405 research outputs found
Inter-network regions of the Sun at millimetre wavelengths
The continuum intensity at wavelengths around 1 mm provides an excellent way
to probe the solar chromosphere. Future high-resolution millimetre arrays, such
as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), will thus produce valuable input
for the ongoing controversy on the thermal structure and the dynamics of this
layer. Synthetic brightness temperature maps are calculated on basis of
three-dimensional radiation (magneto-)hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. While the
millimetre continuum at 0.3mm originates mainly from the upper photosphere, the
longer wavelengths considered here map the low and middle chromosphere. The
effective formation height increases generally with wavelength and also from
disk-centre towards the solar limb. The average intensity contribution
functions are usually rather broad and in some cases they are even
double-peaked as there are contributions from hot shock waves and cool
post-shock regions in the model chromosphere. Taking into account the
deviations from ionisation equilibrium for hydrogen gives a less strong
variation of the electron density and with it of the optical depth. The result
is a narrower formation height range. The average brightness temperature
increases with wavelength and towards the limb. The relative contrast depends
on wavelength in the same way as the average intensity but decreases towards
the limb. The dependence of the brightness temperature distribution on
wavelength and disk-position can be explained with the differences in formation
height and the variation of temperature fluctuations with height in the model
atmospheres.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (15.05.07
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Efficacy of management and monitoring methods to prevent post-harvest losses caused by rodents
The presence of pest rodents around food production and storage sites is one of many underlying problems contributing to food contamination and loss, particularly influencing food and nutrition security in low-income countries. By reducing both pre- and post-harvest losses by rodents, millions of food-insecure people would benefit. As there are limited quantitative data on post-harvest rice losses due to rodents, our objectives were to assess stored rice losses in local households from eight rural communities and two rice milling factories in Bangladesh and to monitor the effect of different rodent control strategies to limit potential losses. Four treatments were applied in 2016 and 2017, (i) untreated control, (ii) use of domestic cats, (iii) use of rodenticides, (iv) use of snap-traps. In total, over a two-year period, 210 rodents were captured from inside people’s homes, with Rattus rattus trapped most often (n = 91), followed by Mus musculus (n = 75) and Bandicota bengalensis (n = 26). In the milling stations, 68 rodents were trapped, of which 21 were M. musculus, 19 R. rattus, 17 B. bengalensis, 8 Rattus exulans, and 3 Mus terricolor. In 2016, losses from standardised baskets of rice within households were between 13.6% and 16.7%. In 2017, the losses were lower, ranging from 0.6% to 2.2%. Daily rodent removal by trapping proved to be most effective to diminish stored produce loss. The effectiveness of domestic cats was limited
Compositions of fungal secretomes indicate a greater impact of phylogenetic history than lifestyle adaptation
Non-linear numerical simulations of magneto-acoustic wave propagation in small-scale flux tubes
We present results of non-linear, 2D, numerical simulations of
magneto-acoustic wave propagation in the photosphere and chromosphere of
small-scale flux tubes with internal structure. Waves with realistic periods of
three to five minutes are studied, after applying horizontal and vertical
oscillatory perturbations to the equilibrium model. Spurious reflections of
shock waves from the upper boundary are minimized thanks to a special boundary
condition. This has allowed us to increase the duration of the simulations and
to make it long enough to perform a statistical analysis of oscillations. The
simulations show that deep horizontal motions of the flux tube generate a slow
(magnetic) mode and a surface mode. These modes are efficiently transformed
into a slow (acoustic) mode in the vA < cS atmosphere. The slow (acoustic) mode
propagates vertically along the field lines, forms shocks and remains always
within the flux tube. It might deposit effectively the energy of the driver
into the chromosphere. When the driver oscillates with a high frequency, above
the cut-off, non-linear wave propagation occurs with the same dominant driver
period at all heights. At low frequencies, below the cut-off, the dominant
period of oscillations changes with height from that of the driver in the
photosphere to its first harmonic (half period) in the chromosphere. Depending
on the period and on the type of the driver, different shock patterns are
observed.Comment: 22 pages 6 color figures, submitted to Solar Physics, proceeding of
SOHO 19/ GONG 2007 meeting, Melbourne, Australi
Two-Dimensional Helioseismic Power, Phase, and Coherence Spectra of {\it Solar Dynamics Observatory} Photospheric and Chromospheric Observables
While the {\it Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager} (HMI) onboard the {\it Solar
Dynamics Observatory} (SDO) provides Doppler velocity [], continuum
intensity [], and line-depth [] observations, each of which is
sensitive to the five-minute acoustic spectrum, the {\it Atmospheric Imaging
Array} (AIA) also observes at wavelengths -- specifically the 1600 and 1700
Angstrom bands -- that are partly formed in the upper photosphere and have good
sensitivity to acoustic modes. In this article we consider the characteristics
