bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Phenomenological Study of Games, Simulations, and Virtual Environments Courses
Authors: Ritzhaupt Albert D. , Poling Nathaniel , Frey Christopher , Kang Youngju , Johnson Margeaux
Published: June 2016

Educational technology programs from across the United States are offering graduate courses in games, simulations, and virtual environments (GSVE) to their students. However, these courses, until now, have not been systematically studied. This research uses a hermeneutical phenomenological approach to answer the research question: “How do instructors describe their experience teaching GSVE courses?” Five professors of educational technology that have taught GSVE courses were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol based on the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) framework. These data were analyzed both analytically and thematically. The results of the study showed a wide variety of topics, tools, and pedagogies are used within GSVE courses. The results had five themes emerge: Focus on Application and Theory, Experiential Learning and Constructivism, Instructor's Prior Experience with Games, Heterogeneous Student Populations, and Range of Technology Tools. These themes as well as these courses are highlighted within this paper. A discussion is provided.
Learning Outcomes and Affective Factors of Blended Learning of English for Library Science
Authors: Wentao Chen , Jinyu Zhang , Zhonggen Yu
Published: June 2016

English for Library Science is an essential course for students to command comprehensive scope of library knowledge. This study aims to compare the learning outcomes, gender differences and affective factors in the environments of blended and traditional learning. Around one thousand participants from one university were randomly selected to answer questions in questionnaires. It was found that (1) The pass rates under blended learning increased compared with traditional multimedia learning and the dropout rates under blended learning decreased compared with multimedia learning; (2) males and females did not show any significant differences in learning outcomes; (3) affective factors under blended learning were significantly more favorable than those under multimedia learning; (4) under the blended learning model, male motivation was significantly higher than female; male attitude was significantly more favorable than female; males held higher self-esteem than females. However, male anxiety was significantly less than female. Reasons for the findings, as well as future research direction, were also explored.
The Use of Virtual Worlds for Developing Intercultural Competences
Authors: Machado Lisiane , Klein Amarolinda Zanela , Freitas Angilberto , Schlemmer Eliane , Pedron Cristiane Drebes
Published: June 2016

In this research, the authors present a framework for developing Intercultural Competence (IC) and use Tridimensional Digital Virtual Worlds (3DVW) as environments for developing Intercultural Competence. They developed an artifact, via Design Research, constituted by an educational method using the 3DVW Second Life® as the place for a virtual exchange program between 92 Brazilian and Portuguese master students. The results of the authors' study indicate that the 3DVW can be used for the development of IC because it allows rich experiential and relational/conversational learning opportunities, especially due to the affordances of immersion/sense of presence, social interaction, content production and knowledge sharing.
The Impact of an Online Homework Management System on Student Performance and Course Satisfaction in Introductory Financial Accounting
Authors: Fratto Victoria , Sava Magda Gabriela , Krivacek Gregory J
Published: June 2016

Educators in all disciplines are searching for effective educational technologies that help students learn. One technology that has evolved is the online homework management system. The online homework management system permits professors to use the Internet to assign homework problems that students can complete online. Since this system is automatic, students can receive feedback instantly. The researchers designed this study to determine if the use of an online homework management system as an educational complement was an effective way to improve student performance and course satisfaction in an introductory accounting course when compared to traditional accounting pedagogy. The results of this study show the use of an online homework management system is an effective way to improve student performance and course satisfaction in an introductory accounting course when compared to traditional pen-and-paper homework.
International Conceptualizations of Diversity in Multi-Cultural Teacher Preparation
Authors: Baker Lottie L. , Liu Laura B. , Milman Natalie B.
Published: June 2016

This literature review updates and expands the authors' previous synthesis of empirical research on pre-service multicultural teacher preparation (MTP) conducted from 2006-2011 in settings outside the U.S. (Liu, Baker, & Milman, 2014). In this review, the authors synthesized research conducted from 2006-2015 about (a) how diversity is conceptualized in teacher education, and (b) how MTP is practiced across international settings. Their analysis demonstrates that researchers in non-U.S. settings conceptualized diversity as: (a) unspecified or undefined; (b) connected to self; and (c) a social justice issue. MTP practices similar to their prior review included: critical reflections on self and other, culturally relevant pedagogies, and theory-to-practice transfer. The authors' updated analysis additionally revealed a new approach that they termed interdisciplinary MTP. Implications call for initiating innovative collaborations in teacher preparation to explore complex, evolving definitions of diversity shaped by global and local discourses, and learning from each other about meaningful, effective MTP across international settings.
The Role of Stories and Simulations in the Lessons Learned Process
Authors: Dalkir Kimiz
Published: June 2016

