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To achieve full-band observation of solar radio emissions, the sun-planetary interstellar monitoring chain subsystem of the Phase II of Chinese Meridian Project will construct four sets of solar radio spectrometers covering the decimeter, meter, decameter, and centimeter wavebands, providing reliable data support for solar physics and space weather research and operations. The system configuration and main technical parameters of the full-band radio spectrometer are introduced, and the data products and calibration process described.

Interplanetary scintillation (IPS) refers to random fluctuations in radio intensity of distant small-diameter celestial object, over time periods of the order of 1 s. The scattering and scintillation of emergent radio waves are ascribed to turbulent density irregularities transported by the ubiquitous solar wind streams. The spatial correlation length of density irregularities and the Fresnel radius of radio diffraction are two key parameters in determining the scintillation pattern. Such a scintillation pattern can be measured and correlated between multi-station radio telescopes on the Earth. Using the “phase-changing screen” scenario based on the Born approximation, the bulk-flow speed and turbulent spectrum of the solar wind streams can be extracted from the single-station power spectra fitting and the multi-station cross-correlation analysis. Moreover, a numerical computer-assisted tomography (CAT) model, iteratively fit to a large number of IPS measurements over one Carrington rotation, can be used to reconstruct the global velocity and density structures in the inner heliosphere for the purpose of space weather modelling and prediction. In this review, we interpret the underlying physics governing the IPS phenomenon caused by the solar wind turbulence, describe the power spectrum and cross correlation of IPS signals, highlight the space weather application of IPS-CAT models, and emphasize the significant benefits from international cooperation within the Worldwide IPS Stations (WIPSS) network.

Solar type III radio bursts are crucial indicators of energetic electron activity in the solar corona and interplanetary space. Our assessment of 43 interplanetary type III bursts, recorded by the FIELDS instrument on board the Parker Solar Probe during Encounters 05 to 11, has led to significant and complex findings. We have analyzed time profile features across a frequency range of 19–0.5 MHz, revealing dependencies on frequency and providing insights into duration, burst speeds, bandwidths, and drift rates. This novel analysis has unveiled a spectral index of −0.63 ± 0.04 for rise, −0.69 ± 0.03 for decay time, and −0.68 ± 0.03 for the total duration. We have determined the average electron beam velocities for front, middle, and back as 0.15 c , 0.13 c , and 0.08 c , respectively. Our findings show that faster electron beams generate emissions with shorter duration. The average ratio of the front-to-back velocity is 1.87, and the ratio of front-to-middle velocity is 1.23. We have also discovered a strong relationship between burst duration with rise, peak, and decay times, particularly pronounced with decay time (correlation coefficient = 0.95). This indicates that the entire temporal profile, including rise, peak, and decay phases, collectively contributes to event duration and is not solely influenced by external factors like plasma conditions or electron beam dynamics but also by internal burst processes. These complex findings shed light on the physical mechanisms governing burst dynamics, revealing intricate interactions between electron beam characteristics and observed temporal and spectral traits of type III solar radio bursts.

This paper presents three distinct wave trains that occurred on 2023 April 21: a broad quasiperiodic fast-propagating (QFP) wave train and bidirectional narrow QFP wave trains. The broad QFP wave train expands outward in a circular wave front, while bidirectional narrow QFP wave trains propagate in the northward and southward directions, respectively. The concurrent presence of the wave trains offers a remarkable opportunity to investigate their respective triggering mechanisms. Measurement shows that the speed of the broad QFP wave train is in the range of 300–1100 km s ^−1 in different propagating directions. There is a significant difference in the speed of the bidirectional narrow QFP wave trains: the southward propagation achieves 1400 km s ^−1 , while the northward propagation only reaches about 550 km s ^−1 accompanied by a deceleration of about 1–2 km s ^−2 . Using the wavelet analysis, we find that the periodicity of the propagating wave trains in the southward and northward directions closely matches the quasiperiodic pulsations exhibited by the flares. Based on these results, the narrow QFP wave trains were most likely excited by the intermittent energy release in the accompanying flare. In contrast, the broad QFP wave train had a tight relationship with the erupting filament, probably attributed to the unwinding motion of the erupting filament, or the leakage of the fast sausage wave train inside the filament body.

