10,431 research outputs found
The Coronal Analysis of SHocks and Waves (CASHeW) Framework
Coronal Bright Fronts (CBF) are large-scale wavelike disturbances in the
solar corona, related to solar eruptions. They are observed in extreme
ultraviolet (EUV) light as transient bright fronts of finite width, propagating
away from the eruption source. Recent studies of individual solar eruptive
events have used EUV observations of CBFs and metric radio type II burst
observations to show the intimate connection between low coronal waves and
coronal mass ejection (CME)-driven shocks. EUV imaging with the Atmospheric
Imaging Assembly(AIA) instrument on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has
proven particularly useful for detecting CBFs, which, combined with radio and
in situ observations, holds great promise for early CME-driven shock
characterization capability. This characterization can further be automated,
and related to models of particle acceleration to produce estimates of particle
fluxes in the corona and in the near Earth environment early in events. We
present a framework for the Coronal Analysis of SHocks and Waves (CASHeW). It
combines analysis of NASA Heliophysics System Observatory data products and
relevant data-driven models, into an automated system for the characterization
of off-limb coronal waves and shocks and the evaluation of their capability to
accelerate solar energetic particles (SEPs). The system utilizes EUV
observations and models written in the Interactive Data Language (IDL). In
addition, it leverages analysis tools from the SolarSoft package of libraries,
as well as third party libraries. We have tested the CASHeW framework on a
representative list of coronal bright front events. Here we present its
features, as well as initial results. With this framework, we hope to
contribute to the overall understanding of coronal shock waves, their
importance for energetic particle acceleration, as well as to the better
ability to forecast SEP events fluxes.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Space Weather and Space
Climate (SWSC
Bioaccumulation surveillance in Milford Haven Waterway
Biomonitoring of contaminants (metals, organotins, PAHs, PCBs) was
carried out along the Milford Haven Waterway (MHW) and at a reference site in the
Tywi Estuary during 2007-2008. The species used as bioindicators encompass a
variety of uptake routes - Fucus vesiculosus (dissolved contaminants); Littorina
littorea (grazer); Mytilus edulis and Cerastoderma edule (suspension feeders); and
Nereis diversicolor (omnivore which often reflects contaminants in sediment).
Differences in feeding strategy and habitat preference have subtle implications for
bioaccumulation trends though, with few exceptions, contaminant body burdens in
Milford Haven (MH) were higher than those at the Tywi reference site, reflecting
inputs.
Elevated concentrations of metals were occasionally observed at individual MH sites,
whilst As and Se (molluscs and seaweed) were, for much of MHW, consistently at the
higher end of the UK range. However, for the majority of metals, distributions in MH
biota were not exceptional by UK standards. Several metal-species combinations
indicated increases in bioavailability at upstream sites, which may reflect the
influence of geogenic or other land-based sources – perhaps enhanced by lower
salinity (greater proportions of more bioavailable forms).
TBT levels in MH mussels were below OSPAR toxicity thresholds and in the Tywi
were close to zero. Phenyltins were not accumulated appreciably in Mytilus, whereas
some Nereis populations may have been subjected to localized (historical) sources.
PAHs in Nereis tended to be evenly distributed across most sites, but with somewhat
higher values at Dale for acenaphthene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene and
chrysene; naphthalenes tended to be enriched further upstream in the mid-upper
Haven (a pattern seen in mussels for most PAHs). Whilst concentrations in MH
mussels were mostly above reference site and OSPAR backgrounds, it is unlikely that
ecotoxicological guidelines would be exceeded.
PCBs in mussels were between upper and lower OSPAR guidelines and were unusual
in their distribution in that highest levels occurred at the mouth of MH.
