A Comparative Analysis of Satellite-Derived CO Retrievals During the 2020 Wildfires in North America.

In September 2020, the Western United States experienced anomalously severe wildfires that resulted in carbon monoxide (CO) emissions almost three times the 2001-2019 average. In this study, we investigate the influence of wildfires on atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) variability through a comparative analysis of observations from the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT), the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), and the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI). Our focus is on the North American domain, aiming to understand the differences among these products.

Epicardial deletion of Sox9 leads to myxomatous valve degeneration and identifies Cd109 as a novel gene associated with valve development.

Epicardial-derived cells (EPDCs) are involved in the regulation of myocardial growth and coronary vascularization and are critically important for proper development of the atrioventricular (AV) valves. SOX9 is a transcription factor expressed in a variety of epithelial and mesenchymal cells in the developing heart, including EPDCs. To determine the role of SOX9 in epicardial development, an epicardial-specific Sox9 knockout mouse model was generated.

Sox9 Expression in the Second Heart Field; A Morphological Assessment of the Importance to Cardiac Development with Emphasis on Atrioventricular Septation.

Failure to form the septal structures that separate the left and right cardiac chambers results in defects that allow shunting of blood from one side of the heart to the other, leading to the mixing of oxygenated and de-oxygenated blood. The atrioventricular (AV) mesenchymal complex, consisting of the AV cushions, the Dorsal Mesenchymal Protrusion (DMP), and the mesenchymal cap, plays a crucial role in AV septation. Cells found in these structures derive from different cell lineages.

Effects of oral macimorelin on copeptin and anterior pituitary hormones in healthy volunteers.

Purpose: The test with the highest diagnostic accuracy for diabetes insipidus is copeptin measurement after hypertonic saline infusion. However, the procedure is cumbersome and unpleasant due to rapid sodium increase. An oral stimulation test would be highly desirable.

Measurements of the atmospheric carbon monoxide column with a ground-based length-modulated radiometer.

A ground-based remote sounding instrument that uses a length-modulated radiometer to measure the total atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) column has been built. Measurements made in Toronto during August and September of 1994 showed average CO concentrations of 125 to 150 parts per billion in volume (ppbv, parts in 10(9)). Similar measurements made in October at a rural site 80 km north of Toronto showed concentrations of approximately 100 ppbv.

Senior dental students' career intentions, work-life balance and retirement plans.

Objective: To gather information from senior dental students about their future career plans, with particular emphasis on work-life balance issues, their attitudes towards the NHS and retirement plans.

Method: Senior dental students at the Universities of Dundee and Manchester were asked to complete a voluntary anonymous questionnaire.

Results: In all 141 questionnaires were completed, 42 by students in Manchester and 114 in Dundee.

The ACE-MAESTRO instrument on SCISAT: description, performance, and preliminary results.

The Measurement of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation (MAESTRO) instrument on the SCISAT satellite is a simple, compact spectrophotometer for the measurement of atmospheric extinction, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and other trace gases in the stratosphere and upper troposphere as part of the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) mission. We provide an overview of the instrument from requirements to realization, including optical design, prelaunch and on-orbit performance, and a preliminary examination of retrievals of ozone and NO(2).

Design of a difference-frequency infrared laser spectrometer for absorption line-shape studies.

An infrared laser spectrometer based on difference-frequency generation in LiIO(3) is described. The spectrometer has a frequency uncertainty of less than 1 MHz and a signal-to-noise ratio between 3000:1 and 10,000:1. These properties allow the spectrometer to be used for studies of the non-Lorentzian and non-Voigt character of absorption line shapes in atmospheric trace gases.

Simultaneous measurements of visible (400-700 nm) and infrared (3.4 microm) NO(2) absorption.

Laboratory measurements of NO(2) absorption were obtained in the visible (400-700 nm) and mid-infrared (3.4 mum) regions simultaneously using SCISAT-1's ACE-FTS (atmospheric chemistry experiment-Fourier transform spectrometer) and MAESTRO (measurement of aerosol extinction in the stratosphere and troposphere retrieved by occultation) spectrometers. An intercomparison of these measurements was used to verify the consistency between the HITRAN 2004 3.

