Context. Observations of rapidly rotating M dwarfs show a broad variety of large-scale magnetic fields encompassing dipole-dominated and multipolar geometries. In dynamo models, the relative ...importance of inertia in the force balance, which is quantified by the local Rossby number, is known to have a strong impact on the magnetic field geometry. Aims. We aim to assess the relevance of the local Rossby number in controlling the large-scale magnetic field geometry of M dwarfs. Methods. We have explored the similarities between anelastic dynamo models in spherical shells and observations of active M-dwarfs, focusing on field geometries derived from spectropolarimetric studies. To do so, we constructed observation-based quantities aimed to reflect the diagnostic parameters employed in numerical models. Results. The transition between dipole-dominated and multipolar large-scale fields in early to mid M dwarfs is tentatively attributed to a Rossby number threshold. We interpret late M dwarfs magnetism to result from a dynamo bistability occurring at low Rossby number. By analogy with numerical models, we expect different amplitudes of differential rotation on the two dynamo branches.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of curcumin on Survivin/BIRC5 and on the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation in Survivin/ ...BIRC5. We incubated two pancreatic cancer cell lines with different amounts of curcumin. This resulted in a downregulation of proliferation in all cell lines tested. The expression of Survivin/BIRC5 on mRNA and protein level was significantly downregulated and the phosphorylation of STAT3 was blocked. Treatment of pancreatic cancer cells with curcumin resulted in an induction of apoptosis. The results indicate that curcumin inhibits several key factors in cancer cellular pathways and may be of interest in pancreatic cancer.
The ongoing NASA's Juno mission puts new constraints on the internal dynamics of Jupiter. Data gathered by its onboard magnetometer reveal a dipole-dominated surface magnetic field accompanied by ...strong localised magnetic flux patches. The gravity measurements indicate that the fierce surface zonal jets extend several thousands of kilometers below the cloud level before rapidly decaying below 0.94 − 0.96RJ, RJ being the mean Jovian radius at the one bar level. Jupiter's internal structure can be grossly decomposed in two parts: (i) an outer layer filled with a mixture of molecular hydrogen and helium where the zonal flows are thought to be driven; (ii) an inner region where hydrogen becomes metallic and dynamo action is expected to sustain the magnetic field. Several internal models however suggest a more intricate structure with a thin intermediate region in which helium would segregate from hydrogen, forming a compositionally-stratified layer. Here, we develop the first global Jovian dynamo which incorporates an intermediate stably-stratified layer between 0.82RJ and 0.86RJ. Using much lower diffusivities than previous models enables us to more clearly separate the dynamics of the metallic core and the molecular envelope. Analysing the energy balance reveals that magnetic energy is almost one order of magnitude larger than kinetic energy in the metallic region, while most of the kinetic energy is pumped into zonal motions in the molecular envelope. Those result from the different underlying force hierarchy with a triple balance between Lorentz, Archimedean and ageostrophic Coriolis forces in the metallic core and inertia, buoyancy and ageostrophic Coriolis forces controlling the external layers. The simulation presented here is the first to demonstrate that multiple zonal jets and dipole-dominated dynamo action can be consolidated in a global simulation. The inclusion of a stable layer is a necessary ingredient that allows zonal jets to develop in the outer envelope without contributing to the dynamo action in the deeper metallic region. Stable stratification however also smooths out the small-scale features of the magnetic field by skin effect, yielding a too-dipolar surface field as compared to the observations. These constraints suggest that possible stable layers in Jupiter should be located much closer to the surface (0.9 − 0.95RJ).
► Anelastic dynamo benchmark solutions have been proposed. ► Valid for convection driven compressible dynamos in spherical geometry. ► Four different codes have been tested, and good numerical ...agreement found. ► Codes used to explore interior dynamics of giant planets and rotating stars. ► The benchmarks form a reference standard for testing newly developed anelastic codes.
Benchmark solutions for fully nonlinear anelastic compressible convection and dynamo action in a rotating spherical shell are proposed. Three benchmarks are specified. The first is a purely hydrodynamic case, which is steady in a uniformly drifting frame. The second is a self-excited saturated dynamo solution, also steady in a drifting frame. The third is again a self-excited dynamo but is unsteady in time, and it has a higher Rayleigh number than the steady dynamo benchmark. Four independent codes have been tested against these benchmarks, and very satisfactory agreement has been found. This provides an accurate reference standard against which new anelastic codes can be tested.
