LIDAR monitoring of the temperature in the middle and lower atmosphere

Two methods are described to monitor the temperature of the atmosphere from the ground to 100 km altitude. The Rayleigh LIDAR is now widely used (the French network includes four of those characteristics of which are given), and here, the major results obtained from this technique are presented. The second method, which completes the Rayleigh LIDAR downwards, uses the rotational Raman lines of O₂ and N₂. The method is briefly described and first results are presented. Including both the Rayleigh and Raman modes leads to a continuous temperature measuring method to survey changes in the lower and middle atmosphere.     

Phase boundary relaxation effects in pure type I superconductors

The time constant for the growth of the superconducting phase in four type I superconducting elements has been studied as a function of temperature. The relaxation time versus temperature curves show a complex structure that cannot be correlated with any known transitions.     

Description of a Doppler rayleigh LIDAR for measuring winds in the middle atmosphere

The possibility to measure winds in the middle atmosphere with a Doppler LIDAR was demonstrated in 1989. It has been used since then to study the wave-mean flow interaction, in association with the Rayleigh LIDAR providing density and temperature and their fluctuations. The Doppler LIDAR relies on Rayleigh scattering from air molecules and was originally designed to cover the height range 25–60 km, a region where radars cannot operate. The Doppler shift of the backscattered echo is measured by inter-comparing the signal detected through each of two narrow band-passes of a single dual Fabry-Perot interferometer tuned to either side of the emitted laser line. Its extension to lower altitudes where Mie scattering is present is under study.     

Beneficial Effects of Cyclic Ether 2-Butoxytetrahydrofuran from Sea Cucumber Holothuria scabra against Aβ Aggregate Toxicity in Transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans and Potential Chemical Interaction

The pathological finding of amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregates is thought to be a leading cause of untreated Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we isolated 2-butoxytetrahydrofuran (2-BTHF), a small cyclic ether, from Holothuria scabra and demonstrated its therapeutic potential against AD through the attenuation of Aβ aggregation in a transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans model. Our results revealed that amongst the five H. scabra isolated compounds, 2-BTHF was shown to be the most effective in suppressing worm paralysis caused by Aβ toxicity and in expressing strong neuroprotection in CL4176 and CL2355 strains, respectively. An immunoblot analysis showed that CL4176 and CL2006 treated with 2-BTHF showed no effect on the level of Aβ monomers but significantly reduced the toxic oligomeric form and the amount of 1,4-bis(3-carboxy-hydroxy-phenylethenyl)-benzene (X-34)-positive fibril deposits. This concurrently occurred with a reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the treated CL4176 worms. Mechanistically, heat shock factor 1 (HSF-1) (at residues histidine 63 (HIS63) and glutamine 72 (GLN72)) was shown to be 2-BTHF’s potential target that might contribute to an increased expression of autophagy-related genes required for the breakdown of the Aβ aggregate, thus attenuating its toxicity. In conclusion, 2-BTHF from H. scabra could protect C. elegans from Aβ toxicity by suppressing its aggregation via an HSF-1-regulated autophagic pathway and has been implicated as a potential drug for AD.