Sample records for active region part

  1. 20 CFR 661.290 - Under what circumstances may States require Local Boards to take part in regional planning...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... Local Boards to take part in regional planning activities? 661.290 Section 661.290 Employees' Benefits... what circumstances may States require Local Boards to take part in regional planning activities? (a...) Participate in a regional planning process that results in regional performance measures for workforce...

  2. Results of the IRIS UV Burst Survey, Part I: Active Regions Tracked Limb to Limb

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Madsen, C. A.; DeLuca, E.

    2017-12-01

    We present results from the first phase of an effort to thoroughly characterize UV bursts within the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) data catalogue. The observational signatures of these phenomena include dramatically intensified and broadened NUV/FUV emission line profiles with absorption features from cool metallic ions. These properties suggest that UV bursts originate from plasma at transition region temperatures (≥ 80,000 K) which is deeply embedded in the cool lower chromosphere ( 5,000 K). Rigorously characterizing the energetic and dynamical properties of UV bursts is crucial since they have considerable potential to heat active region chromospheres and could provide critical constraints for models of magnetic reconnection in these regions. The survey first focuses on IRIS observations of active regions tracked from limb to limb. All observations consist of large field-of-view raster scans of 320 or 400 steps each, which allow for widespread detection of many burst profiles at the expense of having limited short-term time evolution information. We detect bursts efficiently by applying a semi-automated single-Gaussian fitting technique to Si IV 1393.8 Å emission profiles that isolates the distinct burst population in a 4-D parameter space. The robust sample of NUV/FUV burst spectra allows for precise constraints of properties critical for modeling reconnection in the chromosphere, including outflow kinetic energy, density estimates from intensity ratios of Si IV 1402.8 Å and O IV 1401.2 Å emission lines, and coincident measures of emission in other wavelengths. We also track burst properties throughout the lifetimes of their host active regions, noting changes in detection rate and preferential location as the active regions evolve. Finally, the tracked active region observations provide a unique opportunity to investigate line-of-sight effects on observed UV burst spectral properties, particularly the strength of Ni II 1393.3 Å absorption

  3. Active Regions Blossoming

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-10-28

    As a pair of active regions began to rotate into view, their towering magnetic field lines above them bloomed into a dazzling display of twisting arches (Oct. 27-28, 2015). Some of the lines reached over and connected with the neighboring active region. Active regions are usually the source of solar storms. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20048

  4. ON THE ACTIVE REGION BRIGHT GRAINS OBSERVED IN THE TRANSITION REGION IMAGING CHANNELS OF IRIS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Skogsrud, H.; Voort, L. Rouppe van der; Pontieu, B. De

    The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) provides spectroscopy and narrow band slit-jaw (SJI) imaging of the solar chromosphere and transition region at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. Combined with high-resolution context spectral imaging of the photosphere and chromosphere as provided by the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope (SST), we can now effectively trace dynamic phenomena through large parts of the solar atmosphere in both space and time. IRIS SJI 1400 images from active regions, which primarily sample the transition region with the Si iv 1394 and 1403 Å lines, reveal ubiquitous bright “grains” which are short-lived (two to five minute)more » bright roundish small patches of sizes 0.″5–1.″7 that generally move limbward with velocities up to about 30 km s{sup −1}. In this paper, we show that many bright grains are the result of chromospheric shocks impacting the transition region. These shocks are associated with dynamic fibrils (DFs), most commonly observed in Hα. We find that the grains show the strongest emission in the ascending phase of the DF, that the emission is strongest toward the top of the DF, and that the grains correspond to a blueshift and broadening of the Si iv lines. We note that the SJI 1400 grains can also be observed in the SJI 1330 channel which is dominated by C ii lines. Our observations show that a significant part of the active region transition region dynamics is driven from the chromosphere below rather than from coronal activity above. We conclude that the shocks that drive DFs also play an important role in the heating of the upper chromosphere and lower transition region.« less

  5. TARPs: Tracked Active Region Patches from SoHO/MDI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Turmon, M.; Hoeksema, J. T.; Bobra, M.

    2013-12-01

    We describe progress toward creating a retrospective MDI data product consisting of tracked magnetic features on the scale of solar active regions, abbreviated TARPs (Tracked Active Region Patches). The TARPs are being developed as a backward-looking extension (covering approximately 3500 regions spanning 1996-2010) to the HARP (HMI Active Region Patch) data product that has already been released for HMI (2010-present). Like the HARPs, the MDI TARP data set is designed to be a catalog of active regions (ARs), indexed by a region ID number, analogous to a NOAA AR number, and time. TARPs from MDI are computed based on the 96-minute synoptic magnetograms and pseudo-continuum intensitygrams. As with the related HARP data product, the approximate threshold for significance is 100G. Use of both image types together allows faculae and sunspots to be separated out as sub-classes of activity, in addition to identifying the overall active region that the faculae/sunspots are part of. After being identified in single images, the magnetically-active patches are grouped and tracked from image to image. Merges among growing active regions, as well as faint active regions hovering at the threshold of detection, are handled automatically. Regions are tracked from their inception until they decay within view, or transit off the visible disk. The final data product is indexed by a nominal AR number and time. For each active region and for each time, a bitmap image is stored containing the precise outline of the active region. Additionaly, metadata such as areas and integrated fluxes are stored for each AR and for each time. Because there is a calibration between the HMI and MDI magnetograms (Liu, Hoeksema et al. 2012), it is straightforward to use the same classification and tracking rules for the HARPs (from HMI) and the MDI TARPs. We anticipate that this will allow a consistent catalog spanning both instruments. We envision several uses for the TARP data product, which will be

  6. 49 CFR Appendix B to Part 37 - FTA Regional Offices

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false FTA Regional Offices B Appendix B to Part 37 Transportation Office of the Secretary of Transportation TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES (ADA) Pt. 37, App. B Appendix B to Part 37—FTA Regional Offices Region I, Federal Transit...

  7. 49 CFR Appendix B to Part 37 - FTA Regional Offices

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false FTA Regional Offices B Appendix B to Part 37 Transportation Office of the Secretary of Transportation TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES (ADA) Pt. 37, App. B Appendix B to Part 37—FTA Regional Offices Region I, Federal Transit Administration, 206 Federal Plaza, Suite 2940, Ne...

  8. The Main Sequence of Explosive Solar Active Regions: Comparison of Emerging and Mature Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, David; Moore, Ron

    2011-01-01

    For mature active regions, an active region s magnetic flux content determines the maximum free energy the active region can have. Most Large flares and CMEs occur in active regions that are near their free-energy limit. Active-region flare power radiated in the GOES 1-8 band increases steeply as the free-energy limit is approached. We infer that the free-energy limit is set by the rate of release of an active region s free magnetic energy by flares, CMEs and coronal heating balancing the maximum rate the Sun can put free energy into the active region s magnetic field. This balance of maximum power results in explosive active regions residing in a "mainsequence" in active-region (flux content, free energy content) phase space, which sequence is analogous to the main sequence of hydrogen-burning stars in (mass, luminosity) phase space.

  9. Gyrating Active Region

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-01-26

    On Jan. 20, 2017, NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a small area of the sun highlighted three active region. Over half a day this active region sent dark swirls of plasma and bright magnetic arches twisting and turning above it. All the activity in the three areas was driven by competing magnetic forces. The dynamic action was observed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Movies are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11703

  10. Active Regions' Magnetic Connection

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-05-22

    Several bright bands of plasma connect from one active region to another, even though they are tens of thousands of miles away from each other (May 17-18, 2017). Active regions are, by their nature, strong magnetic areas with north and south poles. The plasma consists of charged particles that stream along the magnetic field lines between these two regions. These connecting lines are clearly visible in this wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Other loops and strands of bright plasma can be seen rising up and out of smaller active regions as well. The video covers about one day's worth of activity. Movies are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21638

  11. Energized Active Regions

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-06-02

    A pair of relatively small (but frenetic) active regions rotated into view, spouting off numerous small flares and sweeping loops of plasma (May 31-June 2, 2017). At first, only the one active region was observed, but mid-way though the video clip a second one behind the first can be picked out. The dynamic regions were easily the most remarkable areas on the sun during this 42-hour period. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Movies are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21756

  12. Brain regions engaged by part- and whole-task performance in a video game: a model-based test of the decomposition hypothesis.

    PubMed

    Anderson, John R; Bothell, Daniel; Fincham, Jon M; Anderson, Abraham R; Poole, Ben; Qin, Yulin

    2011-12-01

    Part- and whole-task conditions were created by manipulating the presence of certain components of the Space Fortress video game. A cognitive model was created for two-part games that could be combined into a model that performed the whole game. The model generated predictions both for behavioral patterns and activation patterns in various brain regions. The activation predictions concerned both tonic activation that was constant in these regions during performance of the game and phasic activation that occurred when there was resource competition. The model's predictions were confirmed about how tonic and phasic activation in different regions would vary with condition. These results support the Decomposition Hypothesis that the execution of a complex task can be decomposed into a set of information-processing components and that these components combine unchanged in different task conditions. In addition, individual differences in learning gains were predicted by individual differences in phasic activation in those regions that displayed highest tonic activity. This individual difference pattern suggests that the rate of learning of a complex skill is determined by capacity limits.

  13. Brain Regions Engaged by Part- and Whole-task Performance in a Video Game: A Model-based Test of the Decomposition Hypothesis

    PubMed Central

    Anderson, John R.; Bothell, Daniel; Fincham, Jon M.; Anderson, Abraham R.; Poole, Ben; Qin, Yulin

    2013-01-01

    Part- and whole-task conditions were created by manipulating the presence of certain components of the Space Fortress video game. A cognitive model was created for two-part games that could be combined into a model that performed the whole game. The model generated predictions both for behavioral patterns and activation patterns in various brain regions. The activation predictions concerned both tonic activation that was constant in these regions during performance of the game and phasic activation that occurred when there was resource competition. The model’s predictions were confirmed about how tonic and phasic activation in different regions would vary with condition. These results support the Decomposition Hypothesis that the execution of a complex task can be decomposed into a set of information-processing components and that these components combine unchanged in different task conditions. In addition, individual differences in learning gains were predicted by individual differences in phasic activation in those regions that displayed highest tonic activity. This individual difference pattern suggests that the rate of learning of a complex skill is determined by capacity limits. PMID:21557648

  14. Agitated Active Region

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-10-11

    An active region just rotating into view gave us a perfect view of the tussle of magnetic field lines above it (Oct. 10-11, 2016). The particles spiraling along the magnetic field lines become visible in extreme ultraviolet light, helping us to see the struggle going on. There were no eruptions during this period, although active regions are usually the source for solar storms. The video clip covers just one day's worth of activity. Movies are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21109

  15. Software Displays Data on Active Regions of the Sun

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Golightly, Mike; Weyland, Mark; Raben, Vern

    2011-01-01

    The Solar Active Region Display System is a computer program that generates, in near real time, a graphical display of parameters indicative of the spatial and temporal variations of activity on the Sun. These parameters include histories and distributions of solar flares, active region growth, coronal mass ejections, size, and magnetic configuration. By presenting solar-activity data in graphical form, this program accelerates, facilitates, and partly automates what had previously been a time-consuming mental process of interpretation of solar-activity data presented in tabular and textual formats. Intended for original use in predicting space weather in order to minimize the exposure of astronauts to ionizing radiation, the program might also be useful on Earth for predicting solar-wind-induced ionospheric effects, electric currents, and potentials that could affect radio-communication systems, navigation systems, pipelines, and long electric-power lines. Raw data for the display are obtained automatically from the Space Environment Center (SEC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Other data must be obtained from the NOAA SEC by verbal communication and entered manually. The Solar Active Region Display System automatically accounts for the latitude dependence of the rate of rotation of the Sun, by use of a mathematical model that is corrected with NOAA SEC active-region position data once every 24 hours. The display includes the date, time, and an image of the Sun in H light overlaid with latitude and longitude coordinate lines, dots that mark locations of active regions identified by NOAA, identifying numbers assigned by NOAA to such regions, and solar-region visual summary (SRVS) indicators associated with some of the active regions. Each SRVS indicator is a small pie chart containing five equal sectors, each of which is color-coded to provide a semiquantitative indication of the degree of hazard posed by one aspect of the activity at

  16. Feel the Burn, Part II: Quantifying and mapping spectral, spatial, and temporal structures of the transition region under hot and cold coronal regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Atwood, Shane; Kankelborg, Charles C.

    2017-08-01

    The coronal volume is filled with magnetic field, yet only part of that volume has sufficient volume to exhibit hot X-ray loops. Using XRT and AIA images, we identify footpoints of hot coronal loops. We then use IRIS rasters to compare the spatial, temporal, and spectral structure of these relatively "heated" and "unheated" regions. We seek a signature of upward-propagating energy that could be associated with hot active region loops.

  17. Unwinding motion of a twisted active region filament

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yan, X. L.; Xue, Z. K.; Kong, D. F.

    To better understand the structures of active region filaments and the eruption process, we study an active region filament eruption in active region NOAA 11082 in detail on 2010 June 22. Before the filament eruption, the opposite unidirectional material flows appeared in succession along the spine of the filament. The rising of the filament triggered two B-class flares at the upper part of the filament. As the bright material was injected into the filament from the sites of the flares, the filament exhibited a rapid uplift accompanying the counterclockwise rotation of the filament body. From the expansion of the filament,more » we can see that the filament consisted of twisted magnetic field lines. The total twist of the filament is at least 5π obtained by using a time slice method. According to the morphology change during the filament eruption, it is found that the active region filament was a twisted flux rope and its unwinding motion was like a solar tornado. We also find that there was a continuous magnetic helicity injection before and during the filament eruption. It is confirmed that magnetic helicity can be transferred from the photosphere to the filament. Using the extrapolated potential fields, the average decay index of the background magnetic fields over the filament is 0.91. Consequently, these findings imply that the mechanism of solar filament eruption could be due to the kink instability and magnetic helicity accumulation.« less

  18. The Evolution of Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Green, Lucie

    2016-10-01

    The solar corona is a highly dynamic environment which exhibits the largest releases of energy in the Solar System in the form of solar flares and coronal mass ejections. This activity predominantly originates from active regions, which store and release free magnetic energy and dominate the magnetic face of the Sun. Active regions can be long-lived features, being affected by the Sun's convective flows, differential rotation and meridional flows. The Sun's global coronal field can be seen as the superposed growth and subsequent diffusion of all previously formed active regions. This talk will look at active regions as an observable product of the solar dynamo and will discuss the physical processes that are at play which lead to the storage and release of free magnetic energy. What happens to flux that emerges into the corona so that it goes down an evolutionary path that leads to dynamic activity? And how does this activity vary with active region age? When an active region reaches the end of its lifetime, his much of the magnetic flux is recycled back into subsequent solar cycles? The current status of observations and modelling will be reviewed with a look to the future and fundamental questions that are still be be answered.

  19. Regional variation in antibiotic prescribing among medicare part D enrollees, 2013.

    PubMed

    Arizpe, Andre; Reveles, Kelly R; Aitken, Samuel L

    2016-12-09

    Antibiotics are among the most widely prescribed medications. The geographic variation in antibiotic prescribing patterns and associated costs among Medicare Part D recipients have not been described. The purpose of this study was to assess the regional variation in antibiotic prescriptions and costs among Medicare Part D enrollees in 2013. Retrospective cohort review of all Medicare Part D enrollees in 2013, using the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data: Part D Prescriber Public Use File. All original or refill prescription claims for antibiotics as listed in the Part D Prescriber Public Use File were included. Our primary outcomes were total antibiotic claims and antibiotic cost per Medicare Part D Enrollee. Data were analyzed descriptively by state and by geographic region as defined by the United States Census Bureau. Antibiotic claims were described overall and by antibiotic class. Over 54 million outpatient antibiotic claims were filed for Part D enrollees in 2013, representing more than $1.5 billion in total antibiotic expenditures. Antibiotic use was highest in the South (1,623 claims/1,000 enrollees), followed by the Midwest (1,401 claims/1,000 enrollees), Northeast (1,366 claims/1,000 enrollees), and West (1,292 claims/1,000 enrollees). Average antibiotic costs per enrollee in each region were as follows: South $46.58, Northeast $43.70, Midwest $40.54, and West $36.42. Fluoroquinolones were the most commonly prescribed class overall (12.2 million claims). Antibiotic use among elderly Medicare enrollees in the United States was highest in the South region. Fluoroquinolones were the most common antibiotics used in all regions. These patterns could be utilized in the development of targeted antimicrobial stewardship efforts.

  20. Jumpy Active Region

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-01-03

    A close-up view of one day in the life of a rather small active region shows the agitation and dynamism of its magnetic field (Dec. 21, 2016). This wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light reveals particles as they spin along the cascading arches of magnetic field lines above the active region. Some darker plasma rises up and spins around at the edge of the sun near the end of the video clip also being pulled by unseen magnetic forces. Movies are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA15032

  1. Formation and Eruption Process of a Filament in Active Region NOAA 12241

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Jincheng; Yan, Xiaoli; Qu, ZhongQuan

    In order to better understand active-region filaments, we present an intensive study on the formation and eruption of a filament in active region NOAA 12241 during the period from 2014 December 18 to 19. Using observations from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) vector magnetograms, we investigate the helicity injection rate, Lorentz force, and vertical electric current in the entire region associated with the filament. The helicity injection rate before eruption is found to be larger than that after eruption, while the vertical electric current undergoes an increase at first and then a gradual decrease, similar to what the magneticmore » flux undergoes. Meanwhile, we find that the right part of the filament is formed by magnetic reconnection between two bundles of magnetic field lines while the left part originated from shearing motion. The interaction of the two parts causes the eruption of this filament. The mean horizontal magnetic fields in the vicinity of the magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) enhance rapidly during the eruption. Another striking phenomenon, where the vertical electric currents close to the magnetic PIL suddenly expand toward two sides during the eruption, is found. We propose that this fascinating feature is associated with the release of energy during the eruption.« less

  2. Open magnetic fields in active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Svestka, Z.; Solodyna, C. V.; Howard, R.; Levine, R. H.

    1977-01-01

    Soft X-ray images and magnetograms of several active regions and coronal holes are examined which support the interpretation that some of the dark X-ray gaps seen between interconnecting loops and inner cores of active regions are foot points of open field lines inside the active regions. Characteristics of the investigated dark gaps are summarized. All the active regions with dark X-ray gaps at the proper place and with the correct polarity predicted by global potential extrapolation of photospheric magnetic fields are shown to be old active regions, indicating that field opening is accomplished only in a late phase of active-region development. It is noted that some of the observed dark gaps probably have nothing in common with open fields, but are either due to the decreased temperature in low-lying portions of interconnecting loops or are the roots of higher and less dense or cooler loops.

  3. The Twist Limit for Bipolar Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, Ron; Falconer, David; Gary, Allen

    2008-01-01

    We present new evidence that further supports the standard idea that active regions are emerged magnetic-flux-rope omega loops. When the axial magnetic twist of a cylindrical flux rope exceeds a critical amount, the flux rope becomes unstable to kinking, and the excess axial twist is converted into writhe twist by the kinking. This suggests that, if active regions are emerged omega loops, then (1) no active region should have magnetic twist much above the limit set by kinking, (2) active regions having twist near the limit should often arise from kinked omega loops, and (3) since active regions having large delta sunspots are outstandingly twisted, these arise from kinked omega loops and should have twist near the limit for kinking. From each of 36 vector magnetograms of bipolar active regions, we have measured (1) the total flux of the vertical field above 100 G, (2) the area covered by this flux, and (3) the net electric current that arches over the polarity inversion line. These three quantities yield an estimate of the axial magnetic twist in a simple model cylindrical flux rope that corresponds to the top of the active region s hypothetical omega loop prior to emergence. In all 36 cases, the estimated twist is below the critical limit for kinking. The 11 most twisted active regions (1) have estimated twist within a factor of approx.3 of the limit, and (2) include all of our 6 active regions having large delta sunspots. Thus, our observed twist limit for bipolar active regions is in good accord with active regions being emerged omega loops.

  4. The coronal structure of active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Landini, M.; Monsignori Fossi, B. C.; Krieger, A.; Vaiana, G. S.

    1975-01-01

    A four-parameter model, which assumes a Gaussian dependence of both temperature and pressure on distance from center, is used to fit the compact part of coronal active regions as observed in X-ray photographs from a rocket experiment. The four parameters are the maximum temperature, the maximum pressure, the width of the pressure distribution, and the width of the temperature distribution. The maximum temperature ranges from 2.2 to 2.8 million K, and the maximum density from 2 to 9 by 10 to the 9th power per cu cm. The range of the pressure-distribution width is from 2 to 4 by 10 to the 9th power cm and that of the temperature-distribution width from 2 to 7.

  5. Spasmodic Active Region

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-04-30

    An active region that was rotating out of view off the sun's western limb, displayed a dazzling variety of dozens of spurts and eruptions in about 2.5 days (Apr. 19-21, 2014). The frames, taken in extreme ultraviolet light, show ionized Helium not far above the Sun's surface. All of the activity near this region was caused by intense magnetic forces in a powerful struggling with each other. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  6. Tangled up Active Region

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    This close-up image of the sun presents an active region in profile as it rotated out of view. We can observe both the bright arching field lines and smaller pieces of darker matter in their midst being pulled back and forth just above the Sun's surface over about 36 hours (July 20-22, 2011). Both of these physical responses were caused by strong, tangled magnetic forces that are constantly evolving and reorganizing within the active region. Other active regions can be seen in the foreground as well. The image and movie were taken in extreme ultraviolet light of ionized iron heated to one million degrees. To view a hd video of this event go here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6006013038 Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  7. Kinked Loop Stretching Between Two Active Regions

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-07-25

    Numerous arches of magnetic field lines danced and swayed above a large active region over about a 30-hour period (July 17-18, 2017). We can also see the magnetic field lines from the large active region reached out and connected with a smaller active region. Those linked lines then strengthened (become brighter), but soon began to develop a kink in them and rather swiftly faded from view. All of this activity is driven by strong magnetic forces associated with the active regions. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21838

  8. Image Patch Analysis of Sunspots and Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moon, K.; Delouille, V.; Hero, A.

    2017-12-01

    The flare productivity of an active region has been observed to be related to its spatial complexity. Separating active regions that are quiet from potentially eruptive ones is a key issue in space weather applications. Traditional classification schemes such as Mount Wilson and McIntosh have been effective in relating an active region large scale magnetic configuration to its ability to produce eruptive events. However, their qualitative nature does not use all of the information present in the observations. In our work, we present an image patch analysis for characterizing sunspots and active regions. We first propose fine-scale quantitative descriptors for an active region's complexity such as intrinsic dimension, and we relate them to the Mount Wilson classification. Second, we introduce a new clustering of active regions that is based on the local geometry observed in Line of Sight magnetogram and continuum images. To obtain this local geometry, we use a reduced-dimension representation of an active region that is obtained by factoring the corresponding data matrix comprised of local image patches using the singular value decomposition. The resulting factorizations of active regions can be compared via the definition of appropriate metrics on the factors. The distances obtained from these metrics are then used to cluster the active regions. Results. We find that these metrics result in natural clusterings of active regions. The clusterings are related to large scale descriptors of an active region such as its size, its local magnetic field distribution, and its complexity as measured by the Mount Wilson classification scheme. We also find that including data focused on the neutral line of an active region can result in an increased correspondence between our clustering results and other active region descriptors such as the Mount Wilson classifications and the R-value.

  9. The Meaning of Non-Work Activities to Smalltown-Non Metropolitan Residents of the Piedmont Region.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Payne, Barbara P.

    Part of a larger study of recreation and leisure patterns of adults in the Piedmont Region, this report focused on the activities of small town and non-metropolitan residents. The Piedmont Region was defined as counties where the western/northern boundary is fixed by the Appalachian Mountains and the eastern/southern boundary by the coastal plains…

  10. Signatures of coronal rain observed in the chromosphere of an Active Region Filament

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pillet, V. M.; McAteer, J.

    2016-12-01

    Using He 10830A spectropolarimetric data from the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter (TIP) in a rather compact active region neutral line, we observe a persistent chromospheric downflow on both sides of the neutral line that we interpret as the signature of rain from the Corona. The photospheric Si I line also present in this spectral region allows studying the continuation of the chromospheric downflow into the deeper areas dominated by granulation. Full reconstruction of the photospheric and chromospheric vector magnetic field showed that the active region filament was the central, axial, part of a magnetic flux rope. These observations demonstrate the potential of this spectral region to monitor the magnetic field and plasma motions in solar filaments. NMSU and NSO are teaming to start a synoptic program at the DST (Sac Peak) that uses this spectral region to track the evolution of magnetic fields and flows in solar filaments. We briefly present the characteristics of the synoptic program.

  11. Tracked Active Region Patches for MDI and HMI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Turmon, Michael; Hoeksema, J. Todd; Bobra, Monica

    2014-06-01

    We describe tracked active-region patch data products that have been developed for HMI (HMI Active Region Patches, or HARPs) and for MDI (MDI Tracked Active Region Patches, or MDI TARPs). Both data products consist of tracked magnetic features on the scale of solar active regions. The now-released HARP data product covers 2010-present (>2000 regions to date). Like the HARPs, the MDI TARP data set is a catalog of active regions (ARs), indexed by a region ID number, analogous to a NOAA AR number, and time. The TARPs contain 6170 regions spanning 72000 images taken over 1996-2010, and will be availablein the MDI resident archive (RA).MDI TARPs are computed based on the 96-minute synoptic magnetograms and intensitygrams. As with the related HARP data product, the approximate threshold for significance is 100G. Use of both image types together allows faculae and sunspots to be separated out as sub-classes of activity, in addition to identifying the overall active region that they are in. After being identified in single images, the magnetically-active patches are grouped and tracked from image to image. Merges among growing active regions, as well as faint active regions hovering at the threshold of detection, are handled automatically. Regions are tracked from their inception until they decay within view, or transit off the visible disk. For each active region and for each time, a bitmap image is stored containing the precise outline of the active region. Also, metadata such as areas and integrated fluxes are stored for each AR and for each time. Because there is a cross-calibration between the HMI and MDI magnetograms (Liu et al. 2012), it is straightforward to use the same classification and tracking rules for the HMI HARPs and the MDI TARPs. We show results demonstrating region correspondence, region boundary agreement, and agreement of flux metadata using the approximately 140 regions in the May 2010-October 2010 time period. We envision several uses for these data

  12. 47 CFR Appendix 2 to Part 97 - VEC Regions

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... SERVICE Pt. 97, App. 2 Appendix 2 to Part 97—VEC Regions 1. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. 2. New Jersey and New York. 3. Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland... and Virginia. 5. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. 6. California. 7...

  13. 6 CFR Appendix A to Part 21 - Activities to Which This Part Applies

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Activities to Which This Part Applies A Appendix A to Part 21 Domestic Security DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL...

  14. 6 CFR Appendix A to Part 21 - Activities to Which This Part Applies

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Activities to Which This Part Applies A Appendix A to Part 21 Domestic Security DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL...

  15. 6 CFR Appendix A to Part 21 - Activities to Which This Part Applies

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Activities to Which This Part Applies A Appendix A to Part 21 Domestic Security DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL...

  16. 6 CFR Appendix A to Part 21 - Activities to Which This Part Applies

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Activities to Which This Part Applies A Appendix A to Part 21 Domestic Security DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL...

  17. 6 CFR Appendix A to Part 21 - Activities to Which This Part Applies

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Activities to Which This Part Applies A Appendix A to Part 21 Domestic Security DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL...

  18. Thermal shielding of an emerging active region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Régnier, S.

    2012-08-01

    Context. The interaction between emerging active regions and the pre-existing coronal magnetic field is important for better understanding the mechanisms of storage and release of magnetic energy from the convection zone to the high corona. Aims: We describe the first steps of an emerging active region within a pre-existing quiet-Sun corona in terms of the thermal and magnetic structure. Methods: We used unprecedented spatial, temporal and spectral coverage from the Atmospheric Imager Assembly (AIA) and from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Results: Starting on 30 May 2010 at 17:00 UT, we followed the emerging active region AR11076 within a quiet-Sun region for 8 h. Using several SDO/AIA filters that cover temperatures from 50 000 K to 10 MK, we show that the emerging process is characterised by a thermal shield at the interface between the emerging flux and pre-existing quiet-Sun corona. Conclusions: The active region 11076 is a peculiar example of an emerging active region because (i) the polarities emerge in a photospheric quiet-Sun region near a supergranular-like distribution, and (ii) the polarities that form the bipolar emerging structure do not rotate with respect to each other, which indicates a slight twist in the emerging flux bundle. There is a thermal shield at the interface between the emerging active region and the pre-existing quiet-Sun region. The thermal shielding structure deduced from all SDO/AIA channels is strongly asymmetric between the two polarities of the active region, suggesting that the heating mechanism for one polarity is probably magnetic reconnection, whilst it is caused by increasing magnetic pressure for the opposite polarity. Appendix A and two movies are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

  19. Widespread Nanoflare Variability Detected with Hinode/XRT in a Solar Active Region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reale, Fabio; Terzo, Sergio; Miceli, Marco; Klimchuk, James A.; Kano, Ryouhei; Tsuneta, Saku

    2011-01-01

    It is generally agreed that small impulsive energy bursts called nanoflares are responsible for at least some of the Sun s hot corona, but whether they are the explanation for most of the multi-million degree plasma has been a matter of ongoing debate. We here present evidence that nanoflares are widespread in an active region observed by the X-Ray Telescope on-board the Hinode mission. The distributions of intensity fluctuations have small but important asymmetries, whether taken from individual pixels, multi-pixel subregions, or the entire active region. Negative fluctuations (corresponding to reduced intensity) are greater in number but weaker in amplitude, so that the median fluctuation is negative compared to a mean of zero. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we show that only part of this asymmetry can be explained by Poisson photon statistics. The remainder is explainable with a tendency for exponentially decreasing intensity, such as would be expected from a cooling plasma produced, e.g., from a nanoflare. We suggest that nanoflares are a universal heating process within active regions.

  20. 10 CFR Appendix D to Part 20 - United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices D Appendix D to Part 20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION Pt. 20, App. D Appendix D to Part 20—United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices...

  1. 10 CFR Appendix D to Part 20 - United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices D Appendix D to Part 20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION Pt. 20, App. D Appendix D to Part 20—United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices...

  2. 10 CFR Appendix D to Part 20 - United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices D Appendix D to Part 20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION Pt. 20, App. D Appendix D to Part 20—United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices...

  3. 10 CFR Appendix D to Part 20 - United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices D Appendix D to Part 20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION Pt. 20, App. D Appendix D to Part 20—United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices...

  4. 10 CFR Appendix D to Part 20 - United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices D Appendix D to Part 20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION Pt. 20, App. D Appendix D to Part 20—United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Offices...

  5. 3D MHD Models of Active Region Loops

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ofman, Leon

    2004-01-01

    Present imaging and spectroscopic observations of active region loops allow to determine many physical parameters of the coronal loops, such as the density, temperature, velocity of flows in loops, and the magnetic field. However, due to projection effects many of these parameters remain ambiguous. Three dimensional imaging in EUV by the STEREO spacecraft will help to resolve the projection ambiguities, and the observations could be used to setup 3D MHD models of active region loops to study the dynamics and stability of active regions. Here the results of 3D MHD models of active region loops are presented, and the progress towards more realistic 3D MHD models of active regions. In particular the effects of impulsive events on the excitation of active region loop oscillations, and the generation, propagations and reflection of EIT waves are shown. It is shown how 3D MHD models together with 3D EUV observations can be used as a diagnostic tool for active region loop physical parameters, and to advance the science of the sources of solar coronal activity.

  6. 49 CFR Appendix C to Part 241 - Geographical Boundaries of FRA's Regions and Addresses of FRA's Regional Headquarters

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Geographical Boundaries of FRA's Regions and Addresses of FRA's Regional Headquarters C Appendix C to Part 241 Transportation Other Regulations Relating... STATES LOCATIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR DISPATCHING OF UNITED STATES RAIL OPERATIONS Pt. 241, App. C Appendix C...

  7. 49 CFR Appendix C to Part 241 - Geographical Boundaries of FRA's Regions and Addresses of FRA's Regional Headquarters

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Geographical Boundaries of FRA's Regions and Addresses of FRA's Regional Headquarters C Appendix C to Part 241 Transportation Other Regulations Relating... STATES LOCATIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR DISPATCHING OF UNITED STATES RAIL OPERATIONS Pt. 241, App. C Appendix C...

  8. 49 CFR Appendix C to Part 241 - Geographical Boundaries of FRA's Regions and Addresses of FRA's Regional Headquarters

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Geographical Boundaries of FRA's Regions and Addresses of FRA's Regional Headquarters C Appendix C to Part 241 Transportation Other Regulations Relating... STATES LOCATIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR DISPATCHING OF UNITED STATES RAIL OPERATIONS Pt. 241, App. C Appendix C...

  9. Sources of Regional Variation in Medicare Part D Drug Spending

    PubMed Central

    Donohue, Julie M.; Morden, Nancy E.; Gellad, Walid F.; Bynum, Julie P.; Zhou, Weiping; Hanlon, Joseph T.; Skinner, Jonathan

    2012-01-01

    BACKGROUND Sources of regional variation in spending for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D are poorly understood, and such variation may reflect differences in health status, use of effective treatments, or selection of branded drugs over lower-cost generics. METHODS We analyzed 2008 Medicare data for 4.7 million beneficiaries for prescription-drug use and expenditures overall and in three drug categories: angiotensin-converting–enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins), and selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Differences in per capita expenditures across hospital-referral regions (HRRs) were decomposed into annual prescription volume and cost per prescription. The ratio of prescriptions filled as branded drugs to all prescriptions filled was calculated. We adjusted all measures for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-status differences. RESULTS Mean adjusted per capita pharmaceutical spending ranged from $2,413 in the lowest to $3,008 in the highest quintile of HRRs. Most (75.9%) of that difference was attributable to the cost per prescription ($53 vs. $63). Regional differences in cost per prescription explained 87.5% of expenditure variation for ACE inhibitors and ARBs and 56.3% for statins but only 36.1% for SSRIs and SNRIs. The ratio of branded-drug to total prescriptions, which correlated highly with cost per prescription, ranged across HRRs from 0.24 to 0.45 overall and from 0.24 to 0.55 for ACE inhibitors and ARBs, 0.29 to 0.60 for statins, and 0.15 to 0.51 for SSRIs and SNRIs. CONCLUSIONS Regional variation in Medicare Part D spending results largely from differences in the cost of drugs selected rather than prescription volume. A reduction in branded-drug use in some regions through modification of Part D plan benefits might lower costs without reducing quality of care

  10. Distinct representations of configural and part information across multiple face-selective regions of the human brain

    PubMed Central

    Golarai, Golijeh; Ghahremani, Dara G.; Eberhardt, Jennifer L.; Gabrieli, John D. E.

    2015-01-01

    Several regions of the human brain respond more strongly to faces than to other visual stimuli, such as regions in the amygdala (AMG), superior temporal sulcus (STS), and the fusiform face area (FFA). It is unclear if these brain regions are similar in representing the configuration or natural appearance of face parts. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging of healthy adults who viewed natural or schematic faces with internal parts that were either normally configured or randomly rearranged. Response amplitudes were reduced in the AMG and STS when subjects viewed stimuli whose configuration of parts were digitally rearranged, suggesting that these regions represent the 1st order configuration of face parts. In contrast, response amplitudes in the FFA showed little modulation whether face parts were rearranged or if the natural face parts were replaced with lines. Instead, FFA responses were reduced only when both configural and part information were reduced, revealing an interaction between these factors, suggesting distinct representation of 1st order face configuration and parts in the AMG and STS vs. the FFA. PMID:26594191

  11. Prediction of Active-Region CME Productivity from Magnetograms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, D. A.; Moore, R. L.; Gary, G. A.

    2004-01-01

    We report results of an expanded evaluation of whole-active-region magnetic measures as predictors of active-region coronal mass ejection (CME) productivity. Previously, in a sample of 17 vector magnetograms of 12 bipolar active regions observed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) vector magnetograph, from each magnetogram we extracted a measure of the size of the active region (the active region s total magnetic flux a) and four measures of the nonpotentiality of the active region: the strong-shear length L(sub SS), the strong-gradient length L(sub SG), the net vertical electric current I(sub N), and the net-current magnetic twist parameter alpha (sub IN). This sample size allowed us to show that each of the four nonpotentiality measures was statistically significantly correlated with active-region CME productivity in time windows of a few days centered on the day of the magnetogram. We have now added a fifth measure of active-region nonpotentiality (the best-constant-alpha magnetic twist parameter (alpha sub BC)), and have expanded the sample to 36 MSFC vector magnetograms of 31 bipolar active regions. This larger sample allows us to demonstrate statistically significant correlations of each of the five nonpotentiality measures with future CME productivity, in time windows of a few days starting from the day of the magnetogram. The two magnetic twist parameters (alpha (sub 1N) and alpha (sub BC)) are normalized measures of an active region s nonpotentially in that they do not depend directly on the size of the active region, while the other three nonpotentiality measures (L(sub SS), L(sub SG), and I(sub N)) are non-normalized measures in that they do depend directly on active-region size. We find (1) Each of the five nonpotentiality measures is statistically significantly correlated (correlation confidence level greater than 95%) with future CME productivity and has a CME prediction success rate of approximately 80%. (2) None of the nonpotentiality

  12. Skylab observations of X-ray loops connecting separate active regions. [solar activity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chase, R. C.; Krieger, A. S.; Svestka, Z.; Vaiana, G. S.

    1976-01-01

    One hundred loops interconnecting 94 separate active solar regions detectable in soft X-rays were identified during the Skylab mission. While close active regions are commonly interconnected with loops, the number of such interconnections decreases steeply for longer distances; the longest interconnecting loop observed in the Skylab data connected regions separated by 37 deg. Several arguments are presented which support the point of view that this is the actual limit of the size of magnetic interconnections between active regions. No sympathetic flares could be found in the interconnected regions. These results cast doubt on the hypothesis that accelerated particles can be guided in interconnecting loops from one active region to another over distances of 100 deg or more and eventually produce sympathetic flares in them.

  13. A Fractal Dimension Survey of Active Region Complexity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McAteer, R. T. James; Gallagher, Peter; Ireland, Jack

    2005-01-01

    A new approach to quantifying the magnetic complexity of active regions using a fractal dimension measure is presented. This fully-automated approach uses full disc MDI magnetograms of active regions from a large data set (2742 days of the SoHO mission; 9342 active regions) to compare the calculated fractal dimension to both Mount Wilson classification and flare rate. The main Mount Wilson classes exhibit no distinct fractal dimension distribution, suggesting a self-similar nature of all active regions. Solar flare productivity exhibits an increase in both the frequency and GOES X-ray magnitude of flares from regions with higher fractal dimensions. Specifically a lower threshold fractal dimension of 1.2 and 1.25 exists as a necessary, but not sufficient, requirement for an active region to produce M- and X-class flares respectively .

  14. Tactile interactions activate mirror system regions in the human brain.

    PubMed

    McKyton, Ayelet

    2011-12-07

    Communicating with others is essential for the development of a society. Although types of communications, such as language and visual gestures, were thoroughly investigated in the past, little research has been done to investigate interactions through touch. To study this we used functional magnetic resonance imaging. Twelve participants were scanned with their eyes covered while stroking four kinds of items, representing different somatosensory stimuli: a human hand, a realistic rubber hand, an object, and a simple texture. Although the human and the rubber hands had the same overall shape, in three regions there was significantly more blood oxygen level dependent activation when touching the real hand: the anterior medial prefrontal cortex, the ventral premotor cortex, and the posterior superior temporal cortex. The last two regions are part of the mirror network and are known to be activated through visual interactions such as gestures. Interestingly, in this study, these areas were activated through a somatosensory interaction. A control experiment was performed to eliminate confounds of temperature, texture, and imagery, suggesting that the activation in these areas was correlated with the touch of a human hand. These results reveal the neuronal network working behind human tactile interactions, and highlight the participation of the mirror system in such functions.

  15. An investigation of coronal active region loop structures using AS&E rocket X-ray images

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Webb, D. F.

    1983-01-01

    Simultaneous high spatial resolution observations at 6 cm in soft X-rays, in photospheric magnetograms, and in optical filtergrams were used to compare the most intense sources of centimetric emission in two active regions to coronal loops, sunspots, chromospheric structures, and photospheric magnetic fields. Results show that the majority of the bright microwave components are not associated with sunspots or X-ray emission. A nonthermal mechanism appears necessary to explain the brightest microwave components, discrete regions of continuous particle acceleration may be common in active regions. Studies of the plasma parameters of selected loops imply that the radio emission is consistent with gyro-resonance absorption at the third and fourth harmonic, at least from part of each loop. Results are presented for: (1) X-ray and microwave observations of active regions; (2) comparison of coronal holes observed in soft X-rays and Hel 10830 A spectrosheliograms; and (3) the reappearance of polar coronal holes and the evolution of the solar magnetic field.

  16. The Limit of Free Magnetic Energy in Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, Ron; Falconer, David; Sterling, Alphonse

    2012-01-01

    By measuring from active-region magnetograms a proxy of the free energy in the active region fs magnetic field, it has been found previously that (1) there is an abrupt upper limit to the free energy the field can hold that increases with the amount of magnetic field in the active region, the active region fs magnetic flux content, and (2) the free energy is usually near its limit when the field explodes in a CME/flare eruption. That is, explosive active regions are concentrated in a main-sequence path bordering the free-energy ]limit line in (flux content, free-energy proxy) phase space. Here, from measurement of Marshall Space Flight Center vector magnetograms, we find the magnetic condition that underlies the free ]energy limit and the accompanying main sequence of explosive active regions. Using a suitable free ]energy proxy measured from vector magnetograms of 44 active regions, we find that (1) in active regions at and near their free ]energy limit, the ratio of magnetic-shear free energy to the non ]free magnetic energy the potential field would have is approximately 1 in the core field, the field rooted along the neutral line, and (2) this ratio is progressively less in active regions progressively farther below their free ]energy limit. This shows that most active regions in which this core-field energy ratio is much less than 1 cannot be triggered to explode; as this ratio approaches 1, most active regions become capable of exploding; and when this ratio is 1 or greater, most active regions are compelled to explode. From these results we surmise the magnetic condition that determines the free ]energy limit is the ratio of the free magnetic energy to the non-free energy the active region fs field would have were it completely relaxed to its potential ]field configuration, and that this ratio is approximately 1 at the free-energy limit and in the main sequence of explosive active regions.

  17. Interactive flare sites within an active region complex

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Poletto, G.; Gary, G. A.; Machado, M. E.

    1993-01-01

    We examine here a set of images of an active region complex, acquired on June 24-25, 1980, by the Hard X-ray Imaging Spectrometer on SMM, with the purpose of establishing whether there was any interplay between the frequent activity observed at different sites in the activity center and, in such a case, how the interaction was established. By analyzing both quiet and active orbits we show that, as a rule, activity originating in one region triggers the other region's activity. However, we find little unambiguous evidence for the presence of large-scale interconnecting loops. A comparison of X-ray images with magnetic field observations suggested that we interpret the active region behavior in terms of the interaction between different loop systems, in a scenario quite analogous to the interacting bipole representation of individual flares. We conclude that active region interplay provides an easily observable case to study the time-dependent topology and the mechanisms for the spreading of activity in transient events over all energy scales.

  18. Teaching for Engagement: Part 3: Designing for Active Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunter, William J.

    2015-01-01

    In the first two parts of this series, ("Teaching for Engagement: Part 1: Constructivist Principles, Case-Based Teaching, and Active Learning") and ("Teaching for Engagement: Part 2: Technology in the Service of Active Learning"), William J. Hunter sought to outline the theoretical rationale and research basis for such active…

  19. Patterns of Activity in A Global Model of A Solar Active Region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bradshaw, S. J.; Viall, N. M.

    2016-01-01

    In this work we investigate the global activity patterns predicted from a model active region heated by distributions of nanoflares that have a range of frequencies. What differs is the average frequency of the distributions. The activity patterns are manifested in time lag maps of narrow-band instrument channel pairs. We combine hydrodynamic and forward modeling codes with a magnetic field extrapolation to create a model active region and apply the time lag method to synthetic observations. Our aim is not to reproduce a particular set of observations in detail, but to recover some typical properties and patterns observed in active regions. Our key findings are the following. (1) Cooling dominates the time lag signature and the time lags between the channel pairs are generally consistent with observed values. (2) Shorter coronal loops in the core cool more quickly than longer loops at the periphery. (3) All channel pairs show zero time lag when the line of sight passes through coronal loop footpoints. (4) There is strong evidence that plasma must be re-energized on a timescale comparable to the cooling timescale to reproduce the observed coronal activity, but it is likely that a relatively broad spectrum of heating frequencies are operating across active regions. (5) Due to their highly dynamic nature, we find nanoflare trains produce zero time lags along entire flux tubes in our model active region that are seen between the same channel pairs in observed active regions.

  20. Depth of origin of solar active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Parker, E. N.

    1984-01-01

    Observations show that the individual bipolar magnetic regions on the sun remain confined during their decay phase, with much of the magnetic field pulling back under the surface, in reverse of the earlier emergence. This suggests that the magnetic field is held on a short rein by subsurface forces, for otherwise the region would decay entirely by dispersing across the face of the sun. With the simple assumption that the fields at the surface are controlled from well-defined anchor points at a depth h, it is possible to relate the length l of the bipolar region at the surface to the depth h, with h about equal to l. The observed dimensions l about equal to 100,000 km for normal active regions, and l about equal to 10,000 km for the ephemeral active regions, indicate comparable depths of origin. More detailed observational studies of the active regions may be expected to shed further light on the problem.

  1. Regional sociocultural differences as important correlate of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Swiss preschool children.

    PubMed

    Leeger-Aschmann, Claudia S; Schmutz, Einat A; Radtke, Thomas; Kakebeeke, Tanja H; Zysset, Annina E; Messerli-Bürgy, Nadine; Stülb, Kerstin; Arhab, Amar; Meyer, Andrea H; Munsch, Simone; Jenni, Oskar G; Puder, Jardena J; Kriemler, Susi

    2016-01-01

    Regional differences in physical activity in school-aged children and adults even within one country with the same political and health care system have been observed and could not be explained by sociodemographic or individual variables. We analysed whether such differences were already present in preschool children. Swiss children from 84 childcare centres in five cantons (Aargau, Bern, Fribourg, Vaud, Zurich) comprising about 50% of the population of the country participated. Physical activity was quantified with accelerometers (ActiGraph, wGT3X-BT) and potential correlates were assessed with measurements at the childcare centre or questionnaires. Mixed regression models were used to test associations between potential correlates of total physical activity (TPA), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA) or sedentary behaviour with a special focus on regional differences. 394 of 476 children (83%) provided valid physical activity data (at least 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day with 10 h recording; mean age 3.9 ± 0.7 years, 54% boys) with 26% and 74% living in the French- and German-speaking parts of Switzerland, respectively. Days consisted of (mean ± standard deviation) 1.5 ± 0.5 h MVPA, 5.0 ± 0.6 h LPA, and 6.3 ± 0.8 h sedentary behaviour with an average of 624 ± 150 counts/min TPA. TPA and MVPA (but not sedentary behaviour or LPA) increased with age, were higher in boys and children with better motor skills. Despite controlling for individual characteristics, familial factors and childcare exposure, children from the French-speaking part of Switzerland showed 13% less TPA, 14% less MVPA, 6% less LPA and 8% more sedentary behaviour than German-speaking children. Beside motor skills and non-modifiable individual factors, the regional sociocultural difference was the most important correlate of phyical activity and sedentary behaviour. Therefore, regionally adapted public health strategies may be needed.

  2. The Limit of Magnetic-Shear Energy in Solar Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, Ronald; Falconer, David; Sterling, Alphonse

    2012-01-01

    It has been found previously, by measuring from active-region magnetograms a proxy of the free energy in the active region's magnetic field, (1) that there is a sharp upper limit to the free energy the field can hold that increases with the amount of magnetic field in the active region, the active region's magnetic flux content, and (2) that most active regions are near this limit when their field explodes in a coronal mass ejection/flare eruption. That is, explosive active regions are concentrated in a main-sequence path bordering the free-energy-limit line in (flux content, free-energy proxy) phase space. Here, we present evidence that specifies the underlying magnetic condition that gives rise to the free-energy limit and the accompanying main sequence of explosive active regions. Using a suitable free-energy proxy measured from vector magnetograms of 44 active regions, we find evidence that (1) in active regions at and near their free-energy limit, the ratio of magnetic-shear free energy to the non-free magnetic energy the potential field would have is of the order of one in the core field, the field rooted along the neutral line, and (2) this ratio is progressively less in active regions progressively farther below their free-energy limit. Evidently, most active regions in which this core-field energy ratio is much less than one cannot be triggered to explode; as this ratio approaches one, most active regions become capable of exploding; and when this ratio is one, most active regions are compelled to explode.

  3. The Limit of Magnetic-Shear Energy in Solar Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, Ronald L.; Falconer, David A.; Sterling, Alphonse C.

    2013-01-01

    It has been found previously, by measuring from active ]region magnetograms a proxy of the free energy in the active region fs magnetic field, (1) that there is a sharp upper limit to the free energy the field can hold that increases with the amount of magnetic field in the active region, the active region fs magnetic flux content, and (2) that most active regions are near this limit when their field explodes in a CME/flare eruption. That is, explosive active regions are concentrated in a main ]sequence path bordering the free ]energy ]limit line in (flux content, free ]energy proxy) phase space. Here we present evidence that specifies the underlying magnetic condition that gives rise to the free ]energy limit and the accompanying main sequence of explosive active regions. Using a suitable free energy proxy measured from vector magnetograms of 44 active regions, we find evidence that (1) in active regions at and near their free ]energy limit, the ratio of magnetic ]shear free energy to the non ]free magnetic energy the potential field would have is of order 1 in the core field, the field rooted along the neutral line, and (2) this ratio is progressively less in active regions progressively farther below their free ]energy limit. Evidently, most active regions in which this core ]field energy ratio is much less than 1 cannot be triggered to explode; as this ratio approaches 1, most active regions become capable of exploding; and when this ratio is 1, most active regions are compelled to explode.

  4. Atmospheric conditions associated with extreme fire activity in the Western Mediterranean region.

    PubMed

    Amraoui, Malik; Pereira, Mário G; DaCamara, Carlos C; Calado, Teresa J

    2015-08-15

    Active fire information provided by TERRA and AQUA instruments on-board sun-synchronous polar MODIS platform is used to describe fire activity in the Western Mediterranean and to identify and characterize the synoptic patterns of several meteorological fields associated with the occurrence of extreme fire activity episodes (EEs). The spatial distribution of the fire pixels during the period of 2003-2012 leads to the identification of two most affected sub-regions, namely the Northern and Western parts of the Iberian Peninsula (NWIP) and Northern Africa (NAFR). The temporal distribution of the fire pixels in these two sub-regions is characterized by: (i) high and non-concurrent inter- and intra-annual variability with maximum values during the summer of 2003 and 2005 in NWIP and 2007 and 2012 in NAFR; and, (ii) high intra-annual variability dominated by a prominent annual cycle with a main peak centred in August in both sub-regions and a less pronounced secondary peak in March only evident in NWIP region. The 34 EEs identified were grouped according to the location, period of occurrence and spatial configuration of the associated synoptic patterns into 3 clusters (NWIP-summer, NWIP-winter and NAFR-summer). Results from the composite analysis reveal similar fire weather conditions (statistically significant positive anomalies of air temperature and negative anomalies of air relative humidity) but associated with different circulation patterns at lower and mid-levels of the atmosphere associated with the occurrence of EEs in each cluster of the Western Mediterranean region. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Polar Field Reversals and Active Region Decay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrie, Gordon; Ettinger, Sophie

    2017-09-01

    We study the relationship between polar field reversals and decayed active region magnetic flux. Photospheric active region flux is dispersed by differential rotation and turbulent diffusion, and is transported poleward by meridional flows and diffusion. We summarize the published evidence from observation and modeling of the influence of meridional flow variations and decaying active region flux's spatial distribution, such as the Joy's law tilt angle. Using NSO Kitt Peak synoptic magnetograms covering cycles 21-24, we investigate in detail the relationship between the transport of decayed active region flux to high latitudes and changes in the polar field strength, including reversals in the magnetic polarity at the poles. By means of stack plots of low- and high-latitude slices of the synoptic magnetograms, the dispersal of flux from low to high latitudes is tracked, and the timing of this dispersal is compared to the polar field changes. In the most abrupt cases of polar field reversal, a few activity complexes (systems of active regions) are identified as the main cause. The poleward transport of large quantities of decayed trailing-polarity flux from these complexes is found to correlate well in time with the abrupt polar field changes. In each case, significant latitudinal displacements were found between the positive and negative flux centroids of the complexes, consistent with Joy's law bipole tilt with trailing-polarity flux located poleward of leading-polarity flux. The activity complexes of the cycle 21 and 22 maxima were larger and longer-lived than those of the cycle 23 and 24 maxima, and the poleward surges were stronger and more unipolar and the polar field changes larger and faster. The cycle 21 and 22 polar reversals were dominated by only a few long-lived complexes whereas the cycle 23 and 24 reversals were the cumulative effects of more numerous, shorter-lived regions. We conclude that sizes and lifetimes of activity complexes are key to

  6. ACTIVE REGION MORPHOLOGIES SELECTED FROM NEAR-SIDE HELIOSEISMIC DATA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    MacDonald, G. A.; McAteer, R. T. J.; Henney, C. J.

    We estimate the morphology of near-side active regions using near-side helioseismology. Active regions from two data sets, Air Force Data Assimilative Photospheric flux Transport synchronic maps and Global Oscillation Network Group near-side helioseismic maps, were matched and their morphologies compared. Our algorithm recognizes 382 helioseismic active regions between 2002 April 25 and 2005 December 31 and matches them to their corresponding magnetic active regions with 100% success. A magnetic active region occupies 30% of the area of its helioseismic signature. Recovered helioseismic tilt angles are in good agreement with magnetic tilt angles. Approximately 20% of helioseismic active regions can bemore » decomposed into leading and trailing polarity. Leading polarity components show no discernible scaling relationship, but trailing magnetic polarity components occupy approximately 25% of the area of the trailing helioseismic component. A nearside phase-magnetic calibration is in close agreement with a previous far-side helioseismic calibration and provides confidence that these morphological relationships can be used with far-side helioseismic data. Including far-side active region morphology in synchronic maps will have implications for coronal magnetic topology predictions and solar wind forecasts.« less

  7. Coronal loops and active region structure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Webb, D. F.; Zirin, H.

    1981-01-01

    Synoptic H-alpha Ca K, magnetograph and Skylab soft X-ray and EUV data were compared for the purpose of identifying the basic coronal magnetic structure of loops in a 'typical' active region and studying its evolution. A complex of activity in July 1973, especially McMath 12417, was emphasized. The principal results are: (1) most of the brightest loops connected the bright f plage to either the sunspot penumbra or to p satellite spots; no non-flaring X-ray loops end in umbrae; (2) short, bright loops had one or both ends in regions of emergent flux, strong field or high field gradients; (3) stable, strongly sheared loop arcades formed over filaments; (4) EFRs were always associated with compact X-ray arcades; and (5) loops connecting to other active regions had their bases in outlying plage of weak field strength in McM 417 where H-alpha fibrils marked the direction of the loops

  8. Millimeter wavelength observations of solar active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kundu, M. R.

    1973-01-01

    Polarization properties of active regions at 9 mm are discussed, and the observed degree of polarization is used to obtain an estimate of chromospheric magnetic fields. Also discussed is the polarization structure at 9 mm of an active region that produced a minor flare around 1900 UT on September 28, 1971. Total power observations indicate that new regions develop, or weak regions intensify at millimeter wavelengths as a result of bursts at distant sites. The spectra of the peak flux density of moderately strong bursts observed at 9 mm show a sharp drop toward the shorter millimeter wavelengths. The weak bursts at 3.5 mm are manifest mainly as heating phenomena.

  9. Regional forecasting system of marine state and variability of dynamical processes in the easternmost part of the Black Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kordzadze, Avtandil; Demetrashvili, Demuri

    2014-05-01

    The regional forecasting system for the easternmost part of the Black Sea developed at M. Nodia Institute of Geophysics of I. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University under the EU framework projects ARENA and ECOOP is a part of the Black Sea basin-scale Nowcasting/Forecasting System. A core of the regional forecasting system is a baroclinic regional model of Black Sea dynamics with 1 km spacing based on hydrostatic primitive equations of ocean hydrothermodynamics, which are written in z-coordinates for deviations of thermodynamic values from their standard vertical distributions. To solve the problem the two-cycle method of splitting the model equation system with respect to both physical processes and coordinate planes and lines is used. The regional model of M. Nodia Institute of Geophysics is nested in the basin-scale model of Black Sea dynamics of Marine Hydrophysical Institute (Sevastopol/Ukraine). The regional forecasting system provides 3 days' forecasts of current, temperature and salinity for the easternmost part of the Black Sea, which is limited to the Caucasian and Turkish coastal lines and the western liquid boundary coinciding with the meridian 39.080E. Data needed on liquid and upper boundaries, also the 3-D initial hydrophysical fields for the easternmost regional area are provided in near operative mode from Marine hydrophysical Institute via Internet. These data on the liquid boundary are values of velocity components, temperature and salinity predicted by the basin-scale model of Black Sea dynamics of Marine Hydrophysical Institute and on the sea surface 2-D meteorological boundary fields - wind stress, heat fluxes, evaporation and precipitation rates predicted by the regional atmospheric model ALADIN are used. The analysis of the results of modeling and forecast of dynamic processes developed for 2010-2014 showed that the easternmost water area of the Black Sea is a dynamically very active zone, where continuously there are processes of generation

  10. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Activates Specific Regions in Rat Brain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ji, Ru-Rong; Schlaepfer, Thomas E.; Aizenman, Carlos D.; Epstein, Charles M.; Qiu, Dike; Huang, Justin C.; Rupp, Fabio

    1998-12-01

    Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive technique to induce electric currents in the brain. Although rTMS is being evaluated as a possible alternative to electroconvulsive therapy for the treatment of refractory depression, little is known about the pattern of activation induced in the brain by rTMS. We have compared immediate early gene expression in rat brain after rTMS and electroconvulsive stimulation, a well-established animal model for electroconvulsive therapy. Our result shows that rTMS applied in conditions effective in animal models of depression induces different patterns of immediate-early gene expression than does electroconvulsive stimulation. In particular, rTMS evokes strong neural responses in the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) and in other regions involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms. The response in PVT is independent of the orientation of the stimulation probe relative to the head. Part of this response is likely because of direct activation, as repetitive magnetic stimulation also activates PVT neurons in brain slices.

  11. Active Region Coming Around the Bend

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2018-04-23

    A good-sized active region with bright, towering arches began to rotate into view (Apr. 18-19, 2018). The arches consist of charged particles spiraling along magnetic field lines revealed in this wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. They rise up above the sun's surface many times the size of Earth. The video covers just 16 hours of activity. We will keep our eyes on this region to see if it has the kind of dynamism to produce solar storms. Videos are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22430

  12. Alterations in regional homogeneity of resting-state brain activity in fatigue of Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Li, Junyi; Yuan, Yongsheng; Wang, Min; Zhang, Jiejin; Zhang, Li; Jiang, Siming; Ding, Jian; Zhang, Kezhong

    2017-10-01

    Fatigue is a common complaint in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the neural bases of fatigue in PD remain uncertain. In this cross-sectional study, our aim was to study the change of the local brain function in PD patients with fatigue. Among 49 patients with PD, 17 of them had fatigue and the remaining 32 patients without fatigue, and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were enrolled. All subjects were evaluated with Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and had a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scan. The fMRI images were analyzed using regional homogeneity (ReHo) to study the change of the local brain function. ReHo analysis controlling for gray matter volume, age, gender, and education showed decreased ReHo in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the right superior frontal gyrus (dorsolateral part), and increased ReHo in the left postcentral gyrus and the right inferior frontal gyrus (orbital and triangular part), compared PD-F with PD-NF; In PD patients, the regional activity in the left ACC and the right superior frontal gyrus (dorsolateral part) was negatively correlated with the FSS scores, while that in the left postcentral gyrus, the right inferior frontal gyrus (orbital and triangular part) was positively correlated with the FSS scores. This study demonstrates that brain areas including frontal, postcentral and ACC regions indicative of sensory, motor, and cognitive systems are involved in fatigue in PD patients.

  13. Small but Dynamic Active Region

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2018-04-20

    The sun featured just one, rather small active region over the past few days, but it developed rapidly and sported a lot of magnetic activity in just one day (Apr. 11-12, 2018). The activity was observed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. The loops and twisting arches above it are evidence of magnetic forces tangling with each other. The video clip was produced using Helioviewer software. Movies are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06676

  14. Regional Observation of Seismic Activity in Baekdu Mountain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Geunyoung; Che, Il-Young; Shin, Jin-Soo; Chi, Heon-Cheol

    2015-04-01

    Seismic unrest in Baekdu Mountain area between North Korea and Northeast China region has called attention to geological research community in Northeast Asia due to her historical and cultural importance. Seismic bulletin shows level of seismic activity in the area is higher than that of Jilin Province of Northeast China. Local volcanic observation shows a symptom of magmatic unrest in period between 2002 and 2006. Regional seismic data have been used to analyze seismic activity of the area. The seismic activity could be differentiated from other seismic phenomena in the region by the analysis.

  15. Tracking Photospheric Energy Transport in Active Regions with SDO

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Attié, R.; Thompson, B. J.

    2017-12-01

    The solar photosphere presents flow fields at all observable scales. Where energy-bearing magnetic active regions break through the photosphere these flows are particularly strong, as sheared and twisted magnetic fields come into equilibrium with their surroundings while transporting magnetic energy into the corona. A part of this magnetic energy - the so-called `free energy' stored in the magnetic field in the form of "twisted" and shear of the field - is released in flares and eruptions. We can quantify the energy arrival and build-up in the corona by tracking flow fields and magnetic features at the photosphere as magnetic flux emerges and evolves before and after a flare or eruption.To do this reliably requires two things: a long series of photospheric observations at high sensitivity, spatial and temporal resolution, and an efficient, reliable and robust framework that tracks the photospheric plasma flows and magnetic evolution in both the quiet sun and active regions. SDO/HMI provides the observations, and we present here an innovative high resolution tracking framework that involves the `Balltracking' and `Magnetic Balltracking' algorithms. We show the first results of a systematic, quantitative and comprehensive measurements of the flows and transport of magnetic energy into the solar atmosphere and investigate whether this dynamic view can improve predictions of flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).

  16. The Magnetic Free Energy in Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Metcalf, Thomas R.; Mickey, Donald L.; LaBonte, Barry J.

    2001-01-01

    The magnetic field permeating the solar atmosphere governs much of the structure, morphology, brightness, and dynamics observed on the Sun. The magnetic field, especially in active regions, is thought to provide the power for energetic events in the solar corona, such as solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and is believed to energize the hot coronal plasma seen in extreme ultraviolet or X-rays. The question remains what specific aspect of the magnetic flux governs the observed variability. To directly understand the role of the magnetic field in energizing the solar corona, it is necessary to measure the free magnetic energy available in active regions. The grant now expiring has demonstrated a new and valuable technique for observing the magnetic free energy in active regions as a function of time.

  17. Magnetic structure of an activated filament in a flaring active region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sasso, C.; Lagg, A.; Solanki, S. K.

    2014-01-01

    Aims: While the magnetic field in quiescent prominences has been widely investigated, less is known about the field in activated prominences. We report observational results on the magnetic field structure of an activated filament in a flaring active region. In particular, we studied its magnetic structure and line-of-sight flows during its early activated phase, shortly before it displayed signs of rotation. Methods: We inverted the Stokes profiles of the chromospheric He i 10 830 Å triplet and the photospheric Si i 10 827 Å line observed in this filament by the Vacuum Tower Telescope on Tenerife. Using these inversion results, we present and interpret the first maps of the velocity and magnetic field obtained in an activated filament, both in the photosphere and the chromosphere. Results: Up to five different magnetic components are found in the chromospheric layers of the filament, while outside the filament a single component is sufficient to reproduce the observations. Magnetic components displaying an upflow are preferentially located towards the centre of the filament, while the downflows are concentrated along its periphery. Moreover, the upflowing gas is associated with an opposite-polarity magnetic configuration with respect to the photosphere, while the downflowing gas is associated with a same-polarity configuration. Conclusions: The activated filament has a very complex structure. Nonetheless, it is compatible with a flux rope, albeit a distorted one, in the normal configuration. The observations are best explained by a rising flux rope in which part of the filament material is still stably stored (upflowing material, rising with the field), while the rest is no longer stably stored and flows down along the field lines. The movie is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

  18. Single point mutations distributed in 10 soluble and membrane regions of the Nicotiana plumbaginifolia plasma membrane PMA2 H+-ATPase activate the enzyme and modify the structure of the C-terminal region.

