ROLE OF ENDOTHELIUM-DERIVED PROSTAGLANDINS IN HYPOXIA-ELICITED ARTERIOLAR DILATION IN RAT SKELETAL-MUSCLE

The aims of the present study were to determine the response of rat cremaster muscle first-order arterioles to hypoxia and the role of endothelium-derived prostaglandins in the response. Isolated arterioles were cannulated, pressurized to 65 mm Hg, and studied in a no-flow condition in a bath containing Krebs' bicarbonate solution, pH 7.4, equilibrated with 21% O2-5% CO2-74% N2 (PO2, 150 mm Hg) or 95% N2-5% CO2 (Po2, 15 mm Hg [hypoxia]). Responses to hypoxia and vasoactive substances were studied before and after removal of the endothelium or blockade of prostaglandin synthesis by the administration of indomethacin (10(-5) M). Addition to the suffusion solution of arachidonic acid (10(-7) and 10(-6) M), prostaglandin E2 (10(-9) and 10(-8) M), acetylcholine (10(-8) and 10(-6) M), or sodium nitroprusside 10(-8) M) evoked significanT arteriolar dilation. When the bath Po2 was reduced from 150 to 15 mm Hg, arteriolar diameters increased by 58.8+/-9.3-mu-m (61%). Removal of the endothelium completely inhibited responses to hypoxia, acetylcholine, and arachidonic acid, whereas responses to sodium nitroprusside and prostaglandin E2 remained unaltered. In arterioles with an intact endothelium, indomethacin completely inhibited the responses to hypoxia and arachidonic acid, whereas responses to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were unaltered. These findings support the conclusion that endothelium-derived prostaglandins mediate the arteriolar dilation to hypoxia in rat skeletal muscle arterioles

An Environmental Scan of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on University and College Campuses: A Research Note

The purpose of this research note is to provide readers with an understanding of the diverse types of student mental health interventions that are being offered on North American universities/ colleges broken down into two types of interventions: (1) traditional, or non-mindfulness-based interventions, and (2) mindfulness-based interventions. Data were collected, organized, and synthesized during the first 5 months of 2016 (via a simple Google searches) for all North American universities/colleges that offered their students mental health interventions on their campuses. Traditional, or non-mindfulness-based interventions remain widely in use on university/college campuses and include: prevention and outreach, support groups and workshops, individual counseling, and self-help. Mindfulness-based interventions, although less widely available, include: mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, mindfulness- based stress reduction, guided meditations and yoga, compassion training, mindfulness-based technology, and mindful eating. There is an abundance of data that seem to indicate that colleges/universities are increasing the mental health interventions they offer to their students. In addition, the use of mindfulness- based interventions (a sub-set of mental health interventions) seems to be being used with an increasing frequency

Assessment of the quality of ACE-FTS stratospheric ozone data

For the past 17 years, the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) instrument on the Canadian SCISAT satellite has been measuring profiles of atmospheric ozone. The latest operational versions of the level 2 ozone data are versions 3.6 and 4.1. This study characterizes how both products compare with correlative data from other limb-sounding satellite instruments, namely MAESTRO, MLS, OSIRIS, SABER, and SMR. In general, v3.6, with respect to the other instruments, exhibits a smaller bias (which is on the order of similar to 3 %) in the middle stratosphere than v4.1 (similar to 2 %-9 %); however, the bias exhibited in the v4.1 data tends to be more stable, i.e. not changing significantly over time in any altitude region. In the lower stratosphere, v3.6 has a positive bias of about 3 %-5 % that is stable to within +/- 1 % per decade, and v4.1 has a bias on the order of -1 % to +5 % and is also stable to within +/- 1 % per decade. In the middle stratosphere, v3.6 has a positive bias of similar to 3 % with a significant negative drift on the order of 0.5 %-2.5 % per decade, and v4.1 has a positive bias of 2 %-9 % that is stable to within +/- 0.5 % per decade. In the upper stratosphere, v3.6 has a positive bias that increases with altitude up to similar to 16 % and a significant negative drift on the order of 2 %-3 % per decade, and v4.1 has a positive bias that increases with altitude up to similar to 15 % and is stable to within +/- 1 % per decade. Estimates indicate that both versions 3.6 and 4.1 have precision values on the order of 0.1-0.2 ppmv below 20 km and above 45 km (similar to 5 %-10 %, depending on altitude). Between 20 and 45 km, the estimated v3.6 precision of similar to 4 %-6 % is better than the estimated v4.1 precision of similar to 6 %-10 %

