Early Morning Hours Research Articles

What did Joseph Stalin really die of? A reappraisal of his illness, death, and autopsy findings.

Joseph Stalin was one of the most important world leaders during the first half of the 20th century. He died suddenly in early March 1953 after a short illness, which was described in a series of medical bulletins in the Soviet newspaper Pravda. Based on both the clinical history and autopsy findings, it was concluded that Stalin had died of a massive hemorrhagic stroke involving his left cerebral hemisphere. However, almost 50 years later, a counter-narrative developed suggesting a more nefarious explanation for his sudden death, namely, that a "poison," warfarin, a potent anticoagulant, had been administered surreptitiously by one or more of his close associates during the early morning hours prior to the onset of his stroke. In the present report, we will examine this counter-narrative and suggest that his death was not due to the administration of warfarin but rather to a hypertension-related cerebrovascular accident resulting in a massive hemorrhagic stroke involving his left cerebral hemisphere. The counter-narrative was based on the misunderstanding of certain specific autopsy findings, namely, the presence of focal myocardial and petechial hemorrhages in the gastric and intestinal mucosa, which could be attributed to the extracranial pathophysiologic changes that can occur as a consequence of a stroke rather than the highly speculative counter-narrative that Stalin was "poisoned" by the administration of warfarin.

Clinical characteristics and long-term prognosis of contemporary patients with vasospastic angina: Ethnic differences detected in an international comparative study

BackgroundPossible ethnic differences in clinical characteristics and long-term prognosis of contemporary patients with vasospastic angina (VSA) remain to be elucidated. Methods and resultsThe Japanese Coronary Spasm Association (JCSA) conducted an international, prospective, and multicenter registry study for VSA patients. A total of 1457 VSA patients (Japanese/Caucasians, 1339/118) were enrolled based on the same diagnostic criteria. Compared with Caucasian patients, Japanese patients were characterized by higher proportions of males (68 vs. 51%) and smoking history (60 vs. 49%). Japanese patients more often had angina especially during the night and early morning hours, compared with Caucasians. Ninety-five percent of Japanese and 84% of Caucasian patients underwent pharmacological provocation test. Importantly, no significant differences in the patterns of coronary spasm were apparent, with diffuse spasm most frequently noted in both ethnicities. The prescription rate of calcium-channel blockers was higher in Japanese (96 vs. 86%), whereas the uses of nitrates (46 vs. 59%), statins (43 vs. 65%), renin-angiotensin-system inhibitors (27 vs. 51%), and β-blockers (10 vs. 24%) were more common in Caucasian patients. Survival rate free from major adverse cardiac events (MACE) was slightly but significantly higher in Japanese than in Caucasians (86.7 vs. 76.6% at 5 years, P < 0.001). Notably, multivariable analysis revealed that the JCSA risk score correlated with MACE rates not only in Japanese but also in Caucasian patients. ConclusionThese results indicate that there are ethnic differences in clinical profiles and long-term prognosis of contemporary VSA patients.

Diurnal variability of convection over northwest Indian subcontinent observed by the Doppler weather radar data

The diurnal cycle of convection over a sub-tropical semi-arid inland station—Delhi—has been analyzed in this study based on three different rainfall episodes. Two of these cases represent convection in association with low precipitable water content ( 60 mm) and low vertical wind shear (< 2 m/s). It has been noted that for all the three cases, convection was initiated during the morning hours in the form of single cells, which evolved into multi-cellular convection zones later on those days. The most common mesoscale organization of the clouds in all the three cases had been in the form of convective lines which moved along the mean steering flow in the lower troposphere. However, for case 1, squall line formation and movement were observed during a period of 6 h, which was aided by the high unidirectional shear in the lower-to-middle troposphere, that was absent in other cases. These squall lines were associated with severe surface winds. The convection zones were found to be short lived with less stratiform outflow for case 1, more stratiform outflow for case 2 and longest lifetimes and most stratiform outflow for case 3. This study also indicates that the primary peak of convection and associated rainfall over the region, irrespective of the season, is in the afternoon hours between 1730 Indian Standard Time (IST) and 2030 IST, and lags the diurnal temperature maximum (around 1430 IST) by 3–5 h. When there is sufficient moisture in the atmosphere and convection persists throughout the entire diurnal cycle, a second peak in convection and associated rainfall appears over the region in the early morning hours (between 0230 and 0530 IST). This night time-early morning peak has a greater fraction of stratiform clouds at the beginning of a rainfall episode. As the moisture build up in the atmosphere on day 2 and later of a long-lived episode, new convection was initiated in the night time with increase in the night time rainfall intensity. This implies that pre-monsoon convection over Delhi in the presence of low moisture is primarily unimodal, characterized by short bursts of intense convection with narrow and short-lived cells. Monsoon convection on the other hand, is essentially bimodal, with the early morning peak, often pre-dominating over the afternoon peak and characterized by longer lived cells which are less intense than cells of the pre-monsoon weather systems.

