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.

Population-specificity of sexual dimorphism in cranial and pelvic traits: evaluation of existing and proposal of new functions for sex assessment in a Greek assemblage.

Abstract: The current paper examines the accuracy of existing binary logistic regression equations for sex prediction based on pelvic and cranial traits in a modern Greek assemblage and proposes new equations with the aim of improving correct classification rates for Balkan material. Our results suggest that existing equations based on pelvic traits perform very well on the Greek material, which can be attributed to the fact that sexual dimorphism in the pelvis results from common evolutionary forces across populations. In contrast, equations based on cranial traits are highly dependent upon the populations based on which they were developed, stressing the need to produce more population-specific functions. Our proposed equations achieve correct sex classification in 92.59% of the females and 95.79% of the males for pelvic traits, while these percentages rise to 97.53% for females and 98.95% for males when the vertical femoral head diameter is included in the models. Our functions based on cranial traits produced correct classifications in up to 92.59% of females and 88.42% of males, and when the cranial scores where combined with the vertical femoral head diameter, the correct classification rates increased to 93.83% for females and 94.73% for males. Prior to the generalization of the use of these functions, further research examining their accuracy in other groups is required, but our results appear promising.

Determination of gaseous and particulate emission factors from road transport in a Middle Eastern capital

Abstract: Road transport is a major source of anthropogenic emissions especially in the Middle East where the regulations enforcement is generally poor. This study aims to quantify the Emission Factors (EF) of traffic-related gaseous and particulate pollutants inside the Salim Slam urban tunnel in Beirut, Lebanon. The fuel-based emission factors of measured pollutants were from the carbon mass balance model. The EF determined showed general higher values than those reported in recent studies from European and American countries, even for speciated NMVOC. The average CO and NOx emission factors for the mixed fleet (HDV + LDV) were determined to be 10.52 ± 3.00 g km−1 and 2.20 ± 0.57 g km−1 respectively, while the EF for PM2.5 55 ± 27 mg km−1. Moreover, IVOC species from gaseous phase were reported for the first time in the region. A reduction trend was observed in comparison with the previous tunnel study from Lebanon, however there is still a need to have tougher regulations to control the local practices such as removal of catalytic converter, adjustment of engine parameters for inspection, etc. The comparison of the EF to those calculated through EMEP or IPCC methodologies shows the need to take local practices while establishing national emission inventories.

A Methodology to Infer Crop Yield Response to Climate Variability and Change Using Long-Term Observations

Abstract: A new methodology to extract crop yield response to climate variability and change from long-term crop yield observations is presented in this study. In contrast to the existing first-difference approach (FDA), the proposed methodology considers that the difference in value between crop yields of two consecutive years reflects necessarily the contributions of climate and management conditions, especially at large spatial scales where both conditions may vary significantly from one year to the next. Our approach was applied to remove the effect of non-climatic factors on crop yield and, hence, to isolate the effect of the observed climate change between 1961 and 2006 on three widely crops grown in three Mediterranean countries—namely wheat, corn and potato—using national-level crop yield observations’ time-series. Obtained results show that the proposed methodology provides us with a ground basis to improve substantially our understanding of crop yield response to climate change at a scale that is relevant to large-scale estimations of agricultural production and to food security analyses; and therefore to reduce uncertainties in estimations of potential climate change effects on agricultural production. Furthermore, a comparison of outputs of our methodology and FDA outputs yielded a difference in terms of maize production in Egypt, for example, that exceeds the production of some neighbouring countries.

Cooling Degree Models and Future Energy Demand in the Residential Sector. A Seven-Country Case Study

Abstract: The intensity and duration of hot weather and the number of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, are increasing, leading to a growing need for space cooling energy demand. Together with the building stock’s low energy performance, this phenomenon may also increase households’ energy consumption. On the other hand, the low level of ownership of cooling equipment can cause low energy consumption, leading to a lack of indoor thermal comfort and several health-related problems, yet increasing the risk of energy poverty in summer. Understanding future temperature variations and the associated impacts on building cooling demand will allow mitigating future issues related to a warmer climate. In this respect, this paper analyses the effects of change in temperatures in the residential sector cooling demand in 2050 for a case study of nineteen cities across seven countries: Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Israel, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain, by estimating cooling degree days and hours (CDD and CDH). CDD and CDH are calculated using both fixed and adaptive thermal comfort temperature thresholds for 2020 and 2050, understanding their strengths and weaknesses to assess the effects of warmer temperatures. Results suggest a noticeable average increase in CDD and CDH values, up to double, by using both thresholds for 2050, with a particular interest in northern countries where structural modifications in the building stock and occupants’ behavior should be anticipated. Furthermore, the use of the adaptive thermal comfort threshold shows that the projected temperature increases for 2050 might affect people’s capability to adapt their comfort band (i.e., indoor habitability) as temperatures would be higher than the maximum admissible values for people’s comfort and health.