Night Of December Research Articles

Plasma and field signatures of poleward propagating auroral precipitation observed at the foot of the Geos 2 field line

The 6300‐Å auroral emission intensity at Kilpisjärvi, Finland, was monitored during the 1978–1979 winter, and comparisons made with data from the geostationary Geos 2 spacecraft located on the same magnetic field line. Optical 6300‐Å events with a rise time of a few minutes and a decay time of about 1 hour were regularly observed, and four events from the night of December 18, 1978, were analyzed in detail. All‐sky camera data showed that the events arose from poleward propagating auroras associated with auroral breakup. The Geos 2 plasma and field signatures for these events were remarkably well defined and consistent. About 1 hour prior to an event the tailward component of the magnetic field at Geos 2 begins to grow; it relaxes suddenly to a dipolar configuration at the event onset. At the same time there is a short‐lived electric field enhancement up to 15 mV/m and a burst of ULF waves (a short irregular pulsation event). There is a dropout in E <500 eV electron intensity, a sudden rise in E >20‐keV intensity, and an onset of VLF activity, all of which persists for roughly 1 hour, in parallel with the decaying 6300‐Å emission. The observed electric field values are comparable to the inductive electric field expected from the observed magnetic field changes and appear to play a crucial role in the processes. The energy release associated with the 6300‐Å emission is comparable to the energy stored in the E <500‐eV electrons prior to the onset. These events appear to correspond to injection events, occurring at the onset of the locally detected expansion phase.

Observation of the shadow of O3on the D Layer in the lonospheric VLF guide over the atlantic ocean

Abstract Detailed studies have been made of the sudden increase of the phase velocity of radio waves observed at sunrise in the 10 kH band, when optical path and terminator are crossing together at a small angle along the 12,000 km line between the ground based station of Caen (France) and the Loran transmitter at Trelew (Argentina). Assuming that the increase of electron density in the lower part of the E layer at twilight is mainly due to electron detachment of O− 2 by collision with newly created O(3P) and O2(1Δg), we analyse the specific contributions of the hard and soft components of the Hartley band and the far end of Schumann-Runge band to the amount of these constituents by action on molecular O2 and O3 between 80 and 90 kilometers. Using an exponential distribution of O3 supposed to be responsible for the U.V. screening above 60 km, we discuss preliminary results of daily measurements of the mean total mass of O3 in the mesosphere between 49°N and 45°S, by the end of every December night (in 197...