The SPARC Water Vapor Assessment II: assessment of satellite measurements of upper tropospheric humidity

Nineteen limb-viewing data sets (occultation, passive thermal, and UV scattering) and two nadir upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) data sets are intercompared and also compared to frost-point hygrometer balloon sondes. The upper troposphere considered here covers the pressure range from 300-100 hPa. UTH is a challenging measurement, because concentrations vary between 2-1000 ppmv (parts per million by volume), with sharp changes in vertical gradients near the tropopause. Cloudiness in this region also makes the measurement challenging. The atmospheric temperature is also highly variable ranging from 180-250 K. The assessment of satellite-measured UTH is based on coincident comparisons with balloon frost-point hygrometer sondes, multi-month mapped comparisons, zonal mean time series comparisons, and coincident satellite-to-satellite comparisons. While the satellite fields show similar features in maps and time series, quantitatively they can differ by a factor of 2 in concentration, with strong dependencies on the amount of UTH. Additionally, time-lag response-corrected Vaisala RS92 radiosondes are compared to satellites and the frost-point hygrometer measurements. In summary, most satellite data sets reviewed here show on average similar to 30 % agreement amongst themselves and frost-point data but with an additional similar to 30 % variability about the mean bias. The Vaisala RS92 sonde, even with a time-lag correction, shows poor behavior for pressures less than 200 hPa

The SPARC Water Vapor Assessment II: assessment of satellite measurements of upper tropospheric humidity

Nineteen limb-viewing data sets (occultation, passive thermal, and UV scattering) and two nadir upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) data sets are intercompared and also compared to frost-point hygrometer balloon sondes. The upper troposphere considered here covers the pressure range from 300–100 hPa. UTH is a challenging measurement, because concentrations vary between 2–1000 ppmv (parts per million by volume), with sharp changes in vertical gradients near the tropopause. Cloudiness in this region also makes the measurement challenging. The atmospheric temperature is also highly variable ranging from 180–250 K. The assessment of satellite-measured UTH is based on coincident comparisons with balloon frost-point hygrometer sondes, multi-month mapped comparisons, zonal mean time series comparisons, and coincident satellite-to-satellite comparisons. While the satellite fields show similar features in maps and time series, quantitatively they can differ by a factor of 2 in concentration, with strong dependencies on the amount of UTH. Additionally, time-lag response-corrected Vaisala RS92 radiosondes are compared to satellites and the frost-point hygrometer measurements. In summary, most satellite data sets reviewed here show on average ∼30 % agreement amongst themselves and frost-point data but with an additional ∼30 % variability about the mean bias. The Vaisala RS92 sonde, even with a time-lag correction, shows poor behavior for pressures less than 200 hPa

The SPARC water vapour assessment II: comparison of annual, semi-annual and quasi-biennial variations in stratospheric and lower mesospheric water vapour observed from satellites

In the framework of the second SPARC (Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate) water vapour assessment (WAVAS-II), the amplitudes and phases of the annual, semi-annual and quasi-biennial variation in stratospheric and lower mesospheric water were compared using 30 data sets from 13 different satellite instruments. These comparisons aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the typical uncertainties in the observational database which can be considered in subsequent observational and modelling studies. For the amplitudes, a good agreement of their latitude and altitude distribution was found. Quantitatively there were differences in particular at high latitudes, close to the tropopause and in the lower mesosphere. In these regions, the standard deviation over all data sets typically exceeded 0.2 ppmv for the annual variation and 0.1 ppmv for the semi-annual and quasi-biennial variation. For the phase, larger differences between the data sets were found in the lower mesosphere. Generally the smallest phase uncertainties can be observed in regions where the amplitude of the variability is large. The standard deviations of the phases for all data sets were typically smaller than a month for the annual and semi-annual variation and smaller than 5 months for the quasi-biennial variation. The amplitude and phase differences among the data sets are caused by a combination of factors. In general, differences in the temporal variation of systematic errors and in the observational sampling play a dominant role. In addition, differences in the vertical resolution of the data, the considered time periods and influences of clouds, aerosols as well as non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects cause differences between the individual data sets

Technical Note: New ground-based FTIR measurements at Ile de La Réunion: observations, error analysis, and comparisons with independent data