    PubMed

    Morsomme, P; Dambly, S; Maudoux, O; Boutry, M

    1998-12-25

    The Nicotiana plumbaginifolia pma2 (plasma membrane H+-ATPase) gene is capable of functionally replacing the H+-ATPase genes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, provided that the external pH is kept above 5.0. Single point mutations within the pma2 gene were previously identified that improved H+-ATPase activity and allowed yeast growth at pH 4.0. The aim of the present study was to identify most of the PMA2 positions, the mutation of which would lead to improved growth and to determine whether all these mutations result in similar enzymatic and structural modifications. We selected additional mutants in total 42 distinct point mutations localized in 30 codons. They were distributed in 10 soluble and membrane regions of the enzyme. Most mutant PMA2 H+-ATPases were characterized by a higher specific activity, lower inhibition by ADP, and lower stimulation by lysophosphatidylcholine than wild-type PMA2. The mutants thus seem to be constitutively activated. Partial tryptic digestion and immunodetection showed that the PMA2 mutants had a conformational change making the C-terminal region more accessible. These data therefore support the hypothesis that point mutations in various H+-ATPase parts displace the inhibitory C-terminal region, resulting in enzyme activation. The high density of mutations within the first half of the C-terminal region suggests that this part is involved in the interaction between the inhibitory C-terminal region and the rest of the enzyme.

  19. Deep heterogeneous structure of active faults in the Kinki region, southwest Japan: Inversion analysis of coda envelopes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nishigami, K.

    2006-12-01

    It is essential to estimate the deep structure of active faults related to the earthquake rupture process as well as the crustal structure related to the propagation of seismic waves, in order to improve the accuracy of estimating strong ground motion caused by future large inland earthquakes. In the Kinki region, southwest Japan, there are several active fault zones near large cities such as Osaka and Kyoto, and the evaluation of realistic strong ground motion is an important subject. We have been carrying out the Special Project for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation in Urban Areas, in the Kinki region for these purposes. In this presentation we will show the result of estimating the fault structure model of the Biwako-seigan, Hanaore, and Arima- Takatsuki fault zones. We estimated a 3-D distribution of relative scattering coefficients in the Kinki region, also in the vicinity of each active fault zone, by inversion of coda envelopes from local earthquakes. We analyzed 758 seismograms from 52 events which occurred in 2003, recorded at 50 stations of Kyoto Univ., Hi- net, and JMA. The preliminary result shows that active fault zones can be imaged as higher scattering than the surroundings. Based on previous studies of scattering properties in the crust, we consider that the relatively weaker scattering (namely more homogeneous) part on the fault plane may act as an asperity during future large earthquakes, and also that the part with relatively stronger scattering (namely more heterogeneous part) may become an initiation point of rupture. We are also studying the detailed distribution of microearthquakes, b-values, and velocity anomalies along these active fault zones. Combining these results, we will construct a possible fault model for each of the active fault zones. This study is sponsored by the Special Project for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation in Urban Areas from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

  20. Carbonate sedimentation in an extensional active margin: Cretaceous history of the Haymana region, Pontides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Okay, Aral I.; Altiner, Demir

    2016-10-01

    The Haymana region in Central Anatolia is located in the southern part of the Pontides close to the İzmir-Ankara suture. During the Cretaceous, the region formed part of the south-facing active margin of the Eurasia. The area preserves a nearly complete record of the Cretaceous system. Shallow marine carbonates of earliest Cretaceous age are overlain by a 700-m-thick Cretaceous sequence, dominated by deep marine limestones. Three unconformity-bounded pelagic carbonate sequences of Berriasian, Albian-Cenomanian and Turonian-Santonian ages are recognized: Each depositional sequence is preceded by a period of tilting and submarine erosion during the Berriasian, early Albian and late Cenomanian, which corresponds to phases of local extension in the active continental margin. Carbonate breccias mark the base of the sequences and each carbonate sequence steps down on older units. The deep marine carbonate deposition ended in the late Santonian followed by tilting, erosion and folding during the Campanian. Deposition of thick siliciclastic turbidites started in the late Campanian and continued into the Tertiary. Unlike most forearc basins, the Haymana region was a site of deep marine carbonate deposition until the Campanian. This was because the Pontide arc was extensional and the volcanic detritus was trapped in the intra-arc basins and did not reach the forearc or the trench. The extensional nature of the arc is also shown by the opening of the Black Sea as a backarc basin in the Turonian-Santonian. The carbonate sedimentation in an active margin is characterized by synsedimentary vertical displacements, which results in submarine erosion, carbonate breccias and in the lateral discontinuity of the sequences, and differs from blanket like carbonate deposition in the passive margins.

  1. Local Helioseismology of Emerging Active Regions: A Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kosovichev, Alexander G.; Zhao, Junwei; Ilonidis, Stathis

    2018-04-01

    Local helioseismology provides a unique opportunity to investigate the subsurface structure and dynamics of active regions and their effect on the large-scale flows and global circulation of the Sun. We use measurements of plasma flows in the upper convection zone, provided by the Time-Distance Helioseismology Pipeline developed for analysis of solar oscillation data obtained by Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), to investigate the subsurface dynamics of emerging active region NOAA 11726. The active region emergence was detected in deep layers of the convection zone about 12 hours before the first bipolar magnetic structure appeared on the surface, and 2 days before the emergence of most of the magnetic flux. The speed of emergence determined by tracking the flow divergence with depth is about 1.4 km/s, very close to the emergence speed in the deep layers. As the emerging magnetic flux becomes concentrated in sunspots local converging flows are observed beneath the forming sunspots. These flows are most prominent in the depth range 1-3 Mm, and remain converging after the formation process is completed. On the larger scale converging flows around active region appear as a diversion of the zonal shearing flows towards the active region, accompanied by formation of a large-scale vortex structure. This process occurs when a substantial amount of the magnetic flux emerged on the surface, and the converging flow pattern remains stable during the following evolution of the active region. The Carrington synoptic flow maps show that the large-scale subsurface inflows are typical for active regions. In the deeper layers (10-13 Mm) the flows become diverging, and surprisingly strong beneath some active regions. In addition, the synoptic maps reveal a complex evolving pattern of large-scale flows on the scale much larger than supergranulation

  2. Hemisphere Rule in Active Regions with Different Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Y.; Xiong, X.

    2017-12-01

    Magnetic twist in solar active regions has been found to have a hemispheric preferencein sign (hemisphere rule): negative in the northern hemisphere and positive in the southern.The strength of the preference reported in previous studies ranges greatly, from 58% to 82%.In this presentation, we will show an investigation that examines this hemispheric preference bystudying active regions in Solar Cycle 24 using the vector magnetic field data taken by the Helioseismicand Magnetic Imager (HMI). While in general the strength of the hemisphere preference is wellwithin the range reported by the previous studies, it differs substantially in different groupsof active regions that possess different properties in magnetic helicity: the group with theopposite signs of magnetic twist and writhe has a much stronger preference strength than thegroup with the same signs. This difference becomes even more significant in emerging activeregions. We place here a discussion on possible links between origin of magnetic twist, hemispherepreference, and emergence and evolution of active regions.

  3. The Maximum Free Magnetic Energy Allowed in a Solar Active Region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, Ronald L.; Falconer, David A.

    2009-01-01

    Two whole-active-region magnetic quantities that can be measured from a line-of-sight magnetogram are (sup L) WL(sub SG), a gauge of the total free energy in an active region's magnetic field, and sup L(sub theta), a measure of the active region's total magnetic flux. From these two quantities measured from 1865 SOHO/MDI magnetograms that tracked 44 sunspot active regions across the 0.5 R(sub Sun) central disk, together with each active region's observed production of CMEs, X flares, and M flares, Falconer et al (2009, ApJ, submitted) found that (1) active regions have a maximum attainable free magnetic energy that increases with the magnetic size (sup L) (sub theta) of the active region, (2) in (Log (sup L)WL(sub SG), Log(sup L) theta) space, CME/flare-productive active regions are concentrated in a straight-line main sequence along which the free magnetic energy is near its upper limit, and (3) X and M flares are restricted to large active regions. Here, from (a) these results, (b) the observation that even the greatest X flares produce at most only subtle changes in active region magnetograms, and (c) measurements from MSFC vector magnetograms and from MDI line-of-sight magnetograms showing that practically all sunspot active regions have nearly the same area-averaged magnetic field strength: =- theta/A approximately equal to 300 G, where theta is the active region's total photospheric flux of field stronger than 100 G and A is the area of that flux, we infer that (1) the maximum allowed ratio of an active region's free magnetic energy to its potential-field energy is 1, and (2) any one CME/flare eruption releases no more than a small fraction (less than 10%) of the active region's free magnetic energy. This work was funded by NASA's Heliophysics Division and NSF's Division of Atmospheric Sciences.

  4. Solar active region display system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Golightly, M.; Raben, V.; Weyland, M.

    2003-04-01

    The Solar Active Region Display System (SARDS) is a client-server application that automatically collects a wide range of solar data and displays it in a format easy for users to assimilate and interpret. Users can rapidly identify active regions of interest or concern from color-coded indicators that visually summarize each region's size, magnetic configuration, recent growth history, and recent flare and CME production. The active region information can be overlaid onto solar maps, multiple solar images, and solar difference images in orthographic, Mercator or cylindrical equidistant projections. Near real-time graphs display the GOES soft and hard x-ray flux, flare events, and daily F10.7 value as a function of time; color-coded indicators show current trends in soft x-ray flux, flare temperature, daily F10.7 flux, and x-ray flare occurrence. Through a separate window up to 4 real-time or static graphs can simultaneously display values of KP, AP, daily F10.7 flux, GOES soft and hard x-ray flux, GOES >10 and >100 MeV proton flux, and Thule neutron monitor count rate. Climatologic displays use color-valued cells to show F10.7 and AP values as a function of Carrington/Bartel's rotation sequences - this format allows users to detect recurrent patterns in solar and geomagnetic activity as well as variations in activity levels over multiple solar cycles. Users can customize many of the display and graph features; all displays can be printed or copied to the system's clipboard for "pasting" into other applications. The system obtains and stores space weather data and images from sources such as the NOAA Space Environment Center, NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, the joint ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft, and the Kitt Peak National Solar Observatory, and can be extended to include other data series and image sources. Data and images retrieved from the system's database are converted to XML and transported from a central server using HTTP and SOAP protocols, allowing

  5. Observations of the Growth of an Active Region Filament

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Bo

    2017-04-01

    We present observations of the growth of an active region filament caused by magnetic interactions among the filament and its adjacent superpenumbral filament (SF) and dark thread-like structures (T). Multistep reconnections are identified during the whole growing process. Magnetic flux convergence and cancellation occurring at the positive footpoint region of the filament is the first step reconnection, which resulted in the filament bifurcating into two sets of intertwined threads. One set anchored in situ, while the other set moved toward and interacted with the SF and part of T. This indicates the second step reconnection, which gave rise to the disappearance of the SF and the formation of a long thread-like structure that connects the far ends of the filament and T. The long thread-like structure further interacted with the T and then separated into two parts, representing the third step reconnection. Finally, another similar long thread-like structure, which intertwined with the fixed filament threads, appeared. Hαobservations show that this twisted structure is a longer sinistral filament. Based on the observed photospheric vector magnetograms, we performed a non-linear force-free field extrapolation to reconstruct the magnetic fields above the photosphere and found that the coronal magnetic field lines associated with the filament consists of two twisted flux ropes winding around each other. These results suggest that magnetic interactions among filaments and their adjacent SFs and T could lead to the growth of the filaments, and the filament is probably supported in a flux rope.

  6. OBSERVATIONS OF THE GROWTH OF AN ACTIVE REGION FILAMENT

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Bo; Jiang, Yunchun; Yang, Jiayan

    We present observations of the growth of an active region filament caused by magnetic interactions among the filament and its adjacent superpenumbral filament (SF) and dark thread-like structures (T). Multistep reconnections are identified during the whole growing process. Magnetic flux convergence and cancellation occurring at the positive footpoint region of the filament is the first step reconnection, which resulted in the filament bifurcating into two sets of intertwined threads. One set anchored in situ, while the other set moved toward and interacted with the SF and part of T. This indicates the second step reconnection, which gave rise to themore » disappearance of the SF and the formation of a long thread-like structure that connects the far ends of the filament and T. The long thread-like structure further interacted with the T and then separated into two parts, representing the third step reconnection. Finally, another similar long thread-like structure, which intertwined with the fixed filament threads, appeared. H {sub α} observations show that this twisted structure is a longer sinistral filament. Based on the observed photospheric vector magnetograms, we performed a non-linear force-free field extrapolation to reconstruct the magnetic fields above the photosphere and found that the coronal magnetic field lines associated with the filament consists of two twisted flux ropes winding around each other. These results suggest that magnetic interactions among filaments and their adjacent SFs and T could lead to the growth of the filaments, and the filament is probably supported in a flux rope.« less

  7. New Active Region Sputtering with Small Flares

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2018-05-29

    An active region rotated into view and sputtered with numerous small flares and towering magnetic field lines that stretched out many times the diameter of Earth (May 23-25, 2018). Active regions are areas of intense magnetic energy. The field lines are illuminated by charged particles spiraling along them and easiest to discern when viewed in profile. The colorized images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Movies are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22461

  8. Active region upflows. I. Multi-instrument observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vanninathan, K.; Madjarska, M. S.; Galsgaard, K.; Huang, Z.; Doyle, J. G.

    2015-12-01

    Context. We study upflows at the edges of active regions, called AR outflows, using multi-instrument observations. Aims: This study intends to provide the first direct observational evidence of whether chromospheric jets play an important role in furnishing mass that could sustain coronal upflows. The evolution of the photospheric magnetic field, associated with the footpoints of the upflow region and the plasma properties of active region upflows is investigated with the aim of providing information for benchmarking data-driven modelling of this solar feature. Methods: We spatially and temporally combine multi-instrument observations obtained with the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer on board the Hinode, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager instruments on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Interferometric BI-dimensional Spectro-polarimeter installed at the National Solar Observatory, Sac Peak, to study the plasma parameters of the upflows and the impact of the chromosphere on active region upflows. Results: Our analysis shows that the studied active region upflow presents similarly to those studied previously, i.e. it displays blueshifted emission of 5-20 kms-1 in Fe xii and Fe xiii and its average electron density is 1.8 × 109 cm-3 at 1 MK. The time variation of the density is obtained showing no significant change (in a 3σ error). The plasma density along a single loop is calculated revealing a drop of 50% over a distance of ~20 000 km along the loop. We find a second velocity component in the blue wing of the Fe xii and Fe xiii lines at 105 kms-1 reported only once before. For the first time we study the time evolution of this component at high cadence and find that it is persistent during the whole observing period of 3.5 h with variations of only ±15 kms-1. We also, for the first time, study the evolution of the photospheric magnetic field at high cadence and find that magnetic flux diffusion is

  9. Photospheric Magnetic Evolution in the WHI Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Welsch, B. T.; McTiernan, J. M.; Christe, S.

    2012-01-01

    Sequences of line-of-sight (LOS) magnetograms recorded by the Michelson Doppler Imager are used to quantitatively characterize photospheric magnetic structure and evolution in three active regions that rotated across the Sun s disk during the Whole Heliosphere Interval (WHI), in an attempt to relate the photospheric magnetic properties of these active regions to flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Several approaches are used in our analysis, on scales ranging from whole active regions, to magnetic features, to supergranular scales, and, finally, to individual pixels. We calculated several parameterizations of magnetic structure and evolution that have previously been associated with flare and CME activity, including total unsigned magnetic flux, magnetic flux near polarity-inversion lines, amount of canceled flux, the "proxy Poynting flux," and helicity flux. To catalog flare events, we used flare lists derived from both GOES and RHESSI observations. By most such measures, AR 10988 should have been the most flare- and CME-productive active region, and AR 10989 the least. Observations, however, were not consistent with this expectation: ARs 10988 and 10989 produced similar numbers of flares, and AR 10989 also produced a few CMEs. These results highlight present limitations of statistics-based flare and CME forecasting tools that rely upon line-of-sight photospheric magnetic data alone.

  10. MAG4 Versus Alternative Techniques for Forecasting Active-Region Flare Productivity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, David A.; Moore, Ronald L.; Barghouty, Abdulnasser F.; Khazanov, Igor

    2014-01-01

    MAG4 is a technique of forecasting an active region's rate of production of major flares in the coming few days from a free-magnetic-energy proxy. We present a statistical method of measuring the difference in performance between MAG4 and comparable alternative techniques that forecast an active region's major-flare productivity from alternative observed aspects of the active region. We demonstrate the method by measuring the difference in performance between the "Present MAG4" technique and each of three alternative techniques, called "McIntosh Active-Region Class," "Total Magnetic Flux," and "Next MAG4." We do this by using (1) the MAG4 database of magnetograms and major-flare histories of sunspot active regions, (2) the NOAA table of the major-flare productivity of each of 60 McIntosh active-region classes of sunspot active regions, and (3) five technique-performance metrics (Heidke Skill Score, True Skill Score, Percent Correct, Probability of Detection, and False Alarm Rate) evaluated from 2000 random two-by-two contingency tables obtained from the databases. We find that (1) Present MAG4 far outperforms both McIntosh Active-Region Class and Total Magnetic Flux, (2) Next MAG4 significantly outperforms Present MAG4, (3) the performance of Next MAG4 is insensitive to the forward and backward temporal windows used, in the range of one to a few days, and (4) forecasting from the free-energy proxy in combination with either any broad category of McIntosh active-region classes or any Mount Wilson active-region class gives no significant performance improvement over forecasting from the free-energy proxy alone (Present MAG4).

  11. Copernican tectonic activities in the northwestern Imbrium region of the Moon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Daket, Yuko; Yamaji, Atsushi; Sato, Katsushi

    2015-04-01

    Mare ridges and lobate scarps are the manifestations of horizontal compression in the shallow part of the Moon. Conventionally, tectonism within mascon basins has been thought to originate from mascon loading which is syndepositional tectonics (e.g., Solomon and Head, 1980). However, Ono et al. (2009) have pointed out that the subsurface tectonic structures beneath some mare ridges in Serenitatis appeared to be formed after the deposition of mare strata. Watters et al. (2010) also reported Copernican lobate scarps. Those young deformations cannot be explained by the mascon loading and are possibly ascribed to global cooling, orbital evolution and/or regional factors. Since mare ridges are topographically larger than lobate scarps, they might have large contribution to the recent contraction. In this study, we estimated until when the tectonic activities of mare ridges lasted in the northwestern Imbrium region. In order to infer the timing of the latest ages of tectonic activities, we used craters dislocated by the thrust faults that run along to the mare ridges in the study area. The ages of dislocated craters indicate the oldest estimate of the latest tectonic activity of the faults, because those craters must have existed during the tectonic activities. The ages of craters are inferred by the degradation levels classified by Trask (1971). We found ~450 dislocated craters in the study area. About 40 of them are smaller than 100 meter in diameter. Sub-hundred-meter-sized craters that still maintain their morphology sharp are classified into Copernican Period. Those small dislocated craters are interspersed all over the region, indicating that the most of the mare ridges in the study area were tectonically active in Copernican Period. In addition, we also found two sub-hundred-meter-sized craters dislocated by a graben at the west of Promontorium Laplace, indicating horizontal extension existed at Copernican Period. Consequently, tectonic activities in the study

  12. Regional brain activity during early visual perception in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients.

    PubMed

    Lee, Junghee; Cohen, Mark S; Engel, Stephen A; Glahn, David; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Wynn, Jonathan K; Green, Michael F

    2010-07-01

    Visual masking paradigms assess the early part of visual information processing, which may reflect vulnerability measures for schizophrenia. We examined the neural substrates of visual backward performance in unaffected sibling of schizophrenia patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-one unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients and 19 healthy controls performed a backward masking task and three functional localizer tasks to identify three visual processing regions of interest (ROI): lateral occipital complex (LO), the motion-sensitive area, and retinotopic areas. In the masking task, we systematically manipulated stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). We analyzed fMRI data in two complementary ways: 1) an ROI approach for three visual areas, and 2) a whole-brain analysis. The groups did not differ in behavioral performance. For ROI analysis, both groups increased activation as SOAs increased in LO. Groups did not differ in activation levels of the three ROIs. For whole-brain analysis, controls increased activation as a function of SOAs, compared with siblings in several regions (i.e., anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, inferior prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule). The study found: 1) area LO showed sensitivity to the masking effect in both groups; 2) siblings did not differ from controls in activation of LO; and 3) groups differed significantly in several brain regions outside visual processing areas that have been related to attentional or re-entrant processes. These findings suggest that LO dysfunction may be a disease indicator rather than a risk indicator for schizophrenia. Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Reduction, analysis, and properties of electric current systems in solar active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gary, G. Allen; Demoulin, Pascal

    1995-01-01

    The specific attraction and, in large part, the significance of solar magnetograms lie in the fact that they give the most important data on the electric currents and the nonpotentiality of active regions. Using the vector magnetograms from the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), we employ a unique technique in the area of data analysis for resolving the 180 deg ambiguity in order to calculate the spatial structure of the vertical electric current density. The 180 deg ambiguity is resolved by applying concepts from the nonlinear multivariable optimization theory. The technique is shown to be of particular importance in very nonpotential active regions. The characterization of the vertical electric current density for a set of vector magnetograms using this method then gives the spatial scale, locations, and magnitude of these current systems. The method, which employs an intermediate parametric function which covers the magnetogram and which defines the local `preferred' direction, minimizes a specific functional of the observed transverse magnetic field. The specific functional that is successful is the integral of the square of the vertical current density. We find that the vertical electric current densities have common characteristics for the extended bipolar (beta) (gamma) (delta)-regions studied. The largest current systems have j(sub z)'s which maximizes around 30 mA/sq m and have a linear decreasing distribution to a diameter of 30 Mn.

  14. Reduction, Analysis, and Properties of Electric Current Systems in Solar Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gary, G. Allen; Demoulin, Pascal

    1995-01-01

    The specific attraction and, in large part, the significance of solar vector magnetograms lie in the fact that they give the most important data on the electric currents and the nonpotentiality of active regions. Using the vector magnetograms from the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), we employ a unique technique in the area of data analysis for resolving the 180 degree ambiguity in order to calculate the spatial structure of the vertical electric current density. The 180 degree ambiguity is resolved by applying concepts from the nonlinear multivariable optimization theory. The technique is shown to be of particular importance in very nonpotential active regions. The characterization of the vertical electric current density for a set of vector magnetograms using this method then gives the spatial scale, locations, and magnitude of these current systems. The method, which employs an intermediate parametric function which covers the magnetogram and which defines the local "preferred" direction, minimizes a specific functional of the observed transverse magnetic field. The specific functional that is successful is the integral of the square of the vertical current density. We find that the vertical electric current densities have common characteristics for the extended bipolar beta gamma delta-regions studied. The largest current systems have j(sub z)'s which maximizes around 30 mA per square meter and have a linear decreasing distribution to a diameter of 30 Mm.

  15. Chromospheric Evolution and the Flare Activity of Super-Active Region NOAA 6555

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    PrasadC, Debi; Ambastha, Ashok; Srivastava, Nandita; Tripathy, Sushanta C.; Hagyard, Mona J.

    1997-01-01

    Super-active region NOAA 6555 was highly flare productive during the period March 21st - 27th, 1991 of its disk passage. We have studied its chromospheric activity using high spatial resolution H alpha filtergrams taken at Udaipur along with MSFC vector magnetograms. A possible relationship of flare productivity and the variation in shear has been explored. Flares were generally seen in those subareas of the active region which possessed closed magnetic field configuration, whereas only minor flares and/or surges occurred in subareas showing open magnetic field configuration. Physical mechanisms responsible for the observed surges are also discussed.

  16. Evaluation of the deformation parameters of the northern part of Eg

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohamed, Abdel-Monem S.; Radwan, Ali M.; Sharf, Mohamed; Hamimi, Zakaria; Hegazy, Esraa E.; Abou Aly, Nadia; Gomaa, Mahmoud

    2016-06-01

    The northern part of Egypt is a rapidly growing development accompanied by the increased levels of standard living particularly in its urban areas. From tectonic and seismic point of views, the northern part of Egypt is one of the interested regions. It shows an active geologic structure attributed to the tectonic movements of the African and Eurasian plates from one side and the Arabian plate from the other side. From historical point of view and recent instrumental records, the northern part of Egypt is one of the seismo-active regions in Egypt. The investigations of the seismic events and their interpretations had led to evaluate the seismic hazard for disaster mitigation, for the safety of the densely populated regions and the vital projects. In addition to the monitoring of the seismic events, the most powerful technique of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) will be used in determining crustal deformation where a geodetic network covers the northern part of Egypt. Joining the GPS Permanent stations of the northern part of Egypt with the Southern part of Europe will give a clear picture about the recent crustal deformation and the African plate velocity. The results from the data sets are compared and combined in order to determine the main characteristics of the deformation and hazard estimation for specified regions. Final compiled output from the seismological and geodetic analysis will throw lights upon the geodynamical regime of these seismo-active regions. This work will throw lights upon the geodynamical regime and to delineate the crustal stress and strain fields in the study region. This also enables to evaluate the active tectonics and surface deformation with their directions from repeated geodetic observations. The results show that the area under study suffers from continuous seismic activity related to the crustal movements taken place along trends of major faults

  17. The Smad3 linker region contains a transcriptional activation domain

    PubMed Central

    2004-01-01

    Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smads regulate a wide variety of biological responses through transcriptional regulation of target genes. Smad3 plays a key role in TGF-β/Smad-mediated transcriptional responses. Here, we show that the proline-rich linker region of Smad3 contains a transcriptional activation domain. When the linker region is fused to a heterologous DNA-binding domain, it activates transcription. We show that the linker region physically interacts with p300. The adenovirus E1a protein, which binds to p300, inhibits the transcriptional activity of the linker region, and overexpression of p300 can rescue the linker-mediated transcriptional activation. In contrast, an adenovirus E1a mutant, which cannot bind to p300, does not inhibit the linker-mediated transcription. The native Smad3 protein lacking the linker region is unable to mediate TGF-β transcriptional activation responses, although it can be phosphorylated by the TGF-β receptor at the C-terminal tail and has a significantly increased ability to form a heteromeric complex with Smad4. We show further that the linker region and the C-terminal domain of Smad3 synergize for transcriptional activation in the presence of TGF-β. Thus our findings uncover an important function of the Smad3 linker region in Smad-mediated transcriptional control. PMID:15588252

  18. The Smad3 linker region contains a transcriptional activation domain.

    PubMed

    Wang, Guannan; Long, Jianyin; Matsuura, Isao; He, Dongming; Liu, Fang

    2005-02-15

    Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)/Smads regulate a wide variety of biological responses through transcriptional regulation of target genes. Smad3 plays a key role in TGF-beta/Smad-mediated transcriptional responses. Here, we show that the proline-rich linker region of Smad3 contains a transcriptional activation domain. When the linker region is fused to a heterologous DNA-binding domain, it activates transcription. We show that the linker region physically interacts with p300. The adenovirus E1a protein, which binds to p300, inhibits the transcriptional activity of the linker region, and overexpression of p300 can rescue the linker-mediated transcriptional activation. In contrast, an adenovirus E1a mutant, which cannot bind to p300, does not inhibit the linker-mediated transcription. The native Smad3 protein lacking the linker region is unable to mediate TGF-beta transcriptional activation responses, although it can be phosphorylated by the TGF-beta receptor at the C-terminal tail and has a significantly increased ability to form a heteromeric complex with Smad4. We show further that the linker region and the C-terminal domain of Smad3 synergize for transcriptional activation in the presence of TGF-beta. Thus our findings uncover an important function of the Smad3 linker region in Smad-mediated transcriptional control.

  19. MAG4 versus alternative techniques for forecasting active region flare productivity.

    PubMed

    Falconer, David A; Moore, Ronald L; Barghouty, Abdulnasser F; Khazanov, Igor

    2014-05-01

    MAG4 is a technique of forecasting an active region's rate of production of major flares in the coming few days from a free magnetic energy proxy. We present a statistical method of measuring the difference in performance between MAG4 and comparable alternative techniques that forecast an active region's major-flare productivity from alternative observed aspects of the active region. We demonstrate the method by measuring the difference in performance between the "Present MAG4" technique and each of three alternative techniques, called "McIntosh Active-Region Class," "Total Magnetic Flux," and "Next MAG4." We do this by using (1) the MAG4 database of magnetograms and major flare histories of sunspot active regions, (2) the NOAA table of the major-flare productivity of each of 60 McIntosh active-region classes of sunspot active regions, and (3) five technique performance metrics (Heidke Skill Score, True Skill Score, Percent Correct, Probability of Detection, and False Alarm Rate) evaluated from 2000 random two-by-two contingency tables obtained from the databases. We find that (1) Present MAG4 far outperforms both McIntosh Active-Region Class and Total Magnetic Flux, (2) Next MAG4 significantly outperforms Present MAG4, (3) the performance of Next MAG4 is insensitive to the forward and backward temporal windows used, in the range of one to a few days, and (4) forecasting from the free-energy proxy in combination with either any broad category of McIntosh active-region classes or any Mount Wilson active-region class gives no significant performance improvement over forecasting from the free-energy proxy alone (Present MAG4). Quantitative comparison of performance of pairs of forecasting techniques Next MAG4 forecasts major flares more accurately than Present MAG4 Present MAG4 forecast outperforms McIntosh AR Class and total magnetic flux.

  20. THE COLD SHOULDER: EMISSION MEASURE DISTRIBUTIONS OF ACTIVE REGION CORES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schmelz, J. T.; Pathak, S., E-mail: jschmelz@memphis.edu

    2012-09-10

    The coronal heating mechanism for active region core loops is difficult to determine because these loops are often not resolved and cannot be studied individually. Rather, we concentrate on the 'inter-moss' areas between loop footpoints. We use observations from the Hinode EUV Imaging Spectrometer and the X-Ray Telescope to calculate the emission measure distributions of eight inter-moss areas in five different active regions. The combined data sets provide both high- and low-temperature constraints and ensure complete coverage in the temperature range appropriate for active regions. For AR 11113, the emission can be modeled with heating events that occur on timescalesmore » less than the cooling time. The loops in the core regions appear to be close to equilibrium and are consistent with steady heating. The other regions studied, however, appear to be dominated by nanoflare heating. Our results are consistent with the idea that active region age is an important parameter in determining whether steady or nanoflare heating is primarily responsible for the core emission, that is, older regions are more likely to be dominated by steady heating, while younger regions show more evidence of nanoflares.« less

  1. Operational Control Procedures for the Activated Sludge Process, Part I - Observations, Part II - Control Tests.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    West, Alfred W.

    This is the first in a series of documents developed by the National Training and Operational Technology Center describing operational control procedures for the activated sludge process used in wastewater treatment. Part I of this document deals with physical observations which should be performed during each routine control test. Part II…

  2. Solar Irradiance Variations on Active Region Time Scales

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Labonte, B. J. (Editor); Chapman, G. A. (Editor); Hudson, H. S. (Editor); Willson, R. C. (Editor)

    1984-01-01

    The variations of the total solar irradiance is an important tool for studying the Sun, thanks to the development of very precise sensors such as the ACRIM instrument on board the Solar Maximum Mission. The largest variations of the total irradiance occur on time scales of a few days are caused by solar active regions, especially sunspots. Efforts were made to describe the active region effects on total and spectral irradiance.

  3. On the comparability of knowledge transfer activities - a case study at the German Baltic Sea Coast focusing regional climate services

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meinke, Insa

    2017-06-01

    In this article the comparability of knowledge transfer activities is discussed by accounting for external impacts. It is shown that factors which are neither part of the knowledge transfer activity nor part of the participating institution may have significant impact on the potential usefulness of knowledge transfer activities. Differences in the potential usefulness are leading to different initial conditions of the knowledge transfer activities. This needs to be taken into account when comparing different knowledge transfer activities, e.g., in program evaluations. This study is focusing on regional climate services at the German Baltic Sea coast. It is based on two surveys and experiences with two identical web tools applied on two regions with different spatial coverage. The results show that comparability among science based knowledge transfer activities is strongly limited through several external impacts. The potential usefulness and thus the initial condition of a particular knowledge transfer activity strongly depends on (1) the perceived priority of the focused topic, (2) the used information channels, (3) the conformity between the research agenda of service providing institutions and information demands in the public, as well as (4) on the spatial coverage of a service. It is suggested to account for the described external impacts for evaluations of knowledge transfer activities. The results show that the comparability of knowledge transfer activities is limited and challenge the adequacy of quantitative measures in this context. Moreover, as shown in this case study, in particular regional climate services should be individually evaluated on a long term perspective, by potential user groups and/or by its real users. It is further suggested that evaluation criteria should be co-developed with these stakeholder groups.

  4. Regional Characteristics of Stress State of Main Seismic Active Faults in Mid-Northern Part of Sichuan-Yunnan Block

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weiwei, W.; Yaling, W.

    2017-12-01

    We restore the seismic source spectrums of 1012 earthquakes(2.0 ≤ ML ≤ 5.0) in the mid-northern part of Sichuan-Yunnan seismic block(26 ° N-33 ° N, 99 ° E-104 ° E),then calculate the source parameters.Based on the regional seismic tectonic background, the distribution of active faults and seismicity, the study area is divided into four statistical units (Z1 Jinshajiang and Litang fault zone, Z2 Xianshuihe fault zone, Z3 Anninghe-Zemuhe fault zone, Z4 Lijiang-Xiaojinhe fault zone). Seismic source stress drop results show the following, (1)The stress at the end of the Jinshajiang fault is low, strong earthquake activity rare.Stress-strain loading deceases gradually from northwest to southeast along Litang fault, the northwest section which is relatively locked is more likely to accumulate strain than southeast section. (2)Stress drop of Z2 is divided by Kangding, the southern section is low and northern section is high. Southern section (Kangding-Shimian) is difficult to accumulate higher strain in the short term, but in northern section (Garzê-Kangding), moderate and strong earthquakes have not filled the gaps of seismic moment release, there is still a high stress accumulation in partial section. (3)High stress-drop events were concentrated on Z3, strain accumulation of this unit is strong, and stress level is the highest, earthquake risk is high. (4)On Z4, stress drop characteristics of different magnitude earthquakes are not the same, which is related to complex tectonic setting, the specific reasons still need to be discussed deeply.The study also show that, (1)Stress drops display a systematic change with different faults and locations, high stress-drop events occurs mostly on the fault intersection area. Faults without locking condition and mainly creep, are mainly characterized by low stress drop. (2)Contrasting to what is commonly thought that "strike-slip faults are not easy to accumulate stress ", Z2 and Z3 all exhibit high stress levels, which

  5. Earth resources-regional transfer activity contracts review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bensko, J., Jr.; Daniels, J. L.; Downs, S. W., Jr.; Jones, N. L.; Morton, R. R.; Paludan, C. T.

    1977-01-01

    A regional transfer activity contracts review held by the Earth Resources Office was summarized. Contracts in the earth resources field primarily directed toward applications of satellite data and technology in solution of state and regional problems were reviewed. A summary of the progress of each contract was given in order to share experiences of researchers across a seven state region. The region included Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. Research in several earth science disciplines included forestry, limnology, water resources, land use, geology, and mathematical modeling. The use of computers for establishment of information retrieval systems was also emphasized.

  6. Neutral-Line Magnetic Shear and Enhanced Coronal Heating in Solar Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, D. A.; Moore, R. L.; Porter, J. G.; Gary, G. A.; Shimizu, T.

    1997-01-01

    By examining the magnetic structure at sites in the bright coronal interiors of active regions that are not flaring but exhibit persistent strong coronal heating, we establish some new characteristics of the magnetic origins of this heating. We have examined the magnetic structure of these sites in five active regions, each of which was well observed by both the Yohkoh SXT and the Marshall Space Flight Center Vector Magnetograph and showed strong shear in its magnetic field along part of at least one neutral line (polarity inversion). Thus, we can assess whether this form of nonpotential field structure in active regions is a characteristic of the enhanced coronal heating and vice versa. From 27 orbits' worth of Yohkoh SXT images of the five active regions, we have obtained a sample of 94 persistently bright coronal features (bright in all images from a given orbit), 40 long (greater than or approximately equals 20,000 km) neutral-line segments having strong magnetic shear throughout (shear angle greater than 45 deg), and 39 long neutral-line segments having weak magnetic shear throughout (shear angle less than 45 deg). From this sample, we find that: (1) all of our persistently bright coronal features are rooted in magnetic fields that are stronger than 150 G; (2) nearly all (95%) of these enhanced coronal features are rooted near neutral lines (closer than 10,000 km); (3) a great majority (80%) of the bright features are rooted near strong-shear portions of neutral lines; (4) a great majority (85%) of long strong-shear segments of neutral lines have persistently bright coronal features rooted near them; (5) a large minority (40%) of long weak-shear segments of neutral lines have persistently bright coronal features rooted near them; and (6) the brightness of a persistently bright Coronal feature often changes greatly over a few hours. From these results, we conclude that most persistent enhanced heating of coronal loops in active regions: (1) requires the

  7. HARPs: Tracked Active Region Patch Data Product from SDO/HMI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Turmon, M.; Hoeksema, J. T.; Sun, X.; Bobra, M.

    2012-12-01

    We describe an HMI data product consisting of tracked magnetic features on the scale of solar active regions, abbreviated HARPs (HMI Active Region Patches). The HARP data series has been helpful for subsetting individual active regions, for development of near-real-time (NRT) space weather indices for individual active regions, and for defining closed magnetic structures for computationally-intensive algorithms like vector field disambiguation. The data series builds upon the 720s cadence activity masks, which identify large-scale instantaneously-observed magnetic features. Using these masks as a starting point, large spatially-coherent structures are identified using convolution with a longitudinally-extended kernel on a spherical domain. The resulting set of identified regions is then tracked from image to image. The metric for inter-image association is area of overlap between the best current estimate of AR location, as predicted by temporally extrapolating each currently tracked object, and the set of instantaneously-observed magnetic structures. Once completed tracks have been extracted, they are made into a standardized HARP data series by finding the smallest constant-angular-velocity box, of constant width in latitude and longitude, that encompasses all appearances of the active region. This data product is currently available, in definitive and near-real-time forms, with accompanying region-strength, location, and NOAA-AR metadata, on HMI's Joint Science Operations Center (JSOC) data portal.; HARP outlines for three days (2001 February 14, 15, and 16, 00:00 TAI, flipped N-S, selected from the 12-minute cadence original data product). HARPs are shown in the same color (some colors repeated) with a thin white box surrounding each HARP. HARPs are tracked and associated from image to image. HARPs, such as the yellow one in the images above, need not be connected regions. Merges and splits, such as the light blue region, are accounted for automatically.

  8. MAG4 versus alternative techniques for forecasting active region flare productivity

    PubMed Central

    Falconer, David A; Moore, Ronald L; Barghouty, Abdulnasser F; Khazanov, Igor

    2014-01-01

    MAG4 is a technique of forecasting an active region's rate of production of major flares in the coming few days from a free magnetic energy proxy. We present a statistical method of measuring the difference in performance between MAG4 and comparable alternative techniques that forecast an active region's major-flare productivity from alternative observed aspects of the active region. We demonstrate the method by measuring the difference in performance between the “Present MAG4” technique and each of three alternative techniques, called “McIntosh Active-Region Class,” “Total Magnetic Flux,” and “Next MAG4.” We do this by using (1) the MAG4 database of magnetograms and major flare histories of sunspot active regions, (2) the NOAA table of the major-flare productivity of each of 60 McIntosh active-region classes of sunspot active regions, and (3) five technique performance metrics (Heidke Skill Score, True Skill Score, Percent Correct, Probability of Detection, and False Alarm Rate) evaluated from 2000 random two-by-two contingency tables obtained from the databases. We find that (1) Present MAG4 far outperforms both McIntosh Active-Region Class and Total Magnetic Flux, (2) Next MAG4 significantly outperforms Present MAG4, (3) the performance of Next MAG4 is insensitive to the forward and backward temporal windows used, in the range of one to a few days, and (4) forecasting from the free-energy proxy in combination with either any broad category of McIntosh active-region classes or any Mount Wilson active-region class gives no significant performance improvement over forecasting from the free-energy proxy alone (Present MAG4). Key Points Quantitative comparison of performance of pairs of forecasting techniques Next MAG4 forecasts major flares more accurately than Present MAG4 Present MAG4 forecast outperforms McIntosh AR Class and total magnetic flux PMID:26213517

  9. The Structure of Solar Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vourlidas, A.; Bastian, T. S.

    1992-05-01

    In past years, x-ray observations of solar active regions have lead to the expectation of greater brightness temperatures at radio wavelengths than those typically observed. It has been suggested that cool plasma in the corona along the line of sight attenuates radio emission via free-free absorption. If such plasma is present, it has consequences for both the microwave spectrum and its polarization properties. In order to test these ideas, high quality radio and x-ray maps are required. We present a comprehensive set of observations of a large solar active region (NOAO/USAF number 5131) made during the IAU sanctioned International Solar Month in September, 1988. The VLA was used to image the Sun in the 90, 20, 6 and 3.6 cm bands between 1--4 September. To improve the image quality we used the technique of frequency synthesis at 3.6, 6 and 20 cm. The final maps are among the best in dynamic range yet obtained. In addition to the radio maps, the data base includes images from the SMM XRP in Fe XVII, magnetograms, and Hα observations. We reconcile the x-ray and radio observations with a simple model which differs somewhat from past models. Rather than relying on a screen of cool plasma between the source and the observer, we take explicit account of the highly inhomogeneous structure of solar active regions. We briefly compare and contrast the consequences of this model with existing models.

  10. Engagement of the left extrastriate body area during body-part metaphor comprehension.

    PubMed

    Lacey, Simon; Stilla, Randall; Deshpande, Gopikrishna; Zhao, Sinan; Stephens, Careese; McCormick, Kelly; Kemmerer, David; Sathian, K

    2017-03-01

    Grounded cognition explanations of metaphor comprehension predict activation of sensorimotor cortices relevant to the metaphor's source domain. We tested this prediction for body-part metaphors using functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants heard sentences containing metaphorical or literal references to body parts, and comparable control sentences. Localizer scans identified body-part-specific motor, somatosensory and visual cortical regions. Both subject- and item-wise analyses showed that, relative to control sentences, metaphorical but not literal sentences evoked limb metaphor-specific activity in the left extrastriate body area (EBA), paralleling the EBA's known visual limb-selectivity. The EBA focus exhibited resting-state functional connectivity with ipsilateral semantic processing regions. In some of these regions, the strength of resting-state connectivity correlated with individual preference for verbal processing. Effective connectivity analyses showed that, during metaphor comprehension, activity in some semantic regions drove that in the EBA. These results provide converging evidence for grounding of metaphor processing in domain-specific sensorimotor cortical activity. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. Regional differences in rat conjunctival ion transport activities

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Dongfang; Thelin, William R.; Rogers, Troy D.; Stutts, M. Jackson; Randell, Scott H.; Grubb, Barbara R.

    2012-01-01

    Active ion transport and coupled osmotic water flow are essential to maintain ocular surface health. We investigated regional differences in the ion transport activities of the rat conjunctivas and compared these activities with those of cornea and lacrimal gland. The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 (Slc5a1), transmembrane protein 16 (Tmem16a, b, f, and g), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (Cftr), and mucin (Muc4, 5ac, and 5b) mRNA expression was characterized by RT-PCR. ENaC proteins were measured by Western blot. Prespecified regions (palpebral, fornical, and bulbar) of freshly isolated conjunctival tissues and cell cultures were studied electrophysiologically with Ussing chambers. The transepithelial electrical potential difference (PD) of the ocular surface was also measured in vivo. The effect of amiloride and UTP on the tear volume was evaluated in lacrimal gland excised rats. All selected genes were detected but with different expression patterns. We detected αENaC protein in all tissues, βENaC in palpebral and fornical conjunctiva, and γENaC in all tissues except lacrimal glands. Electrophysiological studies of conjunctival tissues and cell cultures identified functional ENaC, SLC5A1, CFTR, and TMEM16. Fornical conjunctiva exhibited the most active ion transport under basal conditions amongst conjunctival regions. PD measurements confirmed functional ENaC-mediated Na+ transport on the ocular surface. Amiloride and UTP increased tear volume in lacrimal gland excised rats. This study demonstrated that the different regions of the conjunctiva exhibited a spectrum of ion transport activities. Understanding the specific functions of distinct regions of the conjunctiva may foster a better understanding of the physiology maintaining hydration of the ocular surface. PMID:22814399

  12. Regional differences in rat conjunctival ion transport activities.

    PubMed

    Yu, Dongfang; Thelin, William R; Rogers, Troy D; Stutts, M Jackson; Randell, Scott H; Grubb, Barbara R; Boucher, Richard C

    2012-10-01

    Active ion transport and coupled osmotic water flow are essential to maintain ocular surface health. We investigated regional differences in the ion transport activities of the rat conjunctivas and compared these activities with those of cornea and lacrimal gland. The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 (Slc5a1), transmembrane protein 16 (Tmem16a, b, f, and g), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (Cftr), and mucin (Muc4, 5ac, and 5b) mRNA expression was characterized by RT-PCR. ENaC proteins were measured by Western blot. Prespecified regions (palpebral, fornical, and bulbar) of freshly isolated conjunctival tissues and cell cultures were studied electrophysiologically with Ussing chambers. The transepithelial electrical potential difference (PD) of the ocular surface was also measured in vivo. The effect of amiloride and UTP on the tear volume was evaluated in lacrimal gland excised rats. All selected genes were detected but with different expression patterns. We detected αENaC protein in all tissues, βENaC in palpebral and fornical conjunctiva, and γENaC in all tissues except lacrimal glands. Electrophysiological studies of conjunctival tissues and cell cultures identified functional ENaC, SLC5A1, CFTR, and TMEM16. Fornical conjunctiva exhibited the most active ion transport under basal conditions amongst conjunctival regions. PD measurements confirmed functional ENaC-mediated Na(+) transport on the ocular surface. Amiloride and UTP increased tear volume in lacrimal gland excised rats. This study demonstrated that the different regions of the conjunctiva exhibited a spectrum of ion transport activities. Understanding the specific functions of distinct regions of the conjunctiva may foster a better understanding of the physiology maintaining hydration of the ocular surface.

  13. Inferred flows of electric currents in solar active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ding, Y. J.; Hong, Q. F.; Hagyard, M. J.; Deloach, A. C.

    1985-01-01

    Techniques to identify sources of major current systems in active regions and their channels of flow are explored. Measured photospheric vector magnetic fields together with high resolution white light and H-alpha photographs provide the data base to derive the current systems in the photosphere and chromosphere of a solar active region. Simple mathematical constructions of active region fields and currents are used to interpret these data under the assumptions that the fields in the lower atmosphere (below 200 km) may not be force free but those in the chromosphere and higher are. The results obtained for the complex active region AR 2372 are: (1) Spots exhibiting significant spiral structure in the penumbral filaments were the source of vertical currents at the photospheric surface; (2) Magnetic neutral lines where the transverse magnetic field was strongly sheared were channels along which a strong current system flowed; (3) The inferred current systems produced a neutral sheet and oppositely-flowing currents in the area of the magnetic delta configuration that was the site of flaring.

  14. Nonpotential features observed in the magnetic field of an active region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gary, G. A.; Moore, R. L.; Hagyard, M. J.; Haisch, Bernhard M.

    1987-01-01

    A unique coordinated data set consisting of vector magnetograms, H-alpha photographs, and high-resolution ultraviolet images of a solar active region is used, together with mathematical models, to calculate potential and force-free magnetic field lines and to examine the nonpotential nature of the active region structure. It is found that the overall bipolar magnetic field of the active region had a net twist corresponding to net current of order 3 x 10 to the 12th A and average density of order 4 x 10 to the -4th A/sq m flowing antiparallel to the field. There were three regions of enhanced nonpotentiality in the interior of the active region; in one the field had a marked nonpotential twist or shear with height above the photosphere. The measured total nonpotential magnetic energy stored in the entire active region was of order 10 to the 32nd ergs, about 3 sigma above the noise level.

  15. Sports participation, physical activity, and health in the European regions.

    PubMed

    Lera-López, Fernando; Marco, Rocio

    2018-08-01

    In a context of stagnation of the level of health-enhancing physical activity in Europe, this study examines the geographical stratification of sports participation and physical activity (PA) at the regional level in 28 European countries. While previous research has focused on the national approach, this study considers the regional level across 208 European regions. Individual survey data from the Eurobarometer 80.2 is combined with a regional-level approach to the 208 regions to quantify sports participation and PA at the regional level. The results show important differences and a geographical stratification of sports participation and PA among the European regions, albeit following different patterns. In particular, a north-south gap is identified in terms of PA rates and an east-west gap is detected in terms of sports participation levels. Applying the cluster technique, a taxonomy of four different European regions is developed considering both types of indicators. Finally, the existence of sports spatial spillovers among regions is verified, obtaining a positive autocorrelation among neighbouring regions for being involved in PA and sporting activities. The results may have significant implications in terms of policy measures to improve health through PA and sports participation at the regional level in Europe.

  16. The gross energy balance of solar active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Evans, K. D.; Pye, J. P.; Hutcheon, R. J.; Gerassimenko, M.; Krieger, A. S.; Davis, J. M.; Vesecky, J. F.

    1977-01-01

    Parker's (1974) model in which sunspots denote regions of increased heat transport from the convection zone is briefly described. The amount of excess mechanically transported power supposed to be delivered to the atmosphere is estimated for a typical active region, and the total radiative power output of the active-region atmosphere is computed. It is found that only a very small fraction (about 0.001) of the sunspot 'missing flux' can be accounted for by radiative emission from the atmosphere above a spot group in the manner suggested by Parker. The power-loss mechanism associated with mass loss to the solar wind is briefly considered and shown not to be sufficient to account for the sunspot missing flux.

  17. Multi-wavelength Observations of Solar Acoustic Waves Near Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Monsue, Teresa; Pesnell, Dean; Hill, Frank

    2018-01-01

    Active region areas on the Sun are abundant with a variety of waves that are both acoustically helioseismic and magnetohydrodynamic in nature. The occurrence of a solar flare can disrupt these waves, through MHD mode-mixing or scattering by the excitation of these waves. We take a multi-wavelength observational approach to understand the source of theses waves by studying active regions where flaring activity occurs. Our approach is to search for signals within a time series of images using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm, by producing multi-frequency power map movies. We study active regions both spatially and temporally and correlate this method over multiple wavelengths using data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. By surveying the active regions on multiple wavelengths we are able to observe the behavior of these waves within the Solar atmosphere, from the photosphere up through the corona. We are able to detect enhancements of power around active regions, which could be acoustic power halos and of an MHD-wave propagating outward by the flaring event. We are in the initial stages of this study understanding the behaviors of these waves and could one day contribute to understanding the mechanism responsible for their formation; that has not yet been explained.

  18. Dissociative part-dependent resting-state activity in dissociative identity disorder: a controlled FMRI perfusion study.

    PubMed

    Schlumpf, Yolanda R; Reinders, Antje A T S; Nijenhuis, Ellert R S; Luechinger, Roger; van Osch, Matthias J P; Jäncke, Lutz

    2014-01-01

    In accordance with the Theory of Structural Dissociation of the Personality (TSDP), studies of dissociative identity disorder (DID) have documented that two prototypical dissociative subsystems of the personality, the "Emotional Part" (EP) and the "Apparently Normal Part" (ANP), have different biopsychosocial reactions to supraliminal and subliminal trauma-related cues and that these reactions cannot be mimicked by fantasy prone healthy controls nor by actors. Arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI was used to test the hypotheses that ANP and EP in DID have different perfusion patterns in response to rest instructions, and that perfusion is different in actors who were instructed to simulate ANP and EP. In a follow-up study, regional cerebral blood flow of DID patients was compared with the activation pattern of healthy non-simulating controls. Compared to EP, ANP showed elevated perfusion in bilateral thalamus. Compared to ANP, EP had increased perfusion in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, primary somatosensory cortex, and motor-related areas. Perfusion patterns for simulated ANP and EP were different. Fitting their reported role-play strategies, the actors activated brain structures involved in visual mental imagery and empathizing feelings. The follow-up study demonstrated elevated perfusion in the left temporal lobe in DID patients, whereas non-simulating healthy controls had increased activity in areas which mediate the mental construction of past and future episodic events. DID involves dissociative part-dependent resting-state differences. Compared to ANP, EP activated brain structures involved in self-referencing and sensorimotor actions more. Actors had different perfusion patterns compared to genuine ANP and EP. Comparisons of neural activity for individuals with DID and non-DID simulating controls suggest that the resting-state features of ANP and EP in DID are not due to imagination. The findings are consistent with TSDP and inconsistent with the idea

  19. Eruptions that Drive Coronal Jets in a Solar Active Region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sterling, Alphonse C.; Moore, Ronald L.; Falconer, David A.; Panesar, Navdeep K.; Akiyama, Sachiko; Yashiro, Seiji; Gopalswamy, Nat

    2016-01-01

    Solar coronal jets are common in both coronal holes and in active regions (e.g., Shibata et al. 1992, Shimojo et al. 1996, Cirtain et al. 2007. Savcheva et al. 2007). Recently, Sterling et al. (2015), using data from Hinode/XRT and SDO/AIA, found that coronal jets originating in polar coronal holes result from the eruption of small-scale filaments (minifilaments). The jet bright point (JBP) seen in X-rays and hotter EUV channels off to one side of the base of the jet's spire develops at the location where the minifilament erupts, consistent with the JBPs being miniature versions of typical solar flares that occur in the wake of large-scale filament eruptions. Here we consider whether active region coronal jets also result from the same minifilament-eruption mechanism, or whether they instead result from a different mechanism (e.g. Yokoyama & Shibata 1995). We present observations of an on-disk active region (NOAA AR 11513) that produced numerous jets on 2012 June 30, using data from SDO/AIA and HMI, and from GOES/SXI. We find that several of these active region jets also originate with eruptions of miniature filaments (size scale 20'') emanating from small-scale magnetic neutral lines of the region. This demonstrates that active region coronal jets are indeed frequently driven by minifilament eruptions. Other jets from the active region were also consistent with their drivers being minifilament eruptions, but we could not confirm this because the onsets of those jets were hidden from our view. This work was supported by funding from NASA/LWS, NASA/HGI, and Hinode. A full report of this study appears in Sterling et al. (2016).

  20. Thoughts on the development of active regional public health systems.

    PubMed

    Reis, Ademar Arthur Chioro Dos; Sóter, Ana Paula Menezes; Furtado, Lumena Almeida Castro; Pereira, Silvana Souza da Silva

    2017-04-01

    Decentralization and regionalization are strategic themes for reforms in the health system. This paper analyzes the complex process of health regionalization being developed in Brazil. This paper identifies that the normative framework from the Brazilian National Health System, SUS has made advances with respect to its institutionalization and overcoming the initial centrality involved in municipalization. This has strengthened the development of regionalization and the intergovernmental agreement on health but the evidence points to the need to promote a revision. Based on document analysis, literature review and the views given by the authors involved in management in SUS as well as generating radically different views, the challenges for the construction of a regionalization that is active, is debated. We also discuss: its relations with planning and the dimensioning of service networks, the production of active care networks and shared management spaces, the inter-federative agreements and regional regulations, the capacity to coordinate regional systems and financing and the impact of the political dimension and electoral cycles. Regionalization (and SUS itself) is an open book, therefore ways and possibilities on how to maintain an active form of regionalization can be recommended.

  1. 50 CFR 217.220 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Specified activity and specified geographical region. 217.220 Section 217.220 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Elliott Bay Seawall Project § 217.220 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a...

  2. Regional brain activity that determines successful and unsuccessful working memory formation.

    PubMed

    Teramoto, Shohei; Inaoka, Tsubasa; Ono, Yumie

    2016-08-01

    Using EEG source reconstruction with Multiple Sparse Priors (MSP), we investigated the regional brain activity that determines successful memory encoding in two participant groups of high and low accuracy rates. Eighteen healthy young adults performed a sequential fashion of visual Sternberg memory task. The 32-channel EEG was continuously measured during participants performed two 70 trials of memory task. The regional brain activity corresponding to the oscillatory EEG activity in the alpha band (8-13 Hz) during encoding period was analyzed by MSP implemented in SPM8. We divided the data of all participants into 2 groups (low- and highperformance group) and analyzed differences in regional brain activity between trials in which participants answered correctly and incorrectly within each of the group. Participants in low-performance group showed significant activity increase in the visual cortices in their successful trials compared to unsuccessful ones. On the other hand, those in high-performance group showed a significant activity increase in widely distributed cortical regions in the frontal, temporal, and parietal areas including those suggested as Baddeley's working memory model. Further comparison of activated cortical volumes and mean current source intensities within the cortical regions of Baddeley's model during memory encoding demonstrated that participants in high-performance group showed enhanced activity in the right premotor cortex, which plays an important role in maintaining visuospatial attention, compared to those in low performance group. Our results suggest that better ability in memory encoding is associated with distributed and stronger regional brain activities including the premotor cortex, possibly indicating efficient allocation of cognitive load and maintenance of attention.

  3. 50 CFR 217.170 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Specified activity and specified geographical region. 217.170 Section 217.170 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to Neptune...

  4. 50 CFR 217.170 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Specified activity and specified geographical region. 217.170 Section 217.170 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to Neptune...

  5. 50 CFR 217.170 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Specified activity and specified geographical region. 217.170 Section 217.170 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to Neptune...

  6. 50 CFR 217.170 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Specified activity and specified geographical region. 217.170 Section 217.170 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to Neptune...

  7. Active Region Moss: Doppler Shifts from Hinode/EIS Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tripathi, Durgesh; Mason, Helen E.; Klimchuk, James A.

    2012-01-01

    Studying the Doppler shifts and the temperature dependence of Doppler shifts in moss regions can help us understand the heating processes in the core of the active regions. In this paper we have used an active region observation recorded by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) onboard Hinode on 12-Dec- 2007 to measure the Doppler shifts in the moss regions. We have distinguished the moss regions from the rest of the active region by defining a low density cut-off as derived by Tripathi et al. (2010). We have carried out a very careful analysis of the EIS wavelength calibration based on the method described in Young, O Dwyer and Mason (2012). For spectral lines having maximum sensitivity between log T = 5.85 and log T = 6.25 K, we find that the velocity distribution peaks at around 0 km/s with an estimated error of 4 km/s. The width of the distribution decreases with temperature. The mean of the distribution shows a blue shift which increases with increasing temperature and the distribution also shows asymmetries towards blue-shift. Comparing these results with observables predicted from different coronal heating models, we find that these results are consistent with both steady and impulsive heating scenarios. Further observational constraints are needed to distinguish between these two heating scenarios.

  8. Chimeras of the integrin beta subunit mid-region reveal regions required for heterodimer formation and for activation.

    PubMed

    Hyland, R H; Douglass, W A; Tan, S M; Law, S K

    2001-01-01

    A central region of the beta2 integrin subunit, RN (residues D300 to C459), was replaced by the equivalent sequences from beta1 and beta7 to give the chimeras beta2RN1 and beta2RN7. Whilst the former construct failed to form heterodimer at the cell surface with alphaL, the later of these could be expressed together with the alphaL subunit to form a variant LFA-1. Based on recent modelling work, the RN region consists of two parts, one is the C-terminal end of the putative A-domain (RB, residues D300 to A359), and the other the mid-region (BN, residues Y360 to C459). Chimeras exchanging the two component regions were made. Of the four resultant chimeras, only the beta2RB1 chimera failed to support LFA-1 expression. Thus the beta1 specific residues of this region affect the interaction with the alphaL subunit. Whereas the alphaL/beta2RB7 LFA-1 variant is wildtype like with respect to ICAM-1 adhesion, the alphaLbeta2BN1 and alphaLbeta2BN7, as well as the alphaLbeta2RN7, variants are more adhesive than the wildtype. These results suggest that an authentic beta2 mid-region is, in part, required for maintaining the LFA-1 in a resting state.

  9. 50 CFR 216.250 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Specified activity and specified geographical region. 216.250 Section 216.250 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Weapon Missions in the Gulf of Mexico § 216.250 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a...

  10. Dynamic Precursors of Flares in Active Region NOAA 10486

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korsós, M. B.; Gyenge, N.; Baranyi, T.; Ludmány, A.

    2015-03-01

    Four different methods are applied here to study the precursors of flare activity in the Active Region NOAA 10486. Two approaches track the temporal behaviour of suitably chosen features (one, the weighted hori- zontal gradient W G M , is the generalized form of the horizontal gradient of the magnetic field, G M ; the other is the sum of the horizontal gradient of the magnetic field, G S , for all sunspot pairs). W G M is a photospheric indicator, that is a proxy measure of magnetic non-potentiality of a specific area of the active region, i.e., it captures the temporal variation of the weighted horizontal gradient of magnetic flux summed up for the region where opposite magnetic polarities are highly mixed. The third one, referred to as the separateness parameter, S l- f , considers the overall morphology. Further, G S and S l- f are photospheric, newly defined quick-look indicators of the polarity mix of the entire active region. The fourth method is tracking the temporal variation of small X-ray flares, their times of succession and their energies observed by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager instrument. All approaches yield specific pre-cursory signatures for the imminence of flares.

  11. THE FORMATION OF AN INVERSE S-SHAPED ACTIVE-REGION FILAMENT DRIVEN BY SUNSPOT MOTION AND MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yan, X. L.; Xue, Z. K.; Wang, J. C.

    2016-11-20

    We present a detailed study of the formation of an inverse S-shaped filament prior to its eruption in active region NOAA 11884 from 2013 October 31 to November 2. In the initial stage, clockwise rotation of a small positive sunspot around the main negative trailing sunspot formed a curved filament. Then the small sunspot cancelled with the negative magnetic flux to create a longer active-region filament with an inverse S-shape. At the cancellation site a brightening was observed in UV and EUV images and bright material was transferred to the filament. Later the filament erupted after cancellation of two oppositemore » polarities below the upper part of the filament. Nonlinear force-free field extrapolation of vector photospheric fields suggests that the filament may have a twisted structure, but this cannot be confirmed from the current observations.« less

  12. The Role of Small-Scale Processes in Solar Active Region Decay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meyer, Karen; Mackay, Duncan

    2017-08-01

    Active regions are locations of intense magnetic activity on the Sun, whose evolution can result in highly energetic eruptive phenomena such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Therefore, fast and accurate simulation of their evolution and decay is essential in the prediction of Space Weather events. In this talk we present initial results from our new model for the photospheric evolution of active region magnetic fields. Observations show that small-scale processes appear to play a role in the dispersal and decay of solar active regions, for example through cancellation at the boundary of sunspot outflows and erosion of flux by surrounding convective cells. Our active region model is coupled to our existing model for the evolution of small-scale photospheric magnetic features. Focusing first on the active region decay phase, we consider the evolution of its magnetic field due to both large-scale (e.g. differential rotation) and small-scale processes, such as its interaction with surrounding small-scale magnetic features and convective flows.This project is funded by The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, through their Research Incentives Grant scheme.

  13. Active geodynamics of the Caucasus/Caspian region educed from GPS, and seismic Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gadirov (Kadirov), Fakhraddin; Floyd, Michael; Reilinger, Robert; Alizadeh, Akif; Guliyev, Ibrahim; Mammadov, Samir; Safarov, Rafig

    2017-04-01

    The geodynamic and earthquake activity in the Caucasus/Caspian region is due to the ongoing collision of the Arabian plate with Eurasia. The Caucasus and Caspian Sea are historically among the most seismically active regions on earth. These earthquakes have caused thousands of deaths and great economic distress. Future earthquakes in the Caucasus and Caspian Sea must be considered and planned for in order to limit their impact on the people, ecology, and infrastructure of the region. Within this plate tectonics context, we examine deformation of the Caucasus region and show that most crustal shortening in the collision zone is accommodated by the Greater Caucasus Fold-and-Thrust Belt (GCFTB) along the southern edge of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The eastern GCFTB appears to bifurcate west of Baku, with one branch following the accurate geometry of the Greater Caucasus, turning towards the south and traversing the Neftchala Peninsula. A second branch may extend directly into the Caspian Sea south of Baku, likely connecting to the Central Caspian Seismic Zone. We model deformation in terms of a locked thrust fault that coincides in general with the main surface trace of the GCFTB. We consider two end-member models, each of which tests the likelihood of one or other of the branches being the dominant cause of observed deformation. Our models indicate that strain is actively accumulating on the fault along the 200 km segment of the fault west of Baku (approximately between longitudes 47-49°E). Parts of this segment of the fault broke in major earthquakes historically (1191, 1859, 1902) suggesting that significant future earthquakes (M 6-7) are likely on the central and western segment of the fault. We observe a similar deformation pattern across the eastern end of the GCFTB along a profile crossing the Kura Depression and Greater Caucasus Mountains in the vicinity of Baku. Along this eastern segment, a branch of the fault changes from a NW-SE striking thrust to an

  14. Asia Section. Regional Activities Division. Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Federation of Library Associations, The Hague (Netherlands).

