ACRIM-gap and total solar irradiance revisited: Is there a secular trend between 1986 and 1996?

A gap in the total solar irradiance (TSI) measurements between ACRIM-1 and ACRIM-2 led to the ongoing debate on the presence or not of a secular trend between the minima preceding cycles 22 (in 1986) and 23 (1996). It was recently proposed to use the SATIRE model of solar irradiance variations to bridge this gap. When doing this, it is important to use the appropriate SATIRE-based reconstruction, which we do here, employing a reconstruction based on magnetograms. The accuracy of this model on months to years timescales is significantly higher than that of a model developed for long-term reconstructions used by the ACRIM team for such an analysis. The constructed `mixed' ACRIM - SATIRE composite shows no increase in the TSI from 1986 to 1996, in contrast to the ACRIM TSI composite.Comment: 4 figure

Reconstruction of solar UV irradiance since 1974

Variations of the solar UV irradiance are an important driver of chemical and physical processes in the Earth's upper atmosphere and may also influence global climate. Here we reconstruct solar UV irradiance in the range 115-400 nm over the period 1974-2007 by making use of the recently developed empirical extension of the SATIRE models employing SUSIM data. The evolution of the solar photospheric magnetic flux, which is a central input to the model, is described by the magnetograms and continuum images recorded at the Kitt Peak National Solar Observatory between 1974 and 2003 and by the MDI instrument on SoHO since 1996. The reconstruction extends the available observational record by 1.5 solar cycles. The reconstructed Ly-alpha irradiance agrees well with the composite time series by Woods et al (2000). The amplitude of the irradiance variations grows with decreasing wavelength and in the wavelength regions of special interest for studies of the Earth's climate (Ly-alpha and oxygen absorption continuum and bands between 130 and 350 nm) is one to two orders of magnitude stronger than in the visible or if integrated over all wavelengths (total solar irradiance)

Moments of the latitudinal dependence of the sunspot cycle : a new diagnostic of dynamo models

All A&A articles are in open access ONE year after their publication date (August 2013)Aims: The latitude-distribution of solar activity as represented by sunspots is studied. Methods: We first determined the latitudinal distribution of a sunspot cycle by integrating the butterfly diagram at each latitude over the length of each cycle. We then formed the five lowest moments of the latitudinal distribution of all complete sunspot cycles since 1874 and compared these moments with each other. Results: The three lowest moments correlate remarkably well with each other. For example, the mean latitude of the sunspots during a cycle and the latitude range are correlated at the 0.96 level. A clear asymmetry is seen between the two hemispheres, with the southern solar hemisphere showing consistently stronger and more positive correlations than the northern hemisphere. When applied to different simple dynamo models, the same analysis reveals significant differences between the models and demonstrates that such moments are a useful diagnostic in distinguishing between dynamo models. Remarkably, dynamos without a meridional flow provide results closer to those of the Sun’s northern hemisphere, while a dynamo with a meridional flow produces fields more like those in the Sun’s southern hemisphere. This may provide a clue to the cause of the well-known north-south asymmetry of solar activity

Reconstructed and measured total solar irradiance: Is there a secular trend between 1978 and 2003?

Total solar irradiance reconstructed between 1978 and 2003 using solar surface magnetic field distributions is compared with three composites of total solar irradiance measurements. A good correspondence is found with the total solar irradiance composite from PMOD/WRC, with no bias between the three cycles. The agreement with the other composites (the ACRIM composite, mainly based on the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitors I, II & III, and the IRMB composite from the Institut Royal Meteorologique Belgique) is significantly poorer. In particular, a secular increase in the irradiance exhibited by these composites is not present in the reconstructions. Hence any secular trend in total solar irradiance between 1978 and 2003 is not due to magnetic fields at the solar surface

Reconstruction of solar irradiance variations in cycles 21–23 based on surface magnetic fields

