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The INGV is the operational center for earthquake monitoring in Italy, it operates the Italian National Seismic Network and other networks at different scales and is a primary node of EIDA for archiving and distributing seismic recordings. INGV provides earthquake information to the Department of Civil Protection and to the public.In the frame of the FOCUS (Fiber Optic Cable Use for seafloor studies of earthquake hazard and deformation) project, we deployed a temporary seismic network, FXLand (1J), for a passive seismological experiment to record regional seismicity and teleseismic events. This experiment aims to improve the detection of seismicity; the accuracy of earthquake locations, and to define the crustal structure of the region. The FXLand network (https://doi.org/10.13127/SD/O5QWM6WJCD) is integrated in real-time into the INGV surveillance system. In the deployment period 23rd December 2021- 2nd February 2023, 1186 regional events were located and 153 6+ teleseismic earthquakes occurred (terremoti.ingv.it). We present the analysis of three seismic sequences: one starting on December 23rd 2021 with a magnitude 4.3 near Catania lasting about ten days, one occurred in the Messina Strait on May31st June 1st 2022, the third one in the Ionian Sea from February to April 2022. We applied a template matching technique which doubled the number of detected events in the first two sequences; for the seismicity in the Ionian Sea, to improve detection and locations we are awaiting the data from the FXOBS (XH), a network of broadband and short period OBSs deployed in the Ionian Sea., The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard and Risk Analysis (PTHA/PTRA) has its roots in the corresponding probabilistic approaches in the seismic sciences. However, there are several substantial differences in the cascading source and effect modeling chain, necessitating for complex workflows, involving still larger gaps in data and knowledge, and requiring different approaches in dealing with uncertainties.The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action AGITHAR (Accelerating Global Science in Probabilistic Hazard and Risk Analysis) has run for four years and has since then gathered parts of the scientific community around PTHA/PTRA and made some substantial progress in communicating and unifying the underlying concepts. Additionally, the effort has allowed the European tsunami community to coordinate a number of new research efforts and infrastrucutral developments, which are of benefit for the global science in PTHA/PTRA.In this presentation we will outline the results of AGITHAR's major deliverables, a compilation of research gaps in PTHA/PTRA and uncertainty communication, findings in interdisciplinary tsunami research cooperation, and a collection of current practices in PTHA/PTRA. Ideas and opportunities of sustaining AGITHAR's output into the future will be given., The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

In both the Upper Green River Basin (UGRB) of Wyoming and the Uintah Basin of Utah, strong wintertime ozone (O3) formation episodes leading to O3 concentrations exceeding the 8-hour O3 NAAQS (70 ppb) have been observed over the last two decades. Wintertime O3 events in the UGRB were first observed in 2005 and since then have continued to be observed intermittently when meteorological conditions are favorable, despite significant efforts to reduce emissions. While O3 formation has been successfully simulated using observed volatile organic compound (VOC) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) concentrations, successful simulation of these wintertime episodes using emission inventories in a 3-D photochemical model has remained elusive. An accurate 3-D photochemical model driven by an emission inventory is critical to understand which emission sources have the most impact on O3 formation. In the winter of 2016–2017 (December 2016–March 2017) several high O3 events were recorded with concentrations exceeding 70 ppb. This study uses the Weather Research Forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-Chem) to simulate one of the high O3 events observed in the UGRB during March of 2017. The WRF-Chem simulations were carried out using the 2014 edition of the Environmental Protection Agency National Emissions Inventory (EPA-NEI 2014v2), which includes estimates of emissions from non-point oil and gas production sources. Simulations were carried out with two different chemical mechanisms: the Model for Ozone and Related Chemical Tracers (MOZART) and the Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM), and the results were compared with the observed data from 7 weather and air quality monitoring stations in the UGRB operated by Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WYDEQ). The simulated meteorology compared favorably to observations in terms of predicting temperature inversions and surface temperature and wind speeds. Notably, because of snow cover present in the basin, the photolysis surface albedo was modified in all simulations. Without this modification, none of the simulations formed O3 exceeding 70 ppb, though the models were relatively insensitive to the exact photolysis albedo if it was over 0.65. The MOZART simulation produced more O3 in the basin than the RACM simulation and compares better with the observations. However, while O3 precursors NOX and NMHC are predicted similarly in simulations with both chemistry mechanisms, simulated NMHC mixing ratios are a factor of six lower than the observations, while NOX mixing ratios are also underpredicted but are much closer to the observations within the region of oil and gas production. The results show that both the RACM and MOZART chemical mechanisms were able to produce O3 even though the NMHC mixing ratios in the model were a factor of six too low, an intriguing result for future studies.

