Magneto-thermal convection in solar prominences

Coronal cavities are large low-density regions formed by hemispheric-scale magnetic flux ropes suspended in the Sun's outer atmosphere. They evolve over time, eventually erupting as the dark cores of coronal mass ejections. Although coronal mass ejections are common and can significantly affect planetary magnetospheres, the mechanisms by which cavities evolve to an eruptive state remain poorly understood. Recent optical observations of high-latitude 'polar crown' prominences within coronal cavities reveal dark, low-density 'bubbles' that undergo Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities to form dark plumes rising into overlying coronal cavities. These observations offered a possible mechanism for coronal cavity evolution, although the nature of the bubbles, particularly their buoyancy, was hitherto unclear. Here we report simultaneous optical and extreme-ultraviolet observations of polar crown prominences that show that these bubbles contain plasma at temperatures in the range (2.5-12)?×?10(5) kelvin, which is 25-120 times hotter than the overlying prominence. This identifies a source of the buoyancy, and suggests that the coronal cavity-prominence system supports a novel form of magneto-thermal convection in the solar atmosphere, challenging current hydromagnetic concepts of prominences and their relation to coronal cavities.     

强流离子束辐照加热过程的数值计算

考虑瞬态的热传导过程,用有限差分方法计算了强流恒定离子束辐照过程的温度效应.由温升曲线的计算可知,对中等以上的注量率(>10~(13)cm~(-2)s~(-1))来说,快速注入过程都将是非稳态的,由此可知对强流离子束辐照过程进行瞬态热传导分析是必要的.若注量固定,晶片表面温度与离子能量的关系在低能部分(<100keV)很平缓,在高能部分很陡峭,在大注量注入情况下,降低靶座温度以抑制晶片表面温升是可行的方法之一.     

Phosphatidylinositol is the membrane-anchoring domain of the Thy-1 glycoprotein

Glycoproteins exposed on cell surfaces are commonly anchored in the membrane via hydrophobic peptide domains which penetrate the lipid bilayer. However, it has recently been appreciated that there are exceptions to this generalization and certain cell-surface proteins appear to be anchored via a specific association with phosphatidylinositol. Thy-1 glycoprotein may also be attached to cell membranes by a non-protein hydrophobic domain located at the C-terminus and although the chemical nature of this moiety has not been determined, it was postulated that it might be a lipid. On the other hand, amino-acid sequences predicted from nucleotide sequence analyses suggest that a C-terminal hydrophobic peptide segment not found in the purified, detergent-solubilized Thy-1 glycoprotein may be responsible for attachment. We report here that a highly purified phospholipase C specific for phosphatidylinositol selectively released Thy-1 from viable normal or malignant T lymphocytes. This result supports the proposed lipid nature of the Thy-1 anchoring domain and further suggests that this lipid is, or is closely related to, phosphatidylinositol.     

Leptin activates anorexigenic POMC neurons through a neural network in the arcuate nucleus

The administration of leptin to leptin-deficient humans, and the analogous Lepob/Lepob mice, effectively reduces hyperphagia and obesity. But common obesity is associated with elevated leptin, which suggests that obese humans are resistant to this adipocyte hormone. In addition to regulating long-term energy balance, leptin also rapidly affects neuronal activity. Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and neuropeptide-Y types of neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus are both principal sites of leptin receptor expression and the source of potent neuropeptide modulators, melanocortins and neuropeptide Y, which exert opposing effects on feeding and metabolism. These neurons are therefore ideal for characterizing leptin action and the mechanism of leptin resistance; however, their diffuse distribution makes them difficult to study. Here we report electrophysiological recordings on POMC neurons, which we identified by targeted expression of green fluorescent protein in transgenic mice. Leptin increases the frequency of action potentials in the anorexigenic POMC neurons by two mechanisms: depolarization through a nonspecific cation channel; and reduced inhibition by local orexigenic neuropeptide-Y/GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) neurons. Furthermore, we show that melanocortin peptides have an autoinhibitory effect on this circuit. On the basis of our results, we propose an integrated model of leptin action and neuronal architecture in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.     

Myosin gene mutation correlates with anatomical changes in the human lineage

Powerful masticatory muscles are found in most primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas, and were part of a prominent adaptation of Australopithecus and Paranthropus, extinct genera of the family Hominidae. In contrast, masticatory muscles are considerably smaller in both modern and fossil members of Homo. The evolving hominid masticatory apparatus--traceable to a Late Miocene, chimpanzee-like morphology--shifted towards a pattern of gracilization nearly simultaneously with accelerated encephalization in early Homo. Here, we show that the gene encoding the predominant myosin heavy chain (MYH) expressed in these muscles was inactivated by a frameshifting mutation after the lineages leading to humans and chimpanzees diverged. Loss of this protein isoform is associated with marked size reductions in individual muscle fibres and entire masticatory muscles. Using the coding sequence for the myosin rod domains as a molecular clock, we estimate that this mutation appeared approximately 2.4 million years ago, predating the appearance of modern human body size and emigration of Homo from Africa. This represents the first proteomic distinction between humans and chimpanzees that can be correlated with a traceable anatomic imprint in the fossil record.     

Pluripotency of mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult marrow

We report here that cells co-purifying with mesenchymal stem cells--termed here multipotent adult progenitor cells or MAPCs--differentiate, at the single cell level, not only into mesenchymal cells, but also cells with visceral mesoderm, neuroectoderm and endoderm characteristics in vitro. When injected into an early blastocyst, single MAPCs contribute to most, if not all, somatic cell types. On transplantation into a non-irradiated host, MAPCs engraft and differentiate to the haematopoietic lineage, in addition to the epithelium of liver, lung and gut. Engraftment in the haematopoietic system as well as the gastrointestinal tract is increased when MAPCs are transplanted in a minimally irradiated host. As MAPCs proliferate extensively without obvious senescence or loss of differentiation potential, they may be an ideal cell source for therapy of inherited or degenerative diseases.     

离子注入引起植物变异的研究

对玉米、水稻、大豆、大麦、黑麦、小麦、三色堇、矮牵牛等植物的种子进行离子束辐照处理,在被处理当代种子中,发芽率、生长速度、植株株型等方面均出现了变异,不同作物表现的变异程度及变异类型不同,不同品种间也有差异。对染色体行为观察,发现有丝分裂基本正常,减数分裂出现异常。玉米中有单价体和多价体,大豆中有落后染色体,水稻中有微核仁等现象。对离子束作为诱变源的研究现状、特点及前景进行了讨论。     

A genome-wide association study in Han Chinese identifies multiple susceptibility loci for IgA nephropathy

We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in Han Chinese, with 1,434 affected individuals (cases) and 4,270 controls in the discovery phase and follow-up of the top 61 SNPs in an additional 2,703 cases and 3,464 controls. We identified associations at 17p13 (rs3803800, P = 9.40 × 10(-11), OR = 1.21; rs4227, P = 4.31 × 10(-10), OR = 1.23) and 8p23 (rs2738048, P = 3.18 × 10(-14), OR = 0.79) that implicated the genes encoding tumor necrosis factor (TNFSF13) and α-defensin (DEFA) as susceptibility genes. In addition, we found multiple associations in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region (rs660895, P = 4.13 × 10(-20), OR = 1.34; rs1794275, P = 3.43 × 10(-13), OR = 1.30; rs2523946, P = 1.74 × 10(-11), OR = 1.21) and confirmed a previously reported association at 22q12 (rs12537, P = 1.17 × 10(-11), OR = 0.78). We also found that rs660895 was associated with clinical subtypes of IgAN (P = 0.003), proteinuria (P = 0.025) and IgA levels (P = 0.047). Our findings show that IgAN is associated with variants near genes involved in innate immunity and inflammation.     

Science policy and politics in post-war Japan: the establishment of the KEK high energy physics laboratory

This paper provides a detailed account of the prehistory of the KEK National Laboratory for High Energy Physics at Tsukuba in Japan. Attempts to establish Japan's first truly national laboratory marked the beginning of ‘big science’ in Japan. An examination of the debate and decision-making processes, which spanned over a decade, provide insight into the political aspects of policy making in the post-war period. History shows that even in Japan, self-interest has taken precedence over group interests in lobbying for research funds for science.