Description: The project MarParCloud (Marine biological production, organic aerosol Particles and marine Clouds: a process chain) aims to improve our understanding of the genesis, modification and impact of marine organic matter (OM) from its biological production, to its export to marine aerosol particles and, finally, to its ability to act as ice-nucleating particles (INPs) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). A field campaign at the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory (CVAO) in the tropics in September–October 2017 formed the core of this project that was jointly performed with the project MARSU (MARine atmospheric Science Unravelled). A suite of chemical, physical, biological and meteorological techniques was applied, and comprehensive measurements of bulk water, the sea surface microlayer (SML), cloud water and ambient aerosol particles collected at a ground-based and a mountain station took place. Key variables comprised the chemical characterization of the atmospherically relevant OM components in the ocean and the atmosphere as well as measurements of INPs and CCN. Moreover, bacterial cell counts, mercury species and trace gases were analyzed. To interpret the results, the measurements were accompanied by various auxiliary parameters such as air mass back-trajectory analysis, vertical atmospheric profile analysis, cloud observations and pigment measurements in seawater. Additional modeling studies supported the experimental analysis. During the campaign, the CVAO exhibited marine air masses with low and partly moderate dust influences. The marine boundary layer was well mixed as indicated by an almost uniform particle number size distribution within the boundary layer. Lipid biomarkers were present in the aerosol particles in typical concentrations of marine background conditions. Accumulation- and coarse-mode particles served as CCN and were efficiently transferred to the cloud water. The ascent of ocean-derived compounds, such as sea salt and sugar-like compounds, to the cloud level, as derived from chemical analysis and atmospheric transfer modeling results, denotes an influence of marine emissions on cloud formation. Organic nitrogen compounds (free amino acids) were enriched by several orders of magnitude in submicron aerosol particles and in cloud water compared to seawater. However, INP measurements also indicated a significant contribution of other non-marine sources to the local INP concentration, as (biologically active) INPs were mainly present in supermicron aerosol particles that are not suggested to undergo strong enrichment during ocean–atmosphere transfer. In addition, the number of CCN at the supersaturation of 0.30 % was about 2.5 times higher during dust periods compared to marine periods. Lipids, sugar-like compounds, UV-absorbing (UV: ultraviolet) humic-like substances and low-molecular-weight neutral components were important organic compounds in the seawater, and highly surface-active lipids were enriched within the SML. The selective enrichment of specific organic compounds in the SML needs to be studied in further detail and implemented in an OM source function for emission modeling to better understand transfer patterns, the mechanisms of marine OM transformation in the atmosphere and the role of additional sources. In summary, when looking at particulate mass, we see oceanic compounds transferred to the atmospheric aerosol and to the cloud level, while from a perspective of particle number concentrations, sea spray aerosol (i.e., primary marine aerosol) contributions to both CCN and INPs are rather limited.

Description: Systematic analysis of the regulatory functions of microRNAs in chicken hepatic lipid metabolism Scientific Reports, Published online: 18 August 2016; doi:10.1038/srep31766

Description: The project MarParCloud (Marine biological production, organic aerosol Particles and marine Clouds: a process chain) aims to improve our understanding of the genesis, modification and impact of marine organic matter (OM) from its biological production, to its export to marine aerosol particles and, finally, to its ability to act as ice-nucleating particles (INPs) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). A field campaign at the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory (CVAO) in the tropics in September–October 2017 formed the core of this project that was jointly performed with the project MARSU (MARine atmospheric Science Unravelled). A suite of chemical, physical, biological and meteorological techniques was applied, and comprehensive measurements of bulk water, the sea surface microlayer (SML), cloud water and ambient aerosol particles collected at a ground-based and a mountain station took place. Key variables comprised the chemical characterization of the atmospherically relevant OM components in the ocean and the atmosphere as well as measurements of INPs and CCN. Moreover, bacterial cell counts, mercury species and trace gases were analyzed. To interpret the results, the measurements were accompanied by various auxiliary parameters such as air mass back-trajectory analysis, vertical atmospheric profile analysis, cloud observations and pigment measurements in seawater. Additional modeling studies supported the experimental analysis. During the campaign, the CVAO exhibited marine air masses with low and partly moderate dust influences. The marine boundary layer was well mixed as indicated by an almost uniform particle number size distribution within the boundary layer. Lipid biomarkers were present in the aerosol particles in typical concentrations of marine background conditions. Accumulation- and coarse-mode particles served as CCN and were efficiently transferred to the cloud water. The ascent of ocean-derived compounds, such as sea salt and sugar-like compounds, to the cloud level, as derived from chemical analysis and atmospheric transfer modeling results, denotes an influence of marine emissions on cloud formation. Organic nitrogen compounds (free amino acids) were enriched by several orders of magnitude in submicron aerosol particles and in cloud water compared to seawater. However, INP measurements also indicated a significant contribution of other non-marine sources to the local INP concentration, as (biologically active) INPs were mainly present in supermicron aerosol particles that are not suggested to undergo strong enrichment during ocean–atmosphere transfer. In addition, the number of CCN at the supersaturation of 0.30 % was about 2.5 times higher during dust periods compared to marine periods. Lipids, sugar-like compounds, UV-absorbing (UV: ultraviolet) humic-like substances and low-molecular-weight neutral components were important organic compounds in the seawater, and highly surface-active lipids were enriched within the SML. The selective enrichment of specific organic compounds in the SML needs to be studied in further detail and implemented in an OM source function for emission modeling to better understand transfer patterns, the mechanisms of marine OM transformation in the atmosphere and the role of additional sources. In summary, when looking at particulate mass, we see oceanic compounds transferred to the atmospheric aerosol and to the cloud level, while from a perspective of particle number concentrations, sea spray aerosol (i.e., primary marine aerosol) contributions to both CCN and INPs are rather limited.