FOREWORD This document provides a framework to improve the quality of care provided at the primary care level. This is an initiative to introduce and improve the standard of care in accordance with the National Development Program and Strategic Plan for Gauteng Health. This guideline will be made available in the emergency rooms of all primary care facilities. Select algorithms found in this document will be posted on the emergency room walls. This guideline will be coupled with an online learning platform on the Department of Family Medicine Wits Ulwazi site (currently under development) that will elaborate and clarify on the concepts within this document. These guidelines have followed an Ideal Clinics approach. Not all equipment will be available at each facility to attain these standards. However, clinicians should report any challenges, shortages and report to the author of this document as we look to address shortcomings throughout the district:Shane Murphy;A0058270@wits.ac.za The list of guidelines will be expanded as more content is compiled. As we proceed, we will use these guidelines as a framework for monitoring and evaluation. Issues of patient transfer and referral to higher levels of care will be done in accordance with the Gauteng Department of Health Referral Policy.

Sexual conflict arises in biparental species because of the fitness payoffs of shifting the costs of care onto their partner. The negotiation model asserts that parents actively monitor their partner’s level of investment and adjust their own in response generally resulting in partial compensation when a member of the pair reduces their level of investment. The willingness of one parent to compensate for the other’s change is found to be widely variable. Habitat or resource quality available to pairs may explain such variation. It is predicted that the level of compensation by one partner will increase with decreasing resource quality. I tested this prediction with the biparental burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis. Under natural conditions, burying beetles apply costly social immune molecules to carcasses of small vertebrates to preserve nutritional value for young. The goals of this research were (1) to determine if males immunologically compensate when females are immunologically handicapped; and (2) determine the impact of resource quality on compensation. Changes in lysozyme-like-activity (LLA) and phenoloxidase (PO) production in oral and anal secretions were used to quantify social immune investment. Pairs were provided a mouse carcass of one of three qualities: freshly thawed, aged for 3 days, or aged for 7 days. As expected, female LLA decreased once injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) irrespective of carcass quality. Injections caused significant down regulation of oral PO in females. Male LLA increased as the quality of carcasses decreased when paired with handicapped females. Males showed no changes in PO across treatments or carcass types. My results demonstrate that males compensate for a change in maternal investment and the level of compensation increases as resource quality decreases.

Recent tsunami disasters revealed severe gaps between the anticipated level of hazard and the true extent of the event, with resulting loss of life and property. The severe consequences were underestimated in part due to the lack of rigorous and accepted hazard analysis methods and large uncertainty in forecasting the tsunami source mechanism and strength. Uncertainty and underestimation of the hazard and risk resulted in insufficient preparedness measures. While there is no absolute protection against disasters of the scale of mega tsunamis, a more accurate analysis of the potential risk can help to minimize losses from tsunami. After the major events in 2004 and 2011 many new initiatives originated novel methods for tsunami hazard and risk analysis. However, rigorous performance assessment and evaluation – with respect to guiding principles in tsunami hazard and risk analysis – has not been conducted. In particular, comprehensive uncertainty assessments and related standards are required in order to implement more robust and reliable hazard analysis strategies and, ultimately, better mitigate tsunami impact. This is the core challenge of the proposed COST Action Accelerating Global science In Tsunami HAzard and Risk analysis (AGITHAR). In our presentation we will demonstrate first results of the Action, assessing research gaps, open questions, and a very coarse roadmap for future research., peer-reviewed

Thermal dewetting of silver thin flm can lead to SERS-active Ag nanoparticles. Here, we report our progress towards using scanning probe energy loss spectroscopy (SPELS) to map the plasmonic behaviour of SERS-active Ag nanoparticles (NP) by investigating NPs produced through the dewetting study of Ag thin flms on SiO2/Si and Ti/SiO2/Si substrates. The nanoparticles size and spatial distribution were controlled by the deposition and thermal annealing parameters. The results of preliminary SPELS measurements of these structures, alongside SERS data show that there is a correlation between the Raman enhancement and the nanoparticle size and interparticle spacing.

