Fast delivery of meteorites to Earth after a major asteroid collision

Very large collisions in the asteroid belt could lead temporarily to a substantial increase in the rate of impacts of meteorites on Earth. Orbital simulations predict that fragments from such events may arrive considerably faster than the typical transit times of meteorites falling today, because in some large impacts part of the debris is transferred directly into a resonant orbit with Jupiter. Such an efficient meteorite delivery track, however, has not been verified. Here we report high-sensitivity measurements of noble gases produced by cosmic rays in chromite grains from a unique suite of fossil meteorites preserved in approximately 480 million year old sediments. The transfer times deduced from the noble gases are as short as approximately 10(5) years, and they increase with stratigraphic height in agreement with the estimated duration of sedimentation. These data provide powerful evidence that this unusual meteorite occurrence was the result of a long-lasting rain of meteorites following the destruction of an asteroid, and show that at least one strong resonance in the main asteroid belt can deliver material into the inner Solar System within the short timescales suggested by dynamical models.     

Detection and imaging of atmospheric radio flashes from cosmic ray air showers

The nature of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) at energies >10(20) eV remains a mystery. They are likely to be of extragalactic origin, but should be absorbed within approximately 50 Mpc through interactions with the cosmic microwave background. As there are no sufficiently powerful accelerators within this distance from the Galaxy, explanations for UHECRs range from unusual astrophysical sources to exotic string physics. Also unclear is whether UHECRs consist of protons, heavy nuclei, neutrinos or gamma-rays. To resolve these questions, larger detectors with higher duty cycles and which combine multiple detection techniques are needed. Radio emission from UHECRs, on the other hand, is unaffected by attenuation, has a high duty cycle, gives calorimetric measurements and provides high directional accuracy. Here we report the detection of radio flashes from cosmic-ray air showers using low-cost digital radio receivers. We show that the radiation can be understood in terms of the geosynchrotron effect. Our results show that it should be possible to determine the nature and composition of UHECRs with combined radio and particle detectors, and to detect the ultrahigh-energy neutrinos expected from flavour mixing.     

Computer-Aided Detection System on Tangled Roller

Introduction Intheposttreatmentofchoppedfibreproduction,the thirddraftingrollerandtensionheat settingrolleroftenwere tangledbybrokentowforthereasonofhighspeed,hightemperatureofrollersurface,orotheradditionalforeign factors.While,thetworollerswerekeysegmentinthewhole technology.Itwouldleadtooneormoredrumcavedin,and eventobediscardediftheequipmenthadnotbeenstoppedintime.Usually,suchaccidentwouldbringgreatloss,what wouldnotbegotback.Sothetotalsetofequipmentrequiredthatdetectormusthavegoodperfo…     

Io as a source of the jovian dust streams

Streams of dust emerging from the direction of Jupiter were discovered in 1992 during the flyby of the Ulysses spacecraft, but their precise origin within the jovian system remained unclear. Further data collected by the Galileo spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since December 1995, identified the possible sources of dust as Jupiter's main ring, its gossamer ring, comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (ref. 8) and Io. All but Jupiter's gossamer ring and Io have since been ruled out. Here we find that the dominant source of the jovian dust streams is Io, on the basis of periodicities in the dust impact signal. Io's volcanoes, rather than impact ejecta, are the dust sources.     

Ar1-5 and Ar2-6 aryl participation in ionic and free radical processes

Zusammenfassung Die Beteiligung von Arylgruppen in Solvolysen von 4-Aryl-1-butylhalogeniden und Arylsulfonaten sowie in Reaktionen von freien 4-Aryl-1-butyl-radikalen wird diskutiert. Bei geeignet methoxylierten oder hydroxy-lierten 4-Aryl-1-butylverbindungen kann die Formolyse entweder mit Ar₁-5-oder Ar₁-6-Arylbeteiligung verlaufen. Dies führt zur Bildung von Tetralin. Da bei Ar₁-5-Beteiligung ein Spirocarboniumion entsteht, in welchem entweder C oder C der ursprünglichen Butylseitenkette wandern kann, ist es möglich, dass ein anderes Tetralin geformt wird als auf dem direkteren Ar₂-6-Weg. Als Beispiel dient die Formolysenreaktion von 4-p-Anisyl-4-methyl-1-pentylbrombenzolsulfonat.

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Research supported by the Office of Naval Research. — Research sponsored by the Office of Ordnance Research, U. S. Army.     