ELEVEN AND TWO-THIRDS YEARS' SURVIVAL AFTER CANINE ORTHOTOPIC LIVER TRANSPLANTATIO,N1

The first animal to survive chronically after orthotopic liver transplantation was a mongrel dog that received a hepatic homograft on March 23, 1964. The recipient was estimated to be 2 years old. The unrelated mongrel donor was of a different color and appearance. Immunosuppression was with azathioprine which was stopped after 120 days. Treatment was never resumed. The transplanted liver was biopsied on several occasions during the next 5 years and was always thought to be normal (2, 4). After a brief illness, the dog died on the night of December 8, 1975, at the estimated age of 14 years and after a total survival post-transplantation of 11 years and 8½ months. He had appeared to be well clinically until 1 or 2 days before death. For most of the post-transplant period, the dog had normal liver function tests (Fig. 1). However, during the last 12 months of life, there was intermittent transaminasemia and elevation of the serum alkaline phosphatase. A few weeks before death, the serum bilirubin was increased to 2.5 mg/100 ml. FIGURE 1 Serum biochemistries during the 11 years and 8½ months of survival following orthotopic liver transplantation on March 23, 1964. The values recorded during the last 8 months of life represent individual determinations. All other points on the ... At autopsy, the liver was of normal size. It weighed 2.7% of the body weight, which was 12.5 kg. The liver had a nutmeg appearance and was hard. There were no abnormal venous collaterals suggestive of portal hypertension. The reconstructed vena cava above and below the liver and the portal vein were normal, with barely detectable sites of anastomosis. To arterialize the liver, a segment of donor aorta in continuity with the hepatic artery had been anastomosed to the infrarenal recipient aorta. Although the hepatic artery was grossly normal, the homograft aorta had extensive calcified atherosclerosis. Biliary reconstruction was with cholecystoduodenostomy after ligation of the distal common duct. The gallbladder, the common duct, and all the intrahepatic ducts were filled with small or medium-sized stones or else with a soft, variably colored green to orange sludge. The stone analysis showed predominantly bilirubin with only trace amounts of cholesterol and bile salts. Other significant findings at autopsy were pulmonary edema, coronary artery disease, and left ventricular hypertrophy. The immediate cause of death was congestive heart failure. Histopathological evaluation of the homograft revealed portal fibrosis and linking of the enlarged portal tracts to one another by connective tissue septa (Fig. 2). There was concentric scarring around the interlobular and septal bile ducts and proliferation of ductules at the margins of the portal tracts. Many of the larger bile ducts were dilated and filled with inspissated bile. The epithelium of the affected ducts was ulcerated and there were aggregates of small lymphocytes, plasma cells, and macrophages around the ducts. A few bile “thrombi” were present in the centrilobular part of the bile canaliculi. Liver cell damage was slight. The arteries and arterioles were normal. These changes are typical of chronic large duct biliary obstruction. There was no evidence of rejection. FIGURE 2 Canine hepatic homograft at autopsy 11 years and 8½ months after transplantation. Fibrous septa link enlarged portal tracts (arrows). There is proliferation of bile ductules and concentric scarring and mononuclear cell infiltration around the ... The thymus, mesenteric and mediastinal lymph nodes, and Peyer’s patches appeared to be normal. The spleen had been removed at the time of transplantation. Examination of the rest of the tissues confirmed the narrowing of the coronary arteries by atherosclerosis, the hypertrophied left ventricle, and the congestion and edema of the lungs. The atherosclerosis in the homograft aorta was severe, with large patches of calcification and bone formation with marrow. By contrast the recipient aorta was normal. The kidneys were normal. Thus, although the dog died primarily of cardiovascular manifestations of old age, a potentially lethal biliary duct complication was present which would have independently caused death within a short time. A partial obstruction of the cystic duct was apparently the main cause of the extensive stone and sludge formation that had affected both the extrahepatic and intrahepatic ducts. The intrahepatic biliary plugging with inspissated bile casts was similar to a syndrome that we (1, 3) and Waldram et al. (5) have noted in humans. Such findings in animals and man point again to the reconstructed biliary duct system as the Achilles’ heel of liver transplantation. The completely normal findings in this dog’s lymphoid system were of interest, since no immunosuppression whatever had been given for 11½ years.

Sigma Orionis E as a mass-transfer binary system

SIGMA Orionis E, the first He-rich B star discovered1,2, was recently found3,4 to have an extremely broad (∼1,800 km s−1), rapidly varying Hα-emission feature. From independent spectroscopic, spectrophotometric, and photometric observations on 4 consecutive nights in December 1974, we have shown4 that it is a variable, with P ≃ 1.19 d; however, incomplete phase coverage in those data, as well as uncertainty about the nature of the periodicity, has hampered the development of a model to account for the wealth of observed phenomena. Here we briefly communicate results of new continuous uvbyβ photometry carried out during the 11 consecutive nights December 28, 1975–January 7, 1976 (UT), together with some possible interpretations.

The SAR arc event observed during the December 1971 magnetic storm

Observations from five separate experiments on the Isis 2 spacecraft are used to study the atmosphere/ionosphere during the magnetic storm of December 16-20, 1971. The data are most complete in the midlatitude region, permitting a study of the SAR arc (subauroral red arc) which developed during the night of December 17-18. Ion composition and temperature, electron temperature, electron-density height profiles from the spacecraft to the F region, and the intensity of the 6300-A oxygen emission are all presented for the region of interest. It is found that the H(+) concentration had sharp gradients near the SAR arc and that the plasma temperature was significantly enhanced over typical nighttime values, reaching nearly 7000 K at 1400 km on the field line which intersected the arc. A system of time-dependent equations for atmospheric/ionospheric composition and temperature is solved using boundary conditions which were selected so that the solutions are in agreement with the observations. From these solutions, an assessment is made of the influence of (1) the efflux of plasma from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere, (2) the decrease in O/N2 at the turbopause, (3) the increase in the loss coefficient as a result of an increase in the vibrational temperature of N2, and (4) the conduction of thermal energy into the ionosphere.

Doppler profile measurements of the geocoronal hydrogen Balmer alpha line

Results of high-resolution measurements of the geocoronal hydrogen Balmer alpha line profile made during several nights in December 1971, May 1972, and October 1972 are presented. The measured intensities are found to be in general agreement with the theory and earlier measurements under essentially similar conditions, and the measured geocoronal hydrogen temperatures are found to be somewhat lower than the Jacchia (1971) model exospheric values.

Narrow band filter photometry of Comet Kohoutek

Narrow band photoelectric measurements of CN(3870), CO +(4250), C 2(4700), and C 2(5120) were made on twelve nights in December and January of comet Kohoutek. CN and C 2 appear to be stronger after perihelion, and CO + showed a strong post perihelion increase coincident with the first appearance of a strong gas tail and then decreased to a fairly constant level.

