Water loss is a crucial factor for vegetation in the semi-arid Sahel region of Africa. Global satellite-driven estimates of plant CO2 uptake (gross primary productivity, GPP) have been found to not accurately account for Sahelian conditions, particularly the impact of canopy water stress. Here, we identify the main biophysical limitations that induce canopy water stress in Sahelian vegetation and

It has been shown that vegetation growth in semi-arid regions is important to the global terrestrial CO2 sink, which indicates the strong need for improved understanding and spatially explicit estimates of CO2 uptake (gross primary production; GPP) in semi-arid ecosystems. This study has three aims: (1) to evaluate the MOD17A2H GPP (collection 6) product against GPP based on eddy covariance (EC) f

Background. Exposure to allergens plays a role in the development of atopic sensitization and influences allergic phenotype. House dust mites (HDM) are a common source of aeroallergens in many parts of the world. The relationship between indoor environment factors such as temperature, moisture/humidity, and ventilation and HDM allergen load is complex. Methods. Part of a larger study into the heal

In this paper the problem of automatic mapmaking is treated. The principles are discussed and details are given for a simple version of the problem where an autonomous vehicle moves on a factory floor. A semi-automatic approach has been developed, analyzed, simulated and nally tested for a commercial laser guided vehicle. The vehicle is equipped with a laser scanner that measures the direction but

Pain is a major health issue for each affected individual and has a large impact on health costs. Most of our knowledge about this defensive system rely on data from different animal experiments. There is an obvious need for a translational pain model allowing comparisons between experimental animals and humans. UVB irradiation of skin has been introduced as a valid translational pain model and th

We build a 3d face shape model, including inter- and intra-shape variations, derive the analytical jacobian of its resulting 2d rendered image, and show example of its fitting performance with light, pose, id, expression and texture variations.

In this paper we report on a facile, cost effective and environmental friendly green synthesis method of gold and silver nanoparticles (NPs) by using quercetin as reducing agent. The obtained NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV-Vis spectroscopy and parameters such as pH, ionic strength and tem

BACKGROUND: Rice husks (RH) are agricultural residues with abundant storage of cellulose and hemicellulose, making them a potential feedstock for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production. In this study, optimization of pretreatment with alkali under various conditions was performed before enzymatic hydrolysis using Celluclast 1.5 L (EC 3.2.1.4) and Novozyme 188 (EC 3.2.1.21). The hydrolysate was fed

Here we report a new quantitative mean July temperature reconstruction using non-biting midges (chironomids) from the Danish Last Interglacial (LIG) site Hollerup (spanning 127-116 ka). We find that peak mean July temperatures of 17.5 °C, similar to those of the present day (1961-1990 CE), were reached shortly before the onset of the regional Carpinus pollen zone. Through comparison to terrestrial

The Photo-Emission and Atomic Resolution Laboratory (PEARL) is a new soft X-ray beamline and surface science laboratory at the Swiss Light Source. PEARL is dedicated to the structural characterization of local bonding geometry at surfaces and interfaces of novel materials, in particular of molecular adsorbates, nanostructured surfaces, and surfaces of complex materials. The main experimental techn

A gliding arc discharge was generated in a turbulent air flow at atmospheric pressure driven by a 35 kHz alternating current (AC) electric power. The spatiotemporally resolved characteristics of the gliding arc discharge, including glow-type discharges, spark-type discharges, short-cutting events and transitions among the different types of discharges, were investigated using simultaneously optica

Air pollution has been suggested to affect fetal growth, but more data is needed to assess the timing of exposure effects by using ultrasound measures. It is also important to study effects in low exposure areas to assess eventual thresholds of effects. The MAPSS (Maternal Air Pollution in Southern Sweden) cohort consists of linked registry data for around 48,000 pregnancies from an ultrasound dat

Gluconobacter oxydans (G. oxydans) cells together with an osmium redox polymer (ORP) [Osmium (2,2'-bipyridine)2(poly-vinylimidazole)10Cl]Cl were combined with a glassy carbon paste electrode (GCPE) to form a bioanode for a microbial fuel cell (MFC) based on G. oxydans. Although there are G.oxydans/ ORP combined bioanode in the literature, as far as it is known, this system is the first one where G