ALBERT

Description: In this paper, presented for the first time the three-dimensional global morphology and seasonal variations of scintillation index (S4 index) measured from the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) intensity fluctuations of L1 channel of GPS radio occultation (RO) signals using FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (in short, F3/C) satellites for a low solar activity year 2008. The S4 index, which confined around ±30° magnetic latitudes, is found to start around post-sunset hours (1900 MLT, magnetic local time) and often persists till post-midnight hours (0300 MLT) between 150 and 350 km altitudes during equinox and northern winter seasons while no activity is observed during southern winter season. However, high latitudes are characterized with no scintillation activity beyond 150 km during any season, which implying that in the solar minimum period the drives of instabilities in the auroral, cusp and polar cap regions, namely the gradient drift and velocity shear, are absent. The S4 index at F region altitudes during magnetically quiet times is more intense and extends to higher latitudes than that observed during disturbed time consistent with earlier studies. The equatorial S4 index appears below the peak of F2 layer (hmF2) during most of the seasons although the associated intensities and the time of maximum occurrences are relatively higher and earlier during vernal equinox followed by autumn equinox. This equinoctial asymmetry could be primarily attributed to the asymmetries in eastward drift velocities, thermospheric meridional winds and plasma densities. Further, the global maps of S4 index at E region altitudes (between 75 and 125 km) show strong seasonal variations with highest activity during northern and southern summer solstice in the middle latitudes while it appears on both sides of magnetic equator with less or no activity at and around the equator during equinox seasons. The absence of S4 index along the equator can be understood in terms of the vanishing vertical component of the magnetic field lines that can inhibit the vertical movement and layered deposition of ionized particles of thin irregular electron density layers such as Es-layers. Keeping in view the importance of these valuable database, we would like to emphasize that the F3/C GPS RO technique can be used to study the ionospheric irregularities at GHz frequency globally directly from the high-rate L1 data, which reiterating its importance as a powerful tool to explore the terrestrial ionosphere on a global scale.

Description: Cell sheet engineering has been developed as an alternative approach to improve mesenchymal stem cell-mediated tissue regeneration. In this study, we found that vitamin C (Vc) was capable of inducing telomerase activity in periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs), leading to the up-regulated expression of extracellular matrix type I collagen, fibronectin, and integrin β1, stem cell markers Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog as well as osteogenic markers RUNX2, ALP, OCN. Under Vc treatment, PDLSCs can form cell sheet structures because of increased cell matrix production. Interestingly, PDLSC sheets demonstrated a significant improvement in tissue regeneration compared with untreated control dissociated PDLSCs and offered an effective treatment for periodontal defects in a swine model. In addition, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell sheets and umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell sheets were also well constructed using this method. The development of Vc-mediated mesenchymal stem cell sheets may provide an easy and practical approach for cell-based tissue regeneration. J. Cell. Physiol. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Description: The electron density distribution in the vicinity of the lunar surface was explored with the radio occultation technique using a subsatellite on the SELENE mission. Although the measurements suffer from contamination by the terrestrial ionosphere and interplanetary plasma, an analysis of more than 300 measurements provides adequate statistics and reveals a general trend. The result suggests that a dense ionosphere covering the whole sunlit side, as suggested by the radio occultation measurements on the Soviet Luna 19 and 22 missions, does not exist. However, weak signatures of electron density enhancement with densities on the order of 100 cm−3 are observed below 30 km altitude at solar zenith angles less than 60°. The statistically averaged density reaches a peak at around 15 km altitude and decreases gradually at higher altitudes and toward the surface. Although the suggested electron layer is thinner and less extended horizontally than that reported by Luna 19 and 22, the existence of such an ionized layer is still difficult to explain by conventional ionosphere generation mechanisms. An alternative source of electrons may be required.

Description: Methanol to olefin process was investigated over a steam-treated Ca-ZSM-5 catalyst in a flow-type fixed bed reactor by adding aromatics to the methanol feed. As a comparison, the catalytic performance in the presence of nitrogen and water was also investigated. The experimental results exhibit that in the presence of aromatics, the total light olefin selectivity and the ethylene selectivity increased, while propylene selectivity increased with adding o- xylene and m -xylene to the methanol feed, but decreased with adding benzene, toluene, p -xylene and ethylbenzen to the methanol feed. The catalyst was characterized by temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia, N 2 adsorption, and scanning electron microscope. The adsorption of water and aromatics on the catalyst was also studied. Based on the results, it is concluded that aromatics may be responsible for the formation of light olefins and be more favorable for ethylene than propylene in methanol conversion. The methanol to olefin process was investigated over a steam-treated Ca-ZSM-5 catalyst in a flow-type fixed bed reactor by adding aromatics to the methanol feed. High light-olefin selectivity was gained. Further experimental data suggested that aromatics enhanced the formation of light olefins in methanol conversion.

