Melt-induced speed-up of Greenland ice sheet offset by efficient subglacial drainage

Fluctuations in surface melting are known to affect the speed of glaciers and ice sheets, but their impact on the Greenland ice sheet in a warming climate remains uncertain. Although some studies suggest that greater melting produces greater ice-sheet acceleration, others have identified a long-term decrease in Greenland's flow despite increased melting. Here we use satellite observations of ice motion recorded in a land-terminating sector of southwest Greenland to investigate the manner in which ice flow develops during years of markedly different melting. Although peak rates of ice speed-up are positively correlated with the degree of melting, mean summer flow rates are not, because glacier slowdown occurs, on average, when a critical run-off threshold of about 1.4?centimetres a day is exceeded. In contrast to the first half of summer, when flow is similar in all years, speed-up during the latter half is 62?±?16 per cent less in warmer years. Consequently, in warmer years, the period of fast ice flow is three times shorter and, overall, summer ice flow is slower. This behaviour is at odds with that expected from basal lubrication alone. Instead, it mirrors that of mountain glaciers, where melt-induced acceleration of flow ceases during years of high melting once subglacial drainage becomes efficient. A model of ice-sheet flow that captures switching between cavity and channel drainage modes is consistent with the run-off threshold, fast-flow periods, and later-summer speeds we have observed. Simulations of the Greenland ice-sheet flow under climate warming scenarios should account for the dynamic evolution of subglacial drainage; a simple model of basal lubrication alone misses key aspects of the ice sheet's response to climate warming.     

Local Structure of Ge／SI（100） Self—Assembled Quantum Dots

Ｔｈｅｌａｔｔｉｃｅｍｉｓｍａｔｃｈｂｅｔｗｅｅｎｔｈｅｓｕｂｓｔｒａｔｅａｎｄｔｈｅｏｖｅｒｇｒｏｗｎｌａｙｅｒａｌｌｏｗｓｔｈｅｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎｏｆｓｅｌｆ ａｓ ｓｅｍｂｌｅｄｑｕａｎｔｕｍｄｏｔｓ (ＱＤｓ)ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈｔｈｅＳｔｒａｎｓｋｉ Ｋｒａｓｔａｎｏｖｍｅｃｈａｎｉｓｍ[1,2 ] .Ｔｈｉｓｔｅｃｈｎｉｑｕｅｈａｓｂｅｅｎｓｕｃｃｅｓｓｆｕｌｌｙａｐｐｌｉｅｄｔｏｖａｒｉｏｕｓｓｅｍｉｃｏｎｄｕｃｔｏｒｓｙｓｔｅｍｓ,ａｎｄｉｎｐａｒｔｉｃｕｌａｒｔｏＧｅ/Ｓｉｑｕａｎｔｕｍｄｏｔｓ(Ｑ…     

Mutations in the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) gene cause hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids

Hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids (HDLS) is an autosomal-dominant central nervous system white-matter disease with variable clinical presentations, including personality and behavioral changes, dementia, depression, parkinsonism, seizures and other phenotypes. We combined genome-wide linkage analysis with exome sequencing and identified 14 different mutations affecting the tyrosine kinase domain of the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (encoded by CSF1R) in 14 families with HDLS. In one kindred, we confirmed the de novo occurrence of the mutation. Follow-up sequencing identified an additional CSF1R mutation in an individual diagnosed with corticobasal syndrome. In vitro, CSF-1 stimulation resulted in rapid autophosphorylation of selected tyrosine residues in the kinase domain of wild-type but not mutant CSF1R, suggesting that HDLS may result from partial loss of CSF1R function. As CSF1R is a crucial mediator of microglial proliferation and differentiation in the brain, our findings suggest an important role for microglial dysfunction in HDLS pathogenesis.