252 research outputs found
Excitation of Oscillations in the Magnetic Network on the Sun
We examine the excitation of oscillations in the magnetic network of the Sun
through the footpoint motion of photospheric magnetic flux tubes located in
intergranular lanes. The motion is derived from a time series of
high-resolution G band and continuum filtergrams using an object-tracking
technique. We model the response of the flux tube to the footpoint motion in
terms of the Klein-Gordon equation, which is solved analytically as an initial
value problem for transverse (kink) waves. We compute the wave energy flux in
upward propagating transverse waves. In general we find that the injection of
energy into the chromosphere occurs in short-duration pulses, which would lead
to a time variability in chromospheric emission that is incompatible with
observations. Therefore, we consider the effects of turbulent convective flows
on flux tubes in intergranular lanes. The turbulent flows are simulated by
adding high-frequency motions (periods 5-50 s) with an amplitude of 1 km
s^{-1}. The latter are simulated by adding random velocity fluctuations to the
observationally determined velocities. In this case we find that the energy
flux is much less intermittent and can in principle carry adequate energy for
chromospheric heating.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, figure 1 is in color, all files gzippe
The Three-dimensional Evolution of Rising, Twisted Magnetic Flux Tubes in a Gravitationally Stratified Model Convection Zone
We present three-dimensional numerical simulations of the rise and
fragmentation of twisted, initially horizontal magnetic flux tubes which evolve
into emerging Omega-loops. The flux tubes rise buoyantly through an
adiabatically stratified plasma that represents the solar convection zone. The
MHD equations are solved in the anelastic approximation, and the results are
compared with studies of flux tube fragmentation in two dimensions. We find
that if the initial amount of field line twist is below a critical value, the
degree of fragmentation at the apex of a rising Omega-loop depends on its
three-dimensional geometry: the greater the apex curvature of a given
Omega-loop, the lesser the degree of fragmentation of the loop as it approaches
the photosphere. Thus, the amount of initial twist necessary for the loop to
retain its cohesion can be reduced substantially from the two-dimensional
limit. The simulations also suggest that as a fragmented flux tube emerges
through a relatively quiet portion of the solar disk, extended crescent-shaped
magnetic features of opposite polarity should form and steadily recede from one
another. These features eventually coalesce after the fragmented portion of the
Omega-loop emerges through the photosphere.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, uses AAS LaTeX macros v5.0. ApJ, in pres
Dynamics of Magnetic Flux Elements in the Solar Photosphere
The interaction of magnetic fields and convection is investigated in the
context of the coronal heating problem. We study the motions of photospheric
magnetic elements using filtergrams obtained at the Swedish Vacuum Solar
Telescope at La Palma. We use potential-field modeling to extrapolate the
magnetic and velocity fields to larger height. We find that the velocity in the
chromosphere can be locally enhanced at the separatrix surfaces between
neighboring flux tubes. The predicted velocities are several km/s,
significantly larger than those of the photospheric flux tubes, which may have
important implications for coronal heating. sComment: submitted to ApJ, 21 pages, 10 figure
Monitoring the spread of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in The Netherlands from a reference laboratory perspective
SummaryBackgroundIn The Netherlands, efforts to control meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hospitals have been largely successful due to stringent screening of patients on admission and isolation of those that fall into defined risk categories. However, Dutch hospitals are not free of MRSA, and a considerable number of cases are found that do not belong to any of the risk categories. Some of these may be due to undetected nosocomial transmission, whereas others may be introduced from unknown reservoirs.AimIdentifying multi-institutional clusters of MRSA isolates to estimate the contribution of potential unobserved reservoirs in The Netherlands.MethodsWe applied a clustering algorithm that combines time, place, and genetics to routine data available for all MRSA isolates submitted to the Dutch Staphylococcal Reference Laboratory between 2008 and 2011 in order to map the geo-temporal distribution of MRSA clonal lineages in The Netherlands.FindingsOf the 2966 isolates lacking obvious risk factors, 579 were part of geo-temporal clusters, whereas 2387 were classified as MRSA of unknown origin (MUOs). We also observed marked differences in the proportion of isolates that belonged to geo-temporal clusters between specific multi-locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) clonal complexes, indicating lineage-specific transmissibility. The majority of clustered isolates (74%) were present in multi-institutional clusters.ConclusionThe frequency of MRSA of unknown origin among patients lacking obvious risk factors is an indication of a largely undefined extra-institutional but genetically highly diverse reservoir. Efforts to understand the emergence and spread of high-risk clones require the pooling of routine epidemiological information and typing data into central databases
Re-evaluating randomized clinical trials of psychological interventions: Impact of response shift on the interpretation of trial results
The impact of healthcare costs in the last year of life and in all life years gained on the cost-effectiveness of cancer screening