One of the major challenges of any organizational lessons learned system is how to ensure that this content is actually implemented: that employees can find and learn from them. While we are guided by a number of theories on how newly acquired knowledge can become institutionalized such that it becomes “the way things are done,” there is very little theory or evidence-based practice to guide us on specific implementation strategies. This paper presents specific strategies that were used to ensure that lessons learned became embedded in the organization through digital storytelling and simulation environments. Organizational stories are often very well suited to capturing and conveying complex tacit knowledge. The role of information and communication technologies such as digital libraries will be discussed and recommendation on how to best ensure individuals, groups and the organization itself can learn and continuously improve through the institutionalization of digital storytelling and simulation.
RSSMSO Rapid Similarity Search on Metric Space Object Stored in Cloud Environment
Authors: Raghavendra S.  , Nithyashree K.  , Geeta C.M.  , Buyya Rajkumar , Venugopal K. R.  , Iyengar S. S. , Patnaik L. M.
Published: June 2016

This paper involves a cloud computing environment in which the dataowner outsource the similarity search service to a third party service provider. Privacy of the outsourced data is important because they may be confidential data. The data should be made available to the authorized client groups, but not to be revealed to the service provider in which the data is stored. Given this scenario, the paper presents a technique called RSSMSO which has build phase, query phase, data transformation and search phase. The build phase and the query phase are about uploading the data and querying the data respectively; the data transformation phase transforms the data before submitting it to the service provider for similarity queries on the transformed data; search phase involves searching similar object with respect to query object. The RSSMSO technique provides enhanced query accuracy with low communication cost. Experiments have been carried out on real data sets which exhibits that the proposed work is capable of providing privacy and achieving accuracy at a low cost in comparison with FDH
A Proposed Framework for Cloud Computing adoption
Authors: Chang Victor I. C.
Published: June 2016

This paper presents a review related to Cloud Computing focusing on Cloud business requirements. From the review the author recommends a number of methods managing Cloud services and evaluating its service performance, including the use of a pair of the Hexagon Models. Three organizational challenges of Cloud adoption are identified: (i) Organizational Sustainability; (ii) Portability and (iii) Linkage. The Cloud Computing Adoption Framework (CCAF) is designed to deal with these challenges by helping organizations to achieve good Cloud designs, deployment and services. How these three challenges are addressed by the CCAF is demonstrated using case studies. Services implemented by CCAF are reviewed using the Hexagon Models for comparison. This paper provides recommendations to help organizations, researchers and practitioners to understand Cloud business context, to measure their risk and return analysis, to migrate their services to Cloud from all types and to connect and integrate different services as a single service.
Big Data Analysis with Hadoop on Personalized Incentive Model with Statistical Hotel Customer Data
Authors: Lee Sungchul , Hwang Eunmin , Jo Ju-Yeon , Kim Yoohwan
Published: June 2016

Due to the advancement of Information Technology (IT), the hospitality industry is seeing a great value in gathering various kinds of and a large amount of customers' data. However, many hotels are facing a challenge in analyzing customer data and using it as an effective tool to understand the hospitality customers better and, ultimately, to increase the revenue. The authors' research attempts to resolve the current challenges of analyzing customer data in hospitality by utilizing the big data analysis tools, especially Hadoop and R. Hadoop is a framework for processing large-scale data. With the integration of new approach, their study demonstrates the ways of aggregating and analyzing the hospitality customer data to find meaningful customer information. Multiple decision trees are constructed from the customer data sets with the intention of classifying customers' needs and customers' clusters. By analyzing the customer data, the study suggests three strategies to increase the total expenditure of the customers within a limited amount of time during their stay.
Understanding Knowledge Management Spectrum for SMEs in Global Scenario
Authors: Baporikar Neeta
Published: June 2016

Knowledge that exists within organization is a sustainable source of competitive advantage. Though enormous research on knowledge management (KM) has taken place, little focus has been on KM in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Globalization of supply chains, rapid technological advances, superior returns on intellectual capital, growing importance of knowledge-intensive industries would make KM a strategic tool in the growth and success of all, especially SMEs. KM-enabled SMEs are essential for competitive and sustainable growth. Hence a judicious approach for KM in SMEs is a must in current scenario. Done by an in-depth literature review and contextual analysis, the objective of this paper is twofold - to aid researchers in recognizing and understanding KM spectrum for SMEs in a globalized world and for SMEs to reckon that success and worth of businesses depend more on intellectual capital than physical assets merely.
Resource Allocation and Planning in Single and Multi-Project Environments
Authors: Chilton Michael A.
Published: June 2016

IT projects often fail to be completed on time, on budget, within scope, with the required functionality and error free. The reasons for project failure are numerous and have been well studied and identified in the literature; however, most studies assume that project managers are completely devoted to the execution of the project and disregard any time wasting efforts that keep them from these duties. One such duty is the assignment and tracking of personnel to tasks within a project. As workers become over-allocated, the PM must redirect his or her efforts to balancing the overall schedule. This task is often performed manually causing PMs to spend much of their time attending to the details of the schedule instead of dealing with the issues critical to the project. The author describes here software that optimizes the schedule when resources are limited and describe its use in both single and multiple project environments.
Multifaceted Applications of Data Mining, Business Intelligence, and Knowledge Management
Authors: Kasemsap Kijpokin
Published: June 2016

