Suprathermal and energetic electrons as probes of interplanetary magnetic field topology

La tesis “Suprathermal and Energetic Electrons as Probes of Interplanetary Magnetic Field Topology” escrita por D. Fernando Carcaboso Morales y supervisada por Dr. Raúl Gómez Herrero y Dr. Javier Rodríguez-Pacheco Martín, contemplada dentro del campo de conocimiento de la física del Sistema Solar, viento solar, utiliza distintas metodologías aplicadas al estudio de los electrones supratérmicos y energéticos para inferir varias topologías y propiedades del campo magnético interplanetario. Gran parte del trabajo se centra en dos de las distribuciones más comunes de los electrones supratérmicos: la bidireccionalidad y la isotropía. Éstas son analizadas durante el tránsito de eyecciones coronales de masa interplanetarias, así como en parte del Ciclo Solar 24. También, recoge un estudio de la variabilidad de la anisotropía de los electrones supratérmicos, atendiendo a su dependencia con la energía observada, el grado de actividad solar y la latitud heliomagnética, y hace una comparativa con la propagación de partículas energéticas solares de caracter impulsivo. Además, utiliza modelos desarrollados previamente para el estudio de las estructuras interplanetarias denominadas “nubes magnéticas” y añade actualizaciones reduciendo su número de parámetros libres. Por otro lado, propone un nuevo modelo sencillo para interpretar la propagación de electrones energéticos emisores de radio bursts de Tipo III desde distintos observadores. Por último, adjunta catálogos de periodos largos que presentan isotropía y bidirecionalidad en los electrones supratérmicos, así como de estructuras de cuerdas de flujo, observados por la misión STEREO

Use and distribution of scientific allusions in fiction tv series. The case of The Big Bang Theory

Las series de ficción cuentan con una gran audiencia y pueden llegar a convertirse en un vehículo efectivo en relación a la comunicación científica. Si bien en la actualidad no son numerosas las series que incorporan en sus guiones material científico, está en aumento la práctica de incorporar a la plantilla de guionistas personal experto-asesor en diferentes ámbitos, entre ellos, el científico. Esta investigación tiene como finalidad mostrar la relación que puede existir entre la producción audiovisual con la divulgación de la ciencia. Se realiza un estudio de las alusiones científicas incluidas en la serie “The Big Bang Theory” y su relación con la función formativa atribuida a los productos audiovisuales. Se abordan diferentes objetivos, entre ellos analizar la capacidad de formación de dicha serie, mediante una cuantificación y distribución de citas o menciones en el producto audiovisual. Resulta especialmente novedoso el análisis que vincula las alusiones científicas encontradas con el lugar de la aparición desde el punto de vista de la estructura narrativa de cada capítulo. Se han tomado como muestra las cinco primeras temporadas (2007-2012) de la serie. Los principales resultados han permitido dar respuesta a los objetivos planteados. A destacar que el tipo de mención científica más utilizado en la serie es “Teoría/Principio”, seguido de “Artículos” y “Autores”; también, que las menciones a contenido científico se establecen en los dos primeros actos dentro del argumento de la serie, reservando el tercero, sin apenas menciones científicas, para plantear la moraleja de la trama.Fiction tv series can command large audiences and become effective vehicles for scientific communication. Although not many series currently incorporate scientific material in their scripts, the practice of incorporating expert advisors in different fields, including science, into the scriptwriting team is on the rise. This research aims to show the relationship that may exist between audio-visual production and the dissemination of science. We performed a study of the scientific allusions included in the series “The Big Bang Theory” and its relationship with the educational function attributed to audio-visual products. Different objectives are addressed, including analysing the training capacity of this series, through a quantification and distribution of citations or mentions in this audio-visual product. What is particularly novel is the analysis linking the scientific allusions identified with the place of their appearance within the narrative structure of each chapter. The sample was made up of the first five seasons (2007-2012) of this series. The main results enabled us to meet our objectives. It is worth noting that the most common type of scientific mention in the series is “Theory/Principle”, followed by “Articles” and “Authors”; also, mentions of scientific content are established in the first two acts within the plot of the series, reserving the third, with hardly any scientific mentions, to present the moral of the plot.Financiado por el proyecto titulado “Estrategias de traslación mediática para información pública sobre calidad del aire en Extremadura” (IB20081), financiado por la Junta de Extremadura, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional”

