Search

Abstract: Between 1997 and 2007 noctilucent clouds (NLC) have been observed by the Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research (ALOMAR) Rayleigh/Mie/Raman (RMR) lidar in Northern Norway at , . During a total of 3322 measurement hours, being well distributed over the 11 years, season and local time, NLC were detected for 1272h. The seasonal extreme values of NLC occurrence, altitude, brightness and vertical extent are found 15–30 days after summer solstice. The year-to-year occurrence frequency of strong NLC is anti-correlated to solar activity until 2004 and decreases monotonously thereafter. This drop in cloud occurrence is not seen by satellite-borne SBUV instruments and raises the question about the interpretation of cloud occurrences observed by different methods. The cloud water content is unchanged or even decreasing after 2004. Considering the entire 11 year period there is no significant anti-correlation between the occurrence of strong clouds and solar activity. The mean NLC altitudes are and for all clouds and strong clouds, respectively. Today''s cloud altitudes differ by only a few hundred meters from observations years ago (82.1km). Taking into account current geophysical cloud altitude variability of , the mean NLC altitude appears to be unchanged. This behavior falls short of an expected altitude decrease of more than 2km following from temperature trends calculated by current global atmosphere models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The complexities inherent in land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) activities have led to contentious and prolonged debates about the merits of their inclusion in the 2008–2012 first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Yet the inclusion of these activities played a key role in agreement on the general framework of the Kyoto Protocol, and LULUCF will likely continue to play a substantial part in negotiations on national commitments post-2012. The Marrakech Accords dictate which LULUCF activities are to be included under the Kyoto Protocol and provide rules on how they are to be accounted in the first commitment period. However, these rules have limitations and drawbacks that may be avoided in the structure of future commitments beyond 2012. Through adherence to the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the incorporation of several critical features, a future framework can more effectively address the mitigation challenges and opportunities of this sector. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In response to myocardial infarction (MI), extracellular vesicles (EVs), including large (lEVs) and small (sEVs), are released within and from the heart to facilitate intercellular communication and maintain cardiac homeostasis by transporting cargo to recipient cells. We investigated how glucose intolerance influences the intracardiac EV release post-MI and their content. B6J mice were fed chow (CD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 3 months. MI was induced by permanent coronary artery ligation. EVs were isolated from left ventricles and quantified by tunable resistive pulse sensing. EVs were characterised by flow cytometry. EV miRNA content was determined by RNAseq and qPCR. Using cardiomyocyte specific GFP+ mice, plasma lEVs were analysed by flow cytometry to determine if cardiomyocyte EVs (CMEVs) are circulating. Labelled hypoxic cardiomyocyte cell line (HL-1) lEVs were injected in HFD/CD mice post-MI to determine target cells. In CD mice, EV release was significantly increased 24 h post-MI compared to sham. HFD lEV levels were significantly higher compared to sham and CD mice post-MI with no difference in sEV release between sham and MI HFD mice. Intracardiac lEVs originate from cardiomyocyte and endothelial cells in response to MI and MI + HFD respectively. qPCR analyses identified miRNA candidates that were modulated by MI and HFD. Intracardiac GFP + lEV levels were lower in HFD than in CD mice whereas levels of circulating GFP + lEVs were higher. In vivo biodistribution studies revealed a preferential uptake of hypoxic HL-1 lEVs by splenic myeloid cells in HFD spleens versus CD post-MI. Our results show that glucose intolerance modulates intracardiac EV release post-MI and their miRNA cargo. Circulating CMEV levels as well as their uptake by splenic myeloid cells are increased. Further investigations will aim to decipher the impact of the intracardiac EV miRNA mediated transfer in the diabetic heart post-MI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noctilucent clouds (NLC) have been observed with the ALOMAR Rayleigh/Mie/Raman lidar at 69° N using a temporal resolution of 30 s since 2008. We present an approach to identify and analyze the localized small scale wave structures of the varying altitude of the NLC layers in the range of 5–30 min that may be caused by gravity waves. Small scale gravity waves breaking in the mesopause region contribute notably to the momentum flux but are difficult to observe and to characterize. The approach is based on a template matching method using generalized structures to be identified in the NLC observations. The new method permits the identification of structures that are present in NLC only for a time too short to appear in a Fourier or wavelet spectrum. Without the need for a continuous time series the method can handle multiple NLC layers and data