This article reviews the literature in the search for the multifaceted applications of data mining (DM), business intelligence (BI), and knowledge management (KM). The literature review highlights the overviews of DM, BI, and KM; the practical applications of DM, BI, and KM; and the prospects of DM, BI, and KM in terms of marketing, business, human resources, and manufacturing. DM plays a key role in organizing huge amount of data and condensing it into valuable information. BI involves the delivery and integration of relevant and useful business information in an organization. KM allows companies to manage a system of core competencies in order to maximize business opportunities and minimize the risk of losing business opportunities. The findings present valuable insights and further understanding of the way in which DM, BI, and KM efforts should be focused.
Feature Reduction Using Genetic Algorithm for Cognitive Man-Machine Communication
Authors: Irtiza Naveen , Farooq Humera
Published: June 2016

Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals are usually comprised of high-dimensional feature space. This work aims to assess the effect of reducing the number of features extracted from EEG recordings. A methodology is proposed that combines brain imaging and machine learning techniques to predict the cognitive state of the subjects whether they are feeling themselves in a safe or dangerous environment. The changes in the brain state are correlated with power modulations of oscillatory rhythms in recorded EEG signals called ERD / ERS (Event-related De-synchronization / Synchronization). In order to determine the optimized number of features, Genetic Algorithm (GA) will be used. GA has played instrumental role in solving optimization problems from diverse fields. In various studies and researches for Cognitive Man-Machine Communication, the algorithm has been used as an effective method to extract an optimal set of features.
Dynamic Analysis of UTAUT
Authors: Abualbasal Wejdan , Abu-Shanab Emad , Al-Quraan Heba
Published: June 2016

The technology adoption domain is rich with studies that utilized a cross-sectional snapshot of subjects' perceptions regarding the adoption of new technology. This research tried to implement a longitudinal study that took three measures within 4 months to estimate the influence of time and experience on students' perceptions. The study adopted a modified version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and use of Technology (UTAUT) with effort expectancy, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and locus of control predicting the intention to use Microsoft Project. Results supported the UTAUT and its prediction. Also, this study fitted two types of dynamic research typologies (learning curve and equilibrium circles) to the UTAUT relationships and across time.
Review of Current and Emerging Approaches for Quantitative Nanostructure-Activity Relationship Modeling
Authors: Sizochenko Natalia , Leszczynski Jerzy
Published: June 2016

Quantitative structure-activity/property relationships (QSAR/QSPR) approaches that have been applied with success in a number of studies are currently used as indispensable tools in the computational analysis of nanomaterials. Evolution of nano-QSAR methodology to the ranks of novel field of knowledge has resulted in the development of new so-called “nano-descriptors” and extension of the statistical approaches domain. This brief review focuses on the critical analysis of advantages and disadvantages of existing methods of nanoparticles' representation and their analysis in framework of structure-activity relationships. It summarizes recent QSAR/QSPR studies on inorganic nanomaterials. Here the authors describe practices for the QSAR modeling of inorganic nanoparticles, existing datasets, and discuss applicable descriptors and future perspectives of this field. About 50 different (Q)SAR/SPR models for inorganic nanomaterials have been developed during the past 5 years. An analysis of these peer reviewed publications shows that the most popular property of nanoparticles modeled via QSAR is their toxicity towards different bacteria, cell lines, and microorganisms. It has been clearly shown how nano-QSAR can contribute to the elucidation of toxicity mechanisms and different physical properties of inorganic nanomaterials.
Quasi-SMILES for Nano-QSAR Prediction of Toxic Effect of Al2O3 Nanoparticles
Authors: Toropova Alla P. , Achary P. Ganga Raju , Toropov Andrey A.
Published: June 2016

The level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in wet tissue of different organs is utilized as a measure of toxic effect. The numerical data on the concentration of MDA in wet tissue of liver, kidneys, brain, and heart of rat is examined as the endpoint which are impacted by different dose (mg/kg), exposure time (3 and 14 days) and single oral treatment of aluminium nano-oxide (Al2O3) with 30 nm or 40 nm. An attempt to develop predictive model for this endpoint has been carried out in this work. SMILES is a traditional tool to represent molecular structure for QSPRs/QSARs. In contrast to traditional SMILES, so-called quasi-SMILES can be a tool to build up quantitative features – property / activity relationships (QFPRs/QFARs) for endpoints which are not defined by solely molecular structure, but by a group of physicochemical and/or biochemical conditions. The quasi-SMILES is the representation of the above eclectic conditions whereas the QFPR/QFAR are models of endpoints which are modified under impacts of these eclectic conditions.
Effects of rapid maxillary expansion with six months of retention and no further orthodontic treatment
Authors: Micheletti Kelly Regina , Iwaki Lilian Cristina Vessoni , Provenzano Maria Gisette Arias , Cuoghi Osmar Aparecido , Ramos Adilson Luiz
Published: June 2016

