The Cyprus Institute

About: The Cyprus Institute is a other organization based out in Nicosia, Cyprus. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Aerosol & Environmental science. The organization has 418 authors who have published 1252 publications receiving 32586 citations.

Rethinking the virtual museum

Abstract: The paper summarizes initial, theoretical work carried out by V-Must, a Network of Excellence [1], funded by the European Commission in its efforts to rethink the concept of virtual museums (VM), in light of developing emerging digital technologies. The Network has been active in identifying, and mapping the tools and services that define and support VMs in the heritage sector. Drawing on a series of reports and publications prepared by the Network1, the paper reflects on the VM from several perspectives.

Gauge-invariant renormalization scheme in QCD: Application to fermion bilinears and the energy-momentum tensor

Abstract: We consider a gauge-invariant, mass-independent prescription for renormalizing composite operators, regularized on the lattice, in the spirit of the coordinate space (X-space) renormalization scheme The prescription involves only Green's functions of products of gauge-invariant operators, situated at distinct spacetime points, in a way as to avoid potential contact singularities Such Green's functions can be computed nonperturbatively in numerical simulations, with no need to fix a gauge; thus, renormalization to this ``intermediate'' scheme can be carried out in a completely nonperturbative manner Expressing renormalized operators in the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme requires the calculation of corresponding conversion factors The latter can only be computed in perturbation theory, by the very nature of $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$; however, the computations are greatly simplified by virtue of the following attributes: (i) In the absence of operator mixing, they involve only massless, two-point functions; such quantities are calculable to very high perturbative order (ii) They are gauge invariant; thus, they may be computed in a convenient gauge (or in a general gauge, to verify that the result is gauge independent) (iii) Where operator mixing may occur, only gauge-invariant operators will appear in the mixing pattern: unlike other schemes, involving mixing with gauge-variant operators (which may contain ghost fields), the mixing matrices in the present scheme are greatly reduced; still, computation of some three-point functions may not be altogether avoidable We exemplify the procedure by computing, to lowest order, the conversion factors for fermion bilinear operators of the form $\overline{\ensuremath{\psi}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}\ensuremath{\psi}$ in QCD We also employ the gauge-invariant scheme in the study of mixing between gluon and quark energy-momentum tensor operators: we compute to one loop the conversion factors relating the nonperturbative mixing matrix to the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme

Six-year source apportionment of submicron organic aerosols from near-continuous measurements at SIRTA (Paris area, France)

Abstract: . Organic aerosol (OA) particles are recognized as key factors influencing air quality and climate change. However, highly-time resolved year-round characterizations of their composition and sources in ambient air are still very limited due to challenging continuous observations. Here, we present an analysis of long-term variability of submicron OA using the combination of Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and multi-wavelength aethalometer from November 2011 to March 2018 at a background site of the Paris region (France). Source apportionment of OA was achieved via partially constrained positive matrix factorization (PMF) using the multilinear engine (ME-2). Two primary OA (POA) and two oxygenated OA (OOA) factors were identified and quantified over the entire studied period. POA factors were designated as hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) and biomass burning OA (BBOA). The latter factor presented a significant seasonality with higher concentrations in winter with significant monthly contributions to OA (18–33 %) due to enhanced residential wood burning emissions. HOA mainly originated from traffic emissions but was also influenced by biomass burning in cold periods. OOA factors were distinguished between their less- and more-oxidized fractions (LO-OOA and MO-OOA, respectively). These factors presented distinct seasonal patterns, associated with different atmospheric formation pathways. A pronounced increase of LO-OOA concentrations and contributions (50–66 %) was observed in summer, which may be mainly explained by secondary OA (SOA) formation processes involving biogenic gaseous precursors. Conversely high concentrations and OA contributions (32–62 %) of MO-OOA during winter and spring seasons were partly associated with anthropogenic emissions and/or long-range transport from northeastern Europe. The contribution of the different OA factors as a function of OA mass loading highlighted the dominant roles of POA during pollution episodes in fall and winter, and of SOA for highest springtime and summertime OA concentrations. Finally, long-term trend analyses indicated a decreasing feature (of about 200 ng m−3 yr−1) for MO-OOA, very limited or insignificant decreasing trends for primary anthropogenic carbonaceous aerosols (BBOA and HOA, along with the fossil fuel and biomass burning black carbon components), and no trend for LO-OOA over the 6+-year investigated period.

Identification of Three Novel Plasmodium Factors Involved in Ookinete to Oocyst Developmental Transition

Abstract: Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains a major cause of global morbidity and mortality, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. The numbers of new malaria cases and deaths have been stable in the last years despite intense efforts for disease elimination, highlighting the need for new approaches to stop disease transmission. Further understanding of the parasite transmission biology could provide a framework for the development of such approaches. We phenotypically and functionally characterized three novel genes, PIMMS01, PIMMS57, and PIMMS22, using targeted disruption of their orthologs in the rodent parasite Plasmodium berghei. PIMMS01 and PIMMS57 are specifically and highly expressed in ookinetes, while PIMMS22 transcription starts already in gametocytes and peaks in sporozoites. All three genes show strong phenotypes associated with the ookinete to oocyst transition, as their disruption leads to very low numbers of oocysts and complete abolishment of transmission. PIMMS22 has a secondary essential function in the oocyst. Our results enrich the molecular understanding of the parasite-vector interactions and identify PIMMS01, PIMMS57, and PIMMS22 as new targets of transmission blocking interventions.