Dye-laser observations of the nighttime atomic sodium layer

Observations of the free atomic sodium layer near 90 km have been made as part of performance tests on a tunable dye-laser radar. Altitude profiles of the layer obtained during parts of four nights in the fall of 1971 are consistent with those obtained by other groups but show two interesting additional features. The first is a sharp decrease in density that terminates the layer on the bottom side at a variable altitude near the mesopause. This decrease appears to become sharp only some time after twilight, suggesting that the sodium consumption mechanism undergoes a change as the nighttime chemistry is established. The second feature is a fourfold increase in sodium-layer content during a 4-hour period surrounding the transit of the radiant of the Geminids meteor shower on the night of December 13–14, 1971, when the shower was at its peak.

The Beirut Raid and the International Law of Retaliation

On the night of December 28, 1968, eight Israeli helicopters took part in an attack on the Beirut International Airport. Israeli commandos descended from six of the helicopters (the other two hovered above) that had landed either on runways or at the hangars of the airport. All commercial aircraft belonging to Arab airlines were destroyed by explosives being placed in the nose-wheel well and in the undercarriage well of each plane. The attack resulted in the destruction of 13 planes whose worth has been estimated to be $43.8 million. Additional damage has been reported done to hangars and other airport installations. Lebanese sources report that two Israeli commandos were injured by gunfire from airport guards. There was no loss of life.

Changes in Polarization, Light and Colour during the Outburst Stage of the Recurrent Nova T Pyxidis

WE were notified on December 8, 1966, by Mr. Frank Bateson, of the discovery in New Zealand by Mr. Albert Jones that the recurrent Nova T Pyx was at visual magnitude 12.9 on December 7. Previous estimates had placed the nova near magnitude 14.5 for some years. Photometric and polarimetric observations, with the 40 in. and 24 in. reflectors at Siding Spring Mountain, began on the night of December 8–9. The photometric observations during the pre-maximum and maximum phases of the outburst are shown in Table 1 and in Fig. 1. The trends of the variation in visual magnitude, during the gaps in the observations caused by clouds at Siding Spring Mountain, are shown in Fig. 1 by broken curves and are based on visual observations by V. L. Matchett and M. Jones of the Moreton Bay Astronomical Club. A slight adjustment was necessary to bring the visual observations into agreement with the photoelectric results. Previous outbursts of the nova were in 1890, 1902, 1920 and 1944 and the light curve in Fig. 1 is strikingly similar to those obtained in 1902, 1920 and 19441.

The semidiurnal tide in the lower thermosphere

The time variation of winds was measured from trails of chemiluminescent vapor throughout the night of December 3, 1962, in the northern hemisphere at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, 29°N [Rosenberg and Justus, 1966]. They found the sinusoidal variation of both the north-south and the east-west wind profiles above 100 km to be characterized by a downward variation of phase velocity consistent with a periodicity of approximately 12 hours. Although my basic concern in this note is the reality of the midlatitude semidiurnal tide at these heights during winter, as evidenced by comparison with radio meteor winds determined in the southern hemisphere month of June 1961 at Adelaide, 35°S [Roper and Elford, 1965a],. it should be emphasized that, as has been shown by Hines [1966], the apparent dominance of a 12-hour component over the limited period of observation does not preclude the existence of an appreciable diurnal tide.

Thermal infrared emission of the Jovian disk

The 8–14 micron infrared emission of Jupiter has been observed on six nights in December 1963 using the 200-inch Hale telescope. The new observations possess twice the resolution of those obtained in 1962. The brightness temperature at the center of the disk appears to be nearly constant at 129°K. With some slight ambiguity, the light bands are about 0.5° cooler in appearance than the dark bands. There is some suggestion of morning-evening asymmetry in one of the bands. The Great Red Spot is found to be from 1.5° to 2.0° cooler than the surrounding disk at the newer resolution.

