Alluvial Architecture and Fluvial Cycles in Quaternary Deposits in a Continental Interior Basin, E Hungary

The thickness of the studied Quaternary alluvial complex, located in the eastern part of the Pannonian Basin System, can exceed 500 m. Based on subsurface facies analysis the following large-scale depositional elements were identified: channel-fill deposits, point bar deposits, alluvial fan (sandy sheet-flood) deposits, floodplain and floodbasin deposits, and thinner sandy–silty beds. They are classified into four types of facies associations, showing a characteristic stacking pattern on the logs. Facies zonation and basin-scale facies mapping of the overall Quaternary sedimentary succession shows that in several areas dominated by stacked, multistorey sandy channel fill sediments, pre-existing superimposed channel belts can be presumed. In the central and deepest part of the basin muddy floodbasin (distal floodplain and wetland) sediments dominate. Between these the largest area represents the floodplain where single channel fill sands are interbedded in the alluvial plain muds. In the eastern part of the basin the well-logs highlight the distal part of an alluvial fan where sandy sheet-flood deposits alternate with floodplain sediments. The recognized facies associations show a vertical pattern, i.e. they form a 40–100 m thick fining-upward fluvial cycle. The most characteristic and even ideal cycle can be observed in the channel belts and in the proximal floodplain zone. Here the basal member of the cycle is made up of multistorey channel fill beds cut into the underlying floodplain deposits. This is overlain by an alternating sandy–muddy succession of channel fill and floodplain deposits forming the intermediate member. The upper member is composed of silty–clayey floodplain deposits with occasional very thin, discrete silty–sandy bodies

Random elastic networks : strong disorder renormalization approach

For arbitrary networks of random masses connected by random springs, we define a general strong disorder real-space renormalization (RG) approach that generalizes the procedures introduced previously by Hastings [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 148702 (2003)] and by Amir, Oreg and Imry [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 070601 (2010)] respectively. The principle is to eliminate iteratively the elementary oscillating mode of highest frequency associated with either a mass or a spring constant. To explain the accuracy of the strong disorder RG rules, we compare with the Aoki RG rules that are exact at fixed frequency.Comment: 8 pages, v2=final versio

Comparative in vitro studies on native and recombinant human cationic trypsins - Cathepsin B is a possible pathological activator of trypsinogen in pancreatitis

Hereditary pancreatitis, an autosomal dominant disease is believed to be caused by mutation in the human trypsinogen gene. The role of mutations has been investigated by in vitro studies using recombinant rat and human trypsinogen (TG), In this study we compare the enzymatic properties and inhibition by human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (hPSTI) of the native, postsynthetically modified and recombinant cationic trypsin, and found these values practically identical, We also determined the autolytic stability of recombinant wild type (Hu1Asn21) and pancreatitis-associated (Hu1Ile21) trypsin, Both forms were equally stable. Similarly, we found no difference in the rate of activation of the two zymogens by human cationic and anionic trypsin. Mesotrypsin did not activate either form. The rate of autocatalytic activation of Hu1Asn21 TG and Hu1Ile21 TG was also identical at pH 8 both in the presence and absence of Ca2+. At pH 5 Hu1Ile21 TG autoactivated about twice as fast as HulAsn21 TG, The presence of physiological amount of hPSTI completely prevented autoactivation of both zymogens at pH 8 and at pH 5 as well. Cathepsin B readily activated both zymogens although Hu1Ile21 TG was activated about 2.5-3 times as fast as Hu1Asn21 TG, The presence of hPSTI did not prevent the activation of zymogens by cathepsin B, Our results underlie the central role of cathepsin B in the development of different forms of pancreatitis

The NASA CSTI high capacity power project

The SP-100 Space Nuclear Power Program was established in 1983 by DOD, DOE, and NASA as a joint program to develop technology for military and civil applications. Starting in 1986, NASA has funded a technology program to maintain the momentum of promising aerospace technology advancement started during Phase 1 of SP-100 and to strengthen, in key areas, the chances for successful development and growth capability of space nuclear reactor power systems for a wide range of future space applications. The elements of the Civilian Space Technology Initiative (CSTI) High Capacity Power Project include Systems Analysis, Stirling Power Conversion, Thermoelectric Power Conversion, Thermal Management, Power Management, Systems Diagnostics, Environmental Interactions, and Material/Structural Development. Technology advancement in all elements is required to provide the growth capability, high reliability and 7 to 10 year lifetime demanded for future space nuclear power systems. The overall project will develop and demonstrate the technology base required to provide a wide range of modular power systems compatible with the SP-100 reactor which facilitates operation during lunar and planetary day/night cycles as well as allowing spacecraft operation at any attitude or distance from the sun. Significant accomplishments in all of the project elements will be presented, along with revised goals and project timelines recently developed

Dust evolution in protoplanetary disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars - The Spitzer view

