Application of empirical neural networks to chlorophyll-a estimation in coastal waters using remote optosensors

This paper presents chlorophyll-a estimation in coastal waters off the Gulf of Finland using remote optosensors. Concurrent remote optosensor data and in situ measurements of water quality were obtained in the study area. Significant correlations were observed between digital values and chlorophyll-a measurements. The results as a case study show that the estimated accuracy of chlorophyll-a retrieval using neural networks is higher than the accuracy of chlorophyll-a estimation using regression analyzes in the area. The study also shows one example why remote optosensors are critical to monitor water quality in coastal areas such as the Gulf of Finland.     

Digital Game Dynamics Preferences and Player Types

In this study, we examine digital game preferences by identifying game dynamics, i.e. player–game interaction modes, of 700 contemporary digital games, and players' (N = 1717) desire to play games with specific types of dynamics. Based on statistical analysis of the data, 5 game dynamics preference categories (“assault,” “manage,” “journey,” “care,” and “coordinate”) and 7 player types were revealed. The results show that identifying player types requires including both preferred and undesired game dynamics categories in the analysis. The findings unveil digital gaming as a more multifaceted phenomenon than common stereotypes suggest. The original game preferences model we present in this study can be conceptualized as a complementary approach for motivations to play and player behavior studies.     

Assessing of long-distance background nutrient loading to the Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic, with a hydrodynamic model

Nutrient concentrations have increased in the Archipelago Sea during recent years. This is probably caused by growth in the loads from agriculture, air, fish farming and the Baltic proper. The Archipelago Sea acts like a nutrient filter between the Baltic proper and the Bothnian Sea; part of some of the externally input nutrients are retained within this area. Previously only rough estimates of the amount of the background load have been given. In this study the amount of net nutrient inflow from the Baltic proper was estimated with the aid of a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model for the years 1993–1997. Our model suggests that the role of background nutrient load from the Baltic proper may sometimes be decisive in the eutrophication process. For example, in June 1993 the background load of phosphorus was 300 000 kg in one month, i.e. about threefold compared to the total phosphorus load from fish farming during this whole year. Nutrient inflow varies a lot during open water seasons and therefore more detailed studies are highly recommended. If all other local loading sources were included in the dynamic nutrient balance model we could calculate actual nutrient concentrations at any given time in the Archipelago Sea.     

Effect of A-site metal on methane combustion on 2% Pd / AMn1-x Fe x O3 (A = Ba, La, Pr; x = 0.4, 0.6, 1) perovskites

Barium, lanthanum, and praseodymium perovskites were prepared by malic acid complexation. Surface areas of the La and Pr perovskites were between 17.1 and 21.6 m² g⁻¹. The moderate low surface areas (5.7 m² g⁻¹) observed for corresponding barium perovskites were due to the high calcination temperatures. The calcination temperature also affected the shapes and sizes of the perovskite particles. According to SEM images the nanoparticles of the La and Pr perovskites were spherical, whereas those of barium perovskites were flakes. The conversion of methane increased in the order of A-site metal Ba < Pr < La. The CH₄ conversion after SO₂ treatment correlated with size of the perovskite particles: the smaller the particles the better the activity. The highest methane conversion after SO₂ treatment was achieved with lanthanum perovskite with B-site metal combination Mn_0.4Fe_0.6.     

ADD1/SREBP-1c mediates insulin-induced gene expression linked to the MAP kinase pathway

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between coronary artery disease and polymorphisms at the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) genes. METHODS: A total of 181 patients younger than 50 years and 240 controls from the same homogeneous Caucasian population (Asturias, Northern Spain) were genotyped (using polymerase chain reaction) for the ACE insertion/deletion (ACE-I/D) and the AT1R A/C transversion (AT1R-A/C) (3-untranslated region) polymorphisms. RESULTS: The DD-genotype was at a non-significant higher frequency among patients (50%) than in controls (41%). No difference between the two groups was found for the AT1R-genotypes. Distribution of ACE-genotypes according to AT1R-genotypes showed a significant association between ACE-DD and AT1R-CC and early coronary disease. Among the CC patients 58% were DD, compared to 21% among the controls (p = 0.02; OR = 5.32, 95% CI = 1.45, 19.51). We determined the distribution of these genotypes among the hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients. Frequencies of ACE- or AT1R-genotypes did not differ between the two groups. However, we found an interaction between the DD- and CC-genotypes in the group of normotensives. Among the CC patients, 13% of the hypertensives and 75% of the normotensives were DD (p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate a synergistic contribution of ACE and AT1R polymorphisms to the risk of coronary artery disease. This gene-gene interaction could have clinical implications. Approximately 2% of individuals in our population are CC + DD, and the genotyping of both polymorphisms could identify those with a high relative risk for coronary artery disease.     

MOTHER: System for continuous capturing of display stream

This paper describes an efficient technique to record display output stream with memory resident software. This kind of recording can be made useful for studying text writing processes experimentally, for example programmers behaviour during coding. The system is inconspicuous in test situation and does not seem to affect the testees working. Separate software has been developed for reviewing captured sessions.     

Thermalization of sparse collision cascades in metals: simultaneous relaxation of nonequilibrium electron and ion distributions

Thermalization of ion bombardment induced large and sparse cascades in metals is studied. We introduce a model where nonequilibrium electron and ion distributions relax simultaneously, and coupling between the thermal ions and valence electrons allows heat exchange between electronic and ionic systems. This model takes into account the competing time scales of the relaxation processes and the heat outdiffusion from the cascade zone. Nearly free conduction electron bands are assumed, which restricts the applicability of the model to simple metals only. It is shown that in cascades with an extent of about 10 nm or more, a considerable part of the energy, residing initially in the electronic system, may reappear in the ionic system in the cascade zone. Ions in cascades with radius larger than 20 nm take up nearly all of the energy available in the cascade zone. Due to this energy transfer, the ionic system may experience appreciable additional heating in large cascades.     

Maternal inhalation of carbon black nanoparticles induces neurodevelopmental changes in mouse offspring

Background

Engineered nanoparticles are smaller than 100 nm and designed to improve or creating even new physico-chemical properties. Consequently, toxicological properties of materials may change as size reaches the nm size-range. We examined outcomes related to the central nervous system in the offspring following maternal inhalation exposure to nanosized carbon black particles (Printex 90).

Methods

Time-mated mice (NMRI) were exposed by inhalation, for 45 min/day to 0, 4.6 or 37 mg/m³ aerosolized carbon black on gestation days 4–18, i.e. for a total of 15 days. Outcomes included maternal lung inflammation (differential cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and Saa3 mRNA expression in lung tissue), offspring neurohistopathology and behaviour in the open field test.

Results

Carbon black exposure did not cause lung inflammation in the exposed females, measured 11 or 28–29 days post-exposure. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression levels were dose-dependently increased in astrocytes around blood vessels in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in six weeks old offspring, indicative of reactive astrogliosis. Also enlarged lysosomal granules were observed in brain perivascular macrophages (PVMs) in the prenatally exposed offspring. The number of parvalbumin-positive interneurons and the expression levels of parvalbumin were decreased in the motor and prefrontal cortices at weaning and 120 days of age in the prenatally exposed offspring. In the open field test, behaviour was dose-dependently altered following maternal exposure to Printex 90, at 90 days of age. Prenatally exposed female offspring moved a longer total distance, and especially males spent significantly longer time in the central zone of the maze. In the offspring, the described effects were long-lasting as they were present at all time points investigated.

Conclusion

The present study reports for the first time that maternal inhalation exposure to Printex 90 carbon black induced dose-dependent denaturation of PVM and reactive astrocytes, similarly to the findings observed following maternal exposure to Printex 90 by airway instillation. Of note, some of the observed effects have striking similarities with those observed in mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders.

     

A semi-operative approach to lake water quality retrieval from remote sensing data

A semi-operative approach to retrieve chlorophyll-a concentration from airborne/spaceborne spectrometer observations has been developed and tested using the airborne imaging spectrometer (AISA) data from 11 lakes located in southern Finland. The retrieval approach is empirical and requires nearly simultaneous in situ training data on water quality for the determination of regression coefficients. However, the training data does not have to be collected from every lake under investigation. Instead, the results obtained indicate that reliable estimates on the level of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) for an individual lake can be achieved without employing in situ data representing this specific lake. This enables the estimation of water quality from remotely sensed data for numerous lakes with the aid of reference data only for a few selected lakes representing the region under investigation. In addition, it is shown that the remotely sensed spectrum shape characteristics are highly affected by the trophic and humic state of the lake water.     

Magnetic field tapering in the KfK coaxial gyrotron

Equations describing the magnetic field tapering in a gyrotron cavity with allowance for the dependence of the radius of the electron guiding centers on the longitudinal coordinate are derived. Influence of the shift of the magnet of the KfK coaxial gyrotron along the gyrotron axis onefficiency is studied. It is found that for the operating voltage 90kV the optimal alignment is such that the maximum of the magnetic field is placed in the middle of the straight section of the cavity. For 80kV the absolute values of the field must be reduced by factor 1.017, or the maximum of the field must be placed in the output taper of the cavity.