The outer areas of Jupiter and Saturn have multiple zonal winds, reaching the high latitudes, that penetrate deep into the planets' interiors, as suggested by gravity measurements. These ...characteristics are replicable in numerical simulations by including both a shallow stably stratified layer, below a convecting envelope, and increasing electrical conductivity. A dipolar magnetic field, assumed to be generated by a dynamo below our model, is imposed. We find that the winds' depth into the stratified layer depends on the local product of the squared magnetic field strength and electrical conductivity. The key for the drop‐off of the zonal winds is a meridional circulation which perturbs the density structure in the stable layer. In the stable region its dynamics is governed by a balance between Coriolis and electromagnetic forces. Our models suggest that a stable layer extending into weakly conducting regions could account for the observed deep zonal wind structures.
Plain Language Summary
Jupiter and Saturn's atmospheres display persistent east‐west zonal jets, similar to Earth. These jets, extending 2,500–3,000 km and 8,000–9,000 km into Jupiter and Saturn's interiors respectively, have been challenging to simulate. Current numerical models struggle to replicate multiple jets, spanning all latitudes and their decay at the depths inferred from gravity measurements. This study explores the hypothesis that a stably stratified layer, located at the transition to a semi‐conducting region, allows the generation of mid‐latitude zonal winds and their damping at depth. Using 3D numerical simulations, we model the outer 30% of the planets where the upper part convects and the lower part is stably stratified. We impose a dipolar magnetic field at the lower boundary and electrical conductivity increases with depth. We observe that the decay in jet amplitude in the stable region depends on the local strength of the magnetic forces. Deep within the stable region, these Lorentz forces are balanced by meridional flow, which leads to temperature perturbations and efficient zonal wind quenching.
Key Points
Our numerical models examine the conditions needed to form zonal winds in gas planets, complying with observed gravity and magnetic data
A stable layer and magnetic forces are key for strong surface winds at high latitudes that are damped at the inferred depths
The decay profile of the winds in the stable layer is controlled by the product of conductivity and squared magnetic field strength
•Linear analysis and nonlinear numerical simulations of core convection.•Characterisation of flows and heat transfer induced by heterogeneous CMB heat flux.•Azimuthal displacement between inward ...spiralling jet and maximal CMB heat flux.•Unexpected suppression of global convective heat transport.•Effects are clearly visible in the presence of more turbulent convection.
The amount and spatial pattern of heat extracted from cores of terrestrial planets is ultimately controlled by the thermal structure of the lower rocky mantle. Using the most common model to tackle this problem, a rapidly rotating and differentially cooled spherical shell containing an incompressible and viscous liquid is numerically investigated. To gain the physical basics, we consider a simple, equatorial symmetric perturbation of the CMB heat flux shaped as a spherical harmonic Y11. The thermodynamic properties of the induced flows mainly depend on the degree of nonlinearity parametrised by a horizontal Rayleigh number Rah=q∗Ra, where q∗ is the relative CMB heat flux anomaly amplitude and Ra is the Rayleigh number which controls radial buoyancy-driven convection. Depending on Rah we identify and characterise three distinctive flow regimes through their spatial patterns, heat transport and flow speed scalings: in the linear conductive regime the radial inward flow is found to be phase shifted 90° eastwards from the maximal heat flux as predicted by a linear quasi-geostrophic model for rapidly rotating spherical systems. The advective regime is characterised by an increased Rah where nonlinearities become significant, but is still subcritical to radial convection. There the upwelling is dispersed and the downwelling is compressed by the thermal advection into a spiralling jet-like structure. As Rah becomes large enough for the radial convection to set in, the jet remains identifiable on time-average and significantly alters the global heat budget in the convective regime. Our results suggest, that the boundary forcing not only introduces a net horizontal heat transport but also suppresses the convection locally to such an extent, that the net Nusselt number is reduced by up to 50%, even though the mean CMB heat flux is conserved. This also implies that a planetary core will remain hotter under a non-homogeneous CMB heat flux and is less well mixed. A broad numerical parameter investigation regarding Rayleigh number and the relative heat flux anomaly further fosters these results.
