Long-term halocarbon observations from a coastal and an inland site in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Abstract. Short-lived halocarbons are believed to have important sources in the tropics, where rapid vertical transport could provide a significant source to the stratosphere. In this study, quasi-continuous measurements of short-lived halocarbons are reported for two tropical sites in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo), one coastal and one inland (rainforest). We present the observations for C2Cl4, CHBr3, CH2Br2* (actually ~80% CH2Br2 and ~20% CHBrCl2) and CH3I from November 2008 to January 2010 made using our μDirac gas chromatographs with electron capture detection (GC-ECD). We focus on the first 15 months of observations, showing over one annual cycle for each compound and therefore adding significantly to the few limited-duration observational studies that have been conducted thus far in southeast Asia. The main feature in the C2Cl4 behaviour at both sites is its annual cycle, with the winter months being influenced by northerly flow with higher concentrations, typical of the Northern Hemisphere, and with the summer months influenced by southerly flow and lower concentrations representative of the Southern Hemisphere. No such clear annual cycle is seen for CHBr3, CH2Br2* or CH3I. The baseline values for CHBr3 and CH2Br2* are similar at the coastal (overall median: CHBr3 1.7 ppt, CH2Br2* 1.4 ppt) and inland sites (CHBr3 1.6 ppt, CH2Br2* 1.1 ppt), but periods with elevated values are seen at the coast (overall 95th percentile: CHBr3 4.4 ppt, CH2Br2ast 1.9 ppt), presumably resulting from the stronger influence of coastal emissions. Overall median bromine values from [CHBr3 × 3] + [CH2Br2* × 2] are 8.0 ppt at the coast and 6.8 ppt inland. The median values reported here are largely consistent with other limited tropical data and imply that southeast Asia generally is not, as has been suggested, a hot spot for emissions of these compounds. These baseline values are consistent with the most recent emissions found for southeast Asia using the p-TOMCAT (Toulouse Off-line Model of Chemistry And Transport) model. CH3I, which is only observed at the coastal site, is the shortest-lived compound measured in this study, and the observed atmospheric variations reflect this, with high variability throughout the study period. This work was supported by a NERC consortium grant to the OP3 team, by NCAS, by the European Commission through the SCOUT-O3 project (505390-GOCE-CF2004) and by NERC western Pacific grant number NE/F020341/1 and NERC CAST grant number NE/J006246/1. L. M. O’Brien and M. J. Ashfold thank NERC for research studentships. A. D. Robinson acknowledges NERC for their support through small grant project NE/D008085/1. N. R. P. Harris is supported by a NERC Advanced Research Fellowship. We thank the Sabah Foundation, Danum Valley Field Centre and the Royal Society (Glen Reynolds) for field site support. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007–2013 under grant agreement no. 226224 – SHIVA. We thank David Oram and Stephen Humphrey at UEA for their assistance in checking the calibration of our Aculife cylinder in May 2009. This is paper number 626 of the Royal Society’s South East Asian Rainforest Research Programme.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/14/8369/2014/acp-14-8369-2014.html

Clinical course, characteristics and prognostic indicators in patients presenting with back and leg pain in primary care. The ATLAS study protocol

Low-back related leg pain with or without nerve root involvement is associated with a poor prognosis compared to low back pain (LBP) alone. Compared to the literature investigating prognostic indicators of outcome for LBP, there is limited evidence on prognostic factors for low back-related leg pain including the group with nerve root pain. This 1 year prospective consultation-based observational cohort study will describe the clinical, imaging, demographic characteristics and health economic outcomes for the whole cohort, will investigate differences and identify prognostic indicators of outcome (i.e. change in disability at 12 months), for the whole cohort and, separately, for those classified with and without nerve root pain. In addition, nested qualitative studies will provide insights on the clinical consultation and the impact of diagnosis and treatment on patients' symptom management and illness trajectory

Suppression of MAPK11 or HIPK3 reduces mutant Huntingtin levels in Huntington's disease models.

Most neurodegenerative disorders are associated with accumulation of disease-relevant proteins. Among them, Huntington disease (HD) is of particular interest because of its monogenetic nature. HD is mainly caused by cytotoxicity of the defective protein encoded by the mutant Huntingtin gene (HTT). Thus, lowering mutant HTT protein (mHTT) levels would be a promising treatment strategy for HD. Here we report two kinases HIPK3 and MAPK11 as positive modulators of mHTT levels both in cells and in vivo. Both kinases regulate mHTT via their kinase activities, suggesting that inhibiting these kinases may have therapeutic values. Interestingly, their effects on HTT levels are mHTT-dependent, providing a feedback mechanism in which mHTT enhances its own level thus contributing to mHTT accumulation and disease progression. Importantly, knockout of MAPK11 significantly rescues disease-relevant behavioral phenotypes in a knockin HD mouse model. Collectively, our data reveal new therapeutic entry points for HD and target-discovery approaches for similar diseases

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta