Recent high-resolution observations from the
Solar Dynamics Observatory
(SDO) have reawakened interest in the old and fascinating phenomenon of solar tornado-like prominences. This class of ...prominences was first introduced by Pettit (
Astrophys. J.
76
, 9,
1932
), who studied them over many years. Observations of tornado prominences similar to the ones seen by SDO had already been documented by Secchi (
Le Soleil
,
1877
). High-resolution and high-cadence multiwavelength data obtained by SDO reveal that the tornado-like appearance of these prominences is mainly an illusion due to projection effects. We discuss two different cases where prominences on the limb might appear to have a tornado-like behavior. One case of apparent vortical motions in prominence spines and barbs arises from the (mostly) 2D counterstreaming plasma motion along the prominence spine and barbs together with oscillations along individual threads. The other case of apparent rotational motion is observed in a prominence cavity and results from the 3D plasma motion along the writhed magnetic fields inside and along the prominence cavity as seen projected on the limb. Thus, the “tornado” impression results either from counterstreaming and oscillations or from the projection on the plane of the sky of plasma motion along magnetic-field lines, rather than from a true vortical motion around an (apparent) vertical or horizontal axis. We discuss the link between tornado-like prominences, filament barbs, and photospheric vortices at their base.
We demonstrate that major asymmetries in erupting filaments and CMEs, namely major twists and non-radial motions are typically related to the larger-scale ambient environment around eruptive events. ...Our analysis of prominence eruptions observed by the STEREO, SDO, and SOHO spacecraft shows that prominence spines retain, during the initial phases, the thin ribbon-like topology they had prior to the eruption. This topology allows bending, rolling, and twisting during the early phase of the eruption, but not before. The combined ascent and initial bending of the filament ribbon is non-radial in the same general direction as for the enveloping CME. However, the non-radial motion of the filament is greater than that of the CME. In considering the global magnetic environment around CMEs, as approximated by the Potential Field Source Surface (PFSS) model, we find that the non-radial propagation of both erupting filaments and associated CMEs is correlated with the presence of nearby coronal holes, which deflect the erupting plasma and embedded fields. In addition, CME and filament motions, respectively, are guided towards weaker field regions, namely null points existing at different heights in the overlying configuration. Due to the presence of the coronal hole, the large-scale forces acting on the CME may be asymmetric. We find that the CME propagates usually non-radially in the direction of least resistance, which is always away from the coronal hole. We demonstrate these results using both low- and high-latitude examples.
A paradigm shift is taking place in the conception of solar cycles. In the previous conception, the changing numbers of sunspots over intervals of 9–14 years have been regarded as the fundamental ...solar cycle although two average 11-year cycles were necessary to account for the complete magnetic cycle. In the revised picture, sunspots are a phase in the middle of two 22-year overlapping solar cycles that operate continuously with clock-like precision. More than 20 researchers have contributed to the initial research articles from 2014 through 2021 which are dramatically altering the perception of solar cycles. The two 22-year cycles overlap in time by 11 years. This overlap is coincidentally the same average duration as the sunspot phase in each 22-year cycle. This coincidence and the relative lack of knowledge of the large numbers of small active regions without sunspots is what led to the previous paradigm in which the 11-year sunspot phases were misinterpreted as a single fundamental solar cycle. The combination of the two 22-year solar cycles, with their large numbers of short-lived active regions and ephemeral active regions are now understood to be the fundamental cycle with the proposed name “The Hale Solar Cycle.” The two 22-year solar cycles each occupy separate but adjacent bands in latitude. The orientations of the majority of bipolar magnetic regions in the two adjacent bands differ from each other by ∼180°. Both bands continuously drift from higher to lower latitudes as has been known for sunspot cycles. However, the polarity reversal occurs at the start of each 22-year cycle and at higher latitudes than it does for the sunspot cycles. This paradigm shift in the concept of solar cycles has resulted in major reconsiderations of additional topics on solar cycles in this review. These are 1) the large role of ephemeral active regions in the origin of solar cycles, 2) the depth of the origin of active regions and sunspots, 3) the mechanisms of how areas of unipolar magnetic network migrate to the solar poles every 11 years, and 4) the nature of the polarity reversal in alternate 22-year cycles rather than 11-year cycles.
