Afternoon Time Periods Research Articles

ASSESSMENT OF NOISE LEVELS IN RUMUOKORO MOTOR PARK IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

The study was aimed at determining the level of noise pollution in a motor environment. Noise level in the Rumuokoro motor park was measured with a type II noise meter called Sound Level Meter GM1352. The study involved field noise Measurements which were carried out at five established points around Rumoukoro motor park during morning, afternoon and evening time periods. The minimum mean and maximum mean noise levels for morning time periods were between 74.8 dB(A) and 86.3 dB(A) respectively. The afternoon time periods showed a minimum mean noise level of 75.7 dB(A) and a maximum mean noise level of 82.7 dB(A); while the evening time periods mean noise levels were between 74.8 dB(A) and highest of 86.6 dB(A). Thus, noise levels in the morning and evening time periods recorded higher noise levels than the afternoon time periods. The result of this study showed that the measured level of noise exceeded the international standards (WHO and USEPA) and national standards (NESREA and FMENV) in monitoring noise level in the environment.

Predicting Hypertensive Patients With Higher Risk of Developing Vascular Events Using Heart Rate Variability and Machine Learning

The prognosis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events for patients suffering from hypertension is considered of a high importance in preventing any further development of cardiac diseases. Despite of the ability of current gold standard techniques in predicting vascular events risks, they still lack the required clinical efficiency. In this vein, the study proposed herein provides an investigation on the feasibility of using heart rate variability (HRV) utilized through a machine learning approach to predict hypertensive patients at higher risk of developing vascular events. Initially, HRV features were extracted from all patient's data using time-domain, frequency-domain, non-linear, and fragmentation metrics. The extraction of features was based on a 24-hour cycle analysis segmented into four time periods; namely late-night, early-morning, afternoon, and evening. Analysis of all features was performed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test on period by period basis. Furthermore, the selection of best features was performed following a Chi-squared test for demographic and HRV features. Then, a model based on decision trees and random under-sampling boosting (RUSBOOST) was trained using demographic features, HRV features, and a combination of both features. The performance of the trained model achieved a maximum accuracy of 97.08% using the combined set of features during the afternoon time period. In addition, the precision and F1-score in predicting high risk patients reached 81.25% and 86.67%, respectively. The overall area under the curve for the model was at 0.98, suggesting a high performance in the sensitivity and specificity measures. This study paves the way towards utilizing machine learning models and heart rate variability for the prognosis of vascular events in hypertensive patient. Furthermore, it assists clinicians in decision making by providing a simple, yet effective, and continuous prediction approach when compared to other available techniques.

Spatiotemporal visibility characteristics impacted by forest and land fire over airports in sumatera and borneo Island, Indonesia

Abstract Smoke can reduce the airport’s visibility and is related to the aviation safety and efficiency. Low visibility has potential safety hazard, such GA-152 crashed in 1997, and thus there is a need to find out the visibility characteristics in airports over Sumatra and Borneo Island caused by 2015 forest fire. This research aims to analyse the spatiotemporal visibility characteristics over airports in Sumatera and Borneo Island using flight rule visibility below minima criteria and hazard probability. The analysis of smoke was characterized using visibility severity index (VSI) that is a function of visibility severity class and its probability level. Spatiotemporal analysis of severity index combined with hotspot and wind numerical weather model indicates that the worst impact visibility occurred in September and October 2015. The lowest visibility was occured over night until afternoon time period. The spread of VSI impact has a tendency to northward and northwestward. The very high VSI levels occurred at airports such: WIJJ (Jambi), WIBB (Pekanbaru), WAGG (Palangkaraya) which were impacted up to 70% of flight operations time with IFR visibility below minima; while the WIOS (Susilo-Sintang), which operates only on VFR, experienced about 92% of VFR visibility below minima at smoke climax period.

Diurnal variation in the proinflammatory activity of urban fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) by in vitro assays.

