Seasonal characteristics of aerosol optical properties in Sky Radiometer Network (SKYNET) Hefei site are studied using a sky radiometer from March 2007 to May 2013. The aerosol optical depth (AOD), Angstrom exponent (AE), volume size distributions, single-scattering albedo (SSA), refractive index, and asymmetry factor (ASY) of aerosols are simultaneously retrieved using the SKYRAD.pack version ...

WINTER 2015 5 As George Bernard Shaw once observed, being slandered is better than being ignored. So maybe AI researchers should be happy about what’s been happening lately. After decades of pundits and philosophers arguing that AI is provably impossible, suddenly that argument has been replaced with the assertion that not only is it possible, but superhuman AI is so inevitable that it is the g...

[1] We examine the differences between observed stratospheric vertical wave reflection and wave absorption events, which differ in that the wave-induced deceleration remains confined to upper levels in the former. The two types of events signify two types of stratospheric winter dynamics, associated with different downward coupling to the troposphere. Using time-lagged composites, we find that ...

This paperpresents a new approach for consistently caching dynamic Web data in order to improve performance. Our algorithm, which we call Data Update Propagation (DUP), maintains data dependence information between cached objects and the underlying data which affect their values in a graph. When the system becomes aware of a change to underlying data, graph traversal algorithms are applied to d...

We present the results of an ethnopharmacological investigation of a Bolivian lowland ethnic group, the Tacana. The Tacana have a long tradition of exchange with highland communities. Though facing rapid acculturation, highlighted by the loss of the Tacana language among the younger generations, the knowledge and uses of medicinal plants are still alive. Of the approximately 450 different plant...

Weeds are commonly found in bermudagrass turf during the winter and early spring throughout the Southeastern United States whether this turf is used for lawns, parks, athletic fields or golf courses. Mild winter temperatures favor rapid growth of these annuals. When bermudagrass goes dormant in the fall after the first killing frost, it does not compete with germinating winter weeds. Bermudagra...

Capsule The wintering area of the nominate subspecies of Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus fuscus is from Ethiopia across Uganda and the Congo basin to the Atlantic, while L. f. intermedius and L. f. graellsii winters in westernmost Africa. Aims To clarify the wintering distributions of the subspecies of Lesser Black-backed Gull. Methods We compiled, mapped, and analyzed available data on r...

The word “pumpkin” is derived from the Latin word pepo, which is a botanical term for fruit with a hard rind and fleshy interior. The commonly used scientific name for pumpkins is Cucurbita pepo. But some other cucurbits, such as Cucurbita moschata (e.g., ‘Dickenson’ and ‘Libby Select’, known as processing pumpkin) (Figure 1, B) and Cucurbita maxima, which are winter squash, are also known as p...

In July and August 1994, an outbreak of Bolivian hemorrhagic fever (BHF) occurred among an extended family living in the city of Magdalena (1994 population estimates 5,300), Itenez Province, Department of Beni, Bolivia (see map). BHF, caused by the Machupo arenavilus, is known to be endemic only in Bolivia. The principal reservoir of the Machupo virus is the small rodent Calomys callosus. This ...

BACKGROUND Physical inactivity is a growing public health problem, and the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Conversely, indigenous populations living traditional lifestyles reportedly engage in vigorous daily activity that is protective against non-communicable diseases. Here we analyze physical activity patterns among the Tsimane, forager-horticulturalists of Amazonian Bolivia ...