    Two papers on library and information activities in developing nations, particularly in India and other Asian countries, were presented at the 1983 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference. In "IFLA in Asia: A Review of the Work of the Regional Section for Asia," Edward Lim Huck Tee (Malaysia) describes the low…

  15. Aggressive rat prostate tumors reprogram the benign parts of the prostate and regional lymph nodes prior to metastasis

    PubMed Central

    Thysell, Elin; Halin Bergström, Sofia; Bergh, Anders

    2017-01-01

    In order to grow and spread tumors need to interact with adjacent tissues. We therefore hypothesized that small but aggressive prostate cancers influence the rest of the prostate and regional lymph nodes differently than tumors that are more indolent. Poorly metastatic (Dunning AT1) or highly metastatic (Dunning MLL) rat prostate tumor cells were injected into the ventral prostate lobe of immunocompetent rats. After 10 days—when the tumors occupied about 30% of the prostate lobe and lymph node metastases were undetectable—the global gene expression in tumors, benign parts of the prostate, and regional iliac lymph nodes were examined to define tumor-induced changes related to preparation for future metastasis. The tumors induced profound effects on the gene expression profiles in the benign parts of the prostate and these were strikingly different in the two tumor models. Gene ontology enrichment analysis suggested that tumors with high metastatic capacity were more successful than less metastatic tumors in inducing tumor-promoting changes and suppressing anti-tumor immune responses in the entire prostate. Some of these differences such as altered angiogenesis, nerve density, accumulation of T-cells and macrophages were verified by immunohistochemistry. Gene expression alterations in the regional lymph nodes suggested decreased quantity and activation of immune cells in MLL-lymph nodes that were also verified by immunostaining. In summary, even when small highly metastatic prostate tumors can affect the entire tumor-bearing organ and pre-metastatic lymph nodes differently than less metastatic tumors. When the kinetics of these extratumoral influences (by us named TINT = tumor instructed normal tissue) are more precisely defined they could potentially be used as markers of disease aggressiveness and become therapeutic targets. PMID:28472073

  16. Exoplanet Transits of Stellar Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giampapa, Mark S.; Andretta, Vincenzo; Covino, Elvira; Reiners, Ansgar; Esposito, Massimiliano

    2018-01-01

    We report preliminary results of a program to obtain high spectral- and temporal-resolution observations of the neutral helium triplet line at 1083.0 nm in transiting exoplanet systems. The principal objective of our program is to gain insight on the properties of active regions, analogous to solar plages, on late-type dwarfs by essentially using exoplanet transits as high spatial resolution probes of the stellar surface within the transit chord. The 1083 nm helium line is a particularly appropriate diagnostic of magnetized areas since it is weak in the quiet photosphere of solar-type stars but appears strongly in absorption in active regions. Therefore, during an exoplanet transit over the stellar surface, variations in its absorption equivalent width can arise that are functions of the intrinsic strength of the feature in the active region and the known relative size of the exoplanet. We utilized the Galileo Telescope and the GIANO-B near-IR echelle spectrograph to obtain 1083 nm spectra during transits in bright, well-known systems that include HD 189733, HD 209458, and HD 147506 (HAT-P-2). We also obtained simultaneous auxiliary data on the same telescope with the HARPS-N UV-Visible echelle spectrograph. We will present preliminary results from our analysis of the observed variability of the strength of the He I 1083 nm line during transits.Acknowledgements: Based on observations made with the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) operated on the island of La Palma by the Fundación Galileo Galilei of the INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica) at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. The NSO is operated by AURA under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.

  17. Evidence for magnetic energy storage in coronal active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Krieger, A. S.; De Feiter, L. D.; Vaiana, G. S.

    1976-01-01

    Examination of X-ray images obtained by the S-054 X-ray spectrographic telescope on Skylab shows the presence of some atypical X-ray-emitting coronal structures in active regions which are not consistent with potential extrapolations of photospheric magnetic fields. Analysis of the observed temporal changes in the X-ray-emitting active-region structures demonstrates that the majority of these consist of brightness changes representing temperature (and perhaps density) variations of the material in the loops.

  18. Photospheric Magnetic Diffusion by Measuring Moments of Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Engell, Alexander; Longcope, D.

    2013-07-01

    Photospheric magnetic surface diffusion is an important constraint for the solar dynamo. The HMI Active Region Patches (HARPs) program automatically identify all magnetic regions above a certain flux. In our study we measure the moments of ARs that are no longer actively emerging and can thereby give us good statistical constraints on photospheric diffusion. We also present the diffusion properties as a function of latitude, flux density, and single polarity (leading or following) within each HARP.

  19. Extreme Trust Region Policy Optimization for Active Object Recognition.

    PubMed

    Liu, Huaping; Wu, Yupei; Sun, Fuchun; Huaping Liu; Yupei Wu; Fuchun Sun; Sun, Fuchun; Liu, Huaping; Wu, Yupei

    2018-06-01

    In this brief, we develop a deep reinforcement learning method to actively recognize objects by choosing a sequence of actions for an active camera that helps to discriminate between the objects. The method is realized using trust region policy optimization, in which the policy is realized by an extreme learning machine and, therefore, leads to efficient optimization algorithm. The experimental results on the publicly available data set show the advantages of the developed extreme trust region optimization method.

  20. Flare rates and the McIntosh active-region classifications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bornmann, P. L.; Shaw, D.

    1994-01-01

    Multiple linear regression analysis was used to derive the effective solar flare contributions of each of the McIntosh classification parameters. The best fits to the combined average number of M- and X-class X-ray flares per day were found when the flare contributions were assumed to be multiplicative rather than additive. This suggests that nonlinear processes may amplify the effects of the following different active-region properties encoded in the McIntosh classifications: the length of the sunspot group, the size and shape of the largest spot, and the distribution of spots within the group. Since many of these active-region properties are correlated with magnetic field strengths and fluxes, we suggest that the derived correlations reflect a more fundamental relationship between flare production and the magnetic properties of the region. The derived flare contributions for the individual McIntosh parameters can be used to derive a flare rate for each of the three-parameter McIntosh classes. These derived flare rates can be interpreted as smoothed values that may provide better estimates of an active region's expected flare rate when rare classes are reported or when the multiple observing sites report slightly different classifications.

  1. 3D Modelling of Seismically Active Parts of Underground Faults via Seismic Data Mining

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frantzeskakis, Theofanis; Konstantaras, Anthony

    2015-04-01

    During the last few years rapid steps have been taken towards drilling for oil in the western Mediterranean sea. Since most of the countries in the region benefit mainly from tourism and considering that the Mediterranean is a closed sea only replenishing its water once every ninety years careful measures are being taken to ensure safe drilling. In that concept this research work attempts to derive a three dimensional model of the seismically active parts of the underlying underground faults in areas of petroleum interest. For that purpose seismic spatio-temporal clustering has been applied to seismic data to identify potential distinct seismic regions in the area of interest. Results have been coalesced with two dimensional maps of underground faults from past surveys and seismic epicentres, having followed careful reallocation processing, have been used to provide information regarding the vertical extent of multiple underground faults in the region of interest. The end product is a three dimensional map of the possible underground location and extent of the seismically active parts of underground faults. Indexing terms: underground faults modelling, seismic data mining, 3D visualisation, active seismic source mapping, seismic hazard evaluation, dangerous phenomena modelling Acknowledgment This research work is supported by the ESPA Operational Programme, Education and Life Long Learning, Students Practical Placement Initiative. References [1] Alves, T.M., Kokinou, E. and Zodiatis, G.: 'A three-step model to assess shoreline and offshore susceptibility to oil spills: The South Aegean (Crete) as an analogue for confined marine basins', Marine Pollution Bulletin, In Press, 2014 [2] Ciappa, A., Costabile, S.: 'Oil spill hazard assessment using a reverse trajectory method for the Egadi marine protected area (Central Mediterranean Sea)', Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 84 (1-2), pp. 44-55, 2014 [3] Ganas, A., Karastathis, V., Moshou, A., Valkaniotis, S., Mouzakiotis

  2. Synchronous fire activity in the tropical high Andes: an indication of regional climate forcing.

    PubMed

    Román-Cuesta, R M; Carmona-Moreno, C; Lizcano, G; New, M; Silman, M; Knoke, T; Malhi, Y; Oliveras, I; Asbjornsen, H; Vuille, M

    2014-06-01

    Global climate models suggest enhanced warming of the tropical mid and upper troposphere, with larger temperature rise rates at higher elevations. Changes in fire activity are amongst the most significant ecological consequences of rising temperatures and changing hydrological properties in mountainous ecosystems, and there is a global evidence of increased fire activity with elevation. Whilst fire research has become popular in the tropical lowlands, much less is known of the tropical high Andean region (>2000 masl, from Colombia to Bolivia). This study examines fire trends in the high Andes for three ecosystems, the Puna, the Paramo and the Yungas, for the period 1982-2006. We pose three questions: (i) is there an increased fire response with elevation? (ii) does the El Niño- Southern Oscillation control fire activity in this region? (iii) are the observed fire trends human driven (e.g., human practices and their effects on fuel build-up) or climate driven? We did not find evidence of increased fire activity with elevation but, instead, a quasicyclic and synchronous fire response in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, suggesting the influence of high-frequency climate forcing on fire responses on a subcontinental scale, in the high Andes. ENSO variability did not show a significant relation to fire activity for these three countries, partly because ENSO variability did not significantly relate to precipitation extremes, although it strongly did to temperature extremes. Whilst ENSO did not individually lead the observed regional fire trends, our results suggest a climate influence on fire activity, mainly through a sawtooth pattern of precipitation (increased rainfall before fire-peak seasons (t-1) followed by drought spells and unusual low temperatures (t0), which is particularly common where fire is carried by low fuel loads (e.g., grasslands and fine fuel). This climatic sawtooth appeared as the main driver of fire trends, above local human influences and fuel build

  3. Using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data for Hazard Estimation in Some Active Regions in Egypt

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sayed Mohamed, Abdel-Monem

    2016-07-01

    Egypt rapidly growing development is accompanied by increasing levels of standard living particular in its urban areas. However, there is a limited experience in quantifying the sources of risk management in Egypt and in designing efficient strategies to keep away serious impacts of earthquakes. From the historical point of view and recent instrumental records, there are some seismo-active regions in Egypt, where some significant earthquakes had occurred in different places. The special tectonic features in Egypt: Aswan, Greater Cairo, Red Sea and Sinai Peninsula regions are the territories of a high seismic risk, which have to be monitored by up-to date technologies. The investigations of the seismic events and interpretations led to evaluate the seismic hazard for disaster prevention and for the safety of the dense populated regions and the vital national projects as the High Dam. In addition to the monitoring of the recent crustal movements, the most powerful technique of satellite geodesy GNSS are used where geodetic networks are covering such seismo-active regions. The results from the data sets are compared and combined in order to determine the main characteristics of the deformation and hazard estimation for specified regions. The final compiled output from the seismological and geodetic analysis threw lights upon the geodynamical regime of these seismo-active regions and put Aswan and Greater Cairo under the lowest class according to horizontal crustal strains classifications. This work will serve a basis for the development of so-called catastrophic models and can be further used for catastrophic risk management. Also, this work is trying to evaluate risk of large catastrophic losses within the important regions including the High Dam, strategic buildings and archeological sites. Studies on possible scenarios of earthquakes and losses are a critical issue for decision making in insurance as a part of mitigation measures.

  4. Characteristics, location and origin of flare activity in a complex active region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Machado, M. E.; Gary, G. A.; Hagyard, M. J.; Hernandez, A. M.; Rovira, M. G.

    1986-01-01

    The observational characteristics of series of multiple-loop flares from a complex active region are summarized. The location of the highest observed photospheric magnetic shear is found to be the commonly observed site of flare onset, but not, in many cases, the magnetic region where the largest time-integrated energy release is observed. The observations thus reveal a consistent pattern of energy-release processes related to the magnetic-field topology.

  5. DIVERGENT HORIZONTAL SUB-SURFACE FLOWS WITHIN ACTIVE REGION 11158

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jain, Kiran; Tripathy, S. C.; Hill, F., E-mail: kjain@nso.edu, E-mail: stripathy@nso.edu, E-mail: fhill@nso.edu

    We measure the horizontal subsurface flow in a fast emerging active region (AR; NOAA 11158) using the ring-diagram technique and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager high spatial resolution Dopplergrams. This AR had a complex magnetic structure and displayed significant changes in morphology during its disk passage. Over a period of six days from 2011 February 11 to 16, the temporal variation in the magnitude of the total velocity is found to follow the trend of magnetic field strength. We further analyze regions of individual magnetic polarity within AR 11158 and find that the horizontal velocity components in these sub-regions havemore » significant variation with time and depth. The leading and trailing polarity regions move faster than the mixed-polarity region. Furthermore, both zonal and meridional components have opposite signs for trailing and leading polarity regions at all depths showing divergent flows within the AR. We also find a sharp decrease in the magnitude of total horizontal velocity in deeper layers around major flares. It is suggested that the re-organization of magnetic fields during flares, combined with the sunspot rotation, decreases the magnitude of horizontal flows or that the flow kinetic energy has been converted into the energy released by flares. After the decline in flare activity and sunspot rotation, the flows tend to follow the pattern of magnetic activity. We also observe less variation in the velocity components near the surface but these tend to increase with depth, further demonstrating that the deeper layers are more affected by the topology of ARs.« less

  6. Does High Plasma-β Dynamics ``Load'' Active Regions?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McIntosh, Scott W.

    2007-03-01

    Using long-duration observations in the He II 304 Å passband of SOHO EIT, we investigate the spatial and temporal appearance of impulsive intensity fluctuations in the pixel light curves. These passband intensity fluctuations come from plasma emitting in the chromosphere, in the transition region, and in the lowest portions of the corona. We see that they are spatially tied to the supergranular scale and that their rate of occurrence is tied to the unsigned imbalance of the magnetic field in which they are observed. The signature of the fluctuations (in space and time) is consistent with their creation by magnetoconvection-forced reconnection, which is driven by the flow field in the high-β plasma. The signature of the intensity fluctuations around an active region suggests that the bulk of the mass and energy going into the active region complex observed in the hotter coronal plasma is supplied by this process, dynamically forcing the looped structure from beneath.

  7. The Solomon Sea eddy activity from a 1/36° regional model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Djath, Bughsin; Babonneix, Antoine; Gourdeau, Lionel; Marin, Frédéric; Verron, Jacques

    2013-04-01

    In the South West Pacific, the Solomon Sea exhibits the highest levels of eddy kinetic energy but relatively little is known about the eddy activity in this region. This Sea is directly influenced by a monsoonal regime and ENSO variability, and occupies a strategical location as the Western Boundary Currents exiting it are known to feed the warm pool and to be the principal sources of the Equatorial UnderCurrent. During their transit in the Solomon Sea, meso-scale eddies are suspected to notably interact and influence these water masses. The goal of this study is to give an exhaustive description of this eddy activity. A dual approach, based both on altimetric data and high resolution modeling, has then been chosen for this purpose. First, an algorithm is applied on nearly 20 years of 1/3° x 1/3° gridded SLA maps (provided by the AVISO project). This allows eddies to be automatically detected and tracked, thus providing some basic eddy properties. The preliminary results show that two main and distinct types of eddies are detected. Eddies in the north-eastern part shows a variability associated with the mean structure, while those in the southern part are associated with generation/propagation processes. However, the resolution of the AVISO dataset is not very well suited to observe fine structures and to match with the numerous islands bordering the Solomon Sea. For this reason, we will confront these observations with the outputs of a 1/36° resolution realistic model of the Solomon Sea. The high resolution numerical model (1/36°) indeed permits to reproduce very fine scale features, such as eddies and filaments. The model is two-way embedded in a 1/12° regional model which is itself one-way embedded in the DRAKKAR 1/12° global model. The NEMO code is used as well as the AGRIF software for model nestings. Validation is realized by comparison with AVISO observations and available in situ data. In preparing the future wide-swath altimetric SWOT mission that is

  8. Coronal Jets from Minifilament Eruptions in Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sterling, A. C.; Martinez, F.; Falconer, D. A.; Moore, R. L.

    2016-12-01

    Solar coronal jets are transient (frequently of lifetime 10 min) features that shoot out from near the solar surface, become much longer than their width, and occur in all solar regions, including coronal holes, quiet Sun, and active regions (e.g., Shimojo et al. 1996, Certain et al. 2007). Sterling et al. (2015) and other studies found that in coronal holes and in quiet Sun the jets result when small-scale filaments, called ``minifilaments,'' erupt onto nearby open or high-reaching field lines. Additional studies found that coronal-jet-onset locations (and hence presumably the minifilament-eruption-onset locations) coincided with locations of magnetic-flux cancellation. For active region (AR) jets however the situation is less clear. Sterling et al. (2016) studied jets in one active region over a 24-hour period; they found that some AR jets indeed resulted from minifilament eruptions, usually originating from locations of episodes of magnetic-flux cancelation. In some cases however they could not determine whether flux was emerging or canceling at the polarity inversion line from which the minifilament erupted; and for other jets of that region minifilaments were not conclusively apparent prior to jet occurrence. Here we further study AR jets, by observing them in a single AR over a one-week period, using X-ray images from Hinode/XRT and EUV/UV images from SDO/AIA, and line-of-sight magnetograms and white-light intensity-grams from SDO/HMI. We initially identified 13 prominent jets in the XRT data, and examined corresponding AIA and HMI data. For at least several of the jets, our findings are consistent with the jets resulting from minifilament eruptions, and originating from sights of magnetic-field cancelation. Thus our findings support that, at least in many cases, AR coronal jets result from the same physical processes that produce coronal jets in quiet-Sun and coronal-hole regions. FM was supportedby the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at

  9. Coronal Jets from Minifilament Eruptions in Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Martinez, Francisco; Sterling, Alphonse C.; Falconer, David A.; Moore, Ronald L.

    2016-01-01

    Solar coronal jets are transient (frequently of lifetime approx.10 min) features that shoot out from near the solar surface, become much longer than their width, and occur in all solar regions, including coronal holes, quiet Sun, and active regions (e.g., Shimojo et al. 1996, Cirtain et al. 2007). Sterling et al. (2015) and other studies found that in coronal holes and in quiet Sun the jets result when small-scale filaments, called "minifilaments" erupt onto nearby open or high-reaching field lines. Additional studies found that coronal-jet-onset locations (and hence presumably the minifilament-eruption-onset locations) coincided with locations of magnetic-flux cancelation. For active region (AR) jets however the situation is less clear. Sterling et al. (2016) studied jets in one active region over a 24-hour period; they found that some AR jets indeed resulted from minifilament eruptions, usually originating from locations of episodes of magnetic-flux cancelation. In some cases however they could not determine whether flux was emerging or canceling at the polarity inversion line from which the minifilament erupted, and for other jets of that region minifilaments were not conclusively apparent prior to jet occurrence. Here we further study AR jets, by observing them in a single AR over a one-week period, using X-ray images from Hinode/XRT and EUV/UV images from SDO/AIA, and line-of-sight magnetograms and white-light intensity-grams from SDO/HMI. We initially identified 13 prominent jets in the XRT data, and examined corresponding AIA and HMI data. For at least several of the jets, our findings are consistent with the jets resulting from minifilament eruptions, and originating from sites of magnetic-field cancelation.

  10. 12 CFR Appendix I to Part 27 - Monthly Home Loan Activity Format

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Monthly Home Loan Activity Format I Appendix I to Part 27 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FAIR HOUSING HOME LOAN DATA SYSTEM Pt. 27, App. I Appendix I to Part 27—Monthly Home Loan Activity Format EC22SE91...

  11. 12 CFR Appendix I to Part 27 - Monthly Home Loan Activity Format

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Monthly Home Loan Activity Format I Appendix I to Part 27 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FAIR HOUSING HOME LOAN DATA SYSTEM Pt. 27, App. I Appendix I to Part 27—Monthly Home Loan Activity Format EC22SE91...

  12. 12 CFR Appendix I to Part 27 - Monthly Home Loan Activity Format

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Monthly Home Loan Activity Format I Appendix I to Part 27 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FAIR HOUSING HOME LOAN DATA SYSTEM Pt. 27, App. I Appendix I to Part 27—Monthly Home Loan Activity Format EC22SE91...

  13. 12 CFR Appendix I to Part 27 - Monthly Home Loan Activity Format

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Monthly Home Loan Activity Format I Appendix I to Part 27 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FAIR HOUSING HOME LOAN DATA SYSTEM Pt. 27, App. I Appendix I to Part 27—Monthly Home Loan Activity Format EC22SE91...

  14. 12 CFR Appendix I to Part 27 - Monthly Home Loan Activity Format

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Monthly Home Loan Activity Format I Appendix I to Part 27 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FAIR HOUSING HOME LOAN DATA SYSTEM Pt. 27, App. I Appendix I to Part 27—Monthly Home Loan Activity Format EC22SE91...

  15. RSV Hospitalizations in Comparison With Regional RSV Activity and Inpatient Palivizumab Administration, 2010-2013.

    PubMed

    Glick, Alexander F; Kjelleren, Stephanie; Hofstetter, Annika M; Subramony, Anupama

    2017-05-01

    To compare pediatric respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalizations in the United States to regional RSV activity and inpatient palivizumab administration. We characterized inpatients, excluding newborns, with RSV from the Pediatric Health Information System (July 2010-June 2013). RSV regional activity timing was defined by the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System. RSV hospitalization season (defined by at least 3 SDs more than the mean regional baseline number of RSV hospitalizations for 3 consecutive weeks) was compared with RSV regional activity season (2 consecutive weeks with ≥10% RSV-positive testing). Logistic regression was used to determine predictors of hospitalization timing (ie, during or outside of regional activity season). We also assessed the timing of inpatient palivizumab administration. There were 50 157 RSV hospitalizations. Mean RSV hospitalization season onset (early November) was 3.3 (SD 2.1) weeks before regional activity season onset (early December). Hospitalization season offset (early May) was 4.4 (SD 2.4) weeks after activity season offset (mid-April). RSV hospitalization and activity seasons lasted 18 to 32 and 13 to 23 weeks, respectively. Nearly 10% of hospitalizations occurred outside of regional activity season (regional ranges: 5.6%-22.4%). Children with chronic conditions were more likely to be hospitalized after regional activity season, whereas African American children were more likely to be hospitalized before. Inpatient palivizumab dosing was typically initiated before the start of RSV hospitalizations. There is regional variation in RSV hospitalization and activity patterns. Many RSV hospitalizations occur before regional activity season; high-risk infants may require RSV immunoprophylaxis sooner. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  16. Long-term active-layer dynamics: results of 22 years of field observations in Northern Hemisphere permafrost regions.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shiklomanov, N. I.; Nelson, F. E.; Streletskiy, D. A.; Klene, A. E.; Biskaborn, B. K.

    2016-12-01

    The uppermost layer of seasonal thawing above permafrost (the active layer) is an important regulator of energy and mass fluxes between the surface and the atmosphere in the polar regions. Active layer monitoring is an important component of efforts to assess the effects of global change in permafrost environments. The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program, established in the early 1990s, is designed to observe temporal and spatial variability of the active layer and its response to changes and variations in climatic conditions. The CALM network is an integral part of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P), operating under the auspices of the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) /Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). Standardized thaw depth observations in the Northern Hemisphere are available for more than 200 GTN-P/CALM sites in the Northern Hemisphere. At each of the sites spatially distributed ALT measurements have been conducted annually by mechanical probing. The locations of sites represent generalized surface and subsurface conditions characteristic of broader regions. The data are assimilated and distributed though the CALM (www.gwu.edu/ calm) and GTN-P (gtnpdatabase.org) online databases. In this presentation we use data from approximately 20 years of continuous observations to examine temporal trends in active-layer thickness for several representative Arctic regions. Results indicate substantial interannual fluctuations in active-layer thickness, primarily in response to variations in air temperature. Decadal trends in ALT vary by region. A progressive increase in ALT has been observed in the Nordic countries, the Russian European North, West Siberia, East Siberia, the Russian Far East, and the Interior of Alaska. North American Arctic sites show no apparent thaw depth trend over 22-years of record. However, combined active layer, ground temperature and heave/subsidence observations conducted in northern Alaska

  17. An EEG Finger-Print of fMRI deep regional activation.

    PubMed

    Meir-Hasson, Yehudit; Kinreich, Sivan; Podlipsky, Ilana; Hendler, Talma; Intrator, Nathan

    2014-11-15

    This work introduces a general framework for producing an EEG Finger-Print (EFP) which can be used to predict specific brain activity as measured by fMRI at a given deep region. This new approach allows for improved EEG spatial resolution based on simultaneous fMRI activity measurements. Advanced signal processing and machine learning methods were applied on EEG data acquired simultaneously with fMRI during relaxation training guided by on-line continuous feedback on changing alpha/theta EEG measure. We focused on demonstrating improved EEG prediction of activation in sub-cortical regions such as the amygdala. Our analysis shows that a ridge regression model that is based on time/frequency representation of EEG data from a single electrode, can predict the amygdala related activity significantly better than a traditional theta/alpha activity sampled from the best electrode and about 1/3 of the times, significantly better than a linear combination of frequencies with a pre-defined delay. The far-reaching goal of our approach is to be able to reduce the need for fMRI scanning for probing specific sub-cortical regions such as the amygdala as the basis for brain-training procedures. On the other hand, activity in those regions can be characterized with higher temporal resolution than is obtained by fMRI alone thus revealing additional information about their processing mode. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. THz quantum cascade lasers with wafer bonded active regions.

    PubMed

    Brandstetter, M; Deutsch, C; Benz, A; Cole, G D; Detz, H; Andrews, A M; Schrenk, W; Strasser, G; Unterrainer, K

    2012-10-08

    We demonstrate terahertz quantum-cascade lasers with a 30 μm thick double-metal waveguide, which are fabricated by stacking two 15 μm thick active regions using a wafer bonding process. By increasing the active region thickness more optical power is generated inside the cavity, the waveguide losses are decreased and the far-field is improved due to a larger facet aperture. In this way the output power is increased by significantly more than a factor of 2 without reducing the maximum operating temperature and without increasing the threshold current.

  19. Waste production and regional growth of marine activities an econometric model.

    PubMed

    Bramati, Maria Caterina

    2016-11-15

    Coastal regions are characterized by intense human activity and climatic pressures, often intensified by competing interests in the use of marine waters. To assess the effect of public spending on the regional economy, an econometric model is here proposed. Not only are the regional investment and the climatic risks included in the model, but also variables related to the anthropogenic pressure, such as population, economic activities and waste production. Feedback effects of economic and demographic expansion on the pollution of coastal areas are also considered. It is found that dangerous waste increases with growing shipping and transportation activities and with growing population density in non-touristic coastal areas. On the other hand, the amount of non-dangerous wastes increases with marine mining, defense and offshore energy production activities. However, lower waste production occurs in areas where aquaculture and touristic industry are more exploited, and accompanied by increasing regional investment in waste disposal. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Vesta Partly Shadowed Northern Regions

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2012-06-01

    This image from NASA Dawn spacecraft shows a part of asteroid Vesta surface reasonably far north into the northern hemisphere which appears washed out because it has been stretched to make features visible that would otherwise be too dark to see.

  1. Intensity attenuation for active crustal regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allen, Trevor I.; Wald, David J.; Worden, C. Bruce

    2012-07-01

    We develop globally applicable macroseismic intensity prediction equations (IPEs) for earthquakes of moment magnitude M W 5.0-7.9 and intensities of degree II and greater for distances less than 300 km for active crustal regions. The IPEs are developed for two distance metrics: closest distance to rupture ( R rup) and hypocentral distance ( R hyp). The key objective for developing the model based on hypocentral distance—in addition to more rigorous and standard measure R rup—is to provide an IPE which can be used in near real-time earthquake response systems for earthquakes anywhere in the world, where information regarding the rupture dimensions of a fault may not be known in the immediate aftermath of the event. We observe that our models, particularly the model for the R rup distance metric, generally have low median residuals with magnitude and distance. In particular, we address whether the direct use of IPEs leads to a reduction in overall uncertainties when compared with methods which use a combination of ground-motion prediction equations and ground motion to intensity conversion equations. Finally, using topographic gradient as a proxy and median model predictions, we derive intensity-based site amplification factors. These factors lead to a small reduction of residuals at shallow gradients at strong shaking levels. However, the overall effect on total median residuals is relatively small. This is in part due to the observation that the median site condition for intensity observations used to develop these IPEs is approximately near the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program CD site-class boundary.

  2. FIP BIAS EVOLUTION IN A DECAYING ACTIVE REGION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Baker, D.; Yardley, S. L.; Driel-Gesztelyi, L. van

    Solar coronal plasma composition is typically characterized by first ionization potential (FIP) bias. Using spectra obtained by Hinode’s EUV Imaging Spectrometer instrument, we present a series of large-scale, spatially resolved composition maps of active region (AR)11389. The composition maps show how FIP bias evolves within the decaying AR during the period 2012 January 4–6. Globally, FIP bias decreases throughout the AR. We analyzed areas of significant plasma composition changes within the decaying AR and found that small-scale evolution in the photospheric magnetic field is closely linked to the FIP bias evolution observed in the corona. During the AR’s decay phase,more » small bipoles emerging within supergranular cells reconnect with the pre-existing AR field, creating a pathway along which photospheric and coronal plasmas can mix. The mixing timescales are shorter than those of plasma enrichment processes. Eruptive activity also results in shifting the FIP bias closer to photospheric in the affected areas. Finally, the FIP bias still remains dominantly coronal only in a part of the AR’s high-flux density core. We conclude that in the decay phase of an AR’s lifetime, the FIP bias is becoming increasingly modulated by episodes of small-scale flux emergence, i.e., decreasing the AR’s overall FIP bias. Our results show that magnetic field evolution plays an important role in compositional changes during AR development, revealing a more complex relationship than expected from previous well-known Skylab results showing that FIP bias increases almost linearly with age in young ARs.« less

  3. REGIONAL-SCALE (1000 KM) MODEL OF PHOTOCHEMICAL AIR POLLUTION. PART 2. INPUT PROCESSOR NETWORK DESIGN

    EPA Science Inventory

    Detailed specifications are given for a network of data processors and submodels that can generate the parameter fields required by the regional oxidant model formulated in Part 1 of this report. Operations performed by the processor network include simulation of the motion and d...

  4. Real-Time CME Forecasting Using HMI Active-Region Magnetograms and Flare History

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, David; Moore, Ron; Barghouty, Abdulnasser F.; Khazanov, Igor

    2011-01-01

    We have recently developed a method of predicting an active region s probability of producing a CME, an X-class Flare, an M-class Flare, or a Solar Energetic Particle Event from a free-energy proxy measured from SOHO/MDI line-of-sight magnetograms. This year we have added three major improvements to our forecast tool: 1) Transition from MDI magnetogram to SDO/HMI magnetogram allowing us near-real-time forecasts, 2) Automation of acquisition and measurement of HMI magnetograms giving us near-real-time forecasts (no older than 2 hours), and 3) Determination of how to improve forecast by using the active region s previous flare history in combination with its free-energy proxy. HMI was turned on in May 2010 and MDI was turned off in April 2011. Using the overlap period, we have calibrated HMI to yield what MDI would measure. This is important since the value of the free-energy proxy used for our forecast is resolution dependent, and the forecasts are made from results of a 1996-2004 database of MDI observations. With near-real-time magnetograms from HMI, near-real-time forecasts are now possible. We have augmented the code so that it continually acquires and measures new magnetograms as they become available online, and updates the whole-sun forecast from the coming day. The next planned improvement is to use an active region s previous flare history, in conjunction with its free-energy proxy, to forecast the active region s event rate. It has long been known that active regions that have produced flares in the past are likely to produce flares in the future, and that active regions that are nonpotential (have large free-energy) are more likely to produce flares in the future. This year we have determined that persistence of flaring is not just a reflection of an active region s free energy. In other words, after controlling for free energy, we have found that active regions that have flared recently are more likely to flare in the future.

  5. 50 CFR 216.240 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Active Sonar Training (AFAST) § 216.240 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a... Navy is only authorized if it occurs incidental to the use of the following mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS) sources, high frequency active sonar (HFAS) sources, explosive sonobuoys, or similar sources, for...

  6. 50 CFR 216.240 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Active Sonar Training (AFAST) § 216.240 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a... Navy is only authorized if it occurs incidental to the use of the following mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS) sources, high frequency active sonar (HFAS) sources, explosive sonobuoys, or similar sources, for...

  7. Photospheric electric current and transition region brightness within an active region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Deloach, A. C.; Hagyard, M. J.; Rabin, D.; Moore, R. L.; Smith, B. J., Jr.; West, E. A.; Tandberg-Hanssen, E.

    1984-01-01

    Distributions of vertical electrical current density J(z) calculated from vector measurements of the photospheric magnetic field are compared with ultraviolet spectroheliograms to investigate whether resistive heating is an important source of enhanced emission in the transition region. The photospheric magnetic fields in Active Region 2372 were measured on April 6 and 7, 1980 with the Marshall Space Flight Center vector magnetograph; ultraviolet wavelength spectroheliograms (L-alpha and N V 1239 A) were obtained with the UV Spectrometer and Polarimeter experiment aboard the Solar Maximum Mission satellite. Spatial registration of the J(z) (5 arcsec resolution) and UV (3 arcsec resolution) maps indicates that the maximum current density is cospatial with a minor but persistent UV enhancement, but there is little detected current associated with other nearby bright areas. It is concluded that, although resistive heating may be important in the transition region, the currents responsible for the heating are largely unresolved in the present measurements and have no simple correlation with the residual current measured on 5-arcsec scales.

  8. Relative ability of fat and sugar tastes to activate reward, gustatory, and somatosensory regions.

    PubMed

    Stice, Eric; Burger, Kyle S; Yokum, Sonja

    2013-12-01

    Although the intake of high-fat and high-sugar food activates mesolimbic reward, gustatory, and oral somatosensory brain regions, contributing to overeating, few studies have examined the relative role of fat and sugar in the activation of these brain regions, which would inform policy, prevention, and treatment interventions designed to reduce obesity. We evaluated the effect of a high-fat or high-sugar equicaloric chocolate milkshake and increasing fat or sugar milkshake content on the activation of these regions. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess the neural response to the intake of high-fat/high-sugar, high-fat/low-sugar, low-fat/high-sugar, and low-fat/low-sugar chocolate milkshakes and a tasteless solution in 106 lean adolescents (mean ± SD age = 15.00 ± 0.88 y). Analyses contrasted the activation to the various milkshakes. High-fat compared with high-sugar equicaloric milkshakes caused greater activation in the bilateral caudate, postcentral gyrus, hippocampus, and inferior frontal gyrus. High-sugar compared with high-fat equicaloric milkshakes caused greater activation in the bilateral insula extending into the putamen, the Rolandic operculum, and thalamus, which produced large activation regions. Increasing sugar in low-fat milkshakes caused greater activation in the bilateral insula and Rolandic operculum; increasing fat content did not elicit greater activation in any region. Fat caused greater activation of the caudate and oral somatosensory regions than did sugar, sugar caused greater activation in the putamen and gustatory regions than did fat, increasing sugar caused greater activity in gustatory regions, and increasing fat did not affect the activation. Results imply that sugar more effectively recruits reward and gustatory regions, suggesting that policy, prevention, and treatment interventions should prioritize reductions in sugar intake. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as DK092468.

  9. Socioeconomic and regional differences in active transportation in Brazil

    PubMed Central

    de Sá, Thiago Hérick; Pereira, Rafael Henrique Moraes; Duran, Ana Clara; Monteiro, Carlos Augusto

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To present national estimates regarding walking or cycling for commuting in Brazil and in 10 metropolitan regions. METHODS By using data from the Health section of 2008’s Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio (Brazil’s National Household Sample Survey), we estimated how often employed people walk or cycle to work, disaggregating our results by sex, age range, education level, household monthly income per capita, urban or rural address, metropolitan regions, and macro-regions in Brazil. Furthermore, we estimated the distribution of this same frequency according to quintiles of household monthly income per capita in each metropolitan region of the country. RESULTS A third of the employed men and women walk or cycle from home to work in Brazil. For both sexes, this share decreases as income and education levels rise, and it is higher among younger individuals, especially among those living in rural areas and in the Northeast region of the country. Depending on the metropolitan region, the practice of active transportation is two to five times more frequent among low-income individuals than among high-income individuals. CONCLUSIONS Walking or cycling to work in Brazil is most frequent among low-income individuals and the ones living in less economically developed areas. Active transportation evaluation in Brazil provides important information for public health and urban mobility policy-making PMID:27355465

  10. Earthquake Activity in the North Greenland Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larsen, Tine B.; Dahl-Jensen, Trine; Voss, Peter H.

    2017-04-01

    Many local and regional earthquakes are recorded on a daily basis in northern Greenland. The majority of the earthquakes originate at the Arctic plate boundary between the Eurasian and the North American plates. Particularly active regions away from the plate boundary are found in NE Greenland and in northern Baffin Bay. The seismograph coverage in the region is sparse with the main seismograph stations located at the military outpost, Stations Nord (NOR), the weather station outpost Danmarkshavn (DAG), Thule Airbase (TULEG), and the former ice core drilling camp (NEEM) in the middle of the Greenland ice sheet. Furthermore, data is available from Alert (ALE), Resolute (RES), and other seismographs in northern Canada as well as from a temporary deployment of BroadBand seismographs along the north coast of Greenland from 2004 to 2007. The recorded earthquakes range in magnitude from less than 2 to a 4.8 event, the largest in NE Greenland, and a 5.7 event, the largest recorded in northern Baffin Bay. The larger events are recorded widely in the region allowing for focal mechanisms to be calculated. Only a few existing focal mechanisms for the region can be found in the ISC bulletin. Two in NE Greenland representing primarily normal faulting and one in Baffin Bay resulting from reverse faulting. New calculations of focal mechanisms for the region will be presented as well as improved hypocenters resulting from analysis involving temporary stations and regional stations that are not included in routine processing.

  11. IFLA General Conference, 1985. Division on Regional Activities. Papers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Federation of Library Associations, The Hague (Netherlands).

    Papers on regional library activities which were presented at the 1985 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference include: (1) "Importance of Information Resources in National Development with Particular Reference to the Asian Scene" (Yogendra P. Dubey, India); (2) "Report of the Activities of the Regional…

  12. Male and female voices activate distinct regions in the male brain.

    PubMed

    Sokhi, Dilraj S; Hunter, Michael D; Wilkinson, Iain D; Woodruff, Peter W R

    2005-09-01

    In schizophrenia, auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are likely to be perceived as gender-specific. Given that functional neuro-imaging correlates of AVHs involve multiple brain regions principally including auditory cortex, it is likely that those brain regions responsible for attribution of gender to speech are invoked during AVHs. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a paradigm utilising 'gender-apparent' (unaltered) and 'gender-ambiguous' (pitch-scaled) male and female voice stimuli to test the hypothesis that male and female voices activate distinct brain areas during gender attribution. The perception of female voices, when compared with male voices, affected greater activation of the right anterior superior temporal gyrus, near the superior temporal sulcus. Similarly, male voice perception activated the mesio-parietal precuneus area. These different gender associations could not be explained by either simple pitch perception or behavioural response because the activations that we observed were conjointly activated by both 'gender-apparent' and 'gender-ambiguous' voices. The results of this study demonstrate that, in the male brain, the perception of male and female voices activates distinct brain regions.

  13. Carnosine: effect on aging-induced increase in brain regional monoamine oxidase-A activity.

    PubMed

    Banerjee, Soumyabrata; Poddar, Mrinal K

    2015-03-01

    Aging is a natural biological process associated with several neurological disorders along with the biochemical changes in brain. Aim of the present investigation is to study the effect of carnosine (0.5-2.5μg/kg/day, i.t. for 21 consecutive days) on aging-induced changes in brain regional (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and pons-medulla) mitochondrial monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) activity with its kinetic parameters. The results of the present study are: (1) The brain regional mitochondrial MAO-A activity and their kinetic parameters (except in Km of pons-medulla) were significantly increased with the increase of age (4-24 months), (2) Aging-induced increase of brain regional MAO-A activity including its Vmax were attenuated with higher dosages of carnosine (1.0-2.5μg/kg/day) and restored toward the activity that observed in young, though its lower dosage (0.5μg/kg/day) were ineffective in these brain regional MAO-A activity, (3) Carnosine at higher dosage in young rats, unlike aged rats significantly inhibited all the brain regional MAO-A activity by reducing their only Vmax excepting cerebral cortex, where Km was also significantly enhanced. These results suggest that carnosine attenuated the aging-induced increase of brain regional MAO-A activity by attenuating its kinetic parameters and restored toward the results of MAO-A activity that observed in corresponding brain regions of young rats. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

  14. A Survey of Nanoflare Properties in Solar Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Viall, N. M.; Klimchuk, J. A.

    2013-12-01

    We investigate coronal heating using a systematic technique to analyze the properties of nanoflares in active regions (AR). Our technique computes cooling times, or time-lags, on a pixel-by-pixel basis using data taken with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Our technique has the advantage that it allows us to analyze all of the coronal AR emission, including the so-called diffuse emission. We recently presented results using this time-lag analysis on NOAA AR 11082 (Viall & Klimchuk 2012) and found that the majority of the pixels contained cooling plasma along their line of sight, consistent with impulsive coronal nanoflare heating. Additionally, our results showed that the nanoflare energy is stronger in the AR core and weaker in the active region periphery. Are these results representative of the nanoflare properties exhibited in the majority of ARs, or is AR 11082 unique? Here we present the time-lag results for a survey of ARs and show that these nanoflare patterns are born out in other active regions, for a range of ages, magnetic complexity, and total unsigned magnetic flux. Other aspects of the nanoflare properties, however, turn out to be dependent on certain AR characteristics.

  15. Acetylcholine activity in selective striatal regions supports behavioral flexibility.

    PubMed

    Ragozzino, Michael E; Mohler, Eric G; Prior, Margaret; Palencia, Carlos A; Rozman, Suzanne

    2009-01-01

    Daily living often requires individuals to flexibly respond to new circumstances. There is considerable evidence that the striatum is part of a larger neural network that supports flexible adaptations. Cholinergic interneurons are situated to strongly influence striatal output patterns which may enable flexible adaptations. The present experiments investigated whether acetylcholine actions in different striatal regions support behavioral flexibility by measuring acetylcholine efflux during place reversal learning. Acetylcholine efflux selectively increased in the dorsomedial striatum, but not dorsolateral or ventromedial striatum during place reversal learning. In order to modulate the M2-class of autoreceptors, administration of oxotremorine sesquifumurate (100 nM) into the dorsomedial striatum, concomitantly impaired reversal learning and an increase in acetylcholine output. These effects were reversed by the m(2) muscarinic receptor antagonist, AF-DX-116 (20 nM). The effects of oxotremorine sesquifumurate and AF-DX-116 on acetylcholine efflux were selective to behaviorally-induced changes as neither treatment affected acetylcholine output in a resting condition. In contrast to reversal learning, acetylcholine efflux in the dorsomedial striatum did not change during place acquisition. The results reveal an essential role for cholinergic activity and define its locus of control to the dorsomedial striatum in cognitive flexibility.

  16. Derivation of a regional active-optical reflectance sensor corn algorithm

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Active-optical reflectance sensor (AORS) algorithms developed for in-season corn (Zea mays L.) N management have traditionally been derived using sub-regional scale information. However, studies have shown these previously developed AORS algorithms are not consistently accurate when used on a region...

  17. Drought offset ecological restoration program-induced increase in vegetation activity in the Beijing-Tianjin Sand Source Region, China.

    PubMed

    Wu, Zhitao; Wu, Jianjun; He, Bin; Liu, Jinghui; Wang, Qianfeng; Zhang, Hong; Liu, Yong

    2014-10-21

    To improve the ecological conditions, the Chinese government adopted six large-scale ecological restoration programs including 'Three-North Shelterbelt Project', "Grain for Green Project" and "Beijing-Tianjin Sand Source Control Project". Meanwhile, these ecologically vulnerable areas have experienced frequent droughts. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of drought on the effectiveness of these programs. Taking Beijing-Tianjin Sand Source Region (BTSSR) as study area, we investigated the role of droughts and ecological restoration program on trends of vegetation activities and to address the question of a possible "drought signal" in assessing effectiveness of ecological restoration program. The results demonstrate the following: (1) Vegetation activity increased in the BTSSR during 2000-2010, with 58.44% of the study area showing an increased NDVI, of which 11.80% had a significant increase at 0.95 confidential level. The decreasing NDVI trends were mainly concentrated in a southwest-to-northeast strip in the study area. (2) Drought was the main driving force for a decreasing trend of vegetation activity in the southwest-to-northeast regions of the BTSSR at the regional and spatial scales. Summer droughts in 2007 and 2009 contributed to the decreasing trend in NDVI. The severe and extreme droughts in summer reduced the NDVI by approximately 13.06% and 23.55%, respectively. (3) The residual analysis result showed that human activities, particularly the ecological restoration programs, have a positive impact on vegetation change. Hence, the decreasing trends in the southwest-to-northeast regions of the BTSSR cannot be explained by the improper ecological restoration program and is partly explained by droughts, especially summer droughts. Therefore, drought offset the ecological restoration program-induced increase in vegetation activity in the BTSSR.

  18. 50 CFR 216.211 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... and gas structure removal activities in areas within state and Federal waters in the U.S. Gulf of.... Gulf of Mexico § 216.211 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this...

  19. Regional brain activation/deactivation during word generation in schizophrenia: fMRI study.

    PubMed

    John, John P; Halahalli, Harsha N; Vasudev, Mandapati K; Jayakumar, Peruvumba N; Jain, Sanjeev

    2011-03-01

    Examination of the brain regions that show aberrant activations and/or deactivations during semantic word generation could pave the way for a better understanding of the neurobiology of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. To examine the pattern of functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen level dependent activations and deactivations during semantic word generation in schizophrenia. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 24 participants with schizophrenia and 24 matched healthy controls during an overt, paced, 'semantic category word generation' condition and a baseline 'word repetition' condition that modelled all the lead-in/associated processes involved in the performance of the generation task. The brain regions activated during word generation in healthy individuals were replicated with minimal redundancies in participants with schizophrenia. The individuals with schizophrenia showed additional activations of temporo-parieto-occipital cortical regions as well as subcortical regions, despite significantly poorer behavioural performance than the healthy participants. Importantly, the extensive deactivations in other brain regions during word generation in healthy individuals could not be replicated in those with schizophrenia. More widespread activations and deficient deactivations in the poorly performing participants with schizophrenia may reflect an inability to inhibit competing cognitive processes, which in turn could constitute the core information-processing deficit underlying impaired word generation in schizophrenia.

  20. 50 CFR 216.211 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Specified activity and specified... Activities Conducted During Offshore Structure Removal Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico § 216.211 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this...

  1. 50 CFR 216.211 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Specified activity and specified... Activities Conducted During Offshore Structure Removal Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico § 216.211 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this...

  2. The Effect of "Rogue" Active Regions on the Solar Cycle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nagy, Melinda; Lemerle, Alexandre; Labonville, François; Petrovay, Kristóf; Charbonneau, Paul

    2017-11-01

    The origin of cycle-to-cycle variations in solar activity is currently the focus of much interest. It has recently been pointed out that large individual active regions with atypical properties can have a significant impact on the long-term behavior of solar activity. We investigate this possibility in more detail using a recently developed 2×2D dynamo model of the solar magnetic cycle. We find that even a single "rogue" bipolar magnetic region (BMR) in the simulations can have a major effect on the further development of solar activity cycles, boosting or suppressing the amplitude of subsequent cycles. In extreme cases, an individual BMR can completely halt the dynamo, triggering a grand minimum. Rogue BMRs also have the potential to induce significant hemispheric asymmetries in the solar cycle. To study the effect of rogue BMRs in a more systematic manner, a series of dynamo simulations were conducted, in which a large test BMR was manually introduced in the model at various phases of cycles of different amplitudes. BMRs emerging in the rising phase of a cycle can modify the amplitude of the ongoing cycle, while BMRs emerging in later phases will only affect subsequent cycles. In this model, the strongest effect on the subsequent cycle occurs when the rogue BMR emerges around cycle maximum at low latitudes, but the BMR does not need to be strictly cross-equatorial. Active regions emerging as far as 20° from the equator can still have a significant effect. We demonstrate that the combined effect of the magnetic flux, tilt angle, and polarity separation of the BMR on the dynamo is via their contribution to the dipole moment, δ D_{BMR}. Our results indicate that prediction of the amplitude, starting epoch, and duration of a cycle requires an accurate accounting of a broad range of active regions emerging in the previous cycle.

  3. 50 CFR 217.200 - Specified activities and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Specified activities and specified geographical region. 217.200 Section 217.200 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the incidental taking of those marine...

  4. 50 CFR 216.110 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... geographical region. 216.110 Section 216.110 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Displays at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA § 216.110 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the incidental taking of those marine mammal...

  5. 50 CFR 217.11 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... geographical region. 217.11 Section 217.11 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Coastal Commercial Fireworks Displays at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA § 217.11 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the Monterey Bay...

  6. 50 CFR 217.200 - Specified activities and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Specified activities and specified geographical region. 217.200 Section 217.200 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the incidental taking of those marine...

  7. 50 CFR 217.11 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... geographical region. 217.11 Section 217.11 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Coastal Commercial Fireworks Displays at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA § 217.11 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the Monterey Bay...

  8. 50 CFR 217.11 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... geographical region. 217.11 Section 217.11 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... Coastal Commercial Fireworks Displays at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA § 217.11 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the Monterey Bay...

  9. 50 CFR 217.200 - Specified activities and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Specified activities and specified geographical region. 217.200 Section 217.200 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the incidental taking of those marine...

  10. 50 CFR 217.200 - Specified activities and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Specified activities and specified geographical region. 217.200 Section 217.200 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the incidental taking of those marine...

  11. 50 CFR 217.200 - Specified activities and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Specified activities and specified geographical region. 217.200 Section 217.200 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the incidental taking of those marine...

  12. Three Year Work Plan (2007--10) of the IUHPE Northern Part of the Western Pacific Region.

    PubMed

    Nakahara, Toshitaka

    2008-09-01

    The article presents the work plan of the Vice President for the Northern Part of the Western Pacific Region of the IUHPE. The highlights of the plan include, firstly, the organization of the First Asia-Pacific Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education, which will take place in July 2009. Secondly, the plan proposes the establishment of a liaison office and an Internet journal to facilitate collaboration among individuals, groups and organizations working in health promotion and education in this culturally and linguistically diverse region.

  13. Regional differences in hyoid muscle activity and length-dynamics during mammalian head-shaking

    PubMed Central

    Wentzel, Sarah E.; Konow, Nicolai; German, Rebecca Z.

    2010-01-01

    The sternohyoid (SH) and geniohyoid (GH) are antagonist strap-muscles that are active during a number of different behaviors, including sucking, intraoral transport, swallowing, breathing, and extension/flexion of the neck. Because these muscles have served different functions through the evolutionary history of vertebrates, it is quite likely they will have complex patterns of electrical activity and muscle fiber contraction. Different regions of the sternohyoid exhibit different contraction and activity patterns during a swallow. We examined the dynamics of the sternohyoid and geniohyoid muscles during an unrestrained, and vigorous head-shake behavior in an animal model of human head, neck and hyolingual movement. A gentle touch to infant pig ears elicited a head shake of several head revolutions. Using sonomicrometry and intramuscular EMG we measured regional (within) muscle strain and activity in SH and GH. We found that EMG was consistent across three regions (anterior, belly and posterior) of each muscle. Changes in muscle length however, were more complex. In the SH, mid-belly length-change occurred out of phase with the anterior and posterior end-regions, but with a zero-lag timing; the anterior region shortened prior to the posterior. In the GH, the anterior region shortened prior to, and out of phase with the mid-belly and posterior regions. Head-shaking is a relatively simple reflex behavior, yet the underlying patterns of muscle length-dynamics and EMG activity are not. The regional complexity in SH and GH, similar to regionalization of SH during swallowing, suggests that these ‘simple hyoid strap muscles’ are more complex than textbooks often suggest. PMID:21370479

  14. Magnetic helicity in emerging solar active regions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, Y.; Hoeksema, J. T.; Bobra, M.

    Using vector magnetic field data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we study magnetic helicity injection into the corona in emerging active regions (ARs) and examine the hemispheric helicity rule. In every region studied, photospheric shearing motion contributes most of the helicity accumulated in the corona. In a sample of 28 emerging ARs, 17 follow the hemisphere rule (61% ± 18% at a 95% confidence interval). Magnetic helicity and twist in 25 ARs (89% ± 11%) have the same sign. The maximum magnetic twist, which depends on the size of an AR, is inferredmore » in a sample of 23 emerging ARs with a bipolar magnetic field configuration.« less

  15. 49 CFR Appendix B to Part 21 - Activities to Which This Part Applies When a Primary Objective of the Federal Financial...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Primary Objective of the Federal Financial Assistance Is To Provide Employment B Appendix B to Part 21... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION-EFFECTUATION OF TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 Pt. 21, App. B Appendix B to Part 21—Activities to Which This Part Applies When a Primary Objective of the Federal Financial...

  16. Universities and Economic Development Activities: A UK Regional Comparison

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Decter, Moira; Cave, Frank; Rose, Mary; Peers, Gill; Fogg, Helen; Smith, Susan M.

    2011-01-01

    A number of UK universities prioritize economic development or regeneration activities and for some of these universities such activities are the main focus of their knowledge transfer work. This study compares two regions of the UK--the North West and the South East of England--which have very different levels of economic performance.…

  17. An overview of dry-wet climate variability among monsoon-westerly regions and the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qian, Weihong; Ding, Ting; Hu, Haoran; Lin, Xiang; Qin, Aimin

    2009-07-01

    Climate in mainland China can be divided into the monsoon region in the southeast and the westerly region in the northwest as well as the intercross zone, i.e., the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone that is oriented from Southwest China to the upper Yellow River, North China, and Northeast China. In the three regions, dry-wet climate changes are directly linked to the interaction of the southerly monsoon flow on the east side of the Tibetan Plateau and the westerly flow on the north side of the Plateau from the inter-annual to inter-decadal timescales. Some basic features of climate variability in the three regions for the last half century and the historical hundreds of years are reviewed in this paper. In the last half century, an increasing trend of summer precipitation associated with the enhancing westerly flow is found in the westerly region from Xinjiang to northern parts of North China and Northeast China. On the other hand, an increasing trend of summer precipitation along the Yangtze River and a decreasing trend of summer precipitation along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone are associated with the weakening monsoon flow in East Asia. Historical documents are widely distributed in the monsoon region for hundreds of years and natural climate proxies are constructed in the non-monsoon region, while two types of climate proxies can be commonly found over the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone. In the monsoon region, dry-wet variation centers are altered among North China, the lower Yangtze River, and South China from one century to another. Dry or wet anomalies are firstly observed along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone and shifted southward or southeastward to the Yangtze River valley and South China in about a 70-year timescale. Severe drought events are experienced along the monsoon northernmost marginal active zone during the last 5 centuries. Inter-decadal dry-wet variations are depicted by natural proxies for the

  18. Block-induced Complex Structures Building the Flare-productive Solar Active Region 12673

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Shuhong; Zhang, Jun; Zhu, Xiaoshuai

    Solar active region (AR) 12673 produced 4 X-class, 27 M-class, and numerous lower-class flares during its passage across the visible solar disk in 2017 September. Our study is to answer the questions why this AR was so flare-productive and how the X9.3 flare, the largest one of the past decade, took place. We find that there was a sunspot in the initial several days, and then two bipolar regions emerged nearby it successively. Due to the standing of the pre-existing sunspot, the movement of the bipoles was blocked, while the pre-existing sunspot maintained its quasi-circular shaped umbra only with themore » disappearance of a part of penumbra. Thus, the bipolar patches were significantly distorted, and the opposite polarities formed two semi-circular shaped structures. After that, two sequences of new bipolar regions emerged within the narrow semi-circular zone, and the bipolar patches separated along the curved channel. The new bipoles sheared and interacted with the previous ones, forming a complex topological system, during which numerous flares occurred. At the highly sheared region, a great deal of free energy was accumulated. On September 6, one negative patch near the polarity inversion line began to rapidly rotate and shear with the surrounding positive fields, and consequently the X9.3 flare erupted. Our results reveal that the block-induced complex structures built the flare-productive AR and the X9.3 flare was triggered by an erupting filament due to the kink instability. To better illustrate this process, a block-induced eruption model is proposed for the first time.« less

  19. Active region flows

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foukal, Peter

    1987-01-01

    A wide range of observations has shown that active region phenomena in the photospheric, chromospheric and coronal temperature regimes are dynamical in nature. At the photosphere, recent observations of full line profiles place an upper limit of about + or - 20/msec on any downflows at supergranule cell edges. Observations of the full Stokes 5 profiles in the network show no evidence for downflows in magnetic flux tubes. In the area of chromospheric dynamics, several models were put forward recently to reproduce the observed behavior of spicules. However, it is pointed out that these adiabatic models do not include the powerful radiative dissipation which tend to damp out the large amplitude disturbances that produce the spicular acceleration in the models. In the corona, loop flows along field lines clearly transport mass and energy at rates important for the dynamics of these structures. However, advances in understanding the heating and mass balance of the loop structures seem to require new kinds of observations. Some results are presented using a remote sensing diagnostic of the intensity and orientation of macroscopic plasma electric fields predicted by models of reconnective heating and also wave heating.

  20. The Atlantic Canada-New England Region and Environment. A Learning Activity Packet.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maine Univ., Orono. New England - Atlantic Provinces - Quebec Center.

    In this Learning Activity Packet (LAP) students examine the geographic and ecological bases of the Eastern international region. The overall objective of activities is to help students comprehend the man-earth relationship concept. By studying this familiar relevant region students gain geographic knowledge and skills applicable to other areas.…

  1. Preliminary results of local earthquake tomography around Bali, Lombok, and Sumbawa regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nugraha, Andri Dian; Kusnandar, Ridwan; Puspito, Nanang T.; Sakti, Artadi Pria; Yudistira, Tedi

    2015-04-01

    Bali, Sumbawa, and Lombok regions are located in active tectonic influence by Indo-Australia plate subducts beneath Sunda plate in southern part and local back-arc thrust in northern part the region. Some active volcanoes also lie from eastern part of Java, Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa regions. Previous studies have conducted subsurface seismic velocity imaging using regional and global earthquake data around the region. In this study, we used P-arrival time from local earthquake networks compiled by MCGA, Indonesia within time periods of 2009 up to 2013 to determine seismic velocity structure and simultaneously hypocenter adjustment by applying seismic tomography inversion method. For the tomographic inversion procedure, we started from 1-D initial velocity structure. We evaluated the resolution of tomography inversion results through checkerboard test and calculating derivative weigh sum. The preliminary results of tomography inversion show fairly clearly high seismic velocity subducting Indo-Australian and low velocity anomaly around volcano regions. The relocated hypocenters seem to cluster around the local fault system such as back-arc thrust fault in northern part of the region and around local fault in Sumbawa regions. Our local earthquake tomography results demonstrated consistent with previous studies and improved the resolution. For future works, we will determine S-wave velocity structure using S-wave arrival time to enhance our understanding of geological processes and for much better interpretation.

  2. Preliminary results of local earthquake tomography around Bali, Lombok, and Sumbawa regions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nugraha, Andri Dian, E-mail: nugraha@gf.itb.ac.id; Puspito, Nanang T; Yudistira, Tedi

    Bali, Sumbawa, and Lombok regions are located in active tectonic influence by Indo-Australia plate subducts beneath Sunda plate in southern part and local back-arc thrust in northern part the region. Some active volcanoes also lie from eastern part of Java, Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa regions. Previous studies have conducted subsurface seismic velocity imaging using regional and global earthquake data around the region. In this study, we used P-arrival time from local earthquake networks compiled by MCGA, Indonesia within time periods of 2009 up to 2013 to determine seismic velocity structure and simultaneously hypocenter adjustment by applying seismic tomography inversion method.more » For the tomographic inversion procedure, we started from 1-D initial velocity structure. We evaluated the resolution of tomography inversion results through checkerboard test and calculating derivative weigh sum. The preliminary results of tomography inversion show fairly clearly high seismic velocity subducting Indo-Australian and low velocity anomaly around volcano regions. The relocated hypocenters seem to cluster around the local fault system such as back-arc thrust fault in northern part of the region and around local fault in Sumbawa regions. Our local earthquake tomography results demonstrated consistent with previous studies and improved the resolution. For future works, we will determine S-wave velocity structure using S-wave arrival time to enhance our understanding of geological processes and for much better interpretation.« less

  3. The Current Driven Kink Instability and its Relationship to Delta-Spot Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Linton, Mark George

    The current driven kink instability may be the cause of both the unusual morphology of solar δ-spot active regions and the tendency of these regions to be significantly more flare active than most active regions. We investigate the current driven kink instability of flux tubes in the solar interior both with a linear stability analysis and with nonlinear MHD simulations. The linear analysis shows that there is a critical twist, which depends on the axial magnetic field profile, that a flux tube needs to become kink unstable. This critical twist decreases as the tube expands, so twisted flux tubes will become increasingly unstable as they rise through the convection zone. The nonlinear simulations show that a twisted tube excited by a single unstable kink mode will evolve to a helical equilibrium state. The emergence through the photosphere of such a kinked tube would create an active region which was tilted with respect to Hale's law and which would rotate as it evolved, as δ-spots are observed to do. We then find that, when excited by multiple unstable kink modes, highly twisted flux tubes develop concentrated kinks. These concentrated kinks would produce more of the observed characteristics of δ-spot active regions. They would create active regions which, in addition to emerging tilted and then rotating, would remain compact as they evolved, and develop strong shear along their magnetic neutral line. Finally, we find that a strong concentrated kink develops a current sheet at which the magnetic field reconnects, which may be the cause of the high flare activity of δ-spots.

  4. 24 CFR 964.315 - HAs role in activities under this part.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false HAs role in activities under this... URBAN DEVELOPMENT TENANT PARTICIPATION AND TENANT OPPORTUNITIES IN PUBLIC HOUSING Family Investment Centers (FIC) Program § 964.315 HAs role in activities under this part. The HAs shall develop a process...

  5. 24 CFR 964.315 - HAs role in activities under this part.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false HAs role in activities under this... URBAN DEVELOPMENT TENANT PARTICIPATION AND TENANT OPPORTUNITIES IN PUBLIC HOUSING Family Investment Centers (FIC) Program § 964.315 HAs role in activities under this part. The HAs shall develop a process...

  6. 24 CFR 964.315 - HAs role in activities under this part.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false HAs role in activities under this... URBAN DEVELOPMENT TENANT PARTICIPATION AND TENANT OPPORTUNITIES IN PUBLIC HOUSING Family Investment Centers (FIC) Program § 964.315 HAs role in activities under this part. The HAs shall develop a process...

  7. 24 CFR 964.315 - HAs role in activities under this part.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false HAs role in activities under this... URBAN DEVELOPMENT TENANT PARTICIPATION AND TENANT OPPORTUNITIES IN PUBLIC HOUSING Family Investment Centers (FIC) Program § 964.315 HAs role in activities under this part. The HAs shall develop a process...

  8. 24 CFR 964.315 - HAs role in activities under this part.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false HAs role in activities under this... URBAN DEVELOPMENT TENANT PARTICIPATION AND TENANT OPPORTUNITIES IN PUBLIC HOUSING Family Investment Centers (FIC) Program § 964.315 HAs role in activities under this part. The HAs shall develop a process...

  9. Bioactive components, antioxidant and DNA damage inhibitory activities of honeys from arid regions.

    PubMed

    Habib, Hosam M; Al Meqbali, Fatima T; Kamal, Hina; Souka, Usama D; Ibrahim, Wissam H

    2014-06-15

    Honey serves as a good source of natural antioxidants, which are effective in reducing the risk of occurrence of several diseases. This study was undertaken to address the limited knowledge regarding the polyphenolic content, antioxidant and DNA damage inhibitory activities of honeys produced in arid regions and compare them with well-recognized honeys from non-arid regions. Different types of honey were assessed for their contents of total phenolics, total flavonoids, and certain types of phenolic compounds. The antioxidant capacity of honey was evaluated by ferric-reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP), free radical-scavenging activity (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO) radical-scavenging assay, total antioxidant activity, and DNA damage. Results clearly showed significant differences among honeys with all the evaluated parameters. Results also showed that one or more types of honey from arid regions contained higher levels of phenolic compounds, free radical-scavenging activities, or DNA damage inhibitory activities compared with the evaluated honeys from non-arid regions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. The N-terminal Part of Arabidopsis thaliana Starch Synthase 4 Determines the Localization and Activity of the Enzyme.

    PubMed

    Raynaud, Sandy; Ragel, Paula; Rojas, Tomás; Mérida, Ángel

    2016-05-13

    Starch synthase 4 (SS4) plays a specific role in starch synthesis because it controls the number of starch granules synthesized in the chloroplast and is involved in the initiation of the starch granule. We showed previously that SS4 interacts with fibrillins 1 and is associated with plastoglobules, suborganelle compartments physically attached to the thylakoid membrane in chloroplasts. Both SS4 localization and its interaction with fibrillins 1 were mediated by the N-terminal part of SS4. Here we show that the coiled-coil region within the N-terminal portion of SS4 is involved in both processes. Elimination of this region prevents SS4 from binding to fibrillins 1 and alters SS4 localization in the chloroplast. We also show that SS4 forms dimers, which depends on a region located between the coiled-coil region and the glycosyltransferase domain of SS4. This region is highly conserved between all SS4 enzymes sequenced to date. We show that the dimerization seems to be necessary for the activity of the enzyme. Both dimerization and the functionality of the coiled-coil region are conserved among SS4 proteins from phylogenetically distant species, such as Arabidopsis and Brachypodium This finding suggests that the mechanism of action of SS4 is conserved among different plant species. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  11. Armenia as a Regional Centre for Astronomy for Development activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mickaelian, A.