A expansão rápida ou lenta da maxila seguida do uso de aparelhos ortodônticos fixos altera a face e os dentes. Este estudo avaliou as mudanças dentoesqueléticas após a expansão rápida da maxila (ERM) e determinou a estabilidade dessas mudanças em três anos de acompanhamento. Dez crianças com mordida cruzada posterior bilateral foram avaliadas (grupo experimental). Modelos de estudo e telerradiografias laterais foram avaliadas antes da ERM (T0), assim como três meses (T1), um ano (T2) e três anos (T3) após a ERM. As medidas foram comparadas as de um grupo controle compostos de 21 pacientes por meio do teste ANOVA e teste t Student (p > 0.05). As mudanças no plano transversal revelaram uma expansão significante no arco superior três meses após a ERM, que se manteve estável após três anos. A expansão ao nível das cúspides foi similar à do nível gengival. Mas nenhuma diferença significante foi encontrada estre as medidas cefalométricas angulares e lineares ao longo dos períodos T0, T1, T2, e T3 e nem quando se comparou essas medidas as do grupo controle (p > 0.05). Conclui-se que A ERM precoce produz aumentos transversais estáveis no arco superior sem alterar significantemente as relações sagitais e verticais dentoesqueléticas e nem inclinar dentes.
Demographic-socioeconomic profile and sexual behavior of pregnant adolescents in a city in northeastern Brazil
Authors: Menezes Layla Melize Santos , Vieira Igor Soares , Trindade Leda Maria Delmondes
Published: June 2016

Adolescence pregnancy pictures the interaction between the exertion of sexuality and the reproductive life, as a process influenced by the historical and social context of the embedded person. This study aims to portray the demographic and socioeconomic profile and the sexual behavior of pregnant teenagers. It is a cross-sectional study accomplished at Family Health Units in a Brazilian northeast city. Participated in the study 50 adolescents between 13 and 19 years of age. It was adopted a survey with open and closed ended questions. Among the adolescents menarche occurred at an average of 11.68 years of age (pd = 1.3); 48% of them had their first sexual intercourse before 16 years-old (group average = 14.30 – dp = 1.71); the majority were primigravidae; abstained from alcohol ingestion during the gestational period and did not use birth-control methods; 98% had low family income. The pregnancy was a reason for school evasion. The knowledge of birth-control methods was not an impedible factor to the early pregnancy. The appropriation of the guideline for birth control has become one of the biggest difficulties in the basic health basic system to avoid unplanned pregnancy. In this situational context, there are sociocultural, political and economic factors involved.
Perceptions on psychiatric nursing care at a general hospital inpatient unit
Authors: Oliveira Renata Marques de , Siqueira Júnior Antonio Carlos , Furegato Antonia Regina Ferreira
Published: June 2016

The objective was to investigate the perception of nurses, nursing assistants and patients about nursing care at a general hospital psychiatric unit. Exploratory study with 16/20 nursing professionals and 27/84 patients from the psychiatric inpatient unit of a general hospital. Interviews were based on guiding questions about the nursing care in said unit. Thematic content analysis was adopted. The subjects acknowledge that nursing promotes the recovery of patients, that it is essential during hospitalization, and defend that working in psychiatry requires a taste and profile for it. The patients value warmth, attention, serenity, good mood, patience, concern, presence, promptness, respect and responsibility. The professionals value affection, dedication, effort, patience, security and serenity. Professionals and patients wonder if changes in nursing care during hospitalization stimulate independence/autonomy for discharge or reflect carelessness. In conclusion, nursing care is essential during psychiatric hospitalization, but it requires that professionals like it and have the right profile.
A holy land quartet
Authors: Mann Chris
Published: June 2016

Not applicable. Poetry.
Maternal and socio-demographic determinants of low birth weight (LBW)
Authors: Borah M , Agarwalla R
Published: June 2016

Background and Rationale:

Low birth weight (LBW) leads to high neonatal and infant deaths. There is also high prevalence of childhood morbidities and mortalities that are consequences of LBW.

Objectives:

To find out the prevalence of LBW babies among the study population and to find out the effect of certain maternal and socio-demographic characteristics on birth weight.

Materials and Methods:

This cross-sectional study was carried out in a rural block of Assam. Cluster sampling was done to choose 30 villages and 15 infants were selected randomly from each village to get a sample size of 450.

Results:

Prevalence of LBW was found to be 21.8%. Percentage of LBW babies was more among the teenage mothers (36%) and primipara mothers (27%). Maternal anemia [odds ratio (OR) 1.93; confidence interval (CI) 1.3-2.9], short interpregnancy interval (OR 3.93; CI 2.16-7.13), and teenage pregnancy (OR 3.93; CI 2.16-6.45) were found to be the independent risk factors associated with LBW of the babies.

