Reduced Necrosis and Content of Apoptotic M1 Macrophages in Advanced Atherosclerotic Plaques of Mice With Macrophage-Specific Loss of Trpc3

In previous work we reported that ApoeKO mice transplanted with bone marrow cells deficient in the Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 3 (TRPC3) channel have reduced necrosis and number of apoptotic macrophages in advanced atherosclerotic plaques. Also, in vitro studies with polarized macrophages derived from mice with macrophage-specific loss of TRPC3 showed that M1, but not M2 macrophages, deficient in Trpc3 are less susceptible to ER stress-induced apoptosis than Trpc3 expressing cells. The questions remained (a) whether the plaque phenotype in transplanted mice resulted from a genuine effect of Trpc3 on macrophages, and (b) whether the reduced necrosis and macrophage apoptosis in plaques of these mice was a manifestation of the selective effect of TRPC3 on apoptosis of M1 macrophages previously observed in vitro. Here, we addressed these questions using Ldlr knockout (Ldlr−/−) mice with macrophage-specific loss of Trpc3 (MacTrpc3−/−/Ldlr−/− → Ldlr−/−). Compared to controls, we observed decreased plaque necrosis and number of apoptotic macrophages in MacTrpc3−/−/Ldlr−/− → Ldlr−/− mice. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed a reduction in apoptotic M1, but not apoptotic M2 macrophages. These findings confirm an effect of TRPC3 on plaque necrosis and support the notion that this is likely a reflection of the reduced susceptibility of Trpc3-deficient M1 macrophages to apoptosis.Fil: Solanki, Sumeet. University of Toledo; Estados UnidosFil: Dube, Prabhatchandra R.. University of Toledo; Estados UnidosFil: Birnbaumer, Lutz. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez, Guillermo. University of Toledo; Estados Unido

Fluxtube model atmospheres and Stokes V zero-crossing wavelengths

First results of the inversion of Stokes I and V profiles from plage regions near disk center are presented. Both low and high spatial resolution spectra of FeI 6301.5 and FeI 6302.5 A obtained with the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter (ASP) have been considered for analysis. The thin flux tube approximation, implemented in an LTE inversion code based on response functions, is used to describe unresolved magnetic elements. The code allows the simultaneous and consistent inference of all atmospheric quantities determining the radiative transfer with the sole assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium. By considering velocity gradients within the tubes we are able to match the full ASP Stokes profiles. The magnetic atmospheres derived from the inversion are characterized by the absence of significant motions in high layers and strong velocity gradients in deeper layers. These are essential to reproduce the asymmetries of the observed profiles. Our scenario predicts a shift of the Stokes V zero-crossing wavelengths which is indeed present in observations made with the Fourier Transform Spectrometer.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letters (1997) (in press

Waves as the source of apparent twisting motions in sunspot penumbrae

The motion of dark striations across bright filaments in a sunspot penumbra has become an important new diagnostic of convective gas flows in penumbral filaments. The nature of these striations has, however, remained unclear. Here we present an analysis of small scale motions in penumbral filaments in both simulations and observations. The simulations, when viewed from above, show fine structure with dark lanes running outwards from the dark core of the penumbral filaments. The dark lanes either occur preferentially on one side or alternate between both sides of the filament. We identify this fine structure with transverse (kink) oscillations of the filament, corresponding to a sideways swaying of the filament. These oscillations have periods in the range of 5-7 min and propagate outward and downward along the filament. Similar features are found in observed G-band intensity time series of penumbral filaments in a sunspot located near disk center obtained by the Broadband Filter Imager (BFI) on board {\it Hinode}. We also find that some filaments show dark striations moving to both sides of the filaments. Based on the agreement between simulations and observations we conclude that the motions of these striations are caused by transverse oscillations of the underlying bright filaments.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal on 8th April 201

Simulations Show that Vortex Flows could Heat the Chromosphere in Solar Plage

The relationship between vortex flows at different spatial scales and their contribution to the energy balance in the chromosphere is not yet fully understood. We perform three-dimensional (3D) radiation-magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of a unipolar solar plage region at a spatial resolution of 10 km using the MURaM code. We use the swirling-strength criterion that mainly detects the smallest vortices present in the simulation data. We additionally degrade our simulation data to smooth-out the smaller vortices, so that also the vortices at larger spatial scales can be detected. Vortex flows at various spatial scales are found in our simulation data for different effective spatial resolutions. We conclude that the observed large vortices are likely clusters of much smaller ones that are not yet resolved by observations. We show that the vertical Poynting flux decreases rapidly with reduced effective spatial resolutions and is predominantly carried by the horizontal plasma motions rather than vertical flows. Since the small-scale horizontal motions or the smaller vortices carry most of the energy, the energy transported by vortices deduced from low resolution data is grossly underestimated. In full resolution simulation data, the Poynting flux contribution due to vortices is more than adequate to compensate for the radiative losses in plage, indicating their importance for chromospheric heating.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted in ApJ

