The Ionic Charge of Solar Energetic Particles with Energies of 0.3-70 MeV per Nucleon

With the three particle sensors Low Energy Ion Composition Analyzer (LICA), Heavy Ion Large Area Proportional Counter Telescope (HILT), and Mass Spectrometer Telescope (MAST) on board the polar orbiting Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) satellite, the ionic charge of solar energetic particles (SEP) was measured over a wide energy range from 0.3 to 70 MeV per nucleon. For each sensor, the evaluation was performed separately. The results obtained with LICA (0.3-10 MeV per nucleon) and MAST (15-70 MeV per nucleon) were published earlier by Mason et al. and Leske et al., respectively. In this work we present the results of the HILT sensor (7-50 MeV per nucleon) and discuss the combined results of the three instruments. With HILT, the mean ionic charge of SEP was measured for carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, argon, calcium, and iron in the energy range 7È50 MeV per nucleon during two consecutive large SEP events in 1992 OctoberÈNovember. The mean ionic charge was inferred from the rigidity-dependent geomagnetic flux cutoff. The coronal temperatures deduced from the mean ionic charges are well in accordance with the value of ~2x10^6 K except for neon and magnesium, as previously reported. The data measured with the three sensors, LICA, HILT, and MAST, agree well and are in accordance with data previously measured at energies below 3 MeV per nucleon (Luhn et al.), except for iron, where we observed a significant energy dependence of the mean charge over the energy range 0.3-70 MeV per nucleon

Charge States of Solar Cosmic Rays and Constraints on Acceleration Times and Coronal Transport

We examine effects on the charge states of energetic ions associated with gradual solar flares due to shock heating and stripping at high ion velocities. Recent measurements of the mean charges of various elements after the flares of 1992 Oct 30 and 1992 Nov 2 allow one to place limits on the product of the electron density times the acceleration or coronal residence time. In particular, any residence in coronal loops must be for < 0.03 s, which rules out models of coronal transport in loops, such as the bird cage model. The results do not contradict models of shock acceleration of energetic ions from coronal plasma at various solar longitudes.Comment: 7 pages LaTeX + 2 tables in separate LaTeX file, necessary AAS macros are included, accepted by Astrophys. J. Let

Fuel metabolism during exercise in euglycaemia and hyperglycaemia in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus—a prospective single-blinded randomised crossover trial

Aims/hypothesis: We assessed systemic and local muscle fuel metabolism during aerobic exercise in patients with type 1 diabetes at euglycaemia and hyperglycaemia with identical insulin levels. Methods: This was a single-blinded randomised crossover study at a university diabetes unit in Switzerland. We studied seven physically active men with type 1 diabetes (mean ± SEM age 33.5 ± 2.4years, diabetes duration 20.1 ± 3.6years, HbA1c 6.7 ± 0.2% and peak oxygen uptake [ $$\mathop {\text{V}}\limits^{\text{.}} {\text{O}}_{2{\text{peak}}}$$ ] 50.3 ± 4.5ml min−1 kg−1). Men were studied twice while cycling for 120min at 55 to 60% of $$\mathop {\text{V}}\limits^{\text{.}} {\text{O}}_{{\text{2peak}}}$$ , with a blood glucose level randomly set either at 5 or 11mmol/l and identical insulinaemia. The participants were blinded to the glycaemic level; allocation concealment was by opaque, sealed envelopes. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to quantify intramyocellular glycogen and lipids before and after exercise. Indirect calorimetry and measurement of stable isotopes and counter-regulatory hormones complemented the assessment of local and systemic fuel metabolism. Results: The contribution of lipid oxidation to overall energy metabolism was higher in euglycaemia than in hyperglycaemia (49.4 ± 4.8 vs 30.6 ± 4.2%; p < 0.05). Carbohydrate oxidation accounted for 48.2 ± 4.7 and 66.6 ± 4.2% of total energy expenditure in euglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, respectively (p < 0.05). The level of intramyocellular glycogen before exercise was higher in hyperglycaemia than in euglycaemia (3.4 ± 0.3 vs 2.7 ± 0.2 arbitrary units [AU]; p < 0.05). Absolute glycogen consumption tended to be higher in hyperglycaemia than in euglycaemia (1.3 ± 0.3 vs 0.9 ± 0.1 AU). Cortisol and growth hormone increased more strongly in euglycaemia than in hyperglycaemia (levels at the end of exercise 634 ± 52 vs 501 ± 32nmol/l and 15.5 ± 4.5 vs 7.4 ± 2.0ng/ml, respectively; p < 0.05). Conclusions/interpretation: Substrate oxidation in type 1 diabetic patients performing aerobic exercise in euglycaemia is similar to that in healthy individuals revealing a shift towards lipid oxidation during exercise. In hyperglycaemia fuel metabolism in these patients is dominated by carbohydrate oxidation. Intramyocellular glycogen was not spared in hyperglycaemia. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT00325559 Funding: This study was supported by unrestricted grants from the Oetliker-Stiftung für Physiologie, from the Swiss Diabetes Foundation, from NovoNordisk, Switzerland, and from the Swiss National Science Foundatio