Seasonal features of geomagnetic activity: a study on the solar activity dependence

Seasonal features of geomagnetic activity and their solar-wind–interplanetary drivers are studied using more than five solar cycles of geomagnetic activity and solar wind observations. This study involves a total of 1296 geomagnetic storms of varying intensity identified using the Dst index from January 1963 to December 2019, a total of 75 863 substorms identified from the SuperMAG AL/SML index from January 1976 to December 2019 and a total of 145 high-intensity long-duration continuous auroral electrojet (AE) activity (HILDCAA) events identified using the AE index from January 1975 to December 2017. The occurrence rates of the substorms and geomagnetic storms, including moderate (-50nT≥Dst>-100nT) and intense (-100nT≥Dst>-250nT) storms, exhibit a significant semi-annual variation (periodicity ∼6 months), while the super storms (Dst≤-250 nT) and HILDCAAs do not exhibit any clear seasonal feature. The geomagnetic activity indices Dst and ap exhibit a semi-annual variation, while AE exhibits an annual variation (periodicity ∼1 year). The annual and semi-annual variations are attributed to the annual variation of the solar wind speed Vsw and the semi-annual variation of the coupling function VBs (where V = Vsw, and Bs is the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field), respectively. We present a detailed analysis of the annual and semi-annual variations and their dependencies on the solar activity cycles separated as the odd, even, weak and strong solar cycles.

SEXUAL ACTIVITY: DEPENDENCE ON AGE, GENDER, VARIOUS CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES AND CEREBRAL STROKE

Целью представленного исследования явилось определение места и роли сексуальных расстройств у представителей разного пола и возраста в развитии фоновой для церебрального инсульта патологии и формировании клинической картины острого периода инсульта и его последствий. Детально рассматривали вопросы интимной жизни 111 пациентов (58 мужчин и 53 женщины) в предшествовавшие инсульту периоды и определяли возможные связи с клиническими особенностями острого периода инсульта. У 77 из этих 111 пациентов изучали динамику сексуальных нарушений в связи с особенностями функционального дефекта, сформировавшегося спустя 3-24 мес после перенесенного инсульта. Выявлено, что снижение сексуальной активности до инсульта имеет, наряду с возрастом, отчетливое значение в развитии фоновой для инсульта патологии и в формировании последствий инсульта. У лиц пожилого возраста наиболее тяжелые функциональные последствия инсульта сформировались в 8,3 % при наличии нормальных сексуальных отношений в предшествовавший инсульту период и в 27,6 % при отсутствии таковых. Негативная динамика сексуальной активности после перенесенного инсульта выявлена в 46,8 % наблюдений, в основном у представителей пожилого возраста, и связана у женщин с наличием и выраженностью неврологического дефицита, у мужчин с присутствием церебральных атрофических изменений. The purpose of this study was to determine the place and role of sexual disorders in representatives of different sexes and ages in the development of background for cerebral stroke pathology and the formation of the clinical picture of acute stroke period and its consequences. Questions of intimate life of 111 patients (58 men and 53 women) in the periods preceding a stroke were considered in detail and possible connections with clinical features of an acute period of in-Soult were defined. In 77 of these 111 patients, we studied the dynamics of sexual disorders in connection with the features of a functional defect that formed 3-24 months after a stroke. It was revealed that the decrease in sexual activity before the stroke has a distinct significance along with age in the development of background for insulin pathology and in the formation of the consequences of stroke. In the elderly, the most severe functional consequences of stroke were formed in 8,3 % in the presence of normal sexual relations in the period preceding the stroke and in 27,6 % in the absence of such. Negative dynamics of sexual activity after a stroke was detected in 46,8 % of cases, mainly among the elderly, and is associated in women with the presence and severity of neurological deficits, in men-with the presence of cerebral atrophic changes.