    2015-03-01

    The Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO, Armenia, http://www.bao.am) are among the candidate IAU Regional Nodes for Astronomy for Development activities. It is one of the main astronomical centers of the former Soviet Union and the Middle East region. At present there are 48 qualified researchers at BAO, including six Doctors of Science and 30 PhDs. Five important observational instruments are installed at BAO, the larger ones being 2.6m Cassegrain (ZTA-2.6) and 1m Schmidt (the one that provided the famous Markarian survey). BAO is regarded as a national scientific-educational center, where a number of activities are being organized, such as: international conferences (4 IAU symposia and 1 IAU colloquium, JENAM-2007, etc.), small workshops and discussions, international summer schools (1987, 2006, 2008 and 2010), and Olympiads. BAO collaborates with scientists from many countries. The Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS, http://www.aras.am/) is an NGO founded in 2001; it has 93 members and it is rather active in the organization of educational, amateur, popular, promotional and other matters. The Armenian Virtual Observatory (ArVO, http://www.aras.am/Arvo/arvo.htm) is one of the 17 national VO projects forming the International Virtual Observatories Alliance (IVOA) and is the only VO project in the region serving also for educational purposes. A number of activities are planned, such as management, coordination and evaluation of the IAU programs in the area of development and education, establishment of the new IAU endowed lectureship program and organization of seminars and public lectures, coordination and initiation of fundraising activities for astronomy development, organization of regional scientific symposia, conferences and workshops, support to Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP), production/publication of educational and promotional materials, etc.

  12. THE FORMATION AND MAGNETIC STRUCTURES OF ACTIVE-REGION FILAMENTS OBSERVED BY NVST, SDO, AND HINODE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yan, X. L.; Xue, Z. K.; Wang, J. C.

    2015-08-15

    To better understand the properties of solar active-region filaments, we present a detailed study on the formation and magnetic structures of two active-region filaments in active region NOAA 11884 during a period of four days. It is found that the shearing motion of the opposite magnetic polarities and the rotation of the small sunspots with negative polarity play an important role in the formation of two active-region filaments. During the formation of these two active-region filaments, one foot of the filaments was rooted in a small sunspot with negative polarity. The small sunspot rotated not only around another small sunspotmore » with negative polarity, but also around the center of its umbra. By analyzing the nonlinear force-free field extrapolation using the vector magnetic fields in the photosphere, twisted structures were found in the two active-region filaments prior to their eruptions. These results imply that the magnetic fields were dragged by the shearing motion between opposite magnetic polarities and became more horizontal. The sunspot rotation twisted the horizontal magnetic fields and finally formed the twisted active-region filaments.« less

  13. Perceived built environment and physical activity in U.S. women by sprawl and region.

    PubMed

    Troped, Philip J; Tamura, Kosuke; Whitcomb, Heather A; Laden, Francine

    2011-11-01

    A number of studies have demonstrated relationships between the perceived built environment and physical activity among adults. However, little is known about whether these associations differ by U.S. region and level of urban sprawl. To examine associations between the perceived built environment and physical activity in U.S. women by region and urban sprawl. Nurses' Health Study II participants (N=68,968) completed four perceived neighborhood environment survey items in 2005. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations with meeting physical activity recommendations, adjusting for demographic and weight-status variables, and stratifying by region and sprawl. Data analyses were completed in 2011. Perceived proximity to shops/stores was positively associated with physical activity across regions and levels of sprawl (ORs=1.21-1.46). Perceived access to recreation facilities was also a positive physical activity correlate in most region-sprawl strata, with strongest relationships found in the West (ORs=1.31-1.70). Perceived crime and presence of sidewalks did not show statistically significant associations with physical activity in most region-sprawl strata, although ORs for perceived crime showed a consistent pattern of negative associations (ORs=0.60-0.95). A higher number of positive environmental attributes was associated with a greater odds of meeting physical activity recommendations. Findings indicate that perceived proximity to shops/stores and access to recreation facilities are important correlates of physical activity for women, irrespective of region or sprawl. Copyright © 2011 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Ocean Pollution as a Result of Onshore Offshore Petroleum Activities in the African Gulf of Guinea Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abubakar, B.

    2007-05-01

    increasing cases of pollution of farmlands, rivers, wells and the environment in general. Apart from all these, what is even becoming more worrisome is that none of all these oil firms operating in the region is able to account on how it disposes its industrial toxic waste generated as a result of its industrial activities within the region. Finally Geological strata are adversely destroyed by seismographic activities, Sea creatures are destroyed by oil pollution and Means of livelihood of revering dwellers are often threatened by pollution. RECOMMENDATIONS After identifying how the pollution in the Gulf of Guinea region is increasing in relation to the increasing petroleum activities, I have come up with the following suggestions/recommendations. 1. AFRICAN UNION RESOLUTION The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in conjunction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should use their capacity to be able to influence the African Union (AU) to pass a resolution banning the illegal dumping of radioactive waste, Gas flaring and Costal bunkering in this part of the world. 2. RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in conjunction with the United Nations Environmental Agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency and with the corporation of the African Union should send team of researchers to come and investigate this trend on petroleum pollution in the Gulf of Guinea region and proffer possible solutions in checking the menace.

  15. Forecasting the Solar Drivers of Severe Space Weather from Active-Region Magnetograms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, David A.; Moore, Ronald L.; Barghouty, Abdulnasser F.; Khazanov, Igor

    2012-01-01

    Large flares and fast CMEs are the drivers of the most severe space weather including Solar Energetic Particle Events (SEP Events). Large flares and their co-produced CMEs are powered by the explosive release of free magnetic energy stored in non-potential magnetic fields of sunspot active regions. The free energy is stored in and released from the low-beta regime of the active region s magnetic field above the photosphere, in the chromosphere and low corona. From our work over the past decade and from similar work of several other groups, it is now well established that (1) a proxy of the free magnetic energy stored above the photosphere can be measured from photospheric magnetograms, and (2) an active region s rate of production of major CME/flare eruptions in the coming day or so is strongly correlated with its present measured value of the free-energy proxy. These results have led us to use the large database of SOHO/MDI full-disk magnetograms spanning Solar Cycle 23 to obtain empirical forecasting curves that from an active region s present measured value of the free-energy proxy give the active region s expected rates of production of major flares, CMEs, fast CMEs, and SEP Events in the coming day or so (Falconer et al 2011, Space Weather, 9, S04003). We will present these forecasting curves and demonstrate the accuracy of their forecasts. In addition, we will show that the forecasts for major flares and fast CMEs can be made significantly more accurate by taking into account not only the value of the free energy proxy but also the active region s recent productivity of major flares; specifically, whether the active region has produced a major flare (GOES class M or X) during the past 24 hours before the time of the measured magnetogram. By empirically determining the conversion of the value of free-energy proxy measured from a GONG or HMI magnetogram to that which would be measured from an MDI magnetogram, we have made GONG and HMI magnetograms useable with

  16. Radio-derived three-dimensional structure of a solar active region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tun, Samuel D.

    Solar active regions are the source of the most violent events observed on the Sun, some of which have a direct impact to modern civilization. Efforts to understand and predict such events require determination of the three-dimensional distributions of density, temperature, and magnetic fields above such active regions. This thesis presents the structure of the solar atmosphere above active region AR 10923, observed on 2006 Nov 10, as deduced from multi-wavelength studies including combined microwave observations from the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Owens Valley Solar Array (OVSA). The VLA observations provide excellent image quality at a few widely spaced frequencies while the OVSA data provide information at many intermediate frequencies to fill in the spectral coverage. In order to optimize the OVSA data for spectroscopic studies, the L1 method of self-calibration was implemented at this observatory, producing the best single frequency maps produced to date. Images at the 25 distinct, available frequencies are used to provide spatially resolved spectra along many lines of sight in the active region, from which microwave spectral diagnostics are obtained for deducing two-dimensional maps of temperature, magnetic field strength, and column density. The derived quantities are compared with multi-wavelength observations from SoHO and Hinode spacecraft, and with a standard potential magnetic field extrapolation. It is found that a two component temperature model is required to fit the data, in which a hot (> 2 MK) lower corona above the strong-field plage and sunspot regions (emitting via the gyroresonance process) is overlaid with somewhat cooler (˜ 1 MK) coronal loops that partially absorb the gyroresonance emission through the free-free (Bremsstrahlung) process. It is also found that the potential magnetic field extrapolation model can quantitatively account for the observed gyroresonance emission over most of the active region, but in a few areas a higher

  17. Acetylcholine Activity in Selective Striatal Regions Supports Behavioral Flexibility

    PubMed Central

    Ragozzino, Michael E.; Mohler, Eric G.; Prior, Margaret; Palencia, Carlos A.; Rozman, Suzanne

    2009-01-01

    Daily living often requires individuals to flexibly respond to new circumstances. There is considerable evidence that the striatum is part of a larger neural network that supports flexible adaptations. Cholinergic interneurons are situated to strongly influence striatal output patterns which may enable flexible adaptations. The present experiments investigated whether acetylcholine actions in different striatal regions support behavioral flexibility by measuring acetylcholine efflux during place reversal learning. Acetylcholine efflux selectively increased in the dorsomedial striatum, but not dorsolateral or ventromedial striatum during place reversal learning. In order to modulate the M2-class of autoreceptors, administration of oxotremorine sesquifumurate (100 nM) into the dorsomedial striatum, concomitantly impaired reversal learning and an increase in acetylcholine output. These effects were reversed by the m2 muscarinic receptor antagonist, AF-DX-116 (20 nM). The effects of oxotremorine sesquifumurate and AF-DX-116 on acetylcholine efflux were selective to behaviorally-induced changes as neither treatment affected acetylcholine output in a resting condition. In contrast to reversal learning, acetylcholine efflux in the dorsomedial striatum did not change during place acquisition. The results reveal an essential role for cholinergic activity and define its locus of control to the dorsomedial striatum in cognitive flexibility. PMID:18845266

  18. 14 CFR Appendix C to Part 1215 - Typical User Activity Timeline

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Typical User Activity Timeline C Appendix C... RELAY SATELLITE SYSTEM (TDRSS) Pt. 1215, App. C Appendix C to Part 1215—Typical User Activity Timeline... mission model. 3 years before launch (Ref. § 1215.109(c). Submit general user requirements to permit...

  19. Thermally activated ("thermal") battery technology. Part IV. Anode materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guidotti, Ronald A.; Masset, Patrick J.

    In this paper, the history of anode materials developed for use in thermally activated ("thermal") batteries is presented. The chemistries (phases) and electrochemical characteristics (discharge mechanisms) of these materials are described, along with general thermodynamic properties, where available. This paper is the last of a five-part series that presents a general review of thermal-battery technology.

  20. Comparison of Helioseismic Far-Side Active Region Detections with STEREO Far-Side EUV Observations of Solar Activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liewer, P. C.; Qiu, J.; Lindsey, C.

    2017-10-01

    Seismic maps of the Sun's far hemisphere, computed from Doppler data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) are now being used routinely to detect strong magnetic regions on the far side of the Sun (http://jsoc.stanford.edu/data/farside/). To test the reliability of this technique, the helioseismically inferred active region detections are compared with far-side observations of solar activity from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO), using brightness in extreme-ultraviolet light (EUV) as a proxy for magnetic fields. Two approaches are used to analyze nine months of STEREO and HMI data. In the first approach, we determine whether new large east-limb active regions are detected seismically on the far side before they appear Earth side and study how the detectability of these regions relates to their EUV intensity. We find that while there is a range of EUV intensities for which far-side regions may or may not be detected seismically, there appears to be an intensity level above which they are almost always detected and an intensity level below which they are never detected. In the second approach, we analyze concurrent extreme-ultraviolet and helioseismic far-side observations. We find that 100% (22) of the far-side seismic regions correspond to an extreme-ultraviolet plage; 95% of these either became a NOAA-designated magnetic region when reaching the east limb or were one before crossing to the far side. A low but significant correlation is found between the seismic signature strength and the EUV intensity of a far-side region.

  1. Frequent ultraviolet brightenings observed in a solar active region with solar maximum mission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Porter, J. G.; Toomre, J.; Gebbie, K. B.

    1984-01-01

    Observations of the temporal behavior of ultraviolet emission from bright points within an active region of the sun are reported. Frequent and rapid brightenings in Si IV and O IV line emission are seen. The observations suggest that intermittent heating events of modest amplitude are occurring at many sites within an active region. By selecting the brightest site at any given time within an active region and then sampling its behavior in detail within a 120 s interval, it is found that about two-thirds of the samples show variations of the Si IV line intensity. The brightenings typically last about 40-60 s; intensity increases of about 20-100 percent are frequently observed. The results suggest that heating due to magnetic field reconnection within an active region is proceeding almost stochastically. Events involving only a modest release of energy occur the most frequently.

  2. Possibilities for Estimating Horizontal Electrical Currents in Active Regions on the Sun

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fursyak, Yu. A.; Abramenko, V. I.

    2017-12-01

    Part of the "free" magnetic energy associated with electrical current systems in the active region (AR) is released during solar flares. This proposition is widely accepted and it has stimulated interest in detecting electrical currents in active regions. The vertical component of an electric current in the photosphere can be found by observing the transverse magnetic field. At present, however, there are no direct methods for calculating transverse electric currents based on these observations. These calculations require information on the field vector measured simultaneously at several levels in the photosphere, which has not yet been done with solar instrumentation. In this paper we examine an approach to calculating the structure of the square of the density of a transverse electrical current based on a magnetogram of the vertical component of the magnetic field in the AR. Data obtained with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) for the AR of NOAA AR 11283 are used. It is shown that (1) the observed variations in the magnetic field of a sunspot and the proposed estimate of the density of an annular horizontal current around the spot are consistent with Faraday's law and (2) the resulting estimates of the magnitude of the square of the density of the horizontal current {j}_{\\perp}^2 = (0.002- 0.004) A2/m4 are consistent with previously obtained values of the density of a vertical current in the photosphere. Thus, the proposed estimate is physically significant and this method can be used to estimate the density and structure of transverse electrical currents in the photosphere.

  3. Observations of solar active regions and solar flares by OSO-7

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Neupert, W. M.

    1977-01-01

    Contributions made to the physics of coronal active regions and flares by the extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray spectroheliograph on OSO-7 were discussed. Coronal structures above active regions were discussed from the point of view of their morphology and physical properties, including their relationship to photospheric and coronal magnetic fields. OSO-7 also recorded flares with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to record, in some instances for the first time, the extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray emission associated with such chromospheric phenomena as filament activation and the emergence of satellite sunspots. Flare phenomena were reviewed in terms of the several stages of evolution typically associated with the event.

  4. UVCS Observations of Slow Plasma Flow in the Corona Above Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woo, R.; Habbal, S. R.

    2005-05-01

    The elusive source of slow solar wind has been the subject of ongoing discussion and debate. Observations of solar wind speed near the Earth orbit, first with IPS (interplanetary scintillation) and later with Ulysses in situ measurements, have suggested that some slow solar wind may be associated with active regions (Kojima & Kakinuma 1987; Woo, Habbal & Feldman 2004). The ability of SOHO UVCS Doppler dimming measurements to provide estimates of solar wind speed in the corona (Kohl et al. 1995) has made it possible to investigate the distribution of flow near the Sun. In this paper, we will present results confirming that active regions are one of the sources of slow wind. Insight into the relationship between coronal streamers, active regions and plasma flow will also be discussed.

  5. EXAMINING REGIONAL LAND USE CHANGE: THE COMMUNITY GROWTH MODEL (CGM)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Regional Vulnerability Assessment
    Program (ReV A) is designed to develop and demonstrate approaches to identify the ecosystems at the greatest risk from regional population growth and economic activity.
    As part of this program, ...

  6. FLARE ENERGY BUILD-UP IN A DECAYING ACTIVE REGION NEAR A CORONAL HOLE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Su Yingna; Van Ballegooijen, Adriaan; Golub, Leon

    2009-10-10

    A B1.7 two-ribbon flare occurred in a highly non-potential decaying active region near a coronal hole at 10:00 UT on 2008 May 17. This flare is 'large' in the sense that it involves the entire region, and it is associated with both a filament eruption and a coronal mass ejection. We present multi-wavelength observations from EUV (TRACE, STEREO/EUVI), X-rays (Hinode/XRT), and Halpha (THEMIS, BBSO) prior to, during and after the flare. Prior to the flare, the region contained two filaments. The long J-shaped sheared loops corresponding to the southern filament were evolved from two short loop systems, which happened aroundmore » 22:00 UT after a filament eruption on May 16. Formation of highly sheared loops in the southeastern part of the region was observed by STEREO 8 hr before the flare. We also perform nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) modeling for the region at two times prior to the flare, using the flux rope insertion method. The models include the non-force-free effect of magnetic buoyancy in the photosphere. The best-fit NLFFF models show good fit to observations both in the corona (X-ray and EUV loops) and chromosphere (Halpha filament). We find that the horizontal fields in the photosphere are relatively insensitive to the present of flux ropes in the corona. The axial flux of the flux rope in the NLFFF model on May 17 is twice that on May 16, and the model on May 17 is only marginally stable. We also find that the quasi-circular flare ribbons are associated with the separatrix between open and closed fields. This observation and NLFFF modeling suggest that this flare may be triggered by the reconnection at the null point on the separatrix surface.« less

  7. Physical Activity: A Tool for Improving Health (Part 3--Recommended Amounts of Physical Activity for Optimal Health)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallaway, Patrick J.; Hongu, Nobuko

    2016-01-01

    By promoting physical activities and incorporating them into their community-based programs, Extension professionals are improving the health of individuals, particularly those with limited resources. This article is the third in a three-part series describing the benefits of physical activity for human health: (1) biological health benefits of…

  8. Oscillations In Emerging Active Regions on the Sun

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia, M. A.; Muglach, K.

    2017-12-01

    Active regions (ARs) on the Sun are directly related to space weather phenomena like flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). It is well known that both can have impacts not only on Earth, but also on nearby orbits and beyond. Predicting when and where active regions will emerge at the surface of the Sun would strengthen space weather forecasting abilities. In this study, data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) are used to produce images of the magnetic field and Doppler Velocity at the photosphere of the Sun. This data is used to study the emergence of ARs at the surface of the Sun. Since global oscillations that travel through the solar interior are modified by the magnetic field, the oscillation patterns in and around ARs should be different from the oscillation patterns in the quiet, non-active Sun. Thus, a change in oscillation patterns can be determined before an AR is visible at the Sun's surface. Using Fast Fourier Transforms, the oscillation patterns can be calculated from the SDO Dopplergrams. Magnetograms provide the time when the magnetic field of the active region reaches the solar surface. Thus, both the calculated oscillation frequencies and power can be compared to the information of an AR's emergence in the magnetograms. In particular, it can be determined if there is any time delay between the change of oscillation power and magnetic field emergence. For this particular AR studied, it was found that the 5-min oscillation power starts to decrease at the time the AR emerges. The 3-min oscillation power also decreases first but increases again a few hours after the start of the emergence. This observation is probably due to 3-min oscillation power halos around the AR and has been observed before. A few hours before the AR starts to emerge, an increase was found in both 5-min and 3-min oscillation power. This effect is promising, however, it has not been observed before and has to be verified with additional observations.

  9. Spontaneous cortical activity alternates between motifs defined by regional axonal projections

    PubMed Central

    Mohajerani, Majid H.; Chan, Allen W.; Mohsenvand, Mostafa; LeDue, Jeffrey; Liu, Rui; McVea, David A.; Boyd, Jamie D.; Wang, Yu Tian; Reimers, Mark; Murphy, Timothy H.

    2014-01-01

    In lightly anaesthetized or awake adult mice using millisecond timescale voltage sensitive dye imaging, we show that a palette of sensory-evoked and hemisphere-wide activity motifs are represented in spontaneous activity. These motifs can reflect multiple modes of sensory processing including vision, audition, and touch. Similar cortical networks were found with direct cortical activation using channelrhodopsin-2. Regional analysis of activity spread indicated modality specific sources such as primary sensory areas, and a common posterior-medial cortical sink where sensory activity was extinguished within the parietal association area, and a secondary anterior medial sink within the cingulate/secondary motor cortices for visual stimuli. Correlation analysis between functional circuits and intracortical axonal projections indicated a common framework corresponding to long-range mono-synaptic connections between cortical regions. Maps of intracortical mono-synaptic structural connections predicted hemisphere-wide patterns of spontaneous and sensory-evoked depolarization. We suggest that an intracortical monosynaptic connectome shapes the ebb and flow of spontaneous cortical activity. PMID:23974708

  10. A genome-wide activity assessment of terminator regions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae provides a ″terminatome″ toolbox.

    PubMed

    Yamanishi, Mamoru; Ito, Yoichiro; Kintaka, Reiko; Imamura, Chie; Katahira, Satoshi; Ikeuchi, Akinori; Moriya, Hisao; Matsuyama, Takashi

    2013-06-21

    The terminator regions of eukaryotes encode functional elements in the 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) that influence the 3'-end processing of mRNA, mRNA stability, and translational efficiency, which can modulate protein production. However, the contribution of these terminator regions to gene expression remains unclear, and therefore their utilization in metabolic engineering or synthetic genetic circuits has been limited. Here, we comprehensively evaluated the activity of 5302 terminator regions from a total of 5880 genes in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by inserting each terminator region downstream of the P TDH3 - green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene and measuring the fluorescent intensity of GFP. Terminator region activities relative to that of the PGK1 standard terminator ranged from 0.036 to 2.52, with a mean of 0.87. We thus could isolate the most and least active terminator regions. The activities of the terminator regions showed a positive correlation with mRNA abundance, indicating that the terminator region is a determinant of mRNA abundance. The least active terminator regions tended to encode longer 3'-UTRs, suggesting the existence of active degradation mechanisms for those mRNAs. The terminator regions of ribosomal protein genes tended to be the most active, suggesting the existence of a common regulator of those genes. The ″terminatome″ (the genome-wide set of terminator regions) thus not only provides valuable information to understand the modulatory roles of terminator regions on gene expression but also serves as a useful toolbox for the development of metabolically and genetically engineered yeast.

  11. Active faulting in low- to moderate-seismicity regions: the SAFE project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sebrier, M.; Safe Consortium

    2003-04-01

    SAFE (Slow Active Faults in Europe) is an EC-FP5 funded multidisciplinary effort which proposes an integrated European approach in identifying and characterizing active faults as input for evaluating seismic hazard in low- to moderate-seismicity regions. Seismically active western European regions are generally characterized by low hazard but high risk, due to the concentration of human and material properties with high vulnerability. Detecting, and then analysing, tectonic deformations that may lead to destructive earthquakes in such areas has to take into account three major limitations: - the typical climate of western Europe (heavy vegetation cover and/or erosion) ; - the subdued geomorphic signature of slowly deforming faults ; - the heavy modification of landscape by human activity. The main objective of SAFE, i.e., improving the assessment of seismic hazard through understanding of the mechanics and recurrence of active faults in slowly deforming regions, is achieved through four major steps : (1) extending geologic and geomorphic investigations of fault activity beyond the Holocene to take into account various time-windows; (2) developing an expert system that combines diverse lines of geologic, seismologic, geomorphic, and geophysical evidence to diagnose the existence and seismogenic potential of slow active faults; (3) delineating and characterising high seismic risk areas of western Europe, either from historical or geological/geomorphic evidence; (4) demonstrating and discussing the impact of the project results on risk assessment through a seismic scenario in the Basel-Mulhouse pilot area. To take properly into account known differences in source behavior, these goals are pursued both in extensional (Lower and Upper Rhine Graben, Catalan Coast) and compressional tectonic settings (southern Upper Rhine Graben, Po Plain, and Provence). Two arid compressional regions (SE Spain and Moroccan High Atlas) have also been selected to address the limitations

  12. Australia's regional innovation systems: inter-industry interaction in innovative activities in three Australian territories

    PubMed Central

    Schütz, Marlies H.

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Regional specifics reveal in differences in economic activity and structure, the institutional, socio-economic and cultural environment and not least in the capability of regions to create new knowledge and to generate innovations. Focusing on the regional level, this paper for three Australian territories (New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland) explores patterns of innovative activities in their private business sectors. Furthermore, these patterns are compared to specifics of each region's economic structure. We make use of input–output-based innovation flow networks, which are directed and weighted instead of binary. The value added of the proposed analysis is that we are able to trace a variety of different aspects related to the structure of innovative activities for each territory. It gets evident that mostly innovative activities in each territory are not strong in ‘niche’ branches but in fields of intense economic activity, signalising the high path-dependency of innovative activities in a specific geographical environment. PMID:29097849

  13. Australia's regional innovation systems: inter-industry interaction in innovative activities in three Australian territories.

    PubMed

    Schütz, Marlies H

    2017-07-03

    Regional specifics reveal in differences in economic activity and structure, the institutional, socio-economic and cultural environment and not least in the capability of regions to create new knowledge and to generate innovations. Focusing on the regional level, this paper for three Australian territories (New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland) explores patterns of innovative activities in their private business sectors. Furthermore, these patterns are compared to specifics of each region's economic structure. We make use of input-output-based innovation flow networks, which are directed and weighted instead of binary. The value added of the proposed analysis is that we are able to trace a variety of different aspects related to the structure of innovative activities for each territory. It gets evident that mostly innovative activities in each territory are not strong in 'niche' branches but in fields of intense economic activity, signalising the high path-dependency of innovative activities in a specific geographical environment.

  14. Characteristics of stewardship in the Chicago Wilderness Region

    Treesearch

    Lynne M. Westphal; Amelie Y. Davis; Cindy Copp; Laurel M. Ross; Mark J. Bouman; Cherie L. Fisher; Mark K. Johnston

    2014-01-01

    We report on the early results of a survey-based assessment of stewardship activities within the Chicago Wilderness region, work conducted as a part of the Chicago ULTRA-Ex project. Chicago Wilderness is a 270 member alliance focused on preserving and enhancing biodiversity throughout northern Illinois and parts of Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan (USA). The results...

  15. HEROES Observations of a Quiescent Active Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shih, A. Y.; Christe, S.; Gaskin, J.; Wilson-Hodge, C.

    2014-12-01

    Hard X-ray (HXR) observations of solar flares reveal the signatures of energetic electrons, and HXR images with high dynamic range and high sensitivity can distinguish between where electrons are accelerated and where they stop. Even in the non-flaring corona, high-sensitivity HXR measurements may be able to detect the presence of electron acceleration. The High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES) balloon mission added the capability of solar observations to an existing astrophysics balloon payload, HERO, which used grazing-incidence optics for direct HXR imaging. HEROES measures HXR emission from ~20 to ~75 keV with an angular resolution of 33" HPD. HEROES launched on 2013 September 21 from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and had a successful one-day flight. We present the detailed analysis of the 7-hour observation of AR 11850, which sets new upper limits on the HXR emission from a quiescent active region, with corresponding constraints on the numbers of tens of keV energetic electrons present. Using the imaging capability of HEROES, HXR upper limits are also obtained for the quiet Sun surrounding the active region. We also discuss what can be achieved with new and improved HXR instrumentation on balloons.

  16. Earthquake Model of the Middle East (EMME) Project: Active Fault Database for the Middle East Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gülen, L.; Wp2 Team

    2010-12-01

    The Earthquake Model of the Middle East (EMME) Project is a regional project of the umbrella GEM (Global Earthquake Model) project (http://www.emme-gem.org/). EMME project region includes Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Both EMME and SHARE projects overlap and Turkey becomes a bridge connecting the two projects. The Middle East region is tectonically and seismically very active part of the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt. Many major earthquakes have occurred in this region over the years causing casualties in the millions. The EMME project will use PSHA approach and the existing source models will be revised or modified by the incorporation of newly acquired data. More importantly the most distinguishing aspect of the EMME project from the previous ones will be its dynamic character. This very important characteristic is accomplished by the design of a flexible and scalable database that will permit continuous update, refinement, and analysis. A digital active fault map of the Middle East region is under construction in ArcGIS format. We are developing a database of fault parameters for active faults that are capable of generating earthquakes above a threshold magnitude of Mw≥5.5. Similar to the WGCEP-2007 and UCERF-2 projects, the EMME project database includes information on the geometry and rates of movement of faults in a “Fault Section Database”. The “Fault Section” concept has a physical significance, in that if one or more fault parameters change, a new fault section is defined along a fault zone. So far over 3,000 Fault Sections have been defined and parameterized for the Middle East region. A separate “Paleo-Sites Database” includes information on the timing and amounts of fault displacement for major fault zones. A digital reference library that includes the pdf files of the relevant papers, reports is also being prepared. Another task of the WP-2 of the EMME project is to prepare

  17. 20 CFR 658.702 - Initial action by the Regional Administrator.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... JS regulations. (b) Wherever a Regional Administrator discovers or is apprised of possible State agency violations of JS regulations by the review and assessment activities under subpart G of this part... a State agency has violated JS regulations. (c) The Regional Administrator shall accept complaints...

  18. Caffeine restores regional brain activation in acute hypoglycaemia in healthy volunteers.

    PubMed

    Rosenthal, M J; Smith, D; Yaguez, L; Giampietro, V; Kerr, D; Bullmore, E; Brammer, M; Williams, S C R; Amiel, S A

    2007-07-01

    Caffeine enhances counterregulatory responses to acute hypoglycaemia. Our aim was to explore its effects on cortical function, which are not known at present. Regional brain activation during performance of the four-choice reaction time (4CRT) at different levels of complexity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at euglycaemia (5 mmol/l) and hypoglycaemia (2.6 mmol/l) in the presence and absence of caffeine in six healthy right-handed men. During hypoglycaemia, caffeine enhanced adrenaline responses to hypoglycaemia (2.5 +/- 0.7 nmol/l to 4.0 +/- 1.0 nmol/l, P = 0.01) and restored the brain activation response to the non-cued 4CRT, the linear increases in regional brain activation associated with increased task complexity and the ability to respond to a cue that were lost in hypoglycaemia alone. Caffeine can sustain regional brain activation patterns lost in acute hypoglycaemia, with some restoration of cortical function and enhanced adrenaline responsiveness. A methodology has been established that may help in the development of therapies to protect against severe hypoglycaemia in insulin therapy for patients with diabetes and problematic hypoglycaemia.

  19. Urban, Rural, and Regional Variations in Physical Activity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Sarah Levin; Kirkner, Gregory J.; Mayo, Kelly; Matthews, Charles E.; Durstine, Larry; Hebert, James R.

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: There is some speculation about geographic differences in physical activity (PA) levels. We examined the prevalence of physical inactivity (PIA) and whether US citizens met the recommended levels of PA across the United States. In addition, the association between PIA/PA and degree of urbanization in the 4 main US regions (Northeast,…

  20. Non-neutralized Electric Currents in Solar Active Regions and Flare Productivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kontogiannis, Ioannis; Georgoulis, Manolis K.; Park, Sung-Hong; Guerra, Jordan A.

    2017-11-01

    We explore the association of non-neutralized currents with solar flare occurrence in a sizable sample of observations, aiming to show the potential of such currents in solar flare prediction. We used the high-quality vector magnetograms that are regularly produced by the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager, and more specifically, the Space weather HMI Active Region Patches (SHARP). Through a newly established method that incorporates detailed error analysis, we calculated the non-neutralized currents contained in active regions (AR). Two predictors were produced, namely the total and the maximum unsigned non-neutralized current. Both were tested in AR time-series and a representative sample of point-in-time observations during the interval 2012 - 2016. The average values of non-neutralized currents in flaring active regions are higher by more than an order of magnitude than in non-flaring regions and correlate very well with the corresponding flare index. The temporal evolution of these parameters appears to be connected to physical processes, such as flux emergence and/or magnetic polarity inversion line formation, that are associated with increased solar flare activity. Using Bayesian inference of flaring probabilities, we show that the total unsigned non-neutralized current significantly outperforms the total unsigned magnetic flux and other well-established current-related predictors. It therefore shows good prospects for inclusion in an operational flare-forecasting service. We plan to use the new predictor in the framework of the FLARECAST project along with other highly performing predictors.

  1. X-ray and microwave observations of active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Webb, D. F.; Davis, J. M.; Kundu, M. R.; Velusamy, T.

    1983-01-01

    Coordinated high-resolution (1-3 arcsec) observations of two active solar regions (H 421 and H 419) on November 16, 1979, are reported: soft-X-ray filtergrams from a sounding rocket flight, VLA total-intensity and circular-polarization microwave (6-cm) radio maps, KPNO full-disk photospheric magnetograms, and BBSO H-alpha data. The images were converted to 4.8-arcsec/mm-scale transparencies and coaligned on the basis of sunspot positions for comparison. The two active regions are characterized in detail, and intensity, size, and polarization data for the brightest microwave components (BMC) are listed. It is found that 19 of the 32 BMC are farther than 5 arcsec from any sunspot, and that X-ray-emitting structures only rarely correspond to sunspots, or BMC. About one third of the BMC are located at the feet or legs of coronal loops smaller than about 50,000 km. The limitations implied by these obervations for proposed thermal-bremsstrahlung, thermal-gyro-resonance, and nonthermal microwave-emission mechanisms are discussed.

  2. Early evolution of an X-ray emitting solar active region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wolfson, C. J.; Acton, L. W.; Leibacher, J. W.; Roethig, D. T.

    1977-01-01

    The birth and early evolution of a solar active region has been investigated using X-ray observations from the mapping X-ray heliometer on board the OSO-8 spacecraft. X-ray emission is observed within three hours of the first detection of H-alpha plage. At that time, a plasma temperature of four million K in a region having a density on the order of 10 to the 10th power per cu cm is inferred. During the fifty hours following birth almost continuous flares or flare-like X-ray bursts are superimposed on a monotonically increasing base level of X-ray emission produced by the plasma. If the X-rays are assumed to result from heating due to dissipation of current systems or magnetic field reconnection, it may be concluded that flare-like X-ray emission soon after active region birth implies that the magnetic field probably emerges in a stressed or complex configuration.

  3. Constraining the common properties of active region formation using the SDO/HEAR dataset

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schunker, H.; Braun, D. C.; Birch, A. C.

    2016-10-01

    Observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have the potential for allowing the helioseismic study of the formation of hundreds of active regions, which enable us to perform statistical analyses. We collated a uniform data set of emerging active regions (EARs) observed by the SDO/HMI instrument suitable for helioseismic analysis, where each active region can be observed up to 7 days before emergence. We call this dataset the SDO Helioseismic Emerging Active Region (SDO/HEAR) survey. We have used this dataset to to understand the nature of active region emergence. The latitudinally averaged line-of-sight magnetic field of all the EARs shows that the leading (trailing) polarity moves in a prograde (retrograde) direction with a speed of 110 ± 15 m/s (-60 ± 10 m/s) relative to the Carrington rotation rate in the first day after emergence. However, relative to the differential rotation of the surface plasma the East-West velocity is symmetric, with a mean of 90 ± 10 m/s. We have also compared the surface flows associated with the EARs at the time of emergence with surface flows from numerical simulations of flux emergence with different rise speeds. We found that the surface flows in simulations of emerging flux with a low rise speed of 70 m/s best match the observations.

  4. Active materials for automotive adaptive forward lighting Part 1: system requirements vs. material properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keefe, Andrew C.; Browne, Alan L.; Johnson, Nancy L.

    2011-04-01

    Adaptive Frontlighting Systems (AFS in GM usage) improve visibility by automatically optimizing the beam pattern to accommodate road, driving and environmental conditions. By moving, modifying, and/or adding light during nighttime, inclement weather, or in sharp turns, the driver is presented with dynamic illumination not possible with static lighting systems The objective of this GM-HRL collaborative research project was to assess the potential of active materials to decrease the cost, mass, and packaging volume of current electric stepper-motor AFS designs. Solid-state active material actuators, if proved suitable for this application, could be less expensive than electric motors and have lower part count, reduced size and weight, and lower acoustic and EMF noise1. This paper documents Part 1 of the collaborative study, assessing technically mature, commercially available active materials for use as actuators. Candidate materials should reduce cost and improve AFS capabilities, such as increased angular velocity on swivel. Additional benefits to AFS resulting from active materials actuators were to be identified as well such as lower part count. In addition, several notional approaches to AFS were documented to illustrate the potential function, which is developed more fully in Part 2. Part 1 was successful in verifying the feasibility of using two active materials for AFS: shape memory alloys, and piezoelectrics. In particular, this demonstration showed that all application requirements including those on actuation speed, force, and cyclic stability to effect manipulation of the filament assembly and/or the reflector could be met by piezoelectrics (as ultrasonic motors) and SMA wire actuators.

  5. Ride-sharing activities in the Richmond regional planning district.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1977-01-01

    This report gives the results of a survey made of industries in the Richmond Regional Planning District to determine the current and expected ride-sharing activities there and the type of information deemed most useful in planning ride-sharing progra...

  6. Propagating wave in active region-loops, located over the solar disk observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, B.; Hou, Y. J.; Zhang, J.

    2018-03-01

    Aims: We aim to ascertain the physical parameters of a propagating wave over the solar disk detected by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). Methods: Using imaging data from the IRIS and the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO), we tracked bright spots to determine the parameters of a propagating transverse wave in active region (AR) loops triggered by activation of a filament. Deriving the Doppler velocity of Si IV line from spectral observations of IRIS, we have determined the rotating directions of active region loops which are relevant to the wave. Results: On 2015 December 19, a filament was located on the polarity inversion line of the NOAA AR 12470. The filament was activated and then caused a C1.1 two-ribbon flare. Between the flare ribbons, two rotation motions of a set of bright loops were observed to appear in turn with opposite directions. Following the end of the second rotation, a propagating wave and an associated transverse oscillation were detected in these bright loops. In 1400 Å channel, there was bright material flowing along the loops in a wave-like manner, with a period of 128 s and a mean amplitude of 880 km. For the transverse oscillation, we tracked a given loop and determine the transverse positions of the tracking loop in a limited longitudinal range. In both of 1400 Å and 171 Å channels, approximately four periods are distinguished during the transverse oscillation. The mean period of the oscillation is estimated as 143 s and the displacement amplitude as between 1370 km and 690 km. We interpret these oscillations as a propagating kink wave and obtain its speed of 1400 km s-1. Conclusions: Our observations reveal that a flare associated with filament activation could trigger a kink propagating wave in active region loops over the solar disk. Movies associated to Figs. 1-4 are available at http://https://www.aanda.org

  7. Physical Activity: A Tool for Improving Health (Part 1--Biological Health Benefits)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallaway, Patrick J.; Hongu, Nobuko

    2015-01-01

    Extension educators have been promoting and incorporating physical activities into their community-based programs and improving the health of individuals, particularly those with limited resources. This article is the first of a three-part series describing the benefits of physical activity for human health: 1) biological health benefits of…

  8. Physical Activity: A Tool for Improving Health (Part 2-Mental Health Benefits)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallaway, Patrick J.; Hongu, Nobuko

    2016-01-01

    By promoting physical activities and incorporating them into their community-based programs, Extension professionals are improving the health of individuals, particularly those with limited resources. This article is the second in a three-part series describing the benefits of physical activity for human health: (1) biological health benefits of…

  9. Perceived Built Environment and Physical Activity in U.S. Women by Sprawl and Region

    PubMed Central

    Troped, Philip J.; Tamura, Kosuke; Whitcomb, Heather A.; Laden, Francine

    2012-01-01

    Background A number of studies have demonstrated relationships between the perceived built environment and physical activity among adults. However, little is known about whether these associations differ by U.S. region and level of urban sprawl. Purpose To examine associations between the perceived built environment and physical activity in U.S. women by region and urban sprawl. Methods Nurses’ Health Study II participants (N = 68,968) completed four perceived neighborhood environment survey items in 2005. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations with meeting physical activity recommendations, adjusting for demographic and weight-status variables, and stratifying by region and sprawl. Data analyses were completed in 2011. Results Perceived proximity to shops/stores was positively associated with physical activity across regions and levels of sprawl (ORs = 1.21 to 1.46). Perceived access to recreation facilities was also a positive physical activity correlate in most region–sprawl strata with strongest relationships found in the West (ORs = 1.31 to 1.70). Perceived crime and presence of sidewalks did not show statistically significant associations with physical activity in most region–sprawl strata, although ORs for perceived crime showed a consistent pattern of negative associations (ORs from 0.60 to 0.95). A higher number of positive environmental attributes was associated with a greater odds of meeting physical activity recommendations. Conclusions Findings indicate that perceived proximity to shops/stores and access to recreation facilities are important correlates of physical activity for women, irrespective of region or sprawl. PMID:22011417

  10. Location of the synaptosome-binding regions on botulinum neurotoxin B.

    PubMed

    Dolimbek, Behzod Z; Steward, Lance E; Aoki, K Roger; Atassi, M Zouhair

    2012-01-10

    The regions of botulinum neurotoxin B (BoNT/B) involved in binding to mouse brain synaptosomes (snps) were localized. Sixty 19-residue overlapping peptides (peptide C31 consisted of 24 residues) encompassing BoNT/B H chain (residues 442-1291) were synthesized and used to inhibit binding of (125)I-labeled BoNT/B to snps. Synaptosome-binding regions were noncompeting and existed on both H(N) and H(C) domains of neurotoxin. At 37 °C, inhibitory activities on H(N) resided, in decreasing order, in peptides 638-656 (26.7%), 596-614 (18.2%), 512-530 (13.9%), 778-796 (13.8%), and 526-544 (11.6%). On H(C), activity resided in decreasing order in peptides 1170-1188 (44.6%), 1128-1146 (21.6%), 1184-1202 (18.6%), 1156-1174 (13.0%), 946-964 (11.8%), 1114-1132 (11.2%), 1100-1118 (6.2%), 876-894 (6.1%), 1268-1291 (4.6%), and 1226-1244 (4.3%). The 45 remaining H(N) and H(C) peptides had no activity. At 4 °C, peptide C24 (1170-1188) remained quite active (inhibiting, 31.2%), while activities of peptides N15, C21, and C25 were little under 10%. The snp-binding regions contained sites that bind synaptotagmin II and gangliosides. Despite the low degree of sequence homology, BoNT/B and BoNT/A display significant structural homology and appeared to bind in part to the same snp-binding regions. Binding of each labeled toxin to snps was inhibited ~50% by the other toxin, 70-72% by its correlate H(C), and by the H(C) of the other toxin [29% (BoNT/A by H(C) of B) or 32% (BoNT/B by H(C) of A)]. In the three-dimensional structure of BoNT/B, the greater part of H(C), one H(N) face, and part of the belt on the same side interact with snps. Thus, BoNT/B binds to snps through the H(C) head and employs regions on one H(N) face and the belt, reserving flexibility for the belt's unbound part to release the light chain. Most snp-binding regions coincide or overlap with blocking antibody (Ab)-binding regions explaining how such Abs prevent BoNT/B toxicity.

  11. Regional assessment of energy-producing metabolic activity in the endothelium of donor corneas.

    PubMed

    Greiner, Mark A; Burckart, Kimberlee A; Wagoner, Michael D; Schmidt, Gregory A; Reed, Cynthia R; Liaboe, Chase A; Flamme-Wiese, Miles J; Zimmerman, M Bridget; Mullins, Robert F; Kardon, Randy H; Goins, Kenneth M; Aldrich, Benjamin T

    2015-05-01

    We characterized mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis activity of human corneal endothelium, and compared metabolic activity between central and peripheral regions. Endothelial keratoplasty-suitable corneas were obtained from donors aged 50 to 75 years. The endothelium-Descemet membrane complex (EDM) was isolated, and 3-mm punches were obtained from central and peripheral regions. Endothelium-Descemet membrane punches were assayed for mitochondrial respiration (oxygen consumption) and glycolysis (extracellular acidification) using an extracellular flux analyzer. Enzymatic (citrate synthase, glucose hexokinase) and mitochondrial density (MitoTracker) assays also were performed. Ten corneas were analyzed per assay. Metabolic activity for mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis showed expected changes to assay compounds (P < 0.01, all pairwise comparisons). Basal mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis activity did not differ between regions (P > 0.99). Similarly, central versus peripheral activity after assay compound treatment showed no significant differences (P > 0.99, all time points). The intracorneal coefficient of variation for basal readings between two and four peripheral punches was 18.5% of the mean. Although peripheral samples displayed greater enzymatic activity than central samples (P < 0.05), similar to extracellular flux results, mitochondrial density did not differ between regions (P = 0.78). Extracellular flux analysis of oxygen and pH is a valid technique for characterizing metabolic activity of human corneal endothelium. This technique demonstrates high reproducibility, allows quantification of metabolic parameters using small quantities of live cells, and permits estimation of overall metabolic output. Neither oxygen consumption nor extracellular acidification differed between central and peripheral regions of transplant suitable corneas in this series. Our results show that endothelial cell health can be quantified biochemically in

  12. Spatially rearranged object parts can facilitate perception of intact whole objects.

    PubMed

    Cacciamani, Laura; Ayars, Alisabeth A; Peterson, Mary A

    2014-01-01

    The familiarity of an object depends on the spatial arrangement of its parts; when the parts are spatially rearranged, they form a novel, unrecognizable configuration. Yet the same collection of parts comprises both the familiar and novel configuration. Is it possible that the collection of familiar parts activates a representation of the intact familiar configuration even when they are spatially rearranged? We presented novel configurations as primes before test displays that assayed effects on figure-ground perception from memories of intact familiar objects. In our test displays, two equal-area regions shared a central border; one region depicted a portion of a familiar object. Previous research with such displays has shown that participants are more likely to perceive the region depicting a familiar object as the figure and the abutting region as its ground when the familiar object is depicted in its upright orientation rather than upside down. The novel primes comprised either the same or a different collection of parts as the familiar object in the test display (part-rearranged and control primes, respectively). We found that participants were more likely to perceive the familiar region as figure in upright vs. inverted displays following part-rearranged primes but not control primes. Thus, priming with a novel configuration comprising the same familiar parts as the upcoming figure-ground display facilitated orientation-dependent effects of object memories on figure assignment. Similar results were obtained when the spatially rearranged collection of parts was suggested on the groundside of the prime's border, suggesting that familiar parts in novel configurations access the representation of their corresponding intact whole object before figure assignment. These data demonstrate that familiar parts access memories of familiar objects even when they are arranged in a novel configuration.

  13. Spatially rearranged object parts can facilitate perception of intact whole objects

    PubMed Central

    Cacciamani, Laura; Ayars, Alisabeth A.; Peterson, Mary A.

    2014-01-01

    The familiarity of an object depends on the spatial arrangement of its parts; when the parts are spatially rearranged, they form a novel, unrecognizable configuration. Yet the same collection of parts comprises both the familiar and novel configuration. Is it possible that the collection of familiar parts activates a representation of the intact familiar configuration even when they are spatially rearranged? We presented novel configurations as primes before test displays that assayed effects on figure-ground perception from memories of intact familiar objects. In our test displays, two equal-area regions shared a central border; one region depicted a portion of a familiar object. Previous research with such displays has shown that participants are more likely to perceive the region depicting a familiar object as the figure and the abutting region as its ground when the familiar object is depicted in its upright orientation rather than upside down. The novel primes comprised either the same or a different collection of parts as the familiar object in the test display (part-rearranged and control primes, respectively). We found that participants were more likely to perceive the familiar region as figure in upright vs. inverted displays following part-rearranged primes but not control primes. Thus, priming with a novel configuration comprising the same familiar parts as the upcoming figure-ground display facilitated orientation-dependent effects of object memories on figure assignment. Similar results were obtained when the spatially rearranged collection of parts was suggested on the groundside of the prime's border, suggesting that familiar parts in novel configurations access the representation of their corresponding intact whole object before figure assignment. These data demonstrate that familiar parts access memories of familiar objects even when they are arranged in a novel configuration. PMID:24904495

  14. Using Magnetic Helicity Diagnostics to Determine the Nature of Solar Active-Region Formation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Georgoulis, Manolis K.

    Employing a novel nonlinear force-free (NLFF) method that self-consistently infers instantaneous free magnetic-energy and relative magnetic-helicity budgets from single photospheric vector magnetograms, we recently constructed the magnetic energy-helicity (EH) diagram of solar active regions. The EH diagram implies dominant relative helicities of left-handed or right-handed chiralities for the great majority of active regions. The amplitude (budget) of these helicities scales monotonically with the free magnetic energy. This constructive, strongly preferential accumulation of a certain sense of magnetic helicity seems to disqualify recently proposed mechanisms relying on a largely random near-surface convection for the formation of the great majority of active regions. The existing qualitative formation mechanism for these regions remains the conventional Omega-loop emergence following a buoyant ascension from the bottom of the convection zone. However, exceptions to this rule include even eruptive active regions: NOAA AR 11283 is an obvious outlier to the EH diagram, involving significant free magnetic energy with a small relative magnetic helicity. Relying on a timeseries of vector magnetograms of this region, our methodology shows nearly canceling amounts of both senses of helicity and an overall course from a weakly left-handed to a weakly right-handed structure, in the course of which a major eruption occurs. For this and similarly behaving active regions the latest near-surface formation scenario might conceivably be employed successfully. Research partially supported by the EU Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement No. PIRG07-GA-2010-268245 and by the European Union Social Fund (ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: Thales. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund.

  15. The infield varietu of available forms in the forest-steppe of western part Central Chernozemic region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Belik, Anton; Devyatova, Tatiana; Bozhko, Svetlana; Gorbunova, Yulia

    2016-04-01

    The infield varietu of available forms in the forest-steppe of western part Central Chernozemic region The Central Chernozemic region of Russia has been a region with a strong agricultural industry and determines the food security of the state by most part. The soil cover of the region is represented mainly by chernozems and is favorable for the cultivation of major crops and produce high crop yields. However, the high development of agriculture in the territory of Central Chernozemic region are led to the development of agrogenic degradation processes which impacts on the growth of the soil cover complexity and contrast, and as a consequence a significant infield variety of soil fertility and yields of major crops. In this regard, very promising direction in CChR is the development and practical application technologies of precision agriculture, which implies the spatial variety of soil fertility analysis within specific fields and work areas, especially the content of available forms of nutrients. The aim of our research was a study of the agro-ecological characteristics of the spatial variety of the content by available forms to plants of major nutrients in representative areas of sloping agricultural landscapes with forest-steppe chernozems in the western part of Central Chernozemic region of Russia. The research of infield variety by content of available forms of major nutrients are carried in the fields of Russian Research Institute of Agriculture and Protect the Soil from Erosion experimental and industrial farm in Medvensky district of Kursk region. The area characterized by a complex organization of relief. The soil cover is represented by full-profile typical (conventional and carbonate), leached chernozems. The growth of contrast of the soil cover are largely determined by the appearance of eroded soils of these analogues, as well as zoogenic dug and accumulative soils All of the studied areas with the forest-steppe chernozems were characterized by

  16. Spatial taxation effects on regional coal economic activities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, C.W.; Labys, W.C.

    1980-01-01

    Spatial taxation effects related to economic activities at the regional level can be directly evaluated using the Kuhn-Tucker system of equations based on a commodity model. In particular, the impacts of a specific tax are predictable within a given set of trade patterns. However, the impacts of an ad valorem tax are difficult to evaluate analytically, mainly because of nonlinearity in the associated response surface. The aspect of spatial-taxation analysis of present relevance for the coal industry related to coal policy, i.e., the share of tax burdens coal producers and consumers are able to bear. Each supplier in a givenmore » market boundary shares the same amount of tax burden, which may eliminate the weakest coal producers, i.e., Southern West Virginia coal mines. The same analogy also applies to the weakest demand region, i.e., Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota utilities. Consequently, a proper policy requires that some preferential tax treatment be given to these regions. Since the taxation effects depend critically on the trade patterns and market boundaries, the successful policy application of present regional energy models will not be possible unless effects of this type are included in the evaluation.« less

  17. Crustal Models Assessment in Western Part of Romania Employing Active Seismic and Seismologic Methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bala, Andrei; Toma-Danila, Dragos; Tataru, Dragos; Grecu, Bogdan

    2017-12-01

    In the years 1999 - 2000 two regional seismic refraction lines were performed within a close cooperation with German partners from University of Karlsruhe. One of these lines is Vrancea 2001, with 420 km in length, almost half of them recorded in Transylvanian Basin. The structure of the crust along the seismic line revealed a very complicated crustal structure beginning with Eastern Carpathians and continuing in the Transylvanian Basin until Medias. As a result of the development of the National Seismic Network in the last ten years, more than 100 permanent broadband stations are now continuously operating in Romania. Complementary to this national dataset, maintained and developed in the National Institute for Earth Physics, new data emerged from the temporary seismologic networks established during the joint projects with European partners in the last decades. The data gathered so far is valuable both for seismology purposes and crustal structure studies, especially for the western part of the country, where this kind of data were sparse until now. Between 2009 and 2011, a new reference model for the Earth’s crust and mantle of the European Plate was defined through the NERIES project from existing data and models. The database gathered from different kind of measurements in Transylvanian Basin and eastern Pannonian Basin were included in this NERIES model and an improved and upgraded model of the Earth crust emerged for western part of Romania. Although the dataset has its origins in several periods over the last 50 years, the results are homogeneous and they improve and strengthen our image about the depth of the principal boundaries in the crust. In the last chapter two maps regarding these boundaries are constructed, one for mid-crustal boundary and one for Moho. They were build considering all the punctual information available from different sources in active seismic and seismology which are introduced in the general maps from the NERIES project for

  18. 30 CFR 280.4 - What activities are not covered by this part?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... PROSPECTING FOR MINERALS OTHER THAN OIL, GAS, AND SULPHUR ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF General Information...) Postlease activities for mineral resources other than oil, gas, and sulphur, which are covered by regulations at 30 CFR part 282; and (d) G&G exploration or G&G scientific research activities related to oil...

  19. [Demographic aspects of social security of elderly population in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region].

    PubMed

    Danilova, R I; Golubeva, E Iu; Emel'ianova, A S

    2010-01-01

    Social security of elderly people is discussed at different levels of the realization of the geronto-social policy in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region within the context of the Madrid Plan of Actions on Aging. There have been comparatively analyzed demographic indicators that show age structures of the regions which are parts of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region. There have been defined regional differences and trends of improvement of geronto-social policy for providing security of life activity of elderly people in the Russian part of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region.

  20. 12 CFR 7.5001 - Electronic activities that are part of, or incidental to, the business of banking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Electronic activities that are part of, or..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY BANK ACTIVITIES AND OPERATIONS Electronic Activities § 7.5001 Electronic... the criteria that the OCC uses to determine whether an electronic activity is authorized as part of...

  1. 12 CFR 7.5001 - Electronic activities that are part of, or incidental to, the business of banking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Electronic activities that are part of, or..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY BANK ACTIVITIES AND OPERATIONS Electronic Activities § 7.5001 Electronic... the criteria that the OCC uses to determine whether an electronic activity is authorized as part of...

  2. 12 CFR 7.5001 - Electronic activities that are part of, or incidental to, the business of banking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Electronic activities that are part of, or..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY BANK ACTIVITIES AND OPERATIONS Electronic Activities § 7.5001 Electronic... the criteria that the OCC uses to determine whether an electronic activity is authorized as part of...

  3. 12 CFR 7.5001 - Electronic activities that are part of, or incidental to, the business of banking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Electronic activities that are part of, or..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY BANK ACTIVITIES AND OPERATIONS Electronic Activities § 7.5001 Electronic... the criteria that the OCC uses to determine whether an electronic activity is authorized as part of...

  4. Land-cover observations as part of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS): Progress, activities, and prospects

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Herold, M.; Woodcock, C.E.; Loveland, Thomas R.; Townshend, J.; Brady, M.; Steenmans, C.; Schmullius, C. C.

    2008-01-01

    The international land-cover community has been working with GEO since 2005 to build the foundations for land-cover observations as an integral part of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The Group on Earth Observation (GEO) has provided the platform to elevate the societal relevance of land cover monitoring and helped to link a diverse set of global, regional, and national activities. A dedicated 2007-2009 GEO work plan task has resulted in achievements on the strategic and implementation levels. Integrated Global Observations of the Land (IGOL), the land theme of the Integrated Global Observation Strategy (IGOS), has been approved and is now in the process of transition into GEO implementation. New global land-cover maps at moderate spatial resolutions (i.e., GLOBCOVER) are being produced using guidelines and standards of the international community. The Middecadal Global Landsat Survey for 2005-2006 is extending previous 1990 and 2000 efforts for global, high-quality Landsat data. Despite this progress, essential challenges for building a sustained global land-cover-observing system remain, including: international cooperation on the continuity of global observations; ensuring consistency in land monitoring approaches; community engagement and country participation in mapping activities; commitment to ongoing quality assurance and validation; and regional networking and capacity building.

  5. A Correlation Between Length of Strong-Shear Neutral Lines and Total X-Ray Brightness in Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, D. A.

    1997-01-01

    From a sample of 7 MSFC vector magnetograms,of active regions and 17 Yohkoh SXT soft X-ray images of these active regions, we have found that the total x-ray brightness of an entire active region is correlated with the total length of neutral lines on which the magnetic field is both strong (less than 250 G) and strongly sheared (shear angle greater than 75 deg) in the same active region. This correlation, if not fortuitous, is additional evidence of the importance of strong-shear strong-field neutral lines to strong heating in active regions.

  6. Functional connections between activated and deactivated brain regions mediate emotional interference during externally directed cognition.

    PubMed

    Di Plinio, Simone; Ferri, Francesca; Marzetti, Laura; Romani, Gian Luca; Northoff, Georg; Pizzella, Vittorio

    2018-04-24

    Recent evidence shows that task-deactivations are functionally relevant for cognitive performance. Indeed, higher cognitive engagement has been associated with higher suppression of activity in task-deactivated brain regions - usually ascribed to the Default Mode Network (DMN). Moreover, a negative correlation between these regions and areas actively engaged by the task is associated with better performance. DMN regions show positive modulation during autobiographical, social, and emotional tasks. However, it is not clear how processing of emotional stimuli affects the interplay between the DMN and executive brain regions. We studied this interplay in an fMRI experiment using emotional negative stimuli as distractors. Activity modulations induced by the emotional interference of negative stimuli were found in frontal, parietal, and visual areas, and were associated with modulations of functional connectivity between these task-activated areas and DMN regions. A worse performance was predicted both by lower activity in the superior parietal cortex and higher connectivity between visual areas and frontal DMN regions. Connectivity between right inferior frontal gyrus and several DMN regions in the left hemisphere was related to the behavioral performance. This relation was weaker in the negative than in the neutral condition, likely suggesting less functional inhibitions of DMN regions during emotional processing. These results show that both executive and DMN regions are crucial for the emotional interference process and suggest that DMN connections are related to the interplay between externally-directed and internally-focused processes. Among DMN regions, superior frontal gyrus may be a key node in regulating the interference triggered by emotional stimuli. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Mutagenic Activity of Indigofera truxillensis and I. suffruticosa Aerial Parts

    PubMed Central

    Calvo, Tamara Regina; Cardoso, Cássia Regina Primila; da Silva Moura, Adriana Candido; dos Santos, Lourdes Campaner; Colus, Ilce Mara Syllos; Vilegas, Wagner; Varanda, Eliana Aparecida

    2011-01-01

    Indigofera truxillensis and I. suffruticosa, are used as a source of indigo dye and to treat several diseases. The mutagenic activity of the methanolic extracts from aerial parts, glycerolipid, flavonoid and alkaloid fractions of the extract were evaluated by means of Salmonella/microsome assays using TA100, TA98, TA102 and TA97a strains. The methanolic extract of I. truxillensis showed mutagenic activity in the TA98 strain without S9 while glycerolipid fraction was devoid of activity. The flavonoid and alkaloid fractions of both plants showed mutagenicity. Chemical analysis of flavonoid fractions of I. truxillensis and I. suffruticosa resulted in the identification of kaempferol, quercetin and their derivatives. The alkaloid fraction of both the species contained indigo and indirubin and indigo was found mainly responsible for the mutagenic activity. PMID:19696193

  8. An active region filament studied simultaneously in the chromosphere and photosphere. I. Magnetic structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuckein, C.; Martínez Pillet, V.; Centeno, R.

    2012-03-01

    Aims: A thorough multiwavelength, multiheight study of the vector magnetic field in a compact active region filament (NOAA 10781) on 2005 July 3 and 5 is presented. We suggest an evolutionary scenario for this filament. Methods: Two different inversion codes were used to analyze the full Stokes vectors acquired with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter (TIP-II) in a spectral range that comprises the chromospheric He i 10 830 Å multiplet and the photospheric Si i 10 827 Å line. In addition, we used SOHO/MDI magnetograms, as well as BBSO and TRACE images, to study the evolution of the filament and its active region (AR). High-resolution images of the Dutch Open Telescope were also used. Results: An active region filament (formed before our observing run) was detected in the chromospheric helium absorption images on July 3. The chromospheric vector magnetic field in this portion of the filament was strongly sheared (parallel to the filament axis), whereas the photospheric field lines underneath had an inverse polarity configuration. From July 3 to July 5, an opening and closing of the polarities on either side of the polarity inversion line (PIL) was recorded, resembling the recently discovered process of the sliding door effect seen by Hinode. This is confirmed with both TIP-II and SOHO/MDI data. During this time, a newly created region that contained pores and orphan penumbrae at the PIL was observed. On July 5, a normal polarity configuration was inferred from the chromospheric spectra, while strongly sheared field lines aligned with the PIL were found in the photosphere. In this same data set, the spine of the filament is also observed in a different portion of the field of view and is clearly mapped by the silicon line core. Conclusions: The inferred vector magnetic fields of the filament suggest a flux rope topology. Furthermore, the observations indicate that the filament is divided in two parts, one which lies in the chromosphere and another one that stays

  9. ON THE STRENGTH OF THE HEMISPHERIC RULE AND THE ORIGIN OF ACTIVE-REGION HELICITY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Y.-M., E-mail: yi.wang@nrl.navy.mil

    Vector magnetograph and morphological observations have shown that the solar magnetic field tends to have negative (positive) helicity in the northern (southern) hemisphere, although only ∼60%-70% of active regions appear to obey this 'hemispheric rule'. In contrast, at least ∼80% of quiescent filaments and filament channels that form during the decay of active regions follow the rule. We attribute this discrepancy to the difficulty in determining the helicity sign of newly emerged active regions, which are dominated by their current-free component; as the transverse field is canceled at the polarity inversion lines, however, the axial component becomes dominant there, allowingmore » a more reliable determination of the original active-region chirality. We thus deduce that the hemispheric rule is far stronger than generally assumed, and cannot be explained by stochastic processes. Earlier studies have shown that the twist associated with the axial tilt of active regions is too small to account for the observed helicity; here, both tilt and twist are induced by the Coriolis force acting on the diverging flow in the emerging flux tube. However, in addition to this east-west expansion about the apex of the loop, each of its legs must expand continually in cross section during its rise through the convection zone, thereby acquiring a further twist through the Coriolis force. Since this transverse pressure effect is not limited by drag or tension forces, the final twist depends mainly on the rise time, and may be large enough to explain the observed active-region helicity.« less

  10. Assessment of groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purposes using hydrochemical studies in Malwa region, southwestern part of Punjab, India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaur, Tajinder; Bhardwaj, Renu; Arora, Saroj

    2017-10-01

    Deterioration of groundwater quality due to anthropogenic activities is increasing at an alarming rate in most parts of the Punjab, but limited work has been carried out on groundwater quality and monitoring. This paper highlights the groundwater quality and compares its suitability for drinking and irrigation purpose in Malwa region, a southwestern part of Punjab. The Malwa region makes up the most cultivated area of Punjab with high consumption of pesticides and fertilizers. Twenty-four water samples representing groundwater sources were collected and analyzed for almost all major cations, anions and other physicochemical parameters. Analytical results of physicochemical analysis showed majority of the samples above the permissible limits of the Indian standards. The groundwater of the study area was very hard and the relative abundance of major cations and anions was Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ and HCO3 - > SO4 2- > Cl-. Fluoride content was higher than permissible limit in 75 % of the samples. The mean concentration of arsenic in groundwater was 9.37 and 11.01µg/L during summer and winter season, respectively. The parameters like sodium adsorption ratio and sodium percentage (Na%) revealed good quality of groundwater for irrigation purposes, whereas magnesium ratio and corrosivity ratio values showed that water is not suitable for agriculture and domestic use. The dominant hydrochemical facies of groundwater was Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Ca-Mg-SO4-Cl. Chloro alkaline indices 1 and 2 indicated that reverse ion exchange is dominant in the region. The samples fall in rock dominance and evaporation dominance fields as indicated by Gibbs diagram. The saturation index shows that all the water samples were supersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals. This work thus concludes that groundwater in the study area is chemically unsuitable for domestic and agricultural uses. It is recommended to carry out a continuous water quality monitoring program and development of effective

  11. 78 FR 77439 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Part 41, Relating...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-23

    ... the proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) titled: Part 41, Relating to Security Futures... COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Part 41, Relating to Security Futures Products AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading...

  12. Active tectonics and strain partitioning along dextral fault system in Central Iran: Analysis of geomorphological observations and geophysical data in the Kashan region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jamali, Farshad; Hessami, Khaled; Ghorashi, Manoochehr

    2011-03-01

    This paper uses high-resolution images and field investigations, in conjunction with seismic reflection data, to constrain active structural deformation in the Kashan region of Central Iran. Offset stream beds and Qanats indicate right-lateral strike slip motion at a rate of about 2 mm/yr along the NW-SE trending Qom-Zefreh fault zone which has long been recognized as one of the major faults in Central Iran. However, the pattern of drainage systems across the active growing folds including deep incision of stream beds and deflected streams indicate uplift at depth on thrust faults dipping SW beneath the anticlines. Therefore, our studies in the Kashan region indicate that deformation occurs within Central Iran which is often considered to behave as a non-deforming block within the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. The fact that the active Qom-Zefreh strike-slip fault runs parallel to the active folds, which overlie blind thrust faults, suggests that oblique motion of Arabia with respect to Eurasia is partitioned in this part of Central Iran.

