MAVEN IUVS observations of the aftermath of the Comet Siding Spring meteor shower on Mars

We report the detection of intense emission from magnesium and iron in Mars' atmosphere caused by a meteor shower following Comet Siding Spring's close encounter with Mars. The observations were made with the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, a remote sensing instrument on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft orbiting Mars. Ionized magnesium caused the brightest emission from the planet's atmosphere for many hours, resulting from resonant scattering of solar ultraviolet light. Modeling suggests a substantial fluence of low-density dust particles 1-100μm in size, with the large amount and small size contrary to predictions. The event created a temporary planet-wide ionospheric layer below Mars' main dayside ionosphere. The dramatic meteor shower response at Mars is starkly different from the case at Earth, where a steady state metal layer is always observable but perturbations caused by even the strongest meteor showers are challenging to detect

The Promoter of Rv0560c Is Induced by Salicylate and Structurally-Related Compounds in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is a major global health threat. During infection, bacteria are believed to encounter adverse conditions such as iron depletion. Mycobacteria synthesize iron-sequestering mycobactins, which are essential for survival in the host, via the intermediate salicylate. Salicylate is a ubiquitous compound which is known to induce a mild antibiotic resistance phenotype. In M. tuberculosis salicylate highly induces the expression of Rv0560c, a putative methyltransferase. We identified and characterized the promoter and regulatory elements of Rv0560c. PRv0560c activity was highly inducible by salicylate in a dose-dependent manner. The induction kinetics of PRv0560c were slow, taking several days to reach maximal activity, which was sustained over several weeks. Promoter activity could also be induced by compounds structurally related to salicylate, such as aspirin or para-aminosalicylic acid, but not by benzoate, indicating that induction is specific to a structural motif. The −10 and −35 promoter elements were identified and residues involved in regulation of promoter activity were identified in close proximity to an inverted repeat spanning the −35 promoter element. We conclude that Rv0560c expression is controlled by a yet unknown repressor via a highly-inducible promoter

Increased Systemic Th17 Cytokines Are Associated with Diastolic Dysfunction in Children and Adolescents with Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Diastolic dysfunction suggestive of diabetic cardiomyopathy is established in children with T1DM, but its pathogenesis is not well understood. We studied the relationships of systemic inflammatory cytokines/chemokines and cardiac function in 17 children with T1DM during and after correction of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Twenty seven of the 39 measured cytokines/chemokines were elevated at 6–12 hours into treatment of DKA compared to values after DKA resolution. Eight patients displayed at least one parameter of diastolic abnormality (DA) during acute DKA. Significant associations were present between nine of the cytokine/chemokine levels and the DA over time. Interestingly, four of these nine interactive cytokines (GM-CSF, G-CSF, IL-12p40, IL-17) are associated with a Th17 mediated cell response. Both the DA and CCL7 and IL-12p40, had independent associations with African American patients. Thus, we report occurrence of a systemic inflammatory response and the presence of cardiac diastolic dysfunction in a subset of young T1DM patients during acute DKA

Electron Impact Study Of The 100 Ev Emission Cross Section And Lifetime Of The Lyman-Birge-Hopfield Band System Of N2: Direct Excitation And Cascade

We have measured the 100 eV emission cross section of the optically forbidden Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) band system (a1Πg → X1Σ+g) of N2 by electron-impact-induced fluorescence. Using a large (1.5 m diameter) vacuum chamber housing an electron gun system and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph optical engineering model, we have obtained calibrated spectral measurements of the LBH band system from 115 to 175 nm over a range of lines of sight to capture all of the optical emissions. These measurements represent the first experiment to directly isolate in the laboratory single-scattering electron-impact-induced fluorescence from both direct excitation of the a1Πg state and cascading contributions to the a1Πg state (a′1Σ−u and w1Δu → a1Πg → X1Σ+g). The determination of the total LBH emission cross section is accomplished by measuring the entire cylindrical glow pattern of the metastable emission from electron impact by imaging lines of sight that measure the glow intensity from zero to ~400 mm radial distance and calculating the ratio of the integrated intensity from the LBH glow pattern to that of a simultaneously observed optically allowed transition with a well-established cross section: Ni 120.0 nm. The “direct” emission cross section of the a1Πg state at 100 eV was determined to be σemdir = (6.41 ± 1.3) × 10−18 cm2. An important observation from the glow pattern behavior is that the total (direct + cascading) emission cross section is pressure dependent due to collision-induced cascade transitions between close-lying electronic states

Cassini Uvis Observations Of Titan Ultraviolet Airglow Intensity Dependence With Solar Zenith Angle

The Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (UVIS) observed the airglow (dayglow and nightglow) of Titan over a range of solar zenith angles (SZA) from 14 to 150° on five separate observations obtained between 2008 and 2012. The modeling of the solar cycle normalized UVIS observations indicates that a Chapman layer function provides a satisfactory fit to the intensity of the EUV and FUV airglow molecular emissions of the N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield band system (LBH (Formula presented.)), the Carroll-Yoshino band system ((Formula presented.)), and of several atomic multiplets of nitrogen (NI, II) as a function of SZA. This result shows that the strongest contribution to the Titan dayglow occurs by processes (photoelectrons and photodissociation) involving the solar EUV flux rather than magnetospheric particle precipitation that dominates emission excitation in the nightglow

Saturn in Lyman α: A comparison of Cassini and Voyager observations

International audienceWe analyze Saturn Lyman α system scans observed by the Cassini/UVIS instrument probing non-auroral airglow emissions from Saturn's disk, the ring atmosphere and the Saturn hydrogen torus. We constrain variations in disk brightness with latitude and local time, relating them to models of Saturn's upper atmosphere. We compare these results with Voyager observations of similar viewing geometry. The Cassini disk brightness is almost four time lower than the Voyager brightness. This difference cannot be explained by changes in the solar Lyman α flux or atmospheric structure. The change in solar flux is modest and atmospheric structure retrieved from occultation data is relatively stable over time. The disk brightness observed by Cassini can be explained by resonant scattering of solar Lyman α radiation and the best-fit hydrogen abundance in the thermosphere is consistent with atmospheric structure retrieved from the occultation data as well as photochemical model predictions. Our results support the recently proposed recalibration of the Voyager/UVS instruments that would bring the Voyager disk brightness in line with our model predictions and provide a consistent interpretation of Saturn Lyman α emissions over time. We also explore the extended emission in the Saturn system, centered near the ring plane in edge-on viewing. The extended emission can be explained by a distribution of atomic hydrogen that is symmetric about the ring plane. We do not find evidence for a plume of hot hydrogen atoms escaping from Saturn's sunlit atmosphere that was proposed previously. Instead, the structure earlier interpreted as a plume is most simply explained by solar illumination from below the ring plane during southern summer combined with the edge-on viewing geometry

Study of the cold oxygen corona with IUVS/MAVEN

International audienceThe Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) has observed the Martian upper atmosphere for several months. The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) is able to measure the resonance line of the atomic oxygen at 130.4 nm. From this emission we are able to derive information of the oxygen content in the Martian upper atmosphere and its variability. Atomic oxygen is a key species to better understand the chemistry, heating, dynamics and escape of the Martian upper atmosphere