6,818 research outputs found
Evidence for an impact-induced biosphere from the δ34S signature of sulphides in the Rochechouart impact structure, France
The highly eroded 23 km diameter Rochechouart impact structure, France, has extensive evidence for post-impact hydrothermal alteration and sulphide mineralization. The sulphides can be divided into four types on the basis of their mineralogy and host rock. They range from pyrites and chalcopyrite in the underlying coherent crystalline basement to pyrites hosted in the impactites. Sulphur isotopic results show that δ34S values vary over a wide range, from -35.8‰ to +0.4‰. The highest values, δ34S -3.7‰ to +0.4‰, are recorded in the coherent basement, and likely represent a primary terrestrial sulphur reservoir. Sulphides with the lowest values, δ34S -35.8‰ to -5.2‰, are hosted within locally brecciated and displaced parautochthonous and autochthonous impactites. Intermediate δ34S values of -10.7‰ to -1.2‰ are recorded in the semi-continuous monomict lithic breccia unit, differing between carbonate-hosted sulphides and intraclastic and clastic matrix-hosted sulphides. Such variable isotope values are consistent with a biological origin, via bacterial sulphate reduction, for sulphides in the parautochthonous and autochthonous units; these minerals formed in the shallow subsurface and are probably related to the post impact hydrothermal system. The source of the sulphate is likely to have been seawater, penecontemporaneous to the impact, as inferred from the marginal marine paleogeography of the structure. In other eroded impact craters that show evidence for impact-induced hydrothermal circulation, indirect evidence for life may be sought isotopically within late-stage (≤120°C) secondary sulphides and within the shocked and brecciated basement immediately beneath the transient crater floor
The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene family of Anopheles gambiae
Background
Members of the M2 family of peptidases, related to mammalian angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), play important roles in regulating a number of physiological processes. As more invertebrate genomes are sequenced, there is increasing evidence of a variety of M2 peptidase genes, even within a single species. The function of these ACE-like proteins is largely unknown. Sequencing of the A. gambiae genome has revealed a number of ACE-like genes but probable errors in the Ensembl annotation have left the number of ACE-like genes, and their structure, unclear.
Results
TBLASTN and sequence analysis of cDNAs revealed that the A. gambiae genome contains nine genes (AnoACE genes) which code for proteins with similarity to mammalian ACE. Eight of these genes code for putative single domain enzymes similar to other insect ACEs described so far. AnoACE9, however, has several features in common with mammalian somatic ACE such as a two domain structure and a hydrophobic C terminus. Four of the AnoACE genes (2, 3, 7 and 9) were shown to be expressed at a variety of developmental stages. Expression of AnoACE3, AnoACE7 and AnoACE9 is induced by a blood meal, with AnoACE7 showing the largest (approximately 10-fold) induction.
Conclusion
Genes coding for two-domain ACEs have arisen several times during the course of evolution suggesting a common selective advantage to having an ACE with two active-sites in tandem in a single protein. AnoACE7 belongs to a sub-group of insect ACEs which are likely to be membrane-bound and which have an unusual, conserved gene structure
Optimal prediction in molecular dynamics
Optimal prediction approximates the average solution of a large system of
ordinary differential equations by a smaller system. We present how optimal
prediction can be applied to a typical problem in the field of molecular
dynamics, in order to reduce the number of particles to be tracked in the
computations. We consider a model problem, which describes a surface coating
process, and show how asymptotic methods can be employed to approximate the
high dimensional conditional expectations, which arise in optimal prediction.
