| 1. |
- Carr, C., et al.
(author)
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RPC : The rosetta plasma consortium
- 2007
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In: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 128:1-4, s. 629-647
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) will make in-situ measurements of the plasma enviromnent of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The consortium will provide the complementary data sets necessary for an understanding of the plasma processes in the inner coma, and the structure and evolution of the coma with the increasing cometary activity. Five sensors have been selected to achieve this: the Ion and Electron Sensor (IES), the Ion Composition Analyser (ICA), the Langmuir Probe (LAP), the Mutual Impedance Probe (MIP) and the Magnetometer (MAG). The sensors interface to the spacecraft through the Plasma Interface Unit (PIU). The consortium approach allows for scientific, technical and operational coordination, and makes Optimum use of the available mass and power resources.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Nilsson, H., et al.
(author)
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Investigation of the influence of magnetic anomalies on ion distributions at Mars
- 2006
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In: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 126:1-4, s. 355-372
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using data from the Mars Express Ion Mass Analyzer (IMA) we investigate the distribution of ion beams of planetary origin and search for an influence from Mars crustal magnetic anomalies. We have concentrated on ion beams observed inside the induced magnetosphere boundary (magnetic pile-up boundary). Some north-south asymmetry is seen in the data, but no longitudinal structure resembling that of the crustal anomalies. Comparing the occurrence rate of ion beams with magnetic field strength at 400 km altitude below the spacecraft (using statistical Mars Global Surveyor results) shows a decrease of the occurrence rate for modest (< 40 nT) magnetic fields. Higher magnetic field regions (above 40 nT at 400 km) are sampled so seldom that the statistics are poor but the data is consistent with some ion outflow events being closely associated with the stronger anomalies. This ion flow does not significantly affect the overall distribution of ion beams around Mars.
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| 4. |
- Sävblom, C, et al.
(author)
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Association between polymorphisms in the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) promoter and release of PSA
- 2009
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In: International Journal of Andrology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0105-6263 .- 1365-2605. ; 32:5, s. 479-485
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Variations in serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) have been ascribed to A/G nucleotide polymorphisms located at -158 bp (rs266882) and -4643 bp (rs925013), relative to the transcription start site within the promoter of the PSA gene. PSA is also an androgen receptor target (AR) gene and polymorphisms in AR gene are known to affect AR function. Our objective was to compare the impact of these A/G polymorphisms separately or in combination with AR CAG micro satellite on regulation of PSA secretion into seminal plasma and blood in young men. Leukocyte DNA was extracted from 291 conscripts and genotyping performed with the Sequenom Mass Array System. PSA was measured with an immunofluorometric assay. Linear regression analysis was used to test the association of polymorphism frequencies with serum and seminal plasma levels of PSA. PSA gene polymorphisms at -158 bp or -4643 bp did not alone influence total PSA (tPSA) levels in seminal plasma or in blood. Homozygotes for the A-allele at -158 bp in combination with CAG > 22 had significantly higher serum levels of tPSA than subjects carrying the G-allele (p = 0.01). In conclusion, the PSA gene polymorphisms did not importantly influence the levels of tPSA in seminal plasma or in blood. tPSA in serum was influenced by interactions between PSA promoter variants and AR CAG polymorphism.
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| 5. |
- Arvelius, S., et al.
(author)
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Statistical study of relationships between dayside high-altitude and high-latitude O+ ion outflows, solar winds, and geomagnetic activity
- 2005
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In: Annales Geophysicae. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 23, s. 1909-1916
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The persistent outflows of O+ ions observed by the Cluster CIS/CODIF instrument were studied statistically in the high-altitude (from 3 up to 11 RE) and high-latitude (from 70 to ~90 deg invariant latitude, ILAT) polar region. The principal results are: (1) Outflowing O+ ions with more than 1keV are observed above 10 RE geocentric distance and above 85deg ILAT location; (2) at 6-8 RE geocentric distance, the latitudinal distribution of O+ ion outflow is consistent with velocity filter dispersion from a source equatorward and below the spacecraft (e.g. the cusp/cleft); (3) however, at 8-12 RE geocentric distance the distribution of O+ outflows cannot be explained by velocity filter only. The results suggest that additional energization or acceleration processes for outflowing O+ ions occur at high altitudes and high latitudes in the dayside polar region.
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| 7. |
- Carlsson, Ella, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of the mass composition of the escaping plasma at Mars
- 2006
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In: 2006 European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU 2006), Austria Center Vienna, Vienna (Austria), 2-7 Apr 2006. - : European Geosciences Union (EGU).
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Results from Mars Express, Mars Exploration Rovers and Mars Global Surveyor indicate that Mars harbored large amounts of liquid water on the surface in the past. In order for the water-associated geomorphologic features to form, the pressure in the atmosphere must have been at least a hundred times higher to produce the necessary greenhouse effect required to hold liquid water stable. The present atmospheric pressure is only 6-9 mbar and moreover, the spectral imaging of Mars suggests that the amount of carbonates stored in the surface is too low in order to explain the denser atmosphere in the past. This controversy led us to investigate the escaping plasma by analyzing the data from the IMA sensor (Ion Mass Analyzer) of the ASPERA-3 instrument suite onboard Mars Express. The IMA sensor measures the differential flow of ion components in the energy range of 0.01-30 keV/q.Since the instrument design was optimized for studies of plasma dynamics, the mass resolution is not adequate enough to directly resolve CO+2 from O+2 , which is the main molecular ion composing the Mars ionosphere according to theoretical models. Therefore, a special multi-species fitting technique, using calibration and in-flight data, was developed to resolve the CO+2 peak from the neighboring and much more intense O+2 peak. This technique was applied to the observations covering the period from April 4, 2004 to October 2, 2005. The events of heavy ion escape were identified inside the induced magnetosphere boundary and the Martian eclipse. We report the results of statistical studies of these ion-beam events which permitted to determine CO+2 / O+ and the O+2 / O+ ratio of the escaping plasma at Mars.
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| 8. |
- Carlsson, Ella, et al.
(author)
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Mass composition of the escaping plasma at Mars
- 2006
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In: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 182:2, s. 320-328
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Data from the Ion Mass Analyzer (IMA) sensor of the ASPERA-3 instrument suite on Mars Express have been analyzed to determine the mass composition of the escaping ion species at Mars. We have examined 77 different ion-beam events and we present the results in terms of flux ratios between the following ion species: CO2+/O+ and O-2(+)/O+. The following ratios averaged over all events and energies were identified: CO2+/O+ = 0.2 and O-2(+)/O+ = 0.9. The values measured are significantly higher, by a factor of 10 for O-2(+)/O+, than a contemporary modeled ratio for the maximum fluxes which the martian ionosphere can supply. The most abundant ion species was found to be O+, followed by O-2(+) and CO2+. We estimate the loss of CO2+ to be 4.0 x 10(24) s(-1) (0.29 kg s(-1)) by using the previous measurements of Phobos-2 in our calculations. The dependence of the ion ratios in relation to their energy ranges we studied, 0.3-3.0 keV, indicated that no clear correlation was found.
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