All A&A articles are in open access one year after their publication date (August 2013).Aims: We present a reconstruction of total solar irradiance (TSI) back to 1974, i.e. from the minimum of cycle 21 to the declining phase of cycle 23. We also present a cross-calibration between the magnetograms obtained by the 512 channel magnetograph and the spectromagnetograph at Kitt Peak. Methods: The TSI reconstruction is carried out using data from the 512-channel Diode Array Magnetograph and the newer spectromagnetograph on Kitt Peak. The model is based on the assumption that all irradiance changes on time-scales of a day and longer are entirely due to the variations of the surface distribution of the solar magnetic field. The reconstructed irradiance is compared with the composite of total solar irradiance measurements from PMOD/WRC (version 41). Results: A good correspondence is found with the PMOD TSI composite, with no bias between the three cycles on time-scales longer than the solar rotation period, although the accuracy of the TSI reconstruction is somewhat lower when 512 channel magnetograph data are used. This suggests that the same driver of the irradiance variations, namely the evolution of the magnetic flux at the solar surface, is acting in cycles 21-23. Different methods of comparing the magnetograms obtained by the two Kitt Peak magnetographs give somewhat different results, with factors by which 512 channel data must be divided in the range 1.38-1.63 being found. This is due to the non-linearity of the relationship between the magnetic field measured by the two instruments

Rapid diagnostic test value and implementation in antimicrobial stewardship across low-to-middle and high-income countries: a mixed-methods review

Despite technological advancements in infectious disease rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and use to direct therapy at the per-patient level, RDT utilisation in antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) is variable across low-to-middle income and high-income countries. Key insights from a panel of seven infectious disease experts from Colombia, Japan, Nigeria, Thailand, the UK, and the USA, combined with evidence from a literature review, were used to assess the value of RDTs in ASPs. From this, a value framework is proposed which aims to define the benefits of RDT use in ASPs, separate from per-patient benefits. Expert insights highlight that, to realise the value of RDTs within ASPs, effective implementation is key; actionable advice for choosing an RDT is proposed. Experts advocate the inclusion of RDTs in the World Health Organization Model List of essential in vitro diagnostics and in iterative development of national action plans

Nectar formation and floral nectary anatomy of Anigozanthos flavidus: a combined magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy study

Metabolic processes underlying the formation of floral nectar carbohydrates, especially the generation of the proportions of fructose, glucose, and sucrose, are important for understanding ecological plant–pollinator interactions. The ratio of sucrose-derived hexoses, fructose and glucose, in the floral nectar of Anigozanthos flavidus (Haemodoraceae) was observed to be different from 1:1, which cannot be explained by the simple action of invertases. Various NMR techniques were used to investigate how such an unbalanced ratio of the two nectar hexoses can be formed. High-resolution 13C NMR spectroscopy in solution was used to determine the proportion of carbohydrates in vascular bundles of excised inflorescences fed with 13C-labelled carbohydrates. These experiments verified that feeding did not affect the metabolic processes involved in nectar formation. In vivo magnetic resonance imaging (e.g. cyclic J cross-polarization) was used to detect carbohydrates in vascular bundles and 1H spin echo imaging non-invasively displayed the architecture of tepal nectaries and showed how they are connected to the vascular bundles. A model of the carbohydrate metabolism involved in forming A. flavidus floral nectar was established. Sucrose from the vascular bundles is not directly secreted into the lumen of the nectary but, either before or after invertase-catalysed hydrolyses, taken up by nectary cells and cycled at least partly through glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and the pentose phosphate pathway. Secretion of the two hexoses in the cytosolic proportion could elegantly explain the observed fructose:glucose ratio of the nectar

Investigation of the effect of structure modification of furamidine on the DNA minor groove binding and antiprotozoal activity

New analogs of the antiprotozoal agent Furamidine were prepared utilizing Stille coupling reactions and amidation of the bisnitrile intermediate using lithium bis-trimethylsilylamide. Both the phenyl groups and the furan moiety of furamidine were replaced by heterocycles including thiophene, selenophene, indole or benzimidazole. Based upon the DeltaTm and the CD results, the new compounds showed strong binding to the DNA minor groove. The new analogues are also more active both in vitro and in vivo than furamidine. Compounds 7a, 7b, and 7f showed the highest activity in vivo by curing 75% of animals, and this merits further evaluation