The thus derived smaller system is compared to the original system in terms of
statistical quantities, such as diffusion constants. The comparison is carried
out by Monte-Carlo simulations, and it is shown under which conditions optimal
prediction yields a valid approximation to the original system.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figure
Stable Isotope Studies of the Rochechouart Impact Structure: Sources of Secondary Carbonates and Sulphides within Allochthonous and Parautochthonous Impactites
Hypervelocity impacts are among the most ubiquitous processes to affect solid bodies within our solar system [1, 2]. Although they are notoriously devastating, citing responsibility for mass extinction events and global climate perturbations, impacts can also create temporary environments which are favorable for life to thrive, if there is enough water present in the target, and sufficient energy is released as heat [1, 2]. One-third of impact structures on Earth contain fossil impact-initiated hydrothermal systems, and they are therefore being explored as potential “cradles of life” on other solid planets and satellites in our solar system [1].<p></p> We are presenting a case for the evaluation of the Mesozoic Rochechouart impact structure in France as a once-habitable environment. Initial δ 13C, δ18O and δ 34S isotope data collected in 2014 from hydrothermal carbonates and sulphides within monomict lithic impact breccia, collected from a site located 7.5km from the center of the structure at Champagnac quarry, supports our hypothesis of a warm, wet environment; we also found evidence for metabolically reduced sulphate [3]. Similar mineral assemblages can be found throughout the structure, including allochthonous breccias and low to unshocked target material. In order to explore our hypothesis further, a larger sample set was collected from various lithologies within the Champagnac site containing sulphide and carbonate mineralization for δ 13C, δ18O and δ34S isotope analysis in January 2015. These results will allow us to determine the relationships between the many hydrothermal mineral assemblages within this area of the structure, and ask whether the isotopic compositions recorded in secondary sulphides and carbonates of the impactites are inherited from the target, or possibly represent colonization by thermophilic microbes during the post-impact hydrothermal period.<p></p>
Landau Transport equations in slave-boson mean-field theory of t-J model
In this paper we generalize slave-boson mean-field theory for model to
the time-dependent regime, and derive transport equations for model, both
in the normal and superconducting states. By eliminating the boson and
constraint fields exactly in the equations of motion we obtain a set of
transport equations for fermions which have the same form as Landau transport
equations for normal Fermi liquid and Fermi liquid superconductor, respectively
with all Landau parameters explicity given. Our theory can be viewed as a
refined version of U(1) Gauge theory where all lattice effects are retained and
strong correlation effects are reflected as strong Fermi-liquid interactions in
the transport equation. Some experimental consequences are discussed.Comment: 19 page
Universality of Servant Leadership
Servant leadership is increasingly being tested, and proven to be a viable tool for managing multi-cultural organizations. Existing empirical and conceptual studies on servant leadership suggest that this leadership construct is practicable. While a lot of studies seem to have investigated its effect on individuals’ and organizations’ outcomes, none has moved the motion that servant leadership might have universal connotations.
This conceptual paper explores the underpinning framework of the universality dimension of servant leadership, and why viewing the construct as such, is necessary now and in the
near future. By critically examining past and present literature on servant leadership, the
paper offers robust and useful insights needed to stimulate the universality debate of servant leadership. The implications of the paper for early career researchers were also discusse
Coulomb corrections and multiple e+e- pair production in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions
We consider the problem of Coulomb corrections to the inclusive cross
section. We show that these corrections in the limiting case of small charge
number of one of the nuclei coincide with those to the exclusive cross section.
Within our approach we also obtain the Coulomb corrections for the case of
large charge numbers of both nuclei.Comment: 7 pages, REVTeX
Dynamical Scaling: the Two-Dimensional XY Model Following a Quench
To sensitively test scaling in the 2D XY model quenched from
high-temperatures into the ordered phase, we study the difference between
measured correlations and the (scaling) results of a Gaussian-closure
approximation. We also directly compare various length-scales. All of our
results are consistent with dynamical scaling and an asymptotic growth law , though with a time-scale that depends on the
length-scale in question. We then reconstruct correlations from the
minimal-energy configuration consistent with the vortex positions, and find
them significantly different from the ``natural'' correlations --- though both
scale with . This indicates that both topological (vortex) and
non-topological (``spin-wave'') contributions to correlations are relevant
arbitrarily late after the quench. We also present a consistent definition of
dynamical scaling applicable more generally, and emphasize how to generalize
our approach to other quenched systems where dynamical scaling is in question.
Our approach directly applies to planar liquid-crystal systems.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
The Oxidation State of Iron in Silicate Minerals from the Matrices of CO Carbonaceous Chondrites
No abstract available
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