Background: Ambient particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM 2.5) undergoes diurnal changes in chemical composition due to photochemical oxidation. In this study we examine the relationships between oxidative activity and inflammatory responses associated with these diurnal chemical changes. Because secondary PM contains a higher fraction of oxidized PM species, we hypothesized that PM 2.5 collected during afternoon hours would induce a greater inflammatory response than primary, morning PM 2.5. Methods: Time-integrated aqueous slurry samples of ambient PM 2.5 were collected using a direct aerosol-into-liquid collection system during defined morning and afternoon time periods. PM 2.5 samples were collected for 5 weeks in the late summer (August-September) of 2016 at a central Los Angeles site. Morning samples, largely consisting of fresh primary traffic emissions (primary PM), were collected from 6-9am (am-PM 2.5), and afternoon samples were collected from 12-4pm (pm-PM 2.5), when PM composition is dominated by products of photochemical oxidation (secondary PM). The two diurnally phased PM 2.5 slurries (am- and pm-PM 2.5) were characterized for chemical composition and BV-2 microglia were assayed in vitro for oxidative and inflammatory gene responses. Results: Contrary to expectations, the am-PM 2.5 slurry had more proinflammatory activity than the pm-PM 2.5 slurry as revealed by nitric oxide (NO) induction, as well as the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and CCL2 (MCP-1), as assessed by messenger RNA production. Conclusions: The diurnal differences observed in this study may be in part attributed to the greater content of transition metals and water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) of am-PM 2.5 (primary PM) vs. pm-PM 2.5 (secondary PM), as these two classes of compounds can increase PM 2.5 toxicity.

Diurnal variation in the proinflammatory activity of urban fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) by in vitro assays

Background: Ambient particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM 2.5) undergoes diurnal changes in chemical composition due to photochemical oxidation. In this study we examine the relationships between oxidative activity and inflammatory responses associated with these diurnal chemical changes. Because secondary PM contains a higher fraction of oxidized PM species, we hypothesized that PM 2.5 collected during afternoon hours would induce a greater inflammatory response than primary, morning PM 2.5. Methods: Time-integrated aqueous slurry samples of ambient PM 2.5 were collected using a direct aerosol-into-liquid collection system during defined morning and afternoon time periods. PM 2.5 samples were collected for 5 weeks in the late summer (August-September) of 2016 at a central Los Angeles site. Morning samples, largely consisting of fresh primary traffic emissions (primary PM), were collected from 6-9am (am-PM 2.5), and afternoon samples were collected from 12-4pm (pm-PM 2.5), when PM composition is dominated by products of photochemical oxidation (secondary PM). The two diurnally phased PM 2.5 slurries (am- and pm-PM 2.5) were characterized for chemical composition and BV-2 microglia were assayed in vitro for oxidative and inflammatory gene responses. Results: Contrary to expectations, the am-PM 2.5 slurry had more proinflammatory activity than the pm-PM 2.5 slurry as revealed by nitric oxide (NO) induction, as well as the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and CCL2 (MCP-1), as assessed by messenger RNA production. Conclusions: The diurnal differences observed in this study may be in part attributed to the greater content of transition metals and water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) of am-PM 2.5 (primary PM) vs. pm-PM 2.5 (secondary PM), as these two classes of compounds can increase PM 2.5 toxicity.

Diurnal variation in the proinflammatory activity of urban fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by in vitro assays

Background: Ambient particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) undergoes diurnal changes in chemical composition due to photochemical oxidation. In this study we examine the relationships between oxidative activity and inflammatory responses associated with these diurnal chemical changes. Because secondary PM contains a higher fraction of oxidized PM species, we hypothesized that PM2.5 collected during afternoon hours would induce a greater inflammatory response than primary, morning PM2.5. Methods: Time-integrated aqueous slurry samples of ambient PM2.5 were collected using a direct aerosol-into-liquid collection system during defined morning and afternoon time periods. PM2.5 samples were collected for 5 weeks in the late summer (August-September) of 2016 at a central Los Angeles site. Morning samples, largely consisting of fresh primary traffic emissions (primary PM), were collected from 6-9am (am-PM2.5), and afternoon samples were collected from 12-4pm (pm-PM2.5), when PM composition is dominated by products of photochemical oxidation (secondary PM). The two diurnally phased PM2.5 slurries (am- and pm-PM2.5) were characterized for chemical composition and BV-2 microglia were assayed in vitro for oxidative and inflammatory gene responses. Results: Contrary to expectations, the am-PM2.5 slurry had more proinflammatory activity than the pm-PM2.5 slurry as revealed by nitric oxide (NO) induction, as well as the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and CCL2 (MCP-1), as assessed by messenger RNA production. Conclusions: The diurnal differences observed in this study may be in part attributed to the greater content of transition metals and water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) of am-PM2.5 (primary PM) vs. pm-PM2.5 (secondary PM), as these two classes of compounds can increase PM2.5 toxicity.

