First observation of electric-quadrupole infrared transitions in water vapour

Molecular absorption of infrared radiation is generally due to ro-vibrational electric-dipole transitions. Electric-quadrupole transitions may still occur, but they are typically a million times weaker than electric-dipole transitions, rendering their observation extremely challenging. In polyatomic or polar diatomic molecules, ro-vibrational quadrupole transitions have never been observed. Here, we report the first direct detection of quadrupole transitions in water vapor. The detected quadrupole lines have intensity largely above the standard dipole intensity cut-off of spectroscopic databases and thus are important for accurate atmospheric and astronomical remote sensing

Biodiversité végétale et vitesse de la régénération de la forêt classée de Sanaimbo (Côte d’Ivoire)

Nous analysons l’impact de l’agriculture traditionnelle sur la diversité végétale dans une forêt semi-décidue afrotropicale non soumise à des perturbations naturelles majeures. Les assemblages d’espèces et les attributs structurels de la diversité sont décrits le long d’une chronoséquence sur 30 ans de champs abandonnés, comparativement aux communautés de forêts « primaires » et de forêts coupées sélectivement. Seulement 6,3% des espèces inventoriées dans les forêts anciennes n’ont pas été observées dans les jachères, alors que 12,3% des espèces sont propres aux jachères. Lorsque la forêt ancienne sur sol ferrallitique est prise comme référence, les analyses de régression linéaire montrent que cette forêt peut recouvrer la structure et la fonction au cours de la quatrième décennie de recolonisation, et la composition spécifique une décennie plus tard. L’invasion précoce des champs par Chromolaena odorata (L.) R. King & H. Robinson. ne semble pas altérer durablement la succession secondaire. Les espèces s’assemblent en communautés végétales discrètes le long du gradient successionnel, en fonction de leurs exigences en lumière, suggérant une partition des niches écologiques.Mots clés : Biodiversité végétale, successions secondaires, indices de diversit

Ectopic paraesophageal mediastinal parathyroid adenoma, a rare cause of acute pancreatitis

BACKGROUND: The manifestation of primary hyperparathyroidism with acute pancreatitis is a rare event. Ectopic paraesophageal parathyroid adenomas account for about 5%–10% of primary hyperparathyroidism and surgical resection results in cure of the disease. CASE PRESENTATION: A 71-year-old woman was presented with acute pancreatitis and hypercalcaemia. During the investigation of hypercalcemia, a paraesophageal ectopic parathyroid mass was detected by computerized tomography (CT) scan and (99m)Tc sestamibi scintigraphy. The tumor was resected via a cervical collar incision and calcium and parathormone tumor levels returned to normal within 48 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Acute pancreatitis associated with hypercalcaemia should pose the suspicion of primary hyperparathyroidism. Accurate preoperative localization of an ectopic parathyroid adenoma, by using the combination of (99m)Tc sestamibi scintigraphy and CT scan of the neck and chest allows successful surgical treatment

Validation Tests of the W2020 Energy Levels of Water Vapor

A decade ago, a task group of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry performed an exhaustive collection and review of measured transitions, applied the MARVEL procedure, and derived recommended empirical energy levels for nine major water isotopologues. Very recently, using an improved methodology, the sets of empirical energy levels of H216O, H218O and H217O were updated, leading to the so-called W2020 energy levels and transition wavenumbers [Furtenbacher et al. J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 49 (2020) 043103; 10.1063/5.0030680]. Here we present validation tests of the W2020 line list of H216O against spectra recorded by cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) referenced to a frequency comb (FC), newly obtained in the 8040-8630 cm−1 region. The recorded spectra are found in excellent agreement with previous high-quality studies available in the literature. While these literature sources were all incorporated in the transition database used to derive the W2020 energy levels, the direct superposition of the FC-CRDS spectra to the W2020 line list of H216O shows a number of large disagreements. Cases where deviations largely exceed the W2020 claimed uncertainty on the transition frequencies are noted. In the considered spectral region, the resulting W2020 list is thus less accurate than some of the published original sources used to derive the W2020 energy levels. We conclude that the sophisticated global procedure and algorithm elaborated to identify and adequately weight inaccurate line positions among the large W2020 transition database do not always prevent less accurate data from “spoiling” higher quality data sources. The W2020 list of H216O is also compared to newly recorded CRDS spectra in the 12970–13200 cm−1 region (corresponding to the region of the A-band of O2), where previous observations were very scarce. As in the previous region, substantial position deviations are evidenced, and in many cases, the W2020 error bars appear to be strongly underestimated. © 2021 Elsevier LtdThe support of the CNRS (France) in the frame of International Research Project SAMIA is acknowledged. SNM activity was also partly supported in the frame of the Russian Science Foundation, Grant No. 18-11-00024-Π. CRDS measurements near 760 nm were performed at IAO-Tomsk and funded by RFBR project 20-32-70054

