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For the first time, a hybrid carbon material consisting of micron-sized carbon spheres and graphene (denoted as MS-GR) was prepared via a hydrothermal method. In this work, micron-sized carbon spheres were prepared using glucose and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as the starting materials through a hydrothermal method, and graphene was employed as purchased. One-pot and two-step hydrothermal methods were respectively employed to prepare MS-GR, and in each preparation method, three different amounts of graphene were added in the preparation system while maintaining the added amounts of other reagents identical for each prepared catalyst. As a result, six kinds of hybrid carbon materials were fabricated in this work. Next, MS-GR supported palladium composite catalysts were fabricated through a hydrothermal method using PdO·H2O as the palladium source. Metallic Pd particles, metallic Pd particles along with PdO were indicated by XRD patterns to be the main substances of the one-pot and two-step hydrothermally prepared MS-GR supported catalysts, respectively. As presented by the SEM images, micron-sized carbon spheres and individual graphene sheets as well as the small particles were exhibited clearly in all prepared catalysts, suggesting that all the resultant catalysts were a composite material. Most importantly, as indicated by the CV and CA curves, all synthesized catalysts showed obvious electrocatalytic activities for EOR. In particular, the peak current density of peak f for EOR in the CV curves on catalyst t-4 was as high as 29.1 mA cm-2, significantly larger than the previously reported values. And the current density of EOR measured by CA test on catalyst t-4 was retained as high as 2.83 mA cm-2 after 600 s, showing an excellent electrocatalytic durability. In this work, a carbon material constructed by micron-sized carbon spheres and graphene as well as a novel MS-GR supported Pd catalyst was developed for the first time, which was very helpful to the final commercialization of a Pd-based EOR electrocatalyst due to the greatly reduced the preparation cost and the facile preparation procedure.

Magnetic susceptibility (MS) of aeolian deposits on the Chinese Loess Plateau is high in paleosol and low in loess. The MS of paleosols is mainly enhanced by ferromagnetic minerals formed during post-depositional soil development. In central Alaska, aeolian deposits, MS is high in loess and low in paleosol. The wind vigor model has been proposed to interpret such MS enhancement for the central Alaskan loess. This model suggests that the MS variations are determined by pre-depositional wind strength. The wind vigor model has been introduced to the Siberian Kurtak section where MS is also high in loess and low in paleosol. Additionally to the wind vigor model, low MS in paleosols could be triggered by post-depositional soil development and gleying when the pedogenesis and gleying transforms the ferromagnetic minerals to weak and non-magnetic minerals. In our study of the most continuous Kurtak section in western Siberia, we found that paleosols have substantially more ferruginous mottles due to water-saturated conditions. Magnetic analysis demonstrates that paleosols contain greater content of hard magnetic minerals compared to the loess. Temperature analysis of the MS in the ferruginous mottles shows that magnetic susceptibility increases 37 times after heating and cooling; half of the MS enhancements are contributed due to the heating in between 600 and 700 °C, being caused by the decomposition of non-magnetic chlorite. This suggests that pedogenesis and gleying at the Kurtak section produces weak and non-magnetic minerals in water-saturated anaerobic conditions, which deplete the MS in paleosols after deposition of loess.

AIM Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins play a multitude of important functions in liver pathophysiology. Recent studies have indicated associations of rs7574865 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the STAT4 gene with various autoimmune diseases. The association between STAT4 polymorphism and the risk of HCC has been analyzed in several studies, but results remain inconsistent. This study used a meta-analysis approach to comprehensively investigate the correlation between STAT4 polymorphism and HCC risk based on previously published reports. METHODS Studies were searched from the databases of PubMed, EMBase, Web of Science, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure up to 31 December 2015. The meta-analysis was carried out based on the statement of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. RESULTS Eight published studies, consisting of 7503 HCC patients (cases) and 13 831 individuals without HCC (controls), were included in the present study. Meta-analysis of the included studies revealed that STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphism contributed to the risk of HCC under all four genetic models, consisting of the allelic model (G vs. T: odds ratio [OR], 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-1.30), the dominant effect model (GG + GT vs. TT: OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.26-1.84), the recessive effect model (GG vs. GT + TT: OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.21-1.50), and the co-dominant effect model (GG vs.. TT: OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.42-2.10) comparisons. No publication bias was indicated from either visualization of the funnel plot or Egger's test. CONCLUSION A significantly increased risk of HCC associated with the rs7574865 G was found. The rs7574865 polymorphism might be used as one risk factor for HCC.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The protein encoded by patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) plays important roles in liver fatty metabolism. Recent studies have indicated associations of PNPLA3 rs738409 with various liver diseases, including HCC. This meta-analysis was performed to investigate and update the association between rs738409 polymorphism and the risk of HCC, and to test the association between rs738409 and HCC specifically in patients within chronic hepatitis B and/or C infection, alcoholic liver disease, or other diseases. Studies were searched from the literature database up to March 31, 2016. The meta-analysis was conducted based on statement of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were estimated the strength of associations between rs738409 polymorphism and HCC risk. Fifteen published studies, consisting of 2264 HCC patients (case) and 5802 without HCC individuals (control), were included in the present study. Meta-analysis revealed that rs738409 polymorphism contributed to HCC risk under the allelic effect model (C vs. G: OR 1.73; 95 % CI 1.53–1.96), the dominant effect model (CC vs. CG+GG: OR 1.61; 95 % CI 1.44–1.81), and the recessive effect model (CC+CG vs. GG: OR 2.66; 95 % CI 2.28–3.11). Furthermore, the effect of rs738409 G allele on liver oncogenesis was higher in alcoholic liver disease (OR 2.55), compared to chronic hepatitis C/B (OR 1.32) and other diseases (OR 2.27). The results suggested that rs738409 polymorphism was significantly associated with HCC risk and it could be used as one risk factor for HCC.

