To evaluate in the follow-up the sensory-motor recovery and quality of life patients 2 months after completion of the Nintendo Wii console intervention and determine whether learning retention was ...obtained through the technique.
Five hemiplegics patients participated in the study, of whom 3 were male with an average age of 54.8 years (SD = 4.6). Everyone practiced Nintendo Wii therapy for 2 months (50 minutes/day, 2 times/week, during 16 sessions). Each session lasting 60 minutes, under a protocol in which only the games played were changed, plus 10 minutes of stretching. In the first session, tennis and hula hoop games were used; in the second session, football (soccer) and boxing were used. For the evaluation, the Fulg-Meyer and Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36) scales were utilized. The patients were immediately evaluated upon the conclusion of the intervention and 2 months after the second evaluation (follow-up).
Values for the upper limb motor function sub-items and total score in the Fugl–Meyer scale evaluation and functional capacity in the SF-36 questionnaire were sustained, indicating a possible maintenance of the therapeutic effects.
The results suggest that after Nintendo Wii therapy, patients had motor learning retention, achieving a sustained benefit through the technique.
We have analyzed limb daytime observations of Titan's upper atmosphere at 3.3 μm, acquired by the visual‐infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) on Cassini. They were previously studied by García‐Comas ...et al. (2011) to derive CH4 densities. Here, we report an unidentified emission peaking around 3.28 μm, hidden under the methane R branch. This emission is very strong, with intensity comparable to the CH4 bands located in the same spectral region. It presents a maximum at about 950 km and extends from 600 km up to 1250 km. It is definitely pumped by solar radiation since it vanishes at night. Our analysis shows that neither methane nor the major hydrocarbon compounds already discovered in Titan's upper atmosphere are responsible for it. We have discarded many other potential candidates and suggest that the unidentified emission might be caused by aromatic compounds.
Key Points
We observe an unknown emission in VIMS spectra of Titan's upper atmosphere
The feature is persistent, very strong, present at daytime and peaks at 950 km
Not caused by known Titan gases, aromatic hydrocarbons are likely carriers
.
The JUNO mission, launched on August 2011 with the goal of investigating the origin and evolution of Jupiter, reached Jupiter in July 2016. The months preceding the JUNO orbit insertion have been ...crucial for all the instrument teams to check the status and working abilities of the respective experiments. JIRAM (Jupiter Infrared Auroral Mapper), with its imager and slit spectrometer operating over the 2-5μm spectral range will attempt to reveal the deep atmospheric composition --3 to 7 bars-- in hot spots, to analyze the infrared auroral emissions of the H
3
+
molecules ionized by the Jovian magnetosphere currents and to detect the morphology and vertical structure of the clouds. Many different processing tools are in preparation to exploit the incoming JIRAM data. Here some results pertaining to the image quality optimization and the visualizations that can be obtained from the spectrometer data management are reported.
The electromagnetic coupling between the Galilean satellites at Jupiter and the planetary ionosphere generates an auroral footprint, which is detected with high spatial resolution in the infrared L ...band by the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) onboard the Juno spacecraft. We report the JIRAM data acquired since 27 August 2016 until 23 May 2022, which are used to compute the average position of the footprint tracks of Io, Europa and Ganymede. The result of the present analysis help to test the reliability of magnetic field models, to calibrate ground‐based observations and to highlight the variability in the footprint positions, which can be used to probe the plasma environment at the orbit of the satellites. The determination of the plasma properties around the moons is particularly relevant to complement the Juno flybys of the moons during its extended mission, and to support the future Juice and Europa Clipper missions. Lastly, we report no clear evidence of the auroral footprint of Callisto, which is likely due to a combination of its low expected brightness and its position very close to the main Jovian aurora.
Plain Language Summary
The Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper onboard the Juno spacecraft around Jupiter has now been gathering 6 years of observations. Here, we report the position of the auroral infrared emission associated with the orbital motion of Io, Europa and Ganymede. The position of this emission ‐ called footprint ‐ carries information on the magnetic field geometry and the distribution of charged particles along the magnetic field. Therefore, the footprint tracks provided here can be used to test and constrain magnetic field models, and to improve the calibration of ground based observations of Jupiter: this can help better understand the source region of the main Jovian aurora and its variations. Lastly, by surveying the data acquired over 40 Juno orbits, we point out variations in the footprint position, which reflect the variability in the plasma conditions near the moons: this monitoring may help determine the mass loading of the magnetosphere, which affects the intensity of the main aurora. The possibility of investigating the plasma environment at the orbit of the satellites is important to complement the satellite flybys performed during the extended mission of Juno and to support the future Juice and Europa Clipper missions, which are dedicated to the Galilean moons.
