Observations of The Magnetic Reconnection Signature of An M2 Flare on 2000 March 23

Multi-wavelength observations of an M 2.0 flare event on 2000 March 23 in NOAA active region 8910 provide us a good chance to study the detailed structure and dynamics of the magnetic reconnection region. In the process of the flare, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) loops displayed two times of sideward motions upon a loop-top hard X-ray source with average velocities of 75 and 25.6 km/s, respectively. We consider these two motions to be the observational evidence of reconnection inflow, and find an X-shaped structure upon the post-flare loops during the period of the second motion. Two separations of the flare ribbons are associated with these two sideward motions, with average velocities of 3.3 and 1.3 km/s, separately. Using the observation of photospheric magnetic field, the velocities of the sideward motions and the separations, we deduce the corresponding coronal magnetic field strength to be about 13.2-15.2 G, and estimate the reconnection rates to be 0.05 and 0.02 for these two magnetic reconnection processes, respectively. We also observe motions of bright points upward and downward along the EUV loops with velocities ranging from 45.4 to 556.7 km/s. A cloud of bright material flowing outward from the loop-top hard X-ray source with an average velocity of 51 km/s in the process of the flare may be accelerated by the tension force of the newly reconnected magnetic field lines. All the observations can be explained by schematic diagrams of magnetic reconnection.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Ap

On the Brightening Propagation of Post-Flare Loops Observed by TRACE

Examining flare data observed by TRACE satellite from May 1998 to December 2006, we choose 190 (151 M-class and 39 X-class) flare events which display post-flare loops (PFLs), observed by 171 \AA and 195 \AA wavelengths. 124 of the 190 events exhibit flare ribbons (FRs), observed by 1600 \AA images. We investigate the propagation of the brightening of these PFLs along the neutral lines and the separation of the FRs perpendicular to the neutral lines. In most of the cases, the length of the FRs ranges from 20 Mm to 170 Mm. The propagating duration of the brightening is from 10 to 60 minutes, and from 10 minutes to 70 minutes for the separating duration of the FRs. The velocities of the propagation and the separation range from 3 km/s to 39 km/s and 3 km/s to 15 km/s, respectively. Both of the propagating velocities and the separating velocities are associated with the flare strength and the length of the FRs. It appears that the propagation and the separation are dynamically coupled, that is the greater the propagating velocity is, the faster the separation is. Furthermore, a greater propagating velocity corresponds to a greater deceleration (or acceleration). These PFLs display three types of propagating patterns. Type I propagation, which possesses about half of all the events, is that the brightening begins at the middle part of a set of PFLs, and propagates bi-directionally towards its both ends. Type II, possessing 30%, is that the brightening firstly appears at one end of a set of PFLs, then propagates to the other end. The remnant belongs to Type III propagation which displays that the initial brightening takes place at two (or more than two) positions on two (or more than two) sets of PFLs, and each brightening propagates bi-directionally along the neutral line.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, APJ in pres

Efficiently identifying genome-wide changes with next-generation sequencing data

We propose a new and effective statistical framework for identifying genome-wide differential changes in epigenetic marks with ChIP-seq data or gene expression with mRNA-seq data, and we develop a new software tool EpiCenter that can efficiently perform data analysis. The key features of our framework are: (i) providing multiple normalization methods to achieve appropriate normalization under different scenarios, (ii) using a sequence of three statistical tests to eliminate background regions and to account for different sources of variation and (iii) allowing adjustment for multiple testing to control false discovery rate (FDR) or family-wise type I error. Our software EpiCenter can perform multiple analytic tasks including: (i) identifying genome-wide epigenetic changes or differentially expressed genes, (ii) finding transcription factor binding sites and (iii) converting multiple-sample sequencing data into a single read-count data matrix. By simulation, we show that our framework achieves a low FDR consistently over a broad range of read coverage and biological variation. Through two real examples, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework and the usages of our tool. In particular, we show that our novel and robust ‘parsimony’ normalization method is superior to the widely-used ‘tagRatio’ method. Our software EpiCenter is freely available to the public

Stability analysis of nonlinear delay differential-algebraic equations and of the implicit euler methods

We consider the stability and asymptotic stability of a class of nonlinear delay differential-algebraic equations and of the implicit Euler methods.Some sufficient conditions for the stability and asymptotic stability of the equations are given.These conditions can be applied conveniently to nonlinear equations.We also show that the implicit Euler methods are stable and asymptotically stable

New evidence for rice harvesting in the early Neolithic Lower Yangtze River, China

The Lower Yangtze River of China has been identified as an independent center of rice domestication, but tracing the earliest evidence for rice cultivation practices has been challenging. Here we report the first evidence for rice harvesting, based on use-wear and phytolith residue analyses of 52 flaked stone tools (10000–7000 BP) from the Shangshan and Hehuashan sites. The tools reflect two harvesting methods: reaping the panicles at the top and cutting the stalk near the base. Thus, our research provides a new method for investigating prehistoric cereal cultivation, and the data lend support to the evidence of rice domestication in the early Holocene. The results also show the complexity of rice harvesting strategies several millennia before the emergence of full-fledged agriculture in the Lower Yangtze