Quaternary climate change recorded by Chinese loess closely parallels fluctuations in the benthic δ 18 O record. However, there are also some unique climate anomalies in and around the Asian inland Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), where the climate was unusually humid during MIS 3 and 13, and extremely cold during MIS 22 and 38. Most explanations involve modifications to atmospheric circulation, but there is no single answer for such anomalies. Here, we compare relative geomagnetic paleointensity with benthic δ 18 O, and find that all anomalies occur when paleointensity negatively correlates with δ 18 O. The reason for this is not yet clear. Milankovitch theory fundamentally explains Quaternary climatic cycles by external forcing. Our results suggest that changes in the Earth's deep interior, especially geomagnetic field intensity, may play a significant role in some non-linear climate changes in mid-latitude long-term Quaternary climate change. We are currently pursuing the idea that fluctuations in global climatic background (δ 18 O record) and cosmic ray influx, which is controlled by the strength of the geomagnetic field, may from time to time act in concert to create regional anomalies such as those seen on the CLP.

Lotus–root–structure porous multichannel carbon nanotubes with sidewalls are used in sulfur/carbon (P–MCNT) composites as a sulfur carrier for Li–sulfur (Li S) batteries. P–MCNT is prepared by a simple electrospinning method using coaxial needles, followed by heat treatment and etching. P–MCNT developed multichannel inner pores of different sizes in an axial direction when different amounts of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were added. The sidewall–holes are prepared by adding SiO2 to the electrospinning solution followed by etching. As the porosity increases, the sulfur content reaches a maximum of 78 wt%. The sulfur/P–MCNT composite for Li S batteries exhibits superior performance with a high initial discharge capacity of 1315 mAh g−1 and maintained satisfactory cyclability. This superior performance was ascribed to the morphology of the P–MCNT, which both captured sulfur and restricted its loss during the charge–discharge process. In addition, the introduction of more pores into the carbon material facilitated the diffusion of lithium ions into the electrodes and improved the interfacial charge transfer.

For the first time, it was found that CuBr nanoparticles with a size close to 70 nm could be readily prepared onto the surface of the commercial copper (Cu) foil via a soaking method at room temperature in which the preparation solution only contained the commercial Cu foil, CuSO4 and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazole bromide, generating a novel current collector of CuBr/Cu. As observed by the SEM images, a large number of nanoparticles were anchored on the surface of the commercial Cu foil after the soaking process. The results of XRD and XPS substantially indicated that all the nanoparticles seen in the SEM images were CuBr particles rather than other substances. Unexpectedly, after 20 cycles, the discharge capacity (DC) value of the commercial graphite on CuBr/Cu at 100 mA g−1 was still maintained as high as 428 mAh g−1, 1.6 times higher than the case of using the traditional Cu foil (261 mAh g−1). Particularly, even at 500 mA g−1, the DC value of the commercial graphite on CuBr/Cu (132 mAh g−1) was still about 2.9 time higher than that on the commercial copper foil (45 mAh g−1). Besides the newly developed CuBr nanoparticles preparation method, a novel strategy to promote the DC value of the commercial graphite was created in this work, which was very profitable for the electrochemical property improvement of the graphite electrode when applied as a conventional anode of lithium ion batteries (LIBs).

RNA interference (RNAi) efficiency dramatically varies among different insects and among administration methods. Numerous studies have revealed that a poor RNAi response is usually associated with a high double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-degrading activity. Using the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, we conducted genome-wide identification of genes encoding dsRNA-degrading nucleases of the DNA/RNA non-specific endonuclease superfamily. To achieve a robust RNAi response in T. castaneum, four dsRNase genes were identified in the genome that seemed to be the potential factors reducing RNAi efficacy. Analysis of biochemical properties revealed that optimal conditions for the dsRNA-degrading activity were alkaline (pH 8.0) in the absence of Mg2+ at 37 °C. The dsRNA-degrading activity was predominantly present in the gut, and via heterologous expression and RNAi experimentation, gut-specific TcdsRNase1 was confirmed as the major nuclease performing dsRNA degradation. After a knockdown of the TcdsRNase1 nuclease activity, RNAi efficiency improved from 38.6% to 58.9% and from 20.9% to 53.9% for injection and ingestion of dsRNA, respectively. Our results contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms influencing dsRNA stability and even RNAi efficiency in T. castaneum and point to a good method for improving RNAi efficiency through downregulation of the relevant nuclease activity.

Honeycomb-shaped carbon particles were successfully prepared via a HCl assisted air atmosphere calcination method using bicycle waste tires as the starting materials. The products calcined at 350 °C, 400 °C and 450 °C were labeled as, respectively, sample a, b and c. As presented by the SEM images, aggregates, irregular particles and individual smaller particles were, respectively, produced in sample a, b and c. In all produced samples, the existence of amorphous carbon and calcium salt as well as silicates was strongly testified by XRD and XPS patterns. To get rid of the inorganic salts, sample b was further treated by hydrochloric acid generating sample b1. Interestingly, a large number of honeycomb-shaped particles were prepared in sample b1. The starting discharge capacity values of sample a, b, c and b1, measured by the charge-discharge tests, were about 163, 306, 233 and 533 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1, respectively. Particularly, the discharge capacity at 1000 mA g−1 of sample b1 after 10 cycles was 111 mAh g−1, 4.6 times greater than that of the commercial graphite (24 mAh g−1). The higher content of carbon, the special porous structure, the higher degree of graphitization and the smaller value of Rct as well as the higher value of DLi were considered as the main reasons for sample b1 to exhibit the best electrochemical behavior among all produced samples. A novel and low-cost way for producing carbon particles was presented in the current work, which was also very helpful to the cyclic utilization of bicycle waste tires.

An immersion method employing the commercial copper foil, CuSO4 solution and an ionic liquid of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazole chloride as the starting materials for preparing cuprous chloride (CuCl) on the surface of commercial copper foil (denoted as CuCl/Cu) at room temperature is developed in this work for the first time. As verified by the SEM images, a large number of cubic particles are prepared on the surface of the commercial copper foil after a simple immersion process, and XRD and XPS analysis substantially indicate that these synthesized cubic particles are CuCl particles. Interestingly, the initial discharge capacity of the commercial graphite at 0.1A g−1 is increased from 263 mAh g−1 on the commercial copper foil to 681 mAh g−1 on CuCl/Cu. And even at 1.0 A g−1 after 100 cycles, the discharge capacity of the graphite on CuCl/Cu is 128 mAh g−1, still 3.7 times larger than that on the Cu foil (34 mAh g−1). Incredibly, the color of CuCl cubic particles can vary from coppery color to black when it is illuminated by a light source for 30 min, suggesting that the as-prepared CuCl cubic particles are a kind of photochromic materials, showing a potential application in the field of military stealth materials.