Development, Evaluation and Optimization of Osmotic Controlled Tablets of Aceclofenac for Rheumatoid Arthritis Management

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis is a dreaded disease, characterized by pain, inflammation and stiffness of joints, leading to severe immobility problems. The disease shows circadian variation and usually gets aggravated in early morning hours. Aceclofenac, a BCS Class II compound is routinely used in the treatment of pain and inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis. The objective of this study was to develop an osmotic delivery system of Aceclofenac that after administration at bedtime would deliver the drug in the morning hours. &lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt; Methods: A series of osmotically controlled systems of aceclofenac was developed by using lactose, sodium chloride and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K100M as osmogens. Cellulose acetate (2% w/v in acetone) with varying concentrations of polyethylene glycol-400 was used as the coating polymer to create semi permeable membrane and dissolution was carried out in 290 mOsm phosphate buffer. Formulation optimization was done from four considerations: cumulative release at the end of 6 hours (lag time), cumulative release at the end of 7 hours (burst time), steady state release rate and completeness of drug release. &lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt; Results: A formulation having swelling polymer hydroxypropyl methylcellulose in the core and lactose and sodium chloride as osmogens, polyethylene glycol-400 (16.39 %) as pore former, with a coating weight of 5% was a close fit to the target release profile and was chosen as the optimum formulation. Conclusion: Aceclofenac tablets containing lactose, HPMC and sodium chloride in the core, given a coating of cellulose acetate and PEG-400 (5% wt gain), generated a release profile for optimum management of rheumatoid arthritic pain.

PHARMACOKINETIC COMPARISON OF MONTELUKAST SODIUM FORMULATIONS AFTER A SINGLE ORAL DOSE IN HEALTHY GUINEA PIGS

Objective: Pharmacokinetic evaluation of montelukast sodium chronomodulated capsules (sustained-release solid dispersion of drug enclosed in pH-sensitive film-coated hard gelatin shell) and marketed tablets has been carried out in this study.&#x0D; Methods: A single oral dose of prepared capsules and marketed conventional tablets was administered in healthy male Dunkin-Hartley albino guinea pigs. Blood samples were collected at different time intervals and plasma concentration of drug was determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Different pharmacokinetic parameters were assessed from plasma drug concentration-time profile by one-compartment model, first-order kinetics.&#x0D; Results: Pharmacokinetic parameters such as time to reach maximum concentration, elimination rate constant, elimination half-life, and mean residence time data indicates that drug release from chronomodulated capsules is significantly prolonged with initial release lag time of 3.5–4 h in comparison with marketed conventional tablets. However, maximum drug plasma concentration, area under the concentration-time curve, and apparent volume of distribution values show non-significant difference between capsules and marketed tablets.&#x0D; Conclusion: The findings specified that capsules were providing time controlled delivery of drug at a desired rate for prolonged time, which may be helpful for the prevention of episodic attack of asthma in early morning hours.