Ground-based high spectral resolution Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) solar absorption spectroscopy is a powerful remote sensing technique to obtain information on the total column abundances and on the vertical distribution of various constituents in the atmosphere. This work presents results from two FTIR measurement campaigns in 2002 and 2004, held at Ile de La Réunion (21° S, 55° E). These campaigns represent the first FTIR observations carried out at a southern (sub)tropical site. They serve the initiation of regular, long-term FTIR monitoring at this site in the near future. To demonstrate the capabilities of the FTIR measurements at this location for tropospheric and stratospheric monitoring, a detailed report is given on the retrieval strategy, information content and corresponding full error budget evaluation for ozone (O3), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon monoxide (CO), ethane (C2H6), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF) and nitric acid (HNO3) total and partial column retrievals. Moreover, we have made a thorough comparison of the capabilities at sea level altitude (St.-Denis) and at 2200 m a.s.l. (Maïdo). It is proved that the performances of the technique are such that the atmospheric variability can be observed, at both locations and in distinct altitude layers. Comparisons with literature and with correlative data from ozone sonde and satellite (i.e., ACE-FTS, HALOE and MOPITT) measurements are given to confirm the results. Despite the short time series available at present, we have been able to detect the seasonal variation of CO in the biomass burning season, as well as the impact of particular biomass burning events in Africa and Madagascar on the atmospheric composition above Ile de La Réunion. We also show that differential measurements between St.-Denis and Maïdo provide useful information about the concentrations in the boundary layer.Peer reviewe

Validation of MIPAS HNO3 operational data

Nitric acid (HNO3) is one of the key products that are operationally retrieved by the European Space Agency (ESA) from the emission spectra measured by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) onboard ENVISAT. The product version 4.61/4.62 for the observation period between July 2002 and March 2004 is validated by comparisons with a number of independent observations from ground-based stations, aircraft/balloon campaigns, and satellites. Individual HNO3 profiles of the ESA MIPAS level-2 product show good agreement with those of MIPAS-B and MIPAS-STR (the balloon and aircraft version of MIPAS, respectively), and the balloon-borne infrared spectrometers MkIV and SPIRALE, mostly matching the reference data within the combined instrument error bars. In most cases differences between the correlative measurement pairs are less than 1 ppbv (5-10%) throughout the entire altitude range up to about 38 km (similar to 6 hPa), and below 0.5 ppbv (15-20% or more) above 30 km (similar to 17 hPa). However, differences up to 4 ppbv compared to MkIV have been found at high latitudes in December 2002 in the presence of polar stratospheric clouds. The degree of consistency is further largely affected by the temporal and spatial coincidence, and differences of 2 ppbv may be observed between 22 and 26 km (similar to 50 and 30 hPa) at high latitudes near the vortex boundary, due to large horizontal inhomogeneity of HNO3. Similar features are also observed in the mean differences of the MIPAS ESA HNO3 VMRs with respect to the ground-based FTIR measurements at five stations, aircraft-based SAFIRE-A and ASUR, and the balloon campaign IBEX. The mean relative differences between the MIPAS and FTIR HNO3 partial columns are within +/- 2%, comparable to the MIPAS systematic error of similar to 2%. For the vertical profiles, the biases between the MIPAS and FTIR data are generally below 10% in the altitudes of 10 to 30 km. The MIPAS and SAFIRE HNO3 data generally match within their total error bars for the mid and high latitude flights, despite the larger atmospheric inhomogeneities that characterize the measurement scenario at higher latitudes. The MIPAS and ASUR comparison reveals generally good agreements better than 10-13% at 20-34 km. The MIPAS and IBEX measurements agree reasonably well (mean relative differences within +/- 15%) between 17 and 32 km. Statistical comparisons of the MIPAS profiles correlated with those of Odin/SMR, ILAS-II, and ACE-FTS generally show good consistency. The mean differences averaged over individual latitude bands or all bands are within the combined instrument errors, and generally within 1, 0.5, and 0.3 ppbv between 10 and 40 km (similar to 260 and 4.5 hPa) for Odin/SMR, ILAS-II, and ACE-FTS, respectively. The standard deviations of the differences are between 1 to 2 ppbv. The standard deviations for the satellite comparisons and for almost all other comparisons are generally larger than the estimated measurement uncertainty. This is associated with the temporal and spatial coincidence error and the horizontal smoothing error which are not taken into account in our error budget. Both errors become large when the spatial variability of the target molecule is high.Peer reviewe