The Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (ISIS) is a complete science investigation on the Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission, which flies to within nine solar radii of the Sun’s surface. ISIS ...comprises a two-instrument suite to measure energetic particles over a very broad energy range, as well as coordinated management, science operations, data processing, and scientific analysis. Together, ISIS observations allow us to explore the mechanisms of energetic particles dynamics, including their: (1) Origins—defining the seed populations and physical conditions necessary for energetic particle acceleration; (2) Acceleration—determining the roles of shocks, reconnection, waves, and turbulence in accelerating energetic particles; and (3) Transport—revealing how energetic particles propagate from the corona out into the heliosphere. The two ISIS Energetic Particle Instruments measure lower (EPI-Lo) and higher (EPI-Hi) energy particles. EPI-Lo measures ions and ion composition from ∼20 keV/nucleon–15 MeV total energy and electrons from ∼25–1000 keV. EPI-Hi measures ions from ∼1–200 MeV/nucleon and electrons from ∼0.5–6 MeV. EPI-Lo comprises 80 tiny apertures with fields-of-view (FOVs) that sample over nearly a complete hemisphere, while EPI-Hi combines three telescopes that together provide five large-FOV apertures. ISIS observes continuously inside of 0.25 AU with a high data collection rate and burst data (EPI-Lo) coordinated with the rest of the SPP payload; outside of 0.25 AU, ISIS runs in low-rate science mode whenever feasible to capture as complete a record as possible of the solar energetic particle environment and provide calibration and continuity for measurements closer in to the Sun. The ISIS Science Operations Center plans and executes commanding, receives and analyzes all ISIS data, and coordinates science observations and analyses with the rest of the SPP science investigations. Together, ISIS’ unique observations on SPP will enable the discovery, untangling, and understanding of the important physical processes that govern energetic particles in the innermost regions of our heliosphere, for the first time. This paper summarizes the ISIS investigation at the time of the SPP mission Preliminary Design Review in January 2014.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Abstract
Steranes preserved in sedimentary rocks serve as molecular fossils, which are thought to record the expansion of eukaryote life through the Neoproterozoic Era ( ~ 1000-541 Ma). Scientists ...hypothesize that ancient C
27
steranes originated from cholesterol, the major sterol produced by living red algae and animals. Similarly, C
28
and C
29
steranes are thought to be derived from the sterols of prehistoric fungi, green algae, and other microbial eukaryotes. However, recent work on annelid worms–an advanced group of eumetazoan animals–shows that they are also capable of producing C
28
and C
29
sterols. In this paper, we explore the evolutionary history of the
24-C sterol methyltransferase
(
smt
) gene in animals, which is required to make C
28+
sterols. We find evidence that the
smt
gene was vertically inherited through animals, suggesting early eumetazoans were capable of C
28+
sterol synthesis. Our molecular clock of the animal
smt
gene demonstrates that its diversification coincides with the rise of C
28
and C
29
steranes in the Neoproterozoic. This study supports the hypothesis that early eumetazoans were capable of making C
28+
sterols and that many animal lineages independently abandoned its biosynthesis around the end-Neoproterozoic, coinciding with the rise of abundant eukaryotic prey.
We present a time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer design for the measurement of ions in the ~30 keV to 10 MeV range for protons (up to ~40 MeV and ~150 MeV for He and heavy ions, respectively) and ~30 ...keV to 1 MeV range for electrons, covering half of the sky with 80 apertures. The instrument, known as the “Mushroom,” owing to its shape, solves the field of view problem for magnetospheric and heliospheric missions that employ three‐axis stabilized spacecraft, yet still require extended angular coverage; the Mushroom is also compatible with a spinning spacecraft. The most important new feature of the Mushroom is the method through which uncomplicated electrostatic optics and clean position sensing combine to permit many apertures to fit into a compact, low‐mass sensor head (or wedge), several of which (ideally eight) compose a full instrument. Most of the sensor head's volume is an empty, equipotential region, resulting in the modest 250 g mass of each 10‐aperture wedge. The Mushroom is capable of separating ion species across most of its energy range and angular field of view. For example, separation of the neighboring 3He and 4He isotopes is excellent; the full width at half maximum mass resolution has been measured to be 0.24 amu to 0.32 amu, respectively. Converting this to a Gaussian width σm in mass m, this represents a σm/m mass resolution better than 0.04. This separation is highly desirable for the flight program for which the first Mushroom was built, the Solar Probe Plus mission. More generally, we estimate the mass resolution to be σm/m ≈ 0.1, but this is energy, mass, and angularly dependent. We also discuss the solid‐state detector stack capability, which extends the energy range of protons and helium, with composition, to ~100 MeV.