The effect of pasture quantity temporal variation on milking robot utilization

In pasture-based automatic milking systems (AMS), a decrease in robot utilization (RU) often occurs in the early morning hours. Novel feeding strategies that encourage voluntary cow traffic throughout 24 h could help mitigate this problem. We determined the effect of 3 distinct pasture allocation methods on RU patterns throughout a 24-h period. The experiment was conducted at the University of Melbourne's Dookie research farm in northern Victoria, Australia. Three Lely Astronaut A3 robotic milking units (Lely, Maassluis, the Netherlands) milked 133 cows, grazing pasture, with concentrate offered at milking in the robots. The farm operated a system of 3-way grazing, with active access to each pasture allocation: 2030-0400 h (allocation A), 0400-1330 h (allocation B), and 1330-2030 h (allocation C). Treatments varied in the quantity of feed offered per hour of active access to each of the 3 pasture allocations. The control treatment offered the same proportion of feed (corrected for active access time) in all 3 pasture allocations (allocation A = 31.3%, B = 39.6%, and C = 29.2%). The day treatment offered the largest proportion of feed during the day (allocation A = 20%, B = 40%, and C = 40%), following the cows' diurnal pattern of feeding activity. The night treatment offered the largest proportion of feed at night (allocation A = 42%, B = 40%, and C = 18%). Due to the nature of pasture-based AMS, treatments could not be applied simultaneously. Therefore, treatments were applied to the entire herd and repeated twice over 42 d, lasting 7 d/treatment, with the first 3 d for habituation, followed by 4 d of data collection. Robot utilization (milkings/h) varied throughout 24 h between treatments, with the night treatment recording greater RU at 0800, 1800, and 1900 h and lower RU between 2100 to 0100 h, compared with the day treatment. The proportion of the herd milking between 0000 and 0600 h was greater for the control (43.3%) and day (45.3%) treatments compared with the night treatment (25.8%). Herd-average daily pasture intake was similar (10.5 kg of dry matter) for all treatments. This experiment is the first to demonstrate the manipulation of RU by varying the quantity of pasture offered. However, the use of variable allocation alone did not eliminate the decrease in RU between 0000 and 0600 h, with the timing of allocation also likely to play a role. We recommend a further research focus on combining both timing and quantity of pasture allocated to improve RU in pasture-based AMS.

A newspaper on the edge of two eras, December 22, 1989

In this article I analyze how Scînteia, the official newspaper of the Romanian Communist Party, was transformed in just one day into Scînteia Poporului. The analysis will be based on interviews with journalists and the collection of the two publications. The first issue appeared in the early morning hours of December 22, the second in the evening of the same day.

Frequent Use of Upland Habitats by the Endangered Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni)

The Hawaiian Stilt, or Ae'o (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), is an endangered waterbird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Loss of suitable wetland habitats due to anthropogenic development is a leading cause for decline, as well as the introduction of non-native predators and invasive wetland plants. This study fitted four Hawaiian Stilts with GPS satellite tags to document their use of wetland and surrounding habitats on Oahu Island. While other Hawaiian waterbirds are largely restricted to wetlands, we detected Hawaiian Stilts using heavily modified upland habitats, including developed areas, undeveloped fields, sports fields, as well as wetland habitats over a 6-month period. Overall, a high use of non-wetland habitat was observed (up to 58%), with significant differences in habitat occupancy among individual stilts and across different times of day. Wetlands were the dominant habitat occupied from morning to early afternoon, but non-wetland habitats were occupied at higher frequencies in the evening and early morning hours. Although only four birds were tracked, the extensive use of non-wetland habitat by these individuals indicates non-wetland habitats may be important for the conservation of this subspecies. However, more research is needed to understand how applicable these results are to other stilt populations across the Hawaiian Islands, and better understand the potential risks and benefits of these non-wetland habitats to stilt populations.

Evaluating the significance of the traditional use of Alstonia scholaris Linn. in Tulunadu region of South India

Objective: To evaluate the importance of the tradition of consuming expressed juice of Alstonia scholaris Linn. on the particular New moon day of Ashada (July-August) month of Hindu calendar in South Indian region of Tulunadu. Methodology: Collection of stem bark of Alstonia scholaris Linn. was done during early morning hours in accordance with the traditional practice. Three separate samples were obtained, first three days before the particular New moon day, second on the New moon day and third three days after the New moon day. About 10 milliliter of expressed and filtered juice of all three samples were extracted with dichloromethane 20 ml thrice with gentle shaking. The organic layers were collected and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate. Analysis of the samples were done by using Shimadzu UV Spectrophotometer of model UV-1800, by keeping the absorbance at constant against the dichloromethane as blank. Results: The graphs indicated the presence of maximum concentration of active principles on the particular New moon day. The peak max of absorbance was found to be 0.2 from 1st and 3rd samples. An absorbance of 0.5 was observed in sample 2 showing maximum concentration of active principles. Conclusion: The therapeutic importance of Alstonia scholaris has been undebatable while its intake on a particular day by the people of Tulu nadu region of South India has stood the test of time. The richness and realisms in the Indian culture and lifestyle remain interwoven with health traditions. However, their apt apprehension, analysis, appreciation and application is the need of the hour.Q