  13. ACTIVE REGION FILAMENTS MIGHT HARBOR WEAK MAGNETIC FIELDS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Díaz Baso, C. J.; Martínez González, M. J.; Asensio Ramos, A., E-mail: cdiazbas@iac.es

    Recent spectropolarimetric observations of active region filaments have revealed polarization profiles with signatures typical of the strong field Zeeman regime. The conspicuous absence in those observations of scattering polarization and Hanle effect signatures was then pointed out by some authors. This was interpreted as either a signature of mixed “turbulent” field components or as a result of optical thickness. In this article, we present a natural scenario to explain these Zeeman-only spectropolarimetric observations of active region (AR) filaments. We propose a two-component model, one on top of the other. Both components have horizontal fields, with the azimuth difference between themmore » being close to 90°. The component that lies lower in the atmosphere is permeated by a strong field of the order of 600 G, while the upper component has much weaker fields, of the order of 10 G. The ensuing scattering polarization signatures of the individual components have opposite signs, so its combination along the line of sight reduces—and even can cancel out—the Hanle signatures, giving rise to an apparent Zeeman-only profile. This model is also applicable to other chromospheric structures seen in absorption above ARs.« less

  14. A long-duration active region: Evolution and quadrature observations of ejective events

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cremades, H.; Mandrini, C. H.; Fuentes, M. C. López; Merenda, L.; Cabello, I.; López, F. M.; Poisson, M.

    2017-10-01

    Unknown aspects of the initiation, evolution, and associated phenomena of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), together with their capability of perturbing the fragile technological equilibrium on which nowadays society depends, turn them a compelling subject of study. While space weather forecasts are thus far not able to predict when and where in the Sun will the next CME take place, various CME triggering mechanisms have been proposed, without reaching consensus on which is the predominant one. To improve our knowledge in these respects, we investigate a long-duration active region throughout its life, from birth until decay along five solar rotations, in connection with its production of ejective events. We benefit from the wealth of solar remote-sensing data with improved temporal, spatial, and spectral resolution provided by the ground-breaking space missions STEREO, SDO, and SOHO. During the investigated time interval, which covers the months July - November 2010, the STEREO spacecraft were nearly 180 degrees apart, allowing for the uninterrupted tracking of the active region and its ensuing CMEs. The ejective aspect is examined from multi-viewpoint coronagraphic images, while the dynamics of the active region photospheric magnetic field are inspected by means of SDO/HMI data for specific subintervals of interest. The ultimate goal of this work in progress is to identify common patterns in the ejective aspect that can be connected with the active region characteristics.

  15. How Much Energy Can Be Stored in Solar Active Region Magnetic Fields?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Linker, J.; Downs, C.; Torok, T.; Titov, V. S.; Lionello, R.; Mikic, Z.; Riley, P.

    2015-12-01

    Major solar eruptions such as X-class flares and very fast coronal mass ejections usually originate in active regions on the Sun. The energy that powers these events is believed to be stored as free magnetic energy (energy above the potential field state) prior to eruption. While coronal magnetic fields are not in general force-free, active regions have very strong magnetic fields and at low coronal heights the plasma beta is therefore very small, making the field (in equilibrium) essentially force-free. The Aly-Sturrock theorem shows that the energy of a fully force-free field cannot exceed the energy of the so-called open field. If the theorem holds, this places an upper limit on the amount of free energy that can be stored: the maximum free energy (MFE) is the difference between the open field energy and the potential field energy of the active region. In thermodynamic MHD simulations of a major eruption (the July 14, 2000 'Bastille' day event) and a modest event (February 13, 2009, we have found that the MFE indeed bounds the energy stored prior to eruption. We compute the MFE for major eruptive events in cycles 23 and 24 to investigate the maximum amount of energy that can be stored in solar active regions.Research supported by AFOSR, NASA, and NSF.

  16. An Erupting Active Region Filament: Three-Dimensional Trajectory and Hydrogen Column Density

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Penn, M. J.

    2000-05-01

    From 15:33-16:02 UT on 13 June 1998 observations of an erupting filament as it crossed solar disk center were obtained with the NSO/KPVT and SoHO/CDS instruments as part of the SoHO Joint Observing Program 70. Context observations show that this event was the eruption of the north-east section of a small active region filament associated with NOAA 8237, that the photospheric magnetic field was changing in this active region from 12 through 14 June 1998, that a coronal Moreton-wave disk event occurred, as well as a white-light CME off the south-west solar limb. The NSO/KPVT imaging spectroscopy sho the He I 1083 nm absorption line blue-shifted to velocities of between 200 and 300 km s-1. The true solar trajectory of the eruption is obtained by using the projected solar coordinates and by integrating the Doppler velocity. The filament travels with a total velocity of about 300 km s-1 along a path inclined roughly 49 degrees to the solar surface and rises to a height of just over 1.5 solar radii. The KPVT data show no Stokes V profiles in the Doppler shifted He I 1083 nm absorption to a limit of roughly 3 x 10-3 times the continuum intensity. The SoHO/CDS data scanned the center of the KPVT FOV using seven EUV lines; Doppler shifted filament emission is seen in six lines from representing temperatures from about 2 x 104K through 1 x 106K. Bound-free continuum absorption from H I, free from confusion from foreground emission and line emission, is seen as the filament obscures underlying chromospheric emission. A fit to the wavelength dependence of the absorption from five lines between 55.5 to 63.0 nm yields a column density ξ HI = 1.7 x 1018cm-2. Spatial maps show that this filament absorption is more confined than the regions which show emission. This work was made possible by 1997 and 1999 SoHO Guest Investigator awards NASA #W-19,142 Basic and NASA NAG5-8004.

  17. MAGNETIC FLUX TRANSPORT AND THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ugarte-Urra, Ignacio; Upton, Lisa; Warren, Harry P.

    2015-12-20

    With multiple vantage points around the Sun, Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and Solar Dynamics Observatory imaging observations provide a unique opportunity to view the solar surface continuously. We use He ii 304 Å data from these observatories to isolate and track ten active regions and study their long-term evolution. We find that active regions typically follow a standard pattern of emergence over several days followed by a slower decay that is proportional in time to the peak intensity in the region. Since STEREO does not make direct observations of the magnetic field, we employ a flux-luminosity relationship to infermore » the total unsigned magnetic flux evolution. To investigate this magnetic flux decay over several rotations we use a surface flux transport model, the Advective Flux Transport model, that simulates convective flows using a time-varying velocity field and find that the model provides realistic predictions when information about the active region's magnetic field strength and distribution at peak flux is available. Finally, we illustrate how 304 Å images can be used as a proxy for magnetic flux measurements when magnetic field data is not accessible.« less

  18. Constraints on active region coronal heating properties from observations and modeling of chromospheric, transition region, and coronal emission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Testa, P.; Polito, V.; De Pontieu, B.; Carlsson, M.; Reale, F.; Allred, J. C.; Hansteen, V. H.

    2017-12-01

    We investigate coronal heating properties in active region cores in non-flaring conditions, using high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution chromospheric/transition region/coronal observations coupled with detailed modeling. We will focus, in particular, on observations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), joint with observations with Hinode (XRT and EIS) and SDO/AIA. We will discuss how these observations and models (1D HD and 3D MHD, with the RADYN and Bifrost codes) provide useful diagnostics of the coronal heating processes and mechanisms of energy transport.

  19. Educational Directory, 1919-20. Bulletin, 1919, No. 71. Part 1: Government Educational Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bureau of Education, Department of the Interior, 1920

    1920-01-01

    The Educational Directory, 1919-20 is divided into seven distinct parts. Part I, Government Educational Activities, covers the following topic areas: (1) The United States Bureau of Education; (2) Department of State; (3) Department of War; (4) Department of the Navy; (5) Department of the Treasury; (6) Department of the Interior; (7) Department…

  20. Mutagenesis of Paramyxovirus Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase Membrane-Proximal Stalk Region Influences Stability, Receptor Binding, and Neuraminidase Activity.

    PubMed

    Adu-Gyamfi, Emmanuel; Kim, Lori S; Jardetzky, Theodore S; Lamb, Robert A

    2016-09-01

    Paramyxoviridae consist of a large family of enveloped, negative-sense, nonsegmented single-stranded RNA viruses that account for a significant number of human and animal diseases. The fusion process for nearly all paramyxoviruses involves the mixing of the host cell plasma membrane and the virus envelope in a pH-independent fashion. Fusion is orchestrated via the concerted action of two surface glycoproteins: an attachment protein called hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN [also called H or G depending on virus type and substrate]), which acts as a receptor binding protein, and a fusion (F) protein, which undergoes a major irreversible refolding process to merge the two membranes. Recent biochemical evidence suggests that receptor binding by HN is dispensable for cell-cell fusion. However, factors that influence the stability and/or conformation of the HN 4-helix bundle (4HB) stalk have not been studied. Here, we used oxidative cross-linking as well as functional assays to investigate the role of the structurally unresolved membrane-proximal stalk region (MPSR) (residues 37 to 58) of HN in the context of headless and full-length HN membrane fusion promotion. Our data suggest that the receptor binding head serves to stabilize the stalk to regulate fusion. Moreover, we found that the MPSR of HN modulates receptor binding and neuraminidase activity without a corresponding regulation of F triggering. Paramyxoviruses require two viral membrane glycoproteins, the attachment protein variously called HN, H, or G and the fusion protein (F), to couple host receptor recognition to virus-cell fusion. The HN protein has a globular head that is attached to a membrane-anchored flexible stalk of ∼80 residues and has three activities: receptor binding, neuraminidase, and fusion activation. In this report, we have identified the functional significance of the membrane-proximal stalk region (MPSR) (HN, residues 37 to 56) of the paramyxovirus parainfluenza virus (PIV5), a region of the

  1. Altered regional homogeneity of spontaneous brain activity in idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yanping; Zhang, Xiaoling; Guan, Qiaobing; Wan, Lihong; Yi, Yahui; Liu, Chun-Feng

    2015-01-01

    The pathophysiology of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) has conventionally been thought to be induced by neurovascular compression theory. Recent structural brain imaging evidence has suggested an additional central component for ITN pathophysiology. However, far less attention has been given to investigations of the basis of abnormal resting-state brain activity in these patients. The objective of this study was to investigate local brain activity in patients with ITN and its correlation with clinical variables of pain. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 17 patients with ITN and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were analyzed using regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis, which is a data-driven approach used to measure the regional synchronization of spontaneous brain activity. Patients with ITN had decreased ReHo in the left amygdala, right parahippocampal gyrus, and left cerebellum and increased ReHo in the right inferior temporal gyrus, right thalamus, right inferior parietal lobule, and left postcentral gyrus (corrected). Furthermore, the increase in ReHo in the left precentral gyrus was positively correlated with visual analog scale (r=0.54; P=0.002). Our study found abnormal functional homogeneity of intrinsic brain activity in several regions in ITN, suggesting the maladaptivity of the process of daily pain attacks and a central role for the pathophysiology of ITN.

  2. Horizontal Flows in the Photosphere and Subphotosphere of Two Active Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Liu, Yang; Zhao, Junwei; Schuck, P. W.

    2012-01-01

    We compare horizontal flow fields in the photosphere and in the subphotosphere (a layer 0.5 megameters below the photosphere) in two solar active regions: AR11084 and AR11158. AR11084 is a mature, simple active region without significant flaring activity, and AR11158 is a multipolar, complex active region with magnetic flux emerging during the period studied. Flows in the photosphere are derived by applying the Differential Affine Velocity Estimator for Vector Magnetograms (DAVE4VM) on HMI-observed vector magnetic fields, and the subphotospheric flows are inferred by time-distance helioseismology using HMI-observed Dopplergrams. Similar flow patterns are found for both layers for AR11084: inward flows in the sunspot umbra and outward flows surrounding the sunspot. The boundary between the inward and outward flows, which is slightly different in the photosphere and the subphotosphere, is within the sunspot penumbra. The area having inward flows in the subphotosphere is larger than that in the photosphere. For AR11158, flows in these two layers show great similarities in some areas and significant differences in other areas. Both layers exhibit consistent outward flows in the areas surrounding sunspots. On the other hand, most well-documented flux-emergence-related flow features seen in the photosphere do not have counterparts in the subphotosphere. This implies that the horizontal flows caused by flux emergence do not extend deeply into the subsurface.

  3. Evidence of active region imprints on the solar wind structure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hick, P.; Jackson, B. V.

    1995-01-01

    A common descriptive framework for discussing the solar wind structure in the inner heliosphere uses the global magnetic field as a reference: low density, high velocity solar wind emanates from open magnetic fields, with high density, low speed solar wind flowing outward near the current sheet. In this picture, active regions, underlying closed magnetic field structures in the streamer belt, leave little or no imprint on the solar wind. We present evidence from interplanetary scintillation measurements of the 'disturbance factor' g that active regions play a role in modulating the solar wind and possibly contribute to the solar wind mass output. Hence we find that the traditional view of the solar wind, though useful in understanding many features of solar wind structure, is oversimplified and possibly neglects important aspects of solar wind dynamics

  4. Electric currents and coronal heating in NOAA active region 6952

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Metcalf, T. R.; Canfield, R. C.; Hudson, H. S.; Mickey, D. L.; Wulser, J. -P.; Martens, P. C. H.; Tsuneta, S.

    1994-01-01

    We examine the spatial and temporal relationship between coronal structures observed with the soft X-ray telescope (SXT) on board the Yohkoh spacecraft and the vertical electric current density derived from photospheric vector magnetograms obtained using the Stokes Polarimeter at the Mees Solar Observatory. We focus on a single active region: AR 6952 which we observed on 7 days during 1991 December. For 11 independent maps of the vertical electric current density co-aligned with non-flaring X-ray images, we search for a morphological relationship between sites of high vertical current density in the photosphere and enhanced X-ray emission in the overlying corona. We find no compelling spatial or temporal correlation between the sites of vertical current and the bright X-ray structures in this active region.

  5. ACTIVE REGION MOSS: DOPPLER SHIFTS FROM HINODE/EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET IMAGING SPECTROMETER OBSERVATIONS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tripathi, Durgesh; Mason, Helen E.; Klimchuk, James A.

    2012-07-01

    Studying the Doppler shifts and the temperature dependence of Doppler shifts in moss regions can help us understand the heating processes in the core of the active regions. In this paper, we have used an active region observation recorded by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board Hinode on 2007 December 12 to measure the Doppler shifts in the moss regions. We have distinguished the moss regions from the rest of the active region by defining a low-density cutoff as derived by Tripathi et al. in 2010. We have carried out a very careful analysis of the EIS wavelength calibrationmore » based on the method described by Young et al. in 2012. For spectral lines having maximum sensitivity between log T = 5.85 and log T = 6.25 K, we find that the velocity distribution peaks at around 0 km s{sup -1} with an estimated error of 4-5 km s{sup -1}. The width of the distribution decreases with temperature. The mean of the distribution shows a blueshift which increases with increasing temperature and the distribution also shows asymmetries toward blueshift. Comparing these results with observables predicted from different coronal heating models, we find that these results are consistent with both steady and impulsive heating scenarios. However, the fact that there are a significant number of pixels showing velocity amplitudes that exceed the uncertainty of 5 km s{sup -1} is suggestive of impulsive heating. Clearly, further observational constraints are needed to distinguish between these two heating scenarios.« less

  6. 50 CFR 216.250 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Weapon Missions in the Gulf of Mexico § 216.250 Specified activity and specified geographical region. (a... within the Eglin Air Force Base Gulf Test and Training Range within the northern Gulf of Mexico. The...

  7. The morphology of flare phenomena, magnetic fields, and electric currents in active regions. II - NOAA active region 5747 (1989 October)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leka, K. D.; Canfield, Richard C.; Mcclymont, A. N.; De La Beaujardiere, J.-F.; Fan, Yuhong; Tang, F.

    1993-01-01

    The paper describes October 1989 observations in NOAA Active Region 5747 of the morphology of energetic electron precipitation and high-pressure coronal flare plasmas of three flares and their relation to the vector magnetic field and vertical electric currents. The H-alpha spectroheliograms were coaligned with the vector magnetograms using continuum images of sunspots, enabling positional accuracy of a few arcsec. It was found that, during the gradual phase, the regions of the H-alpha flare that show the effects of enhanced pressure in the overlying corona often encompass extrema of the vertical current density, consistent with earlier work showing a close relationship between H-alpha emission and line-of-sight currents. The data are also consistent with the overall morphology and evolution described by erupting-filament models such as those of Kopp and Pneuman (1976) and Sturrock (1989).

  8. Specificity of regional brain activity in anxiety types during emotion processing.

    PubMed

    Engels, Anna S; Heller, Wendy; Mohanty, Aprajita; Herrington, John D; Banich, Marie T; Webb, Andrew G; Miller, Gregory A

    2007-05-01

    The present study tested the hypothesis that anxious apprehension involves more left- than right-hemisphere activity and that anxious arousal is associated with the opposite pattern. Behavioral and fMRI responses to threat stimuli in an emotional Stroop task were examined in nonpatient groups reporting anxious apprehension, anxious arousal, or neither. Reaction times were longer for negative than for neutral words. As predicted, brain activation distinguished anxious groups in a left inferior frontal region associated with speech production and in a right-hemisphere inferior temporal area. Addressing a second hypothesis about left-frontal involvement in emotion, distinct left frontal regions were associated with anxious apprehension versus processing of positive information. Results support the proposed distinction between the two types of anxiety and resolve an inconsistency about the role of left-frontal activation in emotion and psychopathology.

  9. NDVI indicated long-term interannual changes in vegetation activities and their responses to climatic and anthropogenic factors in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China.

    PubMed

    Wen, Zhaofei; Wu, Shengjun; Chen, Jilong; Lü, Mingquan

    2017-01-01

    Natural and social environmental changes in the China's Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) have received worldwide attention. Identifying interannual changes in vegetation activities in the TGRR is an important task for assessing the impact these changes have on the local ecosystem. We used long-term (1982-2011) satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) datasets and climatic and anthropogenic factors to analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation activities in the TGRR, as well as their links to changes in temperature (TEM), precipitation (PRE), downward radiation (RAD), and anthropogenic activities. At the whole TGRR regional scale, a statistically significant overall uptrend in NDVI variations was observed in 1982-2011. More specifically, there were two distinct periods with different trends split by a breakpoint in 1991: NDVI first sharply increased prior to 1991, and then showed a relatively weak rate of increase after 1991. At the pixel scale, most parts of the TGRR experienced increasing NDVI before the 1990s but different trend change types after the 1990s: trends were positive in forests in the northeastern parts, but negative in farmland in southwest parts of the TGRR. The TEM warming trend was the main climate-related driver of uptrending NDVI variations pre-1990s, and decreasing PRE was the main climate factor (42%) influencing the mid-western farmland areas' NDVI variations post-1990s. We also found that anthropogenic factors such as population density, man-made ecological restoration, and urbanization have notable impacts on the TGRR's NDVI variations. For example, large overall trend slopes in NDVI were more likely to appear in TGRR regions with large fractions of ecological restoration within the last two decades. The findings of this study may help to build a better understanding of the mechanics of NDVI variations in the periods before and during TGDP construction for ongoing ecosystem monitoring and assessment in the

  10. Occurrence of Sporadic -E layer during the Low Solar Activity over the Anomaly Crest Region Bhopal, India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhawre, Purushottam

    2016-07-01

    Ionospheric anomaly crest regions are most challenging for scientific community to understand its mechanism and investigation, for this purpose we are investigating some inospheric result for this region. The study is based on the ionogram data recorded by IPS-71 Digital Ionosonde installed over anomaly crust region Bhopal (Geo.Lat.23.2° N, Geo. Long77.4° E, Dip latitude18.4°) over a four year period from January 2007 to December 2010, covering the ending phase of 23rd Solar Cycle and starting phase of 24th solar cycle. This particular period is felt to be very suitable for examining the sunspot number and it encompasses periods of low solar activities. Quarterly ionograms are analyzed for 24 hours during these study years and have been carefully examined to note down the presence of sporadic- E. We also note down the space weather activities along with the study. The studies are divided in mainly four parts with space and geomagnetic activities during these periods. The occurrence probability of this layer is highest in summer solstice, moderate during equinox and low during winter solstice. Remarkable occurrence peaks appear from June to July in summer and from December to January in winter. The layer occurrence showed a double peak variation with distinct layer groups, in the morning (0200 LT) and the other during evening (1800 LT).The morning layer descent was associated with layer density increase indicating the strengthening of the layer while it decreased during the evening layer descent. The result indicates the presence of semi-diurnal tide over the location while the higher descent velocities could be due to the modulation of the ionization by gravity waves along with the tides. The irregularities associated with the gradient-drift instability disappear during the counter electrojet and the current flow is reversed in westward.

  11. Extreme storm activity in North Atlantic and European region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vyazilova, N.

    2010-09-01

    The extreme storm activity study over North Atlantic and Europe includes the analyses of extreme cyclone (track number, integral cyclonic intensity) and extreme storm (track number) during winter and summer seasons in the regions: 1) 55°N-80N, 50°W-70°E; 2) 30°N-55°N, 50°W-70°E. Extreme cyclones were selected based on cyclone centre pressure (P<=970 mbar). Extreme storms were selected from extreme cyclones based on wind velocity on 925 mbar. The Bofort scala was used for this goal. Integral cyclonic intensity (for region) includes the calculation cyclone centers number and sum of MSLP anomalies in cyclone centers. The analyses based on automated cyclone tracking algorithm, 6-hourly MSLP and wind data (u and v on 925 gPa) from the NCEP/NCAR reanalyses from January 1948 to March 2010. The comparision of mean, calculated for every ten years, had shown, that in polar region extreme cyclone and storm track number, and integral cyclonic intensity gradually increases and have maximum during last years (as for summer, as for winter season). Every ten years means for summer season are more then for winter season, as for polar, as for tropical region. Means (ten years) for tropical region are significance less then for polar region.

  12. Active Region Jets II: Triggering and Evolution of Violent Jets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sterling, Alphonse C.; Moore, Ronald L.; Falconer, David; Panesar, Navdeep K.; Martinez, Francisco

    2017-08-01

    We study a series of X-ray-bright, rapidly evolving active-region coronal jets outside the leading sunspot of AR 12259, using Hinode/XRT, SDO/AIA and HMI, and IRIS/SJ data. The detailed evolution of such rapidly evolving “violent” jets remained a mystery after our previous investigation of active region jets (Sterling et al. 2016, ApJ, 821, 100). The jets we investigate here erupt from three localized subregions, each containing a rapidly evolving (positive) minority-polarity magnetic-flux patch bathed in a (majority) negative-polarity magnetic-flux background. At least several of the jets begin with eruptions of what appear to be thin (thickness ˜<2‧‧) miniature-filament (minifilament) “strands” from a magnetic neutral line where magnetic flux cancelation is ongoing, consistent with the magnetic configuration presented for coronal-hole jets in Sterling et al. (2015, Nature, 523, 437). For some jets strands are difficult/ impossible to detect, perhaps due to their thinness, obscuration by surrounding bright or dark features, or the absence of erupting cool-material minifilaments in those jets. Tracing in detail the flux evolution in one of the subregions, we find bursts of strong jetting occurring only during times of strong flux cancelation. Averaged over seven jetting episodes, the cancelation rate was ~1.5×10^19 Mx/hr. An average flux of ~5×10^18 Mx canceled prior to each episode, arguably building up ~10^28—10^29 ergs of free magnetic energy per jet. From these and previous observations, we infer that flux cancelation is the fundamental process responsible for the pre-eruption buildup and triggering of at least many jets in active regions, quiet regions, and coronal holes.

  13. Provincial division of the Asian part of the Siberian-Canadian paleofloristic region in the Late Cretaceous

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Golovneva, L. B.

    2014-05-01

    The following provinces are recognized in the Late Cretaceous within the Asian part of the Siberian-Canadian paleofloristic region: Chulym-Yenisei, Lena-Vilyui, North Siberian, Verkhoyansk, Mountain Okhotsk-Chukotka, Anadyr', Amur, Sikhote-Alin, and Sakhalin-Japanese. It is proposed to consider the Central Asian (Turan) Province as belonging to the Euro-Sinian paleofloristic region. In the Cenomanian, the province also included the area of the southern Chulym-Yenisei Depression. In the maritime and northern provinces, a considerable occurrence of Mesozoic relics compared to the southern and continental ones is recorded. Similarity and distinctions between the floras of different provinces varied during the Late Cretaceous. Climatic conditions played a considerable role in species diversity and degree of differentiation or unification of the floras.

  14. Signatures of Slow Solar Wind Streams from Active Regions in the Inner Corona

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slemzin, V.; Harra, L.; Urnov, A.; Kuzin, S.; Goryaev, F.; Berghmans, D.

    2013-08-01

    The identification of solar-wind sources is an important question in solar physics. The existing solar-wind models ( e.g., the Wang-Sheeley-Arge model) provide the approximate locations of the solar wind sources based on magnetic field extrapolations. It has been suggested recently that plasma outflows observed at the edges of active regions may be a source of the slow solar wind. To explore this we analyze an isolated active region (AR) adjacent to small coronal hole (CH) in July/August 2009. On 1 August, Hinode/EUV Imaging Spectrometer observations showed two compact outflow regions in the corona. Coronal rays were observed above the active-region coronal hole (ARCH) region on the eastern limb on 31 July by STEREO-A/EUVI and at the western limb on 7 August by CORONAS- Photon/TESIS telescopes. In both cases the coronal rays were co-aligned with open magnetic-field lines given by the potential field source surface model, which expanded into the streamer. The solar-wind parameters measured by STEREO-B, ACE, Wind, and STEREO-A confirmed the identification of the ARCH as a source region of the slow solar wind. The results of the study support the suggestion that coronal rays can represent signatures of outflows from ARs propagating in the inner corona along open field lines into the heliosphere.

  15. Theta-Modulated Gamma-Band Synchronization Among Activated Regions During a Verb Generation Task

    PubMed Central

    Doesburg, Sam M.; Vinette, Sarah A.; Cheung, Michael J.; Pang, Elizabeth W.

    2012-01-01

    Expressive language is complex and involves processing within a distributed network of cortical regions. Functional MRI and magnetoencephalography (MEG) have identified brain areas critical for expressive language, but how these regions communicate across the network remains poorly understood. It is thought that synchronization of oscillations between neural populations, particularly at a gamma rate (>30 Hz), underlies functional integration within cortical networks. Modulation of gamma rhythms by theta-band oscillations (4–8 Hz) has been proposed as a mechanism for the integration of local cell coalitions into large-scale networks underlying cognition and perception. The present study tested the hypothesis that these oscillatory mechanisms of functional integration were present within the expressive language network. We recorded MEG while subjects performed a covert verb generation task. We localized activated cortical regions using beamformer analysis, calculated inter-regional phase locking between activated areas, and measured modulation of inter-regional gamma synchronization by theta phase. The results show task-dependent gamma-band synchronization among regions activated during the performance of the verb generation task, and we provide evidence that these transient and periodic instances of high-frequency connectivity were modulated by the phase of cortical theta oscillations. These findings suggest that oscillatory synchronization and cross-frequency interactions are mechanisms for functional integration among distributed brain areas supporting expressive language processing. PMID:22707946

  16. IFLA General Conference, 1987. Division of Regional Activities. Papers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Federation of Library Associations, The Hague (Netherlands).

    Six of the seven papers in this collection focus on regional library activities in Africa, Asia and Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean: (1) "Libraries and Information Services in a Changing World: The Challenges African Information Services Face at the End of the 1980s" (Dejen Abate, Ethiopia); (2) "The Computer and…

  17. Contribution of regional brain melanocortin receptor subtypes to elevated activity energy expenditure in lean, active rats

    PubMed Central

    Shukla, Charu; Koch, Lauren G.; Britton, Steven L.; Cai, Minying; Hruby, Victor J.; Bednarek, Maria; Novak, Colleen M.

    2015-01-01

    Physical activity and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) are crucial factors accounting for individual differences in body weight, interacting with genetic predisposition. In the brain, a number of neuroendocrine intermediates regulate food intake and energy expenditure (EE); this includes the brain melanocortin (MC) system, consisting of melanocortin peptides as well as their receptors (MCR). MC3R and MC4R have emerged as critical modulators of EE and food intake. To determine how variance in MC signaling may underlie individual differences in physical activity levels, we examined behavioral response to MC receptor agonists and antagonists in rats that show high and low levels of physical activity and NEAT, that is, high- and low-capacity runners (HCR, LCR), developed by artificial selection for differential intrinsic aerobic running capacity. Focusing on the hypothalamus, we identified brain region-specific elevations in expression of MCR 3, 4, and also MC5R, in the highly active, lean HCR relative to the less active and obesity-prone LCR. Further, the differences in activity and associated EE as a result of MCR activation or suppression using specific agonists and antagonists were similarly region-specific and directly corresponded to the differential MCR expression patterns. The agonists and antagonists investigated here did not significantly impact food intake at the doses used, suggesting that the differential pattern of receptor expression may by more meaningful to physical activity than to other aspects of energy balance regulation. Thus, MCR-mediated physical activity may be a key neural mechanism in distinguishing the lean phenotype and a target for enhancing physical activity and NEAT. PMID:26404873

  18. 32 CFR Appendix D to Part 552 - Unauthorized Activities in Fort Lewis Maneuver Areas

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Areas D Appendix D to Part 552 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY... Appendix D to Part 552—Unauthorized Activities in Fort Lewis Maneuver Areas Civilian paramilitary...-detecting, including recovery of ammunition residue of fragments, archaeological or cultural artifacts, or...

  19. 32 CFR Appendix D to Part 552 - Unauthorized Activities in Fort Lewis Maneuver Areas

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Areas D Appendix D to Part 552 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY MILITARY RESERVATIONS AND NATIONAL CEMETERIES REGULATIONS AFFECTING MILITARY RESERVATIONS Pt. 552, App. D Appendix D to Part 552—Unauthorized Activities in Fort Lewis Maneuver Areas Civilian paramilitary...

  20. Magnetic flux transport of decaying active regions and enhanced magnetic network. [of solar supergranulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Haimin; Zirin, Harold; Ai, Guoxiang

    1991-01-01

    Several series of coordinated observations on decaying active regions and enhanced magnetic network regions on the sun were carried out jointly at Big Bear Solar Observatory and at the Huairou Solar Observing Station of the Bejing Astronomical Observatory in China. The magnetic field evolution in several regions was followed closely for three to seven days. The magnetic flux transport from the remnants of decayed active regions was studied, along with the evolution and lifetime of the magnetic network which defines the boundaries of supergranules. The magnetic flux transport in an enhanced network region was studied in detail and found to be negative. Also briefly described are some properties of moving magnetic features around a sunspot. Results of all of the above studies are presented.

  1. Cloud condensation nuclei activity and droplet activation kinetics of wet processed regional dust samples and minerals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, P.; Sokolik, I. N.; Nenes, A.

    2011-08-01

    This study reports laboratory measurements of particle size distributions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, and droplet activation kinetics of wet generated aerosols from clays, calcite, quartz, and desert soil samples from Northern Africa, East Asia/China, and Northern America. The dependence of critical supersaturation, sc, on particle dry diameter, Ddry, is used to characterize particle-water interactions and assess the ability of Frenkel-Halsey-Hill adsorption activation theory (FHH-AT) and Köhler theory (KT) to describe the CCN activity of the considered samples. Wet generated regional dust samples produce unimodal size distributions with particle sizes as small as 40 nm, CCN activation consistent with KT, and exhibit hygroscopicity similar to inorganic salts. Wet generated clays and minerals produce a bimodal size distribution; the CCN activity of the smaller mode is consistent with KT, while the larger mode is less hydrophilic, follows activation by FHH-AT, and displays almost identical CCN activity to dry generated dust. Ion Chromatography (IC) analysis performed on regional dust samples indicates a soluble fraction that cannot explain the CCN activity of dry or wet generated dust. A mass balance and hygroscopicity closure suggests that the small amount of ions (from low solubility compounds like calcite) present in the dry dust dissolve in the aqueous suspension during the wet generation process and give rise to the observed small hygroscopic mode. Overall these results identify an artifact that may question the atmospheric relevance of dust CCN activity studies using the wet generation method. Based on the method of threshold droplet growth analysis, wet generated mineral aerosols display similar activation kinetics compared to ammonium sulfate calibration aerosol. Finally, a unified CCN activity framework that accounts for concurrent effects of solute and adsorption is developed to describe the CCN activity of aged or hygroscopic dusts.

  2. Large-scale patterns formed by solar active regions during the ascending phase of cycle 21

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gaizauskas, V.; Harvey, K. L.; Harvey, J. W.; Zwaan, C.

    1983-02-01

    Synoptic maps of photospheric magnetic fields prepared at the Kitt Peak National Observatory are used in investigating large-scale patterns in the spatial and temporal distribution of solar active regions for 27 solar rotations between 1977 and 1979. The active regions are found to be distributed in 'complexes of activity' (Bumba and Howard, 1965). With the working definition of a complex of activity based on continuity and proximity of the constituent active regions, the phenomenology of complexes is explored. It is found that complexes of activity form within one month and that they are typically maintained for 3 to 6 solar rotations by fresh injections of magnetic flux. During the active lifetime of a complex of activity, the total magnetic flux in the complex remains steady to within a factor of 2. The magnetic polarities are closely balanced, and each complex rotates about the sun at its own special, constant rate. In certain cases, the complexes form two diverging branches.

  3. Coupled-resonator vertical-cavity lasers with two active gain regions

    DOEpatents

    Fischer, Arthur J.; Choquette, Kent D.; Chow, Weng W.

    2003-05-20

    A new class of coupled-resonator vertical-cavity semiconductor lasers has been developed. These lasers have multiple resonant cavities containing regions of active laser media, resulting in a multi-terminal laser component with a wide range of novel properties.

  4. The activities of the C-terminal regions of the formin protein disheveled-associated activator of morphogenesis (DAAM) in actin dynamics.

    PubMed

    Vig, Andrea Teréz; Földi, István; Szikora, Szilárd; Migh, Ede; Gombos, Rita; Tóth, Mónika Ágnes; Huber, Tamás; Pintér, Réka; Talián, Gábor Csaba; Mihály, József; Bugyi, Beáta

    2017-08-18

    Disheveled-associated activator of morphogenesis (DAAM) is a diaphanous-related formin protein essential for the regulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics in diverse biological processes. The conserved formin homology 1 and 2 (FH1-FH2) domains of DAAM catalyze actin nucleation and processively mediate filament elongation. These activities are indirectly regulated by the N- and C-terminal regions flanking the FH1-FH2 domains. Recently, the C-terminal diaphanous-autoregulatory domain (DAD) and the C terminus (CT) of formins have also been shown to regulate actin assembly by directly interacting with actin. Here, to better understand the biological activities of DAAM, we studied the role of DAD-CT regions of Drosophila DAAM in its interaction with actin with in vitro biochemical and in vivo genetic approaches. We found that the DAD-CT region binds actin in vitro and that its main actin-binding element is the CT region, which does not influence actin dynamics on its own. However, we also found that it can tune the nucleating activity and the filament end-interaction properties of DAAM in an FH2 domain-dependent manner. We also demonstrate that DAD-CT makes the FH2 domain more efficient in antagonizing with capping protein. Consistently, in vivo data suggested that the CT region contributes to DAAM-mediated filopodia formation and dynamics in primary neurons. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the CT region of DAAM plays an important role in actin assembly regulation in a biological context. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  5. 50 CFR 217.151 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... geographical region. 217.151 Section 217.151 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKE OF MARINE MAMMALS INCIDENTAL TO SPECIFIED ACTIVITIES Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to...

  6. 50 CFR 217.151 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... geographical region. 217.151 Section 217.151 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKE OF MARINE MAMMALS INCIDENTAL TO SPECIFIED ACTIVITIES Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to...

  7. The discrete and localized nature of the variable emission from active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arndt, Martina Belz; Habbal, Shadia Rifai; Karovska, Margarita

    1994-01-01

    Using data from the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Spectroheliometer on Skylab, we study the empirical characteristics of the variable emission in active regions. These simultaneous multi-wavelength observations clearly confirm that active regions consist of a complex of loops at different temperatures. The variable emission from this complex has very well-defined properties that can be quantitatively summarized as follows: (1) It is localized predominantly around the footpoints where it occurs at discrete locations. (2) The strongest variability does not necessarily coincide with the most intense emission. (3) The fraction of the area of the footpoints, (delta n)/N, that exhibits variable emission, varies by +/- 15% as a function of time, at any of the wavelengths measured. It also varies very little from footpoint to footpoint. (4) This fractional variation is temperature dependent with a maximum around 10(exp 5) K. (5) The ratio of the intensity of the variable to the average background emission, (delta I)/(bar-I), also changes with temperature. In addition, we find that these distinctive characteristics persist even when flares occur within the active region.

  8. LIGHT BRIDGE IN A DEVELOPING ACTIVE REGION. I. OBSERVATION OF LIGHT BRIDGE AND ITS DYNAMIC ACTIVITY PHENOMENA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Toriumi, Shin; Katsukawa, Yukio; Cheung, Mark C. M., E-mail: shin.toriumi@nao.ac.jp

    Light bridges, the bright structures that divide the umbra of sunspots and pores into smaller pieces, are known to produce a wide variety of activity events in solar active regions (ARs). It is also known that the light bridges appear in the assembling process of nascent sunspots. The ultimate goal of this series of papers is to reveal the nature of light bridges in developing ARs and the occurrence of activity events associated with the light bridge structures from both observational and numerical approaches. In this first paper, exploiting the observational data obtained by Hinode, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, andmore » the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we investigate the detailed structure of the light bridge in NOAA AR 11974 and its dynamic activity phenomena. As a result, we find that the light bridge has a weak, horizontal magnetic field, which is transported from the interior by a large-scale convective upflow and is surrounded by strong, vertical fields of adjacent pores. In the chromosphere above the bridge, a transient brightening occurs repeatedly and intermittently, followed by a recurrent dark surge ejection into higher altitudes. Our analysis indicates that the brightening is the plasma heating due to magnetic reconnection at lower altitudes, while the dark surge is the cool, dense plasma ejected from the reconnection region. From the observational results, we conclude that the dynamic activity observed in a light bridge structure such as chromospheric brightenings and dark surge ejections are driven by magnetoconvective evolution within the light bridge and its interaction with the surrounding magnetic fields.« less

  9. 29 CFR 778.332 - Awards for activities not normally part of employee's job.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Awards for activities not normally part of employee's job. 778.332 Section 778.332 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION... of employee's job. (a) Where the prize is awarded for activities outside the customary working hours...

  10. 29 CFR 779.210 - Other activities which may be part of the enterprise.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... the principal business to create good will or to attract customers. In other cases, the businessman... enterprise may perform certain activities that appear entirely foreign to its principal business but which... activities may be a very minor and incidental part of its business operations. For example a retail store may...

  11. On Heating the Sun's Corona by Magnetic Explosions: Feasibility in Active Regions and prospects for Quiet Regions and Coronal Holes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, Ronald L.; Falconer, D. A.; Porter, Jason G.; Suess, Steven T.

    1999-01-01

    We build a case for the persistent strong coronal heating in active regions and the pervasive quasi-steady heating of the corona in quiet regions and coronal holes being driven in basically the same way as the intense transient heating in solar flares: by explosions of sheared magnetic fields in the cores of initially closed bipoles. We begin by summarizing the observational case for exploding sheared core fields being the drivers of a wide variety of flare events, with and without coronal mass ejections. We conclude that the arrangement of an event's flare heating, whether there is a coronal mass ejection, and the time and place of the ejection relative to the flare heating are all largely determined by four elements of the form and action of the magnetic field: (1) the arrangement of the impacted, interacting bipoles participating in the event, (2) which of these bipoles are active (have sheared core fields that explode) and which are passive (are heated by injection from impacted active bipoles), (3) which core field explodes first, and (4) which core-field explosions are confined within the closed field of their bipoles and which ejectively open their bipoles. We then apply this magnetic-configuration framework for flare heating to the strong coronal heating observed by the Yohkoh Soft X-ray Telescope in an active region with strongly sheared core fields observed by the MSFC vector magnetograph. All of the strong coronal heating is in continually microflaring sheared core fields or in extended loops rooted against the active core fields. Thus, the strong heating occurs in field configurations consistent with the heating being driven by frequent core-field explosions that are smaller but similar to those in confined flares and flaring arches. From analysis of the thermal and magnetic energetics of two selected core-field microflares and a bright extended loop, we find that (1) it is energetically feasible for the sheared core fields to drive all of the coronal

  12. Chromospheric and photospheric evolution of an extremely active solar region in solar cycle 19

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mckenna-Lawlor, S. M. P.

    1981-01-01

    a comprehensive investigation was made of phenomena attending the disk passage, July 7 to 21, 1959, of active solar center HAO-59Q. At the photospheric level that comprised an aggregate of groups of sunspots of which one group, Mt. Wilson 14284, showed all the attributes deemed typical of solar regions associated with the production of major flares. A special characteristic of 59Q was its capability to eject dark material. Part of this material remained trapped in the strong magnetic fields above group 14284 where it formed a system of interrelated arches, the legs of which passed through components of the bright chromospheric network of the plage and were rooted in various underlying umbrae. Two apparently diffeent kinds of flare were identified in 59Q; namely, prominence flares (which comprised brightenings within part of the suspended dark prominence) and plage flares (which comprised brightenings within part of the chromospheric network). Prominence flares were of three varieties described as 'impact', 'stationary' and 'moving' prominence flares. Plage flares were accompanied in 3 percent of cases by Type III bursts. These latter radio events indicate the associated passage through the corona of energetic electrons in the approximate energy range 10 to 100 keV. At least 87.5 percent, and probably all, impulsive brightenings in 59Q began directly above minor spots, many of which satellites to major umbrae. Stationary and moving prominence flares were individually triggered at sites beneath which magnetic changes occurred within intervals which included each flare's flash phase.

  13. Drainage - Structure Correlation in tectonically active Regions: Case studies in the Bolivian and Colombian Andes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeilinger, Gerold; Parra, Mauricio; Kober, Florian

    2017-04-01

    It is widely accepted, that drainage patterns are often controlled by tectonics/climate and geology/rheology. Classical drainage patterns can be found 1) in fault-and-thrust belt, where rives follow the valleys parallel or cut perpendicular to strike trough the ridges, forming a trellis pattern, 2) at dome structures where the drainage form a radial pattern or 3) rectangular patterns in strongly fractured regions. In this study, we focus on fault-and-thrust belts, that undergone different phases of tectonic activity. According to classical models, the deformation is propagating into the foreland, hence being youngest at the frontal part and getting successively older towards the axis of the orogen. Drainage patterns in the more interior parts of the orogenic wedge should be then less influenced by the direction of structures, as landscape evolution is changing to a tectonic passive stage. This relationship might represent the transience and maturity of drainage pattern evolution. Here we study drainage patterns of the Bolivian and the eastern Colombian Andes by comparing the relative orientation of the drainage network with the orogen structural grain. The drainage is extracted from Digital Elevation Models (SRTM 30 m) and indexed by their Strahler Order. Order 1 channels have an upstream area of 1 km2. The direction of all segments is analyzed by linear directional mean function that results in the mean orientation of input channels with approx. 500 m average length. The orientation of structures for different structural domains is calculated using the same function on digitized faults and fold-axis. Rose diagrams show the length-weighted directional distribution of structures, of higher (>= 4) and of lower order (<= 3) channels. The structural trend in the Bolivian Andes is controlled by the orocline, where a predominant NW-SE trend turns into an N-S trend at 18°S and where the eastern orogen comprise from west to east, the Eastern Cordillera (EC), the

  14. A solar cycle timing predictor - The latitude of active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schatten, Kenneth H.

    1990-01-01

    A 'Spoerer butterfly' method is used to examine solar cycle 22. It is shown from the latitude of active regions that the cycle can now be expected to peak near November 1989 + or - 8 months, basically near the latter half of 1989.

  15. Space-weather Parameters for 1,000 Active Regions Observed by SDO/HMI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bobra, M.; Liu, Y.; Hoeksema, J. T.; Sun, X.

    2013-12-01

    We present statistical studies of several space-weather parameters, derived from observations of the photospheric vector magnetic field by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory, for a thousand active regions. Each active region has been observed every twelve minutes during the entirety of its disk passage. Some of these parameters, such as energy density and shear angle, indicate the deviation of the photospheric magnetic field from that of a potential field. Other parameters include flux, helicity, field gradients, polarity inversion line properties, and measures of complexity. We show that some of these parameters are useful for event prediction.

  16. Electric-current Neutralization, Magnetic Shear, and Eruptive Activity in Solar Active Regions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, Yang; Sun, Xudong; Török, Tibor

    The physical conditions that determine whether or not solar active regions (ARs) produce strong flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are not yet well understood. Here, we investigate the association between electric-current neutralization, magnetic shear along polarity inversion lines (PILs), and eruptive activity in four ARs: two emerging and two well-developed ones. We find that the CME-producing ARs are characterized by a strongly non-neutralized total current, while the total current in the ARs that did not produce CMEs is almost perfectly neutralized. The difference in the PIL shear between these two groups is much less pronounced, which suggests that themore » degree of current neutralization may serve as a better proxy for assessing the ability of ARs to produce CMEs.« less

  17. Helioseismology of pre-emerging active regions. III. Statistical analysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Barnes, G.; Leka, K. D.; Braun, D. C.

    The subsurface properties of active regions (ARs) prior to their appearance at the solar surface may shed light on the process of AR formation. Helioseismic holography has been applied to samples taken from two populations of regions on the Sun (pre-emergence and without emergence), each sample having over 100 members, that were selected to minimize systematic bias, as described in Paper I. Paper II showed that there are statistically significant signatures in the average helioseismic properties that precede the formation of an AR. This paper describes a more detailed analysis of the samples of pre-emergence regions and regions without emergencemore » based on discriminant analysis. The property that is best able to distinguish the populations is found to be the surface magnetic field, even a day before the emergence time. However, after accounting for the correlations between the surface field and the quantities derived from helioseismology, there is still evidence of a helioseismic precursor to AR emergence that is present for at least a day prior to emergence, although the analysis presented cannot definitively determine the subsurface properties prior to emergence due to the small sample sizes.« less

  18. Representational Similarity of Body Parts in Human Occipitotemporal Cortex.

    PubMed

    Bracci, Stefania; Caramazza, Alfonso; Peelen, Marius V

    2015-09-23

    Regions in human lateral and ventral occipitotemporal cortices (OTC) respond selectively to pictures of the human body and its parts. What are the organizational principles underlying body part responses in these regions? Here we used representational similarity analysis (RSA) of fMRI data to test multiple possible organizational principles: shape similarity, physical proximity, cortical homunculus proximity, and semantic similarity. Participants viewed pictures of whole persons, chairs, and eight body parts (hands, arms, legs, feet, chests, waists, upper faces, and lower faces). The similarity of multivoxel activity patterns for all body part pairs was established in whole person-selective OTC regions. The resulting neural similarity matrices were then compared with similarity matrices capturing the hypothesized organizational principles. Results showed that the semantic similarity model best captured the neural similarity of body parts in lateral and ventral OTC, which followed an organization in three clusters: (1) body parts used as action effectors (hands, feet, arms, and legs), (2) noneffector body parts (chests and waists), and (3) face parts (upper and lower faces). Whole-brain RSA revealed, in addition to OTC, regions in parietal and frontal cortex in which neural similarity was related to semantic similarity. In contrast, neural similarity in occipital cortex was best predicted by shape similarity models. We suggest that the semantic organization of body parts in high-level visual cortex relates to the different functions associated with the three body part clusters, reflecting the unique processing and connectivity demands associated with the different types of information (e.g., action, social) different body parts (e.g., limbs, faces) convey. Significance statement: While the organization of body part representations in motor and somatosensory cortices has been well characterized, the principles underlying body part representations in visual cortex

  19. Regionalization and dependence of coda Q on frequency and lapse time in the seismically active Peloritani region (northeastern Sicily, Italy)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giampiccolo, Elisabetta; Tuvè, Tiziana

    2018-05-01

    The Peloritani region is one of the most seismically active regions in Italy and, consequently, the quantification of attenuation of the medium plays an important role for seismic risk evaluation. Moreover, it is necessary for the prediction of earth ground motion and future seismic source studies. An in depth analysis has been made here to understand the frequency and lapse time dependence of attenuation characteristics of the region by using the coda of local earthquakes. A regionalization is likewise performed in order to investigate the spatial variation of coda Q across the whole region. Finally, our results are jointly interpreted with those obtained from recently published 3D velocity tomographies for further insights.

  20. Modification of "Pressed" Atmospheres in Active Regions of Ultracool Stars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaitsev, V. V.; Kronshtadtov, P. V.; Stepanov, A. V.

    2017-12-01

    Ultracool stars usually have active regions, which is confirmed by their high-power radiofrequency emission modulated by the star axial rotation. The interpretation of this emission is commonly based on the electron cyclotron maser mechanism realized in the active regions. A plasma mechanism of radiofrequency emission is not considered, because ultracool star atmospheres are tightly "pressed" against the star surface, and the plasma frequency is much lower than the electron gyrofrequency ( f L ≪ f B) at the coronal levels. This paper explores active regions of ultracool stars for the possible existence of a system of coronal magnetic loops carrying electric current generated by photospheric convection. It is shown that current dissipation induces a temperature increase inside the loops to about 107 K, which causes an increase in the scale of height of the inhomogeneous atmosphere and, at the coronal levels, effectuates condition f L ≫ f B, at which the plasma mechanism of radiofrequency emission prevails over the electron cyclotron maser mechanism. The magnetic loop parameters, intensity of electric currents generated by the photospheric convection, and efficiency of plasma heating inside the magnetic loops are evaluated on the example of the brown dwarf TVLM513-46546. The scale of the height of the modified atmosphere, which appears to be comparable to the star radius, is calculated; it is shown that the soft X-ray flow created by the hot modified atmosphere inside a coronal magnetic loop is about equal to that observed for brown dwarf TVLM513-46546.

  1. Spontaneous alterations of regional brain activity in patients with adult generalized anxiety disorder

    PubMed Central

    Xia, Likun; Li, Shumei; Wang, Tianyue; Guo, Yaping; Meng, Lihong; Feng, Yunping; Cui, Yu; Wang, Fan; Ma, Jian; Jiang, Guihua

    2017-01-01

    Objective We aimed to examine how spontaneous brain activity might be related to the pathophysiology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Patients and methods Using resting-state functional MRI, we examined spontaneous regional brain activity in 31 GAD patients (mean age, 36.87±9.16 years) and 36 healthy control participants (mean age, 39.53±8.83 years) matched for age, education, and sex from December 2014 to October 2015. We performed a two-sample t-test on the voxel-based analysis of the regional homogeneity (ReHo) maps. We used Pearson correlation analysis to compare scores from the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, State–Trait Anxiety Scale-Trait Scale, and mean ReHo values. Results We found abnormal spontaneous activity in multiple regions of brain in GAD patients, especially in the sensorimotor cortex and emotional regions. GAD patients showed decreased ReHo values in the right orbital middle frontal gyrus, left anterior cingulate cortex, right middle frontal gyrus, and bilateral supplementary motor areas, with increased ReHo values in the left middle temporal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, and right superior occipital gyrus. The ReHo value of the left middle temporal gyrus correlated positively with the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale scores. Conclusion These results suggest that altered local synchronization of spontaneous brain activity may be related to the pathophysiology of GAD. PMID:28790831

  2. Regional cholinesterase activity in white-throated sparrow brain is differentially affected by acephate (Orthene®)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Vyas, N.B.; Kuenzel, W.J.; Hill, E.F.; Romo, G.A.; Komaragiri, M.V.S.

    1996-01-01

    Effects of a 14-day dietary exposure to an organophosphorus pesticide, acephate (acetylphosphoramidothioic acid O,S-dimethyl ester), were determined on cholinesterase activity in three regions (basal ganglia, hippocampus, and hypothalamus) of the white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis, brain. All three regions experienced depressed cholinesterase activity between 0.5–2 ppm acephate. The regions exhibited cholinesterase recovery at 2–16 ppm acephate; however, cholinesterase activity dropped and showed no recovery at higher dietary levels (>16 ppm acephate). Evidence indicates that the recovery is initiated by the magnitude of depression, not the duration. In general, as acephate concentration increased, differences in ChE activity among brain regions decreased. Three terms are introduced to describe ChE response to acephate exposure: 1) ChE resistance threshold, 2) ChE compensation threshold, and 3) ChE depression threshold. It is hypothesized that adverse effects to birds in the field may occur at pesticide exposure levels customarily considered negligible.

  3. Horizontal flow fields in and around a small active region. The transition period between flux emergence and decay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Verma, M.; Denker, C.; Balthasar, H.; Kuckein, C.; González Manrique, S. J.; Sobotka, M.; Bello González, N.; Hoch, S.; Diercke, A.; Kummerow, P.; Berkefeld, T.; Collados, M.; Feller, A.; Hofmann, A.; Kneer, F.; Lagg, A.; Löhner-Böttcher, J.; Nicklas, H.; Pastor Yabar, A.; Schlichenmaier, R.; Schmidt, D.; Schmidt, W.; Schubert, M.; Sigwarth, M.; Solanki, S. K.; Soltau, D.; Staude, J.; Strassmeier, K. G.; Volkmer, R.; von der Lühe, O.; Waldmann, T.

    2016-11-01

    Context. The solar magnetic field is responsible for all aspects of solar activity. Thus, emergence of magnetic flux at the surface is the first manifestation of the ensuing solar activity. Aims: Combining high-resolution and synoptic observations aims to provide a comprehensive description of flux emergence at photospheric level and of the growth process that eventually leads to a mature active region. Methods: The small active region NOAA 12118 emerged on 2014 July 17 and was observed one day later with the 1.5-m GREGOR solar telescope on 2014 July 18. High-resolution time-series of blue continuum and G-band images acquired in the blue imaging channel (BIC) of the GREGOR Fabry-Pérot Interferometer (GFPI) were complemented by synoptic line-of-sight magnetograms and continuum images obtained with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Horizontal proper motions and horizontal plasma velocities were computed with local correlation tracking (LCT) and the differential affine velocity estimator (DAVE), respectively. Morphological image processing was employed to measure the photometric and magnetic area, magnetic flux, and the separation profile of the emerging flux region during its evolution. Results: The computed growth rates for photometric area, magnetic area, and magnetic flux are about twice as high as the respective decay rates. The space-time diagram using HMI magnetograms of five days provides a comprehensive view of growth and decay. It traces a leaf-like structure, which is determined by the initial separation of the two polarities, a rapid expansion phase, a time when the spread stalls, and a period when the region slowly shrinks again. The separation rate of 0.26 km s-1 is highest in the initial stage, and it decreases when the separation comes to a halt. Horizontal plasma velocities computed at four evolutionary stages indicate a changing pattern of inflows. In LCT maps we find persistent flow patterns

  4. Magnetic Characteristics of Active Region Heating Observed with TRACE, SOHO/EIT, and Yohkoh/SXT

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Porter, J. G.; Falconer, D. A.; Moore, R. L.; Rose, M. Franklin (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Over the past several years, we have reported results from studies that have compared the magnetic structure and heating of the transition region and corona (both in active regions and in the quiet Sun) by combining X-ray and EUV images from Yohkoh and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) with photospheric magnetograms from ground-based observatories. Our findings have led us to the hypothesis that most heating throughout the corona is driven from near and below the base of the corona by eruptive microflares occurring in compact low-lying "core magnetic fields (i.e., fields rooted along and closely enveloping polarity inversion lines in the photospheric magnetic flux). We now extend these studies, comparing sequences of UV images from Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) with longitudinal magnetograms from Kitt Peak and vector magnetograms from MUSIC. These comparisons confirm the previous results regarding the importance of core-field activity to active region heating. Activity in fields associated with satellite polarity inclusions and/or magnetically sheared configurations is especially prominent. This work is funded by NASA's Office of Space Science through the Sun-Earth Connection Guest Investigator Program and the Solar Physics Supporting Research and Technology Program.

  5. Region-dependent hamstrings activity in Nordic hamstring exercise and stiff-leg deadlift defined with high-density electromyography.

    PubMed

    Hegyi, A; Péter, A; Finni, T; Cronin, N J

    2018-03-01

    Recent studies suggest region-specific metabolic activity in hamstring muscles during injury prevention exercises, but the neural representation of this phenomenon is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine whether regional differences are evident in the activity of biceps femoris long head (BFlh) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles during two common injury prevention exercises. Twelve male participants without a history of hamstring injury performed the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) and stiff-leg deadlift (SDL) while BFlh and ST activities were recorded with high-density electromyography (HD-EMG). Normalized activity was calculated from the distal, middle, and proximal regions in the eccentric phase of each exercise. In NHE, ST overall activity was substantially higher than in BFlh (d = 1.06 ± 0.45), compared to trivial differences between muscles in SDL (d = 0.19 ± 0.34). Regional differences were found in NHE for both muscles, with different proximal-distal patterns: The distal region showed the lowest activity level in ST (regional differences, d range = 0.55-1.41) but the highest activity level in BFlh (regional differences, d range = 0.38-1.25). In SDL, regional differences were smaller in both muscles (d range = 0.29-0.67 and 0.16-0.63 in ST and BFlh, respectively) than in NHE. The use of HD-EMG in hamstrings revealed heterogeneous hamstrings activity during typical injury prevention exercises. High-density EMG might be useful in future studies to provide a comprehensive overview of hamstring muscle activity in other exercises and high-injury risk tasks. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. INTERSTITIAL PLASMIN ACTIVITY WITH EPSILON AMINOCAPROIC ACID: TEMPORAL AND REGIONAL HETEROGENEITY

    PubMed Central

    Reust, Daryl L.; Reeves, Scott T.; Abernathy, James H.; Dixon, Jennifer A.; Gaillard, William F.; Mukherjee, Rupak; Koval, Christine N.; Stroud, Robert E.; Spinale, Francis G.

    2010-01-01

    Background Epsilon aminocaproic acid (EACA) is used in cardiac surgery to modulate plasmin activity (PLact). The present study developed a fluorogenic-microdialysis system to measure in-vivo region specific temporal changes in PLact following EACA administration. Methods Pigs (25-35kg) received EACA (75mg/kg, n=7) or saline in which microdialysis probes were placed in the liver, myocardium, kidney and quadricep muscle. The microdialysate contained a plasmin specific fluorogenic peptide and fluorescence emission, which directly reflected PLact, determined at baseline, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes following EACA/vehicle infusion. Results EACA caused significant decreases in liver and quadricep PLact at 60, 90, 120 minutes and at 30, 60, 120 minutes respectively (p<0.05). In contrast, EACA induced significant biphasic changes in heart and kidney PLact profiles with initial increases followed by decreases at 90 and 120 minutes (p<0.05). The peak EACA interstitial concentrations for all compartments occurred at 30 minutes post infusion, and were 5-fold higher in the renal compartment and 4-fold higher in the myocardium, when compared to the liver or muscle (p<0.05). Conclusions Using a large animal model and in-vivo microdialysis measurements of plasmin activity, the unique findings from this study were 2-fold. First, EACA induced temporally distinct plasmin activity profiles within the plasma and interstitial compartments. Second, EACA caused region specific changes in plasmin activity profiles. These temporal and regional heterogeneic effects of EACA may have important therapeutic considerations when managing fibrinolysis in the perioperative period. PMID:20417774

  7. Interstitial plasmin activity with epsilon aminocaproic acid: temporal and regional heterogeneity.

    PubMed

    Reust, Daryl L; Reeves, Scott T; Abernathy, James H; Dixon, Jennifer A; Gaillard, William F; Mukherjee, Rupak; Koval, Christine N; Stroud, Robert E; Spinale, Francis G

    2010-05-01

    Epsilon aminocaproic acid (EACA) is used in cardiac surgery to modulate plasmin activity (PLact). The present study developed a fluorogenic-microdialysis system to measure in vivo region specific temporal changes in PLact after EACA administration. Pigs (25 to 35 kg) received EACA (75 mg/kg, n = 7) or saline in which microdialysis probes were placed in the liver, myocardium, kidney, and quadricep muscle. The microdialysate contained a plasmin-specific fluorogenic peptide and fluorescence emission, which directly reflected PLact, determined at baseline, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after EACA/vehicle infusion. Epsilon aminocaproic acid caused significant decreases in liver and quadricep PLact at 60, 90, 120 minutes, and at 30, 60, and 120 minutes, respectively (p < 0.05). In contrast, EACA induced significant biphasic changes in heart and kidney PLact profiles with initial increases followed by decreases at 90 and 120 minutes (p < 0.05). The peak EACA interstitial concentrations for all compartments occurred at 30 minutes after infusion, and were fivefold higher in the renal compartment and fourfold higher in the myocardium, when compared with the liver or muscle (p < 0.05). Using a large animal model and in vivo microdialysis measurements of plasmin activity, the unique findings from this study were twofold. First, EACA induced temporally distinct plasmin activity profiles within the plasma and interstitial compartments. Second, EACA caused region-specific changes in plasmin activity profiles. These temporal and regional heterogeneic effects of EACA may have important therapeutic considerations when managing fibrinolysis in the perioperative period. Copyright (c) 2010 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. An Erupting Active Region Filament: Three-Dimensional Trajectory and Hydrogen Column Density

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Penn, M. J.

    2000-12-01

    From 15:33 through 16:02 UT on 13 June 1998, observations of an erupting filament as it crossed solar disk center were obtained with the NSO/KPVT and SOHO/CDS instruments as part of the SOHO Joint Observing Program 70. Context observations show that this event was the eruption of the north-east section of a small active region filament associated with NOAA 8237, that the photospheric magnetic field was changing in this active region between 12-14 June 1998, and that a coronal Moreton-wave disk event occurred, as well as a white-light CME off the south-west solar limb. The NSO/KPVT imaging spectroscopy data covered 512 × 512 arc sec of the disk center and were spectrally centered at the Hei 1083 nm line and captured +/-1.0 nm of surrounding solar spectrum. The Hei absorption line is seen blue-shifted to velocities of between 200 and 300 km s^-1. The true solar trajectory of the eruption is obtained by using the projected solar coordinates and by integrating the Doppler velocity. The filament travels with a total velocity of about 300 km s^-1 along a path inclined roughly 49 deg to the solar surface and rises to a height of just over 1.5 solar radii before it becomes too diffuse to follow. The filament also shows internal motions with multiple Doppler components shifted by +/-25 km s^-1. Finally, the KPVT data show no Stokes V profiles in the Doppler-shifted Hei 1083.03 nm absorption to a limit of roughly 3×10^-3 times the continuum intensity. The SOHO/CDS scanned the center of the KPVT FOV using seven EUV lines; Doppler-shifted filament emission is seen in lines from Hei 58.4 nm, Heii 30.4 nm, Oiv 55.5 nm, Ov 63.0 nm, Nevi 56.3 nm, and Mgx 61.0 nm representing temperatures from about 2×10^4K through 1×10^6K. Bound-free continuum absorption from Hi, without confusion from foreground emission and line emission, is seen as the filament obscures underlying chromospheric emission. A fit to the wavelength dependence of the absorption from five lines between 55.5 to 63

  9. On the relation between spectral characteristics of the microwave emission from solar active regions and physical conditions of the solar atmosphere.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaverin, N. S.; Kobrin, M. M.; Korshunov, A. I.; Shushunov, V. V.; Aurass, H.; Fürstenberg, F.; Hildebrandt, J.; Krüger, A.; Seehafer, N.

    Spectrographic observations of the microwave emission from selected active regions were analysed and compared with S-component emission models. The observations were obtained by spectrographs of the NIRFI working in the ranges 12 - 8 and 7 - 5 GHz covering the high-frequency part of the S-component spectrum. The measurements were carried out at the RT-22 radio telescope of the FIAN Radio Astronomy Station at Pushtshino with an angular resolution of about 9 arc minutes. The conclusions obtained mainly relate to the reversal of the slope of the flux spectrum in the short cm-region by the change of the emission mechanism, to an excess of the observed flux spectrum at long cm-waves and to the interpretation of the proton-flare criterion of Tanaka and Kakinuma on the basis of model calculations.

  10. Activation of writing-specific brain regions when reading Chinese as a second language. Effects of training modality and transfer to novel characters.

    PubMed

    Lagarrigue, Aurélie; Longcamp, Marieke; Anton, Jean Luc; Nazarian, Bruno; Prévot, Laurent; Velay, Jean-Luc; Cao, Fan; Frenck-Mestre, Cheryl

    2017-03-01

    We examined the implication of training modality on the cortical representation of Chinese words in adult second language learners of Chinese. In particular, we tested the implication of the neural substrates of writing in a reading task. The brain network sustaining finger writing was defined neuroanatomically based on an independent functional localizer. We examined the brain activations elicited by Chinese words learned via writing vs. pronunciation, and by novel untrained words, within regions of interest (ROIs) defined according to the position of the activation peaks in the localizer, and at the whole brain level. We revealed activations in the reading task that overlapped with several parts of the finger writing network. In addition, our results provide evidence that the neural substrates of writing are differentially involved in reading depending on the stored knowledge for words, as revealed by the fine-grained response of several regions including the left superior parietal lobule and left precentral gyrus / superior frontal sulcus to the experimental manipulations. Training modality and the linguistic properties of the characters also impacted the response of the left mid-fusiform gyrus, confirming its involvement as the brain region where linguistic, visual and sensorimotor information converge during orthographic processing. At the behavioral level, global handwriting quality during the training sessions was positively correlated to the final translation performance. Our results demonstrate substantial overlap in the neural substrates of reading and writing, and indicate that some regions sustaining handwriting are differentially involved in reading depending on the type of knowledge associated with words. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Left ventricular lead placement in the latest activated region guided by coronary venous electroanatomic mapping.

