Using 3D-printed analogues to investigate the fall speeds and orientations of complex ice particles

The terminal velocity vt and preferred orientations of ice particles has been investigated using 3D-printed analogues sedimenting in glycerine solutions at Reynolds numbers typical of natural ice particles falling in air. Twenty two different particle geometries were investigated: these included both simple shapes, such as hexagonal plates, as well as more complex particles, such as bullet rosettes, plate-polycrystals and aggregates. Two widely-used prescriptions for ice particle fall speed were tested against the new experimental data, to determine the accuracy of their predictions. We show that for open particles, such as bullet rosettes and aggregates, one of these prescriptions systematically overestimates vt, by as much as 80%

Search for Q: single grains Xe isotope analysis of carbonaceous residue from Yilmia

We analyse Xe in single grains in HF-HCl residue from Yilmia using RELAX mass spectrometer

Hydropyrolysis of high molecular weight organic matter in Murchison

Hydropyrolysis of the Murchison macromolecular material releases polyaromatic compounds including phenanthrene, carbazole, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, perylene, benzoperylene and coronene units with varying degrees of alklyation

Carbon isotope stratigraphy and palynology of an eastern Tethyan Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary section from Sumbar, Turkmenistan

A number of marine sequences across the K/Pg boundary have been identified that offer reasonably continuous records and relatively high sedimentation rates, most notably those near Tethyan continental margins. However, few Eastern Tethys K/Pg localities have been studied compared to the well-known North African and Southern European sites. Here we present a high-resolution stable carbon isotope and palynological record of a 2m thick section across the K/Pg boundary from the eastern Tethys at Sumbar in Turkmenistan (38°28’N, 56°14’E). The stratigraphy and inorganic geochemistry of the section used in this study, SM-4, has been described in detail by [1]

Multiple cosmic sources for meteorite macromolecules?

The major organic component in carbonaceous meteorites is an organic macromolecular material. The Murchison macromolecular material comprises aromatic units connected by aliphatic and heteroatom-containing linkages or occluded within the wider structure. The macromolecular material source environment remains elusive. Traditionally, attempts to determine source have strived to identify a single environment. Here we apply a highly efficient hydrogenolysis method to liberate units from the macromolecular material and use mass spectrometric techniques to determine their chemical structures and individual stable carbon isotope ratios. We confirm that the macromolecular material comprises a labile fraction with small aromatic units enriched in 13C and a refractory fraction made up of large aromatic units depleted in 13C. Our findings suggest that the macromolecular material may be derived from at least two separate environments. Compound specific carbon isotope trends for aromatic compounds with carbon number may reflect mixing of the two sources. The story of the quantitatively dominant macromolecular material in meteorites appears to be made up of more than one chapter

Synthesis, radiolabelling and in vitro and in vivo evaluation of a novel fluorinated ABP688 derivative for the PET imaging of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5

(E)-3-(Pyridin-2-ylethynyl)cyclohex-2-enone O-(2-(3-18F-fluoropropoxy)ethyl) oxime ([18F]-PSS223) was evaluated in vitro and in vivo to establish its potential as a PET tracer for imaging metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5). [18F]-PSS223 was obtained in 20% decay corrected radiochemical yield whereas the non-radioactive PSS223 was accomplished in 70% chemical yield in a SN2 reaction of common intermediate mesylate 8 with potassium fluoride. The in vitro binding affinity of [18F]-PSS223 was measured directly in a Scatchard assay to give Kd = 3.34 ± 2.05 nM. [18F]-PSS223 was stable in PBS and rat plasma but was significantly metabolized by rat liver microsomal enzymes, but to a lesser extent by human liver microsomes. Within 60 min, 90% and 20% of [18F]-PSS223 was metabolized by rat and human microsome enzymes, respectively. In vitro autoradiography on horizontal rat brain slices showed heterogeneous distribution of [18F]-PSS223 with the highest accumulation in brain regions where mGluR5 is highly expressed (hippocampus, striatum and cortex). Autoradiography in vitro under blockade conditions with ABP688 confirmed the high specificity of [18F]-PSS223 for mGluR5. Under the same blocking conditions but using the mGluR1 antagonist, JNJ16259685, no blockade was observed demonstrating the selectivity of [18F]-PSS223 for mGluR5 over mGluR1. Despite favourable in vitro properties of [18F]-PSS223, a clear-cut visualization of mGluR5- rich brain regions in vivo in rats was not possible mainly due to a fast clearance from the brain and low metabolic stability of [18F]-PSS223