Laser reflectometry (BOTDR), commonly used for structural health monitoring (bridges, dams, etc.), will for the first time be applied to study movements of an active fault on the seafloor, 25 km offshore Catania Sicily (an urban area of 1 million people). This technique can measure and locate micro-strains (< 1 mm) across very large distances (10 - 200 km). The goal of the European funded FOCUS project (ERC Advanced Grant) is to connect a dedicated 6-km long strain cable to the EMSO (European Multidisciplinary water-column and Seafloor Observatory) seafloor observatory in 2100 m water depth. Here, in May 2017, between the onshore fault system on the SE flank of Mount Etna and the deeper offshore Alfeo fault system, 4 cm of dextral strike-slip movement was documented as a slow slip event by seafloor acoustic ranging. For the planned seafloor operations, a detailed site survey of the seafloor will first be performed to determine the best path for deployment of the new strain cable. The next step will be to connect this 6-km long fiber optic cable to the EMSO station TSS (Test Site South) using a deep-water cable-laying system with an integrated plow to bury the cable 20 cm in the soft sediments in order to increase coupling between the cable and the seafloor. The targeted track for the cable will cross the North Alfeo Fault at three locations. Laser reflectometry measurements will be calibrated by a three-year deployment of seafloor geodetic instruments to quantify relative displacement across the fault. During the implementation of the laser reflectometry, a passive seismological experiment is planned to record regional seismicity. This will involve deployment of a temporary network of OBS (Ocean Bottom Seismometers) on the seafloor and seismic stations on land, supplemented by INGV permanent land stations. The simultaneous use of laser reflectometry, seafloor geodetic stations as well as seismological land and sea stations will provide an integrated system for monitoring a wide range of types of slipping events along the North Alfeo Fault. A long-term goal is the development of dual-use telecom cables with industry partners.

VOCs related to oil and gas extraction operations in the United States were measured by H3O+ chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (H3O+ ToF-CIMS/PTR-ToF-MS) from aircraft during the Shale Oil and Natural Gas Nexus (SONGNEX) campaign in March–April 2015. This work presents an overview of major VOC species measured in nine oil- and gas-producing regions, and a more detailed analysis of H3O+ ToF-CIMS measurements in the Permian Basin within Texas and New Mexico. Mass spectra are dominated by small photochemically produced oxygenates and compounds typically found in crude oil: aromatics, cyclic alkanes, and alkanes. Mixing ratios of aromatics were frequently as high as those measured downwind of large urban areas. In the Permian, the H3O+ ToF-CIMS measured a number of underexplored or previously unreported species, including aromatic and cycloalkane oxidation products, nitrogen heterocycles including pyrrole (C4H5N) and pyrroline (C4H7N), H2S, and a diamondoid (adamantane) or unusual monoterpene. We additionally assess the specificity of a number of ion masses resulting from H3O+ ion chemistry previously reported in the literature, including several new or alternate interpretations.