Dew as a Detrimental Influencing Factor for Soiling of PV Modules

Soiling of photovoltaic (PV) modules can significantly reduce their energy yield by reflecting or absorbing the incident light and is of great importance for operation and maintenance of PV systems in dusty environments. In this paper, we examine the influence of dew—which is formed on PV modules during night and early morning hours—on soiling processes. Outdoor experiments were performed in desert conditions in Qatar using unheated and heated glass samples supplied with different heating powers, as well as outdoor microscopy studies. In addition, laboratory soiling experiments were performed using different dust types, controlled dust removal by centrifugal forces at different relative humidity levels, and defined dew cycles. Results from both the field tests and laboratory soiling experiments showed a significant impact of dew on particle adhesion, removal, and corresponding soiling rates, which was independent of the dust type. Microstructural investigations using electron microscopy were performed to determine the cause of increased particle adhesion. Heating of glass surfaces during the night can significantly reduce the processes of cementation, particle caking, and capillary aging and, thus, reduce soiling. This study indicates that the prevention of condensation can be a method to mitigate soiling.

Robot utilisation of pasture-based dairy cows with varying levels of milking frequency

Achieving a consistent level of robot utilisation throughout 24 h maximises automatic milking system (AMS) utilisation. However, levels of robot utilisation in the early morning hours are typically low, caused by the diurnal feeding behaviour of cows, limiting the inherent capacity and total production of pasture-based AMS. Our objective was to determine robot utilisation throughout 24 h by dairy cows, based on milking frequency (MF; milking events per animal per day) in a pasture-based AMS. Milking data were collected from January and February 2013 across 56 days, from a single herd of 186 animals (Bos taurus) utilising three Lely A3 robotic milking units, located in Tasmania, Australia. The dairy herd was categorised into three equal sized groups (n=62 per group) according to the cow’s mean daily MF over the duration of the study. Robot utilisation was characterised by an interaction (P< 0.001) between the three MF groups and time of day, with peak milking time for high MF cows within one h of a fresh pasture allocation becoming available, followed by the medium MF and low MF cows 2 and 4 h later, respectively. Cows in the high MF group also presented for milking between 2400 and 0600 h more frequently (77% of nights), compared to the medium MF group (57%) and low MF group (50%). This study has shown the formation of three distinct groups of cows within a herd, based on their MF levels. Further work is required to determine if this finding is replicated across other pasture-based AMS farms.

Fuel Cell Application To Mitigate Load Ramping Impacts Of Rooftop PV System Installation.

This paper is based on a hybrid PV and fuel cell system designed to meet energy requirements of 100000 customers of Southern California in a sustainable way. Solar roof-top PV system is turning out to be a boon to the mankind with its positive effects of reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emission, lowering stress on conventional coal-fired or natural gas generators and even reducing costs associated with electricity pricing for consumers. However, with increased penetration from the grid tied PV systems, there is an inevitable rise in stress faced by conventional generators in terms of meeting and balancing the energy requirements during early morning and late afternoon hours which requires precise switching and control mechanisms. This paper addresses the ramping issues and offers an integrated solution in the form of fuel cells that can complement the existing PV system during intermittent times of energy production and even by reducing the ramp up and ramp down slopes of power production by conventional generators, in a promising way.

