Modelling and Interpreting The Effects of Spatial Resolution on Solar Magnetic Field Maps

Different methods for simulating the effects of spatial resolution on magnetic field maps are compared, including those commonly used for inter-instrument comparisons. The investigation first uses synthetic data, and the results are confirmed with {\it Hinode}/SpectroPolarimeter data. Four methods are examined, one which manipulates the Stokes spectra to simulate spatial-resolution degradation, and three "post-facto" methods where the magnetic field maps are manipulated directly. Throughout, statistical comparisons of the degraded maps with the originals serve to quantify the outcomes. Overall, we find that areas with inferred magnetic fill fractions close to unity may be insensitive to optical spatial resolution; areas of sub-unity fill fractions are very sensitive. Trends with worsening spatial resolution can include increased average field strength, lower total flux, and a field vector oriented closer to the line of sight. Further-derived quantities such as vertical current density show variations even in areas of high average magnetic fill-fraction. In short, unresolved maps fail to represent the distribution of the underlying unresolved fields, and the "post-facto" methods generally do not reproduce the effects of a smaller telescope aperture. It is argued that selecting a method in order to reconcile disparate spatial resolution effects should depend on the goal, as one method may better preserve the field distribution, while another can reproduce spatial resolution degradation. The results presented should help direct future inter-instrument comparisons.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics. The final publication (including full-resolution figures) will be available at http://www.springerlink.co

Comment on "Resolving the 180-deg Ambiguity in Solar Vector Magnetic Field Data: Evaluating the Effects of Noise, Spatial Resolution, and Method Assumptions"

In a recent paper, Leka at al. (Solar Phys. 260, 83, 2009)constructed a synthetic vector magnetogram representing a three-dimensional magnetic structure defined only within a fraction of an arcsec in height. They rebinned the magnetogram to simulate conditions of limited spatial resolution and then compared the results of various azimuth disambiguation methods on the resampled data. Methods relying on the physical calculation of potential and/or non-potential magnetic fields failed in nearly the same, extended parts of the field of view and Leka et al. (2009) attributed these failures to the limited spatial resolution. This study shows that the failure of these methods is not due to the limited spatial resolution but due to the narrowly defined test data. Such narrow magnetic structures are not realistic in the real Sun. Physics-based disambiguation methods, adapted for solar magnetic fields extending to infinity, are not designed to handle such data; hence, they could only fail this test. I demonstrate how an appropriate limited-resolution disambiguation test can be performed by constructing a synthetic vector magnetogram very similar to that of Leka et al. (2009) but representing a structure defined in the semi-infinite space above the solar photosphere. For this magnetogram I find that even a simple potential-field disambiguation method manages to resolve the ambiguity very successfully, regardless of limited spatial resolution. Therefore, despite the conclusions of Leka et al. (2009), a proper limited-spatial-resolution test of azimuth disambiguation methods is yet to be performed in order to identify the best ideas and algorithms.Comment: Solar Physics, in press (19 pp., 5 figures, 2 tables

Enhanced Joule Heating in Umbral Dots

We present a study of magnetic profiles of umbral dots (UDs) and its consequences on the Joule heating mechanisms. Hamedivafa (2003) studied Joule heating using vertical component of magnetic field. In this paper UDs magnetic profile has been investigated including the new azimuthal component of magnetic field which might explain the relatively larger enhancement of Joule heating causing more brightness near circumference of UD.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted in Solar Physic

A P53-Independent DNA Damage Response Suppresses Oncogenic Proliferation and Genome Instability

The Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex is a DNA double-strand break sensor that mediates a tumor-suppressive DNA damage response (DDR) in cells undergoing oncogenic stress, yet the mechanisms underlying this effect are poorly understood. Using a genetically inducible primary mammary epithelial cell model, we demonstrate that Mre11 suppresses proliferation and DNA damage induced by diverse oncogenic drivers through a p53-independent mechanism. Breast tumorigenesis models engineered to express a hypomorphic Mre11 allele exhibit increased levels of oncogene-induced DNA damage, R-loop accumulation, and chromosomal instability with a characteristic copy number loss phenotype. Mre11 complex dysfunction is identified in a subset of human triple-negative breast cancers and is associated with increased sensitivity to DNA-damaging therapy and inhibitors of ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Thus, deficiencies in the Mre11-dependent DDR drive proliferation and genome instability patterns in p53-deficient breast cancers and represent an opportunity for therapeutic exploitation

Molecular dynamics simulation of the order-disorder phase transition in solid NaNO2_2

We present molecular dynamics simulations of solid NaNO$_2$ using pair potentials with the rigid-ion model. The crystal potential surface is calculated by using an \emph{a priori} method which integrates the \emph{ab initio} calculations with the Gordon-Kim electron gas theory. This approach is carefully examined by using different population analysis methods and comparing the intermolecular interactions resulting from this approach with those from the \emph{ab initio} Hartree-Fock calculations. Our numerics shows that the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition in solid NaNO$_2$ is triggered by rotation of the nitrite ions around the crystallographical c axis, in agreement with recent X-ray experiments [Gohda \textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. B \textbf{63}, 14101 (2000)]. The crystal-field effects on the nitrite ion are also addressed. Remarkable internal charge-transfer effect is found.Comment: RevTeX 4.0, 11 figure

A functional riboSNitch in the 3' untranslated region of FKBP5 alters MicroRNA-320a binding efficiency and mediates vulnerability to chronic post-traumatic pain

Previous studies have shown that common variants of the gene coding for FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP5), a critical regulator of glucocorticoid sensitivity, affect vulnerability to stress-related disorders. In a previous report, FKBP5 rs1360780 was identified as a functional variant because of its effect on gene methylation. Here we report evidence for a novel functional FKBP5 allele, rs3800373. This study assessed the association between rs3800373 and post-traumatic chronic pain in 1607 women and men from two ethnically diverse human cohorts. The molecular mechanism through which rs3800373 affects adverse outcomes was established via in silico, in vivo, and in vitro analyses. The rs3800373 minor allele predicted worse adverse outcomes after trauma exposure, such that individuals with the minor (risk) allele developed more severe post-traumatic chronic musculoskeletal pain. Among these individuals, peritraumatic circulating FKBP5 expression levels increased as cortisol and glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) mRNA levels increased, consistent with increased glucocorticoid resistance. Bioinformatic, in vitro, and mutational analyses indicate that the rs3800373 minor allele reduces the binding of a stress-and pain-associated microRNA, miR-320a, to FKBP5 via altering the FKBP5 mRNA 3'UTR secondary structure (i.e., is a riboSNitch). This results in relatively greater FKBP5 translation, unchecked by miR-320a. Overall, these results identify an important gene–miRNA interaction influencing chronic pain risk in vulnerable individuals and suggest that exogenous methods to achieve targeted reduction in poststress FKBP5 mRNA expression may constitute useful therapeutic strategies

Subependymal giant cell astrocytomas are characterized by mTORC1 hyperactivation, a very low somatic mutation rate, and a unique gene expression profile

