Homogenization of the Observatoire de Haute Provence ECC ozonesonde data record: comparison with lidar and satellite observations

The Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP) weekly Electrochemical Concentration Cell (ECC) ozonesonde data have been homogenized for the time period 1991–2020 according to the recommendations of the Ozonesonde Data Quality Assessment (O3S-DQA) panel. The assessment of the ECC homogenization benefit has been carried out using comparisons with ground based instruments also measuring ozone at the same station (lidar, surface measurements) and with collocated satellite observations of the O3 vertical profile by Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). The major differences between uncorrected and homogenized ECC are related to a change of ozonesonde type in 1997, removal of the pressure dependency of the ECC background current and correction of internal ozonesonde temperature. The 3–4 ppbv positive bias between ECC and lidar in the troposphere is corrected with the homogenization. The ECC 30-years trends of the seasonally adjusted ozone concentrations are also significantly improved both in the troposphere and the stratosphere when the ECC concentrations are homogenized, as shown by the ECC/lidar or ECC/surface ozone trend comparisons. A −0.29 % per year negative trend of the normalization factor (NT) calculated using independent measurements of the total ozone column (TOC) at OHP disappears after homogenization of the ECC. There is however a remaining −5 % negative bias in the TOC which is likely related to an underestimate of the ECC concentrations in the stratosphere above 50 hPa as shown by direct comparison with the OHP lidar and MLS. The reason for this bias is still unclear, but a possible explanation might be related to freezing or evaporation of the sonde solution in the stratosphere. Both the comparisons with lidar and satellite observations suggest that homogenization increases the negative bias of the ECC up to 10 % above 28 km.

Longitudinal Surface Measurements of Human Blastocysts Show That The Dynamics of Blastocoel Expansion Are Associated With Fertilization Method And Ongoing Pregnancy

Background: Despite all research efforts during this era of novel time-lapse morphokinetic parameters, a morphological grading system is still routinely being used for embryo selection at the blastocyst stage. The blastocyst expansion grade, as evaluated during morphological assessment, is associated with clinical pregnancy. However, this assessment is performed without taking the dynamics of blastocoel expansion into account. Here, we studied the dynamics of blastocoel expansion by comparing longitudinal blastocoel surface measurements using time-lapse embryo culture. Our aim was to first assess if this is impacted by fertilization method and second, to study if an association exists between these measurement and ongoing pregnancy. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study including 225 couples undergoing 225 cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment with time-lapse embryo culture. The fertilization method was either conventional IVF, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with ejaculated sperm or ICSI with sperm derived from testicular sperm extraction (TESE-ICSI). This resulted in 289 IVF embryos, 218 ICSI embryos and 259 TESE-ICSI embryos that reached at least the full blastocyst stage. Blastocoel surface measurements were performed on time-lapse images every hour, starting from full blastocyst formation (tB). Linear mixed model analysis was performed to study the association between blastocoel expansion, the calculated expansion rate (µm2/hour) and both fertilization method and ongoing pregnancy. Results: The blastocoel of both ICSI embryos and TESE-ICSI embryos was significantly smaller than the blastocoel of IVF embryos (beta -1121.6 µm2; 95% CI: -1606.1 to -637.1, beta -646.8 µm2; 95% CI: -1118.7 to 174.8, respectively). Still, the blastocoel of transferred embryos resulting in an ongoing pregnancy was significantly larger (beta 795.4 µm2; 95% CI: 15.4 to 1575.4) and expanded significantly faster (beta 100.9 µm2/hour; 95% CI: 5.7 to 196.2) than the blastocoel of transferred embryos that did not, regardless of the fertilization method. Conclusion: Longitudinal blastocyst surface measurements and expansion rates are promising non-invasive quantitative markers that can aid embryo selection for transfer and cryopreservation.

