A dark jet dominates the power output of the stellar black hole Cygnus X-1

Black holes undergoing accretion are thought to emit the bulk of their power in the X-ray band by releasing the gravitational potential energy of the infalling matter. At the same time, they are capable of producing highly collimated jets of energy and particles flowing out of the system with relativistic velocities. Here we show that the 10-solar-mass (10M(o)) black hole in the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 (refs 3-5) is surrounded by a large-scale (approximately 5 pc in diameter) ring-like structure that appears to be inflated by the inner radio jet. We estimate that in order to sustain the observed emission of the ring, the jet of Cygnus X-1 has to carry a kinetic power that can be as high as the bolometric X-ray luminosity of the binary system. This result may imply that low-luminosity stellar-mass black holes as a whole dissipate the bulk of the liberated accretion power in the form of 'dark', radiatively inefficient relativistic outflows, rather than locally in the X-ray-emitting inflow.     

Whole-genome sequencing identifies recurrent mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), the most frequent leukaemia in adults in Western countries, is a heterogeneous disease with variable clinical presentation and evolution. Two major molecular subtypes can be distinguished, characterized respectively by a high or low number of somatic hypermutations in the variable region of immunoglobulin genes. The molecular changes leading to the pathogenesis of the disease are still poorly understood. Here we performed whole-genome sequencing of four cases of CLL and identified 46 somatic mutations that potentially affect gene function. Further analysis of these mutations in 363 patients with CLL identified four genes that are recurrently mutated: notch 1 (NOTCH1), exportin 1 (XPO1), myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MYD88) and kelch-like 6 (KLHL6). Mutations in MYD88 and KLHL6 are predominant in cases of CLL with mutated immunoglobulin genes, whereas NOTCH1 and XPO1 mutations are mainly detected in patients with unmutated immunoglobulins. The patterns of somatic mutation, supported by functional and clinical analyses, strongly indicate that the recurrent NOTCH1, MYD88 and XPO1 mutations are oncogenic changes that contribute to the clinical evolution of the disease. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive analysis of CLL combining whole-genome sequencing with clinical characteristics and clinical outcomes. It highlights the usefulness of this approach for the identification of clinically relevant mutations in cancer.     

三维空间力传感器的研究

阐述了一种三维空间力传感器的设计.这种三维空间力传感器由德国HBM公司的普通力传感器构建而成.利用线性内插方法,可以通过一个校准特性场来获得所要测量的力,而这个校准特性场则是采用线性回归方法计算出来的.有限元法仿真的结果、三维激光斑纹测量结果以及经过优化的应变片测量结果表明,所构建的传感器能够有效地测量三维空间力.此外,仿真结果还表明,该三维空间力传感器可以采用现成的元器件来实现,而对这些元器件只需进行少量的改动;并且,新构建的三维力传感器的特性仍然是线性的.