Subependymal giant-cell astrocytomas (SEGAs) are slow-growing brain tumors that are a hallmark feature seen in 5–10% of patients with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC). Though histologically benign, they can cause serious neurologic symptoms, leading to death if untreated. SEGAs consistently show biallelic loss of TSC1 or TSC2. Herein, we aimed to define other somatic events beyond TSC1/TSC2 loss and identify potential transcriptional drivers that contribute to SEGA formation. Paired tumor-normal whole-exome sequencing was performed on 21 resected SEGAs from 20 TSC patients. Pathogenic variants in TSC1/TSC2 were identified in 19/21 (90%) SEGAs. Copy neutral loss of heterozygosity (size range: 2.2–46 Mb) was seen in 76% (16/21) of SEGAs (44% chr9q and 56% chr16p). An average of 1.4 other somatic variants (range 0–7) per tumor were identified, unlikely of pathogenic significance. Whole transcriptome RNA-sequencing analyses revealed 190 common differentially expressed genes in SEGA (n = 16, 13 from a prior study) in pairwise comparison to each of: low grade diffuse gliomas (n = 530) and glioblastoma (n = 171) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) consortium, ganglioglioma (n = 10), TSC cortical tubers (n = 15), and multiple normal tissues. Among these, homeobox transcription factors (TFs) HMX3, HMX2, VAX1, SIX3; and TFs IRF6 and EOMES were all expressed >12-fold higher in SEGAs (FDR/q-value < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry supported the specificity of IRF6, VAX1, SIX3 for SEGAs in comparison to other tumor entities and normal brain. We conclude that SEGAs have an extremely low somatic mutation rate, suggesting that TSC1/TSC2 loss is sufficient to drive tumor growth. The unique and highly expressed SEGA-specific TFs likely reflect the neuroepithelial cell of origin, and may also contribute to the transcriptional and epigenetic state that enables SEGA growth following two-hit loss of TSC1 or TSC2 and mTORC1 activation

Electric current circuits in astrophysics

Cosmic magnetic structures have in common that they are anchored in a dynamo, that an external driver converts kinetic energy into internal magnetic energy, that this magnetic energy is transported as Poynting fl ux across the magnetically dominated structure, and that the magnetic energy is released in the form of particle acceleration, heating, bulk motion, MHD waves, and radiation. The investigation of the electric current system is particularly illuminating as to the course of events and the physics involved. We demonstrate this for the radio pulsar wind, the solar flare, and terrestrial magnetic storms

Modeling the Subsurface Structure of Sunspots

While sunspots are easily observed at the solar surface, determining their subsurface structure is not trivial. There are two main hypotheses for the subsurface structure of sunspots: the monolithic model and the cluster model. Local helioseismology is the only means by which we can investigate subphotospheric structure. However, as current linear inversion techniques do not yet allow helioseismology to probe the internal structure with sufficient confidence to distinguish between the monolith and cluster models, the development of physically realistic sunspot models are a priority for helioseismologists. This is because they are not only important indicators of the variety of physical effects that may influence helioseismic inferences in active regions, but they also enable detailed assessments of the validity of helioseismic interpretations through numerical forward modeling. In this paper, we provide a critical review of the existing sunspot models and an overview of numerical methods employed to model wave propagation through model sunspots. We then carry out an helioseismic analysis of the sunspot in Active Region 9787 and address the serious inconsistencies uncovered by \citeauthor{gizonetal2009}~(\citeyear{gizonetal2009,gizonetal2009a}). We find that this sunspot is most probably associated with a shallow, positive wave-speed perturbation (unlike the traditional two-layer model) and that travel-time measurements are consistent with a horizontal outflow in the surrounding moat.Comment: 73 pages, 19 figures, accepted by Solar Physic

Multiwavelength studies of MHD waves in the solar chromosphere: An overview of recent results

The chromosphere is a thin layer of the solar atmosphere that bridges the relatively cool photosphere and the intensely heated transition region and corona. Compressible and incompressible waves propagating through the chromosphere can supply significant amounts of energy to the interface region and corona. In recent years an abundance of high-resolution observations from state-of-the-art facilities have provided new and exciting ways of disentangling the characteristics of oscillatory phenomena propagating through the dynamic chromosphere. Coupled with rapid advancements in magnetohydrodynamic wave theory, we are now in an ideal position to thoroughly investigate the role waves play in supplying energy to sustain chromospheric and coronal heating. Here, we review the recent progress made in characterising, categorising and interpreting oscillations manifesting in the solar chromosphere, with an impetus placed on their intrinsic energetics.Comment: 48 pages, 25 figures, accepted into Space Science Review