Methode zur Korrektur von Neigungsfehlern bei der zeitlichen Albedo-Messung an wolkenlosen Tagen

Auf den Sonnblick-Gletschern Goldbergkees und Kleinfleißkees wurde zu Beginn des Jahres 2011 je eine automatische Wetterstation (AWS) aufgestellt, auf denen unter anderem Strahlungsmessgeräte (Pyranometer) angebracht sind, um damit die zeitliche Albedovariabilität der beiden unterschiedlich geneigten und exponierten Gletscher zu bestimmen. Eine Methode zur Korrektur der Neigungsfehler der direkt gemessenen Werte der kurzwelligen einfallenden und reflektierten Strahlung wird in dieser Arbeit motiviert und entwickelt. Die Neigungsfehler durch unbekannte Hang- und Geräteneigungen bei der Albedomessung werden korrigiert, indem man Vergleichsmessungen eines gut horizontierten Pyranometers in geographischer Nähe (Sonnblick Observatorium) verwendet. Diese werden mit modellierten Werten der Globalstrahlung verglichen, um so atmosphärische Parameter zu ermitteln. Damit können mittels Modellierung die Hang- und Geräteneigungen sowie deren Expositionen bestimmt werden. Anhand dieser Methode kann die Albedo für unterschiedlich geneigte und exponierte Hänge berechnet werden. Aus den korrigierten Albedowerten wird die globale Strahlungsbilanz der Schnee- und Gletscheroberflächen berechnet und der Unterschied zu der aus den Messwerten direkt berechneten globalen Strahlungsbilanz demonstriert.At the glaciers of the Sonnblick, Goldbergkees and Kleinfleißkees, automatic weather stations (AWS) were installed early in the year 2011, which included, among other instruments, radiometers (pyranometers) to measure the temporal albedo variations of the differently inclined and oriented glaciers. A method to compensate for the inclination errors of the directly measured incoming and reflected shortwave radiation will be motivated and developed in this thesis. The inclination error of albedo measurements caused by unknown inclinations of slope and instruments will be corrected by using comparative measurements of a well-horizonted pyranometers in geographical proximity (Sonnblick Observatory). These are compared to modeled values of the global radiation to determine atmospheric parameters. This way, the inclination of the slope and instruments as well as their orientations can be found by modeling. Using this method, the albedo for differently inclined and oriented slopes can be calculated. These corrected values of the albedo will be used to calculate the global net radiation of snow and glacier surfaces and the difference to the global net radiation calculated with the directly measured values will be demonstrated

Correction of broadband snow albedo measurements affected by unknown slope and sensor tilts

Abstract. Geometric effects induced by the underlying terrain slope or by tilt errors of the radiation sensors lead to an erroneous measurement of snow or ice albedo. Consequently, artificial diurnal albedo variations in the order of 1–20 % are observed. The present paper proposes a general method to correct tilt errors of albedo measurements in cases where tilts of both the sensors and the slopes are not accurately measured or known. We demonstrate that atmospheric parameters for this correction model can either be taken from a nearby well-maintained and horizontally levelled measurement of global radiation or alternatively from a solar radiation model. In a next step the model is fitted to the measured data to determine tilts and directions of sensors and the underlying terrain slope. This then allows us to correct the measured albedo, the radiative balance and the energy balance. Depending on the direction of the slope and the sensors a comparison between measured and corrected albedo values reveals obvious over- or underestimations of albedo. It is also demonstrated that differences between measured and corrected albedo are generally highest for large solar zenith angles.</jats:p

IP-10-Mediated T Cell Homing Promotes Cerebral Inflammation over Splenic Immunity to Malaria Infection

Plasmodium falciparum malaria causes 660 million clinical cases with over 2 million deaths each year. Acquired host immunity limits the clinical impact of malaria infection and provides protection against parasite replication. Experimental evidence indicates that cell-mediated immune responses also result in detrimental inflammation and contribute to severe disease induction. In both humans and mice, the spleen is a crucial organ involved in blood stage malaria clearance, while organ-specific disease appears to be associated with sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes in vascular beds and subsequent recruitment of inflammatory leukocytes. Using a rodent model of cerebral malaria, we have previously found that the majority of T lymphocytes in intravascular infiltrates of cerebral malaria-affected mice express the chemokine receptor CXCR3. Here we investigated the effect of IP-10 blockade in the development of experimental cerebral malaria and the induction of splenic anti-parasite immunity. We found that specific neutralization of IP-10 over the course of infection and genetic deletion of this chemokine in knockout mice reduces cerebral intravascular inflammation and is sufficient to protect P. berghei ANKA-infected mice from fatality. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that lack of IP-10 during infection significantly reduces peripheral parasitemia. The increased resistance to infection observed in the absence of IP-10-mediated cell trafficking was associated with retention and subsequent expansion of parasite-specific T cells in spleens of infected animals, which appears to be advantageous for the control of parasite burden. Thus, our results demonstrate that modulating homing of cellular immune responses to malaria is critical for reaching a balance between protective immunity and immunopathogenesis

The cross-sectional GRAS sample: A comprehensive phenotypical data collection of schizophrenic patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Schizophrenia is the collective term for an exclusively clinically diagnosed, heterogeneous group of mental disorders with still obscure biological roots. Based on the assumption that valuable information about relevant genetic and environmental disease mechanisms can be obtained by association studies on patient cohorts of ≥ 1000 patients, if performed on detailed clinical datasets and quantifiable biological readouts, we generated a new schizophrenia data base, the GRAS (Göttingen Research Association for Schizophrenia) data collection. GRAS is the necessary ground to study genetic causes of the schizophrenic phenotype in a 'phenotype-based genetic association study' (PGAS). This approach is different from and complementary to the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on schizophrenia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>For this purpose, 1085 patients were recruited between 2005 and 2010 by an invariable team of traveling investigators in a cross-sectional field study that comprised 23 German psychiatric hospitals. Additionally, chart records and discharge letters of all patients were collected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The corresponding dataset extracted and presented in form of an overview here, comprises biographic information, disease history, medication including side effects, and results of comprehensive cross-sectional psychopathological, neuropsychological, and neurological examinations. With >3000 data points per schizophrenic subject, this data base of living patients, who are also accessible for follow-up studies, provides a wide-ranging and standardized phenotype characterization of as yet unprecedented detail.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The GRAS data base will serve as prerequisite for PGAS, a novel approach to better understanding 'the schizophrenias' through exploring the contribution of genetic variation to the schizophrenic phenotypes.</p

New Radiocarbon Dates for the Late Gravettian in Eastern Central Europe

AbstractThe Middle Upper Palaeolithic (MUP) in eastern Central Europe (ECE) comprises three variants of Gravettian culture: Early Gravettian, Pavlovian, and Late Gravettian. While Early Gravettian and Pavlovian are merely located in Lower Austria and Moravia, the Late Gravettian occupations occurred over the entire territory of ECE. Compared to the number of sites the radiocarbon dating and the absolute chronology of the Late Gravettian is rather poor. The results presented here bring a new set of radiocarbon (14C) dates for the Late Gravettian period in ECE and propose that this period began and ended earlier than previously suggested.</jats:p