Discussion:

The study findings indicated the high prevalence of LBW babies in rural areas of Assam and illiterate teenage mothers, grand multipara, anemic mothers, and short interpregnancy intervals were the important risk factors for LBW.
Comparing the Roles of EUS, ERCP and MRCP in Idiopathic Acute Recurrent Pancreatitis
Authors: Safari Mohammad Taghi , Miri Mohammad Bager , Ebadi Shahram , Shahrokh Shabnam , Alizadeh Amir Houshang Mohammad
Published: June 2016

Acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) is defined as more than two attacks of acute pancreatitis with complete or almost complete resolution of symptoms and signs of pancreatitis between episodes. The initial evaluation fails to detect the cause of ARP in 10%-30% of patients, whose condition is classified as idiopathic ARP. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has gained increasing attention as a useful imaging modality for the pancreas and the extrahepatic biliary tree. The close proximity of the pancreas to the digestive tract allows EUS to obtain detailed images of this organ. This review aims to record pancreaticobiliary endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and other imaging modalities in the clinical management of patients with idiopathic ARP.
Los cien primeros días de El Español. Análisis de la estructura y los contenidos en los inicios del diario digital
Authors: Del Arco Bravo Miguel Ángel , Yunquera Nieto Juan , Pérez Bahón Félix
Published: June 2016

