Search

We study the physical mechanism of a major X-class solar flare that occurred in the super NOAA active region (AR) 12192 using data-driven numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling complemented with observations. With the evolving magnetic fields observed at the solar surface as bottom boundary input, we drive an MHD system to evolve self-consistently in correspondence with the realistic coronal evolution. During a two-day time interval, the modeled coronal field has been slowly stressed by the photospheric field evolution, which gradually created a large-scale coronal current sheet, i.e., a narrow layer with intense current, in the core of the AR. The current layer was successively enhanced until it became so thin that a tether-cutting reconnection between the sheared magnetic arcades was set in, which led to a flare. The modeled reconnecting field lines and their footpoints match well the observed hot flaring loops and the flare ribbons, respectively, suggesting that the model has successfully “reproduced” the macroscopic magnetic process of the flare. In particular, with simulation, we explained why this event is a confined eruption—the consequence of the reconnection is a shared arcade instead of a newly formed flux rope. We also found a much weaker magnetic implosion effect compared to many other X-class flares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pump-probe technique based on the detection of optical phase changes at the surface is described. A common-path interferometer in which the reference and probe pulses interrogate the surface immediately (∼500 ps) before and after the pump pulse is demonstrated. The primary application of this system is film thickness measurement in integrated circuit processing. Pulses 60 to 100 fs wide, from a Ti-sapphire laser at 800 nm, are brought to a 5 μm focus on the surface, resulting in picosecond acoustic pulses in the film. Echoes from film interfaces, upon arrival at the surface, lead to a phase change in the probe beam which is measured. Results from tungsten, aluminum, and copper film structures are presented. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-polarised symmetrically cross-slotted square patch (SCSSP) antenna with multimode resonance is proposed for 5G millimetre-wave broadband applications. A symmetrical cross-slot is etched on the square patch surface to change the original E-field distribution where a whole square patch is cut into four disconnected equal parts. For both polarisations, this etching also tunes the resonance frequencies of the two modes to be sufficiently close to each other. Therefore, the antenna can realize good impedance performance within the wide designated bandwidth. Dual-polarised radiation of the SCSSP is vertically excited by three bow-tie-shaped slots and fed by two orthogonal substrate integrated coaxial lines. Simulated and measured results show that the fabricated prototype achieves a broad overlapped impedance bandwidth of 50.0% (24-40 GHz), isolation higher than 30 dB between the two input ports, stable radiation pattern, and low cross-polarisation over the operating band. Moreover, the proposed SCSSP antenna with compact size, planar shape, and simple vertical feeding is very well-suited for two-dimensional array design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the effects of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interleukin-6 (IL6) gene knockout in preserving the bone loss induced by ovariectomy (OVX) and the mechanisms involved in bone metabolism. Twenty female wild-type (WT), TNFα-knockout (TNFα-/-) or IL6-knockout (IL6-/-) mice aged 12 weeks were sham-operated (SHAM) or subjected to OVX and killed after 4 weeks. Bone mass and skeletal microarchitecture were determined using micro-CT. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from all three groups (WT, TNFα-/- and IL6-/-) were induced to differentiate into osteoblasts or osteoclasts and treated with 17-β-estradiol. Bone metabolism was assessed by histological analysis, serum analyses and qRT-PCR. OVX successfully induced a high turnover in all mice, but a repair effect was observed in TNFα-/- and IL6-/- mice. The ratio of femoral trabecular bone volume to tissue volume, trabecular number and trabecular thickness were significantly decreased in WT mice subjected to OVX, but increased in TNFα-/- mice (1.62, 1.34, 0.27-fold respectively; P < 0.01) and IL6-/- mice (1.34, 0.80, 0.22-fold respectively; P < 0.01). Furthermore, we observed a 29.6% increase in the trabecular number in TNFα-/- mice when compared to the IL6-/- mice. Both, TNFα-/- and IL6-/- BMSCs exhibited decreased numbers of TRAP-positive cells and an increase in ALP-positive cells, with or without E2 treatment (P < 0.05). While the knockout of TNFα or IL6 significantly upregulated mRNA expressions of osteoblast-related genes (Runx2 and Col1a1) and downregulated osteoclast-related mRNA for TRAP, MMP9 and CTSK in vivo and in vitro, TNFα knockout appeared to have roles beyond IL6 knockout in upregulating Col1a1 mRNA expression and downregulating mRNA expressions of WNT-related genes (DKK1 and Sost) and TNF-related activationinduced genes (TRAF6). TNFα seemed to be more potentially invasive in inhibiting bone formation and enhancing TRAF6-mediated osteoclastogenesis than IL6, implying that the regulatory mechanisms of TNFα and IL6 in bone metabolism may be different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2006, a new canker was observed on trees of Populus x euramericana "14/76' and P. x euramericana 'Zhonglin 46' in the Henan and Shandong provinces of China. The disease, which is characterized by canker with white exudates dripping from the bark, occurred mainly in the summer. A particular gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium was repeatedly isolated from the infected samples and proven to infect trees of P x euramericana by Koch's postulates. Through a polyphasic taxonomic approach using sequence, DNA-DNA hybridization, chemotaxonomic, and phenotypic data, the poplar isolates were identified as Lonsdalea quercina subsp. populi, a subspecies very recently described based on isolates from oozing bark canker of poplar (P. x euramericana) trees in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]