PDX-Derived Ewing’s Sarcoma Cells Retain High Viability and Disease Phenotype in Alginate Encapsulated Spheroid Cultures

Ewing’s Sarcoma (ES) is the second most frequent malignant bone tumour in children and young adults and currently only untargeted chemotherapeutic approaches and surgery are available as treatment, although clinical trials are on-going for recently developed ES-targeted therapies. To study ES pathobiology and develop novel drugs, established cell lines and patient-derived xenografts (PDX) are the most employed experimental models. Nevertheless, the establishment of ES cell lines is difficult and the extensive use of PDX raises economic/ethical concerns. There is a growing consensus regarding the use of 3D cell culture to recapitulate physiological and pathophysiological features of human tissues, including drug sensitivity. Herein, we implemented a 3D cell culture methodology based on encapsulation of PDX-derived ES cell spheroids in alginate and maintenance in agitation-based culture systems. Under these conditions, ES cells displayed high proliferative and metabolic activity, while retaining the typical EWSR1-FLI1 chromosomal translocation. Importantly, 3D cultures presented reduced mouse PDX cell contamination compared to 2D cultures. Finally, we show that these 3D cultures can be employed in drug sensitivity assays, with results similar to those reported for the PDX of origin. In conclusion, this novel 3D cell culture method involving ES-PDX-derived cells is a suitable model to study ES pathobiology and can assist in the development of novel drugs against this disease, complementing PDX studies.The iNOVA4Health Research Unit (UIDB/04462/2020), cofunded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)/ Ministério da Ciência e do Ensino Superior (MCTES), through national funds, and by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement, is acknowledged for financial support. AMC was supported by grants from ISCIII-FEDER (CP13/00189 and CPII18/00009)

Tendencias en producción científica sobre comunicación de la ciencia durante el período 2017-2021

This study identifies the relationships between the main concepts around an initial search related to the “communication of science” in the period 2017-2021. It is based on 301 documents selected based on relevance criteria, of which the impact of the publications is studied through the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) and an analysis of the co-occurrence of keywords is carried out to discover the lines of research. Most important around the “communication of science”. It is concluded that the articles related to the communication of science in general are published to a greater extent in non-indexed publications, an aspect that is repeated in the studied temporality, in addition it is detected that the topics that are studied are related to scientific communication and education. Science, the study of social networks, scientific dissemination, bibliometric evaluation and public communication in relation to Covid-19.En este estudio se identifican las relaciones entre los conceptos principales en torno a una búsqueda inicial relacionada con la “comunicación de la ciencia” en el periodo 2017-2021. Se parte de 301 documentos seleccionados en base a criterios de relevancia, de los cuales se estudia el impacto de las publicaciones a través del SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) y se realiza un análisis de co-ocurrencia de palabras claves para conocer las líneas de investigación más importantes en torno a la “comunicación de la ciencia”. Se concluye que los artículos relacionados con la comunicación de la ciencia de modo general se publican en mayor medida en publicaciones no indexadas, aspecto que se repite en la temporalidad estudiada, además se detecta que las temáticas que se estudian se relacionan con la comunicación científica y la educación científica, el estudio de las redes sociales, la divulgación científica, evaluación bibliométrica y comunicación pública en relación al Covid-19

Characterisation of suprathermal electron pitch-angle distributions: Bidirectional and isotropic periods in solar wind

