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

Surface-focused Seismic Holography of Sunspots: I. Observations

We present a comprehensive set of observations of the interaction of p-mode oscillations with sunspots using surface-focused seismic holography. Maps of travel-time shifts, relative to quiet-Sun travel times, are shown for incoming and outgoing p modes as well as their mean and difference. We compare results using phase-speed filters with results obtained with filters that isolate single p-mode ridges, and further divide the data into multiple temporal frequency bandpasses. The f mode is removed from the data. The variations of the resulting travel-time shifts with magnetic-field strength and with the filter parameters are explored. We find that spatial averages of these shifts within sunspot umbrae, penumbrae, and surrounding plage often show strong frequency variations at fixed phase speed. In addition, we find that positive values of the mean and difference travel-time shifts appear exclusively in waves observed with phase-speed filters that are dominated by power in the low-frequency wing of the p1 ridge. We assess the ratio of incoming to outgoing p-mode power using the ridge filters and compare surface-focused holography measurements with the results of earlier published p-mode scattering measurements using Fourier-Hankel decomposition.Comment: Solar Physics, accepte

Measurements of Higgs boson production cross sections and couplings in the diphoton decay channel at root s=13 TeV

Measurements of Higgs boson production cross sections and couplings in events where the Higgs boson decays into a pair of photons are reported. Events are selected from a sample of proton-proton collisions at root s = 13TeV collected by the CMS detector at the LHC from 2016 to 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1). Analysis categories enriched in Higgs boson events produced via gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, vector boson associated production, and production associated with top quarks are constructed. The total Higgs boson signal strength, relative to the standard model (SM) prediction, is measured to be 1.12 +/- 0.09. Other properties of the Higgs boson are measured, including SM signal strength modifiers, production cross sections, and its couplings to other particles. These include the most precise measurements of gluon fusion and vector boson fusion Higgs boson production in several different kinematic regions, the first measurement of Higgs boson production in association with a top quark pair in five regions of the Higgs boson transverse momentum, and an upper limit on the rate of Higgs boson production in association with a single top quark. All results are found to be in agreement with the SM expectations.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the top quark mass using events with a single reconstructed top quark in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

Abstract:A measurement of the top quark mass is performed using a data sample en-riched with single top quark events produced in thetchannel. The study is based on proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1, recorded at√s= 13TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016. Candidate events are selectedby requiring an isolated high-momentum lepton (muon or electron) and exactly two jets,of which one is identified as originating from a bottom quark. Multivariate discriminantsare designed to separate the signal from the background. Optimized thresholds are placedon the discriminant outputs to obtain an event sample with high signal purity. The topquark mass is found to be172.13+0.76−0.77GeV, where the uncertainty includes both the sta-tistical and systematic components, reaching sub-GeV precision for the first time in thisevent topology. The masses of the top quark and antiquark are also determined separatelyusing the lepton charge in the final state, from which the mass ratio and difference aredetermined to be0.9952+0.0079−0.0104and0.83+1.79−1.35GeV, respectively. The results are consistentwithCPTinvariance

Solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for determination of trace rosiglitazone in urine

This project evaluated solid-phase extraction (SPE) combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to determine the trace amount of rosiglitazone in human urine. The analytical performance of four modes of LC-MS and tandem MS operation (atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), electrospray ionization (ESI), positive and negative ionization) was compared for two mass spectrometers, a triple-quadrupole and a quadrupole ion trap instrument. Rosiglitazone was extracted from urine using a SPE cartridge of 50 mg C8 sorbent and acetonitrile used as the eluting solvent. Samples were then separated on a RP18 column interfaced with a tandem mass spectrometer. The recovery of rosiglitazone was greater than 91.2%. The urine assay combining SPE and LC-APCI-MS/MS of triple-quadrupole was proved a very selective and sensitive method for determination of trace rosiglitazone. The assay was linear over a wide range, with a lower limit of quantification of 0.1 ng/mL using 1 mL of urine. The intra- and inter-day precisions were < 9.8% and < 7.9%, respectively, and the accuracies were in the range 91.0-103.6%. The rosiglitazone concentration profile in human urine was also determined. The results of this study reveal the adequacy of SPE-LC-APCI-MS/MS method for analyzing rosiglitazone from diabetic patients' urines. The concentrations of rosiglitazone were detected to range from 760 to 164 pg/mL. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Experimental study on micro modular combustor for micro-thermophotovoltaic system application

10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.03.129International Journal of Hydrogen Energy37129576-9583IJHE

Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Comparative Study of Human Anti-TNF Antibody Adalimumab in Combination with Methotrexate and Methotrexate Alone in Taiwanese Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background/Purpose: Adalimumab is a fully humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, which is effective in the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of adalimumab plus methotrexate (MTX) and MTX alone in Taiwanese patients with active RA. Methods: Forty-seven patients with active RA who were maintained on MTX therapy at a stable dose of 10-15 mg/week for 4 weeks were randomized blindly to receive adalimumab 40 mg (n = 35) or placebo (n = 12) by subcutaneous injection every other week over a period of 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was a reduction in tender and swollen joint counts of 20% (ACR20), 50% (ACR50) and 70% (ACR70), as determined by the American College of Rheumatology criteria in week 12. The occurrence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) was the primary safety variable. Results: Addition of adalimumab to MTX resulted in a significant reduction in the number of swollen joints (12.6 vs. 5.6; p = 0.011), patients' global assessment of disease activity (18.0 vs. 4.8; p = 0.040), pain visual analog scale (18.3 vs. 1.3; p = 0.015), and disability indices of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (0.6 vs. 0.2; p = 0.031), compared with MTX alone after 12 weeks of therapy. Overall improvement in disease activity was assessed by ACR20 (54.3% vs. 33.3%), ACR50 (34.3% vs. 16.7%) and ACR70 (14.3% vs. 0%), and all favored the adalimumab plus MTX group. TEAEs were comparable between the treatment groups, except for a slightly higher incidence of severe infection in the adalimumab plus MTX group. Conclusion: Adalimumab in combination with MTX is well tolerated and provides significantly more clinical benefits than MTX alone in Taiwanese patients with active RA. [J Formos Med Assoc 2009;108(4): 310-319

Analysis of Factors Associated with Volumetric Data Errors in Gamma Knife Radiosurgery

Object: Gamma knife (GK) surgery is an important part of the treatment armamentarium for benign and malignant brain tumors. In general, quantitative volumetrical analysis of the tumor on neuroimaging studies is the most reliable method of assessment of the tumor's response and is critical for accurate dose planning. This study evaluated various factors contributing to volumetric data error of tumors treated with GK radiosurgery. Method: Three differently shaped phantoms (spherical, rectangular, and irregular morphology) were created by immersing like shaped objects into 2% agarose gel. The volumes of phantoms were measured by laser scanning with errors = 30. The volumetrical data errors (10/5 slices) associated with various MRIs for phantoms were 6.94 +/- 0.04%/9.45 +/- 0.35% (spherical phantom), 12.3 +/- 0.2%/ 20.06 +/- 0.7% (rectangular phantom), and 9.29 +/- 0.078%/ 15.67 +/- 0.6% (irregular phantom) (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001), respectively. The system errors (10/5 slices) associated with various MRIs for the phantoms were 3.17 +/- 0.11%/3.9 +/- 0.13% (spherical phantom), 3.61 +/- 0.12%/4.01 +/- 0.12% (rectangular phantom), and 4.39 +/- 0.07%/4.75 +/- 0.13% (irregular phantom) (p < 0.001 and p = 0.01), respectively. The volumetric data errors were related to the number of slices and the shape of phantom, but the systemic errors were only related to the irregularity of phantom morphology. The volumetrical data errors were not related to size of the FOV, phase FOV, sequence of T(1), T(2), TOF, and position of phantom. For the rectangular phantom, the data error was related to slice orientation of imaging acquisition (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Volume discrepancies existed between those volumes computed by the PGK-WS and volumes determined by laser scanning. The volumetric data errors were reduced through the acquisition of more slices through the phantom and a more spherical morphology of the phantom. Relatively few system volume errors were observed between those by the PGK-WS and PACS except for a significant discrepancy for the irregular surface phantom. For the rectangular-shaped phantom, the volumetric data errors were significantly related to slice orientation of measurement. When measuring the tumor response in GK radiosurgery or follow-up, an error of as large as 20% is possible for irregularly shaped object and with MRIs using <= 5 slices through the region of interest. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Base

Distribution of carbonic anhydrase in digestive tract of pond loach (Misgurnus anguilicaudatus)

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) family is discovered in various species including mammals, avians and even plants, but it is rarely reported in fishes. Ten Pond Loaches were used in this study. The results indicated that no evidence of distribution of CA in esophagus. Nonetheless CA was found in the mucosal epithelium of stomach and in the villous epithelium of intestine demonstrated histochemically by the numerous black sedimentation of cobaltous sulfide (COS) in these areas. In addition, black sedimentations of COS were also found in all the vascular endothelium examined and red blood cells of digestive tract. The distribution of CA in Pond loach was more closely resemble amphibians than to other species, suggesting evolutional adaptation for Pond loach in aquatic environments