• Chemical gas sensors can suffer from surface saturation when exposed to mixtures of gases or operated in humid conditions. Dynamic operation mode via temperature cycles helps overcome saturation. Virtual report higher sensitivity than real relative humidity and mixtures. Implementing dynamic fosters the general strategy knowledge for indoor outdoor air quality monitoring. The sensing mechanis...

North Africa experienced dramatic changes in hydrology and vegetation during the late Quaternary driven by insolation-induced shifts of the tropical rain belt and further modulated by millennial-scale droughts and vegetation-climate feedbacks. While most past proxy and modelling studies concentrated on the temporal and spatial dynamics of the last African humid period, little is known about the...

Knowledge about the long-term influences of climate change on the amount of potential carbon (C) sequestration in forest ecosystems, including age-related dynamics, remains unclear. This study used two similar age-sequences of black locust forests (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) in the semi-arid and semi-humid zones of China's Loess Plateau to assess the variation in C stocks and age-related dynamics...

Skin is an important avenue of water loss in terrestrial birds, so environmental conditions that necessitate water conservation should favor physiological mechanisms that reduce cutaneous water loss (CWL). Skin resistance to CWL is conferred by a barrier of lipid molecules located in the stratum corneum (SC), the outer layer of the epidermis. In mammals, SC barrier function depends on the conve...

Forest cover is an important input variable for assessing changes to carbon stocks, climate and hydrological systems, biodiversity richness, and other sustainability science disciplines. Despite incremental improvements in our ability to quantify rates of forest clearing, there is still no definitive understanding on global trends. Without timely and accurate forest monitoring methods, policy r...

BACKGROUND Maintaining a relative humidity (RH) of less than 50% is one recommendation for reducing numbers of house dust mites and their allergens in homes. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether, in a humid temperate climate, indoor RH could be sufficiently lowered to control dust mites and their allergens. METHODS During a period spanning 2 humid summers (May 1998 t...

Eighty-six mixed-parity Large White sows were used to determine the effect of diets with reduced CP content or supplemented with essential AA on 28-d lactation performance under humid tropical climatic conditions. This experiment was conducted in Guadeloupe (West French Indies, latitude 16 degrees N, longitude 61 degrees W) between February 2007 and January 2008. Two seasons were distinguished ...

Current and projected heat waves are examined over California and its sub-regions in observations and downscaled global climate model (GCM) simulations. California heat wave activity falls into two distinct types: (1) typically dry daytime heat waves and (2) humid nighttime-accentuated events (Type I and Type II, respectively). The four GCMs considered project Type II heat waves to intensify mo...

Caffeine is regarded as a diuretic despite evidence that hydration is not impaired with habitual ingestion. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a caffeinated sports drink impairs fluid delivery and hydration during exercise in warm, humid conditions (28.5 degrees C, 60% relative humidity). Sixteen cyclists completed 3 trials: placebo (P), carbohydrate-electrolyte (CE), and caffei...