An assessment of twilight airglow inversion procedures using atmosphere explorer observations

The aim of this research project was to test and truth some recently developed methods for recovering thermospheric oxygen atom densities and thermospheric temperatures from ground-based observations of the 7320 A O(+)((sup 2)D - (sup 2)P) twilight air glow emission. The research plan was to use twilight observations made by the Visible Airglow Experiment (VAE) on the Atmosphere Explorer 'E' satellite as proxy ground based twilight observations. These observations were to be processed using the twilight inversion procedures, and the recovered oxygen atom densities and thermospheric temperatures were then to be examined to see how they compared with the densities and temperatures that were measured by the Open Source Mass Spectrometer and the Neutral Atmosphere Temperature Experiment on the satellite

Proposed reference models for atomic oxygen in the terrestrial atmosphere

A provisional Atomic Oxygen Reference model was derived from average monthly ozone profiles and the MSIS-86 reference model atmosphere. The concentrations are presented in tabular form for the altitude range 40 to 130 km

Lower thermospheric nitric oxide concentrations derived from WINDII observations of the green nightglow continuum at 553.1 nm

International audienceVertical profiles of nitric oxide in the altitude range 90 to 105 km are derived from 553 nm nightglow continuum measurements made with the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). The profiles are derived under the assumption that the continuum emission is due entirely to the NO+O air afterglow reaction. Vertical profiles of the atomic oxygen density, which are required to determine the nitric oxide concentrations, are derived from coordinated WINDII measurements of the atomic oxygen OI 557.7 nm nightglow emission. Data coverage for local solar times ranging from 20 h to 04 h, and latitudes ranging from 42°S to 42°N, is achieved by zonally averaging and binning data obtained on 18 nights during a two-month period extending from mid-November 1992 until mid-January 1993. The derived nitric oxide concentrations are significantly smaller than those obtained from rocket measurements of the airglow continuum but they do compare well with model expectations and nitric oxide densities measured using the resonance fluorescence technique on the Solar Mesosphere Explorer satellite. The near-global coverage of the WINDII observations and the similarities to the nitric oxide global morphology established from other satellite measurements strongly suggests that the NO+O reaction is the major source of the continuum near 553 nm and that there is no compelling reason to invoke additional sources of continuum emission in this immediate spectral region

The Roles of Vertical Advection and Eddy Diffusion in the Equatorial Mesospheric Semi-Annual Oscillation (MSAO)

Observations of the mesospheric semi-annual oscillation (MSAO) in the equatorial region have been reported dating back several decades. Seasonal variations in both species densities and airglow emissions are well documented. The extensive observations available offer an excellent case study for comparison with model simulations. A broad range of MSAO measurements is summarised with emphasis on the 80-100 km region. The objective here is not to address directly the complicated driving forces of the MSAO, but rather to employ a combination of observations and model simulations to estimate the limits of some of the underlying dynamical processes. Photochemical model simulations are included for near-equinox and near-solstice conditions, the two times with notable differences in the observed MSAO parameters. Diurnal tides are incorporated in the model to facilitate comparisons of observations made at different local times. The roles of water vapour as the driver species and ozone as the response species are examined to test for consistency between the model results and observations. The simulations suggest the interactions between vertical eddy diffusion and background vertical advection play a significant role in the MSAO phenomenon. Further, the simulations imply there are rigid limits on vertical advection rates and eddy diffusion rates. For August at the Equator, 90 km altitude, the derived eddy diffusion rate is approximately 1 x 106 cm2 s-1 and the vertical advection is upwards at 0.8 cm s-1. For April the corresponding values are 4 x 105 cm2 s-1 and 0.1 cm s-1. These results from the current 1-D model simulations will need to be verified by a full 3-D simulation. Exactly how vertical advection and eddy diffusion are related to gravity wave momentum as discussed by Dunkerton (1982) three decades ago remains to be addressed

Spatial transcriptomics identifies spatially dysregulated expression of <i>GRM3</i> and <i>USP47</i> in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Research Funding Medical Research Council. Grant Number: MR/L016400/1 Biogen Academy of Medical Sciences. Grant Number: 210JMG 3102 R45620 MND Scotland Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilPeer reviewedPublisher PD