Sorption behavior of natural uranium from aqueous solutions using modified activated carbon with quinoline

The activated carbon (AC) was modified by molecules of quinoline (Q) and the new prepared AC impregnated by Q was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, surface measurements, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). These analytical techniques demonstrated a successful preparation of AC-Q as a new material which was examined for its sorption behavior for natural uranium. The sorption results by batch mode indicated the optimum conditions for 94.5% removal of U(VI) ions at pH 4.7 and an equilibrium contact time of 90 min. The analysis of sorption data revealed that the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir were more fitted than other estimated models. The sorption capacity of U(VI) was ∼63 mg/g onto AC-Q as adsorbent martial. The thermodynamic data demonstrated that the sorption of uranium is endothermic and spontaneous. New mechanism was supposed based on the role of the abrasive material quinoline on the mechanical removal of uranium from aqueous solution.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic related to lockdown measures on tropospheric NO₂ columns over Île-de-France

The evolution of NO2, considered as a proxy for air pollution, was analyzed to evaluate the impact of the first lockdown (17 March–10 May 2020) over the Île-de-France region (Paris and surroundings). Tropospheric NO2 columns measured by two UV-Visible Système d'Analyse par Observation Zénithale (SAOZ) spectrometers were analyzed to compare the evolution of NO2 between urban and suburban sites during the lockdown. The urban site is the observation platform QualAir (48∘50′ N / 2∘21′ E) at the Sorbonne University Pierre and Marie Curie Campus in the center of Paris. The suburban site is located at Guyancourt (48∘46′N / 2∘03′E), Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, 24 km southwest of Paris. Tropospheric NO2 columns above Paris and Guyancourt have shown similar values during the whole lockdown period from March to May 2020. A decade of data sets were filtered to consider air masses at both sites with similar meteorological conditions. The median NO2 columns and the surface measurements of Airparif (Air Quality Observatory in Île de France) during the lockdown period in 2020 were compared to the extrapolated values estimated from a linear trend analysis for the 2011–2019 period at each station. Negative NO2 trends of −1.5 Pmolec. cm−2 yr−1 (∼ −6.3 % yr−1) are observed from the columns, and trends of −2.2 µg m−3 yr−1 (∼ −3.6 % yr−1) are observed from the surface concentration. The negative anomaly in tropospheric columns in 2020 attributed to the lockdown (and related emission reductions) was found to be 56 % at Paris and 46 % at Guyancourt, respectively. A similar anomaly was found in the data of surface concentrations, amounting to 53 % and 28 % at the urban and suburban sites, accordingly.

In a Split Second

<p>Children and adolescents with the medical condition Spastic Cerebral Palsy (CP) may develop an abnormal gait, resulting in walking difficulties. This may be helped overtime with noninvasive Ankle Foot Orthotics (AFOs) braces, such as Solid Ankle Foot Orthotics (SAFOs), customised to suit patients needs. However, the acquisition of patient measurements for customisation and manufacturing itself is manual, slow, intrusive, subjective, and requires specialist skills to accomplish. This can commonly result in negative experiences for patients and reduce the access to healthcare to many people. This can especially affect vulnerable patients such as children or adolescents with Spastic CP. Research has identified that a 3D digital system that scans patients’ limbs and prints orthotics has the potential to improve the AFO creation process through speed, accuracy, and data availability. However, this system requires new technologies to fulfill its required performance, including a reliable way to acquire the three-dimensional shape of the limbs. As such, a close-range photogrammetry system was identified as a fast and accurate alternative for producing surface measurements through 3D models compiled from images taken simultaneously. This research portfolio explores the design development of such a system by identifying areas of improvement, barriers, and solutions in a multi-method iterative research-through-design approach and pragmatic design framework. The aim was to achieve quick and accurate acquisition of a patient’s’ lower half measurements, while focusing on the experience of users during system interaction. The final output is a formally evaluated close-range photogrammetry scanner prototype, that created a non-intrusive and accurate alternative to traditional methods via quick and detailed capturing of patient surface measurements for later analysis. While also facilitating the needs of two user groups: vulnerable patients, and operating technician, to better their user experience.</p>

In a Split Second

<p>Children and adolescents with the medical condition Spastic Cerebral Palsy (CP) may develop an abnormal gait, resulting in walking difficulties. This may be helped overtime with noninvasive Ankle Foot Orthotics (AFOs) braces, such as Solid Ankle Foot Orthotics (SAFOs), customised to suit patients needs. However, the acquisition of patient measurements for customisation and manufacturing itself is manual, slow, intrusive, subjective, and requires specialist skills to accomplish. This can commonly result in negative experiences for patients and reduce the access to healthcare to many people. This can especially affect vulnerable patients such as children or adolescents with Spastic CP. Research has identified that a 3D digital system that scans patients’ limbs and prints orthotics has the potential to improve the AFO creation process through speed, accuracy, and data availability. However, this system requires new technologies to fulfill its required performance, including a reliable way to acquire the three-dimensional shape of the limbs. As such, a close-range photogrammetry system was identified as a fast and accurate alternative for producing surface measurements through 3D models compiled from images taken simultaneously. This research portfolio explores the design development of such a system by identifying areas of improvement, barriers, and solutions in a multi-method iterative research-through-design approach and pragmatic design framework. The aim was to achieve quick and accurate acquisition of a patient’s’ lower half measurements, while focusing on the experience of users during system interaction. The final output is a formally evaluated close-range photogrammetry scanner prototype, that created a non-intrusive and accurate alternative to traditional methods via quick and detailed capturing of patient surface measurements for later analysis. While also facilitating the needs of two user groups: vulnerable patients, and operating technician, to better their user experience.</p>