IMPORTANCE: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected youth mental health. Increases in site-specific eating disorder (ED) care have been documented; however, multisite studies demonstrating national trends ...are lacking. OBJECTIVE: To compare the number of adolescent/young adult patients seeking inpatient and outpatient ED care before and after onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Using an observational case series design, changes in volume in inpatient and outpatient ED-related care across 15 member sites (14 geographically diverse hospital-based adolescent medicine programs and 1 nonhospital-based ED program) of the US National Eating Disorder Quality Improvement Collaborative was examined. Sites reported monthly volumes of patients seeking inpatient and outpatient ED care between January 2018 and December 2021. Patient volumes pre- and postpandemic onset were compared separately for inpatient and outpatient settings. Demographic data such as race and ethnicity were not collected because this study used monthly summary data. EXPOSURES: Onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Monthly number of patients seeking inpatient/outpatient ED-related care. RESULTS: Aggregate total inpatient ED admissions were 81 in January 2018 and 109 in February 2020. Aggregate total new outpatient assessments were 195 in January 2018 and 254 in February 2020. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the relative number of pooled inpatient ED admissions were increasing over time by 0.7% per month (95% CI, 0.2%-1.3%). After onset of the pandemic, there was a significant increase in admissions over time of 7.2% per month (95% CI, 4.8%-9.7%) through April 2021, then a decrease of 3.6% per month (95% CI, −6.0% to −1.1%) through December 2021. Prepandemic, pooled data showed relative outpatient ED assessment volume was stable over time, with an immediate 39.7% decline (95% CI, −50.4% to −26.7%) in April 2020. Subsequently, new assessments increased by 8.1% (95% CI, 5.3%-11.1%) per month through April 2021, then decreased by 1.5% per month (95% CI, −3.6% to 0.7%) through December 2021. The nonhospital-based ED program did not demonstrate a significant increase in the absolute number of admissions after onset of the pandemic but did see a significant increase of 8.2 (95% CI, 6.2-10.2) additional inquiries for care per month in the first year after onset of the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, there was a significant COVID-19 pandemic-related increase in both inpatient and outpatient volume of patients with EDs across sites, particularly in the first year of the pandemic. Given inadequate ED care availability prior to the pandemic, the increased postpandemic demand will likely outstrip available resources. Results highlight the need to address ED workforce and program capacity issues as well as improve ED prevention strategies.
Interleukin-8 (IL8) is a chemokine produced by malignant cells of multiple cancer types. It exerts various functions in shaping protumoral vascularization and inflammation/immunity. We evaluated ...sequential levels of serum IL8 in preclinical tumor models and in patients to assess its ability to estimate tumor burden.
IL8 levels were monitored by sandwich ELISAs in cultured tumor cells supernatants, tumor-xenografted mice serum, and in samples from 126 patients with cancer. We correlated IL8 serum levels with baseline tumor burden and with treatment-induced changes in tumor burden, as well as with prognosis.
IL8 concentrations correlated with the number of IL8-producing tumor cells in culture. In xenografted neoplasms, IL8 serum levels rapidly dropped after surgical excision, indicating an accurate correlation with tumor burden. In patients with melanoma (n = 16), renal cell carcinoma (RCC; n = 23), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; n = 21), or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; n = 30), serum IL8 concentrations correlated with tumor burden and stage, survival (melanoma, n = 16; RCC, n = 23; HCC, n = 33), and objective responses to therapy, including those to BRAF inhibitors (melanoma, n = 16) and immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies (melanoma, n = 8). IL8 concentrations in urine (n = 18) were mainly elevated in tumors with direct contact with the urinary tract.
IL8 levels correlate with tumor burden in preclinical models and in patients with cancer. IL8 is a potentially useful biomarker to monitor changes in tumor burden following anticancer therapy, and has prognostic significance.
