The use of the McIlwain L-parameter to estimate cosmic ray vertical cutoff rigidities for different epochs of the geomagnetic field

Secular changes in the geomagnetic field between 1955 and 1980 have been large enough to produce significant differences in both the verical cutoff rigidities and in the L-value for a specified position. A useful relationship employing the McIlwain L-parameter to estimate vertical cutoff rigidities has been derived for the twenty-five year period

An Improved Model for Relativistic Solar Proton Acceleration applied to the 2005 January 20 and Earlier Events

This paper presents results on modelling the ground level response of the higher energy protons for the 2005 January 20 ground level enhancement (GLE). This event, known as GLE 69, produced the highest intensity of relativistic solar particles since the famous event on 1956 February 23. The location of recent X-ray and gamma-ray emission (N14 W61) was near to Sun-Earth connecting magnetic field lines, thus providing the opportunity to directly observe the acceleration source from Earth. We restrict our analysis to protons of energy greater than 450 MeV to avoid complications arising from transport processes that can affect the propagation of low energy protons. In light of this revised approach we have reinvestigated two previous GLEs: those of 2000 July 14 (GLE 59) and 2001 April 15 (GLE 60). Within the limitations of the spectral forms employed, we find that from the peak (06:55 UT) to the decline (07:30 UT) phases of GLE 69, neutron monitor observations from 450 MeV to 10 GeV are best fitted by the Gallegos-Cruz & Perez-Peraza stochastic acceleration model. In contrast, the Ellison & Ramaty spectra did not fit the neutron monitor observations as well. This result suggests that for GLE 69, a stochastic process cannot be discounted as a mechanism for relativistic particle acceleration, particularly during the initial stages of this solar event. For GLE 59 we find evidence that more than one acceleration mechanism was present, consistent with both shock and stochastic acceleration processes dominating at different times of the event. For GLE 60 we find that Ellison & Ramaty spectra better represent the neutron monitor observations compared to stochastic acceleration spectra. The results for GLEs 59 and 60 are in agreement with our previous work.Comment: 42 pages, 10 figures, 10 tables, published in ApJ, August 200

Noradrenergic induction of odor-specific neural habituation and olfactory memories

For many mammals, individual recognition of conspecifics relies on olfactory cues. Certain individual recognition memories are thought to be stored when conspecific odor cues coincide with surges of noradrenaline (NA) triggered by intensely arousing social events. Such familiar stimuli elicit reduced behavioral responses, a change likely related to NA-dependent plasticity in the olfactory bulb (OB). In addition to its role in these ethological memories, NA signaling in the OB appears to be relevant for the discrimination of more arbitrary odorants as well. Nonetheless, no NA-gated mechanism of long-term plasticity in the OB has ever been directly observed in vivo. Here, we report that NA release from locus ceruleus (LC), when coupled to odor presentation, acts locally in the main OB to cause a specific long-lasting suppression of responses to paired odors. These effects were observed for both food odors and urine, an important social recognition cue. Moreover, in subsequent behavioral tests, mice exhibited habituation to paired urine stimuli, suggesting that this LC-mediated olfactory neural plasticity, induced under anesthesia, can store an individual recognition memory that is observable after recovery

Effective communication in eliciting and responding to suicidal thoughts: a systematic review protocol

Background In the UK, over 6500 people die by suicide each year. In England alone, this is one person every 2 h. Professionals assess risk of suicide in face-to-face contacts with people potentially at risk. The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide found that most people who took their life were classified as ‘low risk’ in their final contact with mental health services. Training for front-line staff in reducing suicide is a NHS priority. While there is considerable evidence on what to assess when exploring suicidal ideation, there is little evidence on how to ask sensitive questions to effectively identify suicide risk and how to respond in the treatment encounter to reduce patient distress and suicidal ideation. This is critical for identifying risk and putting appropriate care in place. Methods An electronic search will be conducted using MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases. Controlled studies of effectiveness will be identified using a predefined search strategy. The focus will be on suicidal thoughts/feelings rather than self-harm without intent to die. Two authors will independently screen articles using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria and relevant data will be extracted using the Cochrane Collaboration data extraction form for randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Discrepancies between the two authors will be resolved by consensus or by consulting a third author at all levels of screening. We will assess the quality of evidence as well as risk of bias. A meta-analysis will be conducted if participants, interventions and comparisons are sufficiently similar, and we will perform the meta-analysis using Stata data analysis and statistical software. Discussion The results of this systematic review will be used to guide training and practice for health care professionals

