On 12 May 2021 the interplanetary doppelgänger of the 9 May 2021 coronal mass ejection impacted the Earth's magnetosphere, giving rise to a strong geomagnetic storm. This paper discusses the ...evolution of the various events linking the solar activity to the Earth's ionosphere with special focus on the effects observed in the circumterrestrial environment. We investigate the propagation of the interplanetary coronal mass ejection and its interaction with the magnetosphere—ionosphere system in terms of both magnetospheric current systems and particle redistribution, by jointly analyzing data from interplanetary, magnetospheric, and low Earth orbiting satellites. The principal magnetospheric current system activated during the different phases of the geomagnetic storm was correctly identified through the direct comparison between geosynchronous orbit observations and model predictions. From the particle point of view, we have found that the primary impact of the storm development is a net and rapid loss of relativistic electrons from the entire outer radiation belt. Our analysis shows no evidence for any short‐term recovery to pre‐storm levels during the days following the main phase. Storm effects also included a small Forbush decrease driven by the interplay between the interplanetary shock and subsequent magnetic cloud arrival.
Plain Language Summary
On 12 May 2021 a coronal mass ejection (CME) emitted from the Sun on 9 May 2021 impacted the Earth, giving rise to a strong geomagnetic storm. This paper present a global view of the CME effects observed in the circumterrestrial environment focusing on its propagation and on its interaction with the magnetosphere—ionosphere system in terms of both magnetospheric current systems and particle redistribution, by jointly analyzing data from interplanetary, magnetospheric, and low Earth orbiting satellites. The principal magnetospheric current system activated during the different phases of the geomagnetic storm was correctly identified through the direct comparison between geosynchronous orbit observations and model predictions. From the particle point of view, we have found that the primary impact of the storm development is a sudden loss of relativistic electrons from the entire outer radiation belt. Such kind of a global analysis is still the straightforward way available to understand the complex dynamics of the processes occurring in the circumterrestrial environment from a space weather point of view.
Key Points
Global analysis of the 12 May 2021 geomagnetic storm
Interplanetary coronal mass ejections propagation in the interplanetary space
Magnetospheric‐ionospheric coupling analysis from both particle and field point of view
ABSTRACT The nature of particle acceleration at the Sun, whether through flare reconnection processes or through shocks driven by coronal mass ejections, is still under scrutiny despite decades of ...research. The measured properties of solar energetic particles (SEPs) have long been modeled in different particle-acceleration scenarios. The challenge has been to disentangle the effects of transport from those of acceleration. The Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA) instrument enables unique observations of SEPs including the composition and angular distribution of the particles about the magnetic field, i.e., pitch angle distribution, over a broad energy range (>80 MeV)-bridging a critical gap between space-based and ground-based measurements. We present high-energy SEP data from PAMELA acquired during the 2012 May 17 SEP event. These data exhibit differential anisotropies and thus transport features over the instrument rigidity range. SEP protons exhibit two distinct pitch angle distributions: a low-energy population that extends to 90° and a population that is beamed at high energies (>1 GeV), consistent with neutron monitor measurements. To explain a low-energy SEP population that exhibits significant scattering or redistribution accompanied by a high-energy population that reaches the Earth relatively unaffected by dispersive transport effects, we postulate that the scattering or redistribution takes place locally. We believe that these are the first comprehensive measurements of the effects of solar energetic particle transport in the Earth's magnetosheath.
Administration of convalescent plasma may serve as an adjunct to supportive treatment to prevent COVID-19 progression and death. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 2 volumes of ...intravenous convalescent plasma (CP) with high antibody titers for the treatment of severe cases of COVID-19.
We conducted a Bayesian, randomized, open-label, multicenter, controlled clinical trial in 7 Brazilian hospitals. Adults admitted to hospital with positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV2, within 10 days of the symptom onset, were eligible. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive standard of care (SoC) alone, or in combination with 200 mL (150–300 mL) of CP (Low-volume), or 400 mL (300–600 mL) of CP (High-volume); infusion had to be performed within 24 h of randomization. Randomization was centralized, stratified by center. The primary outcome was the time until clinical improvement up to day 28, measured by the WHO ten-point scale, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. Interim and terminal analyses were performed in a Bayesian framework. Trial registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04415086.
