The Mars Science Laboratory record of optical depth measurements via solar imaging

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has monitored the Martian environment in Gale crater since landing in 2012. This study reports the record of optical depth derived from visible and near-infrared images of the Sun. Aerosol optical depth, which is mostly due to dust but also includes ice, dominates the record, with gas optical depth too small to measure. The optical depth record includes the effects of regional dust storms and one planet-encircling dust event, showing the expected peaks during southern spring and summer and relatively lower and more stable optical depth in fall and winter. The measurements show that there is a seasonally varying diurnal change in dust load, with the optical depth peaking in the morning during southern spring and summer, correlated with thermotidal pressure changes. However, there was no systematic diurnal change during autumn and winter, except after one regional storm. There were indications that the dust was relatively enhanced at high altitudes during high-optical-depth periods and that high-altitude ice was significant during winter. The observations did not provide much information about particle size or composition, but they were consistent with a smaller particle size after aphelion (in southern winter). No scattering halos were seen in associated sky images, even when there was visual evidence of ice hazes or clouds, which suggests small or amorphous ice particles. Unexpectedly, the measurement campaign revealed that the cameras collected saltating sand in their sunshades 1.97 m above the surface. As a result, the measurement strategy had to be adjusted to avoid high-elevation imaging to avoid sand covering the optics

The oral KIF11 inhibitor 4SC-205 exhibits antitumor activity and potentiates standard and targeted therapies in primary and metastatic neuroblastoma models

Inhibidor de KIF11; Terapias dirigidas; MetástasisInhibidor de KIF11; Teràpies dirigides; MetàstasiKIF11 inhibitor; Targeted therapies; MetastasisIn summary, our study provides a rationale for the future therapeutic integration in clinical trials of 4SC-205, an structurally distinct oral KIF11 inhibitor that shows potent antitumor activity in multiple preclinical neuroblastoma models and sensitizes neuroblastoma cells to standard chemotherapy and specific neuroblastoma-targeted therapies.The financial support for this research was provided by Instituto de Salud Calos III (PI20/00530 to Miguel F. Segura; PI20/01107 to Rosa Noguera; PI17/02248 and CPII18/00027 to Anna Santamaria; PI19/01320 to Alberto Villanueva); Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Grant no. FPU16/01099 to Marc Masanas). This work was also supported by the Asociación NEN (Nico contra el cancer infantil 2017–PVR00157)

Mars Science Laboratory Observations of the 2018/Mars Year 34 Global Dust Storm

Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover observations of the 2018/Mars year 34 global/planetâ encircling dust storm represent the first in situ measurements of a global dust storm with dedicated meteorological sensors since the Viking Landers. The Mars Science Laboratory team planned and executed a science campaign lasting approximately 100 Martian sols to study the storm involving an enhanced cadence of environmental monitoring using the rover’s meteorological sensors, cameras, and spectrometers. Mast Camera 880â nm optical depth reached 8.5, and Rover Environmental Monitoring Station measurements indicated a 97% reduction in incident total ultraviolet solar radiation at the surface, 30K reduction in diurnal range of air temperature, and an increase in the semidiurnal pressure tide amplitude to 40 Pa. No active dustâ lifting sites were detected within Gale Crater, and global and local atmospheric dynamics were drastically altered during the storm. This work presents an overview of the mission’s storm observations and initial results.Plain Language SummaryThe 2018 Mars global dust storm was observed by six spacecraft in orbit and two rovers on the surface. This paper provides an overview and description of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover’s observations during the storm. For approximately 100 Martian days (sols), the rover conducted an enhanced cadence of environmental observations to study the storm. These are the first observations of a Martian global dust storm with meteorological sensors near the equator. Atmospheric opacity reached a peak of 8.5, attenuating ~97% of the total solar ultraviolet radiation at the surface. Most of the dust was sourced from outside Gale Crater, with no indications of dust lifting within the crater during the height of the storm. Meteorological conditions were substantially altered, with changes to the pressure, temperature, and humidity patterns. Dust devil activity ceased for several weeks due to the reduction in temperature contrast between the surface and atmosphere. There was no indication of unusual aeolian transport, suggesting Martian global dust storms are not a major cause of sand dune movement.Key PointsThe Curiosity rover conducted a dedicated science campaign to study the 2018 Mars global dust stormAtmospheric opacity reached a peak of 8.5, and horizontal visibility dropped to 2.7 kmMeteorological conditions in Gale Crater were substantially altered, with changes to the pressure, temperature, and humidity cyclesPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147828/1/grl58365_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147828/2/grl58365.pd