Background Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is the most common subtype of skin malignancy, with ever-increasing incidence, mortality, and disease burden. Dysregulation of JAK-STATs signaling pathway is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of cancers, thus affecting the prognosis of cancer patients. The function of JAKs in SKCM is still not clarified. Methods A total of five online portal (GEPIA, TIMER, GeneMANIA, LinkedOmics, and GSCALite) is used to mine the expression and gene regulation network JAK2 in SKCM. Results JAK2 expression was downregulated in SKCM and significantly associated with pathological stage and the prognosis of patients. The functions of JAK2 and associated genes were primarily involved in the DNA recombination, cell cycle checkpoint, metabolic process, NOD-like receptor signaling pathways, p53 signaling pathway and apoptosis. JAK2 level was significantly correlated with the abundance of immune cells and the level of immune biomarkers. Low expression of JAK2 were resistant to QL-VIII-58, TL-1-85, Ruxolitinib, TG101348 and Sunitinib. Conclusions Our results reveal the expression and gene regulation network of JAK2 in skin cutaneous melanoma, providing more evidences about the role of JAK2 in carcinogenesis.

Background Recent studies have shown that lipid metabolism was abnormal during the formation of cleft palate. However, the composition of these lipid species remains unclear. Objective Aims of this study were to identify the lipid species components and reveal the key lipid metabolic disorders in cleft palate formation. Methods The pregnant mice were divided into experimental group exposed to all-trans retinoic acid (RA-treated group) (n = 12) and control group (n = 12) at embryonic gestation day 10.5 (E0.5). The component of the palatal tissue metabolome was analyzed using a LCMS-based nontargeted lipidomics approach. Multivariate statistical analysis was then carried out to assess the differences between the RA-treated group and the control group. Results Twenty-nine lipid species were found to discriminate between RA-treated and control embryos. Among them, 28 lipid species increased and 1 lipid species decreased in the RA-treated group. Among these lipids, 13 were triglycerides, 9 were PEs, 3 were PCs, 2 were PSs, 2 were DGs. Further analysis of the number of carbons and unsaturated bond of triglycerides showed that TGs with high unsaturated bonds constituted a higher fraction in the RA-treated group. A higher amount of triglycerides containing 52, 54, 56, 58, 60 carbons, and 1 to 8 unsaturated bonds. Of note, under RA treatment, TG 50:1, 52:2, 56:6and 60:8 became the most prominent. Conclusion Lipid metabolism is significantly different in the formation of cleft palate induced by RA, and the unsaturated triglycerides increased in the RA-treated group may play an important role in the formation of cleft palate.

As a result of the use of a large amount of salt in dye industries, azo dye decolorization is often needed under hypersaline environments and low dissolved oxygen. Consortium GG-1, which is able to decolorize azo dyes in high salt concentrations and microaerophilic conditions, can be enriched using Metanil Yellow. Consortium GG-1 is mainly composed of Zobellella (62.25%), Rheinheimera (12.4%) and Marinobacterium (9.44%) and is able to decolorize azo dyes under 1%-10% salinity. The activities of azoreductase, laccase and lignin peroxidase were also measured. Together with the detected intermediates and the results obtained from FTIR, the decolorization process of Metanil Yellow was proposed. The influences of pH, initial concentration of azo dyes and concentration of yeast extract on the decolorization rate were also detected. Meanwhile, consortium GG-1 was identified with wide substrate specificity to dyes such as Direct Blue B, Acid Black ATT, and Acid Violet 7. Therefore, consortium GG-1 was identified with potential use in azo dye elimination.

Background The molecular mechanisms of abnormal palatogenesis were investigated in this study. A key regulator, miR-106a-5p, and its target pathway were analyzed. Objectives This research is trying to clarify the underlying mechanism of the modulation of miRNA transcription during the formation of cleft palate by 7T and 9.4T NMR metabolomic platforms. Method Differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs were analyzed by microarray analysis and verified by qRT-PCR. The protein expression in TGFβ signaling pathways were analyzed by Western Blotting. The relationship between miR-106a-5p and TGFβ were analyzed by luciferase reporter assay. Cell apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometer. And finally, the metabonomics were analyzed by NMR and multivariate data analysis models (MVDA). Results The expression of miR-106a-5p increased in cleft palatal tissue and negatively correlated with the protein level of Tgfbr2. The luciferase assay further proved that the tgfbr2 was a direct target of miR-106a-5p. In another aspect, miR-106a-5p increased apoptosis level in palatal mesenchymal cells, possibly because its inhibition of TGFβ signaling pathway. Moreover, low cholesterol and choline levels with high citric acid and lipid levels were observed by 7T and 9.4T NMR metabonomic analysis, which inferred the disorder of cell membrane synthesis in cleft palate formation. Furthermore, transformation from choline to phosphatidylcholine regulated by miR-106a-5p was also disrupted, resulting in phosphatidic choline synthesis disorder and reduced cell membrane synthesis. Conclusions The regulatory mechanism of cleft palate was studied at transcriptional and metabolomics levels, which may provide important information in understanding the primary cause of this abnormality.