of the spatio--temporal Fourier spectra in AIA and HMI observables for a
15-degree region around NOAA Active Region 11072. We map the
spatio--temporal-power distribution for the different observables and the HMI
Line Core [], or Continuum minus Line Depth, and the phase and coherence
functions for selected observable pairs, as a function of position and
frequency. Five-minute oscillation power in all observables is suppressed in
the sunspot and also in plage areas. Above the acoustic cut-off frequency, the
behaviour is more complicated: power in HMI is still suppressed in the
presence of surface magnetic fields, while power in HMI and the AIA bands
is suppressed in areas of surface field but enhanced in an extended area around
the active region, and power in HMI is enhanced in a narrow zone around
strong-field concentrations and suppressed in a wider surrounding area. The
relative phase of the observables, and their cross-coherence functions, are
also altered around the active region. These effects may help us to understand
the interaction of waves and magnetic fields in the different layers of the
photosphere, and will need to be taken into account in multi-wavelength local
helioseismic analysis of active regions.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, to be published in Solar Physic
Numerical Simulations of Magnetoacoustic-Gravity Waves in the Solar Atmosphere
We investigate the excitation of magnetoacoustic-gravity waves generated from
localized pulses in the gas pressure as well as in vertical component of
velocity. These pulses are initially launched at the top of the solar
photosphere that is permeated by a weak magnetic field. We investigate three
different configurations of the background magnetic field lines: horizontal,
vertical and oblique to the gravitational force. We numerically model
magnetoacoustic-gravity waves by implementing a realistic (VAL-C) model of
solar temperature. We solve two-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations
numerically with the use of the FLASH code to simulate the dynamics of the
lower solar atmosphere. The initial pulses result in shocks at higher
altitudes. Our numerical simulations reveal that a small-amplitude initial
pulse can produce magnetoacoustic-gravity waves, which are later reflected from
the transition region due to the large temperature gradient. The atmospheric
cavities in the lower solar atmosphere are found to be the ideal places that
may act as a resonator for various oscillations, including their trapping and
leakage into the higher atmosphere. Our numerical simulations successfully
model the excitation of such wave modes, their reflection and trapping, as well
as the associated plasma dynamics
Molecular alterations in dog pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas
Recently, genetic alterations in the genes encoding succinate dehydrogenase subunit B and D (SDHB and SDHD) were identified in pet dogs that presented with spontaneously arising pheochromocytomas (PCC) and paragangliomas (PGL; together PPGL), suggesting dogs might be an interesting comparative model for the study of human PPGL. To study whether canine PPGL resembled human PPGL, we investigated a series of 50 canine PPGLs by immunohistochemistry to determine the expression of synaptophysin (SYP), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and succinate dehydrogenase subunit A (SDHA) and B (SDHB). In parallel, 25 canine PPGLs were screened for mutations in SDHB and SDHD by Sanger sequencing. To detect large chromosomal alterations, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays were performed for 11 PPGLs, including cases for which fresh frozen tissue was available. The immunohistochemical markers stained positive in the majority of canine PPGLs. Genetic screening of the canine tumors revealed the previously described variants in four cases; SDHB p.Arg38Gln (n = 1) and SDHD p.Lys122Arg (n = 3). Furthermore, the SNP arrays revealed large chromosomal alterations of which the loss of chromosome 5, partly homologous to human chromosome 1p and chromosome 11, was the most frequent finding (100% of the six cases with chromosomal alterations). In conclusion, canine and human PPGLs show similar genomic alterations, suggestive of common interspecies PPGL-related pathways
Acoustic oscillations in the field-free, gravitationally stratified Acoustic oscillations in the field-free, gravitationally stratified cavities under solar bipolar magnetic canopies
The main goal is to study the dynamics of the gravitationally stratified,
field-free cavities in the solar atmosphere, located under small-scale,
cylindrical magnetic canopies, in response to explosive events in the
lower-lying regions (due to granulation, small-scale magnetic reconnection,
etc.).
We derive the two-dimensional Klein-Gordon equation for isothermal density
perturbations in cylindrical coordinates. The equation is first solved by a
standard normal mode analysis in order to obtain the free oscillation spectrum
of the cavity. Then, the equation is solved in the case of impulsive forcing
associated to a pressure pulse specified in the lower-lying regions.
The normal mode analysis shows that the entire cylindrical cavity of granular
dimensions tends to oscillate with frequencies of 5-8 mHz and also with the
atmospheric cut-off frequency. Furthermore, the passage of a pressure pulse,
excited in the convection zone, sets up a wake in the cavity oscillating with
the same cut-off frequency. The wake oscillations can resonate with the free
oscillation modes, which leads to an enhanced observed oscillation power.
The resonant oscillations of these cavities explain the observed power halos
near magnetic network cores and active regions.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysic
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