La rete sismica temporanea installata dal gruppo operativo INGV SISMIKO a seguito del terremoto del 24 agosto 2016 tra i Monti della Laga e la Valnerina, è stata ampliata nel settore settentrionale a seguito dei forti terremoti avvenuti alla fine del mese di ottobre 2016. Successivamente alle due scosse di Mw 5.4 e 5.9 che il 26 ottobre hanno interessato l’area al confine Marche-Umbria tra i Comuni di Castelsantangelo sul Nera (MC), Norcia (PG) e Arquata del Tronto (AP), la geometria della rete è stata estesa di circa 25 km verso nord con l’attivazione di ulteriori tre stazioni temporanee di cui una, da subito, disposta per la trasmissione dei dati in tempo reale e per l’inserimento nel sistema di sorveglianza sismica dell’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). Un’ultima stazione è stata inoltre installata nei pressi di Campello del Clitunno in provincia di Perugia ad ovest della sequenza, a seguito del terremoto Mw 6.5 che la mattina del 30 ottobre ha interessato l’intera area già fortemente provata dalla sequenza in corso; questo è stato il più forte terremoto registrato negli ultimi 30 in Italia. A circa 5 mesi dall’inizio dell’emergenza sismica, la rete temporanea conta quindi 23 stazioni che da metà dicembre sono tutte trasmesse in tempo reale ai diversi centri di acquisizione INGV, ovvero Milano, Ancona e Grottaminarda ma soprattutto Roma dove i dati vengono contestualmente archiviati nell’European Integrated Data Archive (EIDA) e integrati nel sistema di monitoraggio e sorveglianza sismica dell’INGV; per la sorveglianza sono incluse solo parte delle stazioni. Nelle ultime settimane, le attività di campagna del gruppo operativo SISMIKO sono state costantemente focalizzate alla cura e alla manutenzione della strumentazione per garantire la continuità della trasmissione e dell’acquisizione dei dati, a volte compromesse da malfunzionamenti legati al maltempo. Alla data di aggiornamento del presente report, non è ancora stata decretata una dismissione o una rimodulazione della geometria della rete sismica temporanea, anche in considerazione della attività sismica in corso a tutt’oggi molto sostenuta. Tutti i dati acquisiti dalle stazioni temporanee SISMIKO, sono distribuiti senza alcun vincolo, al pari dei dati della Rete Sismica Nazionale (RSN, codice di rete IV), ed utilizzati per prodotti scientifici in tempo reale (localizzazioni di sala, calcolo dei Time Domain Moment Tensor -TDMT delle ShakeMaps, ecc) e per l’aggiornamento dei database dell’INGV come l’Italian Seismological Instrumental and Parametric Database (ISIDe) con la revisione del Bollettino Sismico Italiano (BSI), dell’INGV Strong Motion Data (ISMD) e dell’ITalian ACcelerometric Archive (ITACA), dell’European-Mediterranean Regional Centroid Moment Tensors (RCMT) e nei lavori scientifici che utilizzano forme d’onda velocimetriche ed accelerometriche (ri-localizzazioni, studi della sorgente sismica ecc.).

This thesis consists of three essays on hospital quality of inpatient care for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the United States. First, it explores issues in the measurement of quality, particularly through the estimation of risk-adjusted mortality rates (RAMRs) for hospitals. This work then examines the relationship between hospital quality for AMI patients and the volume of AMI patients. Chapter 2 proposes using machine-learning techniques, particularly random forests, for risk adjustment of patient severity to predict patient mortality. This work shows that these methods greatly outperform other commonly-used methods in precision of patient risk estimates and also that a facility’s estimated RAMR is sensitive to the underlying patient risk-adjustment model. Chapter 3 asks whether a model which aggregates patient mortality risk for AMI patients matters when estimating RAMRs. To do this, it creates a simulation based on realistic assumptions about how patient case mix can vary by hospital quality and how hospital quality can vary by hospital volume. Because different methods of estimating patient mortality risk have different degrees of precision, the simulation considers variation in this precision and further allows precision to vary by hospital. Again, the ranking of hospitals is sensitive to the method used and this paper finds that common methods are not preferred in many important contexts. Both of the first two chapters pay particular importance to applications of their results to pay-for-performance schemes. Chapter 4 examines the relationship between quality, measured by RAMR, and volume in hospital health provision for AMI inpatients. The main contribution of the paper is estimate the causal effect of volume on quality. To do this, it uses a novel instrument, the volume of shock and of trauma patients. Previous work has found mixed results and has primarily used the volume of patients with the same condition within a certain radius of the hospital as an instrument for volume within the hospital. This paper argues that this instrument has a number of shortcomings that its instrument does not. This paper tests various specifications used in other work and finds robust results for its conclusion.

Sintesi delle attività svolte dal coordinamento delle reti sismiche mobili INGV in emergenza, denominato SISMIKO, nel primo mese della sequenza sismica “Amatrice” seguita al terremoto di Mw 6.0 del 24 agosto 2016 (01:36 UTC). Descrizione della rete sismica implementata e prime analisi dei dati acquisiti. Report on the activities in the first month of emergency by coordination of mobile seismic networks INGV emergency, called SISMIKO, after the Mw 6.0 Amatrice earthquake (August 24th, 2016, central italy). Description of the temporary seismic network implemented and preliminary analysis of the acquired data.

Airborne measurements in regions of varying meteorology and pollution are used to quantify the contribution of organic acids and a mass spectral marker for oxygenated aerosols, m/z 44, to the total organic aerosol budget. Organic acids and m/z 44 separately are shown to exhibit their highest organic mass fractions in the vicinity of clouds. The contribution of such oxygenated species is shown to increase as a function of relative humidity, aerosol hygroscopicity (and decreasing organic mass fraction), and is typically greater off the California coast versus the continental atmospheres studied. Reasons include more efficient chemistry and partitioning of organic acid precursors with increasing water in the reaction medium, and high aqueous-phase processing times in boundary layers with higher cloud volume fractions. These results highlight the importance of secondary organic aerosol formation in both wet aerosols and cloud droplets.

