Occurrence Rates of Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) Waves With Rising Tones in the Van Allen Probes Data Set.

In Fourier time-frequency power spectrograms of satellite magnetic field data, electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves may feature discrete, rising tone structures that rapidly increase in frequency. Using data from the Van Allen Probes Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) fluxgate magnetometer, we conducted a statistical study of EMIC waves from September 2012 through June 2016. We compared the occurrence rates and spatial distributions for all EMIC waves with those for rising tone EMIC waves as a function of magnetic local time (MLT) and L shell, as well as a function of R XY and Z in solar-magnetic (SM) coordinates. Overall, EMIC waves occurred during 2.4% of the time period considered, but rising tone EMIC waves were only found during 0.2% of the time period considered. About 7%-8% of the minutes of orbital coverage with H+ or He+ band EMIC waves had rising tones. The regions of peak occurrence rates for H+ and He+ band waves, as well as waves with rising tones, were found in the noon and dusk sectors for 4 < L < 6. The preferred regions for H+ waves as a function of R XY and Z SM suggest an association with magnetospheric compressions near noon and interactions between plumes and the ring current near dusk. Peak occurrence rates for O+ band waves were found between 2 < L < 4 at all MLT, and over a wide range of L shells near dusk. No rising tones were found in the O+ band.

The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS).

With the advent of the Heliophysics/Geospace System Observatory (H/GSO), a complement of multi-spacecraft missions and ground-based observatories to study the space environment, data retrieval, analysis, and visualization of space physics data can be daunting. The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS), a grass-roots software development platform (www.spedas.org), is now officially supported by NASA Heliophysics as part of its data environment infrastructure. It serves more than a dozen space missions and ground observatories and can integrate the full complement of past and upcoming space physics missions with minimal resources, following clear, simple, and well-proven guidelines. Free, modular and configurable to the needs of individual missions, it works in both command-line (ideal for experienced users) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode (reducing the learning curve for first-time users). Both options have "crib-sheets," user-command sequences in ASCII format that can facilitate record-and-repeat actions, especially for complex operations and plotting. Crib-sheets enhance scientific interactions, as users can move rapidly and accurately from exchanges of technical information on data processing to efficient discussions regarding data interpretation and science. SPEDAS can readily query and ingest all International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP)-compatible products from the Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF), enabling access to a vast collection of historic and current mission data. The planned incorporation of Heliophysics Application Programmer's Interface (HAPI) standards will facilitate data ingestion from distributed datasets that adhere to these standards. Although SPEDAS is currently Interactive Data Language (IDL)-based (and interfaces to Java-based tools such as Autoplot), efforts are under-way to expand it further to work with python (first as an interface tool and potentially even receiving an under-the-hood replacement). We review the SPEDAS development history, goals, and current implementation. We explain its "modes of use" with examples geared for users and outline its technical implementation and requirements with software developers in mind. We also describe SPEDAS personnel and software management, interfaces with other organizations, resources and support structure available to the community, and future development plans. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s11214-018-0576-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Electron densities inferred from plasma wave spectra obtained by the Waves instrument on Van Allen Probes.

The twin Van Allen Probe spacecraft, launched in August 2012, carry identical scientific payloads. The Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science suite includes a plasma wave instrument (Waves) that measures three magnetic and three electric components of plasma waves in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 12 kHz using triaxial search coils and the Electric Fields and Waves triaxial electric field sensors. The Waves instrument also measures a single electric field component of waves in the frequency range of 10 to 500 kHz. A primary objective of the higher-frequency measurements is the determination of the electron density ne at the spacecraft, primarily inferred from the upper hybrid resonance frequency fuh. Considerable work has gone into developing a process and tools for identifying and digitizing the upper hybrid resonance frequency in order to infer the electron density as an essential parameter for interpreting not only the plasma wave data from the mission but also as input to various magnetospheric models. Good progress has been made in developing algorithms to identify fuh and create a data set of electron densities. However, it is often difficult to interpret the plasma wave spectra during active times to identify fuh and accurately determine ne . In some cases, there is no clear signature of the upper hybrid band, and the low-frequency cutoff of the continuum radiation is used. We describe the expected accuracy of ne and issues in the interpretation of the electrostatic wave spectrum.

The role of an over-the-counter vaginal pH self-test device package insert: can subjects learn what the device is for and how to use it?