Key Points
The position of the Io, Europa and Ganymede footprints based on Juno‐JIRAM observations are reported with unprecedented spatial resolution
The positions of the footprints support the Juno‐based magnetic field models and the calibration of ground‐based observation
The transversal shift of the Ganymede footprint suggests variations of the plasmadisk; the shift appears to be correlated with local time
We present multiwavelength measurements of the thermal, chemical, and cloud contrasts associated with the visibly dark formations (also known as 5‐μm hot spots) and intervening bright plumes on the ...boundary between Jupiter's Equatorial Zone (EZ) and North Equatorial Belt (NEB). Observations made by the TEXES 5‐ to 20‐μm spectrometer at the Gemini North Telescope in March 2017 reveal the upper‐tropospheric properties of 12 hot spots, which are directly compared to measurements by Juno using the microwave radiometer (MWR), JIRAM at 5 μm, and JunoCam visible images. MWR and thermal‐infrared spectroscopic results are consistent near 0.7 bar. Mid‐infrared‐derived aerosol opacity is consistent with that inferred from visible‐albedo and 5‐μm opacity maps. Aerosol contrasts, the defining characteristics of the cloudy plumes and aerosol‐depleted hot spots, are not a good proxy for microwave brightness. The hot spots are neither uniformly warmer nor ammonia‐depleted compared to their surroundings at p<1 bar. At 0.7 bar, the microwave brightness at the edges of hot spots is comparable to other features within the NEB. Conversely, hot spots are brighter at 1.5 bar, signifying either warm temperatures and/or depleted NH3 at depth. Temperatures and ammonia are spatially variable within the hot spots, so the precise location of the observations matters to their interpretation. Reflective plumes sometimes have enhanced NH3, cold temperatures, and elevated aerosol opacity, but each plume appears different. Neither plumes nor hot spots had microwave signatures in channels sensing p>10 bars, suggesting that the hot spot/plume wave is a relatively shallow feature.
Plain Language Summary
To date, our only direct measurement of Jupiter's gaseous composition came from the descent of the Galileo probe in 1995. However, the results from Galileo appeared to be biased due to the unusual meteorological conditions of its entry location: a dark, cloud‐free region just north of the equator, known as a hot spot. One of the aims of NASA's Juno mission was to place the findings of the Galileo probe into broader context, which requires a detailed characterization of these equatorial hot spots and their neighboring plumes. We combine (a) data from Juno (microwave observations sounding conditions below the clouds and visible/infrared observations revealing variations in cloud opacity) with (b) observations from amateur observers (to track the hot spots over time) and (c) observations from the TEXES infrared spectrometer mounted on the Gemini‐North telescope. The latter provides the highest‐resolution thermal maps of Jupiter's tropics ever obtained and reveals contrasts within and between the individual hot spots and plumes. We find that the hot spots are distinguishable from their surroundings for relatively shallow pressures but that the deep measurements from Juno and Galileo are probably more representative of Jupiter's North Equatorial Belt than previously thought.
Key Points
Gemini TEXES spectral mapping reveals temperature, aerosol, and ammonia contrasts associated with plumes and hot spots on Jupiter's NEB jetstream
Juno microwave measurements are consistent with the infrared mapping and reveals that hot spot ammonia contrasts are confined to pressures less than 8–10 bars
Hot spots and plumes are primarily contrasts in aerosols, with only subtle upper‐tropospheric ammonia and temperature variations
► We present the first concentration retrieval of HCN by Cassini-VIMS limb observations of the Titan upper atmosphere. ► HCN is thought to play an important role in the chemistry and in determining ...the thermal structure of Titan’s thermosphere. ► A model for non-LTE HCN emission in Titan atmospheric condition has been developed for the purpose.