In the layered iron-based superconductor YFe2Ge2, a high Sommerfeld ratio of ~100 mJ/molK^2 and a T^(3/2) temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity at low temperature T indicate strong electronic correlations and point towards an unconventional pairing state. We have investigated the role of composition and annealing conditions in optimizing the growth of high-quality YFe2Ge2. Our findings confirm that bulk superconductivity is observed in samples with disorder scattering rates less than 2 k_B T_c/hbar. Fe deficiency on the Fe site is identified as the dominant source of disorder, which can be minimised by precipitating from a slightly iron-rich melt, following by annealing., 9 pages, 7 figures

We have synthesized ceramic specimens of the tetragonal tungsten bronze ${\mathrm{K}}_{3}\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{i}}_{2}\mathrm{T}{\mathrm{a}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{15}$ (KLT) and characterized its phase transition via x-ray diffraction, dielectric permittivity, resonant ultrasonic spectroscopy, and heat capacity measurements. The space group of KLT is reported as both $P4/mbm$ and $Cmmm$ with the orthorhombic distortion occurring when there are higher partial pressures of volatile K and Li used inside the closed crucibles for the solid state synthesis. The data show strong relaxor behavior, with the temperature at which the two dielectric relative permittivity peaks decreasing, with $104\ensuremath{\ge}{T}_{m1}\ensuremath{\ge}69\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ and $69\ensuremath{\ge}{T}_{m2}\ensuremath{\ge}46\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ as probe frequency $f$ is reduced from 1 MHz to 316 Hz. $F$ tests show that the data satisfies a Vogel-Fulcher model better than Arrhenius with an extrapolated freezing temperature for ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ and ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}^{\ensuremath{''}}$ of ${T}_{f1}=+15.8$ and $\ensuremath{-}11.8\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ and ${T}_{f2}=\ensuremath{-}5.0$ and $\ensuremath{-}15.0\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ for $\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}f\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ (tending to dc). This difference between ${T}_{f}$ from real and imaginary values, albeit counterintuitive, is mandatory, according to the theory of Tagantsev. Therefore, by tuning frequency, the transition could be shifted to absolute zero, suggesting KLT has a relaxor-type quantum critical point. In addition, we have reanalyzed the conflicting literature for $\mathrm{P}{\mathrm{b}}_{2}\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{b}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ pyrochlore which suggests that this also has a relaxor-type quantum critical point since the freezing temperature from the Vogel-Fulcher fitting is below absolute zero. Since the transition temperature evidenced in the dielectric data at approximately 100 kHz shifts below 0 K for very low frequencies, this transition would not be seen with heat capacity data collected in the zero-frequency (dc) limit. Both of these materials show promise for possible new relaxor-type quantum critical points with nonperovskite based structures.

The resultant energy of solvent H–O bond exothermic elongation by O:⇔:O repulsion, featured at 150% the O:H cohesive energy of 0.095 eV that caps the energy dissipating by molecular motion, thermal fluctuation, diffusion, and even evaporation. Therefore, the intramolecular H–O bond relaxation dictates the OH − solvation bonding thermodynamics and the performance of basic solutions. Accepted version

The geomagnetic polarity reversal rate changes radically from very low to extremely high. Such process indicates fundamental changes in the Earth's core reorganization and core–mantle boundary heat flow fluctuations. However, we still do not know how critical such changes are to surface geology and climate processes. Our analysis of the geomagnetic reversal frequency, oxygen isotope record, and tectonic plate subduction rate, which are indicators of the changes in the heat flux at the core mantle boundary, climate and plate tectonic activity, shows that all these changes indicate similar rhythms on million years' timescale in the Cenozoic Era occurring with the common fundamental periodicity of ∼13 Myr during most of the time. The periodicity is disrupted only during the last 20 Myr. Such periodic behavior suggests that large scale climate and tectonic changes at the Earth's surface are closely connected with the million year timescale cyclical reorganization of the Earth's interior.

We resolved the hydrogen bond transition from the mode of ordinary water to its hydration in terms of its phonon stiffness (vibration frequency shift), order of fluctuation (line width), and number fraction (phonon abundance) upon chage injection by solvation., 20 pages

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The early diagnosis of HCC is greatly helpful to achieve long-term disease-free survival. However, HCC is usually difficult to be diagnosed at an early stage. The aim of this study was to create the prediction model to diagnose HCC based on gene expression programming (GEP). GEP is an evolutionary algorithm and a domain-independent problem-solving technique. Clinical data show that six serum biomarkers, including gamma-glutamyl transferase, C-reaction protein, carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha-fetoprotein, carbohydrate antigen 153, and carbohydrate antigen 199, are related to HCC characteristics. In this study, the prediction of HCC was made based on these six biomarkers (195 HCC patients and 215 non-HCC controls) by setting up optimal joint models with GEP. The GEP model discriminated 353 out of 410 subjects, representing a determination coefficient of 86.28% (283/328) and 85.37% (70/82) for training and test sets, respectively. Compared to the results from the support vector machine, the artificial neural network, and the multilayer perceptron, GEP showed a better outcome. The results suggested that GEP modeling was a promising and excellent tool in diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, and it could be widely used in HCC auxiliary diagnosis. Graphical abstract The process to establish an efficient model for auxiliary diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The management of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is challenging, attributable to a lack of efficacious therapies. Chemotherapy is one of the most important treatments for CRPC. Doxorubicin has been extensively used in many different tumors and is often combined with other drugs to enhance effects and reduce toxicity. Costunolide is a natural sesquiterpene lactone with anti-cancer properties. In this study, we first demonstrated that the combination of costunolide and doxorubicin induced apoptosis significantly more than either drug alone in prostate cancer cell lines. Costunolide combined with doxorubicin induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis through a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and modulation of Bcl-2 family proteins. We found that this drug combination significantly increased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as phosphorylation of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases, which play upstream roles in mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Further studies showed that N-acetyl cysteine blocked JNK and p38 phosphorylation, suggesting that ROS were upstream activators of JNK and p38. However, a JNK inhibitor, but not a p38 inhibitor, blocked the increase in ROS observed in cells treated with a combination of costunolide and doxorubicin, suggesting that ROS and JNK could activate each other. In vivo, inhibition of tumor growth and induction of apoptosis were greater in mice treated with the costunolide and doxorubicin combination than in mice treated with either drug alone, without an increase in toxicity. Therefore, we suggested that costunolide in combination with doxorubicin was a new potential chemotherapeutic strategy for treating prostate cancer.

