Solar particle effects on minor components of the Polar atmosphere

Abstract. Solar activity can influence the Earth's environment, and in particular the ozone layer, by direct modulation of the e.m. radiation or through variability of the incoming cosmic ray flux (solar and galactic particles). In particular, solar energetic particles (SEPs) provide additional external energy to the terrestrial environment; they are able to interact with the minor constituents of the atmospheric layer and produce ionizations, dissociations, dissociative ionizations and excitations. This paper highlights the SEP effects on the chemistry of the upper atmosphere by analysing some SEP events recorded during 2005 in the descending phase of the current solar cycle. It is shown that these events can lead to short- (hours) and medium- (days) term ozone variations through catalytic cycles (e.g. HOx and NOx increases). We focus attention on the relationship between ozone and OH data (retrieved from MLS EOS AURA) for four SEP events: 17 and 20 January, 15 May and 8 September. We confirm that SEP effects are different on the night and day hemispheres at high latitudes.</p

Big Data Assurance Evaluation: An SLA-Based Approach.

The Big Data community has started noticing that there is the need to complete Big Data platforms with assurance techniques proving the correct behavior of Big Data analytics and management. In this paper, we propose a Big Data assurance solution based on Service-Level Agreements (SLAs), focusing on a platform providing Model-based Big Data Analytics-as-a-Service (MBDAaaS)

A smart tablet application to quantitatively assess the dominant hand dexterity

Background and objective: The Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT) is the most used test to assess hand dexterity in clinical practice and is considered the gold standard but only evaluates the time needed to complete the task. The aim of this work is to describe a graphic test on a smart tablet to assess in a quantitative as well qualitative way the dominant hand dexterity and to validate it in a cohort of neurological subjects and healthy controls. Methods: The task consists in asking the subject to connect with a graphic line the start and the end point of a pre-defined path, with two different widths, in the most precise and fastest way possible. The path is constituted by a ‘meander’ and a ‘spiral’ part. The subjects perform the task on a smart tablet with a capacitive pen four times. The three parameters of interest considered at each trial are the execution time, length path, and number of interactions with the border. The app automatically computes these three parameters and stores the completed test files. The results of the digital graphic test are compared to the NHPT results. Healthy and pathological subjects are compared to each other, and performances obtained in different repetitions are compared to assess the learning effect in each population. Results: 53 subjects with a definitive diagnosis of neurodegenerative/genetic neurological disorders (34 men, mean age 59.1 ± 16.1) and 78 healthy controls (33 men, mean age 42.5 ± 16.3) were recruited. Among the pathological subjects, 31 also performed the NHPT. The graphic test clearly distinguish between the two populations for all parameters of interest. Moreover, compared to the gold standard NHPT, time has a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.57, p ≤ 0.001), whereas interactions and length have a strong positive correlation (r = 0.81, p ≤ 0.001) and (r = 0.69, p ≤ 0.001), respectively. Conclusions: The proposed digital test can measure in an accurate, quantitative and qualitative way dominant hand disability and can result more informative with respect to the gold standard NHPT. In homogeneous cohort of subjects (for example affected by multiple sclerosis or Parkinson disease), the digital test can be used as an outcome measure in clinical trials as well as a tool for monitoring disease progression at the dominant hand level

Variability of the nighttime OH layer and mesospheric ozone at high latitudes during northern winter: influence of meteorology

Abstract. Analyses of OH zonal means, recorded at boreal high latitudes by the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) in winters of 2005–2009, have shown medium- (weeks) and short- (days) term variability of the nighttime OH layer. Because of the exceptional descent of air from the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) region, medium-term variability occurred during February 2006 and February/March 2009. The layer normally situated at about 82 km descended by about 5–7 km, and its density increased to more than twice January values. In these periods and location the abundance of the lowered OH layer is comparable to the OH values induced by Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) forcing (e.g., SEP events of January 2005) at the same altitudes. In both years, the descent of the OH layer was coupled with increased mesospheric temperatures, elevated carbon monoxide and an almost complete disappearance of ozone at the altitude of the descended layer (which was not observed in other years). Moreover, under these exceptional atmospheric conditions, the third ozone peak, normally at about 72 km, is shown to descend about 5 km to lower altitude and increase in magnitude, with maximum values recorded during February 2009. Short-term variability occurred during Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) events, in particular in January 2006, February 2008 and January 2009, when dynamics led to a smaller abundance of the OH layer at its typical altitude. During these periods, there was an upward displacement of the OH layer coupled to changes in ozone and carbon monoxide. These perturbations were the strongest during the SSW of January 2009; coincident upper mesospheric temperatures were the lowest recorded over the late winters of 2005–2009. Finally, the series of SSW events that occurred in late January/February 2008 induced noticeable short-term variability in ozone at altitudes of both the ozone minimum and the third ozone peak. These phenomena, confined inside the polar vortex, are an additional tool that can be used to investigate mesospheric vortex dynamics

SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates VI. An additional companion in the KOI-13 system