Present scenario in respect of House-Sparrows’ depleting trends and conservation efforts in and around Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

The present research work was carried out during 2003 to 2016 to aim the scenario of depleting trends and conservation efforts of House Sparrow in and around Kurukshetra district in Haryana province in India.&nbsp; House Sparrow Passer domesticus was abundantly available in each and every corner of villages, towns and cities in Haryana and Punjab in early 1990s. Today, it has been totally wiped out from its very popular places of abundance. Its depletion is so alarming that now there is no chirping of House sparrow in early Morning and Evening Hours. The extremely low numbers of House Sparrows are directly linked with whooping failure of its broods and also non-availability of nesting places. Infact, latter is very crucial in diminishing common house sparrow populations across the length and breadth of the Indian Subcontinent. Its restoration is impending. The issue is sensitive and gigantic. Conversely, its restorative measures are apparently simple and straight forward. The present studies argued that dwelling houses should necessarily have Verandas and ventilators with shutters inside of walls. Bushes, Bougainvilleas vines, hedges, beri-plants be grown extensively. In addition, wooden boxes of 9x6” be installed on tree branches and within the premises of every human dwelling in all villages, towns, cities and metropolitan cities across Indian- territory to restore house sparrow’s alarming depleting populations in modern times. House sparrow responds quickly to rejuvenative measures.

Characteristics of one-year observation of VOCs, NOx, and O3 at an urban site in Wuhan, China

A continuous online observation of ozone and its precursors (NOx, VOCs) was carried out in central urban Wuhan from September 2016 to August 2017. The concentration levels of ozone, NOx, VOCs and their variations in urban Wuhan were analyzed, as well as effects of VOCs on ozone photochemical generation and the main controlling factors for ozone production. During the observation period, the average concentrations of ozone and NOx in Wuhan was 22.63 and 30.14 ppbv, respectively, and the average concentration of VOCs was 32.61 ppbv (42.3% alkanes, 13.0% alkenes, 10.0% aromatics, 7.3% acetylene, 9.9% OVOCs, and 10.5% halohydrocarbons). Ozone concentration was higher in spring and summer as compared with autumn and winter, wheras VOCs and NOx concentratios were lower in spring and summer but higher in autumn and winter. Aromatics and alkenes, two of VOCs species, showed the highest contributions to ozone formation potential in Wuhan (35.7% alkenes, 35.4 aromatics, 17.5% alkanes, 8.6% OVOCs, 1.6% halogenated hydrocarbons, and 1.4% acetylene). Among all VOCs species, those with the highest contribution were ethylene, m-xylene, toluene, propylene and o-xylene. The contribution of these five compounds to the total ozone formation potential concentration was 43.90%. Ozone-controlling factors in Wuhan changed within one day; during the early morning hours (6:00–9:00), VOCs/NOx was low, and ozone generation followed a VOCs-limited regime. However, during the peak time of ozone concentration (12:00–16:00), the ratio of VOCs/NOx was relatively high, suggesting that ozone generation followed a NOx-limited regime.

Diurnal stratification of oxygen in shallow aquaculture ponds in central Europe and recommendations for optimal aeration

The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is an important livestock in regions of Central Europe, where it is bred in shallow, turbid ponds (mean depth 1 m). A frequent problem observed in this form of aquaculture is hypoxia, which confines the fish close to the surface, preventing them from optimally feeding at the bottom. According to information propagated in textbooks and good practice guidebooks and internet documents, the best solution to that is aeration in the early morning hours, when oxygen concentration is supposed to be minimal. While we wanted to test the feasibility of photovoltaic power for aeration of ponds, we detected that on days with bright sunshine the lowest oxygen concentration occurs in the afternoon at the bottom layer of a shallow pond, and that oxygen distribution is highly influenced by thermal stratification. This formation of layers of different temperatures within the water body inhibits the diffusion of oxygen. A breaking of the stratification effectively increases the oxygen concentration, elevating the overall amount of oxygen in the pond. Consequently, the drop in oxygen concentration at night is less dramatic, and critically low levels of oxygen in deeper zones of the pond are avoided. A comparison between the oxygen distribution and daytime or nighttime aeration showed that on days with bright sunshine it is more effective to force mixing of the entire water column during the day, making the use of a photovoltaic power system feasible. This offers a simple and elegant solution for ponds which are not connected to the power grid.