Porous carbon-encapsulated iron (Fe@PC) composite was prepared through carbothermal reduction of Fe(NO3)3 and starch. The porous carbon could envelop iron and protect it from being oxidized, while iron endow the composite with ferromagnetism, so that Fe@PC can be easily recovered by an external magnetic field. The prepared material was used to remove trace Cr(VI) in polluted water. The Cr(VI) removal process of Fe@PC, which highly depended on both microporous structure and reducing groups, was significantly affected by the preparation conditions and solution pH. At 25 °C, Fe@PC-750 could remove 99.5% Cr(VI) from simulated wastewater containing 5.00 mg L−1 Cr(VI) with an initial pH of 7, and the residual concentration of Cr(VI) was as low as 0.02 mg L−1. The XPS analysis results confirmed that Cr(VI) could be reduced to Cr(III) after being adsorbed, and the elevation of pH would enhance the reduction ability of Fe@PC. The Fe@PC composite with high Cr(VI) removal efficiency, strong magnetic property and desirable regeneration ability can be practically applied in the removal of trace heavy metal pollutants from wastewater.

The global ice volume change regulates the Earth's climate and has been characterized by 100,000 year cycles over the last 700,000 years. The Asian inland winter climate change is proposed to show primary 100,000 year cycles that mimic ice volume changes. Here we calibrate the age of a high-resolution grain size record over the last 500,000 years with a grain size age model. The results show a primary 41,000 year cycle and a weaker 100,000 year cycle during the last ~ 500,000 years. We suggest that the primary 41,000 year cycle in the grain size record can be ascribed to the 50°N integrated winter insolation. Our findings suggest that ice volume changes have a limited effect on the Asian inland winter climate. Asian continental winter climate changes respond to the 50°N integrated winter insolation in addition to ice volume changes.

Relativistic effects play a prominent role in many electronic material properties such as the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin splitting in inversion asymmetric crystals, or the bulk band gap in topological insulators. By contrast, macroscopic material properties are typically not connected to relativistic phenomena. As an exception to this rule, we show that the macroscopic chemical and structural properties of superconducting In5Bi3 are driven by relativistic physics. In the non-relativistic limit In5Bi3 decomposes into elemental indium and bismuth, but the inclusion of relativistic spin–orbit coupling chemically stabilizes the In5Bi3 stoichiometry. Similarly, the structural stability of tetragonal In5Bi3 is driven by the spin–orbit interaction, which eliminates a phonon instability present in the non-relativistic limit. Low-temperature resistivity and heat capacity measurements show that In5Bi3 is a strong coupling superconductor, with a superconducting critical temperature of 4.2 K and a superconducting critical field of 0.3 T. The unconventional interplay between relativity with chemistry and structure, together with the presence of superconductivity, make In5Bi3 a versatile material that provides, for example, a simple model for the study of strong coupling superconductivity in quasiperiodic crystals.

The Chinese loess has been widely studied in order to reconstruct Cenozoic environmental change. Cretaceous loess-like red beds with alternating red and gray layers in the Lanzhou basin, Northwest China are well preserved and can be used for understanding the Mesozoic environmental and climatic changes. However, the red beds and gray clays are less studied and their significance is not clear. Hence, Cretaceous red beds of the basin are studied. The gray layers show horizontal lamination and are deposited in a lacustrine environment, whereas the red layers show gradational change in texture and color, and are analogous to paleosols. The red and gray clays show similar immobile trace elemental compositions and identical grain size distributions, suggesting that the sediments of the two deposits are derived from the same source and carried by identical transporting forces. The dominant 2–10 μm fine grain size component indicates that the deposits are sorted through long-distance transportation. In this context, the magnetic properties of the red beds are mainly determined by post-depositional environmental development. Hematite is the dominant magnetic mineral and some of the gray layers contains small quantities of magnetite. Therefore, the red and gray layers develop on land and under water, respectively. The magnetic parameter IRM-100mT eliminates the effects of ferromagnetic minerals and is sensitive to hard magnetic minerals. Thus, it can be used as a proxy for paleoclimatic change. Its high values in the red layers correspond to a drier paleoclimatic environment.

We examined the effects of the 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonist DOI on micturition in chronic spinal cord injured rats.Female Sprague-Dawley® rats were used. Spinal cord injury was produced by transection at the T10 level. A cystometric study was performed 8 to 12 weeks after transection. Cystometrograms were done using urethane anesthesia in all rats. The selective 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin was administered after each DOI dose-response curve. All drugs were administered intravenously.Compared to controls, spinal cord injured rats had higher bladder capacity and post-void residual urine volume, and lower voiding efficiency. In spinal cord injured rats DOI (0.01 to 0.3 mg/kg) induced significant dose dependent increases in micturition volume and decreases in residual volume, resulting in increased voiding efficiency. Cystometrogram measurements showed a dose dependent increase in high frequency oscillation activity, evident as an increased number of small oscillation per voiding. This correlated with the improved voiding efficiency. Ketanserin (0.1 mg/kg) partially or completely reversed the DOI induced changes.High frequency oscillation seems to reflect external urethral sphincter burst activity during voiding. Bladder voiding efficiency and high frequency oscillation activity were decreased in spinal cord injured rats. High frequency oscillation activity can be enhanced by 5-HT2A receptor agonism, improving voiding efficiency. To our knowledge it remains to be studied whether these results may have implications for the future treatment of voiding dysfunction in patients with spinal cord injury.

The iron-based intermetallic YFe_{2}Ge_{2} stands out among transition metal compounds for its high Sommerfeld coefficient of the order of 100 mJ/(mol K^{2}), which signals strong electronic correlations. A new generation of high quality samples of YFe_{2}Ge_{2} show superconducting transition anomalies below 1.8 K in thermodynamic, magnetic, and transport measurements, establishing that superconductivity is intrinsic in this layered iron compound outside the known superconducting iron pnictide or chalcogenide families. The Fermi surface geometry of YFe_{2}Ge_{2} resembles that of KFe_{2}As_{2} in the high pressure collapsed tetragonal phase, in which superconductivity at temperatures as high as 10 K has recently been reported, suggesting an underlying connection between the two systems.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins play a multitude of important functions in liver pathophysiology. Recent studies have indicated associations of rs7574865 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the STAT4 gene with various autoimmune diseases. The association between STAT4 polymorphism and the risk of HCC has been analyzed in several studies, but results remain inconsistent. This study used a meta-analysis approach to comprehensively investigate the correlation between STAT4 polymorphism and HCC risk based on previously published reports.Studies were searched from the databases of PubMed, EMBase, Web of Science, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure up to 31 December 2015. The meta-analysis was carried out based on the statement of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Eight published studies, consisting of 7503 HCC patients (cases) and 13 831 individuals without HCC (controls), were included in the present study. Meta-analysis of the included studies revealed that STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphism contributed to the risk of HCC under all four genetic models, consisting of the allelic model (G vs. T: odds ratio [OR], 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-1.30), the dominant effect model (GG + GT vs. TT: OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.26-1.84), the recessive effect model (GG vs. GT + TT: OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.21-1.50), and the co-dominant effect model (GG vs.. TT: OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.42-2.10) comparisons. No publication bias was indicated from either visualization of the funnel plot or Egger's test.A significantly increased risk of HCC associated with the rs7574865 G was found. The rs7574865 polymorphism might be used as one risk factor for HCC.