It is under debate whether healthcare costs related to death and in life years gained (LysG) due to life saving interventions should be included in economic evaluations. We estimated the impact of including these costs on cost-effectiveness of cancer screening. We obtained health insurance, home care, nursing homes, and mortality data for 2.1 million inhabitants in the Netherlands in 1998–1999. Costs related to death were approximated by the healthcare costs in the last year of life (LastYL), by cause and age of death. Costs in LYsG were estimated by calculating the healthcare costs in any life year. We calculated the change in cost-effectiveness ratios (CERs) if unrelated healthcare costs in the LastYL or in LYsG would be included. Costs in the LastYL were on average 33% higher for persons dying from cancer than from any cause. Including costs in LysG increased the CER by €4040 in women, and by €4100 in men. Of these, €660 in women, and €890 in men, were costs in the LastYL. Including unrelated healthcare costs in the LastYL or in LYsG will change the comparative cost-effectiveness of healthcare programmes. The CERs of cancer screening programmes will clearly increase, with approximately €4000. However, because of the favourable CER's, including unrelated healthcare costs will in general have limited policy implications
Warping and Precession of Accretion Disks Around Magnetic Stars: Nonlinear Evolution
The inner region of the accretion disk around a magnetized star (T Tauri
star, white dwarf or neutron star) is subjected to magnetic torques that induce
warping and precession of the disk. These torques arise from the interaction
between the stellar field and the induced electric currents in the disk. We
carry out numerical simulations of the nonlinear evolution of warped, viscous
accretion disks driven by the magnetic torques. We show that the disk can
develop into a highly warped steady state in which the disk attains a fixed
(warped) shape and precesses rigidly. The warp is most pronounced at the disk
inner radius (near the magnetosphere boundary). As the system parameters (such
as accretion rate) change, the disk can switch between a completely flat state
(warping stable) and a highly warped state. The precession of warped disks may
be responsible for a variety of quasi-periodic oscillations or radiation flux
variabilities observed in many different systems, including young stellar
objects and X-ray binaries.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures; extended parameter searches, changes in
discussion; accepted for publication in Ap
Characteristics associated with polypharmacy in people with type 2 diabetes:the Dutch Diabetes Pearl cohort
Contains fulltext :
232027.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)AIM: To describe the prevalence and characteristics of polypharmacy in a Dutch cohort of individuals with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We included people with type 2 diabetes from the Diabetes Pearl cohort, of whom 3886 were treated in primary care and 2873 in academic care (secondary/tertiary). With multivariable multinomial logistic regression analyses stratified for line of care, we assessed which sociodemographic, lifestyle and cardiometabolic characteristics were associated with moderate (5-9 medications) and severe polypharmacy (≥10 medications) compared with no polypharmacy (0-4 medications). RESULTS: Mean age was 63 ± 10 years, and 40% were women. The median number of daily medications was 5 (IQR 3-7) in primary care and 7 (IQR 5-10) in academic care. The prevalence of moderate and severe polypharmacy was 44% and 10% in primary care, and 53% and 29% in academic care respectively. Glucose-lowering and lipid-modifying medications were most prevalent. People with severe polypharmacy used a relatively large amount of other (i.e. non-cardiovascular and non-glucose-lowering) medication. Moderate and severe polypharmacy across all lines of care were associated with higher age, low educational level, more smoking, longer diabetes duration, higher BMI and more cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS: Severe and moderate polypharmacy are prevalent in over half of people with type 2 diabetes in primary care, and even more in academic care. People with polypharmacy are characterized by poorer cardiometabolic status. These results highlight the significance of polypharmacy in type 2 diabetes
Magnetically Driven Warping, Precession and Resonances in Accretion Disks
The inner region of the accretion disk onto a rotating magnetized central
star (neutron star, white dwarf or T Tauri star) is subjected to magnetic
torques which induce warping and precession of the disk. The origin of these
torques lies in the interaction between the (induced) surface current on the
disk and the horizontal magnetic field (parallel to the disk) produced by the
inclined magnetic dipole. Under quite general conditions, there exists a
magnetic warping instability in which the magnetic torque drives the disk plane
away from the equatorial plane of the star toward a state where the disk normal
vector is perpendicular to the spin axis. Viscous stress tends to suppress the
warping instability at large radii, but the magnetic torque always dominates as
the disk approaches the magnetosphere boundary. The magnetic torque also drives
the tilted inner disk into retrograde precession around the stellar spin axis.
Moreover, resonant magnetic forcing on the disk can occur which may affect the
dynamics of the disk. The magnetically driven warping instability and
precession may be related to a number observational puzzles, including: (1)
Spin evolution (torque reversal) of accreting X-ray pulsars; (2) Quasi-periodic
oscillations in low-mass X-ray binaries; (3) Super-orbital periods in X-ray
binaries; (4) Photometric period variations of T Tauri stars.Comment: 39 pages including 1 ps figure; Published version; ApJ, 524,
1030-1047 (1999
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