gaps. In the 2000 h of NLC data from the years 2008–2015, we find almost 5000 single wave structures with a total length of 738 h. The structures are found on average 400 m below the NLC centroid altitude and a large number of the structures has a length at the lower limit of 5 min. With the background wind from the meteor radar near ALOMAR a horizontal scale is estimated based on the length of the individual structures. The distribution of horizontal scales shows a peak of wave structures at 15–20 km in accordance with the horizontal wavelengths found by ground-based camera observations of NLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bioeconomic model simulating the lifetime production of a group of purchased gilts and their progeny was developed to estimate economic weights of traits in pig breeding. For the Czech situation, the following marginal economic values were calculated (in Czech crowns per unit of the trait): 30.5 for lifetime daily gain (ADG, in g/day), 1038 for lean meat content (LM, in %), 2975 for valuable cuts (WVC, in kg), 2040 for number of piglets born alive (NBA, in piglets per litter), −560 for energy intake per kg gain (in MJ ME/kg), 34.7 for conception rate (in %) and −119 for culling rate of sows (in %). Taking into account the intended use of breeds, the following economic weights for traits in the breeding objective were estimated: ADG 3.5, WVC 342, NBA 477 for Large White; ADG 2.4, WVC 238, NBA 290 for Landrace, and ADG 8.3, WVC 812 for sire breeds. A sensitivity analysis showed that the relative values of traits might change in future. Expecting an increase in costs, higher economic weights should be given to reproduction and growth traits; expecting a decrease in meat price, production traits will be more important. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Focused ion irradiation of insulating diamond-like carbon (DLC) films is a well-recognized approach to write defined nanostructures with drastically changed properties compared to the unexposed matrix. In particular, the electrical conductivity of the film areas that are irradiated increases by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore it is known that the conductivity increase is directly related to the irradiation-induced sp 3 –sp 2 rehybridization. This experimental work shows in detail that ion-induced microstructural ordering of the carbon atom arrangement far beyond the sp 3 –sp 2 conversion saturation is an important microscopic mechanism for the alteration of physical properties, including an increase in the conductivity. The atomic ordering correlates with the local energy density deposited during the ion impact. Thus the ion-induced phase transformation of DLC is proposed to comprise a rehybridization stage, caused by nuclear collisions, and a rearrangement stage (graphite-like ordering) that is thermally driven by the ion impact. These conclusions are based on in-depth investigations of amorphous DLC films that were locally irradiated by a number of ion species employing several temperature regimes. The ion irradiation experiments cover a wide range of fluences. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, μ-Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and low temperature transport measurements have been applied to characterize the films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lidar measurements of noctilucent clouds (NLC) were conducted by the Davis Rayleigh-/Raman-lidar in Antarctica (68.58°S, 77.97°E) and by the Rayleigh-/Mie-/Raman-lidar at the ALOMAR observatory in northern Norway (69.28°N, 16.01°E). We compare southern and northern hemisphere NLC at time scales of 10min to several hours using multi-year datasets (four seasons at ALOMAR, 2008–2011, and nine seasons at Davis, 2001/2002 to 2009/2010). NLC characteristics studied include the vertical structure of NLC layers, the duration of NLC layers as well as the apparent downward motion of NLC layers with time. We find multiple layers during 9% of all NLC observations with vertical separations of double layers between 1.5 and 3km. The mean downward progression of NLC with measurement time is −0.3km/h and comparable at Davis and ALOMAR. We find no general spatial tilt of the layer at ALOMAR but individual layers show up to 2km altitude difference at 40km horizontal separation. Typical NLC observations at both stations last about 5 hours, hinting at horizontal extents of about 700km, and reoccur after approximately 10 hours. This is in the range of mid-frequency gravity waves (GW). On short-time scales NLC characteristics are presumably impacted by small scale processes in the vicinity of the clouds, generated by e.g. breaking GW. In addition, we discuss a possible relation to GW by looking at the influence of stratospheric wind conditions on NLC layer characteristics at 69°S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the MIDAS MaCWAVE sounding rocket campaign performed at Andøya, Norway (16°E, 69°N), from 29 June to 5 July 2002, charged aerosol probes aboard a MIDAS rocket detected a mixture of charged aerosol particles with different charges and sizes. Two charged aerosol probes were used on the MIDAS payload. The first probe, a collection surface shielded by a magnetic field, was optimized for the detection of negative aerosol particles. The second probe, a collection surface shielded by a magnetic field and a positive bias voltage, was optimized for detecting positive aerosol particles. On 2 July 2002, a MIDAS payload was launched into a simultaneous noctilucent cloud (NLC) and polar mesospheric summer echo (PMSE). The two probes measured a charge and size distribution of aerosol particles: a narrow layer of both small (1nm