Between June 2, 2020, and November 18, 2020, 129 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to SoC (n = 42), Low-volume (n = 43) or High-volume (n = 44) CP. Donors presented a median titer of neutralizing antibodies of 1:320 (interquartile range, 1:160 to 1:1088). No evidence of any benefit of convalescent plasma was observed, with Bayesian estimate of 28-day clinical improvement of 72.7% (95%CI, 58.8 to 84.7) in the SoC versus 64.1% (95%ci, 53.8 to 73.7) in the pooled experimental groups (mean difference of -8.7%, 95%CI, -24.6 to 8.2). There was one case of cutaneous mild allergic reaction related to plasma transfusion and one case of suspected transfusion-related acute lung injury but deemed not to be related to convalescent plasma infusion.
In this prospective, randomized trial of adult hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19, convalescent plasma was not associated with clinical benefits.
Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo.
Context. This paper belongs to a series presenting the WIde Field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS). The WINGS project has collected wide-field, optical (B, V), and near-infrared (J, K) imaging as ...well as medium resolution spectroscopy of galaxies in a sample of 76 X-ray selected nearby clusters (0.04 <z< 0.07) with the aim of establishing a reference sample for evolutionary studies of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Aims. We present the U-band photometry of galaxies and stars in the fields of 17 clusters of the WINGS sample. We also extend the original B- and V-band photometry (WINGS-OPT) for 9 and 6 WINGS clusters to a larger field of view. Methods. We used both the new and already existing B-band photometry to obtain reliable (U − B) colors of galaxies within three fixed apertures in kpc. To this aim, we took particular care with the astrometric precision in the reduction procedure. Since not all the observations were taken in good transparency conditions, the photometric calibration was partly obtained by relying on the SDSS and WINGS-OPT photometry for the U- and optical bands, respectively. Results. We provide U-band (also B- and V-band, where possible) total magnitudes of stars and galaxies in the fields of clusters. For galaxies only, the catalogs also provide geometrical parameters and carefully centered aperture magnitudes. The internal consistency of magnitudes was checked for clusters imaged with different cameras, while the external photometric consistency was obtained by comparison with the WINGS-OPT and SDSS surveys. Conclusions. The photometric catalogs presented here add the U-band information to the WINGS database for extending the spectral energy distribution of the galaxies, in particular in the ultraviolet wavelengths which are fundamental for deriving the star formation rate properties.
High-quality sources of protein for the formulation of feeds of carnivorous fish species such as Atlantic salmon are currently being sought. In an earlier screening trial we evaluated for the first ...time in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) the applicability of air-classified faba bean (Vicia faba) protein concentrate (BPC) inclusions in combination with soy protein concentrate (SPC) and fishmeal (FM) using parr as a model. Based on the results in parr in freshwater, the present study tested the hypothesis that BPC can effectively replace SPC and/or FM as a dietary protein source in post-smolt Atlantic salmon in seawater. The trial was designed to test nine different combinations of BPC, SPC and FM around the ideal mixture proportions modelled from data on parr (20% BPC, 46% SPC and 34% FM as percent of the total dietary protein). Somatic, physiological, biochemical and molecular parameters were assessed to determine fish performance. On average, fish grew from ~1.28kg to 2.80kg over the course of the 17week trial. Results demonstrated that a mixture of BPC, SPC and FM (208gkg−1, 193gkg−1 and 85gkg−1, respectively) resulted in the highest weight gain of post-smolts without significantly altering the FCR. Specifically, fish fed the highest inclusion of BPC and lowest level of FM had final weights on average 0.24kg more than those with the lowest inclusion of BPC and highest FM. Improved weight gain was not achieved at the expense of poorer FCR, which was lower in fish fed diets with higher content of BPC and lower FM. The highest level of inclusion of BPC tested herein (~21% of feed) could replace up to 8.5% FM (from 17% to 8.5% of feed) and 10% SPC (from 29% to 19% of feed), resulting in the largest improvement in weight gain. There were no biologically significant or physiologically important effects on nutrient digestibility, enteritis scores or hepatic gene expression of dietary BPC.
This study is highly relevant to the industry of feed manufacture.
•Performance of Atlantic salmon fed air-classified faba bean protein concentrate (BPC) was tested in seawater.•BPC inclusions resulted in improved weight gain leaving FCR unaltered.•No important effects were found on a number of biologically or physiologically important parameters.•BPC effectively substituted either soy protein concentrate and/or fishmeal.
Oral appliances have gained their place in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) where custom-made titratable mandibular advancement devices (MAD) have become the oral appliance of choice. ...This study aimed to asses the value of the drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) using a MAD in the prediction of treatment outcome for OSAHS.