Mars Science Laboratory Observations of the 2018/Mars Year 34 Global Dust Storm

Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover observations of the 2018/Mars year 34 global/planet-encircling dust storm represent the first in situ measurements of a global dust storm with dedicated meteorological sensors since the Viking Landers. The Mars Science Laboratory team planned and executed a science campaign lasting approximately 100 Martian sols to study the storm involving an enhanced cadence of environmental monitoring using the rover's meteorological sensors, cameras, and spectrometers. Mast Camera 880-nanometer optical depth reached 8.5, and Rover Environmental Monitoring Station measurements indicated a 97 percent reduction in incident total ultraviolet solar radiation at the surface, 30 degrees Kelvin reduction in diurnal range of air temperature, and an increase in the semidiurnal pressure tide amplitude to 40 pascals. No active dust-lifting sites were detected within Gale Crater, and global and local atmospheric dynamics were drastically altered during the storm. This work presents an overview of the mission's storm observations and initial results

Biomarkers of disease differentiation: HCV recurrence versus acute cellular rejection

The wound-healing process induced by chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection triggers liver damage characterized by fibrosis development and finally cirrhosis. Liver Transplantation (LT) is the optimal surgical treatment for HCV-cirrhotic patients at end-stage liver disease. However, acute cellular rejection (ACR) and HCV recurrence disease represent two devastating complications post-LT. The accurate differential diagnosis between both conditions is critical for treatment choice, and similar histological features represent a challenge for pathologists. Moreover, the HCV recurrence disease severity is highly variable post-LT. HCV recurrence disease progression is characterized by an accelerated fibrogenesis process, and almost 30% of those patients develop cirrhosis at 5-years of follow-up. Whole-genome gene expression (WGE) analyses through well-defined oligonucleotide microarray platforms represent a powerful tool for the molecular characterization of biological process. In the present manuscript, the utility of microarray technology is applied for the ACR and HCV-recurrence biological characterization in post-LT liver biopsy samples. Moreover, WGE analysis was performed to identify predictive biomarkers of HCV recurrence severity in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded liver biopsies prospectively collected

On the causes of economic growth in Europe: why did agricultural labour productivity not converge between 1950 and 2005?

The objective of this study is to make a further contribution to the debate on the causes of economic growth in the European Continent. It explains why agricultural labour productivity differences did not converge between 1950 and 2005 in Europe. We propose an econometric model, one combining both proximate and fundamental causes of economic growth. The results show that the continuous exit of labour power from the sector, coupled with the increased use of productive factors originating in other sectors of the economy, caused the efficiency of agricultural workers to rise. However, we offer a complete explanation of the role played by institutions and geographical factors. Thus, we detect a direct and inverse relation between membership of the EU and the Communist bloc and the productivity of agricultural labour. In addition, strong support for agriculture affected productivity negatively

The sound of a Martian dust devil

Dust devils (convective vortices loaded with dust) are common at the surface of Mars, particularly at Jezero crater. They are indicators of atmospheric turbulence and are an important lifting mechanism for the Martian dust cycle. Improving our understanding of dust lifting and atmospheric transport is key for accurate simulation of the dust cycle and for the prediction of dust storms, in addition to being important for future space exploration as grain impacts are implicated in the degradation of hardware on the surface of Mars. Here we describe the sound of a Martian dust devil as recorded by the SuperCam microphone. The dust devil encounter was also simultaneously imaged by the Perseverance rover’s Navigation Camera and observed by several sensors in the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer instrument. Combining these unique multi-sensorial data with modelling, we shown that the dust devil was around 25 m large, at least 118 m tall, and passed directly over the rover travelling at approximately 5 m/s. Acoustic signals of grain impacts recorded during the vortex encounter provide quantitative information about the number density of particles in the vortex. This chance dust devil encounter demonstrates the potential of acoustic data for resolving the rapid wind structure of the Martian atmosphere and for directly quantifying wind-blown grain fluxes on Mars

The diverse meteorology of Jezero crater over the first 250 sols of Perseverance on Mars

ASA’s Perseverance rover’s Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer is collecting data at Jezero crater, characterizing the physical processes in the lowest layer of the Martian atmosphere. Here we present measurements from the instrument’s first 250 sols of operation, revealing a spatially and temporally variable meteorology at Jezero. We find that temperature measurements at four heights capture the response of the atmospheric surface layer to multiple phenomena. We observe the transition from a stable night-time thermal inversion to a daytime, highly turbulent convective regime, with large vertical thermal gradients. Measurement of multiple daily optical depths suggests aerosol concentrations are higher in the morning than in the afternoon. Measured wind patterns are driven mainly by local topography, with a small contribution from regional winds. Daily and seasonal variability of relative humidity shows a complex hydrologic cycle. These observations suggest that changes in some local surface properties, such as surface albedo and thermal inertia, play an influential role. On a larger scale, surface pressure measurements show typical signatures of gravity waves and baroclinic eddies in a part of the seasonal cycle previously characterized as low wave activity. These observations, both combined and simultaneous, unveil the diversity of processes driving change on today’s Martian surface at Jezero crater