Dynamics investigation in the Venus upper atmosphere

The O_2 nightglow emissions in the infrared spectral range are important features to investigate dynamics at the mesospheric altitudes, in the planetary atmosphere. In this work, we analyzed the profiles obtained at limb by the VIRTIS spectrometer on board the Venus Express mission, acquired during the mission period from 2006-07-05 to 2008-08-15 to investigate possible gravity waves characteristics at the airglow altitudes. Indeed, several profiles present double peaked structures that can be interpreted as due to gravity waves. In analogy to the Earth's and Mars cases, we use a well-known theory to model the O_2 nightglow emissions affected by gravity waves propagation, in order to support this thesis and derive the waves properties. We discuss results from 30 profiles showing double peaked structures, focusing on vertical wavelength and wave amplitude of the possible gravity waves. On average, the double peaked profiles are compatible with the effects of gravity waves with a vertical wavelength ranging between 7 and 16 km, and wave amplitude of 3-14%. A comparison with gravity waves properties in the Mars and Earth's atmospheres, using the same theory, is also proposed \citep{altieri_2014}. \ The research is supported by ASI (contract ASI-INAF I/050/10/0)

Особенности синтеза сложных эфиров пентаэритрита и алифатических карбоновых кислот изомерного строения

Objectives. Due to their structures, pentaerythritol esters have a number of appealing properties such as high viscosity index when used as oils and excellent compatibility with polyvinyl chloride when used as plasticizers. For the production of pentaerythritol and carboxylic acids, natural gas can be used as a feedstock, which implies a strategic development of the petrochemical industry, a decrease in the amount of gas used for combustion, and its applications for the production of chemical products.Methods. The synthesis process was conducted in a self-catalysis mode with excess acids in a molar ratio of 8:1 and in the presence of a solvent (toluene) of ~30% per reaction mass. This ensures a uniform distillation of the reaction water at a constant temperature of 100–110 °C, a decrease in the side reaction products, and an increase in process selectivity. The products from the reaction mass were isolated by vacuum distillation, and identification of all the synthesized tetraesters was performed by chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis.Results. This work proposes options for optimizing the conditions of the thermal esterification of pentaerythritol with isomeric monocarboxylic acids (isobutyric, isovaleric, pivalic, and 2-ethylhexanoic acids) that have different reactivities due to their structures. Methods for isolating tetraesters of pentaerythritol and corresponding acids have been developed. The characteristics of the main series of ions of tetraesters of pentaerythritol and aliphatic isomeric acids C4–C8 in the mass spectra were obtained.Conclusions. The yields of tetraesters were at 95%–96% of the theoretical value, and product purity was >99.6%. The resulting target products (tetraesters) were characterized by relative color stability, where the maximum degree of color after cleaning was less than 20 units according to Hazen (180 units for tetra-2-ethylhexnoate), which corresponds to the standards in GOST 29131-91 (ISO 2211-73). The esterification rates were compared, and it was shown that the quantitative yields of isomeric tetraesters at 100–110 °C were achieved in 12–15 h for isobutyric and isovaleric acids, 25–27 h for 2-ethyl-hexanoic acid, and ~40 h for pivalic acid.  Цели. Сложные эфиры пентаэритрита за счет своей структуры обладают рядом привлекательных свойств: высоким индексом вязкости при их использовании в качестве масел и отличной совместимостью с поливинилхлоридными (ПВХ) полимерами при их использовании в качестве пластификаторов. При этом исходным сырьем для производства как пентаэритрита, так и карбоновых кислот может служить природный газ, что актуально с точки зрения снижения объемов газа, направляемого на сжигание, и его использование в производстве химической продукции. Цель работы – разработка новых методов синтеза тетраэфиров пентаэритрита и алифатических изомерных кислот С4–С8.Методы. Процесс проводили в режиме самокатализа при избытке кислоты в мольном соотношении 8:1, а также в присутствии растворителя (толуола) ~30% на реакционную массу, обеспечивающего равномерный отгон реакционной воды при постоянной температуре 100–110 °С, уменьшение продуктов побочных реакций и повышение селективности процесса. Продукты из реакционной массы выделяли методом вакуумной ректификации. Идентификация всех синтезированных тетраэфиров проведилась с использованием хроматомасс-спектрометрического анализа.Результаты. В работе предложены варианты оптимизации условий термической этерификации пентаэритрита изомерными монокарбоновыми кислотами (изомасляной, изовалериановой, пивалевой, 2-этилгексановой), обладающими за счет своей структуры различной реакционной способностью. Разработаны методики выделения тетраэфиров пентаэритрита и соответствующих кислот. Получены характеристики основных серий ионов тетраэфиров пентаэритрита и алифатических изомерных кислот С4–С8 в масс-спектрах.Выводы. В предложенных условиях проведения процесса выход тетраэфиров составил 95–96% от теоретического с чистотой не менее 99.6%. Полученные целевые продукты (тетраэфиры) характеризуются относительной цветостабильностью: максимальная степень окрашенности после очистки составляет не более 20 ед. по Хазену (для тетра-2-этилгексаноата – 180), что соответствует ГОСТ 29131-91 (ИСО 2211-73). Количественные выходы изомерных тетраэфиров при 100–110 °С достигаются: за 12–15 ч для изомасляной и изовалериановой кислоты, 25–27 ч для 2-этил-гексановой и ~40 ч для пивалевой кислоты

Challenges and research priorities to understand interactions between climate, ice sheets and global mean sea level during past interglacials