Abstract: Based on simultaneous observations of Na density, polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE) and noctilucent cloud (NLC) at ALOMAR, Norway (69°N) during the summers of 2001 and 2002, we report the strong anti-correlation of sodium atoms with NLC, suggesting that in the presence of large ice particles Na is always absent, and a weaker anti-correlation of sodium atoms with PMSE, suggesting that a population of sub-visible particles also deplete Na to a varied degree. This conclusion is in general agreement with recent reports on iron and potassium atom–ice particle anti-correlation. For this study, we use data taken with the Weber Na lidar, the ALWIN VHF radar, and the RMR lidar on 8 specific days in 2001 and 4 days in 2002 plus half-monthly average variation over the summer 2001 based on all 17 days of coincident measurements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present report summarizes studies combining an in vivo and in vitro approach, where asphyxia is induced in vivo at delivery time of Wistar rats, and the long term effects on hippocampus neurocircuitry are investigated in vitro with organotypic cultures plated at postnatal day seven. The cultures preserved hippocampus layering and regional subdivisions shown in vivo, and only few dying cells were observed when assayed with a viability test at day in vitro 27. When properly fixed, cultures from asphyxia-exposed animals showed a decreased amount of microtubule-associated protein-2 immunocytochemically positive cells (∼30%), as compared with that from controls. The decrease in microtubule-associated protein-2 immunocytochemistry was particularly prominent in Ammon’s horn 1 and dentate gyrus regions (∼40%). 5-Bromo-2′deoxyuridine labeling revealed a two-fold increase in cellular proliferation in cultures from asphyxia-exposed, compared with that from control animals. Furthermore, confocal microscopy and quantification using the optical disector technique demonstrated that in cultures from asphyxia-exposed animals ∼30% of 5-bromo-2′deoxyuridine-positive cells were also positive to microtubule-associated protein-2, a marker for neuronal phenotype. That proportion was ∼20% in cultures from control animals. Glial fibrillary acidic protein-immunocytochemistry and Fast Red nuclear staining revealed that the core of the hippocampus culture was surrounded by a well-developed network of glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells and glial fibrillary acidic protein-processes providing an apparent protective shield around the hippocampus. That shield was less developed in cultures from asphyxia-exposed animals. The increased mitotic activity observed in this study suggests a compensatory mechanism for the long-term impairment induced by perinatal asphyxia, although it is not clear yet if that mechanism leads to neurogenesis, astrogliogenesis, or to further apoptosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One promising strategy to control the interactions between biomaterial surfaces and attaching cells involves the covalent grafting of adhesion peptides to polymers on which protein adsorption, which mediates unspecific cell adhesion, is essentially suppressed. This study demonstrates a surface modification concept for the covalent anchoring of RGD peptides to reactive diblock copolymers based on monoamine poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D,L-lactic acid) (H2N-PEG-PLA). Films of both the amine-reactive (ST-NH-PEG2PLA20) and the thiol-reactive derivative (MP-NH-PEG2PLA40) were modified with cyclic αvβ3/αvβ5 integrin subtype specific RGD peptides simply by incubation of the films with buffered solutions of the peptides. Human osteoblasts known to express these integrins were used to determine cell–polymer interactions. The adhesion experiments revealed significantly increased cell numbers and cell spreading on the RGD-modified surfaces mediated by RGD–integrin-interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effect of perinatal asphyxia on brain development was studied with organotypic cultures from substantia nigra, neostriatum and neocortex. Asphyxia was induced by immersing foetuses-containing uterine horns removed from ready-to-deliver rats into a water bath for 20 min. Following asphyxia, the pups were nursed by a surrogate dam and sacrificed after 3 days to prepare organotypic cultures. Non-asphyxiated caesarean-delivered pups were used as controls. Morphological features were recorded during in vitro development. At day in vitro (DIV) 24, the cultures were treated for histochemistry using fast red for cell nucleus labelling and antibodies against tyrosine hydroxylase for dopaminergic neurons. Compared to controls, cultures from asphyxiated pups revealed a diminished integration quantified during 21 DIV. After immunocytochemistry and camera lucida reconstruction, tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons showed a decreased number of neurites from secondary and higher level branching, demonstrating a vulnerability of the dopaminergic systems after perinatal asphyxia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]