Context. Suprathermal electron pitch-angle distributions (PADs) contain substantial information about the magnetic topology of the solar wind. Their characterisation and quantification allow us to automatically identify periods showing certain characteristics. Aims. This work presents a robust automatic method for the identification and statistical study of two different types of PADs: bidirectional suprathermal electrons (BDE, often associated with closed magnetic structures) and isotropic (likely corresponding to solar-detached magnetic field lines or highly scattered electrons). Methods. Spherical harmonics were fitted to the observed suprathermal PADs of the 119&-193 eV energy channel of STEREO/SWEA from March 2007 to July 2014, and they were characterised using signal processing analysis in order to identify periods of isotropic and bidirectional PADs. The characterisation has been validated by comparing the results obtained here with those of previous studies. Results. Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) present longer BDE periods inside the magnetic obstacles. A significant amount of BDE remain after the end of the ICME. Isotropic PADs are found in the sheath of the ICMEs, and at the post-ICME region likely due to the erosion of the magnetic field lines. Both isotropy and BDE are solar-cycle dependent. The isotropy observed by STEREO shows a nearly annual periodicity, which requires further investigation. There is also a correspondence between the number of ICMEs observed and the percentage of time showing BDE. Conclusions. A method to characterise PADs has been presented and applied to the automatic identification of two relevant distributions that are commonly observed in the solar wind, such as BDE and isotropy. Four catalogues (STEREO-A and STEREO-B for isotropic and BDE periods of at least 10 min) based on this identification are provided for future applications.Agencia Estatal de Investigació

The Solar Orbiter Science Activity Plan: translating solar and heliospheric physics questions into action

Solar Orbiter is the first space mission observing the solar plasma both in situ and remotely, from a close distance, in and out of the ecliptic. The ultimate goal is to understand how the Sun produces and controls the heliosphere, filling the Solar System and driving the planetary environments. With six remote-sensing and four in-situ instrument suites, the coordination and planning of the operations are essential to address the following four top-level science questions: (1) What drives the solar wind and where does the coronal magnetic field originate?; (2) How do solar transients drive heliospheric variability?; (3) How do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?; (4) How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? Maximising the mission"s science return requires considering the characteristics of each orbit, including the relative position of the spacecraft to Earth (a ecting downlink rates), trajectory events (such as gravitational assist manoeuvres), and the phase of the solar activity cycle. Furthermore, since each orbit"s science telemetry will be downloaded over the course of the following orbit, science operations must be planned at mission level, rather than at the level of individual orbits. It is important to explore the way in which those science questions are translated into an actual plan of observations that fits into the mission, thus ensuring that no opportunities are missed. First, the overarching goals are broken down into specific, answerable questions along with the required observations and the so-called Science Activity Plan (SAP) is developed to achieve this. The SAP groups objectives that require similar observations into Solar Orbiter Observing Plans (SOOPs), resulting in a strategic, top-level view of the optimal opportunities for science observations during the mission lifetime. This allows for all four mission goals to be addressed. In this paper, we introduce Solar Orbiter"s SAP through a series of examples and the strategy being followed.Agencia Estatal de Investigació

Tridimensional Retinoblastoma Cultures as Vitreous Seeds Models for Live-Cell Imaging of Chemotherapy Penetration

A preclinical model could aid in understanding retinoblastoma vitreous seeds behavior, drug penetration, and response to chemotherapy to optimize patient treatment. Our aim was to develop a tridimensional in vitro model of retinoblastoma vitreous seeds to assess chemotherapy penetration by means of live-cell imaging. Cell cultures from patients with retinoblastoma who underwent upfront enucleation were established and thoroughly characterized for authentication of human tumor origin. The correlation of the in vitro tridimensional structures resembling human spheres and dusts vitreous seeds was established. Confocal microscopy was used to quantify real-time fluorescence of topotecan as a measure of its penetration into different sizes of spheres. Cell viability was determined after chemotherapy penetration. The in vitro spheres and dusts models were able to recapitulate the morphology, phenotype, and genotype of patient vitreous seeds. The larger the size of the spheres, the longer the time required for the drug to fully penetrate into the core (p < 0.05). Importantly, topotecan penetration correlated with its cytotoxic activity. Therefore, the studied tridimensional cell model recapitulated several characteristics of vitreous seeds observed in patients with retinoblastoma and were successfully used to assess live-cell imaging of chemotherapy penetration for drug distribution studies.Fil: Winter, Ursula Andrea. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Aschero, María del Rosario. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fuentes, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Buontempo, Fabian. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Zugbi, Santiago. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Sgroi, Mariana. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Sampor, Claudia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Abramson, David H.. Memorial Sloan-kettering Cancer Center; Estados UnidosFil: Carcaboso, Angel M.. Hospital Sant Joan de Deu Barcelona; EspañaFil: Schaiquevich, Paula Susana. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

