University of Reading

About: University of Reading is a education organization based out in Reading, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 18728 authors who have published 46707 publications receiving 1758671 citations. The organization is also known as: University College, Reading.

Uncertainty estimates in regional and global observed temperature changes: A new data set from 1850

Abstract: [1] The historical surface temperature data set HadCRUT provides a record of surface temperature trends and variability since 1850. A new version of this data set, HadCRUT3, has been produced, benefiting from recent improvements to the sea surface temperature data set which forms its marine component, and from improvements to the station records which provide the land data. A comprehensive set of uncertainty estimates has been derived to accompany the data: Estimates of measurement and sampling error, temperature bias effects, and the effect of limited observational coverage on large-scale averages have all been made. Since the mid twentieth century the uncertainties in global and hemispheric mean temperatures are small, and the temperature increase greatly exceeds its uncertainty. In earlier periods the uncertainties are larger, but the temperature increase over the twentieth century is still significantly larger than its uncertainty.

Acrylamide is formed in the Maillard reaction

Abstract: Reports of the presence of acrylamide in a range of fried and oven-cooked foods have caused worldwide concern because this compound has been classified as probably carcinogenic in humans. Here we show how acrylamide can be generated from food components during heat treatment as a result of the Maillard reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars. We find that asparagine, a major amino acid in potatoes and cereals, is a crucial participant in the production of acrylamide by this pathway.

Location and the Multinational Enterprise: A Neglected Factor?

Abstract: This article first traces the changing world economic scenario for international business over the past two decades, and then goes on to examine its implications for the location of foreign direct investment and multinational enterprise activity. It suggests that many of the explanations of the 1970s and early 1980s need to be modified as firm-specific assets have become mobile across natural boundaries. A final section of the article examines the dynamic interface between the value-added activities of multinational enterprises in different locations.

The CloudSat mission and the A-train: a new dimension of space-based observations of clouds and precipitation

Abstract: CloudSat is a satellite experiment designed to measure the vertical structure of clouds from space. The expected launch of CloudSat is planned for 2004, and once launched, CloudSat will orbit in formation as part of a constellation of satellites (the A-Train) that includes NASA's Aqua and Aura satellites, a NASA–CNES lidar satellite (CALIPSO), and a CNES satellite carrying a polarimeter (PARASOL). A unique feature that CloudSat brings to this constellation is the ability to fly a precise orbit enabling the fields of view of the CloudSat radar to be overlapped with the CALIPSO lidar footprint and the other measurements of the constellation. The precision and near simultaneity of this overlap creates a unique multisatellite observing system for studying the atmospheric processes essential to the hydrological cycle. The vertical profiles of cloud properties provided by CloudSat on the global scale fill a critical gap in the investigation of feedback mechanisms linking clouds to climate. Measuring these profi...