In this paper we present mid-infrared spectra of a comprehensive set of Herbig Ae/Be stars observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The signal-to-noise ratio of these spectra is very high, ranging between about a hundred and several hundreds. During the analysis of these data we tested the validity of standard protoplanetary dust models and studied grain growth and crystal formation. On the basis of the analyzed spectra, the major constituents of protoplanetary dust around Herbig Ae/Be stars are amorphous silicates with olivine and pyroxene stoichiometry, crystalline forsterite and enstatite and silica. No other solid state features, indicating other abundant dust species, are present in the Spitzer spectra. Deviations of the synthetic spectra from the observations are most likely related to grain shape effects and uncertainties in the iron content of the dust grains. Our analysis revealed that larger grains are more abundant in the disk atmosphere of flatter disks than in that of flared disks, indicating that grain growth and sedimentation decrease the disk flaring. We did not find, however, correlations between the value of crystallinity and any of the investigated system parameters. Our analysis shows that enstatite is more concentrated toward the warm inner disk than forsterite, in contrast to predictions of equilibrium condensation models. None of the three crystal formation mechanisms proposed so far can alone explain all our findings. It is very likely that all three play at least some role in the formation of crystalline silicates.Comment: 56 pages, 21 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Tertiary Subsurface Facies, Source Rocks and Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the SW Part of the Pannonian Basin (Northern Croatia and South-Western Hungary)

The Neogene sedimentary successions of the Drava, Sava and Slavonija–Srijem depressions in the SW part of the Pannonian Basin System are built up of three 2nd order megacycles separated by four major erosional unconformities. The first megacycle contains terrestrial to marine syn-rift and early post-rift sediments of Early to Mid-Miocene age. The second is built up of Late Miocene Lake Pannon deposits, while the third contains those sediments which were deposited in the remnants of Lake Pannon and in the subsequent fluvial systems, in areas of continuous subsidence associated with basin inversion from the Pliocene onwards. Most of the petroleum source rocks and reservoir rocks are of Miocene age and were formed during the first and second depositional megacycle. Conditions for the accumulation and preservation of large quantities of marine and terrigenous organic matter were most favourable during the Badenian, Sarmatian and Early Pannonian, in deep basin settings, partly associated with rifting. The generation of hydrocarbons was promoted by relatively high geothermal gradients during the initial and subsequent thermal subsidence. Various sedimentary environments produced deposits with good reservoir characteristics: e.g. fault-related talus breccia (mainly Lower Miocene), reefs (mainly Badenian), coastal, shallow marine (Karpatian, Badenian) and deltaic (Pannonian–Pontian) sand bodies or turbiditic sand lobes (mainly Pannonian). The hydrocarbon (HC) migration paths were often provided by the major unconformities bounding the three megacycles, as well as by faults, particularly around the basement highs

How and why to study autophagy in Drosophila:It's more than just a garbage chute.

During the catabolic process of autophagy, cytoplasmic material is transported to the lysosome for degradation and recycling. This way, autophagy contributes to the homeodynamic turnover of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, glycogen, and even whole organelles. Autophagic activity is increased by adverse conditions such as nutrient limitation, growth factor withdrawal and oxidative stress, and it generally protects cells and organisms to promote their survival. Misregulation of autophagy is likely involved in numerous human pathologies including aging, cancer, infections and neurodegeneration, so its biomedical relevance explains the still growing interest in this field. Here we discuss the different microscopy-based, biochemical and genetic methods currently available to study autophagy in various tissues of the popular model Drosophila. We show examples for results obtained in different assays, explain how to interpret these with regard to autophagic activity, and how to find out which step of autophagy a given gene product is involved in

Testis-Specific Bb8 Is Essential in the Development of Spermatid Mitochondria.

Mitochondria are essential organelles of developing spermatids in Drosophila, which undergo dramatic changes in size and shape after meiotic division, where mitochondria localized in the cytoplasm, migrate near the nucleus, aggregate, fuse and create the Nebenkern. During spermatid elongation the two similar mitochondrial derivatives of the Nebenkern start to elongate parallel to the axoneme. One of the elongated mitochondrial derivatives starts to lose volume and becomes the minor mitochondrial derivative, while the other one accumulates paracrystalline and becomes the major mitochondrial derivative. Proteins and intracellular environment that are responsible for cyst elongation and paracrystalline formation in the major mitochondrial derivative need to be identified. In this work we investigate the function of the testis specific big bubble 8 (bb8) gene during spermatogenesis. We show that a Minos element insertion in bb8 gene, a predicted glutamate dehydrogenase, causes recessive male sterility. We demonstrate bb8 mRNA enrichment in spermatids and the mitochondrial localisation of Bb8 protein during spermatogenesis. We report that megamitochondria develop in the homozygous mutant testes, in elongating spermatids. Ultrastructural analysis of the cross section of elongated spermatids shows enlarged mitochondria and the production of paracrystalline in both major and minor mitochondrial derivatives. Our results suggest that the Bb8 protein and presumably glutamate metabolism has a crucial role in the normal development and establishment of the identity of the mitochondrial derivatives during spermatid elongation

Different effects of Atg2 and Atg18 mutations on Atg8a and Atg9 trafficking during starvation in Drosophila.

The Atg2-Atg18 complex acts in parallel to Atg8 and regulates Atg9 recycling from phagophore assembly site (PAS) during autophagy in yeast. Here we show that in Drosophila, both Atg9 and Atg18 are required for Atg8a puncta formation, unlike Atg2. Selective autophagic degradation of ubiquitinated proteins is mediated by Ref(2)P/p62. The transmembrane protein Atg9 accumulates on refractory to Sigma P (Ref(2)P) aggregates in Atg7, Atg8a and Atg2 mutants. No accumulation of Atg9 is seen on Ref(2)P in cells lacking Atg18 or Vps34 lipid kinase function, while the Atg1 complex subunit FIP200 is recruited. The simultaneous interaction of Atg18 with both Atg9 and Ref(2)P raises the possibility that Atg18 may facilitate selective degradation of ubiquitinated protein aggregates by autophagy