Key Points
Anisotropy, pitch angle distributions, and large field of view are important for energetic ion and electron science
The “Mushroom” instrument has been developed by JHU/APL to provide needed large FOV and angular resolution
The first Mushroom, EPI‐Lo, part of the ISʘIS investigation on Solar Probe Plus, has achieved excellent composition and spatial separation
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Using instruments on the ACE spacecraft, we surveyed the heavy-ion spectra and composition over the range He-Fe for 41 corotating interaction regions (CIRs) during 1998-2007. Below image1 MeV nucleon ...super(-1) the spectra are power laws in kinetic energy nucleon super(-1) with an average spectral index of image, rolling over above image1 MeV nucleon super(-1) to power-law spectra with an average index of image. The spectral shapes for different species are similar, leading to relative abundances that are constant over our energy range, even though the intensities cover up to 8 orders of magnitude. Relative to oxygen, the measured abundances at 385 keV nucleon super(- 1) for super(4)He, C, N, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ca, and Fe are image, and image, respectively. Except for an overabundance of super(4)He and Ne, the abundances are quite close to that of the fast solar wind. We have found super(3)He/ super(4)He ratios to be enhanced over solar wind values in image40% of the CIRs. The Fe/O ratio in individual CIRs is observed to vary over a factor of image10 and is strongly correlated with the solar wind Fe/O ratio measured 2-4 days preceding each CIR. Taken together with previous studies showing the presence of pickup He super(+) in CIRs, the observational data provide evidence that CIR energetic particles are accelerated out of a suprathermal ion pool that includes heated solar wind ions, pickup ions, and remnant suprathermals from impulsive solar energetic particle events.
Background
Fixed combination calcipotriol 50 μg/g (Cal) plus betamethasone 0.5 mg/g (BD) foam has been developed as a new treatment option for patients with psoriasis.
Methods
The randomized, ...parallel‐group, investigator‐blinded Phase III, 12‐week PSO‐ABLE study compared the efficacy and safety of Cal/BD foam with Cal/BD gel. Patients aged ≥18 years with mild‐to‐severe psoriasis were randomized 4:4:1:1 to once‐daily Cal/BD foam, Cal/BD gel, foam vehicle or gel vehicle (NCT02132936). The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients who were clear/almost clear with a ≥ 2 grade improvement according to the physician's global assessment of disease severity (i.e. treatment success) at week 4 for Cal/BD foam vs. week 8 for Cal/BD gel. Secondary efficacy endpoints included: proportion of patients achieving at least a 75% reduction in modified psoriasis area and severity index (mPASI75), and time to treatment success (TTTS). Safety was monitored throughout.
Results
A total of 463 patients were randomized: Cal/BD foam (n = 185), Cal/BD gel (n = 188), foam vehicle (n = 47), gel vehicle (n = 43); overall completion rate was 90%. Cal/BD foam achieved higher treatment success rates (38% vs. 22%; P < 0.001) and mPASI75 (52% vs. 35%; P < 0.001) by week 4 than Cal/BD gel by week 8. Median TTTS with Cal/BD foam was 6 weeks; this could not be determined for Cal/BD gel as 50% treatment success was not achieved (P < 0.001). Adverse drug reactions were reported in 14 (7.6%) Cal/BD aerosol foam patients and 7 (3.7%) Cal/BD gel patients; all were single events except for itch with Cal/BD aerosol foam (n = 5; 2.7%) and worsening psoriasis with Cal/BD gel (n = 3; 1.6%).
Conclusion
Cal/BD aerosol foam showed significantly greater efficacy after 4 weeks, than 8 weeks of treatment with Cal/BD gel, with similar tolerability.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: Epidemiologic studies have linked fine particulate air pollution with cardiopulmonary mortality, yet underlying biologic mechanisms remain unknown. Changes in heart rate variability (HRV) ...may reflect changes in cardiac autonomic function and risk of sudden cardiac death. This study evaluated changes in mean heart rate and HRV in human beings associated with changes in exposure to particulate air pollution. Methods: Repeated ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring was conducted on 7 subjects for a total of 29 person-days before, during, and after episodes of elevated pollution. Mean HR, the standard deviation of normal-to-normal (NN) intervals (SDNN), the standard deviation of the averages of NN intervals in all 5-minute segments of the recording (SDANN), and the square root of the mean of squared differences between adjacent NN intervals (r-MSSD) were calculated for 24-hour and 6-hour time segments. Associations of HRV with particulate pollution levels were evaluated with fixed-effects regression models. Results: After controlling for differences across patients, elevated particulate levels were associated with (1) increased mean HR, (2) decreased SDNN, a measure of overall HRV, (3) decreased SDANN, a measure that corresponds to ultralow frequency variability, and (4) increased r-MSSD, a measure that corresponds to high-frequency variability. The associations between HRV and particulates were small but persisted even after controlling for mean HR. Conclusions: This study suggests that changes in cardiac autonomic function reflected by changes in mean HR and HRV may be part of the pathophysiologic mechanisms or pathways linking cardiovascular mortality and particulate air pollution. (Am Heart J 1999;138:890-9.)
