pressure signal and improving predictions of the 2009/10 winter. (letter)

Winter Atomiades 2014: CERN skiers win 31 medals!

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2014-01-01

The 12th Winter Atomiades took place at Flachau, Austria, from 8 to 15 March 2014. The event, organised by the Association of the Sports Communities of the European Research Institutes (see here), brought together 18 research centres, including CERN, AIT, ESRF, PSI and many others, with a total of about 280 participants.   Lots of fun and a great result for the 13 CERN skiers at the 2014 Winter Atomiades in Flachau, Austria. From left to right and from bottom to top: Lennart Jirden (PH), Anna Lipniacka (PH), Guillaume Michet (DGS), Vera Chetvertkova (TE), Thierry Boileau (external), Jean-Louis Grenard (EN), Clement Bovet (EN), Marc Tavlet (BE), Rob Knoops (PH), Giuseppe Lo Presti (IT), Simone Campana (IT), Sylviane Gander (external) and Javier Pablos (TE).   The team of 13 athletes from six different CERN departments won 31 medals across all disciplines, in a spirit of fun and fair play. CERN came second in the general ranking of all participating institutes! The next Winter Atomiades...

Polar-Tropical Coupling in the Winter Stratosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, R.

2017-12-01

A distinct pattern of enhanced equatorial potential vorticitygradients during QBO westerly anomalies, enhanced subtropicalgradients during QBO easterlies, is used to motivate a new formulationof dynamical coupling between the tropics and winter polar vortexbased on remote transfer of finite amplitude wave activity defined interms of lateral potential vorticity displacements. While the weakpotential vorticity gradients in the surf zone imply laterallyevanescent Rossby waves, transfer of wave activity from the polarvortex edge to the subtropical barrier or to the QBO westerly phaseequatorial gradients arises from nonlocality of potential vorticityinversion and the large horizontal displacements of the vortex edge.Our approach goes beyond the traditional description of the effect ofQBO wind anomalies on linear wave propagation through the stratospherevia wave reflection at the zero wind line; linear wave theory isappealing but neglects the long horizontal and vertical wavelengthsinvolved and the inhomogeneous background potential vorticity. Aparticular issue of outstanding interest is whether and how therelatively shallow QBO anomalies can influence the deep verticallypropagating waves on the edge of the winter stratospheric polarvortex. Process studies with a mechanistic model with prescribed QBOand carefully controlled high-latitude wave forcing are analyzed,guided by a reexamination of meteorological reanalysis, to address howsuch a dynamical linkage may influence in particular the resonantexcitation of the winter vortex, and the occurrence ofvortex-splitting sudden warming events. We quantify the associatedtransfer of wave activity from vortex edge to the tropics, considerunder what conditions this becomes a significant source of easterlymomentum in the driving of the QBO itself, and how the structure ofthe Brewer-Dobson circulation varies in response to the location ofthe QBO westerly winds in any given winter.

Changes occurring in plain, straining and winter yoghurt during the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this study, winter yoghurt, straining yoghurt and yoghurt samples produced from homogenized and non-homogenized sheep and a mixture of sheep and cows milks were evaluated during the storage periods. Winter yoghurt, straining yoghurt and yoghurt samples were stored in sterile jars in the refrigerator (4°C).

Vancouver winters: Environmental influences on inpatient adult orthopaedic trauma demographics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noordin, S.; Masri, B. A.

2014-01-01

Objective: To compare the pattern of adult inpatient orthopaedic injuries admitted at three Vancouver hospitals following one of the worst winter snowstorms in the region with the preceding control winter period. Methods: The surveillance study was conducted at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2007 to 2010. Inpatient adult admissions for orthopaedic injuries at three hospitals were recorded, including age, gender, anatomic location of injury, type of fracture (open or closed), fixation method (internal versus external fixation), and length of acute care hospital stay. Comparisons between admissions during this weather pattern and admission during a previous winter with minimal snow were made. SPSS 19 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Of the 511 patients admitted under Orthopaedic trauma service during the significant winter snowstorms of December 2008 - January 2009, 100 (19.6%) (CI: 16.2%-23.2%) were due to ice and snow, whereas in the preceding mild winter only 18 of 415 (4.3%) (CI: 2.5%-6.8%) cases were related to snow (p<0.05). Ankle and wrist fractures were the most frequent injuries during the index snow storm period (p<0.05). At all the three institutions, 97 (96.5%) fractures were closed during the snowstorm as opposed to 17 (95%) during the control winter period. Internal fixation in 06 (89%) fractures as opposed to external fixation in 12 (11%) patients was the predominant mode of fixation across the board during both time periods. Conclusion: The study demonstrated a significantly higher inpatient orthopaedic trauma volume during the snowstorm more rigorous prospective studies need to be designed to gain further insight to solving these problems from a public health perspective. (author)

