Global Solar UV Index: Australian measurements, forecasts and comparison with the UK

The 2002 revision of the UV index (UVI) issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Meteorological Office (WMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) (World Health Organization [2002] Global Solar UV Index: A Practical Guide. WHO, Geneva) was motivated by the need to further standardize the use and presentation of the UVI. Awareness of the hazards of solar UV radiation (UVR) is generally high in Australia, but more effective use of the UVI will assist in promoting further changes to the population's sun exposure behavior. UVI levels for a number of cities around Australia as measured by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), covering the time period 1996-2000, are presented. Also shown are UVI forecasts from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). Agreement between the BOM data and the measurements varies depending on the location but is within 2 UVI units approximately 75% of the time. UVI levels are supplied to the media, and in summer values in excess of 12-14 are regularly recorded, although the more northerly locations occasionally reach 16 and 17. The factors affecting the solar UVR environment and the measured UVI are also discussed and compared against measurements from the UK.     

Comparison of the transfer and green matrix methods for the surface problem in periodic chains

For the first time, ab initio Hartree- Fock calculations for the end states of periodic chains are performed with the transfer matrix formalism. The applicability of the method is tested on semi-infinite Li-, LiH-, HF- and H₂O-chains. It is found that the numerical applications of the transfer matrix method in its applied form on the ab initio level have some drawbacks due to the limited number of perturbed end cells which can be taken into account. The comparison with Green matrix (Koster-Slater) calculations shows that the transfer matrix method in its Hartree-Fock version is not faster; this is contrary to the results reported for tight binding model Hamiltonians.     

Measurements of the solar UVR protection provided by shade structures in New Zealand primary schools

To reduce ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure during childhood, shade structures are being erected in primary schools to provide areas where children can more safely undertake outdoor activities. This study to evaluate the effectiveness of existing and purpose built shade structures in providing solar UVR protection was carried out on 29 such structures in 10 schools in New Zealand. Measurements of the direct and scattered solar UVR doses within the central region of the shade structures were made during the school lunch break period using UVR-sensitive polysulfone film badges. These measurements indicate that many of the structures had UVR protection factors (PF) of 4-8, which was sufficient to provide protection during the school lunch hour. However, of the 29 structures examined, only six would meet the suggested requirements of UVR PF greater than 15 required to provide all-day protection.     

Estimation of the annual solar UVR exposure dose of infants and small children in tropical Queensland, Australia

The solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure of infants and small children was measured for 1 week using UVR-sensitive polysulfone film attached to the shoulder and chest of the subjects. For the infant study, shoulder and chest badges received similar exposures, while the 2 1/2-year-olds received higher exposures on the shoulder than on the chest. Also, the 2 1/2-year-olds generally received higher exposures than the infants. The median total daily exposures for both groups were 39 and 92 J/m2. The maximum total daily exposures measured were 640 J/m2 (chest) and 240 J/m2 (shoulder) for the infants and 2060 J/m2 (shoulder) and 840 J/m2 (chest) for the 2 1/2 year-olds. Using this exposure data, monthly and annual exposure doses were calculated for both groups and compared to similar data from the UK. The annual exposure dose for infants is 8.4 kJ/m2 or 84 standard erythemal dose (SED) for both shoulder and chest. The annual exposure dose for 2 1/2 year-old children is 39.4 kJ/m2 or 394 SED for the shoulder and 28.8 kJ/m2 or 288 SED for the chest. Apart from the generally higher annual exposure doses experienced by the infants and 2 1/2 year-old children in Townsville, the main difference to the UK is the almost nonexistent drop in monthly exposure doses between summer and winter in Townsville compared to the UK. In the UK, the winter-month exposure dose is only 0.5% of the summer-month dose. However, in Townsville it is around 40%.     

MALDI-TOF/TOF CID study of 4-alkyl-substituted polystyrene fragmentation reactions

MALDI-TOF/TOF CID experiments were conducted on a variety of hydrogen-terminated poly(4-methylstyrene), hydroxylated poly(t-butylstyrene), and polystyrene precursor ions: n = 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30, where the number of repeat units n corresponds to the oligomer mass number. The influences of structure, molecular weight, and effective collision kinetic energy on degradation mechanisms were examined to test the generality of our multi-chain fragmentation model developed for polystyrene. Each depolymerization mechanism is presented in detail with experimental and computational data to justify/rationalize its occurrence and effective kinetic energy dependence. These processes show the complex interrelationship between the various pathways along with preferred production of secondary radicals, which suppresses the appearance of primary radicals. Additionally, Py-GC/MS experimental data are presented, for comparison of the multimolecular free radical reactions in pyrolysis with the unimolecular fragmentation reactions of MS/MS. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A pilot study of the validity of self-reported ultraviolet radiation exposure and sun protection practices among lifeguards, parents and children

