While it is certain that the fast solar wind originates from coronal holes, where and how the slow solar wind (SSW) is formed remains an outstanding question in solar physics even in the post-SOHO ...era. The quest for the SSW origin forms a major objective for the planned future missions such as the Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus. Nonetheless, results from spacecraft data, combined with theoretical modeling, have helped to investigate many aspects of the SSW. Fundamental physical properties of the coronal plasma have been derived from spectroscopic and imaging remote-sensing data and in situ data, and these results have provided crucial insights for a deeper understanding of the origin and acceleration of the SSW. Advanced models of the SSW in coronal streamers and other structures have been developed using 3D MHD and multi-fluid equations.
Tropospheric ozone significantly damages vegetation and reduces net primary productivity (NPP). We developed a stable linear NPP response model based on accumulated ozone exposure over a threshold of ...40 parts per billion (ppb) (AOT40). We then estimated the effects of regional ozone damage on NPP for different vegetation types. The study suggests an average decrease in NPP of 24.7% due to ozone pollution in the North China Plain, similar to previous estimates ranging from 10.1% to 24.7%, with a maximum reduction exceeding 200 g C m‐2 yr‐1 and more than 50%. Vegetation types such as broadleaf forests, needleleaf forest, crops, and grasses showed significant NPP decreases of 47.1%, 37.8%, 36.7%, and 44.6%, respectively. Declining NPP also had negative impacts on several Chinese crop species. Our work highlights the need for urgent and effective action to mitigate ozone pollution's substantial detrimental effects on ecosystem health and productivity.
Plain Language Summary
Ozone pollution led to an average 25% decrease in net primary productivity in the North China Plain. This decline is consistent with previous estimates that ranged from 10% to 25%. Productivity of forest trees, crops, and grasses declined significantly, ranging from 36.7% to 47.1%. These results have implications for Chinese crops, as lower crop productivity can negatively affect crop yields. Our study highlights the urgent need for action to mitigate the detrimental effects of ozone pollution on ecosystem health and productivity.
Key Points
We developed a stable model to estimate ozone impact on the productivity of plants'
Ozone pollution resulted in an average decline in productivity of 25% per year in all ecosystem types in the North China Plain region
Ozone pollution led to net primary productivity declines in forest, crops, and grasses, with reductions ranging from 36.7% to 47.1%
A novel coronavirus of zoonotic origin (2019-nCoV) has recently been identified in patients with acute respiratory disease. This virus is genetically similar to SARS coronavirus and bat SARS-like ...coronaviruses. The outbreak was initially detected in Wuhan, a major city of China, but has subsequently been detected in other provinces of China. Travel-associated cases have also been reported in a few other countries. Outbreaks in health care workers indicate human-to-human transmission. Molecular tests for rapid detection of this virus are urgently needed for early identification of infected patients.
We developed two 1-step quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR assays to detect two different regions (ORF1b and N) of the viral genome. The primer and probe sets were designed to react with this novel coronavirus and its closely related viruses, such as SARS coronavirus. These assays were evaluated using a panel of positive and negative controls. In addition, respiratory specimens from two 2019-nCoV-infected patients were tested.
Using RNA extracted from cells infected by SARS coronavirus as a positive control, these assays were shown to have a dynamic range of at least seven orders of magnitude (2x10-4-2000 TCID50/reaction). Using DNA plasmids as positive standards, the detection limits of these assays were found to be below 10 copies per reaction. All negative control samples were negative in the assays. Samples from two 2019-nCoV-infected patients were positive in the tests.
The established assays can achieve a rapid detection of 2019n-CoV in human samples, thereby allowing early identification of patients.