The solar wind particles can directly access the high-altitude cusp. They could create large diamagnetic cavities with a size of 6RE (Earth radii) in the latitudinal direction and > 10 R E in the longitudinal direction at an altitude of 7–8RE, and up to 10.5RE in the depth; they could depress the field from more than 260 nT to near 0 nT. Energetic charged particles with energies from 20 keV up to 15 MeV have been detected there, and their intensities are observed to increase by as much as four orders of magnitude during the diamagnetic cavity crossings. Strong electromagnetic fluctuations are measured there as well. The power spectral density of the magnetic fluctuations inside the cavities shows increases by up to five orders of magnitude at O+ gyro-frequency in comparison to the outer Van Allen radiation belt. The cavity electric fields have an amplitude of up to 350 mV/m, and its perpendicular component varies from −300 to 350 mV/m. The phase space densities of both the He++ and O+ ion species in the diamagnetic cavities could be more than two orders of magnitude higher than that in the outer radiation belt at a given magnetic moment. These in situ observations reveal a broad and dynamic region of radiation centered at the Earth's magnetospheric cusp, which is different from the Van Allen radiation belt centered at the Earth's magnetic equator with relatively stable magnetic field. The region of radiation is observed on both open and closed geomagnetic field lines. It can extend to low latitude to reach L-shell values of 7–12.5, providing a direct particle source for the outer radiation belt/ring current.

Observations made by a number of satellites have shown that plasma of solar wind/magnetosheath origin enters the high altitude polar cusp creating diamagnetic cavities of large dimensions. The Earth's dipole field can be excluded from this region in a turbulent manner with the magnitude of the field strength reaching close to 0 nT at times. In these regions of strongly varying magnetic fields, energetic particles are produced with intensities, which exceed those measured in the trapping regions of the magnetosphere for L>6 at a given magnetic moment. These particles can then flow back out of the cusp along field lines that form the magnetopause. A fraction of these particles enter the magnetosphere through the magnetopause on the dusk and dawn flanks. Due to existing gradients in the geomagnetic field, cusp accelerated ions can enter the magnetosphere along the dawn flank and electrons along the dusk flank. For those particles entering near the geomagnetic equatorial plane with pitch angles close to 90°, they will drift along contours of constant magnetic field strength reaching deep into the nightside inner magnetosphere. From observations made by the Polar, Cluster, and ISEE satellites it is shown that this cusp source appears to be capable of providing energetic ions and electrons to the magnetosphere, which form the source population of the subsequent radial diffusion and formation of the radiation belts.

A case study is presented analyzing the properties and spatial extent of the exterior cusp region. The dynamic nature of the exterior cusp makes the large scale properties difficult to measure using a single spacecraft. We use simultaneous cusp observations of the four Cluster spacecraft as well as the Polar spacecraft to monitor the region. On 10–11 March 2006 all five spacecraft observed the exterior cusp in the southern hemisphere mapping out an extended region in latitude spanning 4.5 RE (and possibly up to 9 RE) along the magnetopause. The depth, or dimension of the diamagnetic exterior cusp perpendicular to the magnetopause is measured to be 1.3 RE with simultaneous measurements from the Cluster spacecraft. The multipoint observations provide a unique view of the diamagnetic exterior cusp showing a spatially extended region.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a naturally occurring phospholipid with diverse effects on various cells, ranging from immediate morphological change to long-lasting cellular function alteration such as induction of stimulation of cell proliferation, survival, drug resistance, and motility. LPA interacts with cells through specific cell surface receptors. LPA1/Edg-2, LPA2/Edg-4, and LPA3/Edg-7 are three most common LPA receptors. Herein we review the roles of LPA and its receptors in the carcinogenesis of human malignancies, with focus on pancreatic cancer. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011; 104:685–691. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In the d-electron system YFe2Ge2, an unusually high and temperature dependent Sommerfeld ratio of the specific heat capacity C /T ∼ 100 mJ/(mol K2) and an anomalous power law temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity signal Fermi liquid breakdown, probably connected to a close-by quantum critical point. Full resistive transitions and DC diamagnetic screening fractions of up to 80% suggest that pure samples of YFe2Ge2 superconduct below 1.8 K. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

A case study is presented to test the role several different sources may play in populating the exterior cusp with energetic (E>40 keV) electrons. The properties of the electrons measured in the exterior cusp are compared with the expected signatures of three sources in order to weigh the role each source may contribute in populating this region. The potential sources probed are: (1) solar energetic electrons entering the cusp from the solar wind; (2) an equatorial magnetospheric source with particles drifting to high latitudes on the dayside; and (3) a local source accelerating the electrons in situ. From the observations it is likely that local acceleration is the primary source of the energetic electrons in the exterior cusp during this event.

