Using CME Progenitors to Assess CME Geoeffectiveness

There have been a few previous studies claiming that the effects of geomagnetic storms strongly depend on the orientation of the magnetic cloud portion of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Aparna & Martens, using halo-CME data from 2007 to 2017, showed that the magnetic field orientation of filaments at the location where CMEs originate on the Sun can be used to credibly predict the geoeffectiveness of the CMEs being studied. The purpose of this study is to extend their survey by analyzing the halo-CME data for 1996–2006. The correlation of filament axial direction on the solar surface and the corresponding Bz signatures at L1 are used to form a more extensive analysis for the results previously presented by Aparna & Martens. This study utilizes Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope 195 Å, Michelson Doppler Imager magnetogram images, and Kanzelhöhe Solar Observatory and Big Bear Solar Observatory Hα images for each particular time period, along with ACE data for interplanetary magnetic field signatures. Utilizing all these, we have found that the trend in Aparna & Martens’ study of a high likelihood of correlation between the axial field direction on the solar surface and Bz orientation persists for the data between 1996 and 2006, for which we find a match percentage of 65%.

Physics informed deep learning to super-resolve and cross-calibrate solar magnetograms

Super-resolution techniques aim to increase the resolution of images by adding detail. Compared to upsampling techniques reliant on interpolation, deep learning-based approaches learn features and their relationships across the training data set to leverage prior knowledge on what low resolution patterns look like in higher resolution images. As an added benefit, deep neural networks can learn the systematic properties of the target images (i.e.\ texture), combining super-resolution with instrument cross-calibration. While the successful use of super-resolution algorithms for natural images is rooted in creating perceptually convincing results, super-resolution applied to scientific data requires careful quantitative evaluation of performances. In this work, we demonstrate that deep learning can increase the resolution and calibrate space- and ground-based imagers belonging to different instrumental generations. In addition, we establish a set of measurements to benchmark the performance of scientific applications of deep learning-based super-resolution and calibration. We super-resolve and calibrate solar magnetic field images taken by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI; resolution ~2"/pixel; science-grade, space-based) and the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG; resolution ~2.5"/pixel; space weather operations, ground-based) to the pixel resolution of images taken by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI; resolution ~0.5"/pixel; last generation, science-grade, space-based).

Comparative Analysis of the Measured and Modeled Equatorial Thermospheric Wind Climatology

<p>The thermospheric winds play an important role in the vertical and horizontal couplings of the upper atmosphere by modulating neutral and plasma dynamics. A large variety of observation techniques and numerical as well as empirical models have been developed to understand the behavior of thermospheric winds. The Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) is a widely used ground- and satellite-based optical instrument for the thermospheric winds observations in the upper atmosphere. Due to solar contamination of the fainter airglow emission during the daytime, most of the ground-based interferometric wind measurements are limited to the nighttime period only. Despite these constraints, the Second‐generation, Optimized, Fabry‐Perot Doppler Imager (SOFDI) is designed for both daytime and nighttime measurements of thermospheric winds from OI 630‐nm emission and is currently operating at the Huancayo, Peru, near the geomagnetic equator. In this study, we present a comparative analysis of the observed SOFDI wind climatological data and several other modeled results including, but not limited to, Horizontal Wind Model 2014 (HWM-14), Coupled Thermosphere Ionosphere Plasmasphere Electrodynamics (CTIPe) model with and without implementing Prompt Penetration Electric Field (PPEF), Whole Atmosphere Model (WAM), SAMI3 model, and Magnetic mEridional NeuTrAl Thermospheric (MENTAT) model. We examine the relative performances of these models in the context of the direct-measured thermospheric winds. The day and nighttime modeled winds show an excellent agreement with the SOFDI wind data at the equatorial latitude, except for the daytime zonal winds. Further, this analysis gives a comprehensive picture of how well the measured winds provided by the SOFDI instrument and various models represent the features of the equatorial thermosphere. We also investigate and give an overview of the sources, drivers, effects, and possible mechanisms of the wind variability in the low-latitude thermosphere.</p>

Abstract 249: Plasma Exosomes Impair Angiogenesis in Ischemic Hind Limb of Diabetic Mice- Role of Histone Methylation

Background: Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is one of most prevenient cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. Recent evidence suggests that altered cargo and function of plasma exosomes (plasma-Exo) may play an important role in diabetes-induced cardiovascular complications. Here, we tested the hypotheses that inhibition of exosome biosynthesis/release improves ischemic hind limb (IHL) repair in db/db mice. Methods: Plasma-Exo from db/+ and db/db mice were isolated by density-gradient ultracentrifugation. Unilateral IHL in mice was conducted by ligation of left femoral artery. Blood perfusion in IHL was measured by Laser Doppler Imager. Results: Diabetic plasma-Exo impaired tube formation/migration of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) and blood perfusion in IHL of C57BL/6J mice. Exosome inhibitor GW4869 improved blood flow, capillary density, cell survival, and rescued necrosis of toe/toenail and fibrosis in IHL muscle of db/db mice. Mechanistically, diabetic plasma-Exo decreased secretion of pro-angiogenic factor Ang I&II, artemin, FGF2 and IGFBP1&2, and increased repressive transcriptional mark H3K27me3 and its methylase enhancer of zest homolog-2 (EZH2) in HMVECs. EZH2 inhibitor GSK343 rescued diabetic plasma-Exo-impaired tube formation and secretion of FGF2/artemin from HMVECs. Moreover, GW4869 reduced EZH2 and H3K27me3 protein expression in lung microvascular ECs of IHL db/db mice. Finally, diabetic plasma-Exo increased H3K27me3 level at promoter of artemin and FGF2. Conclusions: Diabetic plasma-Exo impair angiogenesis and IHL injury repair. Diabetic plasma-Exo impair reparative property of ECs via, at least in part, enhancement of EZH2/H3K27me3/artemin and FGF2 cascade. Inhibition of plasma-Exo biosynthesis/secretion improve IHL repair in db/db mice. Plasma-Exo may be a novel target for prevention/treatment of CLI in diabetic patients.