Fan Loops Observed by IRIS, EIS and AIA

A comprehensive study of the physical parameters of active region fan loops is presented using the observations recorded with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrometer (IRIS), the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on-board Hinode and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on-board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The fan loops emerging from non-flaring AR~11899 (near the disk-center) on 19th November, 2013 are clearly discernible in AIA 171~{\AA} images and those obtained in \ion{Fe}{8} and \ion{Si}{7} images using EIS. Our measurements of electron densities reveal that the footpoints of these loops are approximately at constant pressure with electron densities of $\log\,N_{e}=$ 10.1 cm$^{-3}$ at $\log\,[T/K]=5.15$ (\ion{O}{4}), and $\log\,N_{e}=$ 8.9 cm$^{-3}$ at $\log\,[T/K]=6.15$ (\ion{Si}{10}). The electron temperature diagnosed across the fan loops by means of EM-Loci suggest that at the footpoints, there are two temperature components at $\log\,[T/K]=4.95$ and 5.95, which are picked-up by IRIS lines and EIS lines respectively. At higher heights, the loops are nearly isothermal at $\log\,[T/K]=5.95$, that remained constant along the loop. The measurement of Doppler shift using IRIS lines suggests that the plasma at the footpoints of these loops is predominantly redshifted by 2-3~km~s$^{-1}$ in \ion{C}{2}, 10-15~km~s$^{-1}$ in \ion{Si}{4} and $~$15{--}20~km~s$^{-1}$ in \ion{O}{4}, reflecting the increase in the speed of downflows with increasing temperature from $\log\,[T/K]=4.40$ to 5.15. These observations can be explained by low frequency nanoflares or impulsive heating, and provide further important constraints on the modeling of the dynamics of fan loops.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal; 8 Figures, 11 page

Canning of smoked eel

On an average about 5000metric tons of marine eels are landed every year in India. Even though it is a quality fish with high protein content as any other popular species, many fish eaters decline to prefer it to other low quality fish. One way to utilise this fish is to convert it into various products like smoked and canned eel fillets. As this product is likely to secure a foreign market also, investigations were carried out with a view to suggesting a proper method for its preparation. The data collected on this line are presented here, applying which an excellent smoked and canned product from eel can be turned out

Nonlinear Force-Free Field Modeling of the Solar Magnetic Carpet and Comparison with SDO/HMI and Sunrise/IMaX Observations

In the quiet solar photosphere, the mixed polarity fields form a magnetic carpet, which continuously evolves due to dynamical interaction between the convective motions and magnetic field. This interplay is a viable source to heat the solar atmosphere. In this work, we used the line-of-sight (LOS) magnetograms obtained from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on the \textit{Solar Dynamics Observatory} (\textit{SDO}), and the Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment (IMaX) instrument on the \textit{Sunrise} balloon-borne observatory, as time dependent lower boundary conditions, to study the evolution of the coronal magnetic field. We use a magneto-frictional relaxation method, including hyperdiffusion, to produce time series of three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear force-free fields from a sequence of photospheric LOS magnetograms. Vertical flows are added up to a height of 0.7 Mm in the modeling to simulate the non-force-freeness at the photosphere-chromosphere layers. Among the derived quantities, we study the spatial and temporal variations of the energy dissipation rate, and energy flux. Our results show that the energy deposited in the solar atmosphere is concentrated within 2 Mm of the photosphere and there is not sufficient energy flux at the base of the corona to cover radiative and conductive losses. Possible reasons and implications are discussed. Better observational constraints of the magnetic field in the chromosphere are crucial to understand the role of the magnetic carpet in coronal heating.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (13 pages, 10 figures

Sunspot areas and tilt angles for solar cycles 7-10

Extending the knowledge about the properties of solar cycles into the past is essential for understanding the solar dynamo. This paper aims at estimating areas of sunspots observed by Schwabe in 1825-1867 and at calculating the tilt angles of sunspot groups. The sunspot sizes in Schwabe's drawings are not to scale and need to be converted into physical sunspot areas. We employed a statistical approach assuming that the area distribution of sunspots was the same in the 19th century as it was in the 20th century. Umbral areas for about 130,000 sunspots observed by Schwabe were obtained, as well as the tilt angles of sunspot groups assuming them to be bipolar. There is, of course, no polarity information in the observations. The annually averaged sunspot areas correlate reasonably with sunspot number. We derived an average tilt angle by attempting to exclude unipolar groups with a minimum separation of the two alleged polarities and an outlier rejection method which follows the evolution of each group and detects the moment it turns unipolar at its decay. As a result, the tilt angles, although displaying considerable scatter, place the leading polarity on average 5.85+-0.25 closer to the equator, in good agreement with tilt angles obtained from 20th-century data sets. Sources of uncertainties in the tilt angle determination are discussed and need to be addressed whenever different data sets are combined. The sunspot area and tilt angle data are provided online.Comment: accepted for publication in Astron. & Astrophy

First Stereoscopic Coronal Loop Reconstructions from Stereo Secchi Images

We present the first reconstruction of the three-dimensional shape of magnetic loops in an active region from two different vantage points based on simultaneously recorded images. The images were taken by the two EUVI telescopes of the SECCHI instrument onboard the recently launched STEREO spacecraft when the heliocentric separation of the two space probes was 12 degrees. We demostrate that these data allow to obtain a reliable three-dimensional reconstruction of sufficiently bright loops. The result is compared with field lines derived from a coronal magnetic field model extrapolated from a photospheric magnetogram recorded nearly simultaneously by SOHO/MDI. We attribute discrepancies between reconstructed loops and extrapolated field lines to the inadequacy of the linear force-free field model used for the extrapolation.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure