Event-horizon-scale structure in the supermassive black hole candidate at the Galactic Centre

The cores of most galaxies are thought to harbour supermassive black holes, which power galactic nuclei by converting the gravitational energy of accreting matter into radiation. Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the compact source of radio, infrared and X-ray emission at the centre of the Milky Way, is the closest example of this phenomenon, with an estimated black hole mass that is 4,000,000 times that of the Sun. A long-standing astronomical goal is to resolve structures in the innermost accretion flow surrounding Sgr A*, where strong gravitational fields will distort the appearance of radiation emitted near the black hole. Radio observations at wavelengths of 3.5 mm and 7 mm have detected intrinsic structure in Sgr A*, but the spatial resolution of observations at these wavelengths is limited by interstellar scattering. Here we report observations at a wavelength of 1.3 mm that set a size of 37(+16)(-10) microarcseconds on the intrinsic diameter of Sgr A*. This is less than the expected apparent size of the event horizon of the presumed black hole, suggesting that the bulk of Sgr A* emission may not be centred on the black hole, but arises in the surrounding accretion flow.     

Palaeo-altimetry of the late Eocene to Miocene Lunpola basin, central Tibet

The elevation history of the Tibetan plateau provides direct insight into the tectonic processes associated with continent-continent collisions. Here we present oxygen-isotope-based estimates of the palaeo-altimetry of late Eocene and younger deposits of the Lunpola basin in the centre of the plateau, which indicate that the surface of Tibet has been at an elevation of more than 4 kilometres for at least the past 35 million years. We conclude that crustal, but not mantle, thickening models, combined with plate-kinematic solutions of India-Asia convergence, are compatible with palaeo-elevation estimates across the Tibetan plateau.     

Unusual magnetic order in the pseudogap region of the superconductor HgBa2CuO4+delta

The pseudogap region of the phase diagram is an important unsolved puzzle in the field of high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductivity, characterized by anomalous physical properties. There are open questions about the number of distinct phases and the possible presence of a quantum-critical point underneath the superconducting dome. The picture has remained unclear because there has not been conclusive evidence for a new type of order. Neutron scattering measurements for YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+delta) (YBCO) resulted in contradictory claims of no and weak magnetic order, and the interpretation of muon spin relaxation measurements on YBCO and of circularly polarized photoemission experiments on Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta)(refs 12, 13) has been controversial. Here we use polarized neutron diffraction to demonstrate for the model superconductor HgBa(2)CuO(4+delta) (Hg1201) that the characteristic temperature T* marks the onset of an unusual magnetic order. Together with recent results for YBCO, this observation constitutes a demonstration of the universal existence of such a state. The findings appear to rule out theories that regard T* as a crossover temperature rather than a phase transition temperature. Instead, they are consistent with a variant of previously proposed charge-current-loop order that involves apical oxygen orbitals, and with the notion that many of the unusual properties arise from the presence of a quantum-critical point.     

Numerous potentially functional but non-genic conserved sequences on human chromosome 21

The use of comparative genomics to infer genome function relies on the understanding of how different components of the genome change over evolutionary time. The aim of such comparative analysis is to identify conserved, functionally transcribed sequences such as protein-coding genes and non-coding RNA genes, and other functional sequences such as regulatory regions, as well as other genomic features. Here, we have compared the entire human chromosome 21 with syntenic regions of the mouse genome, and have identified a large number of conserved blocks of unknown function. Although previous studies have made similar observations, it is unknown whether these conserved sequences are genes or not. Here we present an extensive experimental and computational analysis of human chromosome 21 in an effort to assign function to sequences conserved between human chromosome 21 (ref. 8) and the syntenic mouse regions. Our data support the presence of a large number of potentially functional non-genic sequences, probably regulatory and structural. The integration of the properties of the conserved components of human chromosome 21 to the rapidly accumulating functional data for this chromosome will improve considerably our understanding of the role of sequence conservation in mammalian genomes.     

Efficient and power-awareness query over sensor networks

Sensor networks consisted of low-cost, low-power, muhifunctional miniature sensor devices have played an important role in our daily life. Light and humidity monitoring, seismic and animal activity detection, environment and habitat monitoring are the most common applications. However, due to the limited power supply, ordinary query methods and algorithms can not be applied on sensor networks. Queries over sensor networks should be power-aware to guarantee the maximum power savings. The minimal power consumption by avoiding the expensive communication of the redundant sensor nodes is concentrated on. A lot of work have been done to reduce the participated nodes, but none of them have considered the overlapping minimum bounded rectangle （MBR） of sensors which make them impossible to reach the optimization solution. The proposed OMSI-tree and OMR algorithm can efficiently solve this problem by executing a given query only on the sensors involved. Experiments show that there is an obvious improvement compared with TinyDB and other spatial index, adopting the proposed schema and algorithm.     

冷冻-解冻对烹饪后鸡胸肉的感官描述剖面的影响(英文)

冷冻是消费者用于延长肉类储藏期的一种常用方法,也是研究人员常用于肉类品质评估和加工的前道工序.目前尚无完善记录表明,冷冻对烹饪后的禽胸肉质的感官品质会产生影响.本研究的目的是比较新鲜与冷冻-解冻鸡胸肉的感官质量剖面属性.鸡胸肉块在宰后24 h内从胴体上分割,分别以新鲜状态直接烹饪或置于-20℃冷冻.冷冻样品采用三种不同解冻方式:冷冻后直接取出烹饪解冻(0 h);在20℃水中预解冻2 h后烹饪(2 h);或在4℃预解冻24 h后烹饪(24 h).对照组则为新鲜鸡胸肉直接烹饪.肉块加热到78℃时用于评价感官质量属性.该实验由经过训练的描述型品评员采用0~15强度标度法进行评价.结果显示:不同的处理方式并没有引起任何风味特征和5种质构特征(内聚力、硬度、多汁、肉块大小、肉块湿度)上的差异(P0.05).然而,不同处理方式引起了团块内聚性、分解率和咀嚼性上的显著差异(P0.05):冻后直接烹饪(0 h)和解冻24 h烹饪(24 h)的鸡肉块的团块内聚性评价要明显高于预解冻2 h的样品.冻后直接烹饪样品(0h)的分解率和咀嚼性显著高于新鲜对照组和预解冻2 h的样品.本研究结果表明,冷冻-解冻对鸡胸肉的感官风味品质无影响,但可能改变烹饪后鸡胸肉的质构特征.因此,冷冻-解冻对肉类质构的影响取决于烹饪前的解冻方法.     

Genome sequencing in microfabricated high-density picolitre reactors

The proliferation of large-scale DNA-sequencing projects in recent years has driven a search for alternative methods to reduce time and cost. Here we describe a scalable, highly parallel sequencing system with raw throughput significantly greater than that of state-of-the-art capillary electrophoresis instruments. The apparatus uses a novel fibre-optic slide of individual wells and is able to sequence 25 million bases, at 99% or better accuracy, in one four-hour run. To achieve an approximately 100-fold increase in throughput over current Sanger sequencing technology, we have developed an emulsion method for DNA amplification and an instrument for sequencing by synthesis using a pyrosequencing protocol optimized for solid support and picolitre-scale volumes. Here we show the utility, throughput, accuracy and robustness of this system by shotgun sequencing and de novo assembly of the Mycoplasma genitalium genome with 96% coverage at 99.96% accuracy in one run of the machine.     

A novel architecture for cargos location and safety in networked RFID

Using Networked RFID equipped in warehouse or supermarket distribution, Enterprise information system (EIS) can gather and deal with cargos information. Nevertheless, when cargos are in traffic, the Networked RFID can't monitor the cargos any more as the products tagged aren't within range of a reader. This paper proposes a solution framework which combines Networked RFID and GPS tracking, and then equip with this system in container to make the cargos monitored even if the cargos are in traffic. This solution can solve the accurate consignments, position tracking and advanced theft happening through drilling holes in container. In addition, customhouse and checkpoint can get an electronic shipment manifest rapidly and safely when a vehicle gets through a checkpoint.