This study focuses on interactions between nanoparticles and a pesticide. The aim was to investigate how nano-sized aluminum oxide (410 nm) can alter the toxic effects of thiacloprid, even if no ...sorption between particles and the insecticide takes place. Thus, our study investigated a rather unexplored interaction. We conducted our research with larvae of Chironomus riparius and used thiacloprid as test substance as its toxicity to C. riparius is well described. The used nano-Al2O3 particles where chosen due to their suitable properties. For testing the acute effects of the interaction, we exposed larvae to thiacloprid (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 μg/L) and nano-Al2O3 (300 and 1000 mg/L), either solely or in binary mixtures. While thiacloprid resulted in elevated mortality, nano-Al2O3 solely did not exert any effects. Moreover, we observed an aggregation of nano-Al2O3 within the lumen of the intestinal tract of the larvae. Further results showed a significantly reduced mortality of fourth instar larvae when they were exposed to mixtures of nanoparticles and the pesticide, compared to thiacloprid alone. With increasing nano-Al2O3 concentration, this effect became gradually stronger. Additionally, chemical analyses of internal thiacloprid concentrations implicate reduced uptake of thiacloprid in animals exposed to mixtures. However, as larvae exposed to thiacloprid concentrations > 0.5 μg/L showed severe convulsions, independent of the presence or concentration of nano-Al2O3, we assume that nano-Al2O3 leads to a delay of mortality and does not entirely prevent it. As sorption measurements on pristine or defecated nano-Al2O3 did not reveal any sorptive interaction with thiacloprid, we can exclude sorption-based reduction of thiacloprid bioavailability as a mechanism behind our results. Even though we used test substances which might not co-occur in the environment in the tested concentrations, our study gives evidence for an interaction besides adsorption, which is important to generally understand how nanoparticles might affect biota.
The spread of Plasmodium falciparum parasites resistant to most first-line antimalarials creates an imperative to enrich the drug discovery pipeline, preferably with curative compounds that can also ...act prophylactically. We report a phenotypic quantitative high-throughput screen (qHTS), based on concentration-response curves, which was designed to identify compounds active against Plasmodium liver and asexual blood stage parasites. Our qHTS screened over 450,000 compounds, tested across a range of 5 to 11 concentrations, for activity against Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood stages. Active compounds were then filtered for unique structures and drug-like properties and subsequently screened in a P. berghei liver stage assay to identify novel dual-active antiplasmodial chemotypes. Hits from thiadiazine and pyrimidine azepine chemotypes were subsequently prioritized for resistance selection studies, yielding distinct mutations in P. falciparum cytochrome b, a validated antimalarial drug target. The thiadiazine chemotype was subjected to an initial medicinal chemistry campaign, yielding a metabolically stable analog with sub-micromolar potency. Our qHTS methodology and resulting dataset provides a large-scale resource to investigate Plasmodium liver and asexual blood stage parasite biology and inform further research to develop novel chemotypes as causal prophylactic antimalarials.
•Numerical investigation of interaction of geostrophic and ageostrophic zonal flows.•Reduction of equatorial heat flux leads to inverted geostrophic zonal flow system.•Standard theoretical picture of ...zonal flow generation cannot explain these unexpected results.•Confirmed by a broad numerical parameter study.
Zonal flows in rapidly-rotating celestial objects such as the Sun, gas or ice giants form in a variety of surface patterns and amplitudes. Whereas the differential rotation on the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn features a super-rotating equatorial region, the ice giants, Neptune and Uranus harbour an equatorial jet slower than the planetary rotation. Global numerical models covering the optically thick, deep-reaching and rapidly rotating convective envelopes of gas giants reproduce successfully the prograde jet at the equator. In such models, convective columns shaped by the dominant Coriolis force typically exhibit a consistent prograde tilt. Hence angular momentum is pumped away from the rotation axis via Reynolds stresses. Those models are found to be strongly geostrophic, hence a modulation of the zonal flow structure along the axis of rotation, e.g. introduced by persistent latitudinal temperature gradients, seems of minor importance. Within our study we stimulate these thermal gradients and the resulting ageostrophic flows by applying an axisymmetric and equatorially symmetric outer boundary heat flux anomaly (Y20) with variable amplitude and sign. Such a forcing pattern mimics the thermal effect of intense solar or stellar irradiation. Our results suggest that the ageostrophic flows are linearly amplified with the forcing amplitude q⋆ leading to a more pronounced dimple of the equatorial jet (alike Jupiter). The geostrophic flow contributions, however, are suppressed for weak q⋆, but inverted and re-amplified once q⋆ exceeds a critical value. The inverse geostrophic differential rotation is consistently maintained by now also inversely tilted columns and reminiscent of zonal flow profiles observed for the ice giants. Analysis of the main force balance and parameter studies further foster these results.
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