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IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Monothiol glutaredoxins (mono-Grx) represent a highly evolutionarily conserved class of proteins present in organisms ranging from prokaryotes to humans. Mono-Grxs have been implicated in iron sulfur ...(FeS) cluster biosynthesis as potential scaffold proteins and in iron homeostasis via an FeS-containing complex with Fra2p (homologue of E. coli BolA) in yeast and are linked to signal transduction in mammalian systems. However, the function of the mono-Grx in prokaryotes and the nature of an interaction with BolA-like proteins have not been established. Recent genome-wide screens for E. coli genetic interactions reported the synthetic lethality (combination of mutations leading to cell death; mutation of only one of these genes does not) of a grxD mutation when combined with strains defective in FeS cluster biosynthesis (isc operon) functions Butland, G., et al. (2008) Nature Methods 5, 789–795. These data connected the only E. coli mono-Grx, GrxD to a potential role in FeS cluster biosynthesis. We investigated GrxD to uncover the molecular basis of this synthetic lethality and observed that GrxD can form FeS-bound homodimeric and BolA containing heterodimeric complexes. These complexes display substantially different spectroscopic and functional properties, including the ability to act as scaffold proteins for intact FeS cluster transfer to the model 2Fe-2S acceptor protein E. coli apo-ferredoxin (Fdx), with the homodimer being significantly more efficient. In this work, we functionally dissect the potential cellular roles of GrxD as a component of both homodimeric and heterodimeric complexes to ultimately uncover if either of these complexes performs functions linked to FeS cluster biosynthesis.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Consumers have difficulty understanding alcoholic units and low risk drinking guidelines (LRDG). Labelling may improve comprehension. The aims of this rapid evidence review were to establish the ...effectiveness of on-bottle labelling for (i) improving comprehension of health risks; (ii) improving comprehension of unit and/or standard drink information and/or LRDG, and (iii) reducing self-reported intentions to drink/actual drinking.
Electronic database searches were carried out (January 2008-November 2018 inclusive). Papers were included if they were: published in English; from an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development country; an experimental/quasi-experimental design. Papers were assessed for quality using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment tool. Ten papers were included. Most studies were moderate quality (n = 7).
Five themes emerged: comprehension of health risks; self-reported drinking intentions; comprehension of unit/standard drink information and/or LRDG; outcome expectancies; and label attention. Labelling can improve awareness, particularly of health harms, but is unlikely to change behaviour. Improved comprehension was greatest for labels with unit information and LRDG.
Alcohol labelling can be effective in improving people's comprehension of the health risks involved in drinking alcohol enabling them to make informed consumption decisions, and perhaps thereby provide a route to changing behaviour. Thus, effective alcohol labelling is an intervention that can be added to the broader suite of policy options. That being said, the literature reviewed here suggests that the specific format of the label matters, so careful consideration must be given to the design and placement of labels.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We have launched into near-Earth orbit a solar mass-ejection imager (SMEI) that is capable of measuring sunlight Thomson-scattered from heliospheric electrons from elongations to as close as 18^sup ^ ...to greater than 90^sup ^ from the Sun. SMEI is designed to observe time-varying heliospheric brightness of objects such as coronal mass ejections, co-rotating structures and shock waves. The instrument evolved from the heliospheric imaging capability demonstrated by the zodiacal light photometers of the Helios spacecraft. A near-Earth imager can provide up to three days warning of the arrival of a mass ejection from the Sun. In combination with other imaging instruments in deep space, or alone by making some simple assumptions about the outward flow of the solar wind, SMEI can provide a three-dimensional reconstruction of the surrounding heliospheric density structures.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We have surveyed the 60.1-10 MeV nucleon super(-1) abundances of heavy ions from super(3)He through Fe in 64 large solar energetic particle (LSEP) events observed on board the Advanced Composition ...Explorer from 1997 November through 2005 January. Our main results are (1) the 0.5-2.0 MeV nucleon super(-1) super(3)He/ super(4)He ratio is enhanced between factors of 62-150 over the solar wind value in 29 (646%) events. (2) The Fe/O ratio in most LSEP events decreases with increasing energy up to 660 MeV nucleon super(-1). (3) The Fe/O ratio is independent of CME speed, flare longitude, event size, the super(3)He/ super(4)He ratio, the pre-event Fe/O ratio, and solar activity. (4) The LSEP abundances exhibit unsystematic behavior as a function of M/Q ratio when compared with average solar wind values. (5) The survey-averaged abundances are enhanced with increasing M/Q ratio when compared with quiet coronal values and with average gradual SEP abundances obtained at 5-12 MeV nucleon super(-1). (6) The event-to-event variations in LSEP events are remarkably similar to those seen in CME-driven IP shocks and in super(3)He-rich SEP events. The above results cannot be explained by simply invoking the current paradigm for large gradual SEP events, i.e., that CME-driven shocks accelerate a seed population dominated by ambient coronal or solar wind ions. Instead, we suggest that the systematic M/Q-dependent enhancements in LSEP events are an inherent property of a highly variable suprathermal seed population, most of which is accelerated by mechanisms that produce heavy-ion abundances similar to those observed in impulsive SEP events. This heavy-ion-enriched material is subsequently accelerated at CME-driven shocks near the Sun by processes in which ions with higher M/Q ratios are accelerated less efficiently, thus causing the Fe/O ratios to decrease with increasing energy.
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