    PubMed

    Rad, Masih Mafi; Blaauw, Yuri; Dinh, Trang; Pison, Laurent; Crijns, Harry J; Prinzen, Frits W; Vernooy, Kevin

    2015-01-01

    Left ventricular (LV) lead placement in the latest activated region is an important determinant of response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). We investigated the feasibility of coronary venous electroanatomic mapping (EAM) to guide LV lead placement to the latest activated region. Twenty-five consecutive CRT candidates with left bundle-branch block underwent intra-procedural coronary venous EAM using EnSite NavX. A guidewire was used to map the coronary veins during intrinsic activation, and to test for phrenic nerve stimulation (PNS). The latest activated region, defined as the region with an electrical delay >75% of total QRS duration, was located anterolaterally in 18 (basal, n = 10; mid, n = 8) and inferolaterally in 6 (basal, n = 3; mid, n = 3). In one patient, identification of the latest activated region was impeded by limited coronary venous anatomy. In patients with >1 target vein (n = 12), the anatomically targeted inferolateral vein was rarely the vein with maximal electrical delay (n = 3). A concordant LV lead position was achieved in 18 of 25 patients. In six patients, this was hampered by PNS (n = 4), lead instability (n = 1), and coronary vein stenosis (n = 1). Coronary venous EAM can be used intraprocedurally to guide LV lead placement to the latest activated region free of PNS. This approach especially contributes to optimization of LV lead electrical delay in patients with multiple target veins. Conventional anatomical LV lead placement strategy does not target the vein with maximal electrical delay in many of these patients. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2014. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Evaluation of the Impact of AIRS Radiance and Profile Data Assimilation in Partly Cloudy Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zavodsky, Bradley; Srikishen, Jayanthi; Jedlovec, Gary

    2013-01-01

    Improvements to global and regional numerical weather prediction have been demonstrated through assimilation of data from NASA s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). Current operational data assimilation systems use AIRS radiances, but impact on regional forecasts has been much smaller than for global forecasts. Retrieved profiles from AIRS contain much of the information that is contained in the radiances and may be able to reveal reasons for this reduced impact. Assimilating AIRS retrieved profiles in an identical analysis configuration to the radiances, tracking the quantity and quality of the assimilated data in each technique, and examining analysis increments and forecast impact from each data type can yield clues as to the reasons for the reduced impact. By doing this with regional scale models individual synoptic features (and the impact of AIRS on these features) can be more easily tracked. This project examines the assimilation of hyperspectral sounder data used in operational numerical weather prediction by comparing operational techniques used for AIRS radiances and research techniques used for AIRS retrieved profiles. Parallel versions of a configuration of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) are run to examine the impact AIRS radiances and retrieved profiles. Statistical evaluation of a long-term series of forecast runs will be compared along with preliminary results of in-depth investigations for select case comparing the analysis increments in partly cloudy regions and short-term forecast impacts.

  13. Development of a Homogenous Database of Bipolar Active Regions Spanning Four Cycles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munoz-Jaramillo, A.; Werginz, Z. A.; Vargas-Acosta, J. P.; DeLuca, M. D.; Vargas-Dominguez, S.; Lamb, D. A.; DeForest, C. E.; Longcope, D. W.; Martens, P.

    2016-12-01

    The solar cycle can be understood as a process that alternates the large-scale magnetic field of the Sun between poloidal and toroidal configurations. Although the process that transitions the solar cycle between toroidal and poloidal phases is still not fully understood, theoretical studies, and observational evidence, suggest that this process is driven by the emergence and decay of bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) at the photosphere. Furthermore, the emergence of BMRs at the photosphere is the main driver behind solar variability and solar activity in general; making the study of their properties doubly important for heliospheric physics. However, in spite of their critical role, there is still no unified catalog of BMRs spanning multiple instruments and covering the entire period of systematic measurement of the solar magnetic field (i.e. 1975 to present).In this presentation we discuss an ongoing project to address this deficiency by applying our Bipolar Active Region Detection (BARD) code on full disk magnetograms measured by the 512 (1975-1993) and SPMG (1992-2003) instruments at the Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope (KPVT), SOHO/MDI (1996-2011) and SDO/HMI (2010-present). First we will discuss the results of our revitalization of 512 and SPMG KPVT data, then we will discuss how our BARD code operates, and finally report the results of our cross-callibration across instruments.The corrected and improved KPVT magnetograms will be made available through the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO), including updated synoptic maps produced by running the corrected KPVT magnetograms though the SOLIS pipeline. The homogeneous active region database will be made public by the end of 2017 once it has reached a satisfactory level of quality and maturity. The Figure shows all bipolar active regions present in our database (as of Aug 2016) colored according to the instrument where they were detected. The image also includes the names of the NSF

  14. High-resolution observations of active region moss and its dynamics

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Morton, R. J.; McLaughlin, J. A., E-mail: richard.morton@northumbria.ac.uk

    2014-07-10

    The High Resolution Coronal Imager has provided the sharpest view of the EUV corona to date. In this paper, we exploit its impressive resolving power to provide the first analysis of the fine-scale structure of moss in an active region. The data reveal that the moss is made up of a collection of fine threads that have widths with a mean and standard deviation of 440 ± 190 km (FWHM). The brightest moss emission is located at the visible head of the fine-scale structure and the fine structure appears to extend into the lower solar atmosphere. The emission decreases alongmore » the features, implying that the lower sections are most likely dominated by cooler transition region plasma. These threads appear to be the cool, lower legs of the hot loops. In addition, the increased resolution allows for the first direct observation of physical displacements of the moss fine structure in a direction transverse to its central axis. Some of these transverse displacements demonstrate periodic behavior, which we interpret as a signature of kink (Alfvénic) waves. Measurements of the properties of the transverse motions are made and the wave motions have means and standard deviations of 55 ± 37 km for the transverse displacement amplitude, 77 ± 33 s for the period, and 4.7 ± 2.5 km s{sup –1} for the velocity amplitude. The presence of waves in the transition region of hot loops could have important implications for the heating of active regions.« less

  15. Statistical Analysis of Acoustic Wave Power and Flows around Solar Active Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rabello-Soares, M. Cristina; Bogart, Richard S.; Scherrer, Philip H.

    2018-05-01

    We analyze the effect of a sunspot in its quiet surroundings applying a helioseismic technique on almost three years of Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) observations obtained during solar cycle 24 to further study the sunspot structure below the solar surface. The attenuation of acoustic waves with frequencies lower than 4.2 mHz depends more strongly on the wave direction at a distance of 6°–7° from the sunspot center. The amplification of higher frequency waves is highest 6° away from the active region and is largely independent of the wave’s direction. We observe a mean clockwise flow around active regions, the angular speed of which decreases exponentially with distance and has a coefficient close to ‑0.7 degree‑1. The observed horizontal flow in the direction of the nearby active region agrees with a large-scale circulation around the sunspot in the shape of cylindrical shell. The center of the shell seems to be centered around 7° from the sunspot center, where we observe an inflow close to the surface down to ∼2 Mm, followed by an outflow at deeper layers until at least 7 Mm.

  16. Magnetic Energy and Helicity in Two Emerging Active Regions in the Sun

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Liu, Y.; Schuck, P. W.

    2012-01-01

    The magnetic energy and relative magnetic helicity in two emerging solar active regions, AR 11072 and AR 11158,are studied. They are computed by integrating over time the energy and relative helicity fluxes across the photosphere. The fluxes consist of two components: one from photospheric tangential flows that shear and braid field lines (shear term), the other from normal flows that advect magnetic flux into the corona (emergence term). For these active regions: (1) relative magnetic helicity in the active-region corona is mainly contributed by the shear term,(2) helicity fluxes from the emergence and the shear terms have the same sign, (3) magnetic energy in the corona (including both potential energy and free energy) is mainly contributed by the emergence term, and(4) energy fluxes from the emergence term and the shear term evolved consistently in phase during the entire flux emergence course.We also examine the apparent tangential velocity derived by tracking field-line footpoints using a simple tracking method. It is found that this velocity is more consistent with tangential plasma velocity than with the flux transport velocity, which agrees with the conclusion by Schuck.

  17. Forward modeling transient brightenings and microflares around an active region observed with Hi-C

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kobelski, Adam R.; McKenzie, David E., E-mail: kobelski@solar.physics.montana.edu

    Small-scale flare-like brightenings around active regions are among the smallest and most fundamental of energetic transient events in the corona, providing a testbed for models of heating and active region dynamics. In a previous study, we modeled a large collection of these microflares observed with Hinode/X-Ray Telescope (XRT) using EBTEL and found that they required multiple heating events, but could not distinguish between multiple heating events on a single strand, or multiple strands each experiencing a single heating event. We present here a similar study, but with extreme-ultraviolet data of Active Region 11520 from the High Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C)more » sounding rocket. Hi-C provides an order of magnitude improvement to the spatial resolution of XRT, and a cooler temperature sensitivity, which combine to provide significant improvements to our ability to detect and model microflare activity around active regions. We have found that at the spatial resolution of Hi-C (≈0.''3), the events occur much more frequently than expected (57 events detected, only 1 or 2 expected), and are most likely made from strands of the order of 100 km wide, each of which is impulsively heated with multiple heating events. These findings tend to support bursty reconnection as the cause of the energy release responsible for the brightenings.« less

  18. Tracking Organs Composed of One or Multiple Regions Using Geodesic Active Region Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martínez, A.; Jiménez, J. J.

    In radiotherapy treatment it is very important to find out the target organs on the medical image sequence in order to determine and apply the proper dose. The techniques to achieve this goal can be classified into extrinsic and intrinsic. Intrinsic techniques only use image processing with medical images associated to the radiotherapy treatment, as we deal in this chapter. To accurately perform this organ tracking it is necessary to find out segmentation and tracking models that were able to be applied to several image modalities involved on a radiotherapy session (CT See Modality , MRI , etc.). The movements of the organs are mainly affected by two factors: breathing and involuntary movements associated with the internal organs or patient positioning. Among the several alternatives to track the organs of interest, a model based on geodesic active regions is proposed. This model has been tested over CT images from the pelvic, cardiac, and thoracic area. A new model for the segmentation of organs composed by more than one region is proposed.

  19. The analytical approach to optimization of active region structure of quantum dot laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korenev, V. V.; Savelyev, A. V.; Zhukov, A. E.; Omelchenko, A. V.; Maximov, M. V.

    2014-10-01

    Using the analytical approach introduced in our previous papers we analyse the possibilities of optimization of size and structure of active region of semiconductor quantum dot lasers emitting via ground-state optical transitions. It is shown that there are optimal length' dispersion and number of QD layers in laser active region which allow one to obtain lasing spectrum of a given width at minimum injection current. Laser efficiency corresponding to the injection current optimized by the cavity length is practically equal to its maximum value.

  20. 32 CFR Appendix D to Part 169a - Commercial Activities Management Information System (CAMIS)

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Commercial Activities Management Information... to Part 169a—Commercial Activities Management Information System (CAMIS) Each DoD Component shall... American Standard Code Information Interchange text file format on a MicroSoft-Disk Operating System...

  1. FIP bias in a sigmoidal active region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baker, D.; Brooks, D. H.; Démoulin, P.; van Driel-Gesztelyi, Lidia; Green, L. M.; Steed, K.; Carlyle, J.

    2014-01-01

    We investigate first ionization potential (FIP) bias levels in an anemone active region (AR) - coronal hole (CH) complex using an abundance map derived from Hinode/EIS spectra. The detailed, spatially resolved abundance map has a large field of view covering 359'' × 485''. Plasma with high FIP bias, or coronal abundances, is concentrated at the footpoints of the AR loops whereas the surrounding CH has a low FIP bias, ~1, i.e. photospheric abundances. A channel of low FIP bias is located along the AR's main polarity inversion line containing a filament where ongoing flux cancellation is observed, indicating a bald patch magnetic topology characteristic of a sigmoid/flux rope configuration.

  2. The evolution of active region loop plasma

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Krall, K. R.; Antiochos, S. K.

    1980-01-01

    The adjustment of coronal active-region loops to changes in their heating rate is investigated numerically. The one-dimensional hydrodynamic equations are solved subject to boundary conditions in which heat flux-induced mass exchange between coronal and chromospheric components is allowed. The calculated evolution of physical parameters suggests that (1) mass supplied during chromospheric evaporation is much more effective in moderating coronal temperature excursions than when downward heat flux is dissipated by a static chromosphere, and (2) the method by which the chromosphere responds to changing coronal conditions can significantly influence coronal readjustment time scales. Observations are cited which illustrate the range of possible fluctuations in the heating rates.

  3. [Regional ecological construction and mission of landscape ecology].

    PubMed

    Xiao, Duning; Xie, Fuju; Wei, Jianbing

    2004-10-01

    The eco-construction on regional and landscape scale is the one which can be used to specific landscape and intercrossing ecosystem in specific region including performing scientific administration of ecosystem and optimizing environmental function. Recently, the government has taken a series of significant projects into action, such as national forest protection item, partly forest restoration, and adjustment of water, etc. Enforcing regional eco-construction and maintaining the ecology security of the nation have become the strategic requisition. In various regions, different eco-construction should be applied, for example, performing ecological safeguard measure in ecological sensitive zone, accommodating the ecological load in ecological fragile zone, etc., which can control the activities of human being, so that, sustainable development can be reached. Facing opportunity and challenge in the development of landscape ecology, we have some key topics: landscape pattern of ecological security, land use and ecological process, landscape changes under human activity stress, quantitative evaluation of the influence on human being activities, evaluation of zonal ecological security and advance warning of ecological risk, and planning and optimizing of model in landscape eco-construction.

  4. Identification of saline water intrusion in part of Cauvery deltaic region, Tamil Nadu, Southern India: using GIS and VES methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gnanachandrasamy, G.; Ramkumar, T.; Venkatramanan, S.; Chung, S. Y.; Vasudevan, S.

    2016-06-01

    We use electrical resistivity data arrayed in a 2715 km2 region with 30 locations to identify the saline water intrusion zone in part of Cauvery deltaic region, offshore Eastern India. From this dataset we are able to derive information on groundwater quality, thickness of aquifer zone, structural and stratigraphic conditions relevant to groundwater conditions, and permeability of aquifer systems. A total of 30 vertical electrode soundings (VES) were carried out by Schlumberger electrode arrangement to indicate complete lithology of this region using curve matching techniques. The electrical soundings exhibited that H and HK type curves were suitable for 16 shallow locations, and QH, KQ, K, KH, QQ, and HA curves were fit for other location. Low resistivity values suggested that saline water intrusion occurred in this region. According to final GIS map, most of the region was severely affected by seawater intrusion due to the use of over-exploitation of groundwater.The deteriorated groundwater resources in this coastal region should raise environmental and health concerns.

  5. Altered spontaneous brain activity in adolescent boys with pure conduct disorder revealed by regional homogeneity analysis.

    PubMed

    Wu, Qiong; Zhang, Xiaocui; Dong, Daifeng; Wang, Xiang; Yao, Shuqiao

    2017-07-01

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have revealed abnormal neural activity in several brain regions of adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) performing various tasks. However, little is known about the spontaneous neural activity in people with CD in a resting state. The aims of this study were to investigate CD-associated regional activity abnormalities and to explore the relationship between behavioral impulsivity and regional activity abnormalities. Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) scans were administered to 28 adolescents with CD and 28 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched healthy controls (HCs). The rs-fMRI data were subjected to regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis. ReHo can demonstrate the temporal synchrony of regional blood oxygen level-dependent signals and reflect the coordination of local neuronal activity facilitating similar goals or representations. Compared to HCs, the CD group showed increased ReHo bilaterally in the insula as well as decreased ReHo in the right inferior parietal lobule, right middle temporal gyrus and right fusiform gyrus, left anterior cerebellum anterior, and right posterior cerebellum. In the CD group, mean ReHo values in the left and the right insula correlated positively with Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS) total scores. The results suggest that CD is associated with abnormal intrinsic brain activity, mainly in the cerebellum and temporal-parietal-limbic cortices, regions that are related to emotional and cognitive processing. BIS scores in adolescents with CD may reflect severity of abnormal neuronal synchronization in the insula.

  6. Beta-globin locus activation regions: conservation of organization, structure, and function.

    PubMed Central

    Li, Q L; Zhou, B; Powers, P; Enver, T; Stamatoyannopoulos, G

    1990-01-01

    The human beta-globin locus activation region (LAR) comprises four erythroid-specific DNase I hypersensitive sites (I-IV) thought to be largely responsible for activating the beta-globin domain and facilitating high-level erythroid-specific globin gene expression. We identified the goat beta-globin LAR, determined 10.2 kilobases of its sequence, and demonstrated its function in transgenic mice. The human and goat LARs share 6.5 kilobases of homologous sequences that are as highly conserved as the epsilon-globin gene promoters. Furthermore, the overall spatial organization of the two LARs has been conserved. These results suggest that the functionally relevant regions of the LAR are large and that in addition to their primary structure, the spatial relationship of the conserved elements is important for LAR function. Images PMID:2236034

  7. 34 CFR 303.3 - Activities that may be supported under this part.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... activities: (a) To maintain and implement a statewide system of early intervention services for children eligible under this part and their families. (b) For direct services for eligible children and their... SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR...

  8. 50 CFR 217.110 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Specified activity and specified geographical region. 217.110 Section 217.110 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKE OF MARINE MAMMALS INCIDENTAL TO...

  9. Regional Socioeconomic Inequalities in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Among Brazilian Adolescents.

    PubMed

    Werneck, André O; Oyeyemi, Adewale L; Fernandes, Rômulo A; Romanzini, Marcelo; Ronque, Enio R V; Cyrino, Edilson S; Sardinha, Luís B; Silva, Danilo R

    2018-05-01

    This study aims to describe the regional prevalence and patterns of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior among Brazilian adolescents. Data from the Brazilian Scholar Health Survey, a nationally representative survey of ninth-grade adolescents [mean age: 14.29 y (14.27-14.29)] conducted in 2015 (n = 101,445), were used. Outcomes were television viewing, sitting time (ST), total PA, and active traveling collected via self-administered questionnaire. Information on frequency of physical education classes and type of school was collected from the school's director. Frequencies with 95% confidence intervals were used to determine the prevalence and patterns of outcomes. Higher prevalence of PA (≥300 min/wk) and ST (>4 h/d) was found in Midwest (PA = 38.0%; ST = 44.5%), South (PA = 37.6%; ST = 50.1%), and Southeast (PA = 36.1%; ST = 49.3%) compared with Northeast (PA = 29.7%; ST = 36.9%) and North (PA = 34.4%; ST = 34.8%) regions of Brazil. ST was higher among adolescents from private schools (51.5%) than public schools (42.9%), whereas active traveling was greater among students of public schools than private schools (62.0% vs 34.4%). Most inequalities in outcomes between capital and interior cities were in the poorest regions. The results indicate that national plans targeting regional inequalities are needed to improve PA and to reduce sedentary behavior among Brazilian adolescents.

  10. Altered spontaneous activity in antisocial personality disorder revealed by regional homogeneity.

    PubMed

    Tang, Yan; Liu, Wangyong; Chen, Jingang; Liao, Jian; Hu, Dewen; Wang, Wei

    2013-08-07

    There is increasing evidence that antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) stems from brain abnormalities. However, there are only a few studies investigating brain structure in ASPD. The aim of this study was to find regional coherence abnormalities in resting-state functional MRI of ASPD. Thirty-two ASPD individuals and 34 controls underwent a resting-state functional MRI scan. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) approach was used to examine whether ASPD was related to alterations in resting-state neural activity. Support vector machine discriminant analysis was used to evaluate the sensitivity/specificity characteristics of the ReHo index in discriminating between the ASPD individuals and controls. The results showed that, compared with controls, ASPD individuals show lower ReHo in the right cerebellum posterior lobe (Crus1) and the right middle frontal gyrus, as well as higher ReHo in the right middle occipital gyrus (BA 19), left inferior temporal gyrus (BA 37), and right inferior occipital gyrus (cuneus, BA 18). All alternation regions reported a predictive accuracy above 70%. To our knowledge, this study was the first to study the change in regional activity coherence in the resting brain of ASPD individuals. These results not only elucidated the pathological mechanism of ASPD from a resting-state functional viewpoint but also showed that these alterations in ReHo may serve as potential markers for the detection of ASPD.

  11. Acoustic holograms of active regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chou, Dean-Yi

    2008-10-01

    We propose a method to study solar magnetic regions in the solar interior with the principle of optical holography. A magnetic region in the solar interior scatters the solar background acoustic waves. The scattered waves and background waves could form an interference pattern on the solar surface. We investigate the feasibility of detecting this interference pattern on the solar surface, and using it to construct the three-dimensional scattered wave from the magnetic region with the principle of optical holography. In solar acoustic holography, the background acoustic waves play the role of reference wave; the magnetic region plays the role of the target object; the interference pattern, acoustic power map, on the solar surface plays the role of the hologram.

  12. Antibacterial and antifungal activities of different parts of Tribulus terrestris L. growing in Iraq

    PubMed Central

    Al-Bayati, Firas A.; Al-Mola, Hassan F.

    2008-01-01

    Antimicrobial activity of organic and aqueous extracts from fruits, leaves and roots of Tribulus terrestris L., an Iraqi medicinal plant used as urinary anti-infective in folk medicine, was examined against 11 species of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Serratia marcescens, Salmonella typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans using microdilution method in 96 multiwell microtiter plates. All the extracts from the different parts of the plant showed antimicrobial activity against most tested microorganisms. The most active extract against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria was ethanol extract from the fruits with a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.15 mg/ml against B. subtilis, B. cereus, P. vulgaris and C. diphtheriae. In addition, the same extract from the same plant part demonstrated the strongest antifungal activity against C. albicans with an MIC value of 0.15 mg/ml. PMID:18257138

  13. 78 FR 22253 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; IDEA Part C State Performance Plan...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [Docket No. ED-2013-ICCD-0048] Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; IDEA Part C State Performance Plan (SPP) and Annual Performance Report (APR) AGENCY... to this notice will be considered public records. Title of Collection: IDEA Part C State Performance...

  14. 78 FR 22251 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; IDEA Part B State Performance Plan...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [Docket No.: ED-2013-ICCD-0047] Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; IDEA Part B State Performance Plan (SPP) and Annual Performance Report (APR) AGENCY... in response to this notice will be considered public records. Title of Collection: IDEA Part B State...

  15. 50 CFR 216.37 - Marine mammal parts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...: (1) The person transferring the part receives no remuneration of any kind for the marine mammal part... specifically authorized by the Regional Director, consistent with the requirements of paragraphs (a)(1) and (a... Regional Director of the transfer, including a description of the part, the person to whom the part was...

  16. 50 CFR 217.60 - Specified activity and specified geographical region.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... geographical region. (a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the 30th Space Wing, United States Air Force... that occurs incidental to: (1) Launching up to 15 space and each year from Vandenberg Air Force Base.... Air Force Launches, Aircraft and Helicopter Operations, and Harbor Activities Related to Launch...

  17. Variability, trends, and drivers of regional fluctuations in Australian fire activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Earl, Nick; Simmonds, Ian

    2017-07-01

    Throughout the world fire regimes are determined by climate, vegetation, and anthropogenic factors, and they have great spatial and temporal variability. The availability of high-quality satellite data has revolutionized fire monitoring, allowing for a more consistent and comprehensive evaluation of temporal and spatial patterns. Here we utilize a satellite based "active fire" (AF) product to statistically analyze 2001-2015 variability and trends in Australian fire activity and link this to precipitation and large-scale atmospheric structures (namely, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)) known to have potential for predicting fire activity in different regions. It is found that Australian fire activity is decreasing (during summer (December-February)) or stable, with high temporal and spatial variability. Eastern New South Wales (NSW) has the strongest decreasing trend (to the 1% confidence level), especially during the winter (JJA) season. Other significantly decreasing areas are Victoria/NSW, Tasmania, and South-east Queensland. These decreasing fire regions are relatively highly populated, so we suggest that the declining trends are due to improved fire management, reducing the size and duration of bush fires. Almost half of all Australian AFs occur during spring (September-November). We show that there is considerable potential throughout Australia for a skillful forecast for future season fire activity based on current and previous precipitation activity, ENSO phase, and to a lesser degree, the IOD phase. This is highly variable, depending on location, e.g., the IOD phase is for more indicative of fire activity in southwest Western Australia than for Queensland.

  18. Fast learning of simple perceptual discriminations reduces brain activation in working memory and in high-level auditory regions.

    PubMed

    Daikhin, Luba; Ahissar, Merav

    2015-07-01

    Introducing simple stimulus regularities facilitates learning of both simple and complex tasks. This facilitation may reflect an implicit change in the strategies used to solve the task when successful predictions regarding incoming stimuli can be formed. We studied the modifications in brain activity associated with fast perceptual learning based on regularity detection. We administered a two-tone frequency discrimination task and measured brain activation (fMRI) under two conditions: with and without a repeated reference tone. Although participants could not explicitly tell the difference between these two conditions, the introduced regularity affected both performance and the pattern of brain activation. The "No-Reference" condition induced a larger activation in frontoparietal areas known to be part of the working memory network. However, only the condition with a reference showed fast learning, which was accompanied by a reduction of activity in two regions: the left intraparietal area, involved in stimulus retention, and the posterior superior-temporal area, involved in representing auditory regularities. We propose that this joint reduction reflects a reduction in the need for online storage of the compared tones. We further suggest that this change reflects an implicit strategic shift "backwards" from reliance mainly on working memory networks in the "No-Reference" condition to increased reliance on detected regularities stored in high-level auditory networks.

  19. Active Faults and Seismic Sources of the Middle East Region: Earthquake Model of the Middle East (EMME) Project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gulen, L.; EMME WP2 Team*

    2011-12-01

    The Earthquake Model of the Middle East (EMME) Project is a regional project of the GEM (Global Earthquake Model) project (http://www.emme-gem.org/). The EMME project covers Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Both EMME and SHARE projects overlap and Turkey becomes a bridge connecting the two projects. The Middle East region is tectonically and seismically very active part of the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt. Many major earthquakes have occurred in this region over the years causing casualties in the millions. The EMME project consists of three main modules: hazard, risk, and socio-economic modules. The EMME project uses PSHA approach for earthquake hazard and the existing source models have been revised or modified by the incorporation of newly acquired data. The most distinguishing aspect of the EMME project from the previous ones is its dynamic character. This very important characteristic is accomplished by the design of a flexible and scalable database that permits continuous update, refinement, and analysis. An up-to-date earthquake catalog of the Middle East region has been prepared and declustered by the WP1 team. EMME WP2 team has prepared a digital active fault map of the Middle East region in ArcGIS format. We have constructed a database of fault parameters for active faults that are capable of generating earthquakes above a threshold magnitude of Mw≥5.5. The EMME project database includes information on the geometry and rates of movement of faults in a "Fault Section Database", which contains 36 entries for each fault section. The "Fault Section" concept has a physical significance, in that if one or more fault parameters change, a new fault section is defined along a fault zone. So far 6,991 Fault Sections have been defined and 83,402 km of faults are fully parameterized in the Middle East region. A separate "Paleo-Sites Database" includes information on the timing and amounts of fault

  20. Expertise with artificial non-speech sounds recruits speech-sensitive cortical regions

    PubMed Central

    Leech, Robert; Holt, Lori L.; Devlin, Joseph T.; Dick, Frederic

    2009-01-01

    Regions of the human temporal lobe show greater activation for speech than for other sounds. These differences may reflect intrinsically specialized domain-specific adaptations for processing speech, or they may be driven by the significant expertise we have in listening to the speech signal. To test the expertise hypothesis, we used a video-game-based paradigm that tacitly trained listeners to categorize acoustically complex, artificial non-linguistic sounds. Before and after training, we used functional MRI to measure how expertise with these sounds modulated temporal lobe activation. Participants’ ability to explicitly categorize the non-speech sounds predicted the change in pre- to post-training activation in speech-sensitive regions of the left posterior superior temporal sulcus, suggesting that emergent auditory expertise may help drive this functional regionalization. Thus, seemingly domain-specific patterns of neural activation in higher cortical regions may be driven in part by experience-based restructuring of high-dimensional perceptual space. PMID:19386919

  1. Physics of the Solar Active Regions from Radio Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gelfreikh, G. B.

    1999-12-01

    Localized increase of the magnetic field observed by routine methods on the photosphere result in the growth of a number of active processes in the solar atmosphere and the heliosphere. These localized regions of increased magnetic field are called active regions (AR). The main processes of transfer, accumulation and release of energy in an AR is, however, out of scope of photospheric observations being essentially a 3D-process and happening either under photosphere or up in the corona. So, to investigate these plasma structures and processes we are bound to use either extrapolation of optical observational methods or observations in EUV, X-rays and radio. In this review, we stress and illustrate the input to the problem gained from radio astronomical methods and discuss possible future development of their applicatications. Historically speaking each new step in developing radio technique of observations resulted in detecting some new physics of ARs. The most significant progress in the last few years in radio diagnostics of the plasma structures of magnetospheres of the solar ARs is connected with the developing of the 2D full disk analysis on regular basis made at Nobeyama and detailed multichannel spectral-polarization (but one-dimensional and one per day) solar observations at the RATAN-600. In this report the bulk of attention is paid to the new approach to the study of solar activity gained with the Nobeyama radioheliograph and analyzing the ways for future progress. The most important new features of the multicomponent radio sources of the ARs studied using Nobeyama radioheliograph are as follow: 1. The analysis of magnetic field structures in solar corona above sunspot with 2000 G. Their temporal evolution and fluctuations with the periods around 3 and 5 minutes, due to MHD-waves in sunspot magnetic tubes and surrounding plasma. These investigations are certainly based on an analysis of thermal cyclotron emission of lower corona and CCTR above sunspot

  2. Cross-modal activation of auditory regions during visuo-spatial working memory in early deafness.

    PubMed

    Ding, Hao; Qin, Wen; Liang, Meng; Ming, Dong; Wan, Baikun; Li, Qiang; Yu, Chunshui

    2015-09-01

    Early deafness can reshape deprived auditory regions to enable the processing of signals from the remaining intact sensory modalities. Cross-modal activation has been observed in auditory regions during non-auditory tasks in early deaf subjects. In hearing subjects, visual working memory can evoke activation of the visual cortex, which further contributes to behavioural performance. In early deaf subjects, however, whether and how auditory regions participate in visual working memory remains unclear. We hypothesized that auditory regions may be involved in visual working memory processing and activation of auditory regions may contribute to the superior behavioural performance of early deaf subjects. In this study, 41 early deaf subjects (22 females and 19 males, age range: 20-26 years, age of onset of deafness < 2 years) and 40 age- and gender-matched hearing controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a visuo-spatial delayed recognition task that consisted of encoding, maintenance and recognition stages. The early deaf subjects exhibited faster reaction times on the spatial working memory task than did the hearing controls. Compared with hearing controls, deaf subjects exhibited increased activation in the superior temporal gyrus bilaterally during the recognition stage. This increased activation amplitude predicted faster and more accurate working memory performance in deaf subjects. Deaf subjects also had increased activation in the superior temporal gyrus bilaterally during the maintenance stage and in the right superior temporal gyrus during the encoding stage. These increased activation amplitude also predicted faster reaction times on the spatial working memory task in deaf subjects. These findings suggest that cross-modal plasticity occurs in auditory association areas in early deaf subjects. These areas are involved in visuo-spatial working memory. Furthermore, amplitudes of cross-modal activation during the maintenance stage were

  3. Activation of the subthalamic region during emotional processing in Parkinson disease.

    PubMed

    Kühn, A A; Hariz, M I; Silberstein, P; Tisch, S; Kupsch, A; Schneider, G-H; Limousin-Dowsey, P; Yarrow, K; Brown, P

    2005-09-13

    To elucidate the involvement of the human subthalamic nucleus (STN) region in the processing or transmission of emotional information. Local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded from this region in 10 patients with Parkinson disease (PD) undergoing bilateral implantation of the STN for high-frequency stimulation. LFP recordings were made while patients viewed pleasant and unpleasant emotionally arousing and neutral pictures. A significant decrease (event-related desynchronization [ERD]) in the local alpha power (8 to 12 Hz) was found for all stimulus categories starting at about 0.5 seconds after stimulus presentation. However, 1 to 2 seconds poststimulus, the ERD was larger in trials of pleasant (mean ERD: 21.6 +/- 2.8%; p < 0.009) and unpleasant (mean ERD: 15.0 +/- 4.2%; p = 0.018) stimuli compared with neutral stimuli (mean ERD: 4.4 +/- 4.2%). The delayed modulation of alpha activity recorded from the area of the subthalamic nucleus in PD may reflect the processing or transmission of information related to emotional stimuli. "Limbic" activation in the region of the subthalamic nucleus may explain why high-frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus alters affect in some patients with PD.

  4. Solar Active Region Coronal Jets. II. Triggering and Evolution of Violent Jets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sterling, Alphonse C.; Moore, Ronald L.; Falconer, David A.; Panesar, Navdeep K.; Martinez, Francisco

    2017-07-01

    We study a series of X-ray-bright, rapidly evolving active region coronal jets outside the leading sunspot of AR 12259, using Hinode/X-ray telescope, Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) data. The detailed evolution of such rapidly evolving “violent” jets remained a mystery after our previous investigation of active region jets. The jets we investigate here erupt from three localized subregions, each containing a rapidly evolving (positive) minority-polarity magnetic-flux patch bathed in a (majority) negative-polarity magnetic-flux background. At least several of the jets begin with eruptions of what appear to be thin (thickness ≲ 2\\prime\\prime ) miniature-filament (minifilament) “strands” from a magnetic neutral line where magnetic flux cancelation is ongoing, consistent with the magnetic configuration presented for coronal-hole jets in Sterling et al. (2016). Some jets strands are difficult/impossible to detect, perhaps due to, e.g., their thinness, obscuration by surrounding bright or dark features, or the absence of erupting cool-material minifilaments in those jets. Tracing in detail the flux evolution in one of the subregions, we find bursts of strong jetting occurring only during times of strong flux cancelation. Averaged over seven jetting episodes, the cancelation rate was ˜ 1.5× {10}19 Mx hr-1. An average flux of ˜ 5× {10}18 Mx canceled prior to each episode, arguably building up ˜1028-1029 erg of free magnetic energy per jet. From these and previous observations, we infer that flux cancelation is the fundamental process responsible for the pre-eruption build up and triggering of at least many jets in active regions, quiet regions, and coronal holes.

  5. A Biomimetic Propulsor for Active Noise Control. Part 2: Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Annaswamy Krol, A., Jr.; Bandyopadhyay, P. R.

    2000-11-01

    The alteration of radiated noise in underwater propulsors using biomimetic active control is considered. Wake momentum filling is carried out by introducing artificial muscles at the trailing edge of a stator blade of an upstream stator propulsor, and articulating them like a fish tail (see companion abstract Part 1). Using a systems framework, we derive a methodology for the articulation of the muscles with active control. The unsteady force produced on the rotor because of velocity perturbations due to actuator displacements, wake deficits caused by stator boundary layers, and blade rotation is modeled. Linear and adaptive nonlinear control strategies are described for articulating the tail using unsteady force measurements. This active control procedure can be viewed as the realization of “virtual” blades with different sweep and noise characteristics and can affect the noise spectrum due to direct radiation significantly. The work provides an understanding of the effect of nonuniform wakes on radiated noise and can lead to a general approach by which wakes can be altered.

  6. People can understand descriptions of motion without activating visual motion brain regions

    PubMed Central

    Dravida, Swethasri; Saxe, Rebecca; Bedny, Marina

    2013-01-01

    What is the relationship between our perceptual and linguistic neural representations of the same event? We approached this question by asking whether visual perception of motion and understanding linguistic depictions of motion rely on the same neural architecture. The same group of participants took part in two language tasks and one visual task. In task 1, participants made semantic similarity judgments with high motion (e.g., “to bounce”) and low motion (e.g., “to look”) words. In task 2, participants made plausibility judgments for passages describing movement (“A centaur hurled a spear … ”) or cognitive events (“A gentleman loved cheese …”). Task 3 was a visual motion localizer in which participants viewed animations of point-light walkers, randomly moving dots, and stationary dots changing in luminance. Based on the visual motion localizer we identified classic visual motion areas of the temporal (MT/MST and STS) and parietal cortex (inferior and superior parietal lobules). We find that these visual cortical areas are largely distinct from neural responses to linguistic depictions of motion. Motion words did not activate any part of the visual motion system. Motion passages produced a small response in the right superior parietal lobule, but none of the temporal motion regions. These results suggest that (1) as compared to words, rich language stimuli such as passages are more likely to evoke mental imagery and more likely to affect perceptual circuits and (2) effects of language on the visual system are more likely in secondary perceptual areas as compared to early sensory areas. We conclude that language and visual perception constitute distinct but interacting systems. PMID:24009592

  7. Evaluation of CNS activities of aerial parts of Cynodon dactylon Pers. in mice.

    PubMed

    Pal, Dilipkumar

    2008-01-01

    The dried extracts of aerial parts of Cynodon dactylon Pers. (Graminae) were evaluated for CNS activities in mice. The ethanol extract of aerial parts of C. dactylon (EECD) was found to cause significant depression in general behavioral profiles in mice. EECD significantly potentiated the sleeping time in mice induced by standard hypnotics viz. pentobarbitone sodium, diazepam, and meprobamate in a dose dependant manner. EECD showed significant analgesic properties as evidenced by the significant reduction in the number of writhes and stretches induced in mice by 1.2% acetic acid solution. It also potentiated analgesia induced by morphine and pethidine in mice. EECD inhibited the onset and the incidence of convulsion in a dose dependent manner against pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced convulsion. The present study indicates that EECD has significant CNS depressant activities.

  8. 34 CFR 464.22 - May a State participating in a regional center use part of its allotment for a State center?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... EDUCATION STATE LITERACY RESOURCE CENTERS PROGRAM How Does the Secretary Make a Grant to a State? § 464.22... part of a regional center to reserve a portion of those funds for a State adult literacy resource...

  9. Flare activity, sunspot motions, and the evolution of vector magnetic fields in Hale region 17244

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Neidig, Donald F.; Hagyard, Mona J.; Machado, Marcos E.; Smith, Jesse B., Jr.

    1986-01-01

    The magnetic and dynamical circumstances leading to the 1B/M4 flare of November 5, 1980 are studied, and a strong association is found between the buildup of magnetic shear and the onset of flare activity within the active region. The development of shear, as observed directly in vector magnetograms, is consistent in detail with the dynamical history of the active region and identifies the precise location of the optical and hard-X-ray kernels of the flare emission.

  10. An fMRI study of sex differences in regional activation to a verbal and a spatial task.

    PubMed

    Gur, R C; Alsop, D; Glahn, D; Petty, R; Swanson, C L; Maldjian, J A; Turetsky, B I; Detre, J A; Gee, J; Gur, R E

    2000-09-01

    Sex differences in cognitive performance have been documented, women performing better on some phonological tasks and men on spatial tasks. An earlier fMRI study suggested sex differences in distributed brain activation during phonological processing, with bilateral activation seen in women while men showed primarily left-lateralized activation. This blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI study examined sex differences (14 men, 13 women) in activation for a spatial task (judgment of line orientation) compared to a verbal-reasoning task (analogies) that does not typically show sex differences. Task difficulty was manipulated. Hypothesized ROI-based analysis documented the expected left-lateralized changes for the verbal task in the inferior parietal and planum temporal regions in both men and women, but only men showed right-lateralized increase for the spatial task in these regions. Image-based analysis revealed a distributed network of cortical regions activated by the tasks, which consisted of the lateral frontal, medial frontal, mid-temporal, occipitoparietal, and occipital regions. The activation was more left lateralized for the verbal and more right for the spatial tasks, but men also showed some left activation for the spatial task, which was not seen in women. Increased task difficulty produced more distributed activation for the verbal and more circumscribed activation for the spatial task. The results suggest that failure to activate the appropriate hemisphere in regions directly involved in task performance may explain certain sex differences in performance. They also extend, for a spatial task, the principle that bilateral activation in a distributed cognitive system underlies sex differences in performance. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

  11. Relating Alfvén Wave Heating Model to Observations of a Solar Active Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoritomo, J. Y.; Van Ballegooijen, A. A.

    2012-12-01

    We compared images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) with simulations of propagating and dissipating Alfvén waves from a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model (van Ballegooijen et. al 2011; Asgari-Targhi & van Ballegooijen 2012). The goal was to search for observational evidence of Alfvén waves in the solar corona and understand their role in coronal heating. We looked at one particular active region on the 5th of May 2012. Certain distinct loops in the SDO/AIA observations were selected and expanded. Movies were created from these selections in an attempt to discover transverse motions that may be Alfvén waves. Using a magnetogram of that day and the corresponding synoptic map, a potential field model was created for the active region. Three-dimensional MHD models for several loops in different locations in the active region were created. Each model specifies the temperature, pressure, magnetic field strength, average heating rate, and other parameters along the loop. We find that the heating is intermittent in the loops and reflection occurs at the transition region. For loops at larger and larger height, a point is reached where thermal non-equilibrium occurs. In the center this critical height is much higher than in the periphery of the active region. Lastly, we find that the average heating rate and coronal pressure decrease with increasing height in the corona. This research was supported by an NSF grant for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) Solar REU program and a SDO/AIA grant for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

  12. Does regional disadvantage affect health-related sport and physical activity level? A multi-level analysis of individual behaviour.

    PubMed

    Wicker, Pamela; Downward, Paul; Lera-López, Fernando

    2017-11-01

    This study examines the role of regional government quality in health-related participation in sport and physical activity among adults (18-64 years) in 28 European countries. The importance of the analysis rests in the relative autonomy that regional and local governments have over policy decisions connected with sport and physical activity. While existing studies have focussed on economic and infrastructural investment and expenditure, this research investigates the quality of regional governments across 208 regions within 28 European countries. The individual-level data stem from the 2013 Eurobarometer 80.2 (n = 18,675) and were combined with regional-level data from Eurostat. An individual's level of participation in sport and physical activity was measured by three variables reflecting whether an individual's activity level is below, meets, or exceeds the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The results of multi-level analyses reveal that regional government quality has a significant and positive association with individual participation in sport and physical activity at a level meeting or exceeding the guidelines. The impact is much larger than that of regional gross domestic product per capita, indicating that regional disadvantage in terms of political quality is more relevant than being disadvantaged in terms of economic wealth.

  13. Self-face recognition shares brain regions active during proprioceptive illusion in the right inferior fronto-parietal superior longitudinal fasciculus III network.

    PubMed

    Morita, Tomoyo; Saito, Daisuke N; Ban, Midori; Shimada, Koji; Okamoto, Yuko; Kosaka, Hirotaka; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Asada, Minoru; Naito, Eiichi

    2017-04-21

    Proprioception is somatic sensation that allows us to sense and recognize position, posture, and their changes in our body parts. It pertains directly to oneself and may contribute to bodily awareness. Likewise, one's face is a symbol of oneself, so that visual self-face recognition directly contributes to the awareness of self as distinct from others. Recently, we showed that right-hemispheric dominant activity in the inferior fronto-parietal cortices, which are connected by the inferior branch of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF III), is associated with proprioceptive illusion (awareness), in concert with sensorimotor activity. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that visual self-face recognition shares brain regions active during proprioceptive illusion in the right inferior fronto-parietal SLF III network. We scanned brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging while twenty-two right-handed healthy adults performed two tasks. One was a proprioceptive illusion task, where blindfolded participants experienced a proprioceptive illusion of right hand movement. The other was a visual self-face recognition task, where the participants judged whether an observed face was their own. We examined whether the self-face recognition and the proprioceptive illusion commonly activated the inferior fronto-parietal cortices connected by the SLF III in a right-hemispheric dominant manner. Despite the difference in sensory modality and in the body parts involved in the two tasks, both tasks activated the right inferior fronto-parietal cortices, which are likely connected by the SLF III, in a right-side dominant manner. Here we discuss possible roles for right inferior fronto-parietal activity in bodily awareness and self-awareness. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  14. Seasonal forecasting of lightning and thunderstorm activity in tropical and temperate regions of the world.

    PubMed

    Dowdy, Andrew J

    2016-02-11

    Thunderstorms are convective systems characterised by the occurrence of lightning. Lightning and thunderstorm activity has been increasingly studied in recent years in relation to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and various other large-scale modes of atmospheric and oceanic variability. Large-scale modes of variability can sometimes be predictable several months in advance, suggesting potential for seasonal forecasting of lightning and thunderstorm activity in various regions throughout the world. To investigate this possibility, seasonal lightning activity in the world's tropical and temperate regions is examined here in relation to numerous different large-scale modes of variability. Of the seven modes of variability examined, ENSO has the strongest relationship with lightning activity during each individual season, with relatively little relationship for the other modes of variability. A measure of ENSO variability (the NINO3.4 index) is significantly correlated to local lightning activity at 53% of locations for one or more seasons throughout the year. Variations in atmospheric parameters commonly associated with thunderstorm activity are found to provide a plausible physical explanation for the variations in lightning activity associated with ENSO. It is demonstrated that there is potential for accurately predicting lightning and thunderstorm activity several months in advance in various regions throughout the world.

  15. Seasonal forecasting of lightning and thunderstorm activity in tropical and temperate regions of the world

    PubMed Central

    Dowdy, Andrew J.

    2016-01-01

    Thunderstorms are convective systems characterised by the occurrence of lightning. Lightning and thunderstorm activity has been increasingly studied in recent years in relation to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and various other large-scale modes of atmospheric and oceanic variability. Large-scale modes of variability can sometimes be predictable several months in advance, suggesting potential for seasonal forecasting of lightning and thunderstorm activity in various regions throughout the world. To investigate this possibility, seasonal lightning activity in the world’s tropical and temperate regions is examined here in relation to numerous different large-scale modes of variability. Of the seven modes of variability examined, ENSO has the strongest relationship with lightning activity during each individual season, with relatively little relationship for the other modes of variability. A measure of ENSO variability (the NINO3.4 index) is significantly correlated to local lightning activity at 53% of locations for one or more seasons throughout the year. Variations in atmospheric parameters commonly associated with thunderstorm activity are found to provide a plausible physical explanation for the variations in lightning activity associated with ENSO. It is demonstrated that there is potential for accurately predicting lightning and thunderstorm activity several months in advance in various regions throughout the world. PMID:26865431

  16. Modeling the Surface Water-Groundwater Interaction in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions Impacted by Agricultural Activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tian, Y.; Wu, B.; Zheng, Y.

    2013-12-01

    In many semi-arid and arid regions, interaction between surface water and groundwater plays an important role in the eco-hydrological system. The interaction is often complicated by agricultural activities such as surface water diversion, groundwater pumping, and irrigation. In existing surface water-groundwater integrated models, simulation of the interaction is often simplified, which could introduce significant simulation uncertainty under certain circumstance. In this study, GSFLOW, a USGS model coupling PRMS and MODFLOW, was improved to better characterize the surface water-groundwater interaction. The practices of water diversion from rivers, groundwater pumping and irrigation are explicitly simulated. In addition, the original kinematic wave routing method was replaced by a dynamic wave routing method. The improved model was then applied in Zhangye Basin (the midstream part of Heihe River Baisn), China, where the famous 'Silk Road' came through. It is a typical semi-arid region of the western China, with extensive agriculture in its oasis. The model was established and calibrated using the data in 2000-2008. A series of numerical experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of those improvements. It has been demonstrated that with the improvements, the observed streamflow and groundwater level were better reproduced by the model. The improvements have a significant impact on the simulation of multiple fluxes associated with the interaction, such as groundwater discharge, riverbed seepage, infiltration, etc. Human activities were proved to be key elements of the water cycle in the study area. The study results have important implications to the water resources modeling and management in semi-arid and arid basins.

  17. Region-Specific Responses of Adductor Longus Muscle to Gravitational Load-Dependent Activity in Wistar Hannover Rats

    PubMed Central

    Ohira, Takashi; Terada, Masahiro; Kawano, Fuminori; Nakai, Naoya; Ogura, Akihiko; Ohira, Yoshinobu

    2011-01-01

    Response of adductor longus (AL) muscle to gravitational unloading and reloading was studied. Male Wistar Hannover rats (5-wk old) were hindlimb-unloaded for 16 days with or without 16-day ambulation recovery. The electromyogram (EMG) activity in AL decreased after acute unloading, but that in the rostral region was even elevated during continuous unloading. The EMG levels in the caudal region gradually increased up to 6th day, but decreased again. Approximately 97% of fibers in the caudal region were pure type I at the beginning of experiment. Mean percentage of type I fibers in the rostral region was 61% and that of type I+II and II fiber was 14 and 25%, respectively. The percent type I fibers decreased and de novo appearance of type I+II was noted after unloading. But the fiber phenotype in caudal, not rostral and middle, region was normalized after 16-day ambulation. Pronounced atrophy after unloading and re-growth following ambulation was noted in type I fibers of the caudal region. Sarcomere length in the caudal region was passively shortened during unloading, but that in the rostral region was unchanged or even stretched slightly. Growth-associated increase of myonuclear number seen in the caudal region of control rats was inhibited by unloading. Number of mitotic active satellite cells decreased after unloading only in the caudal region. It was indicated that the responses of fiber properties in AL to unloading and reloading were closely related to the region-specific neural and mechanical activities, being the caudal region more responsive. PMID:21731645

  18. Alkaloids from aerial parts of Houttuynia cordata and their anti-inflammatory activity.

    PubMed

    Ahn, Jongmin; Chae, Hee-Sung; Chin, Young-Won; Kim, Jinwoong

    2017-06-15

    New alkaloids, houttuynamide B and C (1, 2) and houttuycorine (14), were isolated from the aerial parts of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. in addition to eighteen known alkaloids. Their structures were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic analysis. All the isolates were tested for their inhibitory activity against NO production in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by LPS. Of the tested compounds, compound 15 showed the most potent anti-inflammatory activity with an IC 50 value of 8.7μM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. 49 CFR Appendix C to Part 241 - Geographical Boundaries of FRA's Regions and Addresses of FRA's Regional Headquarters

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ...) address of the Regional Administrator for Region 1 is: [email protected]gov. (2) Region 2 consists of....dot.gov. (3) Region 3 consists of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia... E-mail address of the Regional Administrator for Region 3 is: [email protected]gov. (4) Region 4...

  20. 49 CFR Appendix C to Part 241 - Geographical Boundaries of FRA's Regions and Addresses of FRA's Regional Headquarters

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ...) address of the Regional Administrator for Region 1 is: [email protected]gov. (2) Region 2 consists of....dot.gov. (3) Region 3 consists of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia... E-mail address of the Regional Administrator for Region 3 is: [email protected]gov. (4) Region 4...

  1. Teaching for Engagement: Part 2: Technology in the Service of Active Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunter, William J.

    2015-01-01

    In the first piece in this series ("Teaching for Engagement: Part 1: Constructivist Principles, Case-Based Teaching, and Active Learning"), William Hunter sought to make the case that a wide range of teaching methods (e.g., case-based teaching, problem-based learning, anchored instruction) that share an intellectual grounding in…

  2. Evidence for Widespread Cooling in an Active Region Observed with the SDO Atmospheric Imaging Assembly

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Viall, Nicholeen M.; Klimchuk, James A.

    2012-01-01

    A well known behavior of EUV light curves of discrete coronal loops is that the peak intensities of cooler channels or spectral lines are reached at progressively later times. This time lag is understood to be the result of hot coronal loop plasma cooling through these lower respective temperatures. However, loops typically comprise only a minority of the total emission in active regions. Is this cooling pattern a common property of active region coronal plasma, or does it only occur in unique circumstances, locations, and times? The new SDO/AIA data provide a wonderful opportunity to answer this question systematically for an entire active region. We measure the time lag between pairs of SDO/AIA EUV channels using 24 hours of images of AR 11082 observed on 19 June 2010. We find that there is a time-lag signal consistent with cooling plasma, just as is usually found for loops, throughout the active region including the diffuse emission between loops for the entire 24 hour duration. The pattern persists consistently for all channel pairs and choice of window length within the 24 hour time period, giving us confidence that the plasma is cooling from temperatures of greater than 3 MK, and sometimes exceeding 7 MK, down to temperatures lower than approx. 0.8 MK. This suggests that the bulk of the emitting coronal plasma in this active region is not steady; rather, it is dynamic and constantly evolving. These measurements provide crucial constraints on any model which seeks to describe coronal heating.

  3. Paleotectonic investigations of the Pennsylvanian System in the United States, part I: introduction and regional analyses of the Pennsylvanian System

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McKee, Edwin D.; Crosby, Eleanor J.; Bachman, George O.; Bell, Kenneth G.; Dixon, George H.; Frezon, Sherwood E.; Glick, Ernest E.; Irwin, William P.; Mallory, William W.; Mapel, William J.; Maughan, Edwin K.; Prichard, George E.; Shideler, Gerald L.; Stewart, Gary F.; Wanless, Harold R.; Wilson, Richard F.

    1975-01-01

    The Pennsylvanian is the fourth geologic system to be analyzed and synthesized by geologists of the U.S. Geological Survey in the form of a paleotectonic study covering the conterminous United States. Earlier investigations were of the Jurassic, Triassic, and Permian Systems. Results were published as Miscellaneous Geologic Investigation Maps I-175, I-300, and I-450 and in Professional Paper 515. The objective of these investigations is to provide in graphic form the factual basis for recognition of tectonic events of each system on a countrywide scale. The maps in this publication depict rock thickness, generalized lithology, ancient geography, and other regional relations of the Pennsylvanian System. Method of preparation of the maps, the stratigraphic limits of the map units, and various stratigraphic and structural features and their probable tectonic significance are discussed. Pennsylvanian data were largely compiled between 1961 and 196 by 16 geologists, including the late Harold R. Wanless, who covered the five eastern regions and contributed to several of the special studies. The areas of responsibility of the cooperating geologists are indicated in figure 1. Work in Kansas was done by Gary F. Stewart, of the Kansas Geological Survey. Results of this investigation are presented in three units. Part I comprises an introduction and 17 chapters, each describing and discussing one of the regions in which the conterminous United States was divided for purposes of study and mapping. Part II is a synthesis of Pennsylvanian history to accompany interpretive maps of the five divisions of the Pennsylvanian System treated in this publication; it also includes a series of chapters on depositional environments, climatic conditions, and economic products of the system. The final section of part II is devoted to an index of localities and sources used in construction of the principal maps of this publication. Part III consists of the plates on which are presented the

  4. A database of radionuclide activity and metal concentrations for the Alligator Rivers Region uranium province.

    PubMed

    Doering, Che; Bollhöfer, Andreas

    2016-10-01

    This paper presents a database of radionuclide activity and metal concentrations for the Alligator Rivers Region (ARR) uranium province in the Australian wet-dry tropics. The database contains 5060 sample records and 57,473 concentration values. The data are for animal, plant, soil, sediment and water samples collected by the Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS) as part of its statutory role to undertake research and monitoring into the impacts of uranium mining on the environment of the ARR. Concentration values are provided in the database for 11 radionuclides ( 227 Ac, 40 K, 210 Pb, 210 Po, 226 Ra, 228 Ra, 228 Th, 230 Th, 232 Th, 234 U, 238 U) and 26 metals (Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sb, Se, Sr, Th, U, V, Zn). Potential uses of the database are discussed. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. THE COMPLEX NORTH TRANSITION REGION OF CENTAURUS A: RADIO STRUCTURE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Neff, Susan G.; Eilek, Jean A.; Owen, Frazer N., E-mail: susan.g.neff@nasa.gov

    2015-04-01

    We present deep radio images of the inner ∼50 kpc of Centaurus A, taken with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array at 90 cm. We focus on the Transition Regions between the inner galaxy—including the active nucleus, inner radio lobes, and star-forming disk—and the outer radio lobes. We detect previously unknown extended emission around the Inner Lobes, including radio emission from the star-forming disk. We find that the radio-loud part of the North Transition Region (NTR), known as the North Middle Lobe, is significantly overpressured relative to the surrounding interstellar medium. We see no evidence for a collimated flow from themore » active galactic nucleus through this region. Our images show that the structure identified by Morganti et al. as a possible large-scale jet appears to be part of a narrow ridge of emission within the broader, diffuse, radio-loud region. This knotty radio ridge is coincident with other striking phenomena: compact X-ray knots, ionized gas filaments, and streams of young stars. Several short-lived phenomena in the NTR, as well as the frequent re-energization required by the Outer Lobes, suggest that energy must be flowing through both Transition Regions at the present epoch. We suggest that the energy flow is in the form of a galactic wind.« less

  6. Absence of furrowing activity following regional cortical tension reduction in sand dollar blastomere and fertilized egg fragment surfaces.

    PubMed

    Rappaport, R

    1999-08-01

    The purpose of the present investigation was to test experimentally the possibility that division mechanism establishment at the equator of sand dollar eggs may be a consequence of cortical tension gradients between the equator and the poles. Cytochalasin has been shown to decrease tension at the sea urchin egg surface. The concave ends of cytochalasin D-containing agarose cylinders were held against regions of the surface of Echinarachnius parma blastomeres and enucleated fertilized egg fragments. The ability to interfere with normal furrowing activity was used as a biological indicator of the effectiveness of cytochalasin. When agarose containing 2 microg/mL cytochalasin contacted the equatorial region of the blastomeres resulting from the first cleavage, or the equatorial surfaces of nucleated fertilized egg halves, furrowing was blocked, stalled or delayed, indicating that the concentration of cytochalasin was effective. When the same concentration of cytochalasin was applied to the poles, the cells and nucleated fertilized egg fragments divided in the same way as the controls, indicating that the effectiveness of the cytochalasin did not spread from the poles to the equator and that bisection did not interfere with the division of nucleated fertilized egg fragments. When the same concentration of cytochalasin was applied to diametrically opposed surfaces of enucleated, spherical egg fragments, there was no evidence of furrowing activity between the areas that contacted the cytochalasin or in any other part of the surface. Because of the tension-reducing effect of cytochalasin, a tension gradient existed between the regions affected and unaffected by cytochalasin. The results strongly suggest that establishment of the division mechanism by simple gradients of tension at the surface is unlikely.

  7. Measurements of cloud condensation nuclei activity and droplet activation kinetics of wet processed regional dust samples and minerals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, P.; Sokolik, I. N.; Nenes, A.

    2011-04-01

    This study reports laboratory measurements of particle size distributions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, and droplet activation kinetics of wet generated aerosols from clays, calcite, quartz, and desert soil samples from Northern Africa, East Asia/China, and Northern America. The dependence of critical supersaturation, sc, on particle dry diameter, Ddry, is used to characterize particle-water interactions and assess the ability of Frenkel-Halsey-Hill adsorption activation theory (FHH-AT) and Köhler theory (KT) to describe the CCN activity of the considered samples. Regional dust samples produce unimodal size distributions with particle sizes as small as 40 nm, CCN activation consistent with KT, and exhibit hygroscopicity similar to inorganic salts. Clays and minerals produce a bimodal size distribution; the CCN activity of the smaller mode is consistent with KT, while the larger mode is less hydrophilic, follows activation by FHH-AT, and displays almost identical CCN activity to dry generated dust. Ion Chromatography (IC) analysis performed on regional dust samples indicates a soluble fraction that cannot explain the CCN activity of dry or wet generated dust. A mass balance and hygroscopicity closure suggests that the small amount of ions (of low solubility compounds like calcite) present in the dry dust dissolve in the aqueous suspension during the wet generation process and give rise to the observed small hygroscopic mode. Overall these results identify an artifact that may question the atmospheric relevance of dust CCN activity studies using the wet generation method. Based on a threshold droplet growth analysis, wet generated mineral aerosols display similar activation kinetics compared to ammonium sulfate calibration aerosol. Finally, a unified CCN activity framework that accounts for concurrent effects of solute and adsorption is developed to describe the CCN activity of aged or hygroscopic dusts.

  8. Activity in Face-Responsive Brain Regions is Modulated by Invisible, Attended Faces: Evidence from Masked Priming

    PubMed Central

    Eger, Evelyn; Dolan, Raymond; Henson, Richard N.

    2009-01-01

    It is often assumed that neural activity in face-responsive regions of primate cortex correlates with conscious perception of faces. However, whether such activity occurs without awareness is still debated. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in conjunction with a novel masked face priming paradigm, we observed neural modulations that could not be attributed to perceptual awareness. More specifically, we found reduced activity in several classic face-processing regions, including the “fusiform face area,” “occipital face area,” and superior temporal sulcus, when a face was preceded by a briefly flashed image of the same face, relative to a different face, even when 2 images of the same face differed. Importantly, unlike most previous studies, which have minimized awareness by using conditions of inattention, the present results occurred when the stimuli (the primes) were attended. By contrast, when primes were perceived consciously, in a long-lag priming paradigm, we found repetition-related activity increases in additional frontal and parietal regions. These data not only demonstrate that fMRI activity in face-responsive regions can be modulated independently of perceptual awareness, but also document where such subliminal face-processing occurs (i.e., restricted to face-responsive regions of occipital and temporal cortex) and to what extent (i.e., independent of the specific image). PMID:18400791

  9. Terahertz generation in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers with a dual-upper-state active region

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fujita, Kazuue, E-mail: kfujita@crl.hpk.co.jp; Hitaka, Masahiro; Ito, Akio

    2015-06-22

    We report the performance of room temperature terahertz sources based on intracavity difference-frequency generation in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers with a dual-upper-state (DAU) active region. DAU active region design is theoretically expected to produce larger optical nonlinearity for terahertz difference-frequency generation, compared to the active region designs of the bound-to-continuum type used previously. Fabricated buried heterostructure devices with a two-section buried distributed feedback grating and the waveguide designed for Cherenkov difference-frequency phase-matching scheme operate in two single-mode mid-infrared wavelengths at 10.7 μm and 9.7 μm and produce terahertz output at 2.9 THz with mid-infrared to terahertz conversion efficiency of 0.8 mW/W{sup 2}more » at room temperature.« less

  10. Altered regional and circuit resting-state activity in patients with occult spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

    PubMed

    Mu, Xuetao; Wang, Zhiqun; Nie, Binbin; Duan, Shaofeng; Ma, Qiaozhi; Dai, Guanghui; Wu, Chunnan; Dong, Yuru; Shan, Baoci; Ma, Lin

    2017-10-07

    Very few studies have been made to investigate functional activity changes in occult spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (SDCP). The purpose of this study was to analyze whole-brain resting state regional brain activity and functional connectivity (FC) changes in patients with SDCP. We examined 12 occult SDCP and 14 healthy control subjects using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The data were analyzed using Resting-State fMRI Data Analysis Toolkit (REST) software. The regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and whole brain FC of the motor cortex and thalamus were analyzed and compared between the occult SDCP and control groups. Compared with the control group, the occult SDCP group showed decreased ReHo regions, including the bilateral frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes, the cerebellum, right cingulate gyrus, and right lenticular nucleus, whereas an increased ReHo value was observed in the left precuneus, calcarine, fusiform gyrus, and right precuneus. Compared with the control group, no significant differences in ALFF were noted in the occult SDCP group. With the motor cortex as the region of interest, the occult SDCP group showed decreased connectivity regions in the bilateral fusiform and lingual gyrus, but increased connectivity regions in the contralateral precentral and postcentral gyrus, supplementary motor area, and the ipsilateral postcentral gyrus. With the thalamus being regarded as the region of interest, the occult SDCP group showed decreased connectivity regions in the bilateral basal ganglia, cingulate, and prefrontal cortex, but increased connectivity regions in the bilateral precentral gyrus, the contralateral cerebellum, and inferior temporal gyrus. Resting-state regional brain activities and FC changes in the patients with occult SDCP exhibited a special distribution pattern, which is consistent with the pathology of the disease. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. The Interpretation of Crustal Dynamics Data in Terms of Plate Interactions and Active Tectonics of the Anatolian Plate and Surrounding Regions in the Middle East

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Toksoz, M. Nafi; Reilinger, Robert E.

    1990-01-01

    During the past 6 months, efforts were concentrated on the following areas: (1) Continued development of realistic, finite element modeling of plate interactions and associated deformation in the Eastern Mediterranean; (2) Neotectonic field investigations of seismic faulting along the active fault systems in Turkey with emphasis on identifying seismic gaps along the North Anatolian fault; and (3) Establishment of a GPS regional monitoring network in the zone of ongoing continental collision in eastern Turkey (supported in part by NSF).