With the advent of the Heliophysics/Geospace System Observatory (H/GSO), a complement of multi-spacecraft missions and ground-based observatories to study the space environment, data retrieval, ...analysis, and visualization of space physics data can be daunting. The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS), a grass-roots software development platform (
www.spedas.org
), is now officially supported by NASA Heliophysics as part of its data environment infrastructure. It serves more than a dozen space missions and ground observatories and can integrate the full complement of past and upcoming space physics missions with minimal resources, following clear, simple, and well-proven guidelines. Free, modular and configurable to the needs of individual missions, it works in both command-line (ideal for experienced users) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode (reducing the learning curve for first-time users). Both options have “crib-sheets,” user-command sequences in ASCII format that can facilitate record-and-repeat actions, especially for complex operations and plotting. Crib-sheets enhance scientific interactions, as users can move rapidly and accurately from exchanges of technical information on data processing to efficient discussions regarding data interpretation and science. SPEDAS can readily query and ingest all International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP)-compatible products from the Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF), enabling access to a vast collection of historic and current mission data. The planned incorporation of Heliophysics Application Programmer’s Interface (HAPI) standards will facilitate data ingestion from distributed datasets that adhere to these standards. Although SPEDAS is currently Interactive Data Language (IDL)-based (and interfaces to Java-based tools such as Autoplot), efforts are under-way to expand it further to work with python (first as an interface tool and potentially even receiving an under-the-hood replacement). We review the SPEDAS development history, goals, and current implementation. We explain its “modes of use” with examples geared for users and outline its technical implementation and requirements with software developers in mind. We also describe SPEDAS personnel and software management, interfaces with other organizations, resources and support structure available to the community, and future development plans.
Abstract
Cyclotron line scattering features are detected in a few tens of X-ray pulsars (XRPs) and used as direct indicators of a strong magnetic field at the surface of accreting neutron stars ...(NSs). In a few cases, cyclotron lines are known to be variable with the accretion luminosity of XRPs. It is accepted that the observed variations of cyclotron line scattering features are related to variations of geometry and dynamics of accretion flow above the magnetic poles of an NS. A positive correlation between the line centroid energy and luminosity is typical for subcritical XRPs, where the accretion results in hot spots at the magnetic poles. The negative correlation was proposed to be a specific feature of bright supercritical XRPs, where radiation pressure supports accretion columns above the stellar surface. The cyclotron line in the spectra of the Be-transient XRP GRO J1008-57 is detected at energies from ∼75 to 90 keV, the highest observed energy of a cyclotron line feature in XRPs. We report the peculiar relation of cyclotron line centroid energies with luminosity in GRO J1008-57 during the Type II outburst in 2017 August observed by Insight-HXMT. The cyclotron line energy was detected to be negatively correlated with the luminosity at 3.2 × 10
37
erg s
−1
<
L
< 4.2 × 10
37
erg s
−1
and positively correlated at
L
≳ 5 × 10
37
erg s
−1
. We speculate that the observed peculiar behavior of a cyclotron line would be due to variations of accretion channel geometry.
Background
Enucleation of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNETs) via robotic surgery has rarely been described. This study sought to assess the safety and efficiency of robotic surgery for the ...enucleation of small pNETs.
Methods
A comparison was conducted of enucleation of pNETs smaller than 2 cm by robotic or open surgery between January 2000 and May 2015. Propensity score matching was used to balance sex, age, BMI, tumour location and tumour diameter. Pathological results, safety‐related outcomes (postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) rate, estimated blood loss, and short‐term mortality and morbidity) and efficiency‐related outcomes (duration of surgery and postoperative length of hospital stay) were compared between the groups.
Results
A cohort of 120 patients with pNET were enrolled in the study (1 : 1 matched for open or robotic surgery, 60 per group). Ninety‐three patients (77·5 per cent) had a grade 1 tumour and 114 (95·0 per cent) had an insulinoma. Robotic surgery had a conversion rate of 5 per cent (3 of 60), and was not associated with an increased POPF rate (10 per cent versus 17 per cent after open surgery; P = 0·283) or grade III–V surgical complications according to the Dindo–Clavien classification (3 versus 10 per cent respectively; P = 0·272). Estimated blood loss was reduced with the robotic approach (32·5 versus 80·0 ml in the open group; P = 0·008), as was duration of surgery (117 versus 150 min; P < 0·001). Length of hospital stay after surgery was similar in the two groups (12·0 versus 13·5 days respectively; P = 0·071).
Conclusion
Robotic surgery for enucleation of pNETs smaller than 2 cm did not increase POPF or major complication rates, and reduced the duration of surgery and estimated blood loss, compared with open surgery. Registration number: NCT02125929 (
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/).