For Publication in Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres TexAQS/GoMACCS special issue In-situ Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) measurements were obtained in the boundary layer over Houston, TX during the 2006 Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS) campaign onboard the CIRPAS Twin Otter. Polluted air masses in and out of cloudy regions were sampled for a total of 22 flights, with CCN measurements obtained for 17 of these flights. In this paper, we focus on CCN closure during two flights, within and downwind of the Houston regional plume and over the Houston Ship Channel. During both flights, air was sampled with particle concentrations exceeding 25,000 cm-3 and CCN concentrations exceeding 10,000 cm-3. CCN closure was evaluated by comparing measured CCN concentrations with those predicted on the basis of measured aerosol size distributions and Aerosol Mass Spectrometer particle composition. Different assumptions concerning the internally mixed chemical composition result in average CCN overprediction ranging from 3% to 36% (based on a linear fit). It is hypothesized that the externally-mixed fraction of the aerosol contributes much of the CCN closure scatter, while the internally-mixed fraction largely controls the overprediction bias. Finally, based on the droplet sizes of activated CCN, organics do not seem to impact, on average, the CCN activation kinetics. We acknowledge support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under contracts NA05OAR4310101 and NA06OAR4310082, the support of an NSF CAREER grant, and the Office of Naval Research. SL would like to acknowledge the support of a Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Presidential Fellowship and a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Advanced Study Program (ASP) Graduate Fellowship.

This thesis presents results demonstrating the use of particulate composition measurements to determine the mechanisms of aerosol formation in both chamber and field studies. Aerosol composition measurements are also used to theoretically estimate the water-uptake behavior and ability to nucleate cloud droplets of atmospheric aerosol; these estimates are compared with in-situ airborne measurements. Common to all studies presented is the use of online aerosol mass spectrometry, a technique with high time resolution and minimal artifacts. Chemical mechanisms involved in particle formation from the photooxidation of isoprene were explored in chamber studies using both online and offline mass spectrometry. The yield of aerosol and the nature of oliogmers formed was found to depend on the NOx concentration. Peroxides were found to be important under low-NOx conditions while under high-NOx conditions the majority of the particulate mass was found to derive from reaction products of methacrolein. Particle formation from photooxidation of aliphatic amines was shown to be a feasible route of secondary organic aerosol formation in the atmosphere. Chamber studies at low relative humidity demonstrated that particle formation is primarily the result of acid-base reactions between amines and nitric or sulfuric acid, though diverse oxidized organic compounds are also formed. Thermodynamic calculations show that certain amines can compete with ammonia to form aminium salts at atmospherically relevant concentrations. An airborne field study near a major bovine source in the San Joaquin Valley, CA gave evidence of particulate amine formation in the atmosphere. The composition of particulate emissions from ships was studied during a joint shipboard and airborne field project in the Eastern Pacific. Particulate emissions were found to contain significantly higher levels of organic material than accounted for in current inventories. Observed hydrophobic organic material is concentrated in smaller particles and acts to suppress hygroscopic growth and activity of ship-exhaust particles as cloud condensation nuclei. Ongoing research involves quantifying the impact of reactions within cloud droplets on the organic composition of aerosols. A recently completed field campaign investigated the role of particle chemistry in determining if aerosols can act as ice crystal nuclei.

Oxalic acid is often the leading contributor to the total dicarboxylic acid mass in ambient organic aerosol particles. During the 2004 International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) field campaign, nine inorganic ions (including SO_4^(2−)) and five organic acid ions (including oxalate) were measured on board the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter research aircraft by a particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) during flights over Ohio and surrounding areas. Five local atmospheric conditions were studied: (1) cloud-free air, (2) power plant plume in cloud-free air with precipitation from scattered clouds overhead, (3) power plant plume in cloud-free air, (4) power plant plume in cloud, and (5) clouds uninfluenced by local pollution sources. The aircraft sampled from two inlets: a counterflow virtual impactor (CVI) to isolate droplet residuals in clouds and a second inlet for sampling total aerosol. A strong correlation was observed between oxalate and SO_4^(2−) when sampling through both inlets in clouds. Predictions from a chemical cloud parcel model considering the aqueous-phase production of dicarboxylic acids and SO_4^(2−) show good agreement for the relative magnitude of SO_4^(2−) and oxalate growth for two scenarios: power plant plume in clouds and clouds uninfluenced by local pollution sources. The relative contributions of the two aqueous-phase routes responsible for oxalic acid formation were examined; the oxidation of glyoxylic acid was predicted to dominate over the decay of longer-chain dicarboxylic acids. Clear evidence is presented for aqueous-phase oxalic acid production as the primary mechanism for oxalic acid formation in ambient aerosols.