Estimating the change in asymptotic direction due to secular changes in the geomagnetic field

The concept of geomagnetic optics, as described by the asymptotic directions of approach, is extremely useful in the analysis of cosmic radiation data. However, when changes in cutoff occur as a result of evolution in the geomagnetic field, there are corresponding changes in the asymptotic cones of acceptance. A method is introduced of estimating the change in the asymptotic direction of approach for vertically incident cosmic ray particles from a reference set of directions at a specific epoch by considering the change in the geomagnetic cutoff

Sprouty1 regulates reversible quiescence of a self-renewing adult muscle stem cell pool during regeneration.

Satellite cells are skeletal muscle stem cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation after transplantation, but whether they contribute to endogenous muscle fiber repair has been unclear. The transcription factor Pax7 marks satellite cells and is critical for establishing the adult satellite cell pool. By using a lineage tracing approach, we show that after injury, quiescent adult Pax7(+) cells enter the cell cycle; a subpopulation returns to quiescence to replenish the satellite cell compartment, while others contribute to muscle fiber formation. We demonstrate that Sprouty1 (Spry1), a receptor tyrosine kinase signaling inhibitor, is expressed in quiescent Pax7(+) satellite cells in uninjured muscle, downregulated in proliferating myogenic cells after injury, and reinduced as Pax7(+) cells re-enter quiescence. We show that Spry1 is required for the return to quiescence and homeostasis of the satellite cell pool during repair. Our results therefore define a role for Spry1 in adult muscle stem cell biology and tissue repair

Fractal-like Distributions over the Rational Numbers in High-throughput Biological and Clinical Data

Recent developments in extracting and processing biological and clinical data are allowing quantitative approaches to studying living systems. High-throughput sequencing, expression profiles, proteomics, and electronic health records are some examples of such technologies. Extracting meaningful information from those technologies requires careful analysis of the large volumes of data they produce. In this note, we present a set of distributions that commonly appear in the analysis of such data. These distributions present some interesting features: they are discontinuous in the rational numbers, but continuous in the irrational numbers, and possess a certain self-similar (fractal-like) structure. The first set of examples which we present here are drawn from a high-throughput sequencing experiment. Here, the self-similar distributions appear as part of the evaluation of the error rate of the sequencing technology and the identification of tumorogenic genomic alterations. The other examples are obtained from risk factor evaluation and analysis of relative disease prevalence and co-mordbidity as these appear in electronic clinical data. The distributions are also relevant to identification of subclonal populations in tumors and the study of the evolution of infectious diseases, and more precisely the study of quasi-species and intrahost diversity of viral populations

Critical Currents of Josephson-Coupled Wire Arrays

We calculate the current-voltage characteristics and critical current I_c^{array} of an array of Josephson-coupled superconducting wires. The array has two layers, each consisting of a set of parallel wires, arranged at right angles, such that an overdamped resistively-shunted junction forms wherever two wires cross. A uniform magnetic field equal to f flux quanta per plaquette is applied perpendicular to the layers. If f = p/q, where p and q are mutually prime integers, I_c^{array}(f) is found to have sharp peaks when q is a small integer. To an excellent approximation, it is found in a square array of n^2 plaquettes, that I_c^{array}(f) \propto (n/q)^{1/2} for sufficiently large n. This result is interpreted in terms of the commensurability between the array and the assumed q \times q unit cell of the ground state vortex lattice.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure