Formation of ionospheric irregularities over Southeast Asia during the 2015 St. Patrickˈs Day storm

We investigate the geospace response to the 2015 St. Patrickˈs Day storm leveraging on instruments spread over Southeast Asia (SEA), covering a wide longitudinal sector of the low-latitude ionosphere. A regional characterization of the storm is provided, identifying the peculiarities of ionospheric irregularity formation. The novelties of this work are the characterization in a broad longitudinal range and the methodology relying on the integration of data acquired by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, magnetometers, ionosondes, and Swarm satellites. This work is a legacy of the project EquatoRial Ionosphere Characterization in Asia (ERICA). ERICA aimed to capture the features of both crests of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly (EIA) and trough (EIT) by means of a dedicated measurement campaign. The campaign lasted from March to October 2015 and was able to observe the ionospheric variability causing effects on radio systems, GNSS in particular. The multiinstrumental and multiparametric observations of the region enabled an in-depth investigation of the response to the largest geomagnetic storm of the current solar cycle in a region scarcely reported in literature. Our work discusses the comparison between northern and southern crests of the EIA in the SEA region. The observations recorded positive and negative ionospheric storms, spread F conditions, scintillation enhancement and inhibition, and total electron content variability. The ancillary information on the local magnetic field highlights the variety of ionospheric perturbations during the different storm phases. The combined use of ionospheric bottomside, topside, and integrated information points out how the storm affects the F layer altitude and the consequent enhancement/suppression of scintillations.Published12211–122331A. Geomagnetismo e Paleomagnetismo2A. Fisica dell'alta atmosfera1IT. Reti di monitoraggio e Osservazioni5IT. Osservazioni satellitariJCR Journalope

Analysis of the Regional Ionosphere at Low Latitudes in Support of the Biomass ESA Mission

Biomass is a spaceborn polarimetric P-band (435 MHz) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in a dawn-dusk low Earth orbit. Its principal objective is to measure biomass content and change in all the Earth’s forests. The ionosphere introduces Faraday rotation on every pulse emitted by low-frequency SAR and scintillations when the pulse traverses a region of plasma irregularities, consequently impacting the quality of the imaging. Some of these effects are due to Total Electron Content (TEC) and its gradients along the propagation path. Therefore, an accurate assessment of the ionospheric morphology and dynamics is necessary to properly understand the impact on image quality, especially in the equatorial and tropical regions. To this scope, we have conducted an in-depth investigation of the significant noise budget introduced by the two crests of the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly (EIA) over Brazil and South-East Asia. The work is characterized by a novel approach to conceive a SAR-oriented ionospheric assessment, aimed at detecting and identifying spatial and temporal TEC gradients, including scintillation effects and Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances, by means of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) ground-based monitoring stations. The novelty of this approach resides in the customization of the information about the impact of the ionosphere on SAR imaging as derived by local dense networks of ground instruments operating during the passes of Biomass spacecraft. The results identify the EIA crests as the regions hosting the bulk of irregularities potentially causing degradation on SAR imaging. Interesting insights about the local characteristics of low-latitudes ionosphere are also highlighted

A systematic review of metacognitions in Internet Gaming Disorder and problematic Internet, smartphone and social networking sites use

The use of new technologies is growing, and some authors have suggested that frequent use might hide a non-chemical addiction (i.e., technological addiction). Over the last five years several studies investigating the role of metacognitions in technological addictions have been published. We aim to provide the first systematic review focused on this topic, by updating the initial evidence highlighted by a previous systematic review on metacognitions across addictive behaviors (Hamonniere & Varescon, 2018). Electronic literature databases (Pubmed, PsychINFO, SCOPUS, and Web of Science) were searched to identify studies that examined the relationship between metacognitions and four different technological addictions (Internet Gaming Disorder, IGD; problematic Internet use, PIU; problematic smartphone use, PSU; and problematic social networking sites use, PSNSU). We found 13 empirical studies published between 2018 and 2021. Positive low-to-moderate cross-sectional associations between the four technological addictions and both generic and specific metacognitions were found, in accordance with the metacognitive model of addictive behaviors. Positive beliefs about worry, negative beliefs about thoughts concerning uncontrollability and danger, beliefs about the need to control thoughts, and a lack of cognitive confidence were associated with IGD, PIU, PSU, and PSNSU. The absence of longitudinal studies prevent us from providing definitive answers about the role of metacognitions in technological addictions. Despite this limitation, interventions that target metacognitions could be beneficial for people presenting with technological addictions. [Abstract copyright: This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Comparison of tiletamine/zolazepam combined with dexmedetomidine or xylazine for chemical immobilization of wild fallow deer (Dama dama).

This study compared dexmedetomidine or xylazine in combination with tiletamine-zolazepam for chemical immobilization of wild fallow deer (Dama dama) in a prospective, randomized, blinded clinical study. Forty fallow deer were divided into two groups: tiletamine-zolazepam-xylazine (TZX) and tiletamine-zolazepamdexmedetomidine (TZD). The TZX group was immobilized with 1.9 6 0.05 mg/kg of xylazine and 1.48 6 0.05 mg/kg of tiletamine-zolazepam, whereas the TZD group was immobilized with 34.15 6 1.1 lg/kg of dexmedetomidine and 0.97 6 0.03 mg/kg of tiletamine-zolazepam by dart. The induction time was recorded. During the immobilization, heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, hemoglobin oxygen saturation, blood lactate concentration, and quality of immobilization were recorded at 10, 20, and 30 m after drug administration. The time of achievement of sternal recumbency and that of standing were also recorded. The TZD group showed a significantly shorter induction time (8 6 1.6 m, TZX group; 4 6 0.5 m, TZD group), significantly higher quality of immobilization score (2[1–2], TZX group; 4[4–4], TZD group), and significantly lower lactate levels (5[3–7] mmol/ L, TZX group; 2[1–3] mmol/L, TZD group). The time to sternal recumbency was 7 6 1.6 m (TZX group) and 4 6 0.5 m (TZD group), and time to quadrupedal standing was 20 6 1.6 m (TZX group) and 16 6 0.8 m (TZD group) (P ¼ 0.001). Dexmedetomidine combined with tiletamine-zolazepam is a viable alternative to xylazine for the chemical immobilization of fallow deer