We investigate the critical issue on how the BBF (bursty bulk flow) is related to the substorm current wedge formation. Observationally, after analysing data sets from Geotail spacecraft at near tail and many ground magnetic observatories for 9 months period of 1996, we find three BBF events that clearly occurred at the center of the wedge with region I type FAC (field-aligned current), and two other BBF events that were seen outside the wedge sector. Theoretically, we suggest that the substorm current wedge generation by BBF is most likely when the J⊥ · ∇B contribution is dominant in the well-known MHD JII expression (Vasyliunaus, 1984) or when the divergence of the cross-tail current carried by the particle's gradient/curvature drift is predominantly sufficient at the moment of the BBF arrival at near tail.

Four plasma instruments are currently under development for KAISTSAT-4 (K-4) which is scheduled for launch in 2002. They are the Solid-State Telescope, Electro-Static Analyzer, Langmuir Probe, and the Scientific Magnetometer, that will respectively allow in-situ detection of high energy and low energy components of auroral particles, ionospheric thermal electrons, and magnetic field disturbances. These instruments, together with the Far-ultraviolet IMaging Spectrograph, will provide micro-scale physics of Earth's polar ionosphere with detailed spectral information that has not been previously achieved with other space missions. In this paper, we review the concept of the four space plasma instruments as well as the anticipated results from the instruments.

Two different types of plasma probes have been developed and are currently in operation on board the KOMPSAT-l. One is the cylindrical Langmuir Probe (LP) that measures the electron density and temperature from its current-voltage characteristics in thermal plasmas, and the other is the Electron Temperature Sensor (ETS) which directly gives the information of the ambient electron temperatures. These plasma probes provide the electron properties of the local nighttime ionosphere at the KOMPSAT-l altitudes. In this paper we briefly describe the probes and the initial results obtained from these probes since the beginning of their normal operation in April, 2000.

We present the calculation of X -ray spectra produced through Compton scattering of soft X-rays by hot electrons in the spherical shell geometry, using fully relativistic Monte Carlo simulation. With this model, we show that the power-law component, which has been observed in the low luminosity state of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), is explained physically. From a spectral. analysis, we find that spectral hardness is mainly due to the relative contribution of scattered component. In addition, we see that Wi en spectral features appear when the plasma is optically thick, especially in the high energy range, E≳100keV. We suggest that after a number of scattering the escape probability approaches an asymptotic form depending on the geometry of the scattering medium rather than on the initial photon spectrum.

The magnetic reconnection mechanism is a primary candidate for "flare" processes in solar coronal regions. Numerical simulations of two-dimensional magnetic reconnection are carried out for four different cases: (1) adiabatic condition with constant resistivity, (2) adiabatic condition with temperature-dependent resistivity, (3) energetics with radiation loss and constant resistivity and (4) energetics with radiation loss and temperature-dependent resistivity. It is found that the thermal instability prompts the magnetic reconnection process, thus increasing the conversion rate of magnetic energy into kinematic energy of the fluid. We demonstrated that the observed microflares can be accounted for by our magnetic reconnection models, when the effects of the radiation loss and the temperature-dependent resistivity are taken into account.

The flower buds of Sophora japonica L (SF), as a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herb, have been used to treat bleeding-related disorders such as hematochezia, hemorrhoidal bleeding, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and diarrhea. However, no specific anti-cancer effect and its molecular mechanism of SF have been described. Thus, we performed in vitro study to investigate if treatment of SF affects activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) expression and ATF3-mediated apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells. The effects of SF on cell viability and apoptosis were measured by MTT assay and Western blot analysis against cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). ATF3 activation induced by SF was evaluated using Western blot analysis, RT-PCR and ATF3 promoter assay. SF treatment caused decrease of cell viability and increase of apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Exposure of SF activated the levels of ATF3 protein and mRNA via transcriptional regulation in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2 by PD98059 and p38 by SB203580 attenuated SF-induced ATF3 expression and transcriptional activation. Ectopic ATF3 overexpression accelerated SF-induced cleavage of PARP. These findings suggest that SF-mediated apoptosis may be the result of ATF3 expression through ERK1/2 and p38-mediated transcriptional activation.