CME-HSS Interaction and Characteristics Tracked from Sun to Earth

In a thorough study, we investigate the origin of a remarkable plasma and magnetic field configuration observed in situ on June 22, 2011, near L1, which appears to be a magnetic ejecta (ME) and a shock signature engulfed by a solar wind high-speed stream (HSS). We identify the signatures as an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), associated with a C7.7 flare on June 21, 2011, and its interaction with a HSS, which emanates from a coronal hole (CH) close to the launch site of the CME. The results indicate that the major interaction between the CME and the HSS starts at a height of 1.3 R⊙ up to 3 R⊙. Over that distance range, the CME undergoes a strong north-eastward deflection of at least 30∘ due to the open magnetic field configuration of the CH. We perform a comprehensive analysis for the CME–HSS event using multi-viewpoint data (from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatories, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and the Solar Dynamics Observatory), and combined modeling efforts (nonlinear force-free field modeling, Graduated Cylindrical Shell CME modeling, and the Forecasting a CME’s Altered Trajectory – ForeCAT model). We aim at better understanding its early evolution and interaction process as well as its interplanetary propagation and related in situ signatures, and finally the resulting impact on the Earth’s magnetosphere

Evidence of a complex structure within the 2013 August 19 coronal mass ejection: Radial and longitudinal evolution in the inner heliosphere

Context. Late on 2013 August 19, a coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from an active region located near the far-side central meridian from Earth’s perspective. The event and its accompanying shock were remotely observed by the STEREO-A, STEREO-B, and SOHO spacecraft. The interplanetary counterpart (ICME) was intercepted by MESSENGER near 0.3 au and by both STEREO-A and STEREO-B near 1 au, which were separated from each other by 78° in heliolongitude. Aims. The main objective of this study is to follow the radial and longitudinal evolution of the ICME throughout the inner heliosphere and to examine possible scenarios for the different magnetic flux-rope configuration observed on the solar disk and measured in situ at the locations of MESSENGER and STEREO-A, separated by 15° in heliolongitude, and at STEREO-B, which detected the ICME flank. Methods. Solar disk observations are used to estimate the “magnetic flux-rope type”, namely, the magnetic helicity, axis orientation, and axial magnetic field direction of the flux rope. The graduated cylindrical shell model is used to reconstruct the CME in the corona. The analysis of in situ data, specifically the plasma and magnetic field, is used to estimate the global interplanetary shock geometry and to derive the magnetic flux-rope type at different in situ locations, which is compared to the type estimated from solar disk observations. The elliptical cylindrical analytical model is used for the in situ magnetic flux-rope reconstruction. Results. Based on the CME geometry and on the spacecraft configuration, we find that the magnetic flux-rope structure detected at STEREO-B belongs to the same ICME detected at MESSENGER and STEREO-A. The opposite helicity deduced at STEREO-B might be due to that fact that it intercepted one of the legs of the structure far from the flux-rope axis, in contrast to STEREO-A and MESSENGER, which were crossing through the core of the magnetic flux rope. The different flux-rope orientations measured at MESSENGER and STEREO-A probably arise because the two spacecraft measure a curved, highly distorted, and rather complex magnetic flux-rope topology. The ICME may have suffered additional distortion in its evolution in the inner heliosphere, such as the west flank propagating faster than the east flank when arriving near 1 au. Conclusions. This work illustrates how a wide, curved, highly distorted, and rather complex CME showed different orientations as observed on the solar disk and measured in situ at 0.3 au and near 1 au. Furthermore, the work shows how the ambient conditions can significantly affect the expansion and propagation of the CME and ICME, introducing additional irregularities to the already asymmetric eruption. The study also manifests how these complex structures cannot be directly reconstructed with the currently available models and that multi-point analysis is of the utmost importance in such complex events.Agencia Estatal de Investigació