Remote temperature profiling in the troposphere and stratosphere by the radio-acoustic sounding technique

Radar application of the radio-acoustic sounding technique uses the Doppler frequency shift of radar echoes returning from the atmospheric wave structure, in association with a traveling acoustic pulse transmitted from the ground, to determine the speed of sound, and hence the atmospheric temperature, as a function of altitude. Temperature measurement in the troposphere and stratosphere were determined using the radio-acoustic sounding technique with the Radio-Acoustic Sounding System (RASS). Successful experiments were performed in March 1985, and in August 1985

In vitro microtubule-nucleating activity of spindle pole bodies in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe: cell cycle-dependent activation in xenopus cell-free extracts.

The spindle pole body (SPB) is the equivalent of the centrosome in fission yeast. In vivo it nucleates microtubules (MTs) during mitosis, but, unlike animal centrosomes, does not act as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC) during interphase. We have studied the MT-nucleating activity of SPBs in vitro and have found that SPBs in permeabilized cells retain in vivo characteristics. SPBs in cells permeabilized during mitosis can nucleate MTs, and are recognized by two antibodies: anti-gamma-tubulin and MPM-2 which recognizes phosphoepitopes. SPBs in cells permeabilized during interphase cannot nucleate MTs and are only recognized by anti-gamma-tubulin. Interphase SPBs which cannot nucleate can be converted to a nucleation competent state by incubation in cytostatic factor (CSF)-arrested Xenopus egg extracts. After incubation, they are recognized by MPM-2, and can nucleate MTs. The conversion does not occur in Xenopus interphase extract, but occurs in Xenopus interphase extract driven into mitosis by preincubation with exogenous cyclin B. The conversion is ATP dependent and inhibited by protein kinase inhibitors and alkaline phosphatase. Purified, active, cdc2 kinase/cyclin B complex in itself is not effective for activation of MT nucleation, although some interphase SPBs are now stained with MPM-2. These results suggest that the ability of SPBs in vitro to nucleate MTs after exposure to CSF-arrested extracts is activated through a downstream pathway which is regulated by cdc2 kinase

The mechanism of anaphase spindle elongation: uncoupling of tubulin incorporation and microtubule sliding during in vitro spindle reactivation.

To study tubulin polymerization and microtubule sliding during spindle elongation in vitro, we developed a method of uncoupling the two processes. When isolated diatom spindles were incubated with biotinylated tubulin (biot-tb) without ATP, biot-tb was incorporated into two regions flanking the zone of microtubule overlap, but the spindles did not elongate. After biot-tb was removed, spindle elongation was initiated by addition of ATP. The incorporated biot-tb was found in the midzone between the original half-spindles. The extent and rate of elongation were increased by preincubation in biot-tb. Serial section reconstruction of spindles elongating in tubulin and ATP showed that the average length of half-spindle microtubules increased due to growth of microtubules from the ends of native microtubules. The characteristic packing pattern between antiparallel microtubules was retained even in the new overlap region. Our results suggest that the forces required for spindle elongation are generated by enzymes in the overlap zone that mediate the sliding apart of antiparallel microtubules, and that tubulin polymerization does not contribute to force generation. Changes in the extent of microtubule overlap during spindle elongation were affected by tubulin and ATP concentration in the incubation medium. Spindles continued to elongate even after the overlap zone was composed entirely of newly polymerized microtubules, suggesting that the enzyme responsible for microtubule translocation either is bound to a matrix in the spindle midzone, or else can move on one microtubule toward the spindle midzone and push another microtubule of opposite polarity toward the pole

IPA-CuCl3_3: a S=1/2 Ladder with Ferromagnetic Rungs

The spin gap material IPA-CuCl3 has been extensively studied as a ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic bondalternating S = 1/2 chain. This description of the system was derived from structural considerations and bulk measurements. New inelastic neutron scattering experiments reveal a totally different picture: IPA-CuCl3 consists of weakly coupled spin ladders with antiferromagnetic legs and ferromagnetic rungs. The ladders run perpendicular to the originally supposed bondalternating chain direction. The ferromagnetic rungs make this system equivalent to a Haldane S = 1 antiferromagnet. With a gap energy of 1.17(1) meV, a zone-boundary energy of 4.1(1) meV, and almost no magnetic anisotropy, IPA-CuCl3 may the best Haldane-gap material yet, in terms of suitability for neutron scattering studies in high magnetic fields.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, submitted to proceedings of LT24, Orlando, FL, August 200

In vitro reactivation of spindle elongation in fission yeast nuc2 mutant cells.

To investigate the mechanisms of spindle elongation and chromosome separation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we have developed an in vitro assay using a temperature-sensitive mutant strain, nuc2. At the restrictive temperature, nuc2 cells are arrested at a metaphase-like stage with short spindles and condensed chromosomes. After permeabilization of spheroplasts of the arrested cells, spindle elongation was reactivated by addition of ATP and neurotubulin both at the restrictive and the permissive temperatures, but chromosome separation was not. This suggests that the nuc2 cells are impaired in function at a stage before sister chromatid disjunction. Spindle elongation required both ATP and exogenous tubulin and was inhibited by adenylyl imidodiphosphate (AMPPNP) or vanadate. The ends of yeast half-spindle microtubules pulse-labeled with biotinylated tubulin moved past each other during spindle elongation and a gap formed between the original half-spindles. These results suggest that the primary mechanochemical event responsible for spindle elongation is the sliding apart of antiparallel microtubules of the two half-spindles

Immunization of networks with community structure

In this study, an efficient method to immunize modular networks (i.e., networks with community structure) is proposed. The immunization of networks aims at fragmenting networks into small parts with a small number of removed nodes. Its applications include prevention of epidemic spreading, intentional attacks on networks, and conservation of ecosystems. Although preferential immunization of hubs is efficient, good immunization strategies for modular networks have not been established. On the basis of an immunization strategy based on the eigenvector centrality, we develop an analytical framework for immunizing modular networks. To this end, we quantify the contribution of each node to the connectivity in a coarse-grained network among modules. We verify the effectiveness of the proposed method by applying it to model and real networks with modular structure.Comment: 3 figures, 1 tabl