New transitions and energy levels of water vapor by high sensitivity CRDS near 1.73 and 1.54 µm

This contribution is part of a long term project aiming at improving the water absorption spectroscopy by high sensitivity cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) in the near infrared. Two new sources of CRDS spectra are considered: (i) The room temperature absorption spectrum of water vapor in natural isotopic abundance is recorded near 1.73 µm. A series of recordings was performed from 5693 to 5991 cm−1 with a pressure value of about 6 Torr. The noise equivalent absorption (αmin) of the spectra is better than 10− 10 cm−1. A total of 1453 lines were assigned to 1573 transitions of four water isotopologues (H2 16O, H2 17O, H2 18O and HD16O). Their intensities span more than five orders of magnitude from 3.0 × 10−30 to 4.7 × 10−25 cm/molecule at 296 K. The assignments were performed using known experimental energy levels as well as calculated line lists based on the results of Schwenke and Partridge. Two hundred fifty-one lines (assigned to 280 transitions) are observed for the first time and twelve energy levels are newly determined. The comparison of the obtained line parameters with those of the HITRAN database is discussed. Forty-six line positions are observed to significantly differ from their HITRAN values (δν = │νHITRAN – νCRDS│ > 0.02 cm−1). The derived set of energy levels is compared to those recommended by an IUPAC task group. (ii) The room temperature CRDS spectrum of water vapor highly enriched in 17O was recorded near 1.54 µm (6223–6672 cm−1) at a pressure of 12 Torr. Compared to a previous study, the higher pressure of the recordings allowed for extending the observations. Overall, twenty-six new levels were determined for both H2 17O and HD17O. All these observations together with other recent measurements will allow for an extension and an update of our empirical database in the 5693– 8340 cm−1 region. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Etude De L’évolution Du Trait De Côte À L’aide De L’outil Mobitc : Cas Du Littoral De Grand-Bassam

This study proposes an assessment of the historical coastline (TDC) mobility of the Ivorian coastline, specifically the Grand-Bassam coastline (Côte d'Ivoire), and suggests reflections on the sustainable management of the coastal environment in Côte d'Ivoire, taking into account coastal erosion. The objective is to evaluate, using the MobiTC software, the spatio-temporal and statistical evolution of the morphology of the Grand-Bassam coastal zone in order to plan appropriate coastal developments. Specifically, it is to extract images on google earth, to treat them under MobiTC and to analyze the rate of spatio-temporary and statistical evolution of coastlines. To do this, data from QuickBird images provided by Google Earth from 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 in the study area were used. Different software was used for image processing. The ENVI 5.1 software allowed georeferencing and thresholding to make the images superimposable and highlight the baseline. The digitization of the images was done with ArcGis software. The QGIS 2.18 software was used to convert the .shp files to the mid / mif format of the MobiTC software. The latter makes it possible to understand the statistical evolution of the coastline dynamics from the creation of a baseline, the skeleton of envelopes and traces. The variations observed between 1984 and 2016 show a fattening of 0.23 m / year in some sectors and an erosion rate of 0.34 m / year in other sectors. It is noted that 62.79% of the coastline is accretion and 37.21% is eroding

Understanding the dynamics of Toll-like Receptor 5 response to flagellin and its regulation by estradiol

© 2017 The Author(s). Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are major players of the innate immune system. Once activated, they trigger a signalling cascade that leads to NF-ΰ B translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Single cell analysis shows that NF-ΰ B signalling dynamics are a critical determinant of transcriptional regulation. Moreover, the outcome of innate immune response is also affected by the cross-talk between TLRs and estrogen signalling. Here, we characterized the dynamics of TLR5 signalling, responsible for the recognition of flagellated bacteria, and those changes induced by estradiol in its signalling at the single cell level. TLR5 activation in MCF7 cells induced a single and sustained NF-k B translocation into the nucleus that resulted in high NF-k B transcription activity. The overall magnitude of NF-k B transcription activity was not influenced by the duration of the stimulus. No significant changes are observed in the dynamics of NF-k B translocation to the nucleus when MCF7 cells are incubated with estradiol. However, estradiol significantly decreased NF-k B transcriptional activity while increasing TLR5-mediated AP-1 transcription. The effect of estradiol on transcriptional activity was dependent on the estrogen receptor activated. This fine tuning seems to occur mainly in the nucleus at the transcription level rather than affecting the translocation of the NF-k B transcription factor