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to determine whether subjects could read and understand the package insert of a vaginal pH self-test device to improve self-diagnostic accuracy. STUDY DESIGN: This study was performed at 8 clinic locations with 206 women of varying ages, ethnicity, and education. A package insert explaining the indications and clinical facts associated with the use of a vaginal pH self-test device was used. A 16-item questionnaire was administered to assess comprehension. RESULTS: The cumulative probability of having 12 or more correct answers of 16 was P = .038, significantly different than by chance alone, representing 200 (97.1%) of subjects in this trial. CONCLUSION: The package insert for the vaginal pH self-test device was read and understood by subjects. Indeed, they correctly understood the role of vaginal pH as an aid in the diagnosis of vaginal symptoms while improving decisions to use an over-the-counter antifungal medication or to see a health care provider.

Vaginal pH is similar to follicle-stimulating hormone for menopause diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: This paper is intended to demonstrate whether vaginal pH value is associated with menopausal status and symptoms, to review the sensitivity of follicle-stimulating hormone or vaginal pH to diagnose menopause, to compare these findings to a group of practice patients, and to determine whether vaginal pH could be used in place of follicle-stimulating hormone as an initial screen to determine menopause. STUDY DESIGN: Sixteen studies regarding vaginal pH and menopausal symptoms before and after estrogen administration were analyzed. Two epidemiologic studies that reported follicle-stimulating hormone or vaginal pH with menopause were reviewed. These findings were compared with similar data from the practice of one of the authors (J.C.C.). RESULTS: Menopausal women who do not receive estrogen therapy have a weighted average vaginal pH of 6.0, which is reduced significantly to 4.5 with estrogen therapy. To diagnose menopause, follicle-stimulating hormone >or=15 or >or=20 mIU/mL in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey had a sensitivity of 65% to 68%. In a study in Costa Rica, where 3 definitions of menopause were used, a pH of >5.0 had a sensitivity of 64% to 67%. From the practice patients, the 95% confidence interval sensitivities and positive predictive values of vaginal pH and follicle-stimulating hormone to diagnose menopause overlapped, while a pH 4.5 indicates menopause, because it demonstrates a similar sensitivity as follicle-stimulating hormone in epidemiologic studies. In the practice patients, the sensitivity of follicle-stimulating hormone was no different than vaginal pH in the diagnosis of menopause. Furthermore, with estrogen therapy, a vaginal pH of

Relationship among recruitment order, axonal conduction velocity, and muscle-unit properties of type-identified motor units in cat plantaris muscle.

A strict interpretation of the size-principle hypothesis (37, 39-41) is that a muscle's motor units should be recruited in an ascending order according to both the size of their motoneurons and the size of their innervated muscle units (for reviews see Refs. 9, 39, 73). Studies of large mixed muscles in the cat hindlimb, however, have shown that motor axonal conduction velocity and tetanic tension, which are frequently considered indices of motoneuron and muscle-unit size, respectively, are uncorrelated in the fast-twitch (type F) motor-unit subpopulation (12, 13, 23, 24, 30, 32, 63, 71, 79). Attempting to focus on type F units, we compared the recruitment order of 42 pairs of cat plantaris (PL) motor units with both axonal conduction velocity and tetanic tension as well as with other muscle-unit properties. Single PL alpha-motor axons were functionally isolated in intact L7 ventral root filaments of decerebrate cats. Tension responses produced by stimulating each isolated motor axon were used to find the tetanic tension of the muscle unit and to classify the unit (12) as either type S (slow twitch, fatigue resistant), type FR (fast twitch, fatigue resistant), type FI (fast twitch, intermediate fatigability), or type FF (fast twitch, highly fatigable). Conduction velocity of each isolated axon was computed from measurements of axonal conduction time and length. The axon's reflex discharges were recorded from the proximal end of the cut filament and compared with the discharges of another PL axon residing in a different, previously cut filament of the same cat. The recruitment order of each motor-unit pair studied was found during reflexes elicited by homonymous muscle stretch, tendon taps, or single shocks at group I intensity to the PL nerve. If either axon of the pair failed to discharge, as often was the case with the high-threshold type F units, the monosynaptic reflex was facilitated by a 500-pps conditioning train applied proximal to a complete reversible cooling block of the PL nerve. In all 42 pairs studied, the weaker motor unit had the lower functional threshold for recruitment. Recruitment also invariably followed the order S greater than FR greater than FI greater than FF units. The motor unit of a pair with the higher resistance to fatigue thus always had the lower functional threshold. In 21 of the 22 pairs containing at least one type S motor unit, the unit with the slower-conducting motor axon had the lower functional threshold for recruitment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)