Mapping the Brightness-Temperature Distribution of Jupiter at 10 μ.

view Abstract Citations (1) References Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Mapping the Brightness-Temperature Distribution of Jupiter at 10 μ. Wildey, Robert L. Abstract The 8-14 ~ infrared emission of Jupiter has been observed on six nights in December of 1963 using the 200-in. Hale telescope. The new observations possess twice the resolution of those obtained in 1962. The brightness temperature at the center of the disk appears to be closely constant at 1290K. With some slight ambiguity, the light bands are about 0?5 cooler in appearance than the dark bands. There is some suggestion of morning-evening asymmetry in one of the bands. The Great Red Spot is found to be from 1?5 to 2?0 cooler than the surrounding disk at the newer resolution. The observations were collected with a photometer employing a mercury-doped germanium photoconductor utilized as a 180 cps transducer through the use of a simple articulated double mirror spatial filter which eliminates a large portion of sky-telescope background from the signal. The present limitations to these maps arise from the nonstationary nature of part of the noise. In the future, noise-suppressed maps may be possible without superposition of several maps, which may then remove some of the ambiguity of the present interpretation. These observations will be presented in greater detail in the current issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research. Publication: The Astronomical Journal Pub Date: 1965 DOI: 10.1086/109843 Bibcode: 1965AJ.....70T.696W full text sources ADS |

FORECASTING MINIMUM TEMPERATURES ON CLEAR WINTER NIGHTS IN AN ARID REGION

Abstract Minimum temperature formulas for clear nights in December, January, and February are developed by the Young method and tested on both original and test data. The results of these tests lead to a discussion of some weaknesses of the “method of arbitrary corrections.” Jacobs' graphical adaptation of Brunt's equation is tested (a) using experimentally determined values for the local soil constants to compute the “effective” soil factor, and (b) using a soil factor determined empirically for local meteorological data. With Brunt's equation as a model, the physical justification for Young's method is discussed, and a more direct approach suggested using the evening dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures and a modern method of data analysis. There is further discussion of some implicit assumptions in the Young method of analysis and an attempt is made to see if these assumptions are satisfied by the analysis performed in combining the evening dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures and the expected morning mini...

The Date of The Comedy of Errors

HE well-known reference in Gesta Grayorum to performance at Gray's Inn, on night of December 28, I594, of a Comedy of Errors (like to Plautus his Menechmus),1 is universally accepted as an allusion to Shakespeare's play. It is extremely unlikely, to say least, that two works with same title and same basic plot could have been in existence at about same time. The evidence of Gesta Grayorum, therefore, indicates that Shakespeare's comedy, in more or less its present form, had been written by end of I594. Few, if any, scholars, however, would grant that Gray's Inn performance was first or even very early production of play. The Comedy of Errors has been dated anywhere from i588 to i593, with i592 perhaps most widely-supported date. The late Hazelton Spencer, in an attempt to assess evidence, was compelled to fall back on statement: Sometime between I584 and I594 Shakespeare wrote The Comedy of Errors-of that only can we be certain; possibly its date falls about halfway between these limits.2 The argument for dating play before i594 rests entirely upon internal evidence; in fact, it is based mainly on one bit of repartee. Dromio of Syracuse, who has been finding out countries in globular kitchen-wench, is asked by his master, Where France? and replies: In her forehead; armed and reverted, making war against her heir.3 We have here an obvious allusion to French civil war between Henri IV and forces of League. With single prominent exception of Professor Peter Alexander, who interprets heir in precise, legalistic manner, and therefore assumes that Shakespeare could not have written these lines after Henri had claimed possession of his throne in August I589,' all scholars believe that civil war allusion dates play some time before actual conclusion of conflict between Henri and League. And all of them, further, take July I593 as end of this civil war and therefore terminal date of The Comedy of Errors. Chambers declares that the struggle of League against [Henri IV] was ended by truce of i9 July I593.' Similar statements have been made by such notable scholars as Spencer (p. I30), Kittredge,6 Gaw,7 and many others.

Measurements of the night airglow from a rocket.

Photometers designed to measure the altitude and intensity of the 5577A and the 5890-6A air- glow emission lines were flown in an Aerobee rocket on the night of December 12, 1955. Each photometer consisted of an RCA IP2I multiplier phototube, a lens and aperture system to limit the field of view to 5 degrees, and a multilayer interference filter of 20A bandwidth to isolate the wanted spectral region. A photometer was also provided to measure the light in the region of 5300A where the airglow is relatively weak. Preliminary results indicate that the 5577A and 5890-6A emissions arose at roughly the same level. The 5890-6A emission originated in a layer whose maximum intensity occurred at about 84 km; no emission was observed below 70 km or above 100 km. In the case of the 5577A radiation the layer had a maximum intensity at about 96 km, with little emission occurring below 8o km or above 115 km. The airglow contribution to the total light measured by the 5300A photometer arose between the altitudes 8o and 115 km, and seemed somewhat more evenly distributed with respect to altitude than were the 5577A and 5890-6A emissions. Maximum intensity was at about the 100 km stratum. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington 25, D. C.