Cassini/VIMS limb observations have been used to retrieve vertical profiles of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) from its 3
μm emission in the region from 600 to 1100
km altitude at daytime. While the daytime emission is large up to about 1100
km, it vanishes at nighttime at very low altitudes, suggesting that the daytime emission originates under non-LTE conditions. The spectrally integrated radiances around 3.0
μm shows a monotonically decrease with tangent altitude, and a slight increase with solar zenith angle in the 40–80° interval around 800
km.
A sophisticated non-LTE model of HCN energy levels has been developed in order to retrieve the HCN abundance. The population of the HCN 0
0
0
1 energy level, that contributes mostly to the 3.0
μm limb radiance, has been shown to change significantly with the solar zenith angle (SZA) and HCN abundance. Also its population varies with the collisional rate coefficients, whose uncertainties induced errors in the retrieved HCN of about 10% at 600–800
km and about 5% above. HCN concentrations have been retrieved from a set of spectra profiles, covering a wide range of latitudes and solar zenith angles, by applying a line-by-line inversion code. The results show a significant atmospheric variability above ∼800
km with larger values for weaker solar illumination. The HCN shows a very good correlation with solar zenith angles, irrespective of latitude and local time, suggesting that HCN at these high altitudes is in or close to photochemical equilibrium. A comparison with UVS and UVIS measurements show that these are close to the lower limit (smaller SZAs) of the VIMS observations above 750
km. However, they are in reasonable agreement when combining the rather large UV measurement errors and the atmospheric variability observed in VIMS. A comparison of the mean profile derived here with the widely used profile reported by Yelle and Griffith (Yelle R.V., Griffith, C.A. 2003. Icarus 166, 107–115) shows a good agreement for altitudes ranging from 850 to 1050
km, while below these altitudes our result exhibits higher concentrations.
The spatial distribution of water, ammonia, phosphine, germane, and arsine in the Jupiter's troposphere has been inferred from the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) Juno data. Measurements allow ...us to retrieve the vertically averaged concentration of gases between ~3 and 5 bars from infrared‐bright spectra. Results were used to create latitudinal profiles. The water vapor relative humidity varies with latitude from <1% to over 15%. At intermediate latitudes (30–70°) the water vapor maxima are associated with the location of cyclonic belts, as inferred from mean zonal wind profiles (Porco et al., 2003). The high‐latitude regions (beyond 60°) are drier in the north (mean relative humidity around 2–3%) than the south, where humidity reaches 15% around the pole. The ammonia volume mixing ratio varies from 1 × 10−4 to 4 × 10−4. A marked minimum exists around 10°N, while data suggest an increase over the equator. The high‐latitude regions are different in the two hemispheres, with a gradual increase in the south and more constant values with latitude in the north. The phosphine volume mixing ratio varies from 4 × 10−7 to 10 × 10−7. A marked minimum exists in the North Equatorial Belt. For latitudes poleward 30°S and 30°N, the northern hemisphere appears richer in phosphine, with a decrease toward the pole, while the opposite is observed in the south. JIRAM data indicate an increase of germane volume mixing ratio from 2 × 10−10 to 8 × 10−10 from both poles to 15°S, with a depletion centered around the equator. Arsine presents the opposite trend, with maximum values of 6 × 10−10 at the two poles and minima below 1 × 10−10 around 20°S.
Key Points
Horizontal variations of gases are dominated by latitudinal components; longitudinal variations are relatively more important for water
Phosphine and germane abundances fit well the model of disequilibrium species transported upward from deep troposphere by vertical mixing
Strong upturn of arsine at polar latitudes seen by JIRAM cannot be explained by the diffusion‐kinetics model
We present here methods developed for the retrieval of air temperature profiles in the Venusian mesosphere from the absolute radiances measured by the Visual and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer ...(VIRTIS) on board the Venus Express satellite. The infrared M channel of the instrument acquires multispectral images between 1000 and 5000 nm. In nighttime measurements, radiance in the range 3800–5000 nm is dominated by the thermal emission and absorption by the clouds and carbon dioxide. Since the latter is the main atmospheric component, it is possible to exploit the strong variability of its opacity in this spectral range, as resolved by the instrument, to reconstruct the vertical air temperature profile as a function of pressure. In this context we decided to adopt the Twomey et al. (1977) relaxation scheme. The resulting code was extensively tested on a set of simulated VIRTIS‐M data. Comparison of the known input conditions with the results of analysis code allowed us to evaluate the systematic and random errors affecting the retrievals procedures on a statistical basis. The code returns the vertical air temperature profile with an uncertainty of less than 1 K in the region between 70 and 7 mbar (66 and 77 km above the reference surface) and less than 4 K throughout the entire range 100–0.1 mbar (64–95 km). Finally, we present the first examples of the code applied to actual measured Venusian data, demonstrating its capability to achieve a satisfactory modeling of the observations and provide physically reasonable results.