The case for low-level BACE1 inhibition for the prevention of Alzheimer disease

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in older individuals (>65 years) and has a long presymptomatic phase. Preventive therapies for AD are not yet available, and potential disease-modifying therapies targeting amyloid-β plaques in symptomatic stages of AD have only just been approved in the United States. Small-molecule inhibitors of β-site amyloid precursor protein (APP)-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1; also known as β-secretase 1) reduce the production of amyloid-β peptide and are among the most advanced drug candidates for AD. However, to date all phase II and phase III clinical trials of BACE inhibitors were either concluded without benefit or discontinued owing to futility or the occurrence of adverse effects. Adverse effects included early, mild cognitive impairment that was associated with all but one inhibitor; preliminary results suggest that the cognitive effects are non-progressive and reversible. These discontinuations have raised questions regarding the suitability of BACE1 as a drug target for AD. In this Perspective, we discuss the status of BACE inhibitors and suggest ways in which the results of the discontinued trials can inform the development of future clinical trials of BACE inhibitors and related secretase modulators as preventative therapies. We also propose a series of experiments that should be performed to inform ‘go–no-go’ decisions in future trials with BACE inhibitors and consider the possibility that low levels of BACE1 inhibition could avoid adverse effects while achieving efficacy for AD prevention

OSIRIS: A Decade of Scattered Light

Into year 11 of a 2-yr mission, OSIRIS is redefining how limb-scattered sunlight can be used to probe the atmosphere, even into the upper troposphere

Trends in Mortality from Septicaemia and Pneumonia with Economic Development: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Hong Kong population has experienced drastic changes in its economic development in the 1940s. Taking advantage of Hong Kong’s unique demographic and socioeconomic history, characterized by massive, punctuated migration waves from Southern China, and recent, rapid transition from a pre-industrialized society to the first ethnic Chinese community reaching “first world” status over the last 60 years (i.e., in two or three generations), we examined the longitudinal trends in infection related mortality including septicemia compared to trends in non-bacterial pneumonia to generate hypotheses for further testing in other recently transitioned economies and to provide generalized aetiological insights on how economic transition affects infection-related mortality.</p> <h3>Methods</h3><p>We used deaths from septicemia and pneumonia not specified as bacterial, and population figures in Hong Kong from 1976–2005. We fitted age-period-cohort models to decompose septicemia and non-bacterial pneumonia mortality rates into age, period and cohort effects.</p> <h3>Results</h3><p>Septicaemia-related deaths increased exponentially with age, with a downturn by period. The birth cohort curves had downward inflections in both sexes in the 1940s, with a steeper deceleration for women. Non-bacterial pneumonia-related deaths also increased exponentially with age, but the birth cohort patterns showed no downturns for those born in the 1940s.</p> <h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The observed changes appeared to suggest that better early life conditions may enable better development of adaptive immunity, thus enhancing immunity against bacterial infections, with greater benefits for women than men. Given the interaction between the immune system and the gonadotropic axis, these observations are compatible with the hypothesis that upregulation of the gonadotropic axis underlies some of the changes in disease patterns with economic development.</p> </div

T1 and FLAIR signal intensities are related to tau pathology in dominantly inherited Alzheimer disease

Carriers of mutations responsible for dominantly inherited Alzheimer disease provide a unique opportunity to study potential imaging biomarkers. Biomarkers based on routinely acquired clinical MR images, could supplement the extant invasive or logistically challenging) biomarker studies. We used 1104 longitudinal MR, 324 amyloid beta, and 87 tau positron emission tomography imaging sessions from 525 participants enrolled in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Observational Study to extract novel imaging metrics representing the mean (μ) and standard deviation (σ) of standardized image intensities of T1-weighted and Fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MR scans. There was an exponential decrease in FLAIR-μ in mutation carriers and an increase in FLAIR and T1 signal heterogeneity (T1-σ and FLAIR-σ) as participants approached the symptom onset in both supramarginal, the right postcentral and right superior temporal gyri as well as both caudate nuclei, putamina, thalami, and amygdalae. After controlling for the effect of regional atrophy, FLAIR-μ decreased and T1-σ and FLAIR-σ increased with increasing amyloid beta and tau deposition in numerous cortical regions. In symptomatic mutation carriers and independent of the effect of regional atrophy, tau pathology demonstrated a stronger relationship with image intensity metrics, compared with amyloid pathology. We propose novel MR imaging intensity-based metrics using standard clinical T1 and FLAIR images which strongly associates with the progression of pathology in dominantly inherited Alzheimer disease. We suggest that tau pathology may be a key driver of the observed changes in this cohort of patients