Description: The Andaman Sea (AS) is a poorly observed basin, where even the fundamental physical characteristics have not been fully documented. Here, the seasonal variations of the upper ocean structure and the air-sea interactions in the central AS were studied using a moored surface buoy. The seasonal double-peak pattern of the sea surface temperature (SST) was identified with the corresponding mixed layer variations. Compared with the buoys in the Bay of Bengal (BOB), the thermal stratification in the central AS was much stronger in the winter to spring, when a shallower isothermal layer and a thinner barrier layer were sustained. The temperature inversion was strongest from June to July because of substantial surface heat loss and subsurface prewarming. The heat budget analysis of the mixed layer showed that the net surface heat fluxes dominated the seasonal SST cycle. Vertical entrainment was significant from April to July. It had a strong cooling effect from April to May and a striking warming effect from June to July. A sensitivity experiment highlighted the importance of salinity. The AS warmer surface water in the winter was associated with weak heat loss caused by weaker longwave radiation and latent heat losses. However, the AS latent heat loss was larger than the BOB in summer due to its lower relative humidity.

Description: Forest thinning is a silviculture treatment for sustainable forest management. It may promote growth of the remaining individuals by decreasing stand density, reducing competition, and increasing light and nutrient availability to increase carbon sequestration in the forest ecosystem. However, the action also increases carbon loss simultaneously by reducing carbon and other nutrient inputs as well as exacerbating soil CO2 efflux. To achieve a maximum forest carbon budget, the central composite design with two independent variables (thinning intensity and thinning residual removal rate) was explored in a natural pine-oak mixed stand in the Qinling Mountains, China. The net primary productivity of living trees was estimated and soil CO2 efflux was stimulated by the Yasso07 model. Based on two years observation, the preliminary results indicated the following. Evidently chemical compounds of the litter of the tree species affected soil CO2 efflux stimulation. The thinning residual removal rate had a larger effect than thinning intensity on the net ecosystem productivity. When the selective thinning intensity and residual removal rate was 12.59% and 66.62% concurrently, the net ecosystem productivity reached its maximum 53.93 t·ha−1·year−1. The lower thinning intensity and higher thinning residual removal rated benefited the net ecosystem productivity.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2613: An E-Commerce Platform for Industrialized Construction Procurement Based on BIM and Linked Data Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082613 Authors: Dandan He Zhongfu Li Chunlin Wu Xin Ning Industrialized construction has raised the requirements of procurement methods used in the construction industry. The rapid development of e-commerce offers efficient and effective solutions, however the large number of participants in the construction industry means that the data involved are complex, and problems arise related to volume, heterogeneity, and fragmentation. Thus, the sector lags behind others in the adoption of e-commerce. In particular, data integration has become a barrier preventing further development. Traditional e-commerce platform, which considered data integration for common product data, cannot meet the requirements of construction product data integration. This study aimed to build an information-integrated e-commerce platform for industrialized construction procurement (ICP) to overcome some of the shortcomings existing platforms. We proposed a platform based on Building Information Modelling (BIM) and linked data, taking an innovative approach to data integration. It uses industrialized construction technology to support product standardization, BIM to support procurement process, and linked data to connect different data sources. The platform was validated using a case study. With the development of an e-commerce ontology, industrialized construction component information was extracted from BIM models and converted to Resource Description Framework (RDF) format. Related information from different data sources was also converted to RDF format, and Simple Protocol and Resource Description Framework Query Language (SPARQL) queries were implemented. The platform provides a solution for the development of e-commerce platform in the construction industry.