Morphology of the ultraviolet Io footprint emission and its control by Io's location

[1] A total of 74 images of the ultraviolet footprint of the Io flux tube (IFT) on Jupiter's upper atmosphere made with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope have been analyzed to characterize their location, morphology, and brightness distribution. The observations cover a wide range of central meridian Jovian longitudes and Io orbital positions and include north and south footprint emissions. Comparing the location of the IFT with that expected from the VIP4 model of the Jovian magnetic field, we find that the lead angle is generally not significantly different from zero in the System III longitude sector 125 degrees - 195 degrees. Instead, the lead angles reach about 8 degrees in the 50 degrees sector, coinciding with a region of possible magnetic anomaly. We observe that the brightness of the main footprint shows intrinsic intensity changes that appear to be controlled by the system III longitude of Io and its position above or below the center of the torus. The size of the primary spot magnetically maps into a region varying from 1 to over 10 Io diameters in Io's orbital plane. Multiple footprints are observed with varying brightness relative to the mean spot. The number of spots is found to increase as Io gets closer to the torus outer edge facing the spots. The separation between the first and second spots is typically 1 degrees-3 degrees of longitude and increases when Io is displaced from the torus center in the direction of the IFT signature. These features confirm that Alfven waves play an important role and generate energization of precipitated electrons. However, the observed variation of the FUV spot structure with Io's position appears inconsistent with models where reflections of Alfven wings occur between the torus boundary and Jupiter's ionosphere. Instead, the multiple spots apparently correspond to electron precipitation generated by Alfven waves reflected inside the plasma torus

Jupiter's changing auroral location

[1] We examine the case of significant latitudinal shifts of the Jovian northern auroral emissions appearing in a data set spanning nine years of observations with the Hubble Space Telescope in the far ultraviolet. The extended data set makes it possible to compare the location of the main auroral emission with similar viewing geometries and satellite positions. The main auroral emission is assumed to originate from beyond the orbit of Ganymede (15 Jovian radii). At these distances, near corotation enforcement and transfer of momentum from Jupiter to the magnetospheric plasma is ensured by means of field aligned currents. The field aligned currents away from Jupiter are carried by downward energetic electrons loosing their energy to the polar atmosphere and giving rise to the main auroral emission. Analysis of the polar projected images shows that the latitudinal location of the main emission has changed by up to 3 degrees over long periods of time. It also shows that the footprint of Ganymede follows a similar trend. We have used the VIP4 magnetic field model to map the emission down to the equatorial plane. This mapping suggests that internal variations of the current sheet parameters might be used as an alternative or complementary explanation to the changing solar wind conditions at Jupiter to explain the observed shift of auroral latitudes

Behçet disease: evaluation of clinical manifestations in Turkish children

PubMe

Endothelial function in patients with familial Mediterranean fever-related amyloidosis and association with cardiovascular events

Objectives. Secondary amyloidosis is the most important complication of FMF and endothelial function is more severely impaired. Elevated asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) may mediate the excess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk of this group. We aimed to compare endothelial function characteristics, including ADMA, in patients with FMF-related amyloidosis and primary glomerulopathies and to define risk factors for a CVD event. Methods. We undertook a cross-sectional study with prospective follow-up including consecutive patients with FMF-related amyloidosis (n = 98) or other non-diabetic glomerulopathies (n = 102). All patients had nephrotic-range proteinuria and normal glomerular filtration rate. Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) was assessedand ADMA levels, CRP and pentraxin 3 (PTX3) were determined. Patients were followed for cardiovascular events. Results. Amyloidosis patients secondary to FMF showed higher levels of ADMA, CRP and PTX3 and lower FMD as compared with patients with other glomerulopathies. Cardiovascular events (n = 54) were registered during 3 years of follow-up. Increased ADMA levels and lower FMD were observed in patients with cardiovascular risk in both groups, but especially in individuals with amyloidosis.Conclusion. Patients with FMF-related amyloidosis have increased CVD event risk, probably related to the high ADMA levels, elevated inflammatory markers and decreased FMD measures observed in these patients

The discovAIR project:a roadmap towards the Human Lung Cell Atlas

The Human Cell Atlas (HCA) consortium aims to establish an atlas of all organs in the healthy human body at single-cell resolution to increase our understanding of basic biological processes that govern development, physiology and anatomy, and to accelerate diagnosis and treatment of disease. The lung biological network of the HCA aims to generate the Human Lung Cell Atlas as a reference for the cellular repertoire, molecular cell states and phenotypes, and the cell-cell interactions that characterise normal lung homeostasis in healthy lung tissue. Such a reference atlas of the healthy human lung will facilitate mapping the changes in the cellular landscape in disease. The discovAIR project is one of six pilot actions for the HCA funded by the European Commission in the context of the H2020 framework program. DiscovAIR aims to establish the first draft of an integrated Human Lung Cell Atlas, combining single-cell transcriptional and epigenetic profiling with spatially resolving techniques on matched tissue samples, as well as including a number of chronic and infectious diseases of the lung. The integrated Lung Cell Atlas will be available as a resource for the wider respiratory community, including basic and translational scientists, clinical medicine, and the private sector, as well as for patients with lung disease and the interested lay public. We anticipate that the Lung Cell Atlas will be the founding stone for a more detailed understanding of the pathogenesis of lung diseases, guiding the design of novel diagnostics and preventive or curative interventions

