Evolution et contrôle de l'activité de l'argininosuccinate synthétase,de l'argininosuccinase et de l'arginase du foie foetal de rat

Summary The activity of three urea-cycle enzymes, argininosuccinate synthetase, argininosuccinase and arginase have been studied in the ftal and new-born liver of rats. The activity increases with regularity between 17.5 days of pregnancy and birth in control foetuses. The lack of corticosteroid from 18.5 days of pregnancy decreases the activity of argininosuccinate synthetase. After administration of cortisol (hydrocortisone), to these 18.5-day-old foetuses lacking of corticosteroids, both activities of argininosuccinate synthetase and arginase are enhanced.

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Ce travail a été réalisé avec l'aide de la Délégation Générale à la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (contrat N^o 737 1148).     

On the biosynthesis of neoflavanoids

Résumé Les hypotheses sur le mécanisme de la biosynthèse des néoflavanoïdes sont discutées sur la base de résultats de nos expériences d'incorporation dans leCalophyllum inophyllum.

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We thank the C.E.A. (Saclay) for a grant towards the purchase of labelled compounds, Mr.G. Henry for technical collaboration and the Comité de l'Accueil du Phytotron for culture facilities.     

Transiting circumbinary planets Kepler-34 b and Kepler-35 b

Most Sun-like stars in the Galaxy reside in gravitationally bound pairs of stars (binaries). Although long anticipated, the existence of a 'circumbinary planet' orbiting such a pair of normal stars was not definitively established until the discovery of the planet transiting (that is, passing in front of) Kepler-16. Questions remained, however, about the prevalence of circumbinary planets and their range of orbital and physical properties. Here we report two additional transiting circumbinary planets: Kepler-34 (AB)b and Kepler-35 (AB)b, referred to here as Kepler-34 b and Kepler-35 b, respectively. Each is a low-density gas-giant planet on an orbit closely aligned with that of its parent stars. Kepler-34 b orbits two Sun-like stars every 289?days, whereas Kepler-35 b orbits a pair of smaller stars (89% and 81% of the Sun's mass) every 131?days. The planets experience large multi-periodic variations in incident stellar radiation arising from the orbital motion of the stars. The observed rate of circumbinary planets in our sample implies that more than ～1% of close binary stars have giant planets in nearly coplanar orbits, yielding a Galactic population of at least several million.     

Two Earth-sized planets orbiting Kepler-20

Since the discovery of the first extrasolar giant planets around Sun-like stars, evolving observational capabilities have brought us closer to the detection of true Earth analogues. The size of an exoplanet can be determined when it periodically passes in front of (transits) its parent star, causing a decrease in starlight proportional to its radius. The smallest exoplanet hitherto discovered has a radius 1.42 times that of the Earth's radius (R(⊕)), and hence has 2.9 times its volume. Here we report the discovery of two planets, one Earth-sized (1.03R(⊕)) and the other smaller than the Earth (0.87R(⊕)), orbiting the star Kepler-20, which is already known to host three other, larger, transiting planets. The gravitational pull of the new planets on the parent star is too small to measure with current instrumentation. We apply a statistical method to show that the likelihood of the planetary interpretation of the transit signals is more than three orders of magnitude larger than that of the alternative hypothesis that the signals result from an eclipsing binary star. Theoretical considerations imply that these planets are rocky, with a composition of iron and silicate. The outer planet could have developed a thick water vapour atmosphere.     

An intense stratospheric jet on Jupiter

The Earth's equatorial stratosphere shows oscillations in which the east-west winds reverse direction and the temperatures change cyclically with a period of about two years. This phenomenon, called the quasi-biennial oscillation, also affects the dynamics of the mid- and high-latitude stratosphere and weather in the lower atmosphere. Ground-based observations have suggested that similar temperature oscillations (with a 4-5-yr cycle) occur on Jupiter, but these data suffer from poor vertical resolution and Jupiter's stratospheric wind velocities have not yet been determined. Here we report maps of temperatures and winds with high spatial resolution, obtained from spacecraft measurements of infrared spectra of Jupiter's stratosphere. We find an intense, high-altitude equatorial jet with a speed of approximately 140 m s(-1), whose spatial structure resembles that of a quasi-quadrennial oscillation. Wave activity in the stratosphere also appears analogous to that occurring on Earth. A strong interaction between Jupiter and its plasma environment produces hot spots in its upper atmosphere and stratosphere near its poles, and the temperature maps define the penetration of the hot spots into the stratosphere.     

基于流线理论计算正交切削中应变率和应变的方法

依据流体力学中的流线理论,选用了一个较为通用的流线模型,对正交金属切削时的塑性变形进行了分析研究.对实验获得的切削中的流线轨迹和流线模型进行拟合,确定了模型中的几何参数.应用流线理论和塑性理论相结合的方法,计算了剪切区的应变率分布,其结果与前人的实验和计算结果基本吻合,说明此流线模型可以用来分析金属切削中的塑性变形.对应变率进行数值积分,得到了剪切区的应变分布.根据计算的应变结果,提出了一种定义剪切区形状的方法.