Stability of dental implants with sandblasted and acid-etched (SLA) and modified (SLActive) surfaces during the osseointegration period

Background. The surface properties of implants are effective factors for increasing the osseointegration and activity of osteoprogenitor cells. This study compared the stability of dental implants with sandblasted and acid-etched (SLA) and modified surfaces (SLActive) using the resonance frequency analysis (RFA). Methods. In a split-mouth design, 50 dental implants with either SLA surface properties (n=25) or modified (SLActive) surface properties (n=25) were placed in the mandibles of 12 patients with a bilateral posterior edentulous area. Implant stability was measured using RFA (Osstell) at implant placement time and every week for 1, 2, and 3 months before the conventional loading time. Results. One week following the implantation, implant stability increased from 70 to 77.67 for SLA and from 71.67 to 79 for SLActive (P<0.05). Stability improved each week except in the 4th week in SLActive surface measurements. No significant differences were observed between the groups at 2 and 3 months (P>0.05). Conclusions. For both implant surfaces, increased stability was observed over time, with no significant differences between the groups.

Earth System Model Aerosol-Cloud Diagnostics Package (ESMAC Diags) Version 1: Assessing E3SM Aerosol Predictions Using Aircraft, Ship, and Surface Measurements

An Earth System Model (ESM) aerosol-cloud diagnostics package is developed to facilitate the routine evaluation of aerosols, clouds and aerosol-cloud interactions simulated by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM). The first version focuses on comparing simulated aerosol properties with aircraft, ship, and surface measurements, most of them are measured in-situ. The diagnostics currently covers six field campaigns in four geographical regions: Eastern North Atlantic (ENA), Central U.S. (CUS), Northeastern Pacific (NEP) and Southern Ocean (SO). These regions produce frequent liquid or mixed-phase clouds with extensive measurements available from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program and other agencies. Various types of diagnostics and metrics are performed for aerosol number, size distribution, chemical composition, CCN concentration and various meteorological quantities to assess how well E3SM represents observed aerosol properties across spatial scales. Overall, E3SM qualitatively reproduces the observed aerosol number concentration, size distribution and chemical composition reasonably well, but underestimates Aitken mode and overestimates accumulation mode aerosols over the CUS region, and underestimates aerosol number concentration over the SO region. The current version of E3SM struggles to reproduce new particle formation events frequently observed over both the CUS and ENA regions, indicating missing processes in current parameterizations. The diagnostics package is coded and organized in a way that can be easily extended to other field campaign datasets and adapted to higher-resolution model simulations. Future releases will include comprehensive cloud and aerosol-cloud interaction diagnostics.

A Propagation Study of LoRa P2P Links for IoT Applications: The Case of Near-Surface Measurements over Semitropical Rivers

Internet of Things (IoT) radio networks are becoming popular in several scenarios for short-range applications (e.g., wearables and home security) and medium-range applications (e.g., shipping container tracking and autonomous farming). They have also been proposed for water monitoring in flood warning systems. IoT communications may use long range (LoRa) radios working in the 915 MHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band. In this research, we study the propagation characteristics of LoRa chirp radio signals close to and over water in a tropical meadow region. We use as a case study the Colima River in Mexico. We develop a novel point-to-point IoT measurement sounding system that does not require decoding of LoRa propriety bursts and provides accurate power versus distance profiles along the riparian zone of a steeply dropping mountain river. We used this system to obtain the measurements reported in this work, which are also analyzed and modeled. The results show that the LoRa signal propagation over water exhibits a log-normal distribution. As a result of the chirp signal processing, two new experimental path loss models are presented. The path loss results show a considerable degradation of the received signal power over water within vegetation and less signal degradation at antenna heights closer to the water surface.