In their comment, Fuselier et al. (2008, hereafter FPT) provide an alternative interpretation to the study done by Whitaker et al. (2007, hereafter WFC). WFC concludes that energetic ions observed in the cusp were accelerated locally, while FPT argues that the ions could have been accelerated at the bow shock and then transported to the cusp. The two analyses interpret observations made by the International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE)-1 on 30 October 1978 as the spacecraft travelled through the high altitude cusp. ISEE-1 observed an area of depressed and turbulent magnetic field as well as increased energetic (>10 keV) ion and electron flux. FPT identifies the quasi-parallel bow shock as the location of particle acceleration. To show this FPT presents a model that traces particles along magnetic field lines from the cusp to the solar wind at the bow shock. This model argues energized particles from the bow shock gain entry to the magnetosphere through low latitude reconnection, propagate along reconnected field lines to the ionosphere, mirror, and return to high latitudes where they are observed flowing anti-parallel to the magnetic field by ISEE-1. We agree with the FPT model to the extent that with these IMF conditions, reconnection opens the cusp to the solar wind plasma, and newly reconnected field lines will convect tailward, but observations do not support particles being energized at the bow shock and transported to the cusp. We present three inconsistencies between the FPT model and the observations made by ISEE-1: (1) the absence of parallel flowing particles, (2)

The observation that high speed solar wind streams are correlated with outer radiation belt electrons requires a transducer to convert this mechanical energy to hot electrons. We hypothesize that the high latitude cusp is the ideal location for this acceleration region. We support this hypothesis with two arguments: a forward model to show that the cusp can theoretically accelerate electrons to MeV energies which then are transported to the radiation belts; and, a backward model that deduces a cusp source based on empirical properties of the radiation belt MeV electrons. Accordingly, in the first half we apply the trapping properties of the static equinoctal cusp to deduce the dynamical response of interplanetary transients; in the second half we analyze several peculiar statistics of MeV electron correlations with solar wind as the response of a non-linear, multi-parameter dependence on the solar wind driver. Our model would permit the formulation of more physically accurate MeV electron predictors, which we demonstrate by connecting physical explanations to several empirical predictors recently published.

While crossing through the high-altitude dayside cusp on 29 September 1978 and again on 30 October 1978, the ISEE-1 spacecraft observed enhanced energetic particle flux and a depressed and turbulent magnetic field, the signature characteristics of a cusp diamagnetic cavity. As ISEE-1 approached the cavity during each event, a boundary sounding technique was used to measure properties of an emitting boundary. Sounding over multiple energy channels reveals an energy dependent boundary with lower energy particles filling a larger cavity than higher energy particles. Relative motion of the boundary as well as boundary orientation are also measured. The two cusp events were measured at different locations and during different geomagnetic and solar wind conditions; however, they show similar results.

New evidence reveals that the charged particles can be energized locally in the magnetospheric cusp. The power spectral density of the cusp magnetic fluctuations shows increases by up to four orders of magnitude in comparison to an adjacent region. Large fluctuations of the cusp electric fields have been observed with an amplitude of up to 350 mV/m. The measured left-hand polarization of the cusp electric field at ion gyro-frequencies indicates that the cyclotron resonant acceleration mechanism is working in this region. The cyclotron resonant acceleration can energize ions from keV to MeV in seconds.

Observations on 30 October 1978 show the ISEE-1 spacecraft passing though the high-altitude dayside northern magnetospheric cusp region from roughly 16:00 to 18:30 UT, during a slow solar wind period (~380 km/s). More than two orders of magnitude enhancements of the cusp energetic particle (CEP) fluxes were observed along with a depressed and turbulent local magnetic field. The observed variations of the pitch angle distributions (PAD) provide a unique opportunity to determine the structure of the cusp and the origin of the CEP. Through a boundary sounding technique, the location and orientation of the cusp poleward (or backside) boundary was observed for almost 10 min during which time it appeared initially to be stationary in the GSM/GSE X-direction and then moved sunward about 0.12 Earth radii (RE). The orientation remained approximately perpendicular to the GSM/GSE X-axis until it was observed to rotate by 60 degrees in ~3 min before ISEE-1 was fully inside the cusp cavity. The cavity itself was filled with CEP fluxes displaying large anisotropies, indicative of their source being located below (Earthward) of the satellite location. The spacecraft entered from the backside of the cusp, then traveled ~4 RE through the cavity, and exited through the "top" of the cavity leaving a region of energetic ions below. The PADs demonstrate that the bow shock cannot be the main source of the observed CEPs. The CEP fluxes were measured at about 8.5 h MLT when the IMF had both an 8–10 nT duskward and southward component.

Observations by the ISEE-1 and ISEE-2 spacecraft on 29 September 1978 show large CEP (Cusp Energetic Particle) fluxes while passing through the dayside magnetospheric cusp in near coincident orbits. The event was observed around 11:00 MLT between roughly 12:30 and 13:00 UT by ISEE-1 and 12:00 and 13:00 UT by ISEE-2. During these periods, both electron and ion fluxes increased by more than two orders of magnitude, with the electron flux showing a strong peak at a pitch angle of 90°. The solar wind was ~710 km s−1 and the Dst was ~−200 nT, suggesting the occurrence of a strong geomagnetic storm. The ISEE-1 and ISEE-2 observations, however, show no time-energy dispersion of the CEPs, leading us to believe that these particles could not be the result of substorm processes in the magnetotail. The local magnetic field was depressed and extremely turbulent. Changes in the magnitude of the magnetic field anticorrelate closely to variations of the electron flux. The observations in electron flux peaking at 90° and the close anticorrelation between the local magnetic field strength and electron flux are unique and provide evidence of a potential local source for these energetic particles.

The iron-based intermetallic YFe_{2}Ge_{2} stands out among transition metal compounds for its high Sommerfeld coefficient of the order of 100 mJ/(mol K^{2}), which signals strong electronic correlations. A new generation of high quality samples of YFe_{2}Ge_{2} show superconducting transition anomalies below 1.8 K in thermodynamic, magnetic, and transport measurements, establishing that superconductivity is intrinsic in this layered iron compound outside the known superconducting iron pnictide or chalcogenide families. The Fermi surface geometry of YFe_{2}Ge_{2} resembles that of KFe_{2}As_{2} in the high pressure collapsed tetragonal phase, in which superconductivity at temperatures as high as 10 K has recently been reported, suggesting an underlying connection between the two systems.

In this paper, an adaptive dynamic surface control scheme is proposed for a class of output feedback systems with input unmodeled dynamics. By constructing the state observer, unmeasurable states are estimated. By introducing the first order filter in traditional backstepping design, the repeated differentiations of virtual control is avoided. Using dynamic surface control, the disturbances induced by input unmodeled dynamics and unknown continuous function are effectively dealt with. By theoretical analysis, it is shown that all the signals in the closed-loop system are semi-global uniformly ultimately bounded.