Neutrophils’ functional activity in patients with mechanical jaundice and different levels of bilirubin

Introduction: Mechanical jaundice (MJ) or bile duct blockage occurs when the bile ducts' patency is impaired, and the bile flow has stopped. One of the main pathogenetic factors developing complications with MJ is immune system imbalance, particularly its phagocytic link. The purpose of the study was to understand neutrophils' functional activity dependence with different blood bilirubin levels in men with mechanical jaundice. Methods: Forty-seven middle-aged men with mechanical jaundice were divided into three groups depending on the bilirubin levels in their blood: less than 60 μmol/L (n = 10), 60 – 200 μmol/L (n = 20), and more than 200 μmol/L (n = 17). The control group consisted of 50 practically healthy men of the same age. The neutrophils' functional state was assessed using the methods of spontaneous and induced luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of neutrophils. Results: In the group of patients with mechanical jaundice and a bilirubin level of less than 60 μmol/L, there was an increase in the values of T max spontaneous by 96%, I max spontaneous by 44.81%, S spontaneous by 224.6%, T max induced by 19.9%, I max induced by 13.5%, and S induced by 140.3%. In the group with bilirubin levels from 60 – 200 μmol/L, there was an increase in the values of T max spontaneous by 86.8%, I max spontaneous at 47.7%, S spontaneous at 204.6%, I max induced at 28.3%, S induced at 445%, and activation index at 70%. The group with bilirubin levels more than 200 μmol/L showed an increase in the level of T max spontaneous by 85.9%, I max spontaneous by 53.4%, S spontaneous by 927.3%, I max induced by 28.6%, S induced by 1045%, and activation index by 92.3% compared with the control values. The intergroup differences were found in S spontaneous levels, which were higher in the group with more than 200 μmol/L bilirubin levels compared with the 60 – 200 μmol/L group and less than the 60 μmol/L groups by 216.9% and 237.3% respectively. Conclusion: The revealed changes characterize the functional activity of neutrophils' increase with an increase in the bilirubin levels in patients with mechanical jaundice.

Seasonal features of geomagnetic activity: evidence for solar activity dependence?

Seasonal features of geomagnetic activity and their solar wind-interplanetary drivers are studied using more than 5 solar cycles of geomagnetic activity and solar wind observations. This study involves a total of 1239 geomagnetic storms of varying intensity identified using the Dst index from January 1963 to December 2019, a total of 75863 substorms identified from the SML index from January 1976 to December 2019, a total of 145 high-intensity long-duration continuous auroral electrojet (AE) activity (HILDCAA) events identified using the AE index from January 1975 to December 2017. The occurrence rates of the substorms, geomagnetic storms, including moderate (−50 nT ≥ Dst > −100 nT) and intense (−100 nT ≥ Dst > −250 nT), exhibit a significant semi-annual variation (periodicity ~ 6 months), while the super storms (Dst ≤ −250 nT) and HILDCAAs do not exhibit any clear seasonal feature. The geomagnetic activity indices Dst and ap exhibit a semi-annual variation while AE exhibits an annual variation (periodicity ~ 1 year). The annual and semi-annual variations are found to be driven by the annual variation of the solar wind speed Vsw and the semi-annual variation of the coupling function V Bs (where V = Vsw, and Bs is the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field), respectively. We present a detailed analysis of the annual and semi-annual variations and their dependencies on the solar activity cycles separated as the odd, even, weak and strong solar cycles.

Solar activity dependence of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances using GPS receivers in Japan

