To explore the physics of large-scale flows in solar-like stars, we perform three-dimensional anelastic simulations of rotating convection for global models with stratification resembling the solar ...interior. The numerical method is based on an implicit large-eddy simulation approach designed to capture effects from non-resolved small scales. We obtain two regimes of differential rotation, with equatorial zonal flows accelerated either in the direction of rotation (solar-like) or in the opposite direction (anti-solar). While the models with the solar-like differential rotation tend to produce multiple cells of meridional circulation, the models with anti-solar differential rotation result in only one or two meridional cells. Our simulations indicate that the rotation and large-scale flow patterns critically depend on the ratio between buoyancy and Coriolis forces. By including a sub-adiabatic layer at the bottom of the domain, corresponding to the stratification of a radiative zone, we reproduce a layer of strong radial shear similar to the solar tachocline. Similarly, enhanced super-adiabaticity at the top results in a near-surface shear layer located mainly at lower latitudes. The models reveal a latitudinal entropy gradient localized at the base of the convection zone and in the stable region, which, however, does not propagate across the convection zone. In consequence, baroclinicity effects remain small, and the rotation isocontours align in cylinders along the rotation axis. Our results confirm the alignment of large convective cells along the rotation axis in the deep convection zone and suggest that such "banana-cell" pattern can be hidden beneath the supergranulation layer.
ABSTRACT Rotational shear layers at the boundary between radiative and convective zones, tachoclines, play a key role in the process of magnetic field generation in solar-like stars. We present two ...sets of global simulations of rotating turbulent convection and dynamo. The first set considers a stellar convective envelope only; the second one, aiming at the formation of a tachocline, also considers the upper part of the radiative zone. Our results indicate that the resulting properties of the mean flows and dynamo, such as the growth rate, saturation energy, and mode, depend on the Rossby number (Ro). For the first set of models either oscillatory (with ∼2 yr period) or steady dynamo solutions are obtained. The models in the second set naturally develop a tachocline, which in turn leads to the generation of a strong mean magnetic field. Since the field is also deposited in the stable deeper layer, its evolutionary timescale is much longer than in the models without a tachocline. Surprisingly, the magnetic field in the upper turbulent convection zone evolves on the same timescale as the deep field. These models result in either an oscillatory dynamo with a ∼30 yr period or a steady dynamo depending on Ro. In terms of the mean-field dynamo coefficients computed using the first-order smoothing approximation, the field evolution in the oscillatory models without a tachocline seems to be consistent with dynamo waves propagating according to the Parker-Yoshimura sign rule. In the models with tachoclines the dynamics is more complex and involves other transport mechanisms as well as tachocline instabilities.
Two fundamental properties of stellar magnetic fields have been determined by observations for solar-like stars with different Rossby numbers ( ), namely, the magnetic field strength and the magnetic ...cycle period. The field strength exhibits two regimes: (1) for fast rotation, it is independent of , and (2) for slow rotation, it decays with following a power law. For the magnetic cycle period, two regimes of activity, the active and inactive branches, have also been identified. For both of them, the longer the rotation period, the longer the activity cycle. Using global dynamo simulations of solar-like stars with Rossby numbers between ∼0.4 and ∼2, this paper explores the relevance of rotational shear layers in determining these observational properties. Our results, consistent with nonlinear dynamos, show that the total magnetic field strength is independent of the rotation period. Yet at surface levels, the origin of the magnetic field is determined by . While for , it is generated in the convection zone, for , strong toroidal fields are generated at the tachocline and rapidly emerge toward the surface. In agreement with the observations, the magnetic cycle period increases with the rotational period. However, a bifurcation is observed for , separating a regime where oscillatory dynamos operate mainly in the convection zone from the regime where the tachocline has a predominant role. In the latter, the cycles are believed to result from the periodic energy exchange between the dynamo and the magneto-shear instabilities developing in the tachocline and the radiative interior.
Inflammatory pain can be triggered by different stimuli, such as trauma, radiation, antigen and infection. In a model of inflammatory pain caused by infection, injection in the mice paw of ...lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist, produces mechanical hyperalgesia. We identify here the TLR4 linked signaling pathways that elicit this response. Firstly, LPS paw injection in wild type (WT) mice produced mechanical hyperalgesia that was not altered in TRIF-/- mice. On the other hand, this response was absent in TLR4 mutant and MyD88 null mice and reduced in TNFR1 null mice. Either an IL-1 receptor antagonist, anti-KC/CXCL1 antibody, indomethacin or guanethidine injection also lessened this response. Moreover, LPS-induced time dependent increases in TNF-α, KC/CXCL1 and IL-1β expression in the mice paw, which were absent in TLR4 mutant and MyD88 null mice. Furthermore, in TNFR1 deficient mice, the LPS-induced rises in KC/CXCL1 and IL-1β release were less than in their wild type counterpart. LPS also induced increase of myeloperoxidase activity in the paw skin, which was inhibited in TLR4 mutant and MyD88 null mice, and not altered in TRIF-/- mice. These results suggest that LPS-induced inflammatory pain in mice is solely dependent on the TLR4/MyD88 rather than the TLR4/TRIF signaling pathway. This pathway triggers pronociceptive cytokine TNF-α release that in turn mediates rises in KC/CXCL1 and IL-1β expression. Finally, these cytokines might be involved in stimulating production of directly-acting hyperalgesic mediators such as prostaglandins and sympathomimetic amine.
ABSTRACT
Understanding the effects driven by rotation in the solar convection zone is essential for many problems related to solar activity, such as the formation of differential rotation, meridional ...circulation, and others. We analyse realistic 3D radiative hydrodynamics simulations of solar subsurface dynamics in the presence of rotation in a local domain 80 Mm wide and 25 Mm deep, located at 30° latitude. The simulation results reveal the development of a shallow 10 Mm deep substructure of the near-surface shear layer (NSSL), characterized by a strong radial rotational gradient and self-organized meridional flows. This shallow layer (‘leptocline’) is located in the hydrogen ionization zone associated with enhanced anisotropic overshooting-type flows into a less unstable layer between the H and He ii ionization zones. We discuss current observational evidence of the presence of the leptocline and show that the radial variations of the differential rotation and meridional flow profiles obtained from the simulations in this layer qualitatively agree with helioseismic observations.
ABSTRACT
Magnetic fields are observed in massive Ap/Bp stars and are presumably present in the radiative zone of solar-like stars. To date, there is no clear understanding of the dynamics of the ...magnetic field in stably stratified layers. A purely toroidal magnetic field configuration is known to be unstable, developing mainly non-axisymmetric modes. Rotation and a poloidal field component may lead to stabilization. Here we perform global MHD simulations with the EULAG-MHD code to explore the evolution of a toroidal magnetic field located in a layer whose Brunt-Väisälä frequency resembles the lower solar tachocline. Our numerical experiments allow us to explore the initial unstable phase as well as the long-term evolution of such field. During the first Alfven cycles, we observe the development of the Tayler instability with the prominent longitudinal wavenumber, m = 1. Rotation decreases the growth rate of the instability and eventually suppresses it. However, after a stable phase, energy surges lead to the development of higher-order modes even for fast rotation. These modes extract energy from the initial toroidal field. Nevertheless, our results show that sufficiently fast rotation leads to a lower saturation energy of the unstable modes, resulting in a magnetic topology with only a small fraction of poloidal field, which remains steady for several hundreds of Alfven traveltimes. The system then becomes turbulent and the field is prone to turbulent diffusion. The final toroidal–poloidal configuration of the magnetic field may represent an important aspect of the field generation and evolution in stably stratified layers.
Infectious diseases represent a major cause of deaths worldwide. No vaccine or effective treatment exists nowadays, especially against intracellular pathogens. The increase in multiple drug and ...superbug antibiotic resistance strains, excessive medication, or misuse of drugs has prompted the search for other safe and effective alternatives. Consistent with this, adjuvants (Latin word "adjuvare": "help or aid") co-administered (Exo) in vaccines have emerged as a promising alternative to initiate and boost an innate, downstream signal that led to adaptative immune response. Nowadays, a promising model of strong immunogens and adjuvants at mucosal sites are the microbial bacterial toxins. Other adjuvants that are also used and might successfully replace aluminum salts in combination with nanotechnology are CpG-ODN, poly IC, type I IFNs, mRNA platforms. Therefore, in the present review, we focused to revisit the old to the new adjuvants compounds, the properties that make them friends in vaccine formulations against infectious diseases.
Testing surfaces in school classrooms for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can provide public-health information that complements clinical testing. We monitored the ...presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in five schools (96 classrooms) in Davis, California (USA) by collecting weekly surface-swab samples from classroom floors and/or portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) units (n = 2,341 swabs). Twenty-two surfaces tested positive, with qPCR cycle threshold (Ct) values ranging from 36.07-38.01. Intermittent repeated positives in a single room were observed for both floor and HEPA filter samples for up to 52 days, even following regular cleaning and HEPA filter replacement after a positive result. We compared the two environmental sampling strategies by testing one floor and two HEPA filter samples in 57 classrooms at Schools D and E. HEPA filter sampling yielded 3.02% and 0.41% positivity rates per filter sample collected for Schools D and E, respectively, while floor sampling yielded 0.48% and 0% positivity rates. Our results indicate that HEPA filter swabs are more sensitive than floor swabs at detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA in interior spaces. During the study, all schools were offered weekly free COVID-19 clinical testing through Healthy Davis Together (HDT). HDT also offered on-site clinical testing in Schools D and E, and upticks in testing participation were observed following a confirmed positive environmental sample. However, no confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified among students associated with classrooms yielding positive environmental samples. The positive samples detected in this study appeared to contain relic viral RNA from individuals infected before the monitoring program started and/or RNA transported into classrooms via fomites. High-Ct positive results from environmental swabs detected in the absence of known active infections supports this conclusion. Additional research is needed to differentiate between fresh and relic SARS-CoV-2 RNA in environmental samples and to determine what types of results should trigger interventions.