Intercomparison of simultaneously obtained infrared (4.8 microm) and visible (515-715 nm) ozone spectra using ACE-FTS and MAESTRO.

Laboratory ozone absorption spectra were measured simultaneously in the visible (515-715 nm) and infrared (2070-2140 cm(-1)) spectral regions using SCISAT-1's MAESTRO (Measurement of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation) and ACE-FTS (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier Transform Spectrometer) spectrometers. An intercomparison of these measurements was used to assess the relative accuracy of HITRAN absolute line strengths, for which there was a 4% change between the 2000 and 2004 versions. Results reported here show that Chappuis band cross section strengths are more consistent with the HITRAN 2004 4.

A survey of dental school applicants' career intentions and the balance with family life.

Purpose: To investigate the career plans of prospective dental students and how they foresee their work life balance.

Method: Applicants to Dundee and Manchester dental schools completed anonymous questionnaires when they attended for interview.

Results: The useable response rate was 94% (n=436).

Infrared water vapor continuum absorption at atmospheric temperatures.

We have used a continuous-wave carbon dioxide laser in a single-mode realization of cavity ring-down spectroscopy to measure absorption coefficients of water vapor at 944 cm(-1) for several temperatures in the range 270-315 K. The conventional description of water vapor infrared absorption is applied, in which the absorption is modeled in two parts consisting of local line absorption and the remaining residual absorption, which has become known as the water vapor continuum. This water vapor continuum consists of distinct water-water, water-nitrogen, and water-oxygen continua.

The future of the profession--a survey of dental school applicants.

Purpose: To gather background information about applicants to the dental undergraduate course, and ascertain the factors involved in their decision to study dentistry.

Method: Applicants attending for interview at Dundee and Manchester Dental Schools completed anonymous questionnaires. The useable response rate was 94% (n = 436).

High-resolution tunable mid-infrared spectrometer based on difference-frequency generation in AgGaS2.

We have built a high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise ratio spectrometer for line shape studies of greenhouse gases in the mid infrared. The infrared radiation is generated in a AgGaS2 nonlinear crystal by the well-known difference-frequency method. The choice of crystal is explained, and a brief literature review is presented.

Broadening and line mixing in the 20 (0)0<--01 (1)0, 11 (1)0<--00 (0)0 and 12 (2)0<--01 (1)0 Q branches of carbon dioxide: experimental results and energy-corrected sudden modeling.

Using both a difference frequency spectrometer and a Fourier transform spectrometer, we have measured transitions in the 12 (2)0<--01 (1)0 band of carbon dioxide at room temperature and pressures up to 19 atm. The low-pressure spectra were analyzed using a variety of standard spectral profiles, all with an asymmetric component to account for weak line mixing. For this band, we have been able to retrieve experimental line strengths and the broadening and weak mixing parameters.

Dynamic spectroscopic measurements of the temperature and pressure cycles in a MOPITT pressure modulator cell.

The temperature and pressure cycles inside a pressure modulator cell (PMC) of the type used for gas-correlation radiometry aboard the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) satellite instrument have been determined from dynamic measurements of the spectral line shapes of the R(0) and R(18) transitions in the fundamental vibrational-rotational band of carbon monoxide. The line strengths and linewidths were used to calculate the temperature and pressure, respectively, with a temporal resolution of approximately 200 micros, or 1/100 of a PMC cycle. The results are compared with a thermodynamic box model.

An investigation into the use of a structured clinical operative test for the assessment of a clinical skill.

Aim: This study was designed to investigate the level of agreement between a group of assessors observing students undertaking a structured clinical operative test.

Method: 3 assessors agreed a series of criteria to assess the performance of undergraduate students in the recording of a dental impression. Guidelines for assessing whether the students adequately performed in relation to each criteria were also agreed.