Condition indices (CI) of bivalves (mussels and cockles) were highest at the Tywi
reference site and at the seaward end of MH, decreasing upstream along the
Waterway. There were a number of significant (negative) relationships between CI
and body burdens and multivariate analysis indicated that a combination of
contaminants could influence the pattern in condition (and sub-lethal responses such
as MT and TOSC) across sites. Cause and effect needs to be tested more rigorously in
future assessments
A Proof of Tarski’s Fixed Point Theorem by Application of Galois Connections
Two examples of Galois connections and their dual forms are considered. One
of them is applied to formulate a criterion when a given subset of a complete lattice forms
a complete lattice. The second, closely related to the first, is used to prove in a short way
the Knaster-Tarski’s fixed point theore
Trust, negotiation, and communication: young adults' experiences of primary care services.
BACKGROUND: Young adulthood is an important transitional period during which there is a higher risk of individuals engaging in behaviours which could have a lasting impact on their health. Research has shown that young adults are the lowest responders to surveys about healthcare experiences and are also the least satisfied with the care they receive. However, the factors contributing to this reduced satisfaction are not clear. The focus of our research was to explore the needs and experiences of young adults around healthcare services with an aim of finding out possible reasons for lower satisfaction. METHODS: Twenty young adults were interviewed at GP surgeries and at a local young adult advice agency, exploring their experiences and use of primary care services. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The use of primary care services varied amongst the young adult interviewees. Many interviewees reported positive experiences; those who did not linked their negative experiences to difficulties in negotiating their care with the health care system, and reported issues with trust, and communication difficulties. Most of the interviewees were unaware of the use of patient surveys to inform healthcare planning and delivery and were not inclined to take part, mainly because of the length of surveys and lack of interest in the topic area. CONCLUSIONS: In order to effectively address the health needs of young adults, young adults need to be educated about their rights as patients, and how to most efficiently use primary care services. GPs should be alert to effective means of approaching and handling the healthcare needs of young adults. A flexible, varied approach is needed to gathering high quality data from this group in order to provide services with information on the changes necessary for making primary care services more accessible for young adults
Factors related to discontinued clinic attendance by patients with podoconiosis in southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study
Background
Podoconiosis is a lymphoedema of non-infectious cause which results in long-term ill health in affected individuals. Simple, effective treatment is available in certain parts of Ethiopia, but evidence indicates that not all patients continue collecting treatment supplies from clinic sites once started. We used qualitative techniques to explore factors related to discontinued attendance at outreach clinics of a non-government organization in southern Ethiopia.
Methods
A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted in four clinic sites through unstructured in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions with the involvement of 88 study subjects.
Results
Discontinuation of clinic visits is common among podoconiosis patients. The reasons were: remoteness from the clinic sites, unrealistic expectation of ‘special’ aid, worry about increasing stigma, illness and misconceptions about treatment.
Conclusions
Several of these factors are remediable through community and individual information and education. Appropriate routes to deliver this information must be identified. Certain factors (such as distance to clinic sites and stigma) require substantial expansion of services or liaison with village-level government health services
Symmetries of Abelian Orbifolds
Using the Polya Enumeration Theorem, we count with particular attention to
C^3/Gamma up to C^6/Gamma, abelian orbifolds in various dimensions which are
invariant under cycles of the permutation group S_D. This produces a collection
of multiplicative sequences, one for each cycle in the Cycle Index of the
permutation group. A multiplicative sequence is controlled by its values on
prime numbers and their pure powers. Therefore, we pay particular attention to
orbifolds of the form C^D/Gamma where the order of Gamma is p^alpha. We propose
a generalization of these sequences for any D and any p.Comment: 75 pages, 13 figures, 30 table
Spectral decomposition for the Dirac system associated to the DSII equation
A new (scalar) spectral decomposition is found for the Dirac system in two
dimensions associated to the focusing Davey--Stewartson II (DSII) equation.
Discrete spectrum in the spectral problem corresponds to eigenvalues embedded
into a two-dimensional essential spectrum. We show that these embedded
eigenvalues are structurally unstable under small variations of the initial
data. This instability leads to the decay of localized initial data into
continuous wave packets prescribed by the nonlinear dynamics of the DSII
equation
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