  12. A Cryptosporidium parvum genomic region encoding hemolytic activity.

    PubMed Central

    Steele, M I; Kuhls, T L; Nida, K; Meka, C S; Halabi, I M; Mosier, D A; Elliott, W; Crawford, D L; Greenfield, R A

    1995-01-01

    Successful parasitization by Cryptosporidium parvum requires multiple disruptions in both host and protozoan cell membranes as cryptosporidial sporozoites invade intestinal epithelial cells and subsequently develop into asexual and sexual life stages. To identify cryptosporidial proteins which may play a role in these membrane alterations, hemolytic activity was used as a marker to screen a C. parvum genomic expression library. A stable hemolytic clone (H4) containing a 5.5-kb cryptosporidial genomic fragment was identified. The hemolytic activity encoded on H4 was mapped to a 1-kb region that contained a complete 690-bp open reading frame (hemA) ending in a common stop codon. A 21-kDa plasmid-encoded recombinant protein was expressed in maxicells containing H4. Subclones of H4 which contained only a portion of hemA did not induce hemolysis on blood agar or promote expression of the recombinant protein in maxicells. Reverse transcriptase-mediated PCR analysis of total RNA isolated from excysted sporozoites and the intestines of infected adult mice with severe combined immunodeficiency demonstrated that hemA is actively transcribed during the cryptosporidial life cycle. PMID:7558289

  13. 24 CFR Appendix A to Part 15 - Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel A Appendix A to Part 15 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development PUBLIC ACCESS TO HUD RECORDS...

  14. 77 FR 50520 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Application for Regional Center Under the Immigrant...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-21

    ...-0061] Agency Information Collection Activities: Application for Regional Center Under the Immigrant... collection. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor... behalf of an entity under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program. (5) An estimate of the total number of...

  15. Small Coronal Holes Near Active Regions as Sources of Slow Solar Wind

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Y.-M., E-mail: yi.wang@nrl.navy.mil

    We discuss the nature of the small areas of rapidly diverging, open magnetic flux that form in the strong unipolar fields at the peripheries of active regions (ARs), according to coronal extrapolations of photospheric field measurements. Because such regions usually have dark counterparts in extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) images, we refer to them as coronal holes, even when they appear as narrow lanes or contain sunspots. Revisiting previously identified “AR sources” of slow solar wind from 1998 and 1999, we find that they are all associated with EUV coronal holes; the absence of well-defined He i 1083.0 nm counterparts to some ofmore » these holes is attributed to the large flux of photoionizing radiation from neighboring AR loops. Examining a number of AR-associated EUV holes during the 2014 activity maximum, we confirm that they are characterized by wind speeds of ∼300–450 km s{sup −1}, O{sup 7+}/O{sup 6+} ratios of ∼0.05–0.4, and footpoint field strengths typically of order 30 G. The close spacing between ARs at sunspot maximum limits the widths of unipolar regions and their embedded holes, while the continual emergence of new flux leads to rapid changes in the hole boundaries. Because of the highly nonradial nature of AR fields, the smaller EUV holes are often masked by the overlying canopy of loops, and may be more visible toward one solar limb than at central meridian. As sunspot activity declines, the AR remnants merge to form much larger, weaker, and longer-lived unipolar regions, which harbor the “classical” coronal holes that produce recurrent high-speed streams.« less

  16. Bioimpedance Harmonic Analysis as a Diagnostic Tool to Assess Regional Circulation and Neural Activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mudraya, I. S.; Revenko, S. V.; Khodyreva, L. A.; Markosyan, T. G.; Dudareva, A. A.; Ibragimov, A. R.; Romich, V. V.; Kirpatovsky, V. I.

    2013-04-01

    The novel technique based on harmonic analysis of bioimpedance microvariations with original hard- and software complex incorporating a high-resolution impedance converter was used to assess the neural activity and circulation in human urinary bladder and penis in patients with pelvic pain, erectile dysfunction, and overactive bladder. The therapeutic effects of shock wave therapy and Botulinum toxin detrusor injections were evaluated quantitatively according to the spectral peaks at low 0.1 Hz frequency (M for Mayer wave), respiratory (R) and cardiac (C) rhythms with their harmonics. Enhanced baseline regional neural activity identified according to M and R peaks was found to be presumably sympathetic in pelvic pain patients, and parasympathetic - in patients with overactive bladder. Total pulsatile activity and pulsatile resonances found in the bladder as well as in the penile spectrum characterised regional circulation and vascular tone. The abnormal spectral parameters characteristic of the patients with genitourinary diseases shifted to the norm in the cases of efficient therapy. Bioimpedance harmonic analysis seems to be a potent tool to assess regional peculiarities of circulatory and autonomic nervous activity in the course of patient treatment.

  17. Detailed correlation of type III radio bursts with H alpha activity. I - Active region of 22 May 1970.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kuiper, T. B. H.; Pasachoff, J. M.

    1973-01-01

    Comparison of observations of type III impulsive radio bursts made at the Clark Lake Radio Observatory with high-spatial-resolution cinematographic observations taken at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. Use of the log-periodic radio interferometer makes it possible to localize the radio emission uniquely. This study concentrates on the particularly active region close to the limb on May 22, 1970. Sixteen of the 17 groups were associated with some H alpha activity, 11 of them with the start of such activity.

  18. The morphology of flare phenomena, magnetic fields, and electric currents in active regions. III - NOAA active region 6233 (1990 August)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    De La Beaujardiere, J.-F.; Canfield, Richard C.; Leka, K. D.

    1993-01-01

    We investigate the spatial relationship between vertical electric currents and flare phenomena in NOAA Active Region 6233, which was observed 1990, August 28-31 at Mees Solar Observatory. The two flares studied are the 1N/M1.8 flare on August 28, 22:30 UT and the 1N/M1.6 flare on August 29, 20:35 UT. Using Stokes polarimetry we make magnetograms of the region and compute the vertical current density. Using H-alpha imaging spectroscopy we identify sites of intense nonthermal electron precipitation or of high coronal pressure. The precipitation in these flares is barely strong enough to be detectable. We find that both precipitation and high pressure tend to occur near vertical currents, but that neither phenomenon is cospatial with current maxima. In contrast with the conclusion of other authors, we argue that these observations do not support a current-interruption model for flares, unless the relevant currents are primarily horizontal. The magnetic morphology and temporal evolution of these flares suggest that an erupting filament model may be relevant, but this model does not explicitly predict the relationship between precipitation, high pressure, and vertical currents.

  19. Coronal Magnetography of Solar Active Regions Using Coordinated SOHO/CDS and VLA Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brosius, Jeffrey W.

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this project is to apply the coronal magnetographic technique to SOHO (Solar Heliospheric Observatory) /CDS (Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer) EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation) and coordinated VLA microwave observations of solar active regions to derive the strength and structure of the coronal magnetic field. A CDS observing plan was developed for obtaining spectra needed to derive active region differential emission measures (DEMs) required for coronal magnetography. VLA observations were proposed and obtained. SOHO JOP 100 was developed, tested, approved, and implemented to obtain coordinated CDS (Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer)/EIT (Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope)/ VLA (Very Large Array)/ TRACE (Transition Region and Coronal Explorer)/ SXT (Solar X Ray Telescope) observations of active regions on April 12, May 9, May 13, and May 23. Analysis of all four data sets began, with heaviest concentration on COS data. It is found that 200-pixel (14 A in NIS1) wavelength windows are appropriate for extracting broadened Gaussian line profile fit parameters for lines including Fe XIV at 334.2, Fe XVI at 335.4, Fe XVI at 360.8, and Mg IX at 368.1 over the 4 arcmin by 4 arcmin CDS field of view. Extensive efforts were focused on learning and applying were focused on learning and applying CDS software, and including it in new IDL procedures to carry out calculations relating to coronal magnetography. An important step is to extract Gaussian profile fits to all the lines needed to derive the DEM in each spatial pixel of any given active region. The standard CDS absolute intensity calibration software was applied to derived intensity images, revealing that ratios between density-insensitive lines like Fe XVI 360.8/335.4 yield good agreement with theory. However, the resulting absolute intensities of those lines are very high, indicating that revisions to the CDS absolute intensity calibrations remain to be included in the CDS software, an essential step to

  20. NGA-West2 Empirical Fourier Model for Active Crustal Regions to Generate Regionally Adjustable Response Spectra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bora, S. S.; Cotton, F.; Scherbaum, F.; Kuehn, N. M.

    2016-12-01

    Adjustment of median ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) from data-rich (host) regions to data-poor regions (target) is one of major challenges that remains with the current practice of engineering seismology and seismic hazard analysis. Fourier spectral representation of ground motion provides a solution to address the problem of adjustment that is physically transparent and consistent with the concepts of linear system theory. Also, it provides a direct interface to appreciate the physically expected behavior of seismological parameters on ground motion. In the present study, we derive an empirical Fourier model for computing regionally adjustable response spectral ordinates based on random vibration theory (RVT) from shallow crustal earthquakes in active tectonic regions, following the approach of Bora et al. (2014, 2015). , For this purpose, we use an expanded NGA-West2 database with M 3.2—7.9 earthquakes at distances ranging from 0 to 300 km. A mixed-effects regression technique is employed to further explore various components of variability. The NGA-West2 database expanded over a wide magnitude range provides a better understanding (and constraint) of source scaling of ground motion. The large global volume of the database also allows investigating regional patterns in distance-dependent attenuation (i.e., geometrical spreading and inelastic attenuation) of ground motion as well as in the source parameters (e.g., magnitude and stress drop). Furthermore, event-wise variability and its correlation with stress parameter are investigated. Finally, application of the derived Fourier model in generating adjustable response spectra will be shown.

  1. SPECT-imaging of activity-dependent changes in regional cerebral blood flow induced by electrical and optogenetic self-stimulation in mice.

    PubMed

    Kolodziej, Angela; Lippert, Michael; Angenstein, Frank; Neubert, Jenni; Pethe, Annette; Grosser, Oliver S; Amthauer, Holger; Schroeder, Ulrich H; Reymann, Klaus G; Scheich, Henning; Ohl, Frank W; Goldschmidt, Jürgen

    2014-12-01

    Electrical and optogenetic methods for brain stimulation are widely used in rodents for manipulating behavior and analyzing functional connectivities in neuronal circuits. High-resolution in vivo imaging of the global, brain-wide, activation patterns induced by these stimulations has remained challenging, in particular in awake behaving mice. We here mapped brain activation patterns in awake, intracranially self-stimulating mice using a novel protocol for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Mice were implanted with either electrodes for electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle (mfb-microstim) or with optical fibers for blue-light stimulation of channelrhodopsin-2 expressing neurons in the ventral tegmental area (vta-optostim). After training for self-stimulation by current or light application, respectively, mice were implanted with jugular vein catheters and intravenously injected with the flow tracer 99m-technetium hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) during seven to ten minutes of intracranial self-stimulation or ongoing behavior without stimulation. The 99mTc-brain distributions were mapped in anesthetized animals after stimulation using multipinhole SPECT. Upon self-stimulation rCBF strongly increased at the electrode tip in mfb-microstim mice. In vta-optostim mice peak activations were found outside the stimulation site. Partly overlapping brain-wide networks of activations and deactivations were found in both groups. When testing all self-stimulating mice against all controls highly significant activations were found in the rostromedial nucleus accumbens shell. SPECT-imaging of rCBF using intravenous tracer-injection during ongoing behavior is a new tool for imaging regional brain activation patterns in awake behaving rodents providing higher spatial and temporal resolutions than 18F-2-fluoro-2-dexoyglucose positron emission tomography. Copyright © 2014 The Authors

  2. OUTFLOWS AND DARK BANDS AT ARCADE-LIKE ACTIVE REGION CORE BOUNDARIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Scott, J. T.; Martens, P. C. H.; Tarr, L.

    Observations from the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board Hinode have revealed outflows and non-thermal line broadening in low intensity regions at the edges of active regions (ARs). We use data from Hinode's EIS, Solar Dynamic Observatory's Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, and the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer instrument to investigate the boundaries of arcade-like AR cores for NOAA ARs 11112, 10978, and 9077. A narrow, low intensity region that is observed at the core's periphery as a dark band shows outflows and increased spectral line broadening. This dark band is found to exist for daysmore » and appears between the bright coronal loop structures of different coronal topologies. We find a case where the dark band region is formed between the magnetic field from emerging flux and the field of the pre-existing flux. A magnetic field extrapolation indicates that this dark band is coincident with the spine lines or magnetic separatrices in the extrapolated field. This occurs over unipolar regions where the brightened coronal field is separated in connectivity and topology. This separation does not appear to be infinitesimal and an initial estimate of the minimum distance of separation is found to be Almost-Equal-To 1.5-3.5 Mm.« less

  3. Lightning hazard region over the maritime continent observed from satellite and climate change threat

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ilhamsyah, Y.; Koesmaryono, Y.; Hidayat, R.; Murjaya, J.; Nurjaya, I. W.; Rizwan

    2017-02-01

    Climate change would lead to such hydrometeorological disaster as: flash-flood, landslide, hailstone, lightning, and twister become more likely to happen in the future. In terms of lightning event, one research question arise of where lightning would be mostly to strike over the Maritime Continent (MC)?. The objective of the research is to investigate region with high-density of lightning activity over MC by mapping climatological features of lightning flashes derived from onboard NASA-TRMM Satellite, i.e. Optical Transient Detector/Lightning Imaging Sensor (OTD/LIS). Based on data retrieved since 1995-2013, it is seasonally observed that during transition season March to May, region with high vulnerability of lightning flashes cover the entire Sumatra Island, the Malacca Strait, and Peninsular Malaysia as well as Java Island. High-frequent of lightning activity over the Malacca Strait is unique since it is the only sea-region in the world where lightning flashes are denser. As previously mentioned that strong lightning activity over the strait is driven by mesoscale convective system of Sumatra Squalls due to convergences of land breeze between Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. Lightning activity over the strait is continuously observed throughout season despite the intensity reduced. Java Island, most populated island, receive high-density of lightning flashes during rainy season (December to February) but small part in the northwestern of Java Island, e.g., Bogor and surrounding areas, the density of lightning flashes are high throughout season. Northern and southern parts of Kalimantan and Central part of Sulawesi are also prone to lightning activity particularly during transition season March to May and September to November. In the eastern part of MC, Papua receive denser lightning flashes during September to November. It is found that lightning activity are mostly concentrated over land instead of ocean which is in accordance with diurnal convective

  4. Coronal magnetic structures observing campaign. I - Simultaneous microwave and soft X-ray observations of active regions at the solar limb

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nitta, N.; White, S. M.; Kundu, M. R.; Gopalswamy, N.; Holman, G. D.; Brosius, J. W.; Schmelz, J. T.; Saba, J. L. R.; Strong, K. T.

    1991-06-01

    Using simultaneous microwave and soft X-ray measurements made with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 6 and 20 cm and the X-ray Polychromator (XRP) aboard the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM), we have studied two active regions near the solar limb. These observations were taken as part of the Coronal Magnetic Structures Observing Campaign (CoMStOC), a collaboration designed to study the magnetic field in the solar corona. The images in soft X-rays and at 20 cm wavelength are similar: both show peaks above the active regions and extended bridge of emission 200,000 km long connecting the two regions. The brightness temperature of the 20 cm emission is lower than that predicted from the X-ray emitting material, however; it can be attributed to free-free emission in cooler (<106 K) plasma not visible to XRP, with an optical depth ˜1. The 6 cm emission is concentrated at lower altitudes and in a ˜160,000 km long bundle of loops in the northern active region. Comparison of the 6 cm map with the potential magnetic field lines computed from photospheric magnetic fields (measured 2 days earlier) indicates that the 6 cm emission is associated with fields of less than ˜200 G. Such fields would be too weak to attribute the observed 6 cm emission to gyroresonance radiation. Analysis of the 6 cm loop bundle indicates that it is strongly asymmetric, with the magnetic field in the northern leg ˜2 times stronger than in the southern leg; the 6 cm emission most likely arises from a combination of hot ( ≥ 2 × 106 K) and cool plasmas, while the 20 cm emission becomes optically thick in the cooler (˜9 × 103 K) plasma. We estimate an Alfvén speed ˜7000 km s-1 and ratio of electron gyrofrequency to plasma frequency ˜1.0 in the northern leg of the 6 cm loop.

  5. Seismic velocity structure in the western part of Nankai subduction zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamamoto, Y.; Obana, K.; Takahashi, T.; Nakanishi, A.; Kodaira, S.; Kaneda, Y.

    2011-12-01

    In the Nankai Trough, three major seismogenic zones of megathrust earthquake exist (Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai earthquake regions). The Hyuga-nada region was distinguished from these seismogenic zones because of the lack of megathrust earthquake. However, recent studies show the possibility of simultaneous rupture of the Nankai and Hyuga-nada segments was also pointed out [e.g., Furumura et al, 2010 JGR]. Because seismic velocity structure is one of the useful and basic information for understanding the possibility of seismic linkage of Nankai and Hyuga-nada segments, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology has been carried out a series of wide-angle active source surveys and local seismic observations among the three major seismogenic zones and Hyuga-nada segment from 2008, as a part of "Research concerning Interaction Between the Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai Earthquakes' funded by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan". We are performing two set of three-dimensional seismic velocity tomographic inversions, one is in the Hyuga-nada region and the other is western part of the coseismic rupture area of 1946 Nankai earthquake, to discuss the relationship between the structural heterogeneities and the location of segment boundary between Hyuga-nada and Nankai segment. For the analysis of Hyuga-nada segment, we used both active and passive source data. The obtained velocity model clearly showed the subducted Kyushu-Palau ridge as thick low velocity Philippine Sea slab in the southwestern part. Our velocity image also indicates that "the thin oceanic crust zone" located between Nankai segment and Kyushu-Palau Ridge segment, founded by Nakanishi et al [2010, AGU] by analyzing of the active source survey, continuously exists from trough axis to near the coastline of Kyushu Island. The overriding plate just above the coseismic slip area of 1968 Hyuga-nada earthquake shows relatively high velocity. Although the tomographic study in

  6. Particle acceleration in solar active regions being in the state of self-organized criticality.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vlahos, Loukas

    We review the recent observational results on flare initiation and particle acceleration in solar active regions. Elaborating a statistical approach to describe the spatiotemporally intermittent electric field structures formed inside a flaring solar active region, we investigate the efficiency of such structures in accelerating charged particles (electrons and protons). The large-scale magnetic configuration in the solar atmosphere responds to the strong turbulent flows that convey perturbations across the active region by initiating avalanche-type processes. The resulting unstable structures correspond to small-scale dissipation regions hosting strong electric fields. Previous research on particle acceleration in strongly turbulent plasmas provides a general framework for addressing such a problem. This framework combines various electromagnetic field configurations obtained by magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) or cellular automata (CA) simulations, or by employing a statistical description of the field’s strength and configuration with test particle simulations. We work on data-driven 3D magnetic field extrapolations, based on a self-organized criticality models (SOC). A relativistic test-particle simulation traces each particle’s guiding center within these configurations. Using the simulated particle-energy distributions we test our results against observations, in the framework of the collisional thick target model (CTTM) of solar hard X-ray (HXR) emission and compare our results with the current observations.

  7. The KULTURisk Regional Risk Assessment methodology for water-related natural hazards - Part 1: Physical-environmental assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ronco, P.; Gallina, V.; Torresan, S.; Zabeo, A.; Semenzin, E.; Critto, A.; Marcomini, A.

    2014-12-01

    , exposure and vulnerability. It integrates the outputs of various hydrodynamic models with site-specific bio-geophysical and socio-economic indicators (e.g. slope, land cover, population density, economic activities etc.) to develop tailored risk indexes and GIS-based maps for each of the selected receptors (i.e. people, buildings, infrastructure, agriculture, natural and semi-natural systems, cultural heritage) in the considered region. It further compares the baseline scenario with alternative scenarios, where different structural and/or non-structural mitigation measures are planned and eventually implemented. As demonstrated in the companion paper (Part 2, Ronco et al., 2014), risk maps, along with related statistics, allow one to identify and classify, on a relative scale, areas at risk which are more likely to be affected by floods and support the development of strategic adaptation and prevention measures to minimizing flood impacts. In addition, the outcomes of the RRA can be eventually used for a further socio-economic assessment, considering the tangible and intangible costs as well as the human dimension of vulnerability.

  8. The KULTURisk Regional Risk Assessment methodology for water-related natural hazards - Part 1: Physical-environmental assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ronco, P.; Gallina, V.; Torresan, S.; Zabeo, A.; Semenzin, E.; Critto, A.; Marcomini, A.

    2014-07-01

    KR-RRA methodology is based on the concept of risk being function of hazard, exposure and vulnerability. It integrates the outputs of various hydrodynamics models (hazard) with sito-specific bio-geophysical and socio-economic indicators (e.g. slope, land cover, population density, economic activities) to develop tailored risk indexes and GIS-based maps for each of the selected targets (i.e. people, buildings, infrastructures, agriculture, natural and semi-natural systems, cultural heritages) in the considered region, by comparing the baseline scenario with alternative scenarios, where different structural and/or non-structural mitigation measures are planned. As demonstrated in the companion paper (Part 2, Ronco et al., 2014), risk maps, along with related statistics, allow to identify and prioritize relative hotspots and targets which are more likely to be affected by flood and support the development of relevant and strategic adaptation and prevention measures to minimizing flood impacts. Moreover, the outputs of the RRA methodology can be used for the economic evaluation of different damages (e.g. tangible costs, intangible costs) and for the social assessment considering the benefits of the human dimension of vulnerability (i.e. adaptive and coping capacity).

  9. In vitro antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of methanolic plant part extracts of Theobroma cacao.

    PubMed

    Baharum, Zainal; Akim, Abdah Md; Taufiq-Yap, Yun Hin; Hamid, Roslida Abdul; Kasran, Rosmin

    2014-11-10

    The aims of this study were to determine the antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of the following Theobroma cacao plant part methanolic extracts: leaf, bark, husk, fermented and unfermented shell, pith, root, and cherelle. Antioxidant activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and Folin-Ciocalteu assays; the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to determine antiproliferative activity. The root extract had the highest antioxidant activity; its median effective dose (EC50) was 358.3±7.0 µg/mL and total phenolic content was 22.0±1.1 g GAE/100 g extract as compared to the other methanolic plant part extracts. Only the cherelle extract demonstrated 10.4%±1.1% inhibition activity in the lipid peroxidation assay. The MTT assay revealed that the leaf extract had the highest antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 cells [median inhibitory concentration (IC50)=41.4±3.3 µg/mL]. Given the overall high IC50 for the normal liver cell line WRL-68, this study indicates that T. cacao methanolic extracts have a cytotoxic effect in cancer cells, but not in normal cells. Planned future investigations will involve the purification, identification, determination of the mechanisms of action, and molecular assay of T. cacao plant extracts.

  10. Tracking Organs Composed of One or Multiple Regions Using Geodesic Active Region Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martínez, A.; Jiménez, J. J.

    In radiotherapy treatment it is very important to find out the target organs on the medical image sequence in order to determine and apply the proper dose. The techniques to achieve this goal can be classified into extrinsic and intrinsic. Intrinsic techniques only use image processing with medical images associated to the radiotherapy Radiotherapy treatment, as we deal in this chapter. To accurately perform this organ tracking it is necessary to find out segmentation and tracking models that were able to be applied to several image modalities involved on a radiotherapy session (CT CT See Modality , MRI Magnetic resoance imaging , etc.). The movements of the organs are mainly affected by two factors: breathing and involuntary movements associated with the internal organs or patient positioning. Among the several alternatives to track the organs of interest, a model based on geodesic active regions is proposed. This model has been tested over CT Computed tomography images from the pelvic, cardiac, and thoracic area. A new model for the segmentation of organs composed by more than one region is proposed.

  11. Healthcare Strategic Planning as Part of National and Regional Development in the Israeli Galilee: A Case Study of the Planning Process.

    PubMed

    Peled, Ronit; Schenirer, Jerry

    2009-10-01

    This article describes a systematic process of geographic and strategic planning for healthcare services as a part of a regional development plan in the Israeli Galilee. The planning process consisted of three stages: (a) assessment of needs, demand and existing resources; (b) prioritisation of initiatives; and (c) scheduling of theoretical priorities. For many years the region has suffered from inequities and inequalities regarding the availability and accessibility of a regional healthcare system, resulting in high mortality and morbidity rates and low quality of life. The aim of the healthcare strategic plan was to suggest initiatives and actions to be taken in order to improve healthcare provision and the health and wellbeing of local residents.

  12. Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of essential oils from different parts of the oregano.

    PubMed

    Han, Fei; Ma, Guang-Qiang; Yang, Ming; Yan, Li; Xiong, Wei; Shu, Ji-Cheng; Zhao, Zhi-Dong; Xu, Han-Lin

    This research was undertaken in order to characterize the chemical compositions and evaluate the antioxidant activities of essential oils obtained from different parts of the Origanum vulgare L. It is a medicinal plant used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of heat stroke, fever, vomiting, acute gastroenteritis, and respiratory disorders. The chemical compositions of the three essential oils from different parts of the oregano (leaves-flowers, stems, and roots) were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activity of each essential oil was assessed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and reducing the power test. Among the essential oils from different parts of the oregano, the leaf-flower oils have the best antioxidant activities, whereas the stem oils are the worst. The results of the DPPH free radical scavenging assay showed that the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) values of the essential oils were (0.332±0.040) mg/ml (leaves-flowers), (0.357±0.031) mg/ml (roots), and (0.501±0.029) mg/ml (stems), respectively. Interestingly, the results of reducing the power test also revealed that when the concentration exceeded 1.25 mg/ml, the leaf-flower oils had the highest reducing power; however, the stem oils were the lowest.

  13. Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of essential oils from different parts of the oregano* #

    PubMed Central

    Han, Fei; Ma, Guang-qiang; Yang, Ming; Yan, Li; Xiong, Wei; Shu, Ji-cheng; Zhao, Zhi-dong; Xu, Han-lin

    2017-01-01

    This research was undertaken in order to characterize the chemical compositions and evaluate the antioxidant activities of essential oils obtained from different parts of the Origanum vulgare L. It is a medicinal plant used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of heat stroke, fever, vomiting, acute gastroenteritis, and respiratory disorders. The chemical compositions of the three essential oils from different parts of the oregano (leaves-flowers, stems, and roots) were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activity of each essential oil was assessed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and reducing the power test. Among the essential oils from different parts of the oregano, the leaf-flower oils have the best antioxidant activities, whereas the stem oils are the worst. The results of the DPPH free radical scavenging assay showed that the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of the essential oils were (0.332±0.040) mg/ml (leaves-flowers), (0.357±0.031) mg/ml (roots), and (0.501±0.029) mg/ml (stems), respectively. Interestingly, the results of reducing the power test also revealed that when the concentration exceeded 1.25 mg/ml, the leaf-flower oils had the highest reducing power; however, the stem oils were the lowest. PMID:28071000

  14. MINIFILAMENT ERUPTIONS THAT DRIVE CORONAL JETS IN A SOLAR ACTIVE REGION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sterling, Alphonse C.; Moore, Ronald L.; Falconer, David A.

    We present observations of eruptive events in an active region adjacent to an on-disk coronal hole on 2012 June 30, primarily using data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory ( SDO )/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), SDO /Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), and STEREO - B . One eruption is of a large-scale (∼100″) filament that is typical of other eruptions, showing slow-rise onset followed by a faster-rise motion starting as flare emissions begin. It also shows an “EUV crinkle” emission pattern, resulting from magnetic reconnections between the exploding filament-carrying field and surrounding field. Many EUV jets, some of which are surges,more » sprays and/or X-ray jets, also occur in localized areas of the active region. We examine in detail two relatively energetic ones, accompanied by GOES M1 and C1 flares, and a weaker one without a GOES signature. All three jets resulted from small-scale (∼20″) filament eruptions consistent with a slow rise followed by a fast rise occurring with flare-like jet-bright-point brightenings. The two more-energetic jets showed crinkle patters, but the third jet did not, perhaps due to its weakness. Thus all three jets were consistent with formation via erupting minifilaments, analogous to large-scale filament eruptions and to X-ray jets in polar coronal holes. Several other energetic jets occurred in a nearby portion of the active region; while their behavior was also consistent with their source being minifilament eruptions, we could not confirm this because their onsets were hidden from our view. Magnetic flux cancelation and emergence are candidates for having triggered the minifilament eruptions.« less

  15. Particle Acceleration in a Statistically Modeled Solar Active-Region Corona

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toutounzi, A.; Vlahos, L.; Isliker, H.; Dimitropoulou, M.; Anastasiadis, A.; Georgoulis, M.

    2013-09-01

    Elaborating a statistical approach to describe the spatiotemporally intermittent electric field structures formed inside a flaring solar active region, we investigate the efficiency of such structures in accelerating charged particles (electrons). The large-scale magnetic configuration in the solar atmosphere responds to the strong turbulent flows that convey perturbations across the active region by initiating avalanche-type processes. The resulting unstable structures correspond to small-scale dissipation regions hosting strong electric fields. Previous research on particle acceleration in strongly turbulent plasmas provides a general framework for addressing such a problem. This framework combines various electromagnetic field configurations obtained by magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) or cellular automata (CA) simulations, or by employing a statistical description of the field's strength and configuration with test particle simulations. Our objective is to complement previous work done on the subject. As in previous efforts, a set of three probability distribution functions describes our ad-hoc electromagnetic field configurations. In addition, we work on data-driven 3D magnetic field extrapolations. A collisional relativistic test-particle simulation traces each particle's guiding center within these configurations. We also find that an interplay between different electron populations (thermal/non-thermal, ambient/injected) in our simulations may also address, via a re-acceleration mechanism, the so called `number problem'. Using the simulated particle-energy distributions at different heights of the cylinder we test our results against observations, in the framework of the collisional thick target model (CTTM) of solar hard X-ray (HXR) emission. The above work is supported by the Hellenic National Space Weather Research Network (HNSWRN) via the THALIS Programme.

  16. Notification: Hotline Complaint – Region 7 Compliance with Bid, Payment, and Performance Bond Requirements Outlined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 28

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    June 1, 2012. In response to an anonymous hotline complaint, the OIG plans to conduct a review of Region 7’s compliance with bid, payment, and performance bond requirements outlined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 28.

  17. A study on biological activity of marine fungi from different habitats in coastal regions.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Songlin; Wang, Min; Feng, Qi; Lin, Yingying; Zhao, Huange

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, marine fungi have become an important source of active marine natural products. Former researches are limited in habitats selection of fungi with bioactive compounds. In this paper were to measure antibacterial and antitumor cell activity for secondary metabolites of marine fungi, which were isolated from different habitats in coastal regions. 195 strains of marine fungi were isolated and purified from three different habitats. They biologically active experiment results showed that fungi isolation from the mangrove habitats had stronger antibacterial activity than others, and the stains isolated from the estuarial habitats had the least antibacterial activity. However, the strains separated from beach habitats strongly inhibited tumor cell proliferation in vitro, and fungi of mangrove forest habitats had the weakest activity of inhibiting tumor. Meanwhile, 195 fungal strains belonged to 46 families, 84 genera, 142 species and also showed 137 different types of activity combinations by analyzing the inhibitory activity of the metabolites fungi for 4 strains of pathogenic bacteria and B-16 cells. The study investigated the biological activity of marine fungi isolated from different habitats in Haikou coastal regions. The results help us to understand bioactive metabolites of marine fungi from different habitats, and how to selected biological activity fungi from various marine habitats effectively.

  18. Anti-inflammatory Activity of Constituents Isolated from Aerial Part of Angelica acutiloba Kitagawa.

    PubMed

    Uto, Takuhiro; Tung, Nguyen Huu; Taniyama, Risa; Miyanowaki, Tosihide; Morinaga, Osamu; Shoyama, Yukihiro

    2015-12-01

    Recently, the resources of medicinal plants have been exhausting. The root of Angelica acutiloba is one of the most important ingredients in Japanese Kampo medicine for the treatment of gynecological diseases. In our search for alternative medicinal plant resources of the root of A. acutiloba, we found that its aerial part has the anti-inflammatory potency as well as the root. Phytochemical investigation of the aerial part resulted in the isolation of four compounds including a new dimeric phthalide, namely tokiaerialide (2), along with Z-ligustilide (1), falcarindiol (3), and bergaptol (4). Next, we investigated the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of 1-4 in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264 macrophages. Among the isolated compounds, 1 exhibited the most potent inhibition against lipopolysaccharide-induced production of prostaglandin E2 , nitric oxide, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α). Compounds 3 and 4 also inhibited all inflammatory mediators, but their inhibitory abilities were weaker than those of 1. Furthermore, 1, 3, and 4 strongly also induced heme oxygenase-1. These results suggest that 1, 3, and 4 potentially exert anti-inflammatory activity, and the aerial part of A. acutiloba may be considered to be a useful medicinal resource for inflammatory diseases. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. The cancellation of magnetic flux. II - In a decaying active region. [of sun

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Martin, S. F.; Livi, S. H. B.; Wang, J.

    1985-01-01

    H-alpha filtergrams and videomagnetograms are used to study an active region during its period of decay on August 3-8, 1984; the decay had been initiated by a fragmentation process in which very small knots of magnetic flux separated from larger concentration of flux. The disappearance of magnetic flux was always observed when the small fragments of flux encountered other small fragments or concentrations of flux of opposite polarity. Such 'cancellations' are shared by both polarities of magnetic field, and it is deduced that the disappearance of flux occurred either at or within 5 arcsec of the apparent dividing line between the opposite polarities. All of the 22 flares observed during the decay of this region were initiated around sites where magnetic flux was cancelling or was deduced to be cancelling during the flares. It is hypothesized that cancellation was one of the necessary conditions for flaring in this active region.

  20. Analysis of body calcium (regional changes in body calcium by in vivo neutron activation analysis)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Suki, W.; Johnson, P. C.; Leblanc, A.; Evans, H. J.

    1981-01-01

    The effect of space flight on urine and fecal calcium loss was documented during the three long-term Skylab flights. Neutron activation analysis was used to determine regional calcium loss. Various designs for regional analysis were investigated.

  1. Temporal evolution of continental lithospheric strength in actively deforming regions

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Thatcher, W.; Pollitz, F.F.

    2008-01-01

    It has been agreed for nearly a century that a strong, load-bearing outer layer of earth is required to support mountain ranges, transmit stresses to deform active regions and store elastic strain to generate earthquakes. However the dept and extent of this strong layer remain controversial. Here we use a variety of observations to infer the distribution of lithospheric strength in the active western United States from seismic to steady-state time scales. We use evidence from post-seismic transient and earthquake cycle deformation reservoir loading glacio-isostatic adjustment, and lithosphere isostatic adjustment to large surface and subsurface loads. The nearly perfectly elastic behavior of Earth's crust and mantle at the time scale of seismic wave propagation evolves to that of a strong, elastic crust and weak, ductile upper mantle lithosphere at both earthquake cycle (EC, ???10?? to 103 yr) and glacio-isostatic adjustment (GIA, ???103 to 104 yr) time scales. Topography and gravity field correlations indicate that lithosphere isostatic adjustment (LIA) on ???106-107 yr time scales occurs with most lithospheric stress supported by an upper crust overlying a much weaker ductile subtrate. These comparisons suggest that the upper mantle lithosphere is weaker than the crust at all time scales longer than seismic. In contrast, the lower crust has a chameleon-like behavior, strong at EC and GIA time scales and weak for LIA and steady-state deformation processes. The lower crust might even take on a third identity in regions of rapid crustal extension or continental collision, where anomalously high temperatures may lead to large-scale ductile flow in a lower crustal layer that is locally weaker than the upper mantle. Modeling of lithospheric processes in active regions thus cannot use a one-size-fits-all prescription of rheological layering (relation between applied stress and deformation as a function of depth) but must be tailored to the time scale and tectonic

  2. Functional photoacoustic imaging to observe regional brain activation induced by cocaine hydrochloride

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jo, Janggun; Yang, Xinmai

    2011-09-01

    Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) was used to detect small animal brain activation in response to drug abuse. Cocaine hydrochloride in saline solution was injected into the blood stream of Sprague Dawley rats through tail veins. The rat brain functional change in response to the injection of drug was then monitored by the PAM technique. Images in the coronal view of the rat brain at the locations of 1.2 and 3.4 mm posterior to bregma were obtained. The resulted photoacoustic (PA) images showed the regional changes in the blood volume. Additionally, the regional changes in blood oxygenation were also presented. The results demonstrated that PA imaging is capable of monitoring regional hemodynamic changes induced by drug abuse.

  3. Regionalizing muscle activity causes changes to the magnitude and direction of the force from whole muscles-a modeling study.

    PubMed

    Rahemi, Hadi; Nigam, Nilima; Wakeling, James M

    2014-01-01

    Skeletal muscle can contain neuromuscular compartments that are spatially distinct regions that can receive relatively independent levels of activation. This study tested how the magnitude and direction of the force developed by a whole muscle would change when the muscle activity was regionalized within the muscle. A 3D finite element model of a muscle with its bounding aponeurosis was developed for the lateral gastrocnemius, and isometric contractions were simulated for a series of conditions with either a uniform activation pattern, or regionally distinct activation patterns: in all cases the mean activation from all fibers within the muscle reached 10%. The models showed emergent features of the fiber geometry that matched physiological characteristics: with fibers shortening, rotating to greater pennation, adopting curved trajectories in 3D and changes in the thickness and width of the muscle belly. Simulations were repeated for muscle with compliant, normal and stiff aponeurosis and the aponeurosis stiffness affected the changes to the fiber geometry and the resultant muscle force. Changing the regionalization of the activity resulted to changes in the magnitude, direction and center of the force vector from the whole muscle. Regionalizing the muscle activity resulted in greater muscle force than the simulation with uniform activity across the muscle belly. The study shows how the force from a muscle depends on the complex interactions between the muscle fibers and connective tissues and the region of muscle that is active.

  4. Map and description of the active part of the Slumgullion Landslide, Hinsdale County, Colorado

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fleming, R.W.; Baum, Rex L.; Giardino, Marco

    1999-01-01

    This text accompanies a map of many of the features on the active part of the Slumgullion landslide, Hinsdale County, Colo. Long-term movement creates and destroys a variety of structural features on the surface of the landslide including faults, fractures, and folds, as well as basins and ridges. The Slumgullion landslide consists of a large volume of inactive landslide deposits and a much smaller volume that is actively moving within the deposits of the older landslide. Previously, collapse of the south side of the scarp on Mesa Seco produced materials that blocked the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River and created Lake San Cristobal. The current landslide activity was triggered by a collapse, which apparently extended the preexisting headscarp toward the north. The loading induced by the deposition of the collapsed materials reactivated some of the older landslide deposits. Displacement rates in the active part of the landslide range from about 0.2 m/yr at the uppermost fractures to a maximum of 7.4 m/yr in the narrowest part of the landslide. From this maximum rate, displacement rate declines to 2 or less m/yr at the toe. The interplay between different displacement rates, varying width, and curving boundaries gives rise to the structures within the landslide. For purposes of description, the landslide has been divided into seven zones: head, zone of stretching, the hopper and neck, zone of pull-apart basins, pond deposits and emergent toe, zone of shortening and spreading, and active toe. Each zone has its characteristic kinematic expression that provides information on the internal deformation of the landslide. In general, the upper part of the landslide is characterized by features such as normal faults and tension cracks associated with stretching. The lowermost part of the landslide is characterized by thrust faults and other features associated with shortening. In between, features are a result of widening, bending, or narrowing of the landslide. Also, in

  5. A quantity characterizing variation of observed magnetic twist in solar active regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Yu

    2018-03-01

    An alternative parameter RJz is introduced as the ratio of one of two kinds of opposite-sign current to the total current and is used to investigate the relationship between this quantity and the hemispheric helicity sign rule (HSR) that has been established by a series of previous statistical studies. The classification of current in each hemisphere obeys the following rule: if the product of the current and the corresponding longitudinal field component contributes a consistent sign with respect to the HSR, it is called “HSR-compliant” current, otherwise it is called “HSR-noncompliant” current. Firstly, consistency between the butterfly diagram of RJz and current helicity was obtained in a statistical study. Active regions with RJz smaller than 0.5 tend to obey the HSR whereas those with RJz greater than 0.5 tend to disobey it. The “HSR-compliant” current systems have a 60% probability of realization compared to 40% for “HSR-noncompliant” current systems. Overall, the HSR is violated for active regions in which the “HSR-noncompliant” current is greater than the “HSR-compliant” current. Secondly, the parameter RJz was subsequently used to study the evolution of current systems in the case analyses of flare-productive active regions NOAA AR 11158 and AR 11283. It is found that there is a “RJz -quasi-stationary” phase that is relatively flare quiescent and “RJz -dynamic” phase that is characterized by the occurrence of large flares.

  6. Two negative cis-regulatory regions involved in fruit-specific promoter activity from watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris S.).

    PubMed

    Yin, Tao; Wu, Hanying; Zhang, Shanglong; Lu, Hongyu; Zhang, Lingxiao; Xu, Yong; Chen, Daming; Liu, Jingmei

    2009-01-01

    A 1.8 kb 5'-flanking region of the large subunit of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, isolated from watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris S.), has fruit-specific promoter activity in transgenic tomato plants. Two negative regulatory regions, from -986 to -959 and from -472 to -424, were identified in this promoter region by fine deletion analyses. Removal of both regions led to constitutive expression in epidermal cells. Gain-of-function experiments showed that these two regions were sufficient to inhibit RFP (red fluorescent protein) expression in transformed epidermal cells when fused to the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S minimal promoter. Gel mobility shift experiments demonstrated the presence of leaf nuclear factors that interact with these two elements. A TCCAAAA motif was identified in these two regions, as well as one in the reverse orientation, which was confirmed to be a novel specific cis-element. A quantitative beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity assay of stable transgenic tomato plants showed that the activities of chimeric promoters harbouring only one of the two cis-elements, or both, were approximately 10-fold higher in fruits than in leaves. These data confirm that the TCCAAAA motif functions as a fruit-specific element by inhibiting gene expression in leaves.

  7. Two negative cis-regulatory regions involved in fruit-specific promoter activity from watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris S.)

    PubMed Central

    Yin, Tao; Wu, Hanying; Zhang, Shanglong; Liu, Jingmei; Lu, Hongyu; Zhang, Lingxiao; Xu, Yong; Chen, Daming

    2009-01-01

    A 1.8 kb 5′-flanking region of the large subunit of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, isolated from watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris S.), has fruit-specific promoter activity in transgenic tomato plants. Two negative regulatory regions, from –986 to –959 and from –472 to –424, were identified in this promoter region by fine deletion analyses. Removal of both regions led to constitutive expression in epidermal cells. Gain-of-function experiments showed that these two regions were sufficient to inhibit RFP (red fluorescent protein) expression in transformed epidermal cells when fused to the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S minimal promoter. Gel mobility shift experiments demonstrated the presence of leaf nuclear factors that interact with these two elements. A TCCAAAA motif was identified in these two regions, as well as one in the reverse orientation, which was confirmed to be a novel specific cis-element. A quantitative β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity assay of stable transgenic tomato plants showed that the activities of chimeric promoters harbouring only one of the two cis-elements, or both, were ∼10-fold higher in fruits than in leaves. These data confirm that the TCCAAAA motif functions as a fruit-specific element by inhibiting gene expression in leaves. PMID:19073962

  8. Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment of southern part of Ghana

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahulu, Sylvanus T.; Danuor, Sylvester Kojo; Asiedu, Daniel K.

    2018-05-01

    This paper presents a seismic hazard map for the southern part of Ghana prepared using the probabilistic approach, and seismic hazard assessment results for six cities. The seismic hazard map was prepared for 10% probability of exceedance for peak ground acceleration in 50 years. The input parameters used for the computations of hazard were obtained using data from a catalogue that was compiled and homogenised to moment magnitude (Mw). The catalogue covered a period of over a century (1615-2009). The hazard assessment is based on the Poisson model for earthquake occurrence, and hence, dependent events were identified and removed from the catalogue. The following attenuation relations were adopted and used in this study—Allen (for south and eastern Australia), Silva et al. (for Central and eastern North America), Campbell and Bozorgnia (for worldwide active-shallow-crust regions) and Chiou and Youngs (for worldwide active-shallow-crust regions). Logic-tree formalism was used to account for possible uncertainties associated with the attenuation relationships. OpenQuake software package was used for the hazard calculation. The highest level of seismic hazard is found in the Accra and Tema seismic zones, with estimated peak ground acceleration close to 0.2 g. The level of the seismic hazard in the southern part of Ghana diminishes with distance away from the Accra/Tema region to a value of 0.05 g at a distance of about 140 km.

  9. Photonic crystal lasers using wavelength-scale embedded active region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsuo, Shinji; Sato, Tomonari; Takeda, Koji; Shinya, Akihiko; Nozaki, Kengo; Kuramochi, Eiichi; Taniyama, Hideaki; Notomi, Masaya; Fujii, Takuro; Hasebe, Koichi; Kakitsuka, Takaaki

    2014-01-01

    Lasers with ultra-low operating energy are desired for use in chip-to-chip and on-chip optical interconnects. If we are to reduce the operating energy, we must reduce the active volume. Therefore, a photonic crystal (PhC) laser with a wavelength-scale cavity has attracted a lot of attention because a PhC provides a large Q-factor with a small volume. To improve this device's performance, we employ an embedded active region structure in which the wavelength-scale active region is buried with an InP PhC slab. This structure enables us to achieve effective confinement of both carriers and photons, and to improve the thermal resistance of the device. Thus, we have obtained a large external differential quantum efficiency of 55% and an output power of -10 dBm by optical pumping. For electrical pumping, we use a lateral p-i-n structure that employs Zn diffusion and Si ion implantation for p-type and n-type doping, respectively. We have achieved room-temperature continuous-wave operation with a threshold current of 7.8 µA and a maximum 3 dB bandwidth of 16.2 GHz. The results of an experimental bit error rate measurement with a 10 Gbit s-1 NRZ signal reveal the minimum operating energy for transferring a single bit of 5.5 fJ. These results show the potential of this laser to be used for very short reach interconnects. We also describe the optimal design of cavity quality (Q) factor in terms of achieving a large output power with a low operating energy using a calculation based on rate equations. When we assume an internal absorption loss of 20 cm-1, the optimized coupling Q-factor is 2000.

  10. Larvicidal, antimicrobial and brine shrimp activities of extracts from Cissampelos mucronata and Tephrosia villosa from coast region, Tanzania.

    PubMed

    Nondo, Ramadhani S O; Mbwambo, Zakaria H; Kidukuli, Abdul W; Innocent, Ester M; Mihale, Matobola J; Erasto, Paul; Moshi, Mainen J

    2011-04-23

    The leaves and roots of Cissampelos mucronata A. Rich (Menispermaceae) are widely used in the tropics and subtropics to manage various ailments such as gastro-intestinal complaints, menstrual problems, venereal diseases and malaria. In the Coast region, Tanzania, roots are used to treat wounds due to extraction of jigger. Leaves of Tephrosia villosa (L) Pers (Leguminosae) are reported to be used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus in India. In this study, extracts from the roots and aerial parts of C. mucronata and extracts from leaves, fruits, twigs and roots of T. villosa were evaluated for larvicidal activity, brine shrimps toxicity and antimicrobial activity. Powdered materials from C. mucronata were extracted sequentially by dichloromethane followed by ethanol while materials from T.villosa were extracted by ethanol only. The extracts obtained were evaluated for larvicidal activity using Culex quinquefasciatus Say larvae, cytotoxicity using brine shrimp larvae and antimicrobial activity using bacteria and fungi. Extracts from aerial parts of C. Mucronata exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholera, Bacillus anthracis, Streptococcus faecalis and antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. They exhibited very low toxicity to brine shrimps and had no larvicidal activity. The root extracts exhibited good larvicidal activity but weak antimicrobial activity. The root dichloromethane extracts from C. mucronata was found to be more toxic with an LC50 value of 59.608 μg/mL while ethanolic extracts from root were not toxic with LC50>100 μg/mL). Ethanol extracts from fruits and roots of T. villosa were found to be very toxic with LC50 values of 9.690 μg/mL and 4.511 μg/mL, respectively, while, ethanol extracts from leaves and twigs of T. villosa were found to be non toxic (LC50>100 μg/mL). These results support the use of C. mucronata in

  11. 24 CFR Appendix A to Part 15 - Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel A Appendix A to Part 15 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development PUBLIC ACCESS TO HUD RECORDS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AN...

  12. 24 CFR Appendix A to Part 15 - Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel A Appendix A to Part 15 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development PUBLIC ACCESS TO HUD RECORDS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AN...

  13. 24 CFR Appendix A to Part 15 - Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel A Appendix A to Part 15 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development PUBLIC ACCESS TO HUD RECORDS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AN...

  14. 24 CFR Appendix A to Part 15 - Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Location Information for HUD FOIA Reading Rooms and Contact Information for Regional Counsel A Appendix A to Part 15 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development PUBLIC ACCESS TO HUD RECORDS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AN...

  15. Cannabis cue-induced brain activation correlates with drug craving in limbic and visual salience regions: Preliminary results

    PubMed Central

    Charboneau, Evonne J.; Dietrich, Mary S.; Park, Sohee; Cao, Aize; Watkins, Tristan J; Blackford, Jennifer U; Benningfield, Margaret M.; Martin, Peter R.; Buchowski, Maciej S.; Cowan, Ronald L.

    2013-01-01

    Craving is a major motivator underlying drug use and relapse but the neural correlates of cannabis craving are not well understood. This study sought to determine whether visual cannabis cues increase cannabis craving and whether cue-induced craving is associated with regional brain activation in cannabis-dependent individuals. Cannabis craving was assessed in 16 cannabis-dependent adult volunteers while they viewed cannabis cues during a functional MRI (fMRI) scan. The Marijuana Craving Questionnaire was administered immediately before and after each of three cannabis cue-exposure fMRI runs. FMRI blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal intensity was determined in regions activated by cannabis cues to examine the relationship of regional brain activation to cannabis craving. Craving scores increased significantly following exposure to visual cannabis cues. Visual cues activated multiple brain regions, including inferior orbital frontal cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, amygdala, superior temporal pole, and occipital cortex. Craving scores at baseline and at the end of all three runs were significantly correlated with brain activation during the first fMRI run only, in the limbic system (including amygdala and hippocampus) and paralimbic system (superior temporal pole), and visual regions (occipital cortex). Cannabis cues increased craving in cannabis-dependent individuals and this increase was associated with activation in the limbic, paralimbic, and visual systems during the first fMRI run, but not subsequent fMRI runs. These results suggest that these regions may mediate visually cued aspects of drug craving. This study provides preliminary evidence for the neural basis of cue-induced cannabis craving and suggests possible neural targets for interventions targeted at treating cannabis dependence. PMID:24035535

  16. Active tectonics and earthquake potential of the Myanmar region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Yu; Sieh, Kerry; Tun, Soe Thura; Lai, Kuang-Yin; Myint, Than

    2014-04-01

    This paper describes geomorphologic evidence for the principal neotectonic features of Myanmar and its immediate surroundings. We combine this evidence with published structural, geodetic, and seismic data to present an overview of the active tectonic architecture of the region and its seismic potential. Three tectonic systems accommodate oblique collision of the Indian plate with Southeast Asia and extrusion of Asian territory around the eastern syntaxis of the Himalayan mountain range. Subduction and collision associated with the Sunda megathrust beneath and within the Indoburman range and Naga Hills accommodate most of the shortening across the transpressional plate boundary. The Sagaing fault system is the predominant locus of dextral motion associated with the northward translation of India. Left-lateral faults of the northern Shan Plateau, northern Laos, Thailand, and southern China facilitate extrusion of rocks around the eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya. All of these systems have produced major earthquakes within recorded history and continue to present major seismic hazards in the region.

  17. >100% output differential efficiency 1.55-μm VCSELs using submonolayer superlattices digital-alloy multiple-active-regions grown by MBE on InP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, C. S.; Koda, R.; Huntington, A. S.; Gossard, A. C.; Coldren, L. A.

    2005-04-01

    High-quality InAlGaAs digital-alloy active regions using submonolayer superlattices were developed and employed in a 3-stage bipolar cascade multiple-active-region vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) design. The photoluminescence intensity and linewidth of these active regions were optimized by varying the substrate temperature and digitization period. These active regions exhibit considerable improvement over previously developed digital-alloy active regions and are comparable to analog-alloy active regions. Multiple-active-region VCSELs, grown all-epitaxially by MBE on InP, demonstrate greater than 100% output differential efficiency at 1.55-μm emission. A record high 104% output differential efficiency was achieved for a 3-stage long-wavelength VCSEL.

  18. Comparing brain activity patterns during spontaneous exploratory and cue-instructed learning using single photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of regional cerebral blood flow in freely behaving rats.

    PubMed

    Mannewitz, A; Bock, J; Kreitz, S; Hess, A; Goldschmidt, J; Scheich, H; Braun, Katharina

    2018-05-01

    Learning can be categorized into cue-instructed and spontaneous learning types; however, so far, there is no detailed comparative analysis of specific brain pathways involved in these learning types. The aim of this study was to compare brain activity patterns during these learning tasks using the in vivo imaging technique of single photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). During spontaneous exploratory learning, higher levels of rCBF compared to cue-instructed learning were observed in motor control regions, including specific subregions of the motor cortex and the striatum, as well as in regions of sensory pathways including olfactory, somatosensory, and visual modalities. In addition, elevated activity was found in limbic areas, including specific subregions of the hippocampal formation, the amygdala, and the insula. The main difference between the two learning paradigms analyzed in this study was the higher rCBF observed in prefrontal cortical regions during cue-instructed learning when compared to spontaneous learning. Higher rCBF during cue-instructed learning was also observed in the anterior insular cortex and in limbic areas, including the ectorhinal and entorhinal cortexes, subregions of the hippocampus, subnuclei of the amygdala, and the septum. Many of the rCBF changes showed hemispheric lateralization. Taken together, our study is the first to compare partly lateralized brain activity patterns during two different types of learning.

  19. Eastern region represents a worrying cluster of active hepatitis C in Algeria in 2012.

    PubMed

    Bensalem, Aïcha; Selmani, Karima; Hihi, Narjes; Bencherifa, Nesrine; Mostefaoui, Fatma; Kerioui, Cherif; Pineau, Pascal; Debzi, Nabil; Berkane, Saadi

    2016-08-01

    Algeria is the largest country of Africa, peopled with populations living a range of traditional/rural and modern/urban lifestyles. The variations of prevalence of chronic active hepatitis care poorly known on the Algerian territory. We conducted a retrospective survey on all patients (n = 998) referred to our institution in 2012 and confirmed by us for an active hepatitis C. Half of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolates were genotyped. Forty Algerian regions out of the 48 were represented in our study. Three geographical clusters (Aïn-Temouchent/SidiBelAbbes, Algiers, and a large Eastern region) with an excess of active hepatitis C were observed. Patients coming from the Eastern cluster (Batna, Khenchela, Oum el Bouaghi, and Tebessa) were strongly over-represented (49% of cases, OR = 14.5, P < 0.0001). The hallmarks of Eastern region were an excess of women (65% vs. 46% in the remaining population, P < 0.0001) and the almost exclusive presence of HCV genotype 1 (93% vs. 63%, P = 0.0001). The core of the epidemics was apparently located in Khenchela (odds ratio = 24.6, P < 0.0001). This situation is plausibly connected with nosocomial transmission or traditional practices as scarification (Hijama), piercing or tattooing, very lively in this region. Distinct hepatitis C epidemics are currently affecting Algerian population. The most worrying situation is observed in rural regions located east of Algeria. J. Med. Virol. 88:1394-1403, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Compounds from the aerial parts of Piper bavinum and their anti-cholinesterase activity.

    PubMed

    Dung, Hoang Viet; Cuong, To Dao; Chinh, Nguyen Minh; Quyen, Do; Kim, Jeong Ah; Byeon, Jeong Su; Woo, Mi Hee; Choi, Jae Sui; Min, Byung Sun

    2015-01-01

    A new alkenylphenol, bavinol A (1), together with six known compounds (2-7) were isolated from the aerial parts of Piper bavinum (Piperaceae). The chemical structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic analyses including 2D NMR spectroscopy. The anti-Alzheimer effects of compounds 1-7 were evaluated from acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activity assays. Bavinol A (1), ampelopsin (3), and violanthin (4) exhibited AChE inhibitory activities with IC50 values of 29.80, 59.47 and 79.80 μM. Compound 1 also showed the most potent BChE inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 19.25 μM.

  1. [Effects of altitudes on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity in alpine-gorge regions.

    PubMed

    Cao, Rui; Wu, Fu Zhong; Yang, Wan Qin; Xu, Zhen Feng; Tani, Bo; Wang, Bin; Li, Jun; Chang, Chen Hui

    2016-04-22

    In order to understand the variations of soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities with the change of altitude, a field incubation was conducted in dry valley, ecotone between dry valley and mountain forest, subalpine coniferous forest, alpine forest and alpine meadow from 1563 m to 3994 m of altitude in the alpine-gorge region of western Sichuan. The microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and the activities of invertase, urease and acid phosphorus were measured in both soil organic layer and mineral soil layer. Both the soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities showed the similar tendency in soil organic layer. They increased from 2158 m to 3028 m, then decreased to the lowest value at 3593 m, and thereafter increased until 3994 m in the alpine-gorge region. In contrast, the soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities in mineral soil layer showed the trends as, the subalpine forest at 3028 m > alpine meadow at 3994 m > montane forest ecotone at 2158 m > alpine forest at 3593 m > dry valley at 1563 m. Regardless of altitudes, soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities were significantly higher in soil organic layer than in mineral soil layer. The soil microbial biomass was significantly positively correlated with the activities of the measured soil enzymes. Moreover, both the soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities were significantly positively correlated with soil water content, organic carbon, and total nitrogen. The activity of soil invertase was significantly positively correlated with soil phosphorus content, and the soil acid phosphatase was so with soil phosphorus content and soil temperature. In brief, changes in vegetation and other environmental factors resulting from altitude change might have strong effects on soil biochemical properties in the alpine-gorge region.

  2. Forced precession of the cometary nucleus with randomly placed active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Szutowicz, Slawomira

    1992-01-01

    The cometary nucleus is assumed to be triaxial or axisymmetric spheroid rotating about its axis of maximum moment of inertia and is forced to precess due to jets of ejected material. Randomly placed regions of exposed ice on the surface of the nucleus are assumed to produce gas and dust. The solution of the heat conduction equation for each active region is used to find the gas sublimation rate and the jet acceleration. Precession of the comet nucleus is followed numerically using a phase-averaged system of equations. The gas production curves and the variation of the spin axis during the orbital motion of the comet are presented.

  3. A preliminary evaluation of antihyperglycemic and analgesic activity of Alternanthera sessilis aerial parts

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Alternanthera sessilis is used by folk medicinal practitioners of Bangladesh for alleviation of severe pain. The objective of this study was to scientifically analyze the analgesic (non-narcotic) property of aerial parts of the plant along with antihyperglycemic activity. Methods Antihyperglycemic activity was measured by oral glucose tolerance tests. Analgesic (non-narcotic) activity was determined by observed decreases in abdominal writhings in intraperitoneally administered acetic acid-induced pain model in mice. Results Administration of methanol extract of aerial parts led to dose-dependent and significant reductions in blood glucose levels in glucose-loaded mice. At doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg per kg body weight, the extract reduced blood sugar levels by 22.9, 30.7, 45.4 and 46.1%, respectively compared to control animals. By comparison, a standard antihyperglycemic drug, glibenclamide, when administered at a dose of 10 mg per kg body weight, reduced blood glucose level by 48.9%. In analgesic activity tests, the extract at the above four doses reduced the number of abdominal writhings by 27.6, 37.9, 41.4, and 44.8%, respectively. A standard analgesic drug, aspirin, reduced the number of writhings by 31.0 and 51.7%, respectively, when administered at doses of 200 and 400 mg per kg body weight. Conclusion The results validate the folk medicinal use of the plant to alleviate pain. At the same time, the antihyperglycemic activity result suggests that the plant may be a potential source for blood sugar lowering drug(s). PMID:24885344

  4. Radon in thermal waters in south-east part of Serbia.

    PubMed

    Nikolov, Jovana; Todorović, Nataša; Bikit, Ištvan; Pantić, Tanja Petrović; Forkapić, Sofija; Mrđa, Dušan; Bikit, Kristina

    2014-07-01

    There are several occurrences of thermal waters in the south-eastern part of Serbia, which are originating from igneous and metamorphic rocks. These waters are mainly used in balneology, but some of them are used for drinking purposes and in water supply to heat buildings, for greenhouses and to irrigate land. In this region, there is the well-known Niška banja spa, which has elevated levels of radon. Water samples were examined from other spas in the south-eastern part of Serbia in order to determine radon activity concentration. A detailed discussion of a possible correlation between determined radon activity concentration and the geology of this area is also given. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Socioeconomic and regional differences in active transportation in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Sá, Thiago Hérick de; Pereira, Rafael Henrique Moraes; Duran, Ana Clara; Monteiro, Carlos Augusto

    2016-06-27

    To present national estimates regarding walking or cycling for commuting in Brazil and in 10 metropolitan regions. By using data from the Health section of 2008's Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio (Brazil's National Household Sample Survey), we estimated how often employed people walk or cycle to work, disaggregating our results by sex, age range, education level, household monthly income per capita, urban or rural address, metropolitan regions, and macro-regions in Brazil. Furthermore, we estimated the distribution of this same frequency according to quintiles of household monthly income per capita in each metropolitan region of the country. A third of the employed men and women walk or cycle from home to work in Brazil. For both sexes, this share decreases as income and education levels rise, and it is higher among younger individuals, especially among those living in rural areas and in the Northeast region of the country. Depending on the metropolitan region, the practice of active transportation is two to five times more frequent among low-income individuals than among high-income individuals. Walking or cycling to work in Brazil is most frequent among low-income individuals and the ones living in less economically developed areas. Active transportation evaluation in Brazil provides important information for public health and urban mobility policy-making. Apresentar estimativas nacionais sobre o deslocamento a pé ou de bicicleta no trajeto casa-trabalho no Brasil e em 10 de suas regiões metropolitanas. Utilizando dados do Suplemento sobre Saúde da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios de 2008, estimamos a frequência de pessoas empregadas que se deslocam a pé ou de bicicleta no trajeto casa-trabalho estratificada por sexo, e segundo faixa etária, escolaridade, renda domiciliar per capita, residência em área urbana ou rural, regiões metropolitanas e macrorregiões do país. Adicionalmente, estimamos a distribuição da mesma frequ

  6. CB1 Cannabinoid Receptor Activation Dose-Dependently Modulates Neuronal Activity within Caudal but not Rostral Song Control Regions of Adult Zebra Finch Telencephalon

    PubMed Central

    Soderstrom, Ken; Tian, Qiyu

    2008-01-01

    CB1 cannabinoid receptors are distinctly expressed at high density within several regions of zebra finch telencephalon including those known to be involved in song learning (lMAN and Area X) and production (HVC and RA). Because: (1) exposure to cannabinoid agonists during developmental periods of auditory and sensory-motor song learning alters song patterns produced later in adulthood and; (2) densities of song region expression of CB1 waxes-and-wanes during song learning, it is becoming clear that CB1 receptor-mediated signaling is important to normal processes of vocal development. To better understand mechanisms involved in cannabinoid modulation of vocal behavior we have investigated the dose-response relationship between systemic cannabinoid exposure and changes in neuronal activity (as indicated by expression of the transcription factor, c-Fos) within telencephalic brain regions with established involvement in song learning and/or control. In adults we have found that low doses (0.1 mg/kg) of the cannabinoid agonist WIN-55212-2 decrease neuronal activity (as indicated by densities of c-fos-expressing nuclei) within vocal motor regions of caudal telencephalon (HVC and RA) while higher doses (3 mg/kg) stimulate activity. Both effects were reversed by pretreatment with the CB1-selective antagonist rimonabant. Interestingly, no effects of cannabinoid treatment were observed within the rostral song regions lMAN and Area X, despite distinct and dense CB1 receptor expression within these areas. Overall, our results demonstrate that, depending on dosage, CB1 agonism can both inhibit and stimulate neuronal activity within brain regions controlling adult vocal motor output, implicating involvement of multiple CB1-sensitive neuronal circuits. PMID:18509622

  7. Common brain regions underlying different arithmetic operations as revealed by conjunct fMRI-BOLD activation.

    PubMed

    Fehr, Thorsten; Code, Chris; Herrmann, Manfred

    2007-10-03

    The issue of how and where arithmetic operations are represented in the brain has been addressed in numerous studies. Lesion studies suggest that a network of different brain areas are involved in mental calculation. Neuroimaging studies have reported inferior parietal and lateral frontal activations during mental arithmetic using tasks of different complexities and using different operators (addition, subtraction, etc.). Indeed, it has been difficult to compare brain activation across studies because of the variety of different operators and different presentation modalities used. The present experiment examined fMRI-BOLD activity in participants during calculation tasks entailing different arithmetic operations -- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division -- of different complexities. Functional imaging data revealed a common activation pattern comprising right precuneus, left and right middle and superior frontal regions during all arithmetic operations. All other regional activations were operation specific and distributed in prominently frontal, parietal and central regions when contrasting complex and simple calculation tasks. The present results largely confirm former studies suggesting that activation patterns due to mental arithmetic appear to reflect a basic anatomical substrate of working memory, numerical knowledge and processing based on finger counting, and derived from a network originally related to finger movement. We emphasize that in mental arithmetic research different arithmetic operations should always be examined and discussed independently of each other in order to avoid invalid generalizations on arithmetics and involved brain areas.

  8. Simultaneous SMM flat crystal spectrometer and Very Large Array observations of solar active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lang, Kenneth R.; Willson, Robert F.; Smith, Kermit L.; Strong, Keith T.