Volume CXIV, Number 4, November 7, 1996

Objective: Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder caused by complete or partial X chromosome monosomy that manifests various clinical features depending on the karyotype and on the genetic background of affected girls. This study aimed to systematically investigate the key clinical features of TS in relationship to karyotype in a large pediatric Turkish patient population.Methods: Our retrospective study included 842 karyotype-proven TS patients aged 0-18 years who were evaluated in 35 different centers in Turkey in the years 2013-2014.Results: The most common karyotype was 45,X (50.7%), followed by 45,X/46,XX (10.8%), 46,X,i(Xq) (10.1%) and 45,X/46,X,i(Xq) (9.5%). Mean age at diagnosis was 10.2±4.4 years. The most common presenting complaints were short stature and delayed puberty. Among patients diagnosed before age one year, the ratio of karyotype 45,X was significantly higher than that of other karyotype groups. Cardiac defects (bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta and aortic stenosis) were the most common congenital anomalies, occurring in 25% of the TS cases. This was followed by urinary system anomalies (horseshoe kidney, double collector duct system and renal rotation) detected in 16.3%. Hashimoto's thyroiditis was found in 11.1% of patients, gastrointestinal abnormalities in 8.9%, ear nose and throat problems in 22.6%, dermatologic problems in 21.8% and osteoporosis in 15.3%. Learning difficulties and/or psychosocial problems were encountered in 39.1%. Insulin resistance and impaired fasting glucose were detected in 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Dyslipidemia prevalence was 11.4%.Conclusion: This comprehensive study systematically evaluated the largest group of karyotype-proven TS girls to date. The karyotype distribution, congenital anomaly and comorbidity profile closely parallel that from other countries and support the need for close medical surveillance of these complex patients throughout their lifespa

Latitudinal - local time distribution of the O2 and OH infrared nightglows and O density in the Venus lower thermosphere

Atomic oxygen has been measured in situ only above 145 km on both the day and the night sides of Venus. Limb observations obtained with the Venus Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board Venus Express show that the O2 infrared nightglow peaks at ~97 km [1, 2], with a mean intensity value of about 1 MR. Yet, the distribution is largely inhomogeneous, with an enhanced region of ~3 MR statistically located near the midnight meridian at low latitude [3]. The oxygen density can be mapped using the O2 airglow and CO2 density vertical distributions [4]. The O2 vol-ume emission rates are obtained with an Abel inversion of the O2 limb profiles using CO2 vertical distributions taken from the Venus International Reference Atmosphere (VIRA) model. The results show that the O density peak varies in altitude with a mean value of 105 km. It ranges from 1.0x1010 to 14.5x1011 cm-3, with a mean value of 2.2x1011 cm-3. The zonally averaged peak altitude appears to be constant while its amplitude decreases with latitude. Another approach uses the O2 volume emission rates obtained with an Abel inversion of the O2 limb profiles. In-deed, it is then possible to vertically integrate these profiles to simulate nadir observations. The resulting map gives values between 0 and 2.8 MR (with a mean value of 0.6 MR) in the north hemisphere. A statistical map created with actual nadir observations shows intensities ranging from 0 to 2.1 MR, with a mean of 0.5 MR in the south hemisphere. A combination of the two types of observations could cover Venus entire nightside. Statistical mapping of the OH Meinel emission has also been performed using limb profiles. A strong correlation with the O2 emission is revealed. The average altitude of the emission peak is ~95.3 km for the OH(1-0) band and the average intensity is 0.4 MR [5]

Cross-modal integration of reward value during oculomotor planning

Reward value guides goal-directed behavior and modulates early sensory processing. Rewarding stimuli are often multisensory, but it is not known how reward value is combined across sensory modalities. Here we show that the integration of reward value critically depends on whether the distinct sensory inputs are perceived to emanate from the same multisensory object. We systematically manipulated the congruency in monetary reward values and the relative spatial positions of co-occurring auditory and visual stimuli that served as bimodal distractors during an oculomotor task performed by healthy human participants (male and female). The amount of interference induced by the distractors was used as an indicator of their perceptual salience. Our results across two experiments show that when reward value is linked to each modality separately, the value congruence between vision and audition determines the combined salience of the bimodal distractors. However, the reward value of vision wins over the value of audition if the two modalities are perceived to convey conflicting information regarding the spatial position of the bimodal distractors. These results show that in a task that highly relies on the processing of visual spatial information, the reward values from multiple sensory modalities are integrated with each other, each with their respective weights. This weighting depends on the strength of prior beliefs regarding a common source for incoming unisensory signals based on their congruency in reward value and perceived spatial alignment

The UV footprint emission of Io: morphology, brightness and control by Io

Emissions from the magnetic footprint of Io on Jupiter's upper atmosphere has been observed with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) since 1997 and more recently with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on board HST. The observations cover a wide range of central meridian Jovian longitudes and Io orbital positions. Most images also exhibit a long trailing tail associated with Io's wake plasma. The brightness of the footprint shows variations by over an order of magnitude and appears to be controlled by the distance from Jupiter's central meridian and the longitude of Io. Multiple footprints are also occasionally observed with varying relative brightness and mutual distance. These features apparently correspond to precipitation generated by the reflection of Alfvèn waves between Jupiter's ionosphere and the plasma torus. Observations collected in 2005 with ACS have provided high quality contrasted images that provide a direct indication of the altitude of the trailing tail and its orientation