Eight years ago (2007), the distribution and status of Acropora palmata was quantified throughout Los Roques archipelago in Venezuela. The aim was to produce a baseline study for this species which ...combined population genetics with demographic data. The results highlighted that A. palmata had the potential to recover in at least 6 out of 10 sites surveyed. Recovery potential was assumed to be high at sites with a relatively high abundance of the coral, low disease prevalence, high genetic diversity, and high rates of sexual reproduction. However, as noted, Zubillaga et al. (2008) realized recovery was still strongly dependent on local and regional stressors. In 2014 (this study), the status of A. palmata was re-evaluated at Los Roques. We increased the number of sites from 10 in the original baseline study to 106. This allowed us to assess the population status throughout the entirety of the MPA. Furthermore, we also identified local threats that may have hindered population recovery. Here, we show that A. palmata now has a relatively restricted distribution throughout the park, only occurring in 15% of the sites surveyed. Large stands of old dead colonies were common throughout the archipelago; a result which demonstrates that this species has lost almost 50% of its original distribution over the past decades. The majority of corals recorded were large adults (∼2 m height), suggesting that these older colonies might be less susceptible or more resilient to local and global threats. However, 45% of these surviving colonies showed evidence of partial mortality and degradation of living tissues. Interestingly, the greatest increase in partial mortality occurred at sites with the lowest levels of protection (Formula: see text; df = 4, p < 0.05). This may suggest there is a positive role of small scale marine management in assisting reef recovery. We also recorded a significant reduction (Formula: see text; df = 8; p < 0.05) in the density of A. palmata in sites that had previously been categorized as having a high potential for recovery. One explanation for this continued decline may be due to the fact that over the past 10 years, two massive bleaching events have occurred throughout the Caribbean with records showing that Los Roques has experienced unprecedented declines in overall coral cover. We therefore conclude that although local protection could promote recovery, the impacts from global threats such as ocean warming may hamper the recovery of this threatened species.
The Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) onboard the NASA Juno mission monitored the evolution of Jupiter’s polar cyclones since their first observation ever in February 2017. Data acquired by ...JIRAM have revealed cloudy cyclones organized in a complex, yet stable geometrical pattern at both poles. Several studies have investigated the dynamics and the structure of these cyclones, to understand the physical mechanisms behind their formation and evolution. In this work, we present vorticity maps deduced from the wind fields for the region poleward of ∼−80°, which has been extensively covered over the last four years of observations. The cyclonic features related to the stable polar cyclones are embedded in a slightly, but diffused anticyclonic circulation, in which short‐living anticyclones emerge with respect to the surroundings. Although the general stability of both the cyclones and the whole system is strongly confirmed by this work, variations in the shape of the vortices, as well as changes in the local structures, have been observed.
Plain Language Summary
The Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper is the instrument onboard the NASA Juno spacecraft that has provided observations of Jupiter’s poles since February 2017. These data have shown cyclones organized in snowflake‐like structures. The Jupiter’s polar cyclones are long‐lasting features, which did not disappear or merge during 4 years of observations. In general, the analysis of the winds is important in the study of the cyclones. In this work, we focus on the vorticity, a quantity derived by the winds, that gives information on the magnitude and direction of the rotation of the cyclones. We focused on the southern polar region, which has a better coverage in time, with respect to the northern counterpart. The general pattern of the southern polar cyclones is preserved along the observations.
Key Points
The vorticity field of Jupiter’s southern polar cyclones is evaluated for different orbits
The temporal variability of the vorticity field of the central polar cyclone is analyzed
We found extremely long stability of the morphology of circumpolar cyclones both in terms of clouds and winds
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