Outdoor recreation settings, such as swimming pools, provide a promising venue to assess UVR exposure and sun protection practices among individuals who are minimally clothed and exposed to potentially high levels of UVR. Most studies assessing sun exposure/protection practices rely on self-reported data, which are subject to bias. The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility of conducting a multimethod study to examine the validity of self-reported measures within a swimming pool setting. Data were collected from 27 lifeguards, children and parents in Hawaii. Each participant filled out a survey and a 4 day sun habits diary. On two occasions, researchers assessed observable sun protection behaviors (wearing hats, shirts, sunglasses), swabbed the skin to detect the presence of sunscreen, and subjects wore polysulphone dosimeters to measure UVR exposure. Overall, observed sun protection behaviors were more highly correlated with diary reports than with survey reports. While lifeguards and children reported spending comparable amounts of time in the sun, dosimeter measures showed that lifeguards received twice as much UVR exposure. This study demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a multimethod validity study within a broader population of swimming pools.     

Studies on clathrasils VIII. Nonasils-[4158], 88SiO2 · 8M8 · 8M9 · 4M20: Synthesis,thermal properties,and crystal structure

Nonasils-[4¹5⁸], 88SiO₂·8M⁸·8M⁹·4M²⁰, have been synthesized with 2-methylpyrrolidine, hexamethyleneimine, 2-(aminomethyl)-tetrahydrofuran, 1,2-diaminocyclohexane, 2-methylpiperidine, 2-methylpiperazine, 1-aminobutane, 2-aminobutane, and 2-aminopentane as guest molecules, M²⁰. The samples have been prepared from aqueous silicate solutions which were sealed in silica tubes and heated at about 200°C for several weeks. These clathrasils crystallize in space groupFmmm. For the nonasil with 2-aminopentane as the guest molecule and the unit cell dimensionsa _o=22.232(6) Å,b ₀=15.058(4) Å, andc _o=13.627(4) Å, the structure has been refined using 550 non-equivalent single crystal reflexions to a reliability factorR _w =0.125. The 3-dimensional 4-connected silica host framework has three types of cage-like voids, [5⁴6⁴], [4¹5⁸], and [5⁸6¹²], the latter housing the structure-controlling guest molecules, M²⁰. The non-spherical shape of the guest molecules is the most important factor for the formation of nonasils-[4¹5⁸]. On heating nonasils-[4¹5⁸] up to 950°C the organic guest species are driven out and the pure silica form of nonasil is obtained.Part of this study was presented at the 24th Jahrestagung der AGKr, Cologne, 1985 [1]. For part VII see [4].     

Comparing Handheld Meters and Electronic Dosimeters for Measuring Ultraviolet Levels under Shade and in the Sun

This study aimed to compare the validity, reliability and practicality of alternative portable methods for measuring erythemal UVR levels in passive recreation areas in public parks. UVR levels were measured for point in time comparisons between Solarmeter 6.5 handheld meters and time‐stamped electronic dosimeters in a large central park in Melbourne, Australia. Observations were made at 20 locations in the park by two research assistants under two conditions: (1) matched shade (2) contrasting shade—no shade. Comparisons were also made with scientific instruments on the UVR monitoring station rooftop and by remotely selecting UV records and forecasts on cloud‐free dates of park observations. There was good agreement between the portable UVR instruments in the park setting as confirmed via Bland Altman plots, while the dosimeter appeared less sensitive to change in shade conditions. The rooftop measurements showed that the Solarmeter 6.5 UVR readings were comparable to those of the adjacent rooftop instruments. The practicalities of using the dosimeters and Solarmeters for behavioral studies are discussed. These findings provide a basis for use of the Solarmeter 6.5 to measure changes in UVR levels due to different environmental conditions with relative accuracy for intervention studies in outdoor settings.     

On the nature of the phase transition in <Emphasis Type="Italic">SU</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>), <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sp</Emphasis>(2) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>(7) Yang–Mills theory

We study the nature of the confinement phase transition in d=3+1 dimensions in various non-abelian gauge theories with the approach put forward in Phys. Lett. B 684, 262 (2010). We compute an order-parameter potential associated with the Polyakov loop from the knowledge of full 2-point correlation functions. For SU(N) with N=3,…,12 and Sp(2) we find a first-order phase transition in agreement with general expectations. Moreover our study suggests that the phase transition in E(7) Yang–Mills theory also is of first order. We find that it is weaker than for SU(N). We show that this can be understood in terms of the eigenvalue distribution of the order parameter potential close to the phase transition.