We report the discovery of a new stellar companion in the KOI-13 system. KOI-13 is composed by two fast-rotating A-type stars of similar magnitude. One of these two stars hosts a transiting planet discovered by Kepler. We obtained new radial velocity measurements using the SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence that revealed an additional companion in this system. This companion has a mass between 0.4 and 1 Msun and orbits one of the two main stars with a period of 65.831 \pm 0.029 days and an eccentricity of 0.52 \pm 0.02. The radial velocities of the two stars were derived using a model of two fast-rotating line profiles. From the residuals, we found a hint of the stellar variations seen in the Kepler light curve with an amplitude of about 1.41 km/s and a period close to the rotational period. This signal appears to be about three order of magnitude larger than expected for stellar activity. From the analysis of the residuals, we also put a 3-sigma upper-limit on the mass of the transiting planet KOI-13.01 of 14.8 Mjup and 9.4 Mjup, depending on which star hosts the transit. We found that this new companion has no significant impact on the photometric determination of the mass of KOI-13.01 but is expected to affect precise infrared photometry. Finally, using dynamical simulations, we infer that the new companion is orbiting around KOI-13B while the transiting planet candidate is expected to orbit KOI-13A. Thus, the transiting planet candidate KOI-13.01 is orbiting the main component of a hierarchical triple system.Comment: Accepted in A&A Letters. 4 pages including 4 figures and the RV tabl

Towards Transparent and Trustworthy Cloud

Despite its immense benefits in terms of flexibility, resource consumption, and simplified management, cloud computing raises several concerns due to lack of trust and transparency. Like all computing paradigms based on outsourcing, the use of cloud computing is largely a matter of trust. There is an increasing pressure by cloud customers for solutions that would increase their confidence that a cloud service/application is behaving in a secure and correct manner. Cloud assurance techniques, developed to assess the trustworthiness of cloud services, can play a major role in building trust. In this paper, we start from the assumption that an opaque cloud does not fit security, and present a reliable evidence collection process and infrastructure extending existing assurance techniques towards the definition of a trustworthy cloud. The proposed process and infrastructure are applied to a case study on cloud certification showing their utility

SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates. XV. KOI-614b, KOI-206b, and KOI-680b: a massive warm Jupiter orbiting a G0 metallic dwarf and two highly inflated planets with a distant companion around evolved F-type stars

We report the validation and characterization of three new transiting exoplanets using SOPHIE radial velocities: KOI-614b, KOI-206b, and KOI-680b. KOI-614b has a mass of $2.86\pm0.35~{\rm M_{Jup}}$ and a radius of $1.13^{+0.26}_{-0.18}~{\rm R_{Jup}}$, and it orbits a G0, metallic ([Fe/H]=$0.35\pm0.15$) dwarf in 12.9 days. Its mass and radius are familiar and compatible with standard planetary evolution models, so it is one of the few known transiting planets in this mass range to have an orbital period over ten days. With an equilibrium temperature of $T_{eq}=1000 \pm 45$ K, this places KOI-614b at the transition between what is usually referred to as "hot" and "warm" Jupiters. KOI-206b has a mass of $2.82\pm 0.52~{\rm M_{Jup}}$ and a radius of $1.45\pm0.16~{\rm R_{Jup}}$, and it orbits a slightly evolved F7-type star in a 5.3-day orbit. It is a massive inflated hot Jupiter that is particularly challenging for planetary models because it requires unusually large amounts of additional dissipated energy in the planet. On the other hand, KOI-680b has a much lower mass of $0.84\pm0.15~{\rm M_{Jup}}$ and requires less extra-dissipation to explain its uncommonly large radius of $1.99\pm0.18~{\rm R_{Jup}}$. It is one of the biggest transiting planets characterized so far, and it orbits a subgiant F9-star well on its way to the red giant stage, with an orbital period of 8.6 days. With host stars of masses of $1.46\pm0.17~M_{\odot}$ and $1.54 \pm 0.09~M_{\odot}$, respectively, KOI-206b, and KOI-680b are interesting objects for theories of formation and survival of short-period planets around stars more massive than the Sun. For those two targets, we also find signs of a possible distant additional companion in the system

Feedstocks for Second-Generation Biodiesel: Microalgae’s Biology and Oil Composition

The solar energy is an inexhaustible source, while other energy reserves, like fossil and nuclear fuels, are limited in quantity and are depleted as years go by. Renewable energy is necessary to replace petroleum-derived fuels. The first generation biofuels, which are produced from oil seeds and crops, are a possible alternative, but they are limited in their capacity to provide all the energy demanded in the world. Therefore, new sources for the sustainable production of renewable energy are being looked for. This concern has promoted the keen interest in developing second generation biofuels, which are produced from other feedstocks, such as microalgal oils (Schenk et al., 2008; Mata et al., 2010). Some microalgal species are capable of producing biomass yields containing high percentages of oils (Aaronson et. al., 1980). In addition, microalgal systems can use low value natural resources, such as arid lands and saline water, thus offering the potential for large biomass energy contributions without competing for prime agricultural or forest land. Most microalgae grow photoautotrophically by using solar energy and mainly carbon dioxide as carbon source. Alternatively, some species can grow heterotrophically or mixotrophically using organic compounds as energy and carbon sources.Fil: Leonardi, Patricia Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Popovich, Cecilia Angelines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Damiani, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentin

The Essex-Lopresti lesion

International audienc