Neurodegenerative diseases involve the progressive dysfunction and loss of neurons in the central nervous system and thus present a significant challenge due to the absence of effective therapies for halting or reversing their progression. Based on the characteristics of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), which have prolonged incubation periods and protracted courses, exploring non-invasive physical therapy methods is essential for alleviating such diseases and ensuring that patients have an improved quality of life. Photobiomodulation (PBM) uses red and infrared light for therapeutic benefits and functions by stimulating, healing, regenerating, and protecting organizations at risk of injury, degradation, or death. Over the last two decades, PBM has gained widespread recognition as a non-invasive physical therapy method, showing efficacy in pain relief, anti-inflammatory responses, and tissue regeneration. Its application has expanded into the fields of neurology and psychiatry, where extensive research has been conducted. This paper presents a review and evaluation of studies investigating PBM in neurodegenerative diseases, with a specific emphasis on recent applications in AD and PD treatment for both animal and human subjects. Molecular mechanisms related to neuron damage and cognitive impairment are scrutinized, offering valuable insights into PBM’s potential as a non-invasive therapeutic strategy.

There are two antenna arrays located in Mingantu Spectral Radio Heliograph (MUSER). MUSER-I and MUSER-II cover the frequency band ranging from 0.4 to 2 GHz and from 2 to 15 GHz respectively. A third antenna array covering 30–240 MHz will be established in the coming years. A log-periodic antenna is one of the choices for MUSER low frequency band; it radiates structures capable of maintaining consistent impedance characteristics over a wide bandwidth. Due to the ability of achieving high gain, it is widely used in many broadband applications. In this program, folded and unfolded log-periodic antennas are simulated for the Meridian project. In order to improve its return loss, this antenna is optimized with the width of each pole and the height of the substrate. This optimized process has been implemented in the simulated software HFSS.

MingantU SpEctral Radioheliograph (MUSER) is a solar-dedicated radio heliograph, adopting aperture synthesis technique to image the Sun in the frequency range of 0.4 GHz to 15 GHz. MUSER has extremely high spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and frequency resolution beyond those of contemporary devices of the same category. For aperture synthesis, the number of antennas is limited, so sparse sampling of Fourier components is actually obtained for solar observation, which corresponds to the situation that a clean image is convolved by a dirty beam with strong sidelobe in a spatial domain. Thus, the deconvolution, such as CLEAN, is generally required for imaging the aperture synthesis to remove artifacts caused by the convolving dirty beam. The traditional Högbom CLEAN is based on the assumption that an observed object is only composed of point sources. This assumption does not hold for solar observation, where the solar disk is an extended source containing complex structures and diffuse features. In this paper, we make the first attempt to employ scale sequentially CLEAN for MUSER imaging, including Multi-Resolution CLEAN and Wavelet CLEAN. The experimental results demonstrate that the scale sequentially CLEAN, especially wavelet CLEAN, is superior to the traditional CLEAN algorithm in smaller number of iterations and improved image quality. We provide optimized wavelet parameters to further improve the performance of wavelet CLEAN.

The solar minimum is a period with a relatively smaller number of sunspots and solar eruptions, and has been less studied before. Since the radio signal rapidly responds to the change of solar plasma and magnetic field, we perform a comprehensive analysis of high resolution spectrum data from SBRS and MUSER: 1) a search for solar radio bursts of different kinds in recent solar minima (2007–2009 and 2016–2018); 2) an analysis of several typical radio burst events, negative and positive drifting bursts, for example the November 22, 2015 and August 29, 2016 events; superfine spectral structure events with mini-flares and even without sunspots, for example the March 28, 2008 and July 04, 2017 events. These results show that there were many radio bursts with a fine structure during solar minima. These events occurred not only in powerful flares, but also in faint flares (class C and B by GOES) or even without flares, but in regions related to weak brightenings or ejecta. We assume that the weak solar radio bursts observed by telescopes with high sensitivity and low interference will help us to understand the basic physical characteristics of small-scale solar eruptions.