Diurnal variation in the proinflammatory activity of urban fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) by in vitro assays.

Background: Ambient particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM 2.5) undergoes diurnal changes in chemical composition due to photochemical oxidation. In this study we examine the relationships between oxidative activity and inflammatory responses associated with these diurnal chemical changes. Because secondary PM contains a higher fraction of oxidized PM species, we hypothesized that PM 2.5 collected during afternoon hours would induce a greater inflammatory response than primary, morning PM 2.5. Methods: Time-integrated aqueous slurry samples of ambient PM 2.5 were collected using a direct aerosol-into-liquid collection system during defined morning and afternoon time periods. PM 2.5 samples were collected for 5 weeks in the late summer (August-September) of 2016 at a central Los Angeles site. Morning samples, largely consisting of fresh primary traffic emissions (primary PM), were collected from 6-9am (am-PM 2.5), and afternoon samples were collected from 12-4pm (pm-PM 2.5), when PM composition is dominated by products of photochemical oxidation (secondary PM). The two diurnally phased PM 2.5 slurries (am- and pm-PM 2.5) were characterized for chemical composition and BV-2 microglia were assayed in vitro for oxidative and inflammatory gene responses. Results: Contrary to expectations, the am-PM 2.5 slurry had more proinflammatory activity than the pm-PM 2.5 slurry as revealed by nitric oxide (NO) induction, as well as the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and CCL2 (MCP-1), as assessed by messenger RNA production. Conclusions: The diurnal differences observed in this study may be in part attributed to the greater content of transition metals and water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) of am-PM 2.5 (primary PM) vs. pm-PM 2.5 (secondary PM), as these two classes of compounds can increase PM 2.5 toxicity.

Time of Admission to the PICU and Mortality.

To evaluate for any association between time of admission to the PICU and mortality. Retrospective cohort study of admissions to PICUs in the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS, LLC, Los Angeles, CA) database from 2009 to 2014. One hundred and twenty-nine PICUs in the United States. Patients less than 18 years old admitted to participating PICUs; excluding those post cardiac bypass. None. A total of 391,779 admissions were included with an observed PICU mortality of 2.31%. Overall mortality was highest for patients admitted from 07:00 to 07:59 (3.32%) and lowest for patients admitted from 14:00 to 14:59 (1.99%). The highest mortality on weekdays occurred for admissions from 08:00 to 08:59 (3.30%) and on weekends for admissions from 09:00 to 09:59 (4.66%). In multivariable regression, admission during the morning 06:00-09:59 and midday 10:00-13:59 were independently associated with PICU death when compared with the afternoon time period 14:00-17:59 (morning odds ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.04-1.26; p = 0.006 and midday odds ratio, 1.09; 95% CI; 1.01-1.18; p = 0.03). When separated into weekday versus weekend admissions, only morning admissions were associated with increased odds of death on weekdays (odds ratio, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01-1.27; p = 0.03), whereas weekend admissions during the morning (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.14-1.55; p = 0.004), midday (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11-1.45; p = 0.0006), and afternoon (odds ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.03-1.32; p = 0.01) were associated with increased risk of death when compared with weekday afternoons. Admission to the PICU during the morning period from 06:00 to 09:59 on weekdays and admission throughout the day on weekends (06:00-17:59) were independently associated with PICU death as compared to admission during weekday afternoons. Potential contributing factors deserving further study include handoffs of care, rounds, delays related to resource availability, or unrecognized patient deterioration prior to transfer.

Timing is Everything: Temporal Variation in Floral Scent, and its Connections to Pollinator Behavior and Female Reproductive Success in Phlox divaricata