Aim: One of the planet's most imposing geomorphological features, the Andes, played an important role in the evolution of South America's flora and fauna. The bothriurid scorpion genus ...Brachistosternus Pocock, 1893 comprises more than 40 species with high diversity and endemism in the Andes. The present contribution investigates the biogeographical history of this genus using molecular phylogenetics and dating, to determine the role of Andean uplift on the distribution and diversification of its species. Location: South America. Methods: A dated species tree was obtained for 55 putative species based on two nuclear and three mitochondrial gene loci. Ancestral ranges and biogeographical events were estimated on the species tree, diversification rates and rate shifts calculated, and areas with high phylogenetic diversity (PD) and evolutionary distinctiveness identified. Results: Brachistosternus diversified at a steady rate during the main Andean uplift. The central Andean and western slope/Pacific coastal biogeographical provinces played important roles as ancestral areas. Coastal areas of central Chile and southern Peru exhibit high levels of PD in Brachistosternus, suggesting they experienced a relatively long period of ecological stability, while the Andes continued to rise. Main conclusions: Andean uplift created new habitats and climate regimes, favouring speciation in genera such as Brachistosternus. Coastal areas to the west of the Andes continued to harbour older lineages while accommodating more recently diverged lineages from the nearby Andes.
Targeted therapies, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy are used to treat patients with mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal cancer. The clinical ...effectiveness of targeted therapy and chemotherapy is limited by resistance and drug toxicities, and about half of patients receiving immunotherapy have disease that is refractory to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Loss of Werner syndrome ATP-dependent helicase (WRN) is a synthetic lethality in dMMR/MSI-H cells. To inform the development of WRN as a therapeutic target, we performed WRN knockout or knockdown in 60 heterogeneous dMMR colorectal cancer preclinical models, demonstrating that WRN dependency is an almost universal feature and a robust marker for patient selection. Furthermore, models of resistance to clinically relevant targeted therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy retain WRN dependency. These data show the potential of therapeutically targeting WRN in patients with dMMR/MSI-H colorectal cancer and support WRN as a therapeutic option for patients with dMMR/MSI-H cancers refractory to current treatment strategies. SIGNIFICANCE: We found that a large, diverse set of dMMR/MSI-H colorectal cancer preclinical models, including models of treatment-refractory disease, are WRN-dependent. Our results support WRN as a promising synthetic-lethal target in dMMR/MSI-H colorectal cancer tumors as a monotherapy or in combination with targeted agents, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy.
.
Abstract Purpose Previous research has indicated that patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) or atypical AN with premorbid history of overweight/obesity have greater weight loss and longer illness ...duration than patients with no such history. However, little is known about the association of premorbid overweight/obesity and receiving inpatient medical care during treatment for an eating disorder. Methods Using logistic regression, we sought to determine if history of overweight/obesity was associated with receiving inpatient medical care in a sample of 522 patients (mean age 15.5 years, 88% female) with AN/atypical AN. Results Binary results demonstrated greater percent weight loss (27.4% vs. 16.2%) and higher percent median body mass index (%mBMI, 99.8% vs. 85.2%) at presentation in those with a history of overweight/obesity ( p < .001) but no difference in duration of illness ( p = .09). In models adjusted for demographics and percent weight loss, history of overweight/obesity was associated with lower odds of receiving inpatient medical care (odds ratio .60 95% confidence interval: .45–.80) at 1-year follow-up. However, these associations were no longer significant after adjusting for %mBMI. Mediation results suggest that %mBMI fully mediates the relationship between history of overweight/obesity and inpatient medical care, in that those with a history of overweight/obesity are less likely to receive care due to presenting at a higher weight. Conclusions Our findings suggest that, despite greater degree of weight loss and no difference in duration of illness, participants with a history of overweight/obesity are less likely to receive inpatient medical care.
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•A molecular phylogeny of southernmost neotropical buthids is presented.•The Andes served as a corridor for Tityus of the bolivianus group.•Marine ingressions split Andean and lowland ...clades of Tityus of bolivianus group.•Chacoan buthids followed a north to south Chaco-Cerrado-Caatingas corridor.•A Paleogene-African ingression route is proposed for the American buthids.
A dated molecular phylogeny of the southernmost American species of the family Buthidae, based on two nuclear and two mitochondrial genes, is presented. Based on this study, analyzed species of the subgenus Tityus (Archaeotityus) are neither sister to the remaining species of the genus Tityus, nor are they closely related to the New World microbuthids with decreasing neobothriotaxy. Analyzed species of the subgenus Tityus do not form a monophyletic group. Based on ancestral area estimation analyses, known geoclimatic events of the region and comparisons to the diversification processes of other epigean groups from the area, a generalized hypothesis about the patterns of historical colonization processes of the family Buthidae in southern South America is presented. Furthermore, for the first time, a Paleogene-African ingression route for the colonization of America by the family Buthidae is proposed as a plausible hypothesis.
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