Spikes are typical radio bursts in solar flares, which are proposed to be the signal of energy release in the solar corona. The whole group of spikes always shows different spectral patterns in the dynamic spectrum. Here, we present a special new feature at 0.6–2 GHz in a confined flare. Each group of spikes is composed of many quasi-periodic sub-clusters, which are superposed on the broadband quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs). The quasi-periodic cluster of spikes (QPSs) have very intense emissions, and each cluster includes tens of individual spikes. When the intensity of background pulsation is increased, the intensity, duration and bandwidth of the spike cluster are also enlarged. There are 21 groups of QPSs throughout the confined flare. The central frequency of the whole group shifts from 1.9 to 1.2 GHz, and the duration of each cluster shows a negative exponential decay pattern. We propose that nonthermal electron beams play a crucial role in emitting both pulsations and spikes. The tearing-mode oscillations of a confined flux rope produce periodic accelerated electron beams. These electron beams travel inside the closed magnetic structure to produce frequency drifting pulsations via plasma emission and scattered narrowband spikes by electron-cyclotron maser emission (ECME). The slow rise of flux rope makes the source region move upward, and thus, QPSs shift towards low frequency. We propose that the confined flux rope may provide the essential conditions for the formation of QPSs.

The Chinese Spectral Radioheliograph (CSRH) covering 400 MHz-15 GHz frequency range was constructed during 2009–2016 in Mingantu Observing Station, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences at Zhengxiangbaiqi, Inner Mongolia of China. The CSRH is renamed as MingantU SpEctral Radioheliograph (MUSER) after its accomplishment. Currently, MUSER consists of two arrays spreading over three spiral-shaped arms. The maximum baseline length is ∼3 km in both east-west and north-south directions. The MUSER array configuration is optimized to meet the needs of observing the full-disk Sun over ultrawide wavebands with images of high temporal, spatial and spectral resolutions and high dynamic range. The low frequency array, called MUSER-I, covers 400 MHz-2.0 GHz with 40 antennas of 4.5-m-diameter each and the high frequency array, called MUSER-II, covers 2–15 GHz with 60 antennas of 2-m-diameter each. The MUSER-I can obtain full-disk solar radio images in 64 frequency channels with a time cadence of 25 ms and a spatial resolution of 51.6″ to 10.3″ (corresponding to the frequency range 400 MHz to 2 GHz), whereas the MUSER-II can obtain full-disk solar images in 520 channels with a time cadence of 206.25 ms and a spatial resolution of 10.3″ to 1.3 (corresponding to the frequency range 2 to 15 GHz). A dynamic range of 25 dB can be obtained with snapshot images produced with the MUSER. An extension of MUSER in the further lower frequency range covering 30–400 MHz with an array of 224 logarithm-periodic dipole antennas (LPDAs) has been approved and will be completed during the next 4 years. The MUSER, as a dedicated solar instrument, has the following advantages providing simultaneous images over a wide frequency range with a unique high temporal-spatial-spectral resolutions; high-performing ultrawide-band dual-polarization feeds for wide-band signal collection; advanced high data-rate, large-scale digital correlation receiver for multiple-frequency and faster snapshot observations; and applications of new technologies such as using optical fiber to obtain remote antenna and wide-band analog signal transmission. The MUSER thus provides a unique opportunity to measure solar magnetic fields and trace dynamic evolution of energetic electrons in several radio frequencies, which, in turn, will help to have better understandings of the origin of various solar activities and the basic drivers of space weather.

Failed filament eruption remains mysterious on its initiation, magnetic environment, and erupting and failing mechanisms. We present multi-wavelength observations of a failed filament eruption and its associated hovered coronal mass ejection (hovered-CME) from limb observations of the Ahead of Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. On-disk observations from Solar Dynamics Observatory show the expansion of the anchored leg of an S-shaped filament during the pre-eruption phase. The main eruption starts as a sudden ejection of the erupted leg, which is followed by the appearance of EUV brightening in the S-shaped magnetic field. The brightening is spatio-temporal accompanied with hard X-ray emission enhancement, and cancellation of opposite magnetic polarities, which imply possible reconnection. After reaching the maximum displacement, the erupted material drains back to the Sun along the remaining anchored leg. The non-linear force free magnetic field extrapolation shows an S-shaped magnetic field, formed by two magnetic structures, with a strong enveloped magnetic field. The decay index at the possible apex of the filament is 0.8–1.2. Observations indicate that the failed filament eruption is triggered by tether cutting reconnection and is possibly confined by the upper magnetic field. The hovered-CME, resulting from the failed filament eruption and recording as a coronal mass ejection (CME), may cause the overestimation of the CME count.