Quaternary interglacials provide key observations of the Earth system's responses to orbital and greenhouse gas forcing. They also inform on the capabilities of Earth system models, used for projecting the polar ice-sheet and sea-level responses to a regional warmth comparable to that expected by 2100 C.E. However, a number of uncertainties remain regarding the processes and feedbacks linking climate, ice-sheet and sea-level changes during past warm intervals. Here, we delineate the major research questions that need to be resolved and future research directions that should be taken by the paleoclimate, sea-level and ice-sheet research communities in order to increase confidence in the use of past interglacial climate, ice-sheet and sea-level reconstructions to constrain future predictions. These questions were formulated during a joint workshop held by the PAGES-INQUA PALSEA (PALeo constraints on SEA level rise) and the PAGES-PMIP QUIGS (QUaternary InterGlacialS) Working Groups in September 2018.PAGE

WNT5A-JNK regulation of vascular insulin resistance in human obesity

Obesity is associated with the development of vascular insulin resistance; however, pathophysiological mechanisms are poorly understood. We sought to investigate the role of WNT5A-JNK in the regulation of insulin-mediated vasodilator responses in human adipose tissue arterioles prone to endothelial dysfunction. In 43 severely obese (BMI 44±11 kg/m2) and five metabolically normal non-obese (BMI 26±2 kg/m2) subjects, we isolated arterioles from subcutaneous and visceral fat during planned surgeries. Using videomicroscopy, we examined insulin-mediated, endothelium-dependent vasodilator responses and characterized adipose tissue gene and protein expression using real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses. Immunofluorescence was used to quantify endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation. Insulin-mediated vasodilation was markedly impaired in visceral compared to subcutaneous vessels from obese subjects (pWNT5A and its non-canonical receptors, which correlated negatively with insulin signaling. Pharmacological JNK antagonism with SP600125 markedly improved insulin-mediated vasodilation by sixfold (p

Regional and global forcing of glacier retreat during the last deglaciation

The ongoing retreat of glaciers globally is one of the clearest manifestations of recent global warming associated with rising greenhouse gas concentrations. By comparison, the importance of greenhouse gases in driving glacier retreat during the most recent deglaciation, the last major interval of global warming, is unclear due to uncertainties in the timing of retreat around the world. Here we use recently improved cosmogenic-nuclide production-rate calibrations to recalculate the ages of 1,116 glacial boulders from 195 moraines that provide broad coverage of retreat in mid-to-low-latitude regions. This revised history, in conjunction with transient climate model simulations, suggests that while several regional-scale forcings, including insolation, ice sheets and ocean circulation, modulated glacier responses regionally, they are unable to account for global-scale retreat, which is most likely related to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by Nature Publishing Group. The published article can be found at: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150821/ncomms9059/full/ncomms9059.htm

Application of the method of multiscale textural gradient for automatization of diabetes retinopathy diagnosis via analysis of digital images of the eye fundus

Офтальмоскопічне вивчення мікроаневризм судин очного дна є важливим в діагностиці та визначенні тяжкості діабетичної ретинопатії. Мета дослідження – покращити інформативність цифрових зображень очного дна за допомогою методу текстурного градієнта. Метод аналізу зображень полягав у отриманні офтальмоскопічних цифрових зображень очного дна по RGB шкалі, які мали задовільні характеристики яскравості, балансу кольорів та контрасту.Ophthalmoscopic detection of microaneurism is important for the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy severity. Aim of the investigation – to improve value of digital images of the eye fundus using textural gradient technology application. The developed method permitted to improve diagnosis of microaneurism mainly via exlusion of false-positive diagnosis

The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) of Three Spectrometers for the ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter

The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) package is an element of the Russian contribution to the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission. ACS consists of three separate infrared spectrometers, sharing common mechanical, electrical, and thermal interfaces. This ensemble of spectrometers has been designed and developed in response to the Trace Gas Orbiter mission objectives that specifically address the requirement of high sensitivity instruments to enable the unambiguous detection of trace gases of potential geophysical or biological interest. For this reason, ACS embarks a set of instruments achieving simultaneously very high accuracy (ppt level), very high resolving power (>10,000) and large spectral coverage (0.7 to 17 μm—the visible to thermal infrared range). The near-infrared (NIR) channel is a versatile spectrometer covering the 0.7–1.6 μm spectral range with a resolving power of ∼20,000. NIR employs the combination of an echelle grating with an AOTF (Acousto-Optical Tunable Filter) as diffraction order selector. This channel will be mainly operated in solar occultation and nadir, and can also perform limb observations. The scientific goals of NIR are the measurements of water vapor, aerosols, and dayside or night side airglows. The mid-infrared (MIR) channel is a cross-dispersion echelle instrument dedicated to solar occultation measurements in the 2.2–4.4 μm range. MIR achieves a resolving power of >50,000. It has been designed to accomplish the most sensitive measurements ever of the trace gases present in the Martian atmosphere. The thermal-infrared channel (TIRVIM) is a 2-inch double pendulum Fourier-transform spectrometer encompassing the spectral range of 1.7–17 μm with apodized resolution varying from 0.2 to 1.3 cm−1. TIRVIM is primarily dedicated to profiling temperature from the surface up to ∼60 km and to monitor aerosol abundance in nadir. TIRVIM also has a limb and solar occultation capability. The technical concept of the instrument, its accommodation on the spacecraft, the optical designs as well as some of the calibrations, and the expected performances for its three channels are described

Modeled O 2 nightglow distributions in the Venusian atmosphere

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96410/1/jgre3128.pd