Observing the cold plasma in the Earth's magnetosphere with the EMMA network

We illustrate a semi-automated procedure to detect the field line resonance (FLR) frequencies and the derived equatorial plasma mass densities in the inner magnetosphere from ULF measurements recorded at the European quasi-Meridional Magnetometer Array (EMMA). FLR frequencies are detected using the standard technique based on cross-phase and amplitude ratio spectra from pairs of stations latitudinally separated. Equatorial plasma mass densities are then inferred by solving the toroidal MHD wave equation using the TS05 Tsyganenko magnetic field model and assuming a 1/r dependence of the mass density along the field line. We also present a statistical analysis of the results obtained from 165 non-consecutive days of observations at 8 station pairs covering the range of magnetic L -shells 2.4-5.5 and encompassing a wide range of geomagnetic conditions. The rate of FLR detection maximizes around local noon at each pair of stations, reaching the highest values (~95%) around L = 3. A clear diurnal modulation of the FLR frequency is observed at all L values. At the lowest latitudes, the variation is characterized by a rapid decrease in the early morning hours, a stagnation in the middle of the day, and an increase in the evening hours. At higher latitudes, a continuous and more pronounced decrease of the FLR frequency is observed during all daytime hours reflecting a permanent state of recovery of flux tubes depleted by events of enhanced magnetospheric convection. Consistently, the radial profiles of the inferred equatorial mass density show a density increase from morning to afternoon which gets more pronounced with increasing distance and with the level of the preceding geomagnetic activity. The results also confirm the formation of the plasmapause at geocentric distances that decrease as the disturbance level increases. Mean mass density distributions in the equatorial plane are also shown in 2-D maps for different geomagnetic conditions, as well as for a representative stormy day.

Assessment of improvement of the IRI model over Ethiopia for the modeling of the variability of TEC during the period 2013–2016

This paper discusses the monthly and seasonal variation of the total electron content (TEC) and the improvement of performance of the IRI model in estimating TEC over Ethiopia during the solar maximum (2013–2016) phase employing as reference the GPS derived TEC data inferred from four GPS receivers installed in different regions of Ethiopia; Assosa (geog 10.05°N, 34.55°E, Geom. 7.01°N), Ambo (8.97°N, 37.86°E, Geom. 5.42°N), Nazret (8.57°N, 39.29°E, Geom. 4.81°N) and Arba Minch (6.06°N, 37.56°E, Geom. 2.62°N). The results reveal that, in the years 2013–2016, the highest peak GPS-derived diurnal VTEC is observed in the March equinox in 2015 over Arba Minch station. Moreover, both the arithmetic mean GPS-derived and modelled VTEC values, generally, show maximum and minimum values in the equinoctial and June solstice months, respectively in 2014–2015. However, in 2013, the minimum and maximum arithmetic mean GPS-derived values are observed in the March equinox and December solstice, respectively. The results also show that, even though overestimation of the modelled VTEC has been observed on most of the hours, all versions of the model are generally good to estimate both the monthly and seasonal diurnal hourly VTEC values, especially in the early morning hours (00:00–03:00 UT or 03:00–06:00 LT). However, it has also been shown that the IRI 2007 and IRI 2012 versions generally perform best in matching the diurnal GPS derived TEC values as compared to that of the IRI 2016 version. In addition, the IRI 2012 version with IRI2001 option for the topside electron density shows the highest overestimation of the VTEC as compared to the other options. None of the versions of the IRI model are proved to be able to capture the effects of geomagnetic storms.

Impacts of renewable hydrogen production from wind energy in electricity markets on potential hydrogen demand for light-duty vehicles

This work developed two methods to investigate the technical and economic potential of hydrogen demand and production: (1) estimating potential hydrogen demand for light-duty vehicles (LDVs) at the county-level using a first-order engineering model, and (2) quantifying temporal renewable hydrogen production from wind energy using a linear programming model. The potential hydrogen demand was primarily evaluated for three geographical regions: (1) the United States, (2) Texas, and (3) the Texas Triangle which is one of the nation’s most important mega-regions. The linear programming model compared marginal electricity and hydrogen prices to maximize revenue over the course of a year. The analysis primarily focused on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), but also included other six U.S. electricity markets for hypothetical analysis. Results show that the potential hydrogen demand for LDVs in the United States, Texas, and the Texas Triangle are 53.3, 5.3, and 3.9 billion kg per year, respectively. Using the electrolyzer system energy efficiency of 75% and the marginal hydrogen price of $4/kg, the wind energy in Texas as of 2015 could produce nearly 0.84 billion kg of hydrogen, which could supply about 22% of the potential hydrogen demand for LDVs in the Texas Triangle. When the marginal hydrogen price is low (e.g. $1/kg), it is only favorable to produce hydrogen during early morning hours, especially, 1–6 a.m., in ERCOT and other electricity markets except California’s market. These results could provide information for decision makers to better understand the holistic feasibility of a hydrogen economy in the United States.