The study of floral traits and pollination for the plant genus Phlox has historically been focused on either surveys of general pollinator affinities across the genus or detailed research on pollinator-mediated evolution of floral color in a single species (Phlox drummondii). The purpose of this study was to explore a different kind of trait – floral scent – in Phlox divaricata, a species noted for its strong scent. Specifically, we predicted the diel emission patterns of floral scent might covary with the daily abundance of diurnal moths, identified in a previous study as the most important pollinators in a Konza Prairie population of P. divaricata. Consistent with this prediction, we documented peaks in median floral scent emissions at 1000–1200 and 1930–2130, coinciding with peaks in moth visitation and resulting seed production. Two groups of scent compounds contributed to this pattern; linalool and its associated lilac aldehyde/alcohol compounds (especially lilac aldehyde B) contributed a greater proportion to scent at 1000–1200, while aromatic compounds (including benzaldehyde and benzyl acetate) contributed a greater proportion to scent at 1930–2130 and other afternoon time periods. These volatiles are known floral attractants for several lepidopteran pollinators, including noctuid moths. However, there is an additional peak in pollinator abundance (Hemaris diurnal hawkmoths) and seed set at a time when scent production is relatively low (1400–1600) suggesting additional factors mediate both pollinator behavior and floral volatile emissions. Future studies of P. divaricata should test for the presence of destructive floral enemies that might be attracted by floral volatiles during mid-afternoon periods, as well as the importance of visual floral traits (color, shape) in attracting diurnal moths, an important functional group of pollinators that has received minimal attention in North America.

Bathing behavior of captive Orange-winged Amazon parrots ( Amazona amazonica)

Feather maintenance behaviors, particularly preening and bathing, are nearly universal in birds, though their expression and function vary across species. Based on the rain-bathing style of wild Amazon parrots, parrots were sprayed with water to simulate rainfall, and subsequent bathing behavioral parameters were recorded as well as behavioral states accounting for activity budgets 1 h pre- and post-spray. When parrots were sprayed on Day 0 and next sprayed 2, 4 or 6 d later, it took more than 4 d for bathing bout length, bathing latency and number of birds bathing to return to values comparable to Day 0. Across three different times of the day (morning, midday, afternoon) all but one parrot bathed in the morning while fewer parrots bathed in the midday and afternoon time periods. Bathing duration in the morning was 10.8 ± 1.7 min and decreased significantly in later time periods while latency-to-bathe time in the morning was 1.4 ± 0.3 min and increased thereafter. Further, there were no significant effects of bathing on resting and feeding across the day but significant effects on preening were evident, with preening dropping to negligible levels after bathing; this is consistent with a motivational relationship between bathing and preening. Captive parrots displayed several postures and a general sequence of postures that resembled those of wild rain-bathing parrots. When other parrots in the same room were sprayed, non-sprayed parrots performed sham-bathing, possibly reflecting social facilitation of bathing. Results show that captive Orange-winged Amazon parrots have a bathing bout length of ∼10 min, with a refractory period of >4 d and a tendency to bathe in the morning.

Photosynthetic rapid light curves (RLC) of Thalassia testudinum exhibit diurnal variation

The use of pulse-amplitude-modulated fluorometry (PAM) and rapid light curves (RLC) were evaluated for monitoring the physiological condition of the seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, at the landscape scale in Florida Bay, USA. PAM fluorometry provides rapid, non-invasive, and quantitative physiological information on the state of photosynthesis. Yet, previous studies of effective and maximum quantum yields have shown that problems arise when expanding measurements from the organismal scale to the landscape scale, mainly due to temporal and irradiance-induced changes in photophysiology. Here, the magnitude of diurnal and spatial variation of photosynthetic characteristics among 10 sample basins and between two sample years was investigated using RLCs. Because RLCs measure effective quantum yields over a range of changing actinic irradiances, we hypothesized that the response parameters might be less sensitive to diurnal light history effects. Our results indicate that the RLC parameters, alpha and ETR max, significantly changed diurnally, as was previously found for both maximum and effective quantum yields, but the diurnal patterns were variable among the 10 basins. Both among-basin and between-year comparisons were confounded by diurnal variation and statistical analyses comparing morning, mid-day, and afternoon time periods were unable to definitively discern which time of day was best suited for assessing the relative photophysiological status of T. testudinum. However, pooling RLC data at the basin scale revealed among-basin differences and landscape scale trends that were consistent with basin-level morphometric variation in this seagrass. Thus, PAM fluorometry may be useful as a landscape scale monitoring tool within certain constraints. When using this approach over large spatial and temporal scales, diurnal variability must be considered.