A Study in Law and Psychiatry

In a former issue (September-October 1952, Vol. 43, No. 3) reference was made to the proceedings in People v. Wolfe, 1950, 102 N. Y. S. 2nd, 12. The article ended with the action by the County Court in 1950 which vacated a judgment convicting Wolfe of Murder in the First Degree and sentencing him to death. Following that proceeding, however, the case had a further history of such interest and legal importance that it is deemed useful to set forth its course from the time of indictment to its conclusion. On the night of December 30, 1943, Wolfe and his wife, Paula, were registered at the St. George Hotel in Brooklyn. Outraged by his belief in her marital infidelity, he beat her about the head with a shoe containing a heavy shoe tree until she died. Then, calmly and in apparent full possession of his mental faculties, he notified the police of his act and made full confession to the district attorney. When arraigned upon an indictment for murder in the first degree, he pleaded not guilty, without however specification of insanity. No application preliminary to trial was made in his behalf for commitment for observation pursuant to Section 658 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Nevertheless, on his trial, which lasted two weeks, insanity at the time of the commission of the crime was the sole issue litigated. Psychiatric testimony pro and con was heard by the jury, which rejected the defense of insanity and found a verdit of murder in the first degree. Wolfe's insanity was claimed to lie in the fact that he believed himself to be the Messiah and in the further delusion that he was commanded by God to kill his wife in order to destroy the devil in her before she destroys the little of good that is left in you. Very shortly after the return of the verdict, application was made on Wolfe's behalf for his commitment for observation as to his then mental condition, it being claimed that he was not! able to comprehend the proceedings involved upon sentence or to confer with counsel with respect thereto. He was then committed and examined by the Division of Psychiatry. A report was rendered that Wolfe was presently insane and suffering from schizophrenia-dementia praecox of the paranoid type. No finding was made or could have been made in these proceed-

Nocturnal mating in Taeniorhynchus (Mansonioides) uniformis (Theobald).

MATING in Taeniorhynchus (Mansonioides) uniformis (Theobald) was observed taking place on the night of December 7, 1951, between 18.30 hr. and 22.30 hr., while all-night trapping of mosquitoes was in progress at a cattle-shed in a village on the outskirts of Colombo. On this night it was quite dark by 18.15 hr., but for the light of the moon which was two days after the first quarter. Mating activity took place in three stages. In the first and third stages, which lasted from 18.30 hr. until 19.30 hr. and during 20.30 hr.–22.30 hr. respectively, mating was in active progress. In between these two periods of considerable activity there occurred a lull from 19.30 hr. until 20.30 hr., during which far fewer pairs of mosquitoes were observed copulating, and relatively few males were found coming into the trap. But at no time during this period of four hours was mating not in progress, and 292 females and 195 males were caught; these numbers represented only a small proportion of T. uniformis in the trap, for owing to great activity among the mosquitoes, catching was seriously interfered with. No mating occurred after 22.30 hr.

ELEPHANT TUSKS

A clinically unsuspected case of anthrax with fatal terminaltion is reported because of the unusual source of infection and the methods used for isolation of Bacillus anthracis from animal by-products. A search of the literature and personal communications 1 have revealed no reports of human infection in this country traced to elephants or their tusks. This case emphasizes the importance of adequate diagnosis and reporting of human cases with similar exposure in nonendemic areas. REPORT OF A CASE Patient's Illness.— On Dec. 7, 1946 O. R. C., a white man aged 59 years, noted a small pimple on the right side of his face. On the following day he felt ill, shaved as usual and sought a physician's advice because the lesion had become worse. Topical soaks and oral chemotherapy were prescribed. He felt better but stayed at home. On the night of December 10 he became progressively ill

The Solway Tides

A GREAT tidal wave occurred on the Solway estuary on the night of December 9-10, when 3,000 acres between the Rivers Sark and Esk were under water and Sark Toll Bar marriage house was isolated, while 7-ft. fences on Sark Foot farms were submerged. The tide was 25 ft. and was made abnormal and destructive by the wind that came in the wake of a great tidal wave. On the Scottish side the floods reached the highest recorded level since 1900, cattle and sheep were drowned, farmhouses isolated. A 9-ft. embankment was broken in two places along the River Annan and houses were flooded in the Scottish town of Annan. It might have proved more costly but for the fact that because of the mild weather few farmers had brought their sheep down from the mountains to the estuary marshes. The Solway Firth has a history of great tides serious to local farming. Some years ago a tide with less water than that of December 9 killed nearly 1,000 sheep, owing to all the winter flocks being on the marshes. In 1942 the Solway had its usual two high tides of the year, in August and November, and the December one was unexpected.