Description: The neutral mass density N and electron density Ne at 400 km height measured by CHAMP during nine intense geomagnetic storms bring out some new aspects of the thermospheric and ionospheric storms. The thermospheric storms (increase of N) develop with the onset of the main phases (MP) of the geomagnetic storms and reach their peak phases before or by the end of the MPs. The ionospheric storms (change of Ne) in general undergo an initial negative phase (with the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crests shifting poleward) before turning positive, and the positive storms reach their peak strengths (or phases) centered at ±25°–30° magnetic latitudes; in some (4) cases the positive storms develop without an initial negative phase and with the EIA crests shifting equatorward; in all cases the positive storms reach their peak phases before the end of the MPs and turn to conventional negative storms by the end of the MPs. The observations agree with the different aspects of a physical mechanism of the positive storms. The observations also reveal that the Halloween storms of 30 October 2003 with a short MP without fluctuations produced the strongest positive ionospheric storms through impulsive response, and there is strong equinoctial asymmetry in the ionosphere and thermosphere during geomagnetic storms.

Description: It has been predicted that the Moon's shadow, the cooling region, sweeping over the Earth's atmosphere with a supersonic speed could trigger bow waves since 1970. The longest total solar eclipse within next hundred years occurring on 22 July 2009 sweeps over the Eastern Asia region during the noontime period. An analysis of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) is applied to study ionospheric TEC (total electron content) derived from ground-based GPS receivers in Taiwan and Japan. We not only find the feature of the predicted bow wave but also the stern wave on the equator side of the eclipse path, as well as the stern wake right behind the Moon's shadow boat. The bow and stern waves are formed by acoustic gravity waves of periods about 3 and/or 5 minutes traveling equatorward with a phase speed of about 100 m/s in the ionosphere.

Description: This paper investigates the structure of the magnetic field near the magnetopause (MP) by analyzing the multiple-point magnetic measurements from the Cluster mission. In this paper, the spatial distribution of the curvature radius of the MP surface at the noon-midnight meridian and for situations with moderate dynamical pressure of solar wind is implied from direct measurements of magnetic field curvature for the first time. The investigation focused on conditions of strong magnetic shear and in which a clear boundary layer is present at the MP. It has been confirmed that the magnetic field lines surrounding the cusp bend sunward at the precusp region and tailward at the postcusp region, implying the existence of a cusp field indentation. The minimum curvature radius of the near-MP field at both precusp and postcusp regions is about 2 RE. As the latitude decreases, the curvature radius at the MP increases gradually, so that, as the subsolar point is approached, the curvature radius of the MP is nearly equal to the geocentric distance. These results compare well with existing MP models but reveal the limitations inherent in such statistical estimates of local MP curvature, particularly surrounding the cusp regions. The analysis of the magnetic measurements has also verified the existence of the magnetic bottles at both precusp and postcusp regions, which may play a role for the trapping of the charged particles of magnetosphere.

Description: Analysis of the dayside electron density (Ne) and neutral mass density (N) at 400 km height measured by CHAMP during 12 intense geomagnetic storms in 2000–2004, and ion densities at 600 km and 840 km heights measured by ROCSAT and DMSP during a few of the intense storms, reveal some new aspects. Thermospheric storms (change of N) reach the equator within 1.5 to 3 hours from the main phase (MP) onset of intense storms having short and steady MPs. The responses of the equatorial ionosphere (at CHAMP) to both MPs and RPs (recovery phases) of the storms are generally opposite to those at higher latitudes. In addition to the known opposite responses during MPs, the analysis reveals that positive ionospheric storms develop at equatorial latitudes (within about ±15° magnetic latitudes) during daytime RPs, while conventional negative storms occur at higher latitudes. Ionospheric storms also extend to the topside ionosphere beyond 850 km height and are generally positive (at DMSP), especially during MPs. The positive storms around the equatorial ionospheric peak during RPs are interpreted in terms of the potential sources such as (1) zero or westward electric fields due to disturbance dynamo and/or prompt penetration, (2) plasma convergence due to the mechanical effects of storm-time equatorward neutral winds and waves, (3) increase of atomic oxygen density and decrease of molecular nitrogen density due to the downwelling effect of the winds, and (4) photoionization. The positive storms in the topside ionosphere during MPs involve the rapid upward drift of plasma due to eastward PPEFs, reduction in the downward diffusion of plasma along the field lines, and plasma convergence due to equatorward winds and waves.