We present a method of polar cusp identification using high charge state heavy ions. There is reason to think that these ions would constitute shocked solar wind ions such as doubly charged helium ions, He 2+ , and multiply charged oxygen ions, O (3−8)+ , that appear to have relatively easy access to one or both of the polar cusps essentially at all times. The observations made with the ISTP/POLAR spacecraft were mostly obtained during geomagnetically non-storm times in April 2001 when the spacecraft orbit allowed northern cusp encounters with low trajectory angle between the spacecraft velocity vector and the overall cusp magnetic field orientation. We also show one extended cusp crossing during the modest magnetic storm of April 22, 2001 (with D st ∼−103 nT). It is found that during the study period, 1–10 keV high charge state ions are present in the cusp region at virtually all times, during storm or quiet. We also found that what appears to be the interior of the northern polar magnetic cusp region can be rather turbulent both in the local magnetic field direction and in the energetic charged particle kinetic flow characteristics. There is some evidence for temporally varying turbulent acceleration processes, either within the cusp domain itself or in the surrounding magnetosphere. In terms of the present ion observations, there is little to distinguish the dayside low latitude boundary layer (LB) ion signatures from those of the interior of the polar cusp region (high charge state ions, abundant 1–10 keV ion fluxes).

The high-altitude dayside cusps (both northern and southern) are extremely dynamic regions in geospace. Large diamagnetic cavities with significant fluctuations of the local magnetic field strength have been observed there. These cusp diamagnetic cavities are always there day after day and are as large as 6 R E. Associated with these cavities are charged particles with energies from 20 keV up to 10 MeV. The intensities of the cusp energetic ions have been observed to increase by as much as four orders of the magnitude when compared with regions adjacent to the cusp which includes the magnetosheath. Their seed populations are a mixture of ionospheric and solar wind particles. The measured energetic ion fluxes in the high-altitude cusp are higher than that in both the regions upstream and downstream from the bow shock. Turbulent electric fields with an amplitude of about 10 mV/m are also present in the cusp, and a cusp resonant acceleration mechanism is suggested. The observations indicate that the dayside high-altitude cusp is a key region for transferring the solar wind mass, momentum, and energy into the Earth’s magnetosphere.

The ISEE-1 satellite has observed butterfly pitch-angle distributions (PAD) in protons and electrons from 20 keV to 2 MeV in the low latitude outer magnetosphere, which showed a sharp dropout in the flux of 90° pitch angle particles. These distributions were present on the nightside near the magnetic equatorial plane and were far more prevalent in electrons than in protons. These distributions have been known for some time and have been associated with drift shell splitting in combination with either shadowing by the magnetopause or with a radial intensity gradient close to the Earth as equatorially mirroring particles drift around the Earth at radial distances from 6 to 12 R E . In both a study of individual three-dimensional distributions and in a statistical survey, the occurrence of the butterfly PADs was found to have the following consistent behavior: (1) The anisotropy in the distributions increased with an increase in particle energy for both the protons and the electrons. (2) The anisotropy was less pronounced in the protons than in the electrons and usually disappeared altogether for the higher energy protons. (3) The radial location of the transition from and to the butterfly distribution was found to have a dependence on particle energy. (3a) The transition position occurred closer to the Earth with increasing particle energy for the butterfly PAD to normal PAD transition whereas (3b) the transition from the butterfly PAD to isotropic PAD occurred closer to the Earth with decreasing particle energy. In other words, the PADs were isotropic near the apogee of ISEE-1, peaked at 90° pitch angle close to the Earth, and butterfly over a range of radial distances, the width of which expanded in both directions with increasing energy. Modeling results are presented that are interpreted to demonstrate that the magnetopause and its motion are responsible for producing the butterfly PADs. The differences between ion and electron butterfly PADs are interpreted to indicate that the magnetopause has a layer of energetic particles that becomes a source of energetic particles to the inner magnetosphere and preferentially provides ions as close as the geostationary orbit routinely. These ions have a softer spectrum than the ions present at the same location on stably trapped drift trajectories (i.e., for those particles mirroring well away from the equator).

Energetic oxygen ions (∼ 70–200 keV / e ) of ionospheric origin were measured by the CAMMICE experiment on board the POLAR spacecraft in the high-altitude dayside cusp. The observed cusp energetic ions were associated with a dramatic decrease and large fluctuations in the local magnetic field strength. Just like in the equatorial ring current, the measured magnetic moment spectrum of the energetic O ≤ + 2 ions in the cusp follows a power law. Its spectral amplitude in the cusp was much larger than that in the equatorial ring current, indicating a higher low charge state oxygen ion flux (or phase space density) in the cusp than in the equatorial ring current at a given magnetic moment. If ring current leakage was the source of the cusp energetic O ≤ + 2 ions, one would expect a spectral amplitude in the equatorial ring current larger than or equal to that in the cusp. The measured energetic oxygen ions in the cusp cannot be explained by a ring current source. To interpret these observations, one needs a new energetic ion source.

Orders of magnitudes increases of MeV ion intensities were measured by the POLAR spacecraft near the dayside magnetopause/magnetosheath boundary layers on May 4, 1998. From 6:00 to 12:30 UT, the Dst index reached negative values of -123 nT to -216 nT, which characterized a major geomagnetic storm period. During this period, the WIND spacecraft was about 213 R E upstream from the Earth, the GEOTAIL was in the post dusk magnetosheath, the INTERBALL-Tail was near the bow shock, and the POLAR traveled in its dayside outbound orbit from the high altitude cusp to the magnetosheath boundary layer. No comparable energetic particle flux was observed by WIND. The energetic ion fluxes measured by POLAR in upstream of the cusp were higher than that measured by both INTERBALL and GEOTAIL. The flux variations at Polar and Interball were similar, indicating a common ion source. Furthermore, INTERBALL responded to the variations later than POLAR, suggesting POLAR was closer to the source. Simultaneous multiple spacecraft observations thus suggest a likely source of substantial particle energization exists in the cusp region.