Robot beats surgeon
Understanding how flowering phenology responds to warming and cooling (i.e., symmetric or asymmetric response) is needed to predict the response of flowering phenology to future climate change that ...will happen with the occurrence of warm and cold years superimposed upon a long-term trend. A three-year reciprocal translocation experiment was performed along an elevation gradient from 3200 m to 3800 m in the Tibetan Plateau for six alpine plants. Transplanting to lower elevation (warming) advanced the first flowering date (FFD) and transplanting to higher elevation (cooling) had the opposite effect. The FFD of early spring flowering plants (ESF) was four times less sensitive to warming than to cooling (by −2.1 d/°C and 8.4 d/°C, respectively), while midsummer flowering plants (MSF) were about twice as sensitive to warming than to cooling (−8.0 d/°C and 4.9 d/°C, respectively). Compared with pooled warming and cooling data, warming alone significantly underpredicted 3.1 d/°C for ESF and overestimated 1.7 d/°C for MSF. These results suggest that future empirical and experimental studies should consider nonlinear temperature responses that can cause such warming-cooling asymmetries as well as differing life strategies (ESF vs. MSF) among plant species.
The tendency for low-speed solar wind to show greater spatiotemporal variability and different compositional properties from high-speed wind has led to the prevailing idea of a bimodal solar wind, in ...which fast wind comes from coronal holes and slow wind comes from coronal streamers. We present observational evidence that most of the slow wind originates from small coronal holes or from just inside the boundaries of large holes, with the rest leaking out from coronal streamers and confined to the immediate vicinity of the heliospheric current and plasma sheets. Although this conclusion was suggested earlier by extrapolations of photospheric field maps, additional support comes from (1) observations of slow wind at Earth following the central-meridian passage of small equatorial holes; (2) observations of slow wind with high Alfvénicity at 1 au by
Wind
, and more recently near the Sun by
Parker Solar Probe
and
Solar Orbiter
; and (3) the finding that 80% of the solar wind observed by
Helios
at 0.3 – 0.4 au during 1974 – 1978 was Alfvénic. We show that compositional properties such as charge-state ratios vary over the solar cycle and may depend on parameters such as the footpoint field strength
B
0
, and thus cannot be used alone to distinguish between coronal hole and noncoronal-hole wind. Finally, we note that magnetograms greatly underestimate the amount of small-scale flux emerging inside coronal holes and other unipolar regions. If this rate is taken to be the same as in the quiet Sun, the energy flux density resulting from interchange reconnection with open field lines is on the order of
3
×
10
5
erg cm
−2
s
−1
(
B
0
/10 G), sufficient to drive the solar wind. The wind speed depends on the rate of flux-tube expansion, with slower expansion leading to more energy deposition at greater heights and faster wind.
ABSTRACT
High time resolution and accuracy are of critical importance in the studies of timing analysis and time delay localization of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) and ...pulsars. The Gravitational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) consisting of two micro-satellites, GECAM-A and GECAM-B, launched on 2020 December 10, is aimed at monitoring and locating X-ray and GRBs all over the sky. To achieve its scientific goals, GECAM is designed to have the highest time resolution (0.1 $\mu {\rm s}$) among all GRB detectors ever flown. Here, we make a comprehensive time calibration campaign including both on-ground and on-orbit tests to derive not only the relative time accuracy of GECAM satellites and detectors, but also the absolute time accuracy of GECAM-B. Using the on-ground calibration with a $\rm ^{22}Na$ radioactive source, we find that the relative time accuracy between GECAM-A and GECAM-B is about 0.15 $\mu {\rm s}$ (1σ). To measure the relative time accuracy between all detectors of a single GECAM satellite, cosmic-ray events detected on orbit are utilized since they could produce many secondary particles simultaneously record by multiple detectors. We find that the relative time accuracy among all detectors onboard GECAM-B is about 0.12 $\mu {\rm s}$ (1σ). Finally, we use the novel Li-CCF method to perform the absolute time calibration with Crab pulsar and SGR J1935+2154, both of which were jointly observed by GECAM-B and Fermi/GBM, and obtain that the time difference between GECAM-B and Fermi/GBM is 3.06 ± 6.04 $\mu {\rm s}$ (1σ).
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