A new image enhancement algorithm employing guided filtering is proposed in this work for enhancement of solar images and videos, so that users can easily figure out important fine structures imbedded in the recorded images/movies for solar observation. The proposed algorithm can efficiently remove image noises, including Gaussian and impulse noises. Meanwhile, it can further highlight fibrous structures on/beyond the solar disk. These fibrous structures can clearly demonstrate the progress of solar flare, prominence coronal mass emission, magnetic field, and so on. The experimental results prove that the proposed algorithm gives significant enhancement of visual quality of solar images beyond original input and several classical image enhancement algorithms, thus facilitating easier determination of interesting solar burst activities from recorded images/movies.

Overexposure may happen for imaging of solar observation as extremely violet solar bursts occur, which means that signal intensity goes beyond the dynamic range of imaging system of a telescope, resulting in loss of signal. For example, during solar flare, Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) of Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) often records overexposed images/videos, resulting loss of fine structures of solar flare. This paper makes effort to retrieve/recover missing information of overexposure by exploiting deep learning for its powerful nonlinear representation which makes it widely used in image reconstruction/restoration. First, a new model, namely, mask-Pix2Pix network, is proposed for overexposure recovery. It is built on a well-known Pix2Pix network of conditional generative adversarial network (cGAN). In addition, a hybrid loss function, including an adversarial loss, a masked L1 loss and a edge mass loss/smoothness, are integrated together for addressing challenges of overexposure relative to conventional image restoration. Moreover, a new database of overexposure is established for training the proposed model. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed mask-Pix2Pix network can well recover missing information of overexposure and outperforms the state of the arts originally designed for image reconstruction tasks.

Solar radio images in decimeter wave range consist of many complicated components including a disk component, some bright and weak compact sources, and many diffuse features. Complicated structures combining these various components maybe cause restoration failure when using conventional algorithms. Furthermore, the images at different frequencies band are pretty different. Therefore, restoration method for solar radio image is different from other radio sources. Some image restoration methods were applied and obtained good results on Nancay radioheliograph images and Nobeyama radioheliograph images, and some new methods were introduced into processing these complicated solar radio images in recent years. For a new radioheliograph with ultrawide frequency band, new image restoration method which can maximize function of telescope is demanded. Different images could be obtained from the same visibilities data by using different weighting functions in imaging processing. In this paper, a new restoration method for solar radio image was proposed. Two images with different weighting functions from the same data are combined in this method. This restoration method has applied to data processing of Mingantu spectral radioheliograph.

Abstract Background Infertility affects one in six couples worldwide, with advanced maternal age (AMA) posing unique challenges due to diminished ovarian reserve and reduced oocyte quality. Single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer (SVBT) has shown promise in assisted reproductive technology (ART), but success rates in AMA patients remain suboptimal. This study aimed to identify and refine predictive factors for live birth following SVBT in AMA patients, with the goal of enhancing clinical decision-making and enabling personalized treatment strategies. Methods This retrospective cohort study analyzed 1,168 SVBT cycles conducted between June 2016 and December 2022 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University and Nanning Maternity and Child Health Hospital. Nineteen machine-learning models were applied to identify key predictive factors for live birth. Feature selection and 10-fold cross-validation were employed to validate the models. Results The most significant predictors of live birth included inner cell mass quality, trophectoderm quality, number of oocytes retrieved, endometrial thickness, and the presence of 8-cell blastomeres on day 3. The stacking model demonstrated the best predictive performance (AUC: 0.791), followed by Extra Trees (AUC: 0.784) and Random Forest (AUC: 0.768). These models outperformed traditional methods, achieving superior accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. Conclusion Leveraging advanced machine-learning models and identifying critical predictive factors can improve the accuracy of live birth outcome predictions for AMA patients undergoing SVBT. These findings offer valuable insights for enhancing clinical decision-making and managing patient expectations. Further research is needed to validate these results in larger, multi-center cohorts and to explore additional factors, including fresh embryo transfers, to broaden the applicability of these models in clinical practice.