Overview of the LADCO winter nitrate study: hourly ammonia, nitric acid and PM2.5 composition at an urban and rural site pair during PM2.5 episodes in the US Great Lakes region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Shaw

2012-11-01

Full Text Available An overview of the LADCO (Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium Winter Nitrate Study (WNS is presented. Sampling was conducted at ground level at an urban-rural pair of sites during January–March 2009 in eastern Wisconsin, toward the western edge of the US Great Lakes region. Areas surrounding these sites experience multiday episodes of wintertime PM2.5 pollution characterized by high fractions of ammonium nitrate in PM, low wind speeds, and air mass stagnation. Hourly surface monitoring of inorganic gases and aerosols supplemented long-term 24-h aerosol chemistry monitoring at these locations. The urban site (Milwaukee, WI experienced 13 PM2.5 episodes, defined as periods where the seven-hour moving average PM2.5 concentration exceeded 27 μg m−3 for at least four consecutive hours. The rural site experienced seven episodes by the same metric, and all rural episodes coincided with urban episodes. Episodes were characterized by low pressure systems, shallow/stable boundary layer, light winds, and increased temperature and relative humidity relative to climatological mean conditions. They often occurred in the presence of regional snow cover at temperatures near freezing, when snow melt and sublimation could generate fog and strengthen the boundary layer inversion. Substantial contribution to nitrate production from nighttime chemistry of ozone and NO2 to N2O5 and nitric acid is likely and requires further investigation. Pollutant-specific urban excess during episode and non-episode conditions is presented. The largest remaining uncertainties in the conceptual model of the wintertime episodes are the variability from episode-to-episode in ammonia emissions, the balance of daytime and nighttime nitrate production, the relationship between ammonia controls, NOx controls and ammonium nitrate reductions, and the extent to which snow and fog are causal (either through meteorological or chemical processes rather than just correlated with episodes

Detorsion night-time bracing for the treatment of early onset idiopathic scoliosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreau, S; Lonjon, G; Mazda, K; Ilharreborde, B

2014-12-01

Management for early onset scoliosis has recently changed, with the development of new surgical procedures. However, multiple surgeries are often required and high complication rates are still reported. Conservative management remains an alternative, serial casting achieving excellent results in young children. Better compliance and improvement over natural history have been reported with night-time bracing in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), but this treatment has never been reported in early onset idiopathic scoliosis (EIOS). All patients treated for progressive EOIS by detorsion night-time bracing (DNB), and meeting the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) criteria for brace studies were reviewed. Recommendations were given to wear the DNB 8h/night and no restriction was given regarding sports activities. Radiological parameters were compared between referral and latest follow-up. Based on the SRS criteria defined for AIS, a similar classification was used as follows to analyze the course of the curves: success group: patients with a progression of 5° or less; unsuccess group (progression or failure): patients with a progression>5°, patients with curves exceeding 45° at maturity, or who have had recommendation for/undergone surgery, or patients who changed orthopaedic treatment, or who were lost to follow-up. Thirty-three patients were included (21 girls and 12 boys), with a median Cobb angle of 31° (Q1-Q3: 22-40). Age at brace initiation averaged 50months (Q1-Q3: 25-60). Median follow-up was 102-months (Q1-Q3: 63-125). Fifteen patients (45.5%) had reached skeletal maturity at last follow-up. The success rate was 67% (22 patients), with a median Cobb angle reduction of 15° (P<0.001). Four patients stopped DNB due to an important regression. Eleven patients were in the unsuccessful group (33%). Only one had surgery. All patients remained balanced in the frontal plane and normokyphotic. Initial curve magnitude and age at brace initiation appeared to be

Ice and mineral licks used by caribou in winter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas C. Heard

1990-09-01

Full Text Available In winter, barren-ground caribou obtain minerals from ice and soil licks. Between December and April we have seen caribou cratering on the surface of frozen lakes and licking the ice. Ice samples from eight licks on four lakes contained concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, chloride and sulphate many times higher than in the surrounding unlicked ice or than would be expected in lake water. Soil licks being used in March and June had high concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium phosphorus and potassium. In winter caribou may be seeking supplements of all of the major mineral elements (calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium at ice and soil licks because lichens, their staple winter diet, are low in minerals and may also reduce the absorption of some minerals.