    1987-01-01

    High-resolution images of the quiescent emission from two solar active regions at 20 cm (VLA) and soft X-ray (SMM FCS) wavelengths are compared. There are regions where the X-ray coronal loops have been completely imaged at 20 cm wavelength. In other regions, the X-ray radiation was detected without detectable 20 cm radiation, and vice versa. The X-ray data were used to infer average electron temperatures of about 3-million K and average electron densities of about 2.5 x 10 to the 9th/cu cm for the X-ray emitting plasma in the two active regions. The thermal bremsstrahlung of the X-ray emitting plasma is optically thin at 20 cm wavelength. The 20 cm brightness temperatures were always less than T(e), which is consistent with optically thin bremsstrahlung. The low T(B) can be explained if a higher, cooler plasma covers the hotter X-ray emitting plasma. Thermal gyroresonance radiation must account for the intense 20 cm radiation near and above sunspots where no X-ray radiation is detected.

  9. Distortion in the spacer region of Pm during activation of middle transcription of phage Mu.

    PubMed Central

    Artsimovitch, I; Kahmeyer-Gabbe, M; Howe, M M

    1996-01-01

    Transcription from the middle promoter, Pm, of phage Mu is initiated by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase holoenzyme (E sigma 70; RNAP) and the phage-encoded activator, Mor. Point mutations in the spacer region between the -10 hexamer and the Mor binding site result in changes of promoter activity in vivo. These mutations are located at the junction between a rigid T-tract and adjacent, potentially deformable G + C-rich DNA segment, suggesting that deformation of the spacer region may play a role in the transcriptional activation of Pm. This prediction was tested by using dimethyl sulfate and potassium permanganate footprinting analyses. Helical distortion involving strand separation was detected at positions -32 to -34, close to the predicted interface between Mor and RNAP. Promoter mutants in which this distortion was not detected exhibited a lack of melting in the -12 to -1 region and reduced promoter activity in vivo. We propose that complexes containing the distortion represent stressed intermediates rather than stable open complexes and thus can be envisaged as a transition state in the kinetic pathway of Pm activation in which stored torsional energy could be used to facilitate melting around the transcription start point. Images Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 PMID:8790343

  10. Observations of vector magnetic fields in flaring active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chen, Jimin; Wang, Haimin; Zirin, Harold; Ai, Guoxiang

    1994-01-01

    We present vector magnetograph data of 6 active regions, all of which produced major flares. Of the 20 M-class (or above) flares, 7 satisfy the flare conditions prescribed by Hagyard (high shear and strong transverse fields). Strong photospheric shear, however, is not necessarily a condition for a flare. We find an increase in the shear for two flares, a 6-deg shear increase along the neutral line after a X-2 flare and a 13-deg increase after a M-1.9 flare. For other flares, we did not detect substantial shear changes.

  11. Grassland ecosystem responses to climate change and human activities within the Three-River Headwaters region of China.

    PubMed

    Han, Ze; Song, Wei; Deng, Xiangzheng; Xu, Xinliang

    2018-06-13

    The Three-River Headwaters region (TRHR) of China is an important part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Although the TRHR is rich in grassland resources, the ecosystem of this area is extremely fragile. Natural and artificial interference have been key to the development of grassland ecosystem spatiotemporal heterogeneity, although the intensity and mode of their influence on ecological processes varies depending on scale; analyses in this area are therefore also scale-dependent. We use multi-scale nested data to analyze the mechanisms underlying the influence of climate change and human activities on grassland net primary productivity (NPP) by applying a multi-level modeling approach. The results of this study show that: (1) The annual grassland NPP of the TRHR has risen in a wavelike pattern over time, increasing by 39.88% overall; (2) Differences of 54.9% and 41.1% in temporal grassland NPP can be attributed to variations between these watersheds as well as county characteristics, and; (3) Although the 'warm and moist' climate trend seen over the course of this study has proved beneficial in enhancing grassland NPP, the rate of increase has tended to be faster in relatively dry and warm regions. Economic development and population growth have both exerted negative impacts on grassland NPP.

  12. Biological activities of polyphenols-enriched propolis from Argentina arid regions.

    PubMed

    Salas, Ana Lilia; Alberto, María Rosa; Zampini, Iris Catiana; Cuello, Ana Soledad; Maldonado, Luis; Ríos, José Luis; Schmeda-Hirschmann, Guillermo; Isla, María Inés

    2016-01-15

    Propolis is a bioactive natural product collected by honeybees (Apis mellifera) from plant sources. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of propolis extracts from arid region of Argentina, on the activity/expression of pro-inflammatory enzymes, and as potential free radical scavenger, antifungal and anthelmintic agent as well as to get a first insight into the polyphenolic profile of the active fractions. Two propolis samples were collected in different time from hives located in Tucumán, Argentina. They are representative of the collection time of the raw material for phytotherapeutical purposes. Ethanolic extracts from both propolis were obtained. The PEEs were analyzed for total polyphenol (TP), non-flavonoid phenols (NFP) and flavonoid (FP) content followed by HPLC-DAD analysis and identification of components by HPLC-MS/MS(n). The potentiality as anti-inflammatory (LOX, COX, iNOS enzymes), antioxidant, antifungal and nematicidal was determined. PEEs contain high levels of TP, NFP and FP, including cinnamic acid, caffeic acid prenyl ester, caffeoyl dihydrocaffeate and caffeic acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl ester, liquiritigenin, 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone and 2',4'-dihydroxy-3'-methoxychalcone. The PEEs in vitro reduced the activity of LOX and COX-2. Pretreatment of RAW 264.7 cells with PEEs before the induction of inflammatory state, inhibited NO overproduction and the iNOS protein expression was significantly decreased. The PEEs exhibited antioxidant, antifungal (Candida sp.) and nematicidal effect (C. elegans). These findings show the potential use of characterized PEEs from arid regions of Argentina as phytomedicine. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  13. Temporal lobe interictal epileptic discharges affect cerebral activity in “default mode” brain regions

    PubMed Central

    Laufs, Helmut; Hamandi, Khalid; Salek-Haddadi, Afraim; Kleinschmidt, Andreas K; Duncan, John S; Lemieux, Louis

    2007-01-01

    A cerebral network comprising precuneus, medial frontal, and temporoparietal cortices is less active both during goal-directed behavior and states of reduced consciousness than during conscious rest. We tested the hypothesis that the interictal epileptic discharges affect activity in these brain regions in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy who have complex partial seizures. At the group level, using electroencephalography-correlated functional magnetic resonance imaging in 19 consecutive patients with focal epilepsy, we found common decreases of resting state activity in 9 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) but not in 10 patients with extra-TLE. We infer that the functional consequences of TLE interictal epileptic discharges are different from those in extra-TLE and affect ongoing brain function. Activity increases were detected in the ipsilateral hippocampus in patients with TLE, and in subthalamic, bilateral superior temporal and medial frontal brain regions in patients with extra-TLE, possibly indicating effects of different interictal epileptic discharge propagation. PMID:17133385

  14. Revised geologic cross sections of parts of the Colorado, White River, and Death Valley regional groundwater flow systems, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Page, William R.; Scheirer, Daniel S.; Langenheim, V.E.; Berger, Mary A.

    2006-01-01

    This report presents revisions to parts of seven of the ten cross sections originally published in U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1040. The revisions were necessary to correct errors in some of the original cross sections, and to show new parts of several sections that were extended and (or) appended to the original section profiles. Revisions were made to cross sections C-C', D-D', E-E', F-F', G-G', I-I', and J-J', and the parts of the sections revised or extended are highlighted below the sections on plate 1 by red brackets and the word "revised," or "extended." Sections not listed above, as well as the interpretive text and figures, are generally unchanged from the original report. Cross section C-C' includes revisions in the east Mormon Mountains in the east part of the section; D-D' includes revisions in the Mormon Mesa area in the east part of the section; E-E' includes revisions in the Muddy Mountains in the east part of the section; F-F' includes revisions from the Muddy Mountains to the south Virgin Mountains in the east part of the section; and J-J' includes some revisions from the east Mormon Mountains to the Virgin Mountains. The east end of G-G' was extended about 16 km from the Black Mountains to the southern Virgin Mountains, and the northern end of I-I' was extended about 45 km from the Muddy Mountains to the Mormon Mountains, and revisions were made in the Muddy Mountains part of the original section. This report contains 10 interpretive cross sections and an integrated text describing the geology of parts of the Colorado, White River, and Death Valley regional groundwater flow systems in Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. The primary purpose of the report is to provide geologic framework data for input into a numerical groundwater model. Therefore, the stratigraphic and structural summaries are written in a hydrogeologic context. The oldest rocks (basement) are Early Proterozoic metamorphic and intrusive crystalline rocks that are considered

  15. Modeling Coronal Response in Decaying Active Regions with Magnetic Flux Transport and Steady Heating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ugarte-Urra, Ignacio; Warren, Harry P.; Upton, Lisa A.; Young, Peter R.

    2017-09-01

    We present new measurements of the dependence of the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiance on the total magnetic flux in active regions as obtained from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Using observations of nine active regions tracked along different stages of evolution, we extend the known radiance—magnetic flux power-law relationship (I\\propto {{{Φ }}}α ) to the AIA 335 Å passband, and the Fe xviii 93.93 Å spectral line in the 94 Å passband. We find that the total unsigned magnetic flux divided by the polarity separation ({{Φ }}/D) is a better indicator of radiance for the Fe xviii line with a slope of α =3.22+/- 0.03. We then use these results to test our current understanding of magnetic flux evolution and coronal heating. We use magnetograms from the simulated decay of these active regions produced by the Advective Flux Transport model as boundary conditions for potential extrapolations of the magnetic field in the corona. We then model the hydrodynamics of each individual field line with the Enthalpy-based Thermal Evolution of Loops model with steady heating scaled as the ratio of the average field strength and the length (\\bar{B}/L) and render the Fe xviii and 335 Å emission. We find that steady heating is able to partially reproduce the magnitudes and slopes of the EUV radiance—magnetic flux relationships and discuss how impulsive heating can help reconcile the discrepancies. This study demonstrates that combined models of magnetic flux transport, magnetic topology, and heating can yield realistic estimates for the decay of active region radiances with time.

  16. Regional Phenomena of Vertical Deformation in Southern Part of Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sarsito, D. A.; Susilo; Andreas, H.; Pradipta, D.; Gumilar, I.

    2018-02-01

    Distribution of present-day horizontal and vertical deformation across the Southern Part of Indonesia at Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara now days can be determined from continuous and campaign types of GNSS GPS data monitoring. For vertical deformation in this case we use the continuous types since they are give better quality of data consistency compare to campaign type. Continuous Global Positioning System (CGPS) are maintaining by Geospatial Information Agency for more than a decade. The vertical displacements or velocity rates are estimated from time series analysis after multi-baseline GPS processing using GAMIT-GLOBK software with respect to the latest International Terrestrial Reference Frame. The result shows some interesting phenomena where the northern part of research area majority have negative value that may indicate land subsidence with or without tectonic subsidence combination. In the middle part, the uplift phenomena are clearly shown and in the southern part show combine pattern between uplift and subsidence. The impacts of those phenomena would be discuss also in this paper since many population and infrastructure are located in the areas that will need more protection planning to reduce the negative impact such as earthquake and flooding.

  17. Simulating Coronal Loop Implosion and Compressible Wave Modes in a Flare Hit Active Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sarkar, Aveek; Vaidya, Bhargav; Hazra, Soumitra; Bhattacharyya, Jishnu

    2017-12-01

    There is considerable observational evidence of implosion of magnetic loop systems inside solar coronal active regions following high-energy events like solar flares. In this work, we propose that such collapse can be modeled in three dimensions quite accurately within the framework of ideal magnetohydrodynamics. We furthermore argue that the dynamics of loop implosion is only sensitive to the transmitted disturbance of one or more of the system variables, e.g., velocity generated at the event site. This indicates that to understand loop implosion, it is sensible to leave the event site out of the simulated active region. Toward our goal, a velocity pulse is introduced to model the transmitted disturbance generated at the event site. Magnetic field lines inside our simulated active region are traced in real time, and it is demonstrated that the subsequent dynamics of the simulated loops closely resemble observed imploding loops. Our work highlights the role of plasma β in regards to the rigidity of the loop systems and how that might affect the imploding loops’ dynamics. Compressible magnetohydrodynamic modes such as kink and sausage are also shown to be generated during such processes, in accordance with observations.

  18. Correlation of the Coronal Mass Ejection Productivity of Solar Active Regions with Measures of their Global Nonpotentiality from Vector Magnetograms: Baseline Results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, D. A.; Moore, R. L.; Gary, G. A.

    2002-01-01

    Conventional magnetograms and chromospheric and coronal images show qualitatively that the fastest coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are magnetic explosions from sunspot active regions where the magnetic field is globally strongly sheared and twisted from its minimum-energy potential configuration. We present measurements from active region vector magnetograms that start to quantify the dependence of an active region's CME productivity on the global nonpotentiality of its magnetic field. From each of 17 magnetograms of 12 bipolar active regions, we measured the size of the active region (the magnetic flux content, phi) and three separate measures of the global nonpotentiality (L(sub SS), the length of strong-shear, strong-field main neutral line: I(sub N), the net electric current connecting one polarity to the other; and alpha = (mu)I(sub N)/phi), a flux normalized measure of the field twist). From these measurements and the observed CME productivity of the active regions, we find that: (1) All three measures of global nonpotentiality are statistically correlated with the active region flux content and with each other; (2) All three measures of global nonpotentiality are significantly correlated with CME productivity. The flux content correlates with CME productivity, but at a lower statistically significant confidence level (less than 95%); (3) The net current is less closely correlated with CME productivity than alpha and the correlation of CME productivity with flux content is even weaker. If these differences in correlation strength, and a significant correlation of alpha with flux content, persist to larger active regions, this would imply that the size of active regions does not affect CME productivity except through global nonpotentiality; and (4) For each of the four global magnetic quantities, the correlation with CME productivity is stronger for a two-day time window for the CME production than for windows half as wide or twice as wide. This plausibly is a

  19. Actively Experiencing Shakespeare: Students "Get on Their Feet" for "Henry IV, Part One."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meyer, Herbert M.; Thomsen, Lee

    1999-01-01

    Discusses how a literature and multimedia course for 11th and 12th graders used active-learning experiences to engage students with Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One." Describes how shouting Hal's soliloquy; constructing a chart of character relations; rewriting a scene in their own words; performing, filming, and critiquing a scene; and…

  20. Simultaneous Solar Maximum Mission and Very Large Array (VLA) observations of solar active regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lang, K. R.

    1985-01-01

    Simultaneous observations of solar active regions with the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) Satellite and the Very Large Array (VLA) have been obtained and analyzed. Combined results enhance the scientific return for beyond that expeted from using either SMM or VLA alone. A total of two weeks of simultaneous SMM/VLA data were obtained. The multiple wavelength VLA observations were used to determine the temperature and magnetic structure at different heights within coronal loops. These data are compared with simultaneous SMM observations. Several papers on the subject are in progress. They include VLA observations of compact, transient sources in the transition region; simultaneous SMM/VLA observations of the coronal loops in one active region and the evolution of another one; and sampling of the coronal plasma using thermal cyclotron lines (magnetic field - VLA) and soft X ray spectral lines (electron density and electron temperaure-SMM).

  1. Coherent activity between brain regions that code for value is linked to the malleability of human behavior

    PubMed Central

    Cooper, Nicole; Bassett, Danielle S.; Falk, Emily B.

    2017-01-01

    Brain activity in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) during exposure to persuasive messages can predict health behavior change. This brain-behavior relationship has been linked to areas of MPFC previously associated with self-related processing; however, the mechanism underlying this relationship is unclear. We explore two components of self-related processing – self-reflection and subjective valuation – and examine coherent activity between relevant networks of brain regions during exposure to health messages encouraging exercise and discouraging sedentary behaviors. We find that objectively logged reductions in sedentary behavior in the following month are linked to functional connectivity within brain regions associated with positive valuation, but not within regions associated with self-reflection on personality traits. Furthermore, functional connectivity between valuation regions contributes additional information compared to average brain activation within single brain regions. These data support an account in which MPFC integrates the value of messages to the self during persuasive health messaging and speak to broader questions of how humans make decisions about how to behave. PMID:28240271

  2. Development Programs and Activities for Southeast Asia Regional Office of Astronomy for Development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Insiri, Wichan

    2015-08-01

    In recent years, since the establishment of SEA-ROAD in 2012, the office has seen an exponential progress as it has proved to be one of the prominent regional hubs for IAU-OAD. Recent activities over the past years ranging from Winter and Summer Schools Trainings to Astronomy Technology Transfer Camp for high school students to Internship at NARIT are some examples of what promises to be a good sign of progressive leap in astronomy for the entire region. SEA-ROAD will continue to make an impact on astronomy education, popularization and public outreach as the office is vital and imperative to the capacity building of astronomy of the entire region.

  3. Biologically active quinoline and quinazoline alkaloids part I.

    PubMed

    Shang, Xiao-Fei; Morris-Natschke, Susan L; Liu, Ying-Qian; Guo, Xiao; Xu, Xiao-Shan; Goto, Masuo; Li, Jun-Cai; Yang, Guan-Zhou; Lee, Kuo-Hsiung

    2018-05-01

    Quinoline and quinazoline alkaloids, two important classes of N-based heterocyclic compounds, have attracted tremendous attention from researchers worldwide since the 19th century. Over the past 200 years, many compounds from these two classes were isolated from natural sources, and most of them and their modified analogs possess significant bioactivities. Quinine and camptothecin are two of the most famous and important quinoline alkaloids, and their discoveries opened new areas in antimalarial and anticancer drug development, respectively. In this review, we survey the literature on bioactive alkaloids from these two classes and highlight research achievements prior to the year 2008 (Part I). Over 200 molecules with a broad range of bioactivities, including antitumor, antimalarial, antibacterial and antifungal, antiparasitic and insecticidal, antiviral, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, herbicidal, antioxidant and other activities, were reviewed. This survey should provide new clues or possibilities for the discovery of new and better drugs from the original naturally occurring quinoline and quinazoline alkaloids. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Identifying the adaptive mechanism in globular proteins: Fluctuations in densely packed regions manipulate flexible parts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yilmaz, Lutfu Safak; Atilgan, Ali Rana

    2000-09-01

    A low-resolution structural model based on the packing geometry of α-carbons is utilized to establish a connection between the flexible and rigid parts of a folded protein. The former commonly recognizes a complementing molecule for making a complex, while the latter manipulates the necessary conformational change for binding. We attempt analytically to distinguish this control architecture that intrinsically exists in globular proteins. First with two-dimensional simple models, then for a native protein, bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, we explicitly demonstrate that inserting fluctuations in tertiary contacts supported by the stable core, one can regulate the displacement of residues on loop regions. The positional fluctuations of the flexible regions are annihilated by the rest of the protein in conformity with the Le Chatelier-Braun principle. The results indicate that the distortion of the principal nonbonded contacts between highly packed residues is accompanied by that of the slavery fluctuations that are widely distributed over the native structure. These positional arrangements do not appear in a reciprocal relation between a perturbation and the associated response; the effect of a movement of residue i on residue j is not equal to that of the same movement of residue j on residue i.

  5. Peptides of the Constant Region of Antibodies Display Fungicidal Activity

    PubMed Central

    Polonelli, Luciano; Ciociola, Tecla; Magliani, Walter; Zanello, Pier Paolo; D'Adda, Tiziana; Galati, Serena; De Bernardis, Flavia; Arancia, Silvia; Gabrielli, Elena; Pericolini, Eva; Vecchiarelli, Anna; Arruda, Denise C.; Pinto, Marcia R.; Travassos, Luiz R.; Pertinhez, Thelma A.; Spisni, Alberto; Conti, Stefania

    2012-01-01

    Synthetic peptides with sequences identical to fragments of the constant region of different classes (IgG, IgM, IgA) of antibodies (Fc-peptides) exerted a fungicidal activity in vitro against pathogenic yeasts, such as Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Malassezia furfur, including caspofungin and triazole resistant strains. Alanine-substituted derivatives of fungicidal Fc-peptides, tested to evaluate the critical role of each residue, displayed unaltered, increased or decreased candidacidal activity in vitro. An Fc-peptide, included in all human IgGs, displayed a therapeutic effect against experimental mucosal and systemic candidiasis in mouse models. It is intriguing to hypothesize that some Fc-peptides may influence the antifungal immune response and constitute the basis for devising new antifungal agents. PMID:22470523

  6. Exogenous hyalin and sea urchin gastrulation. Part III: Biological activity of hyalin isolated from Lytechinus pictus embryos

    PubMed Central

    Contreras, Azalia; Vitale, John; Hutchins-Carroll, Virginia; Carroll, Edward J.; Oppenheimer, Steven B.

    2008-01-01

    Summary Hyalin is a large glycoprotein, consisting of the hyalin repeat domain and non-repeated regions, and is the major component of the hyaline layer in the early sea urchin embryo of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. The hyalin repeat domain has been identified in proteins from organisms as diverse as bacteria, sea urchins, worms, flies, mice and humans. While the specific function of hyalin and the hyalin repeat domain is incompletely understood, many studies suggest that it has a functional role in adhesive interactions. In part I of this series, we showed that hyalin isolated from the sea urchin S. purpuratus blocked archenteron elongation and attachment to the blastocoel roof occurring during gastrulation in S. purpuratus embryos, (Razinia et al., 2007). The cellular interactions that occur in the sea urchin, recognized by the U.S. National Institutes of Health as a model system, may provide insights into adhesive interactions that occur in human health and disease. In part II of this series, we showed that S. purpuratus hyalin heterospecifically blocked archenteron-ectoderm interaction in Lytechinus pictus embryos (Alvarez et al, 2007). In the current study, we have isolated hyalin from the sea urchin L. pictus and demonstrated that L. pictus hyalin homospecifically blocks archenteron-ectoderm interaction, suggesting a general role for this glycoprotein in mediating a specific set of adhesive interactions. We also found one major difference in hyalin activity in the two sea urchin species involving hyalin influence on gastrulation invagination. PMID:18925979

  7. A restricted parabrachial pontine region is active during non-REM sleep

    PubMed Central

    Torterolo, Pablo; Sampogna, Sharon; Chase, Michael H.

    2011-01-01

    The principal site that generates both REM sleep and wakefulness is located in the mesopontine reticular formation, whereas non-REM sleep (NREM) is primarily dependent upon the functioning of neurons that are located in the preoptic region of the hypothalamus. In the present study, we were interested in determining whether the occurrence of NREM might also depend on the activity of mesopontine structures, as has been shown for wakefulness and REM sleep. Adult cats were maintained in one of the following states: quiet wakefulness (QW), alert wakefulness (AW), NREM, or REM sleep induced by microinjections of carbachol into the nucleus pontis oralis (REM-carbachol). Subsequently, they were euthanized and single labeling immunohistochemical studies were undertaken to determine state-dependent patterns of neuronal activity in the brainstem based upon the expression of the protein Fos. In addition, double labeling immunohistochemical studies were carried out to detect neurons that expressed Fos as well as choline acetyltransferase, tyrosine hydroxylase or GABA. During NREM, only a few Fos immunoreactive cells were present in different regions of the brainstem; however, a discrete cluster of Fos+ neurons was observed in the caudolateral peribrachial region (CLPB). The number of the Fos+ neurons in the CLPB during NREM was significantly greater (67.9 ± 10.9, P < 0.0001) compared to QW (8.0 ± 6.7), AW (5.2 ± 4.2) or REM-carbachol (8.0 ± 4.7). In addition, there was a positive correlation (R = 0.93) between the time the animals spent in NREM and the number of Fos+ neurons in the CLPB. Fos-immunoreactive neurons in the CLPB were neither cholinergic nor catecholaminergic; however about 50% of these neurons were GABAergic. We conclude that a group of GABAergic and unidentified neurons in the CLPB are active during NREM and likely involved in the control of this behavioral state. These data open new avenues for the study of NREM, as well as for the explorations of

  8. An update on the regional organizations of the american burn association.

    PubMed

    Harrington, David; Holmes, James; Conlon, Kathe; Jeng, James

    2014-01-01

    In 1985, the American Burn Association (ABA) created 10 regions in the United States and charged the Chiefs of these regions with the development of regional disaster plans. Now more than 25 years after this mandate, the ABA's Organizational and Delivery of Burn Care Committee assessed the status of regional development. The extant region leaders were contacted by email and queried as to the activities of their region and their opinion as to the success or failure of the regionalization initiative. Several regional organizational meetings were attended at the annual ABA meeting and many phone interviews were conducted to clear up any conflicting information. The original map of the burn regions was based on the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma regions, but these have undergone significant redistricting. The organizational structure, age, and activities of the regions vary significantly. The financial costs of maintaining a regional organization and holding an annual meeting are a major concern for most regions. For the most part the regional organizations are a good source of professional networking and a cost-effective source of continuing medical education/continuing education units for burn centers. The regionalization experiment of the ABA been reasonably successful in its first 25 years, but the ABA and the regions should take this opportunity to consider the next steps for the regions in the coming 25 years.

  9. Antihyperlipidemic, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Methanolic and Aqueous Extracts of Different Parts of Star Fruit.

    PubMed

    Saghir, Sultan A M; Sadikun, Amirin; Al-Suede, Fouad S R; Majid, Amin M S A; Murugaiyah, Vikneswaran

    Star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) is a well-known plant in Malaysia which bears a great significance in traditional medicine. This study aimed to evaluate the antihyperlipidemic effect, antioxidant potential and cytotoxicity of aqueous and methanolic extracts of ripe and unripe fruits, leaves and stem of A. carambola. Antihyperlipidemic activity was assessed in poloxamer-407 (P-407) induced acute hyperlipidemic rat's model. The antioxidant activity was assessed in vitro using 2, 2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging, 1-diphenyl-2-dipicrylhydrazyl radical scavenging (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. In addition, cytotoxicity of A. carambola extracts was assessed using MTS assay on four leukemic cell lines (human colon cancer, human promyeloid leukemia, erythroid leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia) and one normal cell (human umbilical vein endothelial cells). Methanolic extract of leaves had the most potent antihyperlipidemic activity in P-407 model, whereby it significantly reduced serum levels of total cholesterol (P<0.01), triglycerides (P<0.01), low-density lipoprotein (P<0.05), verylow- density lipoprotein (P<0.01) and atherogenic index (P<0.01). On the other hand, methanolic extracts of A. carambola stem and leaves showed the strongest antioxidant activity. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extracts exhibited significant correlations with antioxidant but not with antihyperlipidemic activities. All plant parts showed no cytotoxic effect on the selected cancer or normal cell lines. Antihyperlipidemic activity of different parts of A. carambola is greatly affected by extraction solvents used. Methanolic extract of A. carambola leaves exhibited higher antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant potentials compared to other parts of the plant.

  10. YneA, an SOS-induced inhibitor of cell division in Bacillus subtilis, is regulated posttranslationally and requires the transmembrane region for activity.

    PubMed

    Mo, Allison H; Burkholder, William F

    2010-06-01

    Cell viability depends on the stable transmission of genetic information to each successive generation. Therefore, in the event of intrinsic or extrinsic DNA damage, it is important that cell division be delayed until DNA repair has been completed. In Bacillus subtilis, this is accomplished in part by YneA, an inhibitor of division that is induced as part of the SOS response. We sought to gain insight into the mechanism by which YneA blocks cell division and the processes involved in shutting off YneA activity. Our data suggest that YneA is able to inhibit daughter cell separation as well as septum formation. YneA contains a LysM peptidoglycan binding domain and is predicted to be exported. We established that the YneA signal peptide is rapidly cleaved, resulting in secretion of YneA into the medium. Mutations within YneA affect both the rate of signal sequence cleavage and the activity of YneA. YneA does not stably associate with the cell wall and is rapidly degraded by extracellular proteases. Based on these results, we hypothesize that exported YneA is active prior to signal peptide cleavage and that proteolysis contributes to the inactivation of YneA. Finally, we identified mutations in the transmembrane segment of YneA that abolish the ability of YneA to inhibit cell division, while having little or no effect on YneA export or stability. These data suggest that protein-protein interactions mediated by the transmembrane region may be required for YneA activity.

  11. Application of GIS-based models for delineating the UAV flight region to support Search and Rescue activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jurecka, Miroslawa; Niedzielski, Tomasz

    2017-04-01

    The objective of the approach presented in this paper is to demonstrate a potential of using the combination of two GIS-based models - mobility model and ring model - for delineating a region above which an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) should fly to support the Search and Rescue (SAR) activities. The procedure is based on two concepts, both describing a possible distance/path that lost person could travel from the initial planning point (being either the point last seen, or point last known). The first approach (the ring model) takes into account the crow's flight distance traveled by a lost person and its probability distribution. The second concept (the mobility model) is based on the estimated travel speed and the associated features of the geographical environment of the search area. In contrast to the ring model covering global (hence more general) SAR perspective, the mobility model represents regional viewpoint by taking into consideration local impedance. Both models working together can serve well as a starting point for the UAV flight planning to strengthen the SAR procedures. We present the method of combining the two above-mentioned models in order to delineate UAVs flight region and increase the Probability of Success for future SAR missions. The procedure is a part of a larger Search and Rescue (SAR) system which is being developed at the University of Wrocław, Poland (research project no. IP2014 032773 financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland). The mobility and ring models have been applied to the Polish territory, and they act in concert to provide the UAV operator with the optimal search region. This is attained in real time so that the UAV-based SAR mission can be initiated quickly.

  12. Correlation of the CME Productivity of Solar Active Regions with Measures of their Global Nonpotentiality from Vector Magnetograms: Baseline Results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Falconer, David A.; Moore, Ron L.; Gary, G. Allen; Six, N. Frank (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    From conventional magnetograms and chromospheric and coronal images, it is known qualitatively that the fastest coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are magnetic explosions from sunspot active regions in which the magnetic field is globally strongly sheared and twisted from its minimum-energy potential configuration. In this paper, we present measurements from active-region vector magnetograms that begin to quantify the dependence of the CME productivity of an active region on the global nonpotentiality of its magnetic field. From each of 17 magnetograms of 12 bipolar active regions, we obtain a measure of the size of the active region (the magnetic flux content, phi) and three different measures of the global nonpotentiality (L(sub SS), the length of strong-shear, strong-field main neutral line; I(sub N), the net electric current arching from one polarity to the other; and alpha = muI(subN/phi), a flux-normalized measure of the field twist).

  13. Effect of Different Parts (Leaf, Stem and Stalk) and Seasons (Summer and Winter) on the Chemical Compositions and Antioxidant Activity of Moringa oleifera

    PubMed Central

    Shih, Ming-Chih; Chang, Cheng-Ming; Kang, Sue-Ming; Tsai, Min-Lang

    2011-01-01

    Moringa oleifera, Lam. (Moringaceae) is grown world-wide in the tropics and sub-tropics of Asia and Africa and contains abundant various nutrients. This study describes the effect of different parts (leaf, stem and stalk) and seasons (summer and winter) on the chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of M. oleifera grown in Taiwan. The results showed that the winter samples of Moringa had higher ash (except the stalk part), calcium and phenolic compounds (except the leaf part) and stronger antioxidative activity than summer samples. The methanolic extract of Moringa showed strong scavenging effect of DPPH radicals and reducing power. The trend of antioxidative activity as a function of the part of Moringa was: leaf > stem > stalk for samples from both seasons investigated. The Moringa extract showed strong hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity and high Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity except the stalk part. PMID:22016645

  14. [Active ingredients and efficacies of Ganoderma lucidum cultivated on non-medicinal parts of Chinese medicinal herbs].

    PubMed

    Guo, Yaohui; Luo, Xia; Yu, Mengyao; Zheng, Linyong

    2011-06-01

    Ganoderma lucidum was cultivated on non-medicinal parts of Salvia miltiorrhiza, Chrysanthemum morifolium, Ptatycodgn grandlfiorum, as all are Chinese traditional herbal medicines. We studied the changes of active ingredients and efficacies of the Ganoderma lucidum fruit bodies. The agronomic characters, polysaccharide and terpene contents, acute toxicity and efficacy of Ganoderma lucidum grown on the non-medicinal part of the three materials were compared with that grown on the ordinary formula group (OF. G) which was composed of corn cob, cotton seed shell. Biological conversion efficiencies of the Ganoderma lucidum fruit body using non-medicinal parts were higher than that of using the ordinary formula group (OF. G), though growth periods became longer; Contents of active ingredients were all improved except that the terpene content of the Salvia miltiorrhiza group was decreased. Both polysaccharide and terpene from the Chrysanthemum morifolium group were the highest, contents of which were respectively 2.47% and 0.79%; Acute toxicity test showed that Ganoderma lucidum fruit bodies were all with low toxicities. Mice maximum tolerance dose were 100 g/kg weight. In hemolysin test and sleeping promotion test, the Chrysanthemum morifolium group showed better effect than the ordinary formula group (OF. G). In anti-fatigue test, only the ordinary formula group (OF. G) proved to be more effective. It's feasible to cultivate Ganoderma lucidum and active ingredients and efficacies of Ganoderma lucidum have been changed using the non-medicinal parts of Chinese medicinal herbs.

  15. Dissociative Part-Dependent Resting-State Activity in Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Controlled fMRI Perfusion Study

    PubMed Central

    Schlumpf, Yolanda R.; Reinders, Antje A. T. S.; Nijenhuis, Ellert R. S.; Luechinger, Roger; van Osch, Matthias J. P.; Jäncke, Lutz

    2014-01-01

    Background In accordance with the Theory of Structural Dissociation of the Personality (TSDP), studies of dissociative identity disorder (DID) have documented that two prototypical dissociative subsystems of the personality, the “Emotional Part” (EP) and the “Apparently Normal Part” (ANP), have different biopsychosocial reactions to supraliminal and subliminal trauma-related cues and that these reactions cannot be mimicked by fantasy prone healthy controls nor by actors. Methods Arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI was used to test the hypotheses that ANP and EP in DID have different perfusion patterns in response to rest instructions, and that perfusion is different in actors who were instructed to simulate ANP and EP. In a follow-up study, regional cerebral blood flow of DID patients was compared with the activation pattern of healthy non-simulating controls. Results Compared to EP, ANP showed elevated perfusion in bilateral thalamus. Compared to ANP, EP had increased perfusion in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, primary somatosensory cortex, and motor-related areas. Perfusion patterns for simulated ANP and EP were different. Fitting their reported role-play strategies, the actors activated brain structures involved in visual mental imagery and empathizing feelings. The follow-up study demonstrated elevated perfusion in the left temporal lobe in DID patients, whereas non-simulating healthy controls had increased activity in areas which mediate the mental construction of past and future episodic events. Conclusion DID involves dissociative part-dependent resting-state differences. Compared to ANP, EP activated brain structures involved in self-referencing and sensorimotor actions more. Actors had different perfusion patterns compared to genuine ANP and EP. Comparisons of neural activity for individuals with DID and non-DID simulating controls suggest that the resting-state features of ANP and EP in DID are not due to imagination. The findings are

  16. Gap winds and their effects on regional oceanography Part II: Kodiak Island, Alaska

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ladd, Carol; Cheng, Wei; Salo, Sigrid

    2016-10-01

    Frequent gap winds, defined here as offshore-directed flow channeled through mountain gaps, have been observed near Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Gap winds from the Iliamna Lake gap were investigated using QuikSCAT wind data. The influence of these wind events on the regional ocean was examined using satellite and in situ data combined with Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) model runs. Gap winds influence the entire shelf width (> 200 km) northeast of Kodiak Island and extend an additional 150 km off-shelf. Due to strong gradients in the along-shelf direction, they can result in vertical velocities in the ocean of over 20 m d-1 due to Ekman pumping. The wind events also disrupt flow of the Alaska Coastal Current (ACC), resulting in decreased flow down Shelikof Strait and increased velocities on the outer shelf. This disruption of the ACC has implications for freshwater transport into the Bering Sea. The oceanographic response to gap winds may influence the survival of larval fishes as Arrowtooth Flounder recruitment is negatively correlated with the interannual frequency of gap-wind events, and Pacific Cod recruitment is positively correlated. The frequency of offshore directed winds exhibits a strong seasonal cycle averaging 7 days per month during winter and 2 days per month during summer. Interannual variability is correlated with the Pacific North America Index and shows a linear trend, increasing by 1.35 days per year. An accompanying paper discusses part I of our study (Ladd and Cheng, 2016) focusing on gap-wind events flowing out of Cross Sound in the eastern GOA.

  17. Active flow control for a NACA-0012 Profile: Part II

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oualli, H.; Makadem, M.; Ouchene, H.; Ferfouri, A.; Bouabdallah, A.; Gad-El-Hak, M.

    2016-11-01

    Active flow control is applied to a NACA-0012 profile. The experiments are conducted in a wind tunnel. Using a high-resolution visible-light camera and tomography, flow visualizations are carried out. LES finite-volume 3D code is used to complement the physical experiments. The symmetric wing is clipped into two parts, and those parts extend and retract along the chord according to the same sinusoidal law we optimized last year for the same profile but clipped at an angle of 60 deg, instead of the original 90 deg. The Reynolds number range is extended to 500,000, thus covering the flying regimes of micro-UAVs, UAVs, as well as small aircraft. When the nascent cavity is open and the attack angle is 30 deg, the drag coefficient is increased by 1,300%, as compared to the uncontrolled case. However, when the cavity is covered and Re <=105 , a relatively small frequency, f <= 30 Hz, is required for the drag coefficient to drop to negative values. At the maximum Reynolds number, thrust is generated but only at much higher frequencies, 12 <= f <= 16 kHz.

  18. Evolution of the Active Region NOAA 12443 based on magnetic field extrapolations: preliminary results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chicrala, André; Dallaqua, Renato Sergio; Antunes Vieira, Luis Eduardo; Dal Lago, Alisson; Rodríguez Gómez, Jenny Marcela; Palacios, Judith; Coelho Stekel, Tardelli Ronan; Rezende Costa, Joaquim Eduardo; da Silva Rockenbach, Marlos

    2017-10-01

    The behavior of Active Regions (ARs) is directly related to the occurrence of some remarkable phenomena in the Sun such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections (CME). In this sense, changes in the magnetic field of the region can be used to uncover other relevant features like the evolution of the ARs magnetic structure and the plasma flow related to it. In this work we describe the evolution of the magnetic structure of the active region AR NOAA12443 observed from 2015/10/30 to 2015/11/10, which may be associated with several X-ray flares of classes C and M. The analysis is based on observations of the solar surface and atmosphere provided by HMI and AIA instruments on board of the SDO spacecraft. In order to investigate the magnetic energy buildup and release of the ARs, we shall employ potential and linear force free extrapolations based on the solar surface magnetic field distribution and the photospheric velocity fields.

  19. HOT PLASMA FROM SOLAR ACTIVE REGION CORES: A TEST OF AC AND DC CORONAL HEATING MODELS?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schmelz, J. T.; Christian, G. M.; Dhaliwal, R. S.

    2015-06-20

    Direct current (DC) models of solar coronal heating invoke magnetic reconnection to convert magnetic free energy into heat, whereas alternating current (AC) models invoke wave dissipation. In both cases the energy is supplied by photospheric footpoint motions. For a given footpoint velocity amplitude, DC models predict lower average heating rates but greater temperature variability when compared to AC models. Therefore, evidence of hot plasma (T > 5 MK) in the cores of active regions could be one of the ways for current observations to distinguish between AC and DC models. We have analyzed data from the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) andmore » the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly for 12 quiescent active region cores, all of which were observed in the XRT Be-thick channel. We did Differential Emission Measure (DEM) analysis and achieved good fits for each data set. We then artificially truncated the hot plasma of the DEM model at 5 MK and examined the resulting fits to the data. For some regions in our sample, the XRT intensities continued to be well-matched by the DEM predictions, even without the hot plasma. This truncation, however, resulted in unacceptable fits for the other regions. This result indicates that the hot plasma is present in these regions, even if the precise DEM distribution cannot be determined with the data available. We conclude that reconnection may be heating the hot plasma component of these active regions.« less

  20. Design of a potent antibiotic peptide based on the active region of human defensin 5.

    PubMed

    Wang, Cheng; Shen, Mingqiang; Gohain, Neelakshi; Tolbert, William D; Chen, Fang; Zhang, Naixin; Yang, Ke; Wang, Aiping; Su, Yongping; Cheng, Tianmin; Zhao, Jinghong; Pazgier, Marzena; Wang, Junping

    2015-04-09

    Human defensin 5 (HD5) is a broad-spectrum antibacterial peptide with a C-terminal active region. To promote the development of this peptide into an antibiotic, we initially substituted Glu21 with Arg because it is an electronegative residue located around the active region. Although detrimental to dimer formation, the E21R substitution markedly enhanced the antibacterial activity of HD5 and increased its ability to penetrate cell membranes, demonstrating that increasing the electropositive charge compensated for the effect of dimer disruption. Subsequently, a partial Arg scanning mutagenesis was performed, and Thr7 was selected for replacement with Arg to further strengthen the antibacterial activity. The newly designed peptide, T7E21R-HD5, exhibited potent antibacterial activity, even in saline and serum solutions. In contrast to monomeric E21R-HD5, T7E21R-HD5 assembled into an atypical dimer with parallel β strands, thus expanding the role of increasing electropositive charge in bactericidal activity and providing a useful guide for further defensin-derived antibiotic design.

  1. Physical activity and associated socio-demographic factors in adolescents from the eastern region of Poland

    PubMed

    Wasilewska, Małgorzata; Bergier, Józef

    The introduction and maintenance of healthy habits in the field of physical activity at the early stage of life is particularly important for public health. With increasing of public awareness in physical activity, researchers are increasingly questioning its determinants in different age groups. In this paper we focus on variables such as age, sex and place of residence. To determine what selected socio-demographic factors influence the level of physical activity of school youth from the eastern region of Poland in different domains of daily life. A random sample of 916 Polish school youth from Secondary Schools from Eastern Region of Poland aged 16-18 was interviewed in spring 2016 by diagnostic survey method with the use of the official Polish long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Analysing the relationship between gender and the level of physical activity statistically significant differences were found in all domains in favour of boys. The level of total physical activity in girls was 5345.5 MET-min./week, whereas in boys – 6556.6 MET-min./week. In the area of total physical activity, the highest values were observed in pupils from small towns and villages, with lower values in the youth living in large and medium-sized cities. When the relationship of age with the level of physical activity in particular domains was examined, only the activity in the work/ school domain (p = 0.0129) spoke in favour of the youngest pupils (2578.7 MET-min./week) when compared to the oldest ones (2226.4 MET-min./week). The level of physical activity in young people from the Eastern region of Poland is decreasing with age, both in girls and boys. It is therefore important, especially for the group emerging adulthood, to offer a wide variety of updated, involving, age and gender-oriented school physical activity classes that could be easily practised outside the school environment to improve the level of physical activity in leisure domain

  2. Year-round West Nile virus activity, Gulf Coast region, Texas and Louisiana.

    PubMed

    Tesh, Robert B; Parsons, Ray; Siirin, Marina; Randle, Yvonne; Sargent, Chris; Guzman, Hilda; Wuithiranyagool, Taweesak; Higgs, Stephen; Vanlandingham, Dana L; Bala, Adil A; Haas, Keith; Zerinque, Brian

    2004-09-01

    West Nile virus (WNV) was detected in 11 dead birds and two mosquito pools collected in east Texas and southern Louisiana during surveillance studies in the winter of 2003 to 2004. These findings suggest that WNV is active throughout the year in this region of the United States.

  3. Characteristics of discrete and basin-centered parts of the Lower Silurian regional oil and gas accumulation, Appalachian basin; preliminary results from a data set of 25 oil and gas fields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ryder, Robert T.

    1998-01-01

    Oil and gas trapped in Lower Silurian 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group sandstone constitute a regional hydrocarbon accumulation that extends 425 mi in length from Ontario, Canada to northeastern Kentucky. The 125-mi width of the accumulation extends from central Ohio eastward to western Pennsylvania and west-central New York. Lenticular and intertonguing reservoirs, a gradual eastward decrease in reservoir porosity and permeability, and poorly segregated gas, oil, and water in the reservoirs make it very difficult to recognize clear-cut geologic- and production-based subdivisions in the accumulation that are relevant to resource assessment. However, subtle variations are recognizable that permit the regional accumulation to be subdivided into three tentative parts: a western gas-bearing part having more or less discrete fields; an eastern gas-bearing part having many characteristics of a basin-centered accumulation; and a central oil- and gas-bearing part with 'hybrid' fields that share characteristics of both discrete and basin-centered accumulation. A data set of 25 oil and gas fields is used in the report to compare selected attributes of the three parts of the regional accumulation. A fourth part of the regional accumulation, not discussed here, is an eastern extension of basin-centered accumulation having local commercial gas in the Tuscarora Sandstone, a proximal facies of the Lower Silurian depositional system. A basin-centered gas accumulation is a regionally extensive and commonly very thick zone of gas saturation that occurs in low-permeability rocks in the central, deeper part of a sedimentary basin. Another commonly used term for this type of accumulation is deep-basin gas accumulation. Basin-centered accumulation is a variety of continuous-type accumulation. The 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group sandstone part of the basin-centered gas accumulation is characterized by: a) reservoir porosity ranging from about 5 to 10 percent; b) reservoir permeability

  4. Potentially active regions on Titan: New processing of Cassini/VIMS data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Solomonidou, A.; Hirtzig, M.; Bratsolis, E.; Bampasidis, G.; Coustenis, A.; Kyriakopoulos, K.; Le Mouélic, S.; Stephan, K.; Jaumann, R.; Drossart, P.; Sotin, C.; St. Seymour, K.; Moussas, X.

    2012-04-01

    The Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) obtained data of Titan's surface from flybys performed during the last seven years. In the 0.8-5.2 µm range, these spectro-imaging data showed that the surface consists of a multivariable geological terrain hosting complex geological processes. The data from the seven narrow methane spectral "windows" centered at 0.93, 1.08, 1.27, 1.59, 2.03, 2.8 and 5 µm provide some information on the lower atmospheric context and the surface parameters that we want to determine. Atmospheric scattering and absorption need to be clearly evaluated before we can extract the surface properties. We apply here a statistical method [1, 2] and a radiative transfer method [3, 1] on three potentially "active" regions on Titan, i.e. regions possibly subject to change over time (in brightness and/or in color etc) [4]: Tui Regio (20°S, 130°W) [5], a 1,500-km long flow-like figure, Hotei Regio (26°S, 78°W) [6], a 700-km wide volcanic-like terrain, and Sotra Facula (15°S, 42°W) [7], a 235-km in diameter area. With our method of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) we have managed to isolate specific regions of distinct and diverse chemical composition. We have tested this method on the previously studied Sinlap crater [8], delimitating compositional heterogeneous areas compatible with the published conclusions by Le Mouélic et al. (2008). Our follow-up method focuses on retrieving the surface albedo of the three areas and of the surrounding terrains with different spectral response by applying a radiative transfer (RT) code. We have used as input most of the Cassini HASI and DISR measurements, as well as new methane absorption coefficients [9], which are important to evaluate the atmospheric contribution and to allow us to better constrain the real surface alterations, by comparing the spectra of these regions. By superposing these results onto the PCA maps, we can correlate composition and morphology. As a test case, we used

  5. Material Supply and Magnetic Configuration of an Active Region Filament

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zou, P.; Fang, C.; Chen, P. F.; Yang, K.; Hao, Q.; Cao, Wenda

    2016-11-01

    It is important to study the fine structures of solar filaments with high-resolution observations, since it can help us understand the magnetic and thermal structures of the filaments and their dynamics. In this paper, we study a newly formed filament located inside the active region NOAA 11762, which was observed by the 1.6 m New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory from 16:40:19 UT to 17:07:58 UT on 2013 June 5. As revealed by the Hα filtergrams, cool material is seen to be injected into the filament spine with a speed of 5-10 km s-1. At the source of the injection, brightenings are identified in the chromosphere, which are accompanied by magnetic cancellation in the photosphere, implying the importance of magnetic reconnection in replenishing the filament with plasmas from the lower atmosphere. Counter-streamings are detected near one endpoint of the filament, with the plane-of-the-sky speed being 7-9 km s-1 in the Hα red-wing filtergrams and 9-25 km s-1 in the blue-wing filtergrams. The observations are indicative that this active region filament is supported by a sheared arcade without magnetic dips, and the counter-streamings are due to unidirectional flows with alternative directions, rather than due to the longitudinal oscillations of filament threads as in many other filaments.

  6. THE MAGNETIC CLASSIFICATION OF SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS 1992–2015

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jaeggli, S. A.; Norton, A. A., E-mail: sarah.jaeggli@nasa.gov

    The purpose of this Letter is to address a blindspot in our knowledge of solar active region (AR) statistics. To the best of our knowledge, there are no published results showing the variation of the Mount Wilson magnetic classifications as a function of solar cycle based on modern observations. We show statistics for all ARs reported in the daily Solar Region Summary from 1992 January 1 to 2015 December 31. We find that the α and β class ARs (including all sub-groups, e.g., βγ, βδ) make up fractions of approximately 20% and 80% of the sample, respectively. This fraction ismore » relatively constant during high levels of activity; however, an increase in the α fraction to about 35% and and a decrease in the β fraction to about 65% can be seen near each solar minimum and are statistically significant at the 2σ level. Over 30% of all ARs observed during the years of solar maxima were appended with the classifications γ and/or δ, while these classifications account for only a fraction of a percent during the years near the solar minima. This variation in the AR types indicates that the formation of complex ARs may be due to the pileup of frequent emergence of magnetic flux during solar maximum, rather than the emergence of complex, monolithic flux structures.« less

  7. Joint NuSTAR and IRIS observation of a microflaring active region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hannah, I. G.; Kleint, L.; Krucker, S.; Glesener, L.; Grefenstette, B.

    2017-12-01

    We present observations of a weakly microflaring active region observed in X-rays with NuSTAR, UV with IRIS and EUV with SDO/AIA. NuSTAR was pointed at this unnamed active region near the East limb between 23:27UT and 23:37UT 26-July-2016, finding mostly quiescent emission except for a small microflare about 23:35UT. The NuSTAR spectrum for the pre-microflare time (23:27UT to 23:34UT) is well fitted by a single thermal component of about 3MK and combined with SDO/AIA we can determine the differential emission measure (DEM), finding it, as expected, drops very sharply to higher temperatures. During the subsequent microflare, the increase in NuSTAR counts matches a little brightening loop observed with IRIS SJI 1400Å and SDO/AIA. Fortuitously the IRIS slit crosses this microflaring loop and we find an increased emission in Si IV 1394Å, Si IV 1403Å and O IV 1402Å but only average line widths and velocities. The NuSTAR microflare spectrum shows heating to higher temperatures and also allows us to investigate the energetics of this event.

  8. Paralleling power MOSFETs in their active region: Extended range of passively forced current sharing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Niedra, Janis M.

    1989-01-01

    A simple passive circuit that improves current balance in parallelled power MOSFETs that are not precisely matched and that are operated in their active region from a common gate drive are exhibited. A nonlinear circuit consisting of diodes and resistors generates the differential gate potential required to correct for unbalance while maintaining low losses over a range of current. Also application of a thin tape wound magnetic core to effect dynamic current balance is reviewed, and a simple theory is presented showing that for operation in the active region the branch currents tend to revert to their normal unbalanced values even if the core is not driven into saturation. Results of several comparative experiments are given.

  9. Inter-Calibration of EIS, XRT and AIA using Active Region and Bright Point Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mulu-Moore, Fana M.; Winebarger, Amy R.; Winebarger, Amy R.; Farid, Samaiyah I.

    2012-01-01

    Certain limitations in our solar instruments have created the need to use several instruments together for long term and/or large field of view studies. We will, therefore, present an intercalibration study of the EIS, XRT and AIA instruments using active region and bright point data. We will use the DEMs calculated from EIS bright point observations to determine the expected AIA and XRT intensities. We will them compare to the observed intensities and calculate a correction factor. We will consider data taken over a year to see if there is a time dependence to the correction factor. We will then determine if the correction factors are valid for active region observations.

  10. Variation in mutation spectrum partly explains regional differences in the breast cancer risk of female BRCA mutation carriers in the Netherlands.

    PubMed

    Vos, Janet R; Teixeira, Natalia; van der Kolk, Dorina M; Mourits, Marian J E; Rookus, Matti A; van Leeuwen, Flora E; Collée, Margriet; van Asperen, Christi J; Mensenkamp, Arjen R; Ausems, Margreet G E M; van Os, Theo A M; Meijers-Heijboer, Hanne E J; Gómez-Garcia, Encarna B; Vasen, Hans F; Brohet, Richard M; van der Hout, Annemarie H; Jansen, Liesbeth; Oosterwijk, Jan C; de Bock, Geertruida H

    2014-11-01

    We aimed to quantify previously observed relatively high cancer risks in BRCA2 mutation carriers (BRCA2 carriers) older than 60 in the Northern Netherlands, and to analyze whether these could be explained by mutation spectrum or population background risk. This consecutive cohort study included all known pathogenic BRCA1/2 carriers in the Northern Netherlands (N = 1,050). Carrier and general reference populations were: BRCA1/2 carriers in the rest of the Netherlands (N = 2,013) and the general population in both regions. Regional differences were assessed with HRs and ORs. HRs were adjusted for birth year and mutation spectrum. All BRCA1 carriers and BRCA2 carriers younger than 60 had a significantly lower breast cancer risk in the Northern Netherlands; HRs were 0.66 and 0.64, respectively. Above age 60, the breast cancer risk in BRCA2 carriers in the Northern Netherlands was higher than in the rest of the Netherlands [HR, 3.99; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11-14.35]. Adjustment for mutational spectrum changed the HRs for BRCA1, BRCA2 <60, and BRCA2 ≥60 years by -3%, +32%, and +11% to 0.75, 0.50, and 2.61, respectively. There was no difference in background breast cancer incidence between the two regions (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.97-1.09). Differences in mutation spectrum only partly explain the regional differences in breast cancer risk in BRCA2 carriers, and for an even smaller part in BRCA1 carriers. The increased risk in BRCA2 carriers older than 60 may warrant extension of intensive breast screening beyond age 60. ©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.

  11. Recent crustal movements in the Sierra Nevada-Walker lane region of California-Nevada: Part i, rate and style of deformation

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Slemmons, D.B.; Wormer, D.V.; Bell, E.J.; Silberman, M.L.

    1979-01-01

    This review of geological, seismological, geochronological and paleobotanical data is made to compare historic and geologic rates and styles of deformation of the Sierra Nevada and western Basin and Range Provinces. The main uplift of this region began about 17 m.y. ago, with slow uplift of the central Sierra Nevada summit region at rates estimated at about 0.012 mm/yr and of western Basin and Range Province at about 0.01 mm/yr. Many Mesozoic faults of the Foothills fault system were reactivated with normal slip in mid-Tertiary time and have continued to be active with slow slip rates. Sparse data indicate acceleration of rates of uplift and faulting during the Late Cenozoic. The Basin and Range faulting appears to have extended westward during this period with a reduction in width of the Sierra Nevada. The eastern boundary zone of the Sierra Nevada has an irregular en-echelon pattern of normal and right-oblique faults. The area between the Sierra Nevada and the Walker Lane is a complex zone of irregular patterns of ho??rst and graben blocks and conjugate normal-to right- and left-slip faults of NW and NE trend, respectively. The Walker Lane has at least five main strands near Walker Lake, with total right-slip separation estimated at 48 km. The NE-trending left-slip faults are much shorter than the Walker Lane fault zone and have maximum separations of no more than a few kilometers. Examples include the 1948 and 1966 fault zone northeast of Truckee, California, the Olinghouse fault (Part III) and possibly the almost 200-km-long Carson Lineament. Historic geologic evidence of faulting, seismologic evidence for focal mechanisms, geodetic measurements and strain measurements confirm continued regional uplift and tilting of the Sierra Nevada, with minor internal local faulting and deformation, smaller uplift of the western Basin and Range Province, conjugate focal mechanisms for faults of diverse orientations and types, and a NS to NE-SW compression axis (??1) and an

  12. Using regional homogeneity to reveal altered spontaneous activity in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yumei; Zhao, Xiaochuan; Xu, Shunjiang; Yu, Lulu; Wang, Lan; Song, Mei; Yang, Linlin; Wang, Xueyi

    2015-01-01

    Most patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are thought to be in an early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging reflects spontaneous brain activity and/or the endogenous/background neurophysiological process of the human brain. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) rapidly maps regional brain activity across the whole brain. In the present study, we used the ReHo index to explore whole brain spontaneous activity pattern in MCI. Our results showed that MCI subjects displayed an increased ReHo index in the paracentral lobe, precuneus, and postcentral and a decreased ReHo index in the medial temporal gyrus and hippocampus. Impairments in the medial temporal gyrus and hippocampus may serve as important markers distinguishing MCI from healthy aging. Moreover, the increased ReHo index observed in the postcentral and paracentral lobes might indicate compensation for the cognitive function losses in individuals with MCI.

  13. Using Regional Homogeneity to Reveal Altered Spontaneous Activity in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yumei; Zhao, Xiaochuan; Xu, Shunjiang; Yu, Lulu; Wang, Lan; Song, Mei; Yang, Linlin; Wang, Xueyi

    2015-01-01

    Most patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are thought to be in an early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging reflects spontaneous brain activity and/or the endogenous/background neurophysiological process of the human brain. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) rapidly maps regional brain activity across the whole brain. In the present study, we used the ReHo index to explore whole brain spontaneous activity pattern in MCI. Our results showed that MCI subjects displayed an increased ReHo index in the paracentral lobe, precuneus, and postcentral and a decreased ReHo index in the medial temporal gyrus and hippocampus. Impairments in the medial temporal gyrus and hippocampus may serve as important markers distinguishing MCI from healthy aging. Moreover, the increased ReHo index observed in the postcentral and paracentral lobes might indicate compensation for the cognitive function losses in individuals with MCI. PMID:25738156

  14. DIFFRACTION, REFRACTION, AND REFLECTION OF AN EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET WAVE OBSERVED DURING ITS INTERACTIONS WITH REMOTE ACTIVE REGIONS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shen Yuandeng; Liu Yu; Zhao Ruijuan

    2013-08-20

    We present observations of the diffraction, refraction, and reflection of a global extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) wave propagating in the solar corona. These intriguing phenomena are observed when the wave interacts with two remote active regions, and together they exhibit properties of an EUV wave. When the wave approached AR11465, it became weaker and finally disappeared in the active region, but a few minutes later a new wavefront appeared behind the active region, and it was not concentric with the incoming wave. In addition, a reflected wave was also simultaneously observed on the wave incoming side. When the wave approached AR11459, itmore » transmitted through the active region directly and without reflection. The formation of the new wavefront and the transmission could be explained with diffraction and refraction effects, respectively. We propose that the different behaviors observed during the interactions may be caused by different speed gradients at the boundaries of the two active regions. We find that the EUV wave formed ahead of a group of expanding loops a few minutes after the start of the loops' expansion, which represents the initiation of the associated coronal mass ejection (CME). Based on these results, we conclude that the EUV wave should be a nonlinear magnetosonic wave or shock driven by the associated CME, which propagated faster than the ambient fast mode speed and gradually slowed down to an ordinary linear wave. Our observations support the hybrid model that includes both fast wave and slow non-wave components.« less

  15. A Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Study of the Auckland Region, Part I: Propagation Modelling and Tsunami Hazard Assessment at the Shoreline

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Power, William; Wang, Xiaoming; Lane, Emily; Gillibrand, Philip

    2013-09-01

    Regional source tsunamis represent a potentially devastating threat to coastal communities in New Zealand, yet are infrequent events for which little historical information is available. It is therefore essential to develop robust methods for quantitatively estimating the hazards posed, so that effective mitigation measures can be implemented. We develop a probabilistic model for the tsunami hazard posed to the Auckland region of New Zealand from the Kermadec Trench and the southern New Hebrides Trench subduction zones. An innovative feature of our model is the systematic analysis of uncertainty regarding the magnitude-frequency distribution of earthquakes in the source regions. The methodology is first used to estimate the tsunami hazard at the coastline, and then used to produce a set of scenarios that can be applied to produce probabilistic maps of tsunami inundation for the study region; the production of these maps is described in part II. We find that the 2,500 year return period regional source tsunami hazard for the densely populated east coast of Auckland is dominated by events originating in the Kermadec Trench, while the equivalent hazard to the sparsely populated west coast is approximately equally due to events on the Kermadec Trench and the southern New Hebrides Trench.

  16. Regional Development Partnerships in Sweden: A Way for Higher Education Institutions to Develop their Role in the Processes of Regional Governance?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hudson, Christine

    2006-01-01

    This paper focuses on the multi-sectoral regional growth partnerships established as part of the new Swedish regional policy. It asks the question whether participation in these partnerships marks a closer involvement on the part of universities in the processes of regional governance. This paper argues that at least part of the explanation for…

  17. Regional approach to building operational level capacity for disaster planning: the case of the Eastern Africa region.

    PubMed

    Bazeyo, W; Mayega, R W; Orach, G C; Kiguli, J; Mamuya, S; Tabu, J S; Sena, L; Rugigana, E; Mapatano, M; Lewy, D; Mock, N; Burnham, G; Keim, M; Killewo, J

    2013-06-01

    The Eastern Africa region is regularly affected by a variety of disasters ranging from drought, to human conflict and population displacement. The magnitude of emergencies and response capacities is similar across the region. In order to strengthen public health disaster management capacities at the operational level in six countries of the Eastern Africa region, the USAID-funded leadership project worked through the HEALTH Alliance, a network of seven schools of public health from six countries in the region to train district-level teams. To develop a sustainable regional approach to building operational level capacity for disaster planning. This project was implemented through a higher education leadership initiative. Project activities were spear-headed by a network of Deans and Directors of public health schools within local universities in the Eastern Africa region. The leadership team envisioned a district-oriented systems change strategy. Pre-service and in-service curricula were developed regionally and district teams were formed to attend short training courses. Project activities began with a situational analysis of the disaster management capacity at national and operational levels. The next steps were chronologically the formation of country training teams and training of trainers, the development of a regional disaster management training curriculum and training materials, the cascading of training activities in the region, and the incorporation of emerging issues into the training curriculum. An evaluation model included the analysis of preparedness impact of the training program. The output from the district teams was the creation of individual district-level disaster plans and their implementation. This 4-year project focused on building operational level public health emergency response capacity, which had not previously been part of any national program. Use of the all-hazard approach rather than a scenario-based contingency planning led to the

  18. Active tectonics of the Qom region, Central Iran

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hollingsworth, J.; Fattahi, M.; Jackson, J. A.; Talebian, M.; Nazari, H.; Bahroudi, A.

    2009-12-01

    balanced cross section indicates ~18% shortening (1.5 km) in a period bracketed by the Upper Red Fmtn (<18 Ma) and the Pliocene (>5.3 Ma), yielding shortening rates of 0.1-0.3 mm/yr. The right-lateral Kashan fault lies SE of the Qom region, and appears to be kinematically linked to the thrust faults around Qom, which probably represent thrust terminations. Historical earthquakes have occurred on the Kashan fault, and clear evidence for recent movement is seen in the Quaternary geomorphology. Reconstruction of the geology across the Kashan fault indicates ~45 km of total right-lateral motion, which suggests it has played a significant role in the accommodation of regional shortening. Late Cenozoic estimates of N-S shortening in the Qom region are 0.03-0.5 mm/yr. The difference in GPS velocities north and south of Qom indicates 1.1±1.9 mm/yr shortening across this region. This study suggests that Central Iran plays an important role in accommodating Arabia-Eurasia shortening over Quaternary to geological timescales. Efforts should be made to better constrain the seismic hazard posed by active faults to large populations in the Central Iran region.

  19. Flight Attendant Fatigue, Part 1: National Duty, Rest, and Fatigue Survey

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-12-01

    Flight Attendant Fatigue, Part I: National Duty, Rest, and Fatigue Survey Katrina Bedell Avers1 S. Janine King2 Thomas E . Nesthus1 Suzanne Thomas2...crewmembers who voluntarily and anonymously completed the survey and met the criteria to be included in the report (i . e ., active flight attendant...researchers coordinated with representatives of vested organizations ( e .g ., air transport association, regional airline association, coalition of

  20. Continuous High Frequency Activity: A peculiar SEEG pattern related to specific brain regions

    PubMed Central

    Melani, Federico; Zelmann, Rina; Mari, Francesco; Gotman, Jean

    2015-01-01

    Objective While visually marking the high frequency oscillations in the stereo-EEG of epileptic patients, we observed a continuous/semicontinuous activity in the ripple band (80–250 Hz), which we defined continuous High Frequency Activity (HFA). We aim to analyze in all brain regions the occurrence and significance of this particular pattern. Methods Twenty patients implanted in mesial temporal and neocortical areas were studied. One minute of slow-wave sleep was reviewed. The background was classified as continuous/semicontinuous, irregular, or sporadic based on the duration of the fast oscillations. Each channel was classified as inside/outside the seizure onset zone (SOZ) or a lesion. Results The continuous/semicontinuous HFA occurred in 54 of the 790 channels analyzed, with a clearly higher prevalence in hippocampus and occipital lobe. No correlation was found with the SOZ or lesions. In the occipital lobe the continuous/semicontinuous HFA was present independently of whether eyes were open or closed. Conclusions We describe what appears to be a new physiological High Frequency Activity, independent of epileptogenicity, present almost exclusively in the hippocampus and occipital cortex but independent of the alpha rhythm. Significance The continuous HFA may be an intrinsic characteristic of specific brain regions, reflecting a particular type of physiological neuronal activity. PMID:23768436