Ambient single particle analysis in Riverside, California by aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry during the SCOS97-NARSTO

Single-particle measurements were made using aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS) instruments in conjunction with the 1997 Southern California Ozone Study-North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone (SCOS97-NARSTO). The size and chemical composition of individual ambient particles in Riverside, CA during the summer of 1997 are described. Data collected using co-located micro-orifice uniform deposit impactors (MOUDI) impactors are used to scale the ATOFMS number counts, providing a unique picture of the particle population which complements information obtained using traditional sizing and composition analysis techniques in this and previous studies. Changes in single particle composition are observed over time, and compared and contrasted with observed changes in visibility, ozone, and PM10 concentrations. Details are provided on changes in the particle size and composition observed during three morning periods with low ozone and elevated PM10 versus three afternoon periods with both elevated ozone and PM10 levels between 21–23 August 1997. The ATOFMS size profiles show afternoon periods dominated by sub-μm particles composed of organic carbon coupled with ammonium nitrate, and morning periods with relatively high levels of super-μm dust particles. The observed changes in particle size and composition are consistent with differences in air mass trajectories arriving at Riverside during the morning and afternoon time periods.

Evaluation of forced flows on freeways with single-loop detectors

This paper documents the development of a simple method for identifying and/or predicting freeway congestion using single loop detection systems. The proposed algorithm is simple and easy to incorporate into most freeway management systems. The Washington State Department of Transportation's Traffic Systems Management Center (TSMC) sponsored the original study. The investigation also led to a recommendation to replace the original TSMC definition of congestion or forced flow conditions with a more reliable indicator. Although, the TSMC has recently implemented a more advanced prediction system based on fuzzy set theory and neural networks to further identify patterns and rules for ramp metering strategies, the findings presented here continue to be constructive to freeway managers looking for quick and easy analyses that rely solely on single-loop detection systems. The Seattle Area freeway study section used for the original study was the portion of mainline 1–5 northbound starting at the downtown Seattle Station 108 and ending at the Mountlake Terrace Station 193. Several days' worth of volume and lane-occupancy data were collected for the afternoon time period from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Time intervals of 20 seconds were chosen for each data collection period. Important products of this research include the following: simple, and more reliable criterion for the definition of “bottleneck” or forced flow conditions than that originally used by the TSMC. simple, and reliable criterion for predicting impending “bottlenecks” or forced flow conditions. A proposed variable for improved selection of the appropriate metering rate. (Further analysis of the use of this variable for determining metering rates is recommended for future studies. The proposed criteria are simple and easy to incorporate into current freeway management computer systems. Further investigation of freeway performance measurement using volume and occupancy data obtained from single-loop systems is currently being performed.

A note on effects of gender and time of day on the winter time-activity budget of adult ostriches ( Struthio camelus) in a farming environment

This study examined the time–activity budget of adult ostriches under winter conditions during morning and afternoon time periods. Male and female adult ostriches, maintained in pairs and trios on a commercial ostrich farm in Britain, were observed during February 1997. Weather conditions experienced by the ostriches included periods of rain, high winds, overcast days and bright sunny days. Temperatures ranged from 0 to 13°C. Feeding on concentrate food was the most frequent behaviour during the morning, whereas foraging from the pasture was the largest part of the time–activity budget in the afternoon. This difference was due to the concentrate ration being delivered during the morning. During either time period, feeding and foraging combined took up over 50% of the time–activity budget with standing taking up another 20%. The frequency of sitting was higher during the afternoon. Locomotory behaviours formed a small part of the time–activity budget with movement around the enclosure usually being achieved whilst foraging. With the exception of searching, no significant gender differences were observed for any behaviour. Males had a more varied behavioural repertoire in the afternoon. Welfare concerns have been raised over the suitability of the European climate for keeping ostriches on farms. Given the importance of feeding and foraging during winter, freedom from hunger has to a high priority in developing the appropriate husbandry systems for ostriches.

Assessing disulfiram compliance: Validational study of an abbreviated breath test procedure

An abbreviated breath test for detecting the disulfiram metabolite carbon disulfide (CS 2) was evaluated in an analogue investigation of the sensitivity of the test in identifying disulfiram and non-disulfiram intake in a group of 14 alcoholic inpatients. Disulfiram (250 mg) was administered within an ABAB repeated measures design over a 12-day period with corresponding breath tests administered during morning and afternoon time periods. Dependent measures included spectrophotometric analysis of reacted test samples and visual ratings of sample color. Results indicated that the test was highly sensitive in discriminating disulfiram administration for the group as a whole, as well as for individual subjects. Moreover, visual ratings were more accurate than spectrophotometric cut-off scores in identifying disulfiram administration. The test shows considerable promise as a rapid means of assessing disulfiram compliance.