Tumour suppressor RNF43 is a stem-cell E3 ligase that induces endocytosis of Wnt receptors

LGR5+ stem cells reside at crypt bottoms, intermingled with Paneth cells that provide Wnt, Notch and epidermal growth factor signals. Here we find that the related RNF43 and ZNRF3 transmembrane E3 ubiquitin ligases are uniquely expressed in LGR5+ stem cells. Simultaneous deletion of the two genes encoding these proteins in the intestinal epithelium of mice induces rapidly growing adenomas containing high numbers of Paneth and LGR5+ stem cells. In vitro, growth of organoids derived from these adenomas is arrested when Wnt secretion is inhibited, indicating a dependence of the adenoma stem cells on Wnt produced by adenoma Paneth cells. In the HEK293T human cancer cell line, expression of RNF43 blocks Wnt responses and targets surface-expressed frizzled receptors to lysosomes. In the RNF43-mutant colorectal cancer cell line HCT116, reconstitution of RNF43 expression removes its response to exogenous Wnt. We conclude that RNF43 and ZNRF3 reduce Wnt signals by selectively ubiquitinating frizzled receptors, thereby targeting these Wnt receptors for degradation.     

Interaction of glutamic-acid-rich proteins with the cGMP signalling pathway in rod photoreceptors.

The assembly of signalling molecules into macromolecular complexes (transducisomes) provides specificity, sensitivity and speed in intracellular signalling pathways. Rod photoreceptors in the eye contain an unusual set of glutamic-acid-rich proteins (GARPs) of unknown function. GARPs exist as two soluble forms, GARP1 and GARP2, and as a large cytoplasmic domain (GARP' part) of the beta-subunit of the cyclic GMP-gated channel. Here we identify GARPs as multivalent proteins that interact with the key players of cGMP signalling, phosphodiesterase and guanylate cyclase, and with a retina-specific ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABCR), through four, short, repetitive sequences. In electron micrographs, GARPs are restricted to the rim region and incisures of discs in close proximity to the guanylate cyclase and ABCR, whereas the phosphodiesterase is randomly distributed. GARP2, the most abundant splice form, associates more strongly with light-activated than with inactive phosphodiesterase, and GARP2 potently inhibits phosphodiesterase activity. Thus, the GARPs organize a dynamic protein complex near the disc rim that may control cGMP turnover and possibly other light-dependent processes. Because there are no similar GARPs in cones, we propose that GARPs may prevent unnecessary cGMP turnover during daylight, when rods are held in saturation by the relatively high light levels.     

计算机辅助鉴定技术在海洋浮游植物分类鉴定中的应用

本文对计算机辅助鉴定技术在海洋浮游植物分类鉴定中的应用进行了探讨,总结了不同技术的特点,并在总结计算机辅助鉴定技术在海洋浮游植物分类鉴定方面应用现状的基础上,对其发展前景做出了展望。     

Lgr5 homologues associate with Wnt receptors and mediate R-spondin signalling

The adult stem cell marker Lgr5 and its relative Lgr4 are often co-expressed in Wnt-driven proliferative compartments. We find that conditional deletion of both genes in the mouse gut impairs Wnt target gene expression and results in the rapid demise of intestinal crypts, thus phenocopying Wnt pathway inhibition. Mass spectrometry demonstrates that Lgr4 and Lgr5 associate with the Frizzled/Lrp Wnt receptor complex. Each of the four R-spondins, secreted Wnt pathway agonists, can bind to Lgr4, -5 and -6. In HEK293 cells, RSPO1 enhances canonical WNT signals initiated by WNT3A. Removal of LGR4 does not affect WNT3A signalling, but abrogates the RSPO1-mediated signal enhancement, a phenomenon rescued by re-expression of LGR4, -5 or -6. Genetic deletion of Lgr4/5 in mouse intestinal crypt cultures phenocopies withdrawal of Rspo1 and can be rescued by Wnt pathway activation. Lgr5 homologues are facultative Wnt receptor components that mediate Wnt signal enhancement by soluble R-spondin proteins. These results will guide future studies towards the application of R-spondins for regenerative purposes of tissues expressing Lgr5 homologues.     

Characterization of the self-palmitoylation activity of the transport protein particle component Bet3

Bet3, a transport protein particle component involved in vesicular trafficking, contains a hydrophobic tunnel occupied by a fatty acid linked to cysteine 68. We reported that Bet3 has a unique self-palmitoylating activity. Here we show that mutation of arginine 67 reduced self-palmitoylation of Bet3, but the effect was compensated by increasing the pH. Thus, arginine helps to deprotonate cysteine such that it could function as a nucleophile in the acylation reaction which is supported by the structural analysis of non-acylated Bet3. Using fluorescence spectroscopy we show that long-chain acyl-CoAs bind with micromolar affinity to Bet3, whereas shorter-chain acyl-CoAs do not interact. Mutants with a deleted acylation site or a blocked tunnel bind to Pal-CoA, only the latter with slightly reduced affinity. Bet3 contains three binding sites for Pal-CoA, but their number was reduced to two in the mutant with an obstructed tunnel, indicating that Bet3 contains binding sites on its surface.