94 research outputs found
Resolving the Azimuthal Ambiguity in Vector Magnetogram Data with the Divergence-Free Condition: Application to Discrete Data
We investigate how the divergence-free property of magnetic fields can be
exploited to resolve the azimuthal ambiguity present in solar vector
magnetogram data, by using line-of-sight and horizontal heliographic derivative
information as approximated from discrete measurements. Using synthetic data we
test several methods that each make different assumptions about how the
divergence-free property can be used to resolve the ambiguity. We find that the
most robust algorithm involves the minimisation of the absolute value of the
divergence summed over the entire field of view. Away from disk centre this
method requires the sign and magnitude of the line-of-sight derivatives of all
three components of the magnetic field vector.Comment: Solar Physics, in press, 20 pages, 11 figure
Leukocytes are primed in peripheral blood for activation during term and preterm labour†
We hypothesized that the priming and activation of maternal leukocytes in peripheral blood is a key component of parturition, and that inappropriate preterm priming of leukocytes might initiate preterm labour and delivery. The purpose of this study was to characterize peripheral blood leukocyte activation during human term and preterm labour. We obtained blood samples from pregnant women at term and preterm, both in labour and not in labour. Leukocytes were characterized according to cell subtype and cell surface marker expression. Additionally, we quantified leukocyte cytokine mRNA production, migratory ability and reactive oxygen species production of neutrophils and macrophages. We found that both term and preterm labour were associated with an increase in monocyte and neutrophil proportion or number—neutrophil migratory ability and cell surface marker expression indicating activation. Messenger RNA expression of IL-1β and IL-8, MCP-1 and TLR-2 was also increased. We conclude that leukocytes in peripheral blood are primed in preparation for activation during term and preterm labour, and that this may contribute to the pathophysiological events of parturition. These data may lead to novel therapies and diagnostic tools for the prevention and/or diagnosis of preterm birth
Invariant higher-order variational problems II
Motivated by applications in computational anatomy, we consider a
second-order problem in the calculus of variations on object manifolds that are
acted upon by Lie groups of smooth invertible transformations. This problem
leads to solution curves known as Riemannian cubics on object manifolds that
are endowed with normal metrics. The prime examples of such object manifolds
are the symmetric spaces. We characterize the class of cubics on object
manifolds that can be lifted horizontally to cubics on the group of
transformations. Conversely, we show that certain types of non-horizontal
geodesics on the group of transformations project to cubics. Finally, we apply
second-order Lagrange--Poincar\'e reduction to the problem of Riemannian cubics
on the group of transformations. This leads to a reduced form of the equations
that reveals the obstruction for the projection of a cubic on a transformation
group to again be a cubic on its object manifold.Comment: 40 pages, 1 figure. First version -- comments welcome
Magnetic Field Structures in a Facular Region Observed by THEMIS and Hinode
The main objective of this paper is to build and compare vector magnetic maps
obtained by two spectral polarimeters, i.e. THEMIS/MTR and Hinode SOT/SP, using
two inversion codes (UNNOFIT and MELANIE) based on the Milne-Eddington solar
atmosphere model. To this end, we used observations of a facular region within
active region NOAA 10996 on 23 May 2008, and found consistent results
concerning the field strength, azimuth and inclination distributions. Because
SOT/SP is free from the seeing effect and has better spatial resolution, we
were able to resolve small magnetic polarities with sizes of 1" to 2", and we
could detect strong horizontal magnetic fields, which converge or diverge in
negative or positive facular polarities. These findings support models which
suggest the existence of small vertical flux tube bundles in faculae. A new
method is proposed to get the relative formation heights of the multi-lines
observed by MTR assuming the validity of a flux tube model for the faculae. We
found that the Fe 1 6302.5 \AA line forms at a greater atmospheric height than
the Fe 1 5250.2 \AA line.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Solar
Physic
Modeling the Subsurface Structure of Sunspots
While sunspots are easily observed at the solar surface, determining their
subsurface structure is not trivial. There are two main hypotheses for the
subsurface structure of sunspots: the monolithic model and the cluster model.
