483 research outputs found
Oligarchic and giant impact growth of terrestrial planets in the presence of gas giant planet migration
We present the results of N--body simulations which examine the effect that
gas giant planet migration has on the formation of terrestrial planets. The
models incorporate a 0.5 Jupiter mass planet undergoing type II migration
through an inner protoplanet--planetesimal disk, with gas drag included. Each
model is initiated with the inner disk being at successively increased levels
of maturity, so that it is undergoing either oligarchic or giant impact style
growth as the gas giant migrates. In all cases, a large fraction of the disk
mass survives the passage of the giant, either by accreting into massive
terrestrial planets shepherded inward of the giant, or by being scattered into
external orbits. Shepherding is favored in younger disks where there is strong
dynamical friction from planetesimals and gas drag is more influential, whereas
scattering dominates in more mature disks where dissipation is weaker. In each
scenario, sufficient mass is scattered outward to provide for the eventual
accretion of a set of terrestrial planets in external orbits, including within
the system's habitable zone. An interesting result is the generation of
massive, short period, terrestrial planets from compacted material pushed ahead
of the giant. These planets are reminiscent of the short period Neptune mass
planets discovered recently, suggesting that such `hot Neptunes' could form
locally as a by-product of giant planet migration.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, to be published in A&A. Higher resolution pdf
available at: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mfogg/3453fogg.pd
Effects of accretion flow on the chemical structure in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks
We have studied the dependence of the profiles of molecular abundances and
line emission on the accretion flow in the hot (\ga 100K) inner region of
protoplanetary disks. The gas-phase reactions initiated by evaporation of the
ice mantle on dust grains are calculated along the accretion flow. We focus on
methanol, a molecule that is formed predominantly through the evaporation of
warm ice mantles, to show how the abundance profile and line emission depend on
the accretion flow. Our results show that some evaporated molecules keep high
abundances only when the accretion velocity is large enough, and that methanol
could be useful as a diagnostic of the accretion flow by means of ALMA
observations at the disk radius of \la 10AU.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
Vgl1, a multi-KH domain protein, is a novel component of the fission yeast stress granules required for cell survival under thermal stress
Multiple KH-domain proteins, collectively known as vigilins, are evolutionarily highly conserved proteins that are present in eukaryotic organisms from yeast to metazoa. Proposed roles for vigilins include chromosome segregation, messenger RNA (mRNA) metabolism, translation and tRNA transport. As a step toward understanding its biological function, we have identified the fission yeast vigilin, designated Vgl1, and have investigated its role in cellular response to environmental stress. Unlike its counterpart in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we found no indication that Vgl1 is required for the maintenance of cell ploidy in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Instead, Vgl1 is required for cell survival under thermal stress, and vgl1Δ mutants lose their viability more rapidly than wild-type cells when incubated at high temperature. As for Scp160 in S. cerevisiae, Vgl1 bound polysomes accumulated at endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but in a microtubule-independent manner. Under thermal stress, Vgl1 is rapidly relocalized from the ER to cytoplasmic foci that are distinct from P-bodies but contain stress granule markers such as poly(A)-binding protein and components of the translation initiation factor eIF3. Together, these observations demonstrated in S. pombe the presence of RNA granules with similar composition as mammalian stress granules and identified Vgl1 as a novel component that required for cell survival under thermal stress
SCF Ensures Meiotic Chromosome Segregation Through a Resolution of Meiotic Recombination Intermediates
The SCF (Skp1-Cul1-F-box) complex contributes to a variety of cellular events including meiotic cell cycle control, but its function during meiosis is not understood well. Here we describe a novel function of SCF/Skp1 in meiotic recombination and subsequent chromosome segregation. The skp1 temperature-sensitive mutant exhibited abnormal distribution of spindle microtubules in meiosis II, which turned out to originate from abnormal bending of the spindle in meiosis I. Bent spindles were reported in mitosis of this mutant, but it remained unknown how SCF could affect spindle morphology. We found that the meiotic bent spindle in skp1 cells was due to a hypertension generated by chromosome entanglement. The spindle bending was suppressed by inhibiting double strand break (DSB) formation, indicating that the entanglement was generated by the meiotic recombination machinery. Consistently, Rhp51/Rad51-Rad22/Rad52 foci persisted until meiosis I in skp1 cells, proving accumulation of recombination intermediates. Intriguingly bent spindles were also observed in the mutant of Fbh1, an F-box protein containing the DNA helicase domain, which is involved in meiotic recombination. Genetic evidence suggested its cooperation with SCF/Skp1. Thus, SCF/Skp1 together with Fbh1 is likely to function in the resolution of meiotic recombination intermediates, thereby ensuring proper chromosome segregation
Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set
We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s
using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays
in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at
production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton
collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment
at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity.