This is a prospective, single-center cohort study that enrolled sixty-six consecutive patients with diagnosed OSA (5 events/h < apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) < 50 events/h) to be treated with a custom-made titratable MAD. The patients were evaluated polysomnographically with the MAD in situ after the adaptation and titration period of 3 months. The associations between findings during DISE and treatment outcome were assessed.
The subjects showed a wide range of severity of OSAHS pre-treatment: median AHI was 43.10 with a range from 20.13 to 66.07. The simulation bite was associated with a significant increase in cross-sectional area at level of the velopharynx, tongue base and epiglottis. MAD treatment response in the studied population was 91%, with a mean AHI improving from 43.10 to 12.93.
Drug-induced sleep endoscopy with simulation bite is an acceptably reproducible technique for determining the sites of obstruction in OSAHS subjects; it thus offers possibilities as a prognostic indicator for treatment with MAD.
ABSTRACT The Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA) detector was launched on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite on 2006 June 15. The data collected ...during the first four years have been used to search for large-scale anisotropies in the arrival directions of cosmic ray positrons. The PAMELA experiment allows for a full sky investigation, with sensitivity to global anisotropies in any angular window of the celestial sphere. Data samples of positrons in the rigidity range of 10 GV R 200 GV were analyzed. This article discusses the method and the results of the search for possible local sources through the analysis of anisotropy in positron data compared to the proton background. The resulting distributions of arrival directions are found to be isotropic. Starting from the angular power spectrum, a dipole anisotropy upper limit of δ = 0.076 at the 95% confidence level is determined. An additional search is carried out around the Sun. No evidence of an excess correlated with that direction was found.
Abstract
Time-dependent energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) carry crucial information regarding their origin and propagation throughout the interstellar environment. When observed at the ...Earth, after traversing the interplanetary medium, such spectra are heavily affected by the solar wind and the embedded solar magnetic field permeating the inner sectors of the heliosphere. The activity of the Sun changes significantly over an 11 yr solar cycle—and so does the effect on cosmic particles; this translates into a phenomenon called solar modulation. Moreover, GCR spectra during different epochs of solar activity provide invaluable information for a complete understanding of the plethora of mechanisms taking place in various layers of the Sun’s atmosphere and how they evolve over time. The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-01) has been continuously collecting data since 2018 August, during the quiet phase between solar cycles 24 and 25; the activity of the Sun is slowly but steadily rising and is expected to peak around 2025/2026. In this paper, we present the first spectra for ∼50–250 MeV galactic protons measured by the HEPD-01 instrument—placed on board the CSES-01 satellite—from 2018 August to 2022 March over a one-Carrington-rotation time basis. Such data are compared to the ones from other spaceborne experiments, present (e.g., EPHIN, Parker Solar Probe) and past (PAMELA), and to a state-of-the-art three-dimensional model describing the GCRs propagation through the heliosphere.
Context. The classification scheme for high redshift galaxies is complex at the present time, with simple colour-selection criteria (i.e. EROs, IEROs, LBGs, DRGs, BzKs), resulting in ill-defined ...properties for the stellar mass and star formation rate of these distant galaxies. Aims. The goal of this work is to investigate the properties of different classes of high- z galaxies, focusing in particular on the stellar masses of LBGs, DRGs, and BzKs, in order to derive their contribution to the total mass budget of the distant Universe. Methods. We used the GOODS-MUSIC catalog, containing similar to 3000 K s-selected ( similar to 10 000 z-selected) galaxies with multi-wavelength coverage extending from the U band to the Spitzer 8 similar to \mum band, with spectroscopic or accurate photometric redshifts. We selected samples of BM/BX/LBGs, DRGs, and BzK galaxies to discuss the overlap and the limitations of these criteria, which can be overridden by a selection criterion based on physical parameters. We then measured the stellar masses of these galaxies and computed the stellar mass density (SMD) for the different samples up to redshift \simeq4. Results. We show that the BzK- PE criterion is not optimal for selecting early type galaxies at the faint end. On the other hand, BzK-SF is highly contaminated by passively evolving galaxies at red z-K s colours. We find that LBGs and DRGs contribute almost equally to the global SMD at z\ge 2 and, in general, that star-forming galaxies form a substantial fraction of the universal SMD. Passively evolving galaxies show a strong negative density evolution from redshift 2 to 3, indicating that we are witnessing the epoch of mass assembly of such objects. Finally we have indications that by pushing the selection to deeper magnitudes, the contribution of less massive DRGs could overtake that of LBGs. Deeper surveys, like the HUDF, are required to confirm this suggestion.
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