Ophiolites in the Xing’an-Inner Mongolia accretionary belt of the CAOB: Implications for two cycles of seafloor spreading and accretionary orogenic events

The Xing'an-Inner Mongolia accretionary belt in the southeastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) was produced by the long-lived subduction and eventual closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean and by the convergence between the North China Craton and the Mongolian microcontinent. Two ophiolite belts have been recognized: the northern Erenhot-Hegenshan-Xi-Ujimqin ophiolite belt and the southern Solonker-Linxi ophiolite belt. Most basalts in the northern ophiolite belt exhibit characteristics of normal-type to enriched-type mid-ocean ridge basalt affinities with depleted Nd isotopic composition (εNd(t) > +5), comparable to modern Eastern Pacific mid-ocean ridge basalts. Most basaltic rocks in the southern belt show clear geochemical features of suprasubduction zone-type oceanic crust, probably formed in an arc/back-arc environment. The inferred back-arc extension along the Solonker-Linxi belt started at circa 280 Ma. Statistics of all the available age data for the ophiolites indicates two cycles of seafloor spreading/subduction, which gave rise to two main epochs of magmatic activity at 500–410 Ma and 360–220 Ma, respectively, with a gap of ~50 million years (Myr). The spatial and temporal distribution of the ophiolites and concurrent igneous rocks favor bilateral subduction toward the two continental margins in the convergence history, with final collision at ~230–220 Ma. In the whole belt, signals of continental collision and Himalayan-style mountain building are lacking. We thus conclude that the Xing'an-Inner Mongolia segment of the CAOB experienced two cycles of seafloor subduction, back-arc extension, and final “Appalachian-type” soft collision

Chromatin accessibility reveals insights into androgen receptor activation and transcriptional specificity

BACKGROUND: Epigenetic mechanisms such as chromatin accessibility impact transcription factor binding to DNA and transcriptional specificity. The androgen receptor (AR), a master regulator of the male phenotype and prostate cancer pathogenesis, acts primarily through ligand-activated transcription of target genes. Although several determinants of AR transcriptional specificity have been elucidated, our understanding of the interplay between chromatin accessibility and AR function remains incomplete. RESULTS: We used deep sequencing to assess chromatin structure via DNase I hypersensitivity and mRNA abundance, and paired these datasets with three independent AR ChIP-seq datasets. Our analysis revealed qualitative and quantitative differences in chromatin accessibility that corresponded to both AR binding and an enrichment of motifs for potential collaborating factors, one of which was identified as SP1. These quantitative differences were significantly associated with AR-regulated mRNA transcription across the genome. Base-pair resolution of the DNase I cleavage profile revealed three distinct footprinting patterns associated with the AR-DNA interaction, suggesting multiple modes of AR interaction with the genome. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast with other DNA-binding factors, AR binding to the genome does not only target regions that are accessible to DNase I cleavage prior to hormone induction. AR binding is invariably associated with an increase in chromatin accessibility and, consequently, changes in gene expression. Furthermore, we present the first in vivo evidence that a significant fraction of AR binds only to half of the full AR DNA motif. These findings indicate a dynamic quantitative relationship between chromatin structure and AR-DNA binding that impacts AR transcriptional specificity

Effect of Phosphorus and Strontium Additions on Formation Temperature and Nucleation Density of Primary Silicon in Al-19 Wt Pct Si Alloy and Their Effect on Eutectic Temperature

The influence of P and Sr additions on the formation temperature and nucleation density of primary silicon in Al-19 wt pct Si alloy has been determined, for small volumes of melt solidified at cooling rates _T of ~0.3 and 1 K/s. The proportion of ingot featuring primary silicon decreased progressively with increased Sr addition, which also markedly reduced the temperature for first formation of primary silicon and the number of primary silicon particles per unit volume �Nv: When combined with previously published results, the effects of amount of P addition and cooling rate on �Nv are in reasonable accord with �Nv� _T ¼ ðp=6fÞ1=2 109 [250 � 215 (wt pct P)0.17]�3, where �Nv is in mm�3, _T is in K/s, and f is volume fraction of primary silicon. Increased P addition reduces the eutectic temperature, while increased Sr appears to generate a minimum in eutectic temperature at about 100 ppmw Sr