We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the
B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2,
-1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in
agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model
value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +-
0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +-
0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by
other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012
Identification of Genes Affecting the Toxicity of Anti-Cancer Drug Bortezomib by Genome-Wide Screening in S. pombe
Bortezomib/PS-341/Velcade, a proteasome inhibitor, is widely used to treat multiple myeloma. While several mechanisms of the cytotoxicity of the drug were proposed, the actual mechanism remains elusive. We aimed to identify genes affecting the cytotoxicity of Bortezomib in the fission yeast S.pombe as the drug inhibits this organism's cell division cycle like proteasome mutants. Among the 2815 genes screened (covering 56% of total ORFs), 19 genes, whose deletions induce strong synthetic lethality with Bortezomib, were identified. The products of the 19 genes included four ubiquitin enzymes and one nuclear proteasome factor, and 13 of them are conserved in humans. Our results will provide useful information for understanding the actions of Bortezomib within cells
On the synchronization of IEEE 802.15.5 wireless mesh sensor networks: Shortcomings and improvements
Distinct Early Molecular Responses to Mutations Causing vLINCL and JNCL Presage ATP Synthase Subunit C Accumulation in Cerebellar Cells
Variant late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (vLINCL), caused by CLN6 mutation, and juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL), caused by CLN3 mutation, share clinical and pathological features, including lysosomal accumulation of mitochondrial ATP synthase subunit c, but the unrelated CLN6 and CLN3 genes may initiate disease via similar or distinct cellular processes. To gain insight into the NCL pathways, we established murine wild-type and CbCln6nclf/nclf cerebellar cells and compared them to wild-type and CbCln3Δex7/8/Δex7/8 cerebellar cells. CbCln6nclf/nclf cells and CbCln3Δex7/8/Δex7/8 cells both displayed abnormally elongated mitochondria and reduced cellular ATP levels and, as cells aged to confluence, exhibited accumulation of subunit c protein in Lamp 1-positive organelles. However, at sub-confluence, endoplasmic reticulum PDI immunostain was decreased only in CbCln6nclf/nclf cells, while fluid-phase endocytosis and LysoTracker® labeled vesicles were decreased in both CbCln6nclf/nclf and CbCln3Δex7/8/Δex7/8 cells, though only the latter cells exhibited abnormal vesicle subcellular distribution. Furthermore, unbiased gene expression analyses revealed only partial overlap in the cerebellar cell genes and pathways that were altered by the Cln3Δex7/8 and Cln6nclf mutations. Thus, these data support the hypothesis that CLN6 and CLN3 mutations trigger distinct processes that converge on a shared pathway, which is responsible for proper subunit c protein turnover and neuronal cell survival
Angular momentum exchange during secular migration of two-planet systems
We investigate the secular dynamics of two-planet coplanar systems evolving
under mutual gravitational interactions and dissipative forces. We consider two
mechanisms responsible for the planetary migration: star-planet (or
planet-satellite) tidal interactions and interactions of a planet with a
gaseous disc. We show that each migration mechanism is characterized by a
specific law of orbital angular momentum exchange. Calculating stationary
solutions of the conservative secular problem and taking into account the
orbital angular momentum leakage, we trace the evolutionary routes followed by
the planet pairs during the migration process. This procedure allows us to
recover the dynamical history of two-planet systems and constrain parameters of
the involved physical processes.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Celestial Mechanics
and Dynamical Astronomy (special issue on Exoplanets
Proteasome Nuclear Import Mediated by Arc3 Can Influence Efficient DNA Damage Repair and Mitosis in Schizosaccharomyces Pombe
Proteasomes must efficiently remove their substrates throughout the cells in a timely manner as many of these proteins can be toxic. This study shows that proteasomes can do so efficiently because they are highly mobile. Furthermore this study uncovers that proteasome mobility requires functional Arc3, a subunit of the Arp2/3 complex
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