Saturn's atmospheric response to the large influx of ring material inferred from Cassini INMS measurements

During the Grand Finale stage of the Cassini mission, organic-rich ring material was discovered to be flowing into Saturn's equatorial upper atmosphere at a surprisingly large rate. Through a series of photochemical models, we have examined the consequences of this ring material on the chemistry of Saturn's neutral and ionized atmosphere. We find that if a substantial fraction of this material enters the atmosphere as vapor or becomes vaporized as the solid ring particles ablate upon atmospheric entry, then the ring-derived vapor would strongly affect the composition of Saturn's ionosphere and neutral stratosphere. Our surveys of Cassini infrared and ultraviolet remote-sensing data from the final few years of the mission, however, reveal none of these predicted chemical consequences. We therefore conclude that either (1) the inferred ring influx represents an anomalous, transient situation that was triggered by some recent dynamical event in the ring system that occurred a few months to a few tens of years before the 2017 end of the Cassini mission, or (2) a large fraction of the incoming material must have been entering the atmosphere as small dust particles less than ~100 nm in radius, rather than as vapor or as large particles that are likely to ablate. Future observations or upper limits for stratospheric neutral species such as HC$_3$N, HCN, and CO$_2$ at infrared wavelengths could shed light on the origin, timing, magnitude, and nature of a possible vapor-rich ring-inflow event.Comment: accepted in Icaru

Increasing frailty is associated with higher prevalence and reduced recognition of delirium in older hospitalised inpatients: results of a multi-centre study

Purpose: Delirium is a neuropsychiatric disorder delineated by an acute change in cognition, attention, and consciousness. It is common, particularly in older adults, but poorly recognised. Frailty is the accumulation of deficits conferring an increased risk of adverse outcomes. We set out to determine how severity of frailty, as measured using the CFS, affected delirium rates, and recognition in hospitalised older people in the United Kingdom. Methods: Adults over 65 years were included in an observational multi-centre audit across UK hospitals, two prospective rounds, and one retrospective note review. Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), delirium status, and 30-day outcomes were recorded. Results: The overall prevalence of delirium was 16.3% (483). Patients with delirium were more frail than patients without delirium (median CFS 6 vs 4). The risk of delirium was greater with increasing frailty [OR 2.9 (1.8–4.6) in CFS 4 vs 1–3; OR 12.4 (6.2–24.5) in CFS 8 vs 1–3]. Higher CFS was associated with reduced recognition of delirium (OR of 0.7 (0.3–1.9) in CFS 4 compared to 0.2 (0.1–0.7) in CFS 8). These risks were both independent of age and dementia. Conclusion: We have demonstrated an incremental increase in risk of delirium with increasing frailty. This has important clinical implications, suggesting that frailty may provide a more nuanced measure of vulnerability to delirium and poor outcomes. However, the most frail patients are least likely to have their delirium diagnosed and there is a significant lack of research into the underlying pathophysiology of both of these common geriatric syndromes

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

A pole-to-pole map of hydrocarbons in Saturn’s upper stratosphere and mesosphere

We analyze data from the final two years of the Cassini mission to retrieve the distributions of methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), acetylene (C2H2), ethylene (C2H4), and benzene (C6H6) in Saturn's upper stratosphere and mesosphere from stellar occultations observed by the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS), spanning latitudes from pole to pole. These observations represent the first two-dimensional snapshot of the photochemical production region with latitude and depth for these five light hydrocarbons around the northern summer solstice. To support this analysis, we combine temperature-pressure profiles retrieved from the UVIS occultations and limb scans observed by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) with the CH4 profiles to provide atmospheric structure models for each occultation location that span the middle and upper atmosphere. We detect a strong meridional trend in the homopause pressure level that implies much weaker mixing at the poles than near the subsolar point. This is shown by the homopause pressure level, which ranges from ∼0.05μbar around the subsolar point to ∼5μbar at the poles, with the corresponding values of the eddy diffusion coefficient Kzz ranging from ∼1000 m2 s−1 to 1–10 m2 s−1, respectively, at the 2 μbar level. This trend could be explained by upwelling at low latitudes and downwelling at high latitudes in both hemispheres and we estimate that vertical wind speeds of less than 2 cm s−1 would be required. The distributions of the photochemical products follow the homopause trend but they also show a clear seasonal trend at pressures between 0.01 and 10 μbar, with higher abundances in the summer hemisphere than in the winter hemisphere. We compare the observed distributions with results from one-dimensional seasonal photochemical models, with and without ion chemistry, to explore the impact of ion chemistry on the results. The best agreement between the models and the observations is obtained in the summer hemisphere, whereas disagreements in the winter hemisphere and auroral region may be due to the lack of transport by global circulation and auroral electron and ion precipitation in our photochemical models. Ion chemistry is particularly important for matching the observed C6H6 distribution, whereas differences between the neutral only and ion chemistry models are more modest for the other species. We also compare the C2H2 profiles retrieved from the UVIS occultations to those retrieved from the CIRS limb scans and find good agreement between the retrievals at pressures where they overlap.NASA24 month embargo; first published 17 May 2024This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Search for the H Chondrite Parent Body among the Three Largest S-type Asteroids: (3) Juno, (7) Iris, and (25) Phocaea

Linking meteorites to source regions in the main asteroid belt is important for understanding the conditions under which their parent bodies formed. Ordinary chondrites are the most abundant class of meteorites on Earth, totaling 86% of all collected samples. Some S-type asteroids/families have been proposed as sources for the three different (H, L, and LL) types of ordinary chondrites with Hebe, Agnia, Merxia, and Koronis families being the source for H chondrites, Gefion for H/L chondrites, and Flora family for LL chondrites. However, the composition and meteorite affinity of several large S-type main belt asteroids remains unconstrained leaving the possibility of additional source regions for ordinary chondrite meteorites. Here we investigate the surface composition of three large S-type asteroids, (3) Juno, (7) Iris, and (25) Phocaea, using their near-infrared spectra (0.7–2.55 μm) to identify the parent body of the H chondrites. We use a Bayesian inference model to confirm the meteorite analogs of the three asteroids. Based on our Bayes classifier we find the following analogs and probabilities: Juno is likely H chondrite (89%), Iris is likely LL chondrite (97.5%), and Phocaea is likely H chondrite (98.6%). While Phocaea has the highest probability of being an H chondrite, it is dynamically unlikely to deliver material to near-Earth space. While Juno has spectral properties similar to H chondrites, its family is unlikely to produce sizeable H-chondrite-type near-Earth objects (NEOs). If Juno is the primary source of H chondrite meteorites, it suggests that an additional source is needed to explain the H-chondrite-type NEOs.NASA Near-Earth Object Observations (NEOO) program grant [NNXAL06G]; state of Arizona Technology Research Initiative Fund (TRIF)This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]