El Español es el último lanzamiento de medio periodístico en España, un diario digital cuyo proceso de crowdfunding superó todas las iniciativas periodísticas anteriores. La consecución de sus intenciones y planteamientos, de apuesta periodística y tecnológica, seguramente están por llegar. En este trabajo analizamos los primeros cien días.  Describimos cómo fue su nacimiento y su estructura, analizamos de manera cuantitativa y cualitativa tanto lo que aporta al negocio periodístico como sus carencias, debidas probablemente a su juventud. Incluso apuntamos el desarrollo y cambios adoptados en estos primeros tres meses de vida. Las primeras conclusiones nos hablan de un estilo, básicamente interpretativo, de periodismo de servicio, y una puesta en escena algo alejada de lo que se podía esperar de un medio nativo digital gestado en plena efervescencia tecnológica, con utilización masiva de ordenadores y dispositivos móviles en una comunidad totalmente permeabilizada a las redes sociales.
Results from the validation campaign of the ozone radiometer GROMOS-C at the NDACC station of Réunion island
Authors: Fernandez Susana , Rüfenacht Rolf , Kämpfer Niklaus , Portafaix Thierry , Posny Françoise , Payen Guillaume
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Ozone performs a key role in the middle atmosphere and its monitoring is thus necessary.At the Institute of Applied Physics of the University of Bern, Switzerland, we built a new ground-based microwave radiometer, GROMOS-C (GRound based Ozone MOnitoring System for Campaigns). It has a compact design and can be operated remotely with very little maintenance requirements, being therefore suitable for remote deployments. It has been conceived to measure the vertical distribution of ozone in the middle atmosphere, by observing pressure-broadened emission spectra at a frequency of 110.836 GHz. In addition, meridional and zonal wind profiles can be retrieved, based on the Doppler shift of the ozone line measured in the four directions of observation (north, east, south and west).In June 2014 the radiometer was installed at the Maïdo observatory, on Réunion island (21.2° S, 55.5° E). High-resolution ozone spectra were recorded continuously over 7 months. Vertical profiles of ozone have been retrieved through an optimal estimation inversion process, using the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator ARTS2 as the forward model. The validation is performed against ozone profiles from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite, the ozone lidar located at the observatory and with ozone profiles from weekly radiosondes. Zonal and meridional winds retrieved from GROMOS-C data are validated against another wind radiometer located in situ, WIRA. In addition, we compare both ozone and winds with ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) model data. Results show that GROMOS-C provides reliable ozone profiles between 30 and 0.02 hPa. The comparison with lidar profiles shows a very good agreement at all levels. The accordance with the MLS data set is within 5 % for pressure levels between 25 and 0.2 hPa. GROMOS-C's wind profiles are in good agreement with the observations by WIRA and with the model data, differences are below 5 m s−1 for both.
Investigating Wavelength-Dependent Aerosol Optical Properties Using Water Vapor Slant Column Retrievals from CLARS over the Los Angeles Basin
Authors: Zeng Zhao-Cheng , Zhang Qiong , Margolis Jack S. , Shia Run-Lie , Newman Sally , Fu Dejian , Pongetti Thomas J. , Wong Kam W. , Sander Stanley P. , Wennberg Paul O. , Yung Yuk L.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this study, we propose a novel approach to constrain the optical properties of atmospheric aerosol in a complex urban environment using water vapor (H2O) slant column measurements in the near infrared. This approach is demonstrated using measurements from the California Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing Fourier Transform Spectrometer (CLARS-FTS) on the top of Mt. Wilson, California, and a two-stream-exact single scattering (2S-ESS) radiative transfer (RT) model. From the spectral measurements, we retrieve H2O slant column density (SCD) using 15 different absorption bands between 4000 and 8000 cm−1. Due to the wavelength dependence of aerosol scattering, large variations in H2O SCD retrievals are observed as a function of wavelength. Moreover, the variations are found to be correlated with aerosol optical depths (AOD) measured at the AERONET-Caltech station. Simulation results from the RT model reproduce this correlation and show that the aerosol scattering is the primary contributor to the variations in the wavelength dependence of the H2O SCD retrievals. The evidence from both measurements and simulations suggest that wavelength-dependent aerosol optical properties can be constrained using H2O retrievals from multiple bands.
Quantification of environmentally persistent free radicals and reactive oxygen species in atmospheric aerosol particles
Authors: Arangio Andrea M. , Tong Haijie , Socorro Joanna , Pöschl Ulrich , Shiraiwa Manabu
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Fine particulate matter plays a central role in adverse health effects of air pollution. Inhalation and deposition of aerosol particles in the respiratory tract can lead to the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may cause oxidative stress. In this study, we have detected and quantified a wide range of particle-associated radicals using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Ambient particle samples were collected using a cascade impactor at a semi-urban site in central Europe, Mainz, Germany in May–June 2015. Concentrations of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFR), most likely semiquinone radicals, were found to be in the range of (1–7) × 1011 spins µg−1 for particles in the accumulation mode, whereas coarse particles with a diameter larger than 1 µm did not contain substantial amounts of EPFR. Using a spin trapping technique followed by deconvolution of EPR spectra, we have also characterized and quantified ROS including OH, superoxide (O2−) and carbon- and oxygen-centred organic radicals, which were released upon extraction of the particle samples in water. Total ROS amounts of (0.1–3) × 1011 spins µg−1 were released by submicron particle samples and the relative contributions of OH, O2−, C-centred and O-centred organic radicals were ~11–31 %, ~2–8 %, ~41–72 % and ~0–25 %, respectively, depending on particle sizes. OH was the dominant species for coarse particles. Based on comparisons of the EPR spectra of ambient particulate matter with those of mixtures of organic hydroperoxides, quinones and iron ions followed by chemical analysis using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS), we suggest that the particle-associated ROS were formed by decomposition of organic hydroperoxides interacting with transition metal ions and quinones contained in atmospheric humic-like substances (HULIS).
Atmospheric wet and litterfall mercury deposition in typical rural and urban areas in China
Authors: Fu Xuewu , Xu Yang , Lang Xiaofang , Zhu Jun , Zhang Hui , Yu Ben , Yan Haiyu , Lin Che-Jen , Feng Xinbin
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Mercury (Hg) concentrations and deposition fluxes in precipitation and litterfall were measured at multiple sites (six rural sites and an urban site) across a broad geographic area in China. The annual deposition fluxes of Hg in precipitation at rural sites and an urban site were 2.0 to 7.2 µg m−2 yr−1 and 12.6 ± 6.5 µg m−2 yr−1, respectively. Wet deposition fluxes of Hg at rural sites showed a clear regional difference with elevated deposition fluxes in the subtropical zone, followed by the temporal zone and arid/semi-arid zone. Precipitation depth is the primary influencing factor causing the variation of wet deposition. Hg fluxes through litterfall ranged from 22.8 to 62.8 µg m−2 yr−1, higher than the wet deposition by a factor of 3.9 to 8.7 fluxes and representing approximately 75 % of the total Hg deposition at the forest sites in China. This suggests that uptake of atmospheric Hg by foliage is the dominant pathway to remove atmospheric mercury in forest ecosystems in China. Wet deposition fluxes of Hg at rural sites of China were generally lower compared to those in North America and Europe, possibly due to a combination of lower precipitation depth, lower GOM concentrations in the troposphere and the generally lower cloud base heights at most sites that washout a smaller amount of GOM and PBM during precipitation events.
Airborne mercury species at the Råö background monitoring site in Sweden: Distribution of mercury as an effect of long range transport
Authors: Wängberg Ingvar , Nerentorp Mastromonaco Michelle G. , Munthe John , Gårdfeldt Katarina
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Within the EU project, Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) airborne mercury have been monitored at the background Råö measurement site on the west coast of Sweden from mid May 2012 tot the beginning of July 2013 and from the beginning of February 2014 to the end of May 2015. The mercury concentrations measured at the Råö site was found to be low in comparison to other comparable European measurement sites. A back trajectory analysis to study the origin of air masses reaching the Råö site was performed. Due to the remotely location of the Råö measurement station it receives background air most of the time. However, elevated concentrations with air masses coming from especially the south east are noticeable. Evidence for formation of gaseous oxidised mercury (GOM) in background free tropospheric air is presented.
A mobile sensor network to map carbon dioxide emissions in urban environments
Authors: Lee Joseph K. , Christen Andreas , Ketler Rick , Nesic Zoran
Published: June 2016

Abstract. A method for directly measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions using a mobile sensor network in cities at fine spatial resolution was developed and tested. First, a compact, mobile system was built using an infrared gas analyzer combined with open-source hardware to control, georeference and log measurements of CO2 mixing ratios on vehicles (car, bikes). Second, two measurement campaigns, one in summer and one in winter (heating-season) were carried out. Five mobile sensors were deployed within a 1 x 12.7 km transect across the City of Vancouver, BC, Canada. The sensors were operated for 3.5 hours on pre-defined routes to map CO2 mixing ratios at street level, which was then averaged to 100 x 100 m grids. The grid-averaged CO2 mixing ratios were 417.9 ppm in summer and 442.5 ppm in winter. In both campaigns, mixing ratios were highest in the downtown core and along arterial roads and lowest in parks and well vegetated residential areas. Third, an aerodynamic resistance approach to calculating emissions was used to derive CO2 emissions from the gridded CO2 mixing ratio measurements in conjunction with mixing ratios and fluxes collected from a 28-m tall eddy-covariance tower located within the study area. These measured emissions showed a range of −12 to 226 kg CO2 ha−1 hr−1 in summer and of −14 to 163 kg CO2 ha−1 hr−1 in winter, with an average of 35.1 kg CO2 ha−1 hr−1 (summer) and 25.9 kg CO2 ha−1 hr−1 (winter). Fourth, an independent emissions inventory was developed for the study area using buildings energy simulations from a previous study and routinely available traffic counts. The emissions inventory for the same area averaged to 22.06 kg CO2 ha−1 hr−1 (summer) and 28.76 kg CO2 ha−1 hr−1 (winter) and was used to compare against the measured emissions from the mobile sensor network. The comparison on a grid-by-grid basis showed linearity between CO2 mixing ratios and the emissions inventory (R2 = 0.53 in summer and R2 = 0.47 in winter). 87 % (summer) and 94 % (winter) of measured grid cells show a difference within ±1 order, and 49 % (summer) and 69 % (winter) show an error of less than a factor 2. Although associated with considerable errors at the individual grid cell level, the study demonstrates a promising method of using a network of mobile sensors and an aerodynamic resistance approach to rapidly map greenhouse gases at high spatial resolution across cities. The method could be improved by longer measurements and a refined calculation of the aerodynamic resistance.
Jens Esmark's Christiania (Oslo) meteorological observations 1816–1838: The first long term continuous temperature record from the Norwegian capital homogenized and analysed
Authors: Hestmark Geir , Nordli Øyvind
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In 2010 we rediscovered the complete set of meteorological observation protocols made by professor Jens Esmark (1762–1839) during his years of residence in the Norwegian capital of Oslo (then Christiania). From 1 January 1816 to 25 January 1839 Esmark at his house in Øvre Voldgate in the morning, early afternoon and late evening recorded air temperature with state of the art thermometers. He also noted air pressure, cloud cover, precipitation and wind directions, and experimented with rain gauges and hygrometers. From 1818 to the end of 1838 he twice a month provided weather tables to the official newspaper Den norske Rigstidende, and thus acquired a semi-official status as the first Norwegian state meteorologist. This paper evaluates the quality of Esmark's observations, presents new metadata, new homogenization and analysis. The air temperature in Oslo during this period is shown to exhibit a slow rise from 1816 towards 1825, followed by a slighter fall again towards 1838.
A diagnostic interface for the ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic (ICON) modelling framework based on the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy, 2.50)
Authors: Kern Bastian , Jöckel Patrick
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Numerical climate and weather models have advanced to finer scales, accompanied by large amount of output data. The model systems hit the input and output (I/O) bottleneck of modern High Performance Computing (HPC) systems. We aim to apply diagnostic methods on-line during the model simulation instead of applying them as a post-processing step to written output data, to reduce the amount of I/O. To include diagnostic tools into the model system, we implemented a standardised, easy-to-use interface based on the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) into the ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic (ICON) modelling framework. The integration of the diagnostic interface into the model system is briefly described. Furthermore, we present a prototype implementation of an advanced on-line diagnostic tool for the aggregation of model data onto a user-defined regular coarse grid. This diagnostic tool will be used to reduce the amount of model output in future simulations. Performance tests of the interface and of two different diagnostic tools show, that the interface itself introduces no overhead in form of additional runtime to the model system. The diagnostic tools, however, have significant impact on the model system's runtime. This overhead strongly depends on the characteristics and implementation of the diagnostic tool. The diagnostic tool with high inter-process communication introduces large overhead, whereas the additional runtime of the diagnostic tool without inter-process communication is low. We briefly describe our efforts to reduce the additional runtime from the diagnostic tools, and present a brief analysis of memory consumption. Future work will focus on optimisation of the memory footprint and the I/O operations of the diagnostic interface.
Evaluation of Monte Carlo tools for high energy atmospheric physics
Authors: Rutjes Casper , Sarria David , Skeltved Alexander Broberg , Luque Alejandro , Diniz Gabriel , Østgaard Nikolai , Ebert Ute
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The emerging field of high energy atmospheric physics (HEAP) includes Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes, electron-positron beams and gamma-ray glows from thunderstorms. Similar emissions of high energy particles occur in pulsed high voltage discharges. Understanding these phenomena requires appropriate models for the interaction of electrons, positrons and photons of up to 40 MeV energy with atmospheric air. In this paper we benchmark the performance of the Monte Carlo codes Geant4, EGS5 and FLUKA developed in other fields of physics and of the custom made codes GRRR and MC-PEPTITA against each other within the parameter regime relevant for high energy atmospheric physics. We focus on basic tests, namely on the evolution of monoenergetic and directed beams of electrons, positrons and photons with kinetic energies between 100 keV and 40 MeV through homogeneous air in the absence of electric and magnetic fields, using a low energy cut-off of 50 keV. We discuss important differences between the results of the different codes and provide plausible explanations. We also test the computational performance of the codes. The supplementary material contains all results, providing a first benchmark for present and future custom made codes that are more flexible in including electrodynamic interactions.