Local helioseismology is the only means by which we can investigate
subphotospheric structure. However, as current linear inversion techniques do
not yet allow helioseismology to probe the internal structure with sufficient
confidence to distinguish between the monolith and cluster models, the
development of physically realistic sunspot models are a priority for
helioseismologists. This is because they are not only important indicators of
the variety of physical effects that may influence helioseismic inferences in
active regions, but they also enable detailed assessments of the validity of
helioseismic interpretations through numerical forward modeling. In this paper,
we provide a critical review of the existing sunspot models and an overview of
numerical methods employed to model wave propagation through model sunspots. We
then carry out an helioseismic analysis of the sunspot in Active Region 9787
and address the serious inconsistencies uncovered by
\citeauthor{gizonetal2009}~(\citeyear{gizonetal2009,gizonetal2009a}). We find
that this sunspot is most probably associated with a shallow, positive
wave-speed perturbation (unlike the traditional two-layer model) and that
travel-time measurements are consistent with a horizontal outflow in the
surrounding moat.Comment: 73 pages, 19 figures, accepted by Solar Physic
Schuldig landschap. Over de toeristische aantrekkingskracht van Baantjer, Wallander en Inspector Morse
De opnamelokaties van tv-detectives genieten een toenemende populariteit onder toeristen. In dit artikel wordt, op basis van een tekstuele analyse van ‘Baantjer’, ‘Inspector Morse’ en ‘Wallander’, onderzocht welke inhoudelijke kenmerken van deze tv-detectives mogelijk als ‘trigger’ fungeren. Uit de analyse blijkt dat plaats en beweging een centrale rol vervullen binnen de narratieve structuur van dit genre. Door zelf de lokaties te bezoeken, kunnen toeristen het spoor nalopen van hun geliefde detective om aldaar, vanuit een veilige positie, tijdelijk op te gaan in het schemergebied tussen fictie en werkelijkheid
AD51B in Familial Breast Cancer
Common variation on 14q24.1, close to RAD51B, has been associated with breast cancer: rs999737 and rs2588809 with the risk of female breast cancer and rs1314913 with the risk of male breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of RAD51B variants in breast cancer predisposition, particularly in the context of familial breast cancer in Finland. We sequenced the coding region of RAD51B in 168 Finnish breast cancer patients from the Helsinki region for identification of possible recurrent founder mutations. In addition, we studied the known rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 SNPs and RAD51B haplotypes in 44,791 breast cancer cases and 43,583 controls from 40 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) that were genotyped on a custom chip (iCOGS). We identified one putatively pathogenic missense mutation c.541C>T among the Finnish cancer patients and subsequently genotyped the mutation in additional breast cancer cases (n = 5259) and population controls (n = 3586) from Finland and Belarus. No significant association with breast cancer risk was seen in the meta-analysis of the Finnish datasets or in the large BCAC dataset. The association with previously identified risk variants rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 was replicated among all breast cancer cases and also among familial cases in the BCAC dataset. The most significant association was observed for the haplotype carrying the risk-alleles of all the three SNPs both among all cases (odds ratio (OR): 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–1.19, P = 8.88 x 10−16) and among familial cases (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.16–1.32, P = 6.19 x 10−11), compared to the haplotype with the respective protective alleles. Our results suggest that loss-of-function mutations in RAD51B are rare, but common variation at the RAD51B region is significantly associated with familial breast cancer risk
Pecan stem girdler, Maroga melanostigma (Wallengren) (Lepidoptera: Xylorictidae): a possible candidate for biocontrol?
[Extract] Stahmann Farms, Australia's largest pecan plantation at Moree NSW, produces 85% of Australia's pecan nuts (Carya illinoensis [Wangenh.] C. Koch), from approximately 68 000 trees on 680 ha. In the 1990-91 season, approximately 2.8 million kg of nuts were produced and sold for approximately $8 000 000. Larvae of the xyloryctid moth, Maroga melanostigma (Wallengren), a species known to attack a range of exotic and native trees (Neilsen & Common, 1991), are major pests in this plantation. The larvae feed on the inner bark of the pecans, predominantly around injuries to the limbs or at old pruning sites. They leave characteristic injury marks on the trees, weaving frass into a silken bag around the entry holes and wounds. Damage to the limbs is thought to cause a significant decrease in the production rate of the affected trees and, more seriously, results in many of the limbs dying due to ringbarking
Pecan stem girdler, Maroga melanostigma (Wallengren) (Lepidoptera: Xylorictidae): a possible candidate for biocontrol?
[Extract] Stahmann Farms, Australia's largest pecan plantation at Moree NSW, produces 85% of Australia's pecan nuts (Carya illinoensis [Wangenh.] C. Koch), from approximately 68 000 trees on 680 ha. In the 1990-91 season, approximately 2.8 million kg of nuts were produced and sold for approximately $8 000 000. Larvae of the xyloryctid moth, Maroga melanostigma (Wallengren), a species known to attack a range of exotic and native trees (Neilsen & Common, 1991), are major pests in this plantation. The larvae feed on the inner bark of the pecans, predominantly around injuries to the limbs or at old pruning sites. They leave characteristic injury marks on the trees, weaving frass into a silken bag around the entry holes and wounds. Damage to the limbs is thought to cause a significant decrease in the production rate of the affected trees and, more seriously, results in many of the limbs dying due to ringbarking
Wave steadiness in aluminas
Plate impact experiments have been carried out on two aluminas of differing grain size using the Cambridge 50 mm gas gun. Tiles were constructed in thicknesses of 4,8 and 12 mm and were impacted by 3 mm thick copper projectiles fired at 550 m s-1. The longitudinal stress in the tiles was recorded using manganin stress gauges and a 1 GS s-1 storage oscilloscope. Measurements were made of the elastic precursor of the deformation wave in each of these experiments. It was found that the elastic precursor varied significantly with thickness and that different behaviours were shown by the large and small grain size material
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