In order to reveal solar activity dependence of the medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) at midlatitudes, total electron content (TEC) data obtained from a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver network in Japan during 22 years from 1998 to 2019 were analyzed. We have calculated the detrended TEC by subtracting the 1-h running average from the original TEC data for each satellite and receiver pair, and made two-dimensional TEC maps of the detrended TEC with a spatial resolution of 0.15° × 0.15° in longitude and latitude. We have investigated MSTID activity, defined as $$\delta I/\overline{I}$$ δ I / I ¯ , where $$\delta I$$ δ I and $$\overline{I}$$ I ¯ are standard deviation of the detrended TEC and the average vertical TEC within the area of 133.0°–137.0° E and 33.0°–37.0° N for 1 h, respectively. From each 2-h time series of the detrended TEC data within the same area as the MSTID activity, auto-correlation functions (ACFs) of the detrended TEC were calculated to estimate the horizontal propagation velocity and direction of the MSTIDs. Statistical results of the MSTID activity and propagation direction of MSTIDs were consistent with previous studies and support the idea that daytime MSTIDs could be caused by atmospheric gravity waves, and that nighttime MSTIDs were caused by electro-dynamical forces, such as the Perkins instability. From the current long-term observations, we have found that the nighttime MSTID activity and occurrence rate increased with decreasing solar activity. For the daytime MSTID, the occurrence rate increased with decreasing solar activity, whereas the MSTID activity did not show distinct solar activity dependence. These results suggest that the secondary gravity waves generated by dissipation of the primary gravity waves propagating from below increase under low solar activity conditions. The mean horizontal phase velocity of the MSTIDs during nighttime did not show a distinct solar activity dependence, whereas that during daytime showed an anticorrelation with solar activity. The horizontal phase velocity of the daytime MSTIDs was widely distributed from 40 to 180 m/s under high solar activity conditions, whereas it ranged between 80 and 200 m/s, with a maximum occurrence at 130 m/s under low solar activity conditions, suggesting that gravity waves with low phase velocity could be dissipated by high viscosity in the thermosphere under low solar activity conditions.

Investigation into the event-activity dependence of ϒ(nS) relative production in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ = 7 TeV

The ratios of the production cross sections between the excited ϒ(2S) and ϒ(3S) mesons and the ϒ(1S) ground state, detected via their decay into two muons, are studied as a function of the number of charged particles in the event. The data are from proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb−1, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. Evidence of a decrease in these ratios as a function of the particle multiplicity is observed, more pronounced at low transverse momentum $$ {p}_{\mathrm{T}}^{\upmu \upmu} $$ p T μμ . For ϒ(nS) mesons with $$ {p}_{\mathrm{T}}^{\upmu \upmu} $$ p T μμ > 7 GeV, where most of the data were collected, the correlation with multiplicity is studied as a function of the underlying event transverse sphericity and the number of particles in a cone around the ϒ(nS) direction. The ratios are found to be multiplicity independent for jet-like events. The mean $$ {p}_{\mathrm{T}}^{\upmu \upmu} $$ p T μμ values for the ϒ(nS) states as a function of particle multiplicity are also measured and found to grow more steeply as their mass increases.

Effects of Solar Activity on Ionospheric Ion Upflow During Geomagnetic Quiet Periods: DMSP Observations

Based on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) observations during Solar Cycle 23, this paper examines solar activity dependence of ionospheric bulk ion upflow events (IUEs) in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Much previous similar work was conducted over the Northern Hemisphere (NH) with measurements from European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT). To eliminate the influence of geomagnetic disturbance on IUEs, we pick out observations during geomagnetic quiet periods (with Kp ≤ 2+). Results show that, ion upward densities and fluxes are dramatically elevated at times of high solar activity (HSA) but ion upward drifts and occurrences are increased at times of low solar activity (LSA) in the SH, which is consistent with the situation in the NH. The ratios between HSA and LSA for these four parameters (IUEs’ density, flux, upward drift and occurrence) are ~2.71, ~1.98, ~0.76 and ~0.57, respectively. Furthermore, lower flux event takes place frequently at LSA as the background ion density is low but the upward drift is large, while higher flux event happens commonly at times of HSA accompanied by high ion density but low upward velocity. Quantitatively, an increase in unit of solar activity (characterized by P index) causes a 4.2×108 m−3 increase in ion density and a 1.2×1011 m−2·s−1 enhancement in upward flux, together with a 0.6 m·s−1 and 0.02 % decrease in ion upward velocity and uprate, respectively. The acceleration from the ambipolar electric field is thought to be a possible mechanism affecting the dependence of IUEs on solar variations. For HSA, the acceleration from the ambipolar electric field weakens, but a large number of background ions provide abundant seeds for acceleration and upflow, which maintains a high IUE flux. It is inferred that upflow events and upward drifts are inhibited by the enhanced ionospheric background density.