A new radiation infrastructure for the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy, based on version 2.51)
Authors: Dietmüller Simone , Jöckel Patrick , Tost Holger , Kunze Markus , Gellhorn Catrin , Brinkop Sabine , Frömming Christine , Ponater Michael , Steil Benedikt , Lauer Axel , Hendricks Johannes
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) provides an interface to couple submodels to a base model via a highly flexible data management facility (Jöckel et al., 2010). In the present paper we present the four new radiation related submodels RAD, AEROPT, CLOUDOPT, and ORBIT. The submodel RAD (including the shortwave radiation scheme RAD_FUBRAD) simulates the radiative transfer, the submodel AEROPT calculates the aerosol optical properties, the submodel CLOUDOPT calculates the cloud optical properties, and the submodel ORBIT is responsible for Earth orbit calculations. These submodels are coupled via the standard MESSy infrastructure and are largely based on the original radiation scheme of the general circulation model ECHAM5, however, expanded with additional features. These features comprise, among others, user-friendly and flexibly controllable (by namelists) online radiative forcing calculations by multiple diagnostic calls of the radiation routines. With this, it is now possible to calculate radiative forcing (instantaneous as well as stratosphere adjusted) of various greenhouse gases simultaneously in only one simulation, as well as the radiative forcing of cloud perturbations. Examples of online radiative forcing calculations in the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model are presented.
Estimation of flood warning runoff thresholds in ungauged basins with asymmetric error functions
Authors: Toth Elena
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In many real-world flood forecasting systems, the runoff thresholds for activating warnings or mitigation measures correspond to the flow peaks with a given return period (often 2 years, which may be associated with the bankfull discharge). At locations where the historical streamflow records are absent or very limited, the threshold can be estimated with regionally derived empirical relationships between catchment descriptors and the desired flood quantile. Whatever the function form, such models are generally parameterised by minimising the mean square error, which assigns equal importance to overprediction or underprediction errors. Considering that the consequences of an overestimated warning threshold (leading to the risk of missing alarms) generally have a much lower level of acceptance than those of an underestimated threshold (leading to the issuance of false alarms), the present work proposes to parameterise the regression model through an asymmetric error function, which penalises the overpredictions more. The estimates by models (feedforward neural networks) with increasing degree of asymmetry are compared with those of a traditional, symmetrically trained network, in a rigorous cross-validation experiment referred to a database of catchments covering the country of Italy. The analysis shows that the use of the asymmetric error function can substantially reduce the number and extent of overestimation errors, if compared to the use of the traditional square errors. Of course such reduction is at the expense of increasing underestimation errors, but the overall accurateness is still acceptable and the results illustrate the potential value of choosing an asymmetric error function when the consequences of missed alarms are more severe than those of false alarms.
Geostatistical upscaling of rain gauge data to support uncertainty analysis of lumped urban hydrological models
Authors: Muthusamy Manoranjan , Schellart Alma , Tait Simon , B. M. Heuvelink Gerard
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this study we develop a method to estimate the spatially averaged rainfall intensity together with associated level of uncertainty using geostatistical upscaling. Rainfall data collected from a cluster of eight paired rain gauges in a 400 x 200 m2 urban catchment are used in combination with spatial stochastic simulation to obtain optimal predictions of the spatially averaged rainfall intensity at any point in time within the urban catchment. The uncertainty in the prediction of catchment average rainfall intensity is obtained for multiple combinations of intensity ranges and temporal averaging intervals. Two main challenges addressed in this study are scarcity of rainfall measurement locations and non-normality of rainfall data, both of which need to be considered when adopting a geostatistical approach. Scarcity of measurement points is dealt with by pooling repeated rainfall measurements with similar spatial characteristics. Normality of rainfall data is achieved through the use of Normal Score Transformation. Geostatistical models in the form of variogram are derived for transformed rainfall intensity. Then spatial stochastic simulation which is robust to nonlinear data transformation is applied to derive predictions and prediction error variances of spatially averaged rainfall intensity. Realisations of rainfall fields in transformed space are first back-transformed and next spatially aggregated to derive a random sample of the spatially averaged rainfall intensity. Results show that the prediction uncertainty comes mainly from two sources: spatial variability of rainfall and measurement error. At smaller temporal averaging intervals both these effects are high, resulting in a relatively high uncertainty in prediction, especially for low intensity rainfall. With longer temporal averaging intervals the uncertainty becomes lower due to both better spatial correlation of rainfall data and relatively smaller measurement error. Results from this study can be used for uncertainty analyses of hydrologic and hydrodynamic modelling of similar sized urban catchments as it provides information on uncertainty associated with rainfall estimation which is arguably the most important input in these models. This will help to better interpret model results and avoid false calibration and force-fitting of model parameters.