Functional characterization of a melon alcohol acyl-transferase gene family involved in the biosynthesis of ester volatiles. Identification of the crucial role of a threonine residue for enzyme activity

Volatile esters, a major class of compounds contributing to the aroma of many fruit, are synthesized by alcohol acyl-transferases (AAT). We demonstrate here that, in Charentais melon (Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis), AAT are encoded by a gene family of at least four members with amino acid identity ranging from 84% (Cm-AAT1/Cm-AAT2) and 58% (Cm-AAT1/Cm-AAT3) to only 22% (Cm-AAT1/Cm-AAT4). All encoded proteins, except Cm-AAT2, were enzymatically active upon expression in yeast and show differential substrate preferences. Cm-AAT1 protein produces a wide range of short and long-chain acyl esters but has strong preference for the formation of E-2-hexenyl acetate and hexyl hexanoate. Cm-AAT3 also accepts a wide range of substrates but with very strong preference for producing benzyl acetate. Cm-AAT4 is almost exclusively devoted to the formation of acetates, with strong preference for cinnamoyl acetate. Site directed mutagenesis demonstrated that the failure of Cm-AAT2 to produce volatile esters is related to the presence of a 268-alanine residue instead of threonine as in all active AAT proteins. Mutating 268-A into 268-T of Cm-AAT2 restored enzyme activity, while mutating 268-T into 268-A abolished activity of Cm-AAT1. Activities of all three proteins measured with the prefered substrates sharply increase during fruit ripening. The expression of all Cm-AAT genes is up-regulated during ripening and inhibited in antisense ACC oxidase melons and in fruit treated with the ethylene antagonist 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), indicating a positive regulation by ethylene. The data presented in this work suggest that the multiplicity of AAT genes accounts for the great diversity of esters formed in melon

Spallation reactions. A successful interplay between modeling and applications

The spallation reactions are a type of nuclear reaction which occur in space by interaction of the cosmic rays with interstellar bodies. The first spallation reactions induced with an accelerator took place in 1947 at the Berkeley cyclotron (University of California) with 200 MeV deuterons and 400 MeV alpha beams. They highlighted the multiple emission of neutrons and charged particles and the production of a large number of residual nuclei far different from the target nuclei. The same year R. Serber describes the reaction in two steps: a first and fast one with high-energy particle emission leading to an excited remnant nucleus, and a second one, much slower, the de-excitation of the remnant. In 2010 IAEA organized a worskhop to present the results of the most widely used spallation codes within a benchmark of spallation models. If one of the goals was to understand the deficiencies, if any, in each code, one remarkable outcome points out the overall high-quality level of some models and so the great improvements achieved since Serber. Particle transport codes can then rely on such spallation models to treat the reactions between a light particle and an atomic nucleus with energies spanning from few tens of MeV up to some GeV. An overview of the spallation reactions modeling is presented in order to point out the incomparable contribution of models based on basic physics to numerous applications where such reactions occur. Validations or benchmarks, which are necessary steps in the improvement process, are also addressed, as well as the potential future domains of development. Spallation reactions modeling is a representative case of continuous studies aiming at understanding a reaction mechanism and which end up in a powerful tool.Comment: 59 pages, 54 figures, Revie

Evolution of the differential transverse momentum correlation function with centrality in Au+Au collisions at sNN=200\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV

We present first measurements of the evolution of the differential transverse momentum correlation function, {\it C}, with collision centrality in Au+Au interactions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV. {\it C} exhibits a strong dependence on collision centrality that is qualitatively similar to that of number correlations previously reported. We use the observed longitudinal broadening of the near-side peak of {\it C} with increasing centrality to estimate the ratio of the shear viscosity to entropy density, $\eta/s$, of the matter formed in central Au+Au interactions. We obtain an upper limit estimate of $\eta/s$ that suggests that the produced medium has a small viscosity per unit entropy.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, STAR paper published in Phys. Lett.

