Measuring DNI with a New Radiometer Based on an Optical Fiber and Photodiode.

A new cost-effective radiometer has been designed, built, and tested to measure direct normal solar irradiance (DNI). The proposed instrument for solar irradiance measurement is based on an optical fiber as the light beam collector, a semiconductor photodiode to measure the optical power, and a calibration algorithm to convert the optical power into solar irradiance. The proposed radiometer offers the advantage of separating the measurement point, where the optical fiber collects the solar irradiation, from the place where the optical power is measured.

Exogenous Volatile Organic Compound (EVOC) Breath Testing Maximizes Classification Performance for Subjects with Cirrhosis and Reveals Signs of Portal Hypertension.

Cirrhosis detection in primary care relies on low-performing biomarkers. Consequently, up to 75% of subjects with cirrhosis receive their first diagnosis with decompensation when causal treatments are less effective at preserving liver function. We investigated an unprecedented approach to cirrhosis detection based on dynamic breath testing.

Effective temperature for an intermittent bistable potential.

Thermodynamics of far-from-equilibrium systems often require measurement of effective parameters such as temperature. Whether such approach is valid for the general case of resetting protocols, active systems, or of confined systems under time-varying fields is still under investigation. We report on the effect of switching ON-OFF of an asymmetric bistable potential to the mean first passage time (MFPT) of a probed particle to go from one potential minima to the other.

Nitrogen sources differentially affect respiration, growth, and carbon allocation in Andean and Lowland ecotypes of Willd.

Willd. is a native species that originated in the High Andes plateau (Altiplano) and its cultivation spread out to the south of Chile. Because of the different edaphoclimatic characteristics of both regions, soils from Altiplano accumulated higher levels of nitrate () than in the south of Chile, where soils favor ammonium (NH ) accumulation.