The Role of Field-Aligned Current Closure on the E and F-Region Coupled Thermosphere-Ionosphere

<p>In this study, the behaviour of both E and F-region neutral winds are examined in the vicinity of intense R1 and R2 field-aligned currents (FACs), measured by AMPERE. This is achieved through the dual sampling of both the green (557.5nm) and red (630nm) auroral emissions, sequentially, from a ground based Scanning Doppler Imager (SDI) located in Alaska.</p><p>With the addition of plasma velocity data from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) and ionospheric parameters from the Poker Flat Incoheerent Scatter Radar (PFISR), we assess how the large closure of Pedersen currents (implied by the strong FACs) modifies the spatial and temporal structure of the neutral wind at different altitudes. We find that the thermosphere becomes significantly height dependent, which could indicate a broader altitude range where the Pedersen conductivity is more important during intense FAC closure.</p>

Multi-instrument Observations of Ion-Neutral Coupling in the Dayside Cusp

<p>Using data from the Scanning Doppler Imager, the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network, the EISCAT Svalbard Radar and an auroral all-sky imager, we examine an instance of F-region neutral winds which have been influenced by the presence of poleward moving auroral forms near the dayside cusp region. We observe a reduction in the time taken for the ion-drag force to re-orientate the neutrals into the direction of the convective plasma (on the order of minutes), compared to before the auroral activity began. Additionally, because the ionosphere near the cusp is influenced much more readily by changes in the solar wind via dayside reconnection, we observe the neutrals responding to an interplanetary magnetic field change within minutes of it occurring. This has implications on the rate that energy is deposited into the ionosphere via Joule heating, which we show to become dampened by the neutral winds.</p>

Solar Rossby waves observed in GONG++ ring-diagram flow maps

Context. Solar Rossby waves have only recently been unambiguously identified in Helioseimsic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and Michelson Doppler Imager maps of flows near the solar surface. So far this has not been done with the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) ground-based observations, which have different noise properties. Aims. We use 17 years of GONG++ data to identify and characterize solar Rossby waves using ring-diagram helioseismology. We compare directly with HMI ring-diagram analysis. Methods. Maps of the radial vorticity were obtained for flows within the top 2 Mm of the surface for 17 years of GONG++ data. The data were corrected for systematic effects including the annual periodicity related to the B0 angle. We then computed the Fourier components of the radial vorticity of the flows in the co-rotating frame. We performed the same analysis on the HMI data that overlap in time. Results. We find that the solar Rossby waves have measurable amplitudes in the GONG++ sectoral power spectra for azimuthal orders between m = 3 and m = 15. The measured mode characteristics (frequencies, lifetimes, and amplitudes) from GONG++ are consistent with the HMI measurements in the overlap period from 2010 to 2018 for m ≤ 9. For higher-m modes the amplitudes and frequencies agree within two sigmas. The signal-to-noise ratio of modes in GONG++ power spectra is comparable to those of HMI for 8 ≤ m ≤ 11, but is lower by a factor of two for other modes. Conclusions. The GONG++ data provide a long and uniform data set that can be used to study solar global-scale Rossby waves from 2001.

The LDIFLARE and CCM Methods Demonstrate Early Nerve Fiber Abnormalities in Untreated Hypothyroidism: A Prospective Study

Context Recent studies using skin biopsy suggest presence of small-fiber neuropathy in subclinical hypothyroidism. This study uses two noninvasive methods—the laser Doppler imager flare technique (LDIFLARE) and corneal confocal microscopy (CCM)—to assess small-fiber function (SFF) and small-fiber structure (SFS), respectively, in newly diagnosed hypothyroidism (HT) before and after adequate treatment. Design and Setting Single-center, prospective, intervention-based cohort study. Patients and Participants Twenty patients with newly diagnosed HT (15 with primary HT and 5 with post-radioiodine HT) along with 20 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). Interventions Patients with HT and HCs were assessed neurologically at diagnosis and baseline, respectively. The HT group was reassessed after optimal replacement (defined as TSH level of 0.27 to 4.20 mIU/L) with levothyroxine (LT4) and HCs were reviewed after 1 year. Main Outcome Measures Neurologic assessment for small fibers was performed by using LDIFLARE for SFF and CCM for SFS; large fibers were studied by sural nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) and sural nerve amplitude (SNAP). Results At baseline, both LDIFLARE (mean ± SD) (6.74 ± 1.20 vs 8.90 ± 1.75 cm2; P = 0.0002) and CCM nerve fiber density (CNFD) (expressed as number of fibers per mm2: 50.77 ± 6.54 vs 58.32 ± 6.54; P = 0.002) were significantly reduced in the HT group compared with HCs whereas neither SNCV nor SNAP was different (P ≥ 0.05). After optimal LT4 treatment, both LDIFLARE (7.72 ± 1.12 vs 6.74 ± 1.20 cm2; P ≤ 0.0001) and CNFD (54.43 ± 5.70 vs 50.77 ± 6.54 no./mm2; P = 0.02) improved significantly but remained significantly reduced compared to HCs (P = 0.008 and P = 0.01, respectively) despite normalization of TSH. Conclusions This study demonstrates that dysfunction of small fibers precedes large neural fiber abnormalities in early HT. This can be reversed by replacement therapy to achieve a biochemically euthyroid state, but small-fiber neural outcomes continued to remain low compared with values in HCs.