The oxidation of isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) is known to play a central role in the photochemistry of the troposphere, but is generally not considered to lead to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), due to the relatively high volatility of known reaction products. However, in the chamber studies described here, we measure SOA production from isoprene photooxidation under high-NO_x conditions, at significantly lower isoprene concentrations than had been observed previously. Mass yields are low (0.9–3.0%), but because of large emissions, isoprene photooxidation may still contribute substantially to global SOA production. Results from photooxidation experiments of compounds structurally similar to isoprene (1,3-butadiene and 2- and 3-methyl-1-butene) suggest that SOA formation from isoprene oxidation proceeds from the further reaction of first-generation oxidation products (i.e., the oxidative attack of both double bonds). The gas-phase chemistry of such oxidation products is in general poorly characterized and warrants further study.

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake produced an unexpected large amount of shallow slip greatly contributing to the ensuing tsunami. How frequent are such events? How can they be efficiently modelled for tsunami hazard? Stochastic slip models, which can be computed rapidly, are used to explore the natural slip variability; however, they generally do not deal specifically with shallow slip features. We study the systematic depth-dependence of slip along a thrust fault with a number of 2D dynamic simulations using stochastic shear stress distributions and a geometry based on the cross section of the Tohoku fault. We obtain a probability density for the slip distribution, which varies both with depth, earthquake size and whether the rupture breaks the surface. We propose a method to modify stochastic slip distributions according to this dynamically-derived probability distribution. This method may be efficiently applied to produce large numbers of heterogeneous slip distributions for probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis. Using numerous M9 earthquake scenarios, we demonstrate that incorporating the dynamically-derived probability distribution does enhance the conditional probability of exceedance of maximum estimated tsunami wave heights along the Japanese coast. This technique for integrating dynamic features in stochastic models can be extended to any subduction zone and faulting style., Scientific Reports, 6, ISSN:2045-2322

This study analyzes 27 cumuliform and stratiform clouds sampled aboard the CIRPAS Twin Otter during the 2004 International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) experiment. The data set was used to assess cloud droplet closure using (1) a detailed adiabatic cloud parcel model and (2) a state-of-the-art cloud droplet activation parameterization. A unique feature of the data set is the sampling of highly polluted clouds within the vicinity of power plant plumes. Remarkable closure was achieved (much less than the 20% measurement uncertainty) for both parcel model and parameterization. The highly variable aerosol did not complicate the cloud droplet closure, since the clouds had low maximum supersaturation and were not sensitive to aerosol variations (which took place at small particle sizes). The error in predicted cloud droplet concentration was mostly sensitive to updraft velocity. Optimal closure is obtained if the water vapor uptake coefficient is equal to 0.06, but can range between 0.03 and 1.0. The sensitivity of cloud droplet prediction error to changes in the uptake coefficient, organic solubility and surface tension depression suggest that organics exhibit limited solubility. These findings can serve as much needed constraints in modeling of aerosol-cloud interactions in the North America; future in situ studies will determine the robustness of our findings. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Perfectionism is a personality disposition related to individual differences in performance in sport, school, and other areas of life where performance, tests, and competition play a major role. This chapter discusses the importance of differentiating two main dimensions of perfectionism—perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns—when examining the relationships between perfectionism and performance in sport, education, music competitions, aptitude tests, and laboratory tasks. The chapter presents studies showing that perfectionistic strivings are positively associated with performance and predict higher performance beyond people's general aptitude and previous performance level. In contrast, perfectionistic concerns are not consistently negatively associated with performance. To conclude the chapter, implications for applied psychology are discussed, as are open questions for future research regarding issues such as the development of perfectionism, performance and efficiency, and gender differences.