Simulation of the Ontogeny of Social Jet Lag: A Shift in Just One of the Parameters of a Model of Sleep-Wake Regulating Process Accounts for the Delay of Sleep Phase Across Adolescence.

The term “social jet lag” was introduced for defining the conflict between social and biological clocks due to the general practice of shifting weekday risetime on early morning hours. The phase delay of the sleep-wake cycle during adolescence is one of the most remarkable features of the ontogenesis of sleep that is incompatible with early school start times. It was previously proposed that the process of accumulation of sleep pressure during wakefulness is slowing down in post-pubertal teens to allow them to stay awake for a longer period of time thus causing the delay of their bedtime. In order to examine this proposition, we traced the ontogeny of social jet lag using sleep times reported for 160 samples of study participants of different ages as an input to a model of sleep-wake regulatory process. The simulations suggested that a gradual change in just one of the model’s parameters, the time constant of wakefulness phase of the sleep-wake regulatory process, might explain the association of the transition between childhood and adulthood with the prolongation of time staying awake, delay of sleep time, and reduction of sleep duration. We concluded that the implication of the sleep-wake regulating model would be of help for understanding precisely how social jet lag varies with age and what are the chronophysiological causes of this variation.

Elevated Black Carbon Concentrations and Atmospheric Pollution around Singrauli Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plants (India) Using Ground and Satellite Data.

The tropospheric NO2 concentration from OMI AURA always shows high concentrations of NO2 at a few locations in India, one of the high concentrations of NO2 hotspots is associated with the locations of seven coal-fired Thermal Power plants (TPPs) in Singrauli. Emissions from TPPs are among the major sources of black carbon (BC) soot in the atmosphere. Knowledge of BC emissions from TPPs is important in characterizing regional carbonaceous particulate emissions, understanding the fog/haze/smog formation, evaluating regional climate forcing, modeling aerosol optical parameters and concentrations of black carbon, and evaluating human health. Furthermore, elevated BC concentrations, over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and the Himalayan foothills, have emerged as an important subject to estimate the effects of deposition and atmospheric warming of BC on the accelerated melting of snow and glaciers in the Himalaya. For the first time, this study reports BC concentrations and aerosol optical parameters near dense coal-fired power plants and open cast coal mining adjacent to the east IGP. In-situ measurements were carried out in Singrauli (located in south-east IGP) at a fixed site about 10 km from power plants and in transit measurements in close proximity to the plants, for few days in the month of January and March 2013. At the fixed site, BC concentration up to the 95 μgm−3 is observed with strong diurnal variations. BC concentration shows two maxima peaks during early morning and evening hours. High BC concentrations are observed in close proximity to the coal-fired TPPs (>200 μgm−3), compared to the outside domain of our study region. Co-located ground-based sunphotometer measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) show strong spatial variability at the fixed site, with AOD in the range 0.38–0.58, and the highest AOD in the range 0.7–0.95 near the TPPs in transit measurements (similar to the peak of BC concentrations). Additionally, the Angstrom exponent was found to be in the range 0.4–1.0 (maximum in the morning time) and highest in the proximity of TPPs (~1.0), suggesting abundance of fine particulates, whereas there was low Angstrom exponent over the surrounding coal mining areas. Low Angstrom exponent is characterized by dust from the unpaved roads and nearby coal mining areas. MODIS derived daily AOD shows a good match with the MICROTOPS AOD. The CALIPSO derived subtypes of the aerosol plot shows that the aerosols over Singrauli region are mainly dust, polluted dust, and elevated smoke. The preliminary study for few days provides information about the BC concentrations and aerosol optical properties from Singrauli (one of the NO2 hotspot locations in India). This preliminary study suggests that long-term continuous monitoring of BC is needed to understand the BC concentrations and aerosol optical properties for better quantification and the estimation of the emission to evaluate radiative forcing in the region.