Modification of argon impurity transport by electron cyclotron heating in KSTAR H-mode plasmas

Experiments with a small amount of Ar gas injection as a trace impurity were conducted in the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) H-mode plasma (BT  = 2.8 T, IP = 0.6 MA, and PNBI = 4.0 MW). 170 GHz electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECH) at 600 and 800 kW was focused along the mid-plane with a fixed major radial position of R  =  1.66 m. The emissivity of the Ar16+ (3.949 Å) and Ar15+ (353.860 Å) spectral lines were measured by x-ray imaging crystal spectroscopy (XICS) and a vacuum UV (VUV) spectrometer, respectively. ECH reduces the peak Ar15+ emission and increases the Ar16+ emission, an effect largest with 800 kW. The ADAS-SANCO impurity transport code was used to evaluate the Ar transport coefficients. It was found that the inward convective velocity found in the plasma core without ECH was decreased with ECH, while diffusion remained approximately constant resulting in a less-peaked Ar density profile. Theoretical results from the NEO code suggest that neoclassical transport is not responsible for the change in transport, while the microstability analysis using GKW predicts a dominant ITG mode during both ECH and non-ECH plasmas

Copy number variation of individual cattle genomes using next-generation sequencing

Copy number variations (CNVs) affect a wide range of phenotypic traits; however, CNVs in or near segmental duplication regions are often intractable. Using a read depth approach based on next-generation sequencing, we examined genome - wide copy number differences among five taurine (three Angus, one Holstein, and one Hereford) and one indicine (Nelore) cattle. Within mapped chromosomal sequence, we identified 1265 CNV regions comprising ∼55.6-Mbp sequence-476 of which (~38%) have not previously been reported. We validated this sequence-based CNV call set with array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), quantitative PCR (qPCR), and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), achieving a validation rate of 82% and a false positive rate of 8%. We further estimated absolute copy numbers for genomic segments and annotated genes in each individual. Surveys of the top 25 most variable genes revealed that the Nelore individual had the lowest copy numbers in 13 cases (∼52%, χ 2 test; P-value <0.05). In contrast, genes related to pathogen- and parasite-resistance, such as CATHL4 and ULBP17, were highly duplicated in the Nelore individual relative to the taurine cattle, while genes involved in lipid transport and metabolism, including APOL3 and FABP2, were highly duplicated in the beef breeds. These CNV regions also harbor genes like BPIFA2A (BSP30A) and WC1, suggesting that some CNVs may be associated with breed-specific differences in adaptation, health, and production traits. By providing the first individualized cattle CNV and segmental duplication maps and genome-wide gene copy number estimates, we enable future CNV studies into highly duplicated regions in the cattle genome. © 2012 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press

Infuence of the year and HMW glutenin subunits on end-use quality predictors if bread wheat waxy lines

The effects of environment and the high molecular weight glutenins on some quality properties (sedimentation volume, % protein content, and starch pasting viscosity) of bread wheat mutant waxy lines were evaluated. Thirty-eight 100% amylose-free F 2 derived F 6 and F 7 lines were used. The results indicated that the environment did not influence sedimentation volume, mixograph parameters and starch viscosity parameters of waxy flour. Variation in the % protein content was determined mainly by the environment. The sedimentation volume and the mixograph peak development time were influenced by the variation at over expression of Bx7 and the mixograph peak development time was influenced by the Glu-D1 locus. One starch viscosity parameter, time to peak viscosity, was influenced by variation at the Glu-A1 locus. This parameter is significantly lower in the waxy lines than the parent line, which shows the influence of the waxy loci. No significant correlation was observed for sedimentation volume, mixograph parameters, protein content and viscosity parameters of waxy line