CANOZE measurements of the Arctic ozone hole

In CANOZE 1 (Canadian Ozone Experiment), a series of 20 ozone profile measurements were made in April, 1986 from Alert at 82.5 N. CANOZE is the Canadian program for study of the Arctic winter ozone layer. In CANOZE 2, ozone profile measurements were made at Saskatoon, Edmonton, Churchill and Resolute during February and March, 1987 with ECC ozonesondes. Ground based measurements of column ozone, nitrogen dioxide and hydrochloric acid were conducted at Saskatoon. Two STRATOPROBE balloon flights were conducted on February 26 and March 19, 1987. Two aerosol flights were conducted by the University of Wyoming. The overall results of this study will be reported and compared with the NOZE findings. The results from CANOZE 3 in 1988, are also discussed. In 1988, as part of CANOZE 3, STRATOPROBE balloon flights were conducted from Saskatchewan on January 27 and February 13. A new lightweight infrared instrument was developed and test flown. A science flight was successfully conducted from Alert (82.5 N) on March 9, 1988 when the vortex was close to Alert; a good measurement of the profile of nitric acid was obtained. Overall, the Arctic spring ozone layer exhibits many of the features of the Antarctic ozone phenomenon, although there is obviously not a hole present every year. The Arctic ozone field in March, 1986 demonstrated many similarities to the Antarctic ozone hole. The TOMS imagery showed a crater structure in the ozone field similar to the Antarctic crater in October. Depleted layers of ozone were found in the profiles around 15 km, very similar to those reported from McMurdo. Enhanced levels of nitric acid were measured in air which had earlier been in the vortex. The TOMS imagery for March 1987 did not show an ozone crater, but will be examined for an ozone crater in February and March, 1988, the target date for the CANOZE 3 project

Using agent-based modelling to predict the role of wild refugia in the evolution of resistance of sea lice to chemotherapeutants

A major challenge for Atlantic salmon farming in the northern hemisphere is infestation by the sea louse parasite Lepeophtheirus salmonis. The most frequent method of controlling these sea louse infestations is through the use of chemical treatments. However, most major salmon farming areas have observed resistance to common chemotherapeutants. In terrestrial environments, many strategies employed to manage the evolution of resistance involve the use of refugia, where a portion of the population is left untreated to maintain susceptibility. While refugia have not been deliberately used in Atlantic salmon farming, wild salmon populations that migrate close to salmon farms may act as natural refugia. In this paper we describe an agent-based model that explores the influence of different sizes of wild salmon populations on resistance evolution in sea lice on a salmon farm. Using the model, we demonstrate that wild salmon populations can act as refugia that limit the evolution of resistance in the sea louse populations. Additionally, we demonstrate that an increase in the size of the population of wild salmon results in an increased effect in slowing the evolution of resistance. We explore the effect of a population fitness cost associated with resistance, finding that in some cases it substantially reduces the speed of evolution to chemical treatments

Evidence for West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus Infections in Wild and Resident Birds in Germany, 2017 and 2018

Wild birds play an important role as reservoir hosts and vectors for zoonotic arboviruses and foster their spread. Usutu virus (USUV) has been circulating endemically in Germany since 2011, while West Nile virus (WNV) was first diagnosed in several bird species and horses in 2018. In 2017 and 2018, we screened 1709 live wild and zoo birds with real-time polymerase chain reaction and serological assays. Moreover, organ samples from bird carcasses submitted in 2017 were investigated. Overall, 57 blood samples of the live birds (2017 and 2018), and 100 organ samples of dead birds (2017) were positive for USUV-RNA, while no WNV-RNA-positive sample was found. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the first detection of USUV lineage Europe 2 in Germany and the spread of USUV lineages Europe 3 and Africa 3 towards Northern Germany. USUV antibody prevalence rates were high in Eastern Germany in both years. On the contrary, in Northern Germany, high seroprevalence rates were first detected in 2018, with the first emergence of USUV in this region. Interestingly, high WNV-specific neutralizing antibody titers were observed in resident and short-distance migratory birds in Eastern Germany in 2018, indicating the first signs of a local WNV circulation

CoGeNT: A Search for Low-Mass Dark Matter using p-type Point Contact Germanium Detectors

CoGeNT employs p-type point-contact (PPC) germanium detectors to search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). By virtue of its low energy threshold and ability to reject surface backgrounds, this type of device allows an emphasis on low-mass dark matter candidates (wimp mass of about 10 GeV/c2). We report on the characteristics of the PPC detector presently taking data at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, elaborating on aspects of shielding, data acquisition, instrumental stability, data analysis, and background estimation. A detailed background model is used to investigate the low energy excess of events previously reported, and to assess the possibility of temporal modulations in the low-energy event rate. Extensive simulations of all presently known backgrounds do not provide a viable background explanation for the excess of low-energy events in the CoGeNT data, or the previously observed temporal variation in the event rate. Also reported on for the first time is a determination of the surface (slow pulse rise time) event contamination in the data as a function of energy. We conclude that the CoGeNT detector technology is well suited to search for the annual modulation signature expected from dark matter particle interactions in the region of WIMP mass and coupling favored by the DAMA/LIBRA resultsComment: 20 pages, 31 figures. Several figures have been added, including an updated allowed region (both 90% and 99% confidence level contours) based on this analysis. There is also the addition of a Pb-210 background estimat

Experimental constraints on a dark matter origin for the DAMA annual modulation effect

A claim for evidence of dark matter interactions in the DAMA experiment has been recently reinforced. We employ a new type of germanium detector to conclusively rule out a standard isothermal galactic halo of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) as the explanation for the annual modulation effect leading to the claim. Bounds are similarly imposed on a suggestion that dark pseudoscalars mightlead to the effect. We describe the sensitivity to light dark matter particles achievable with our device, in particular to Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Model candidates.Comment: v4: introduces recent results from arXiv:0807.3279 and arXiv:0807.2926. Sensitivity to pseudoscalars is revised in light of the first. Discussion on the subject adde

Structural and Biochemical Characterization of AidC, a Quorum-Quenching Lactonase With Atypical Selectivity

Quorum-quenching catalysts are of interest for potential application as biochemical tools for interrogating interbacterial communication pathways, as antibiofouling agents, and as anti-infective agents in plants and animals. Herein, the structure and function of AidC, an N-acyl-l-homoserine lactone (AHL) lactonase from Chryseobacterium, is characterized. Steady-state kinetics show that zinc-supplemented AidC is the most efficient wild-type quorum-quenching enzymes characterized to date, with a kcat/KM value of approximately 2 × 106 M–1 s–1 for N-heptanoyl-l-homoserine lactone. The enzyme has stricter substrate selectivity and significantly lower KM values (ca. 50 μM for preferred substrates) compared to those of typical AHL lactonases (ca. >1 mM). X-ray crystal structures of AidC alone and with the product N-hexanoyl-l-homoserine were determined at resolutions of 1.09 and 1.67 Å, respectively. Each structure displays as a dimer, and dimeric oligiomerization was also observed in solution by size-exclusion chromatography coupled with multiangle light scattering. The structures reveal two atypical features as compared to previously characterized AHL lactonases: a “kinked” α-helix that forms part of a closed binding pocket that provides affinity and enforces selectivity for AHL substrates and an active-site His substitution that is usually found in a homologous family of phosphodiesterases. Implications for the catalytic mechanism of AHL lactonases are discussed