Chemical evolution of RNA under hydrothermal conditions and the role of thermal copolymers of amino acids for the prebiotic degradation and formation of RNA.

The roles of thermal copolymers of amino acids (TCAA) were studied for the prebiotic degradation of RNA. A weak catalytic ability of TCAA consisted of Glu, L-Ala, L-Val, L-Glu, L-Asp, and optionally L-His was detected for the cleavage of the ribose phosphodiester bond of a tetranucleotide (5'-dCrCdGdG) in aqueous solution at 80 degees C. The rate constants of the disappearance of 5'-dCrCdGdG were determined in aqueous solutions using different pH buffer and TCAA. The degradation rates were enhanced 1.3-3.0 times in the presence of TCAA at pH 7.5 and 8.0 at 80 degrees C, while the hydrolysis of oligoguanylate (oligo(G)) was accelerated about 1.6 times at pH 8.0. A weak inhibitory activity for the cleavage of oligo(G) was detected in the presence of 0.055 M TCAA-Std. On the other hand, our recent study on the influences of TCAA for the template-directed reaction of oligo(G) on a polycytidylic acid template showed that TCAA has an acceleration activity for the degradation of the activated nucleotide monomer and an acceleration activity for the formation of G5' ppG capped oligo(G). This series of studies suggest that efficient and selective catalytic or inhibitory activities for either the degradation or formation of RNA under hydrothermal conditions could have hardly emerged from the simple thermal condensation products of amino acids. A scenario is going to be deduced on the chemical evolution of enzymatic activities and RNA molecules concerning hydrothermal earth conditions.     

On the shape of Amalthea

Voyager's photographs show a highly prolated and asymmetrical Amalthea. We tried to fit these data into the equations for an approximately equipotential surface and conclude that its density must be 1.8g cm^?3 if it is formed on a synchronous orbit around Jupiter.     

On the formation of auroral arcs

A new mechanism for auroral arc formation is presented. The characteristic linear shape of auroral arcs is determined by magnetically connected plasma clouds in the distant equatorial magnetosphere. These clouds originate as high speed plasma beams in the magnetotail and in the solar wind. It is found that the free energy for driving an auroral arc can be provided by the difference of pressure between the cloud and the ambient plasma.     

On the origin of the grooves on Phobos

L-grooves are the consequence of layered structure of Phobos, which are made up of parallel layers of different composition or hardness.     

On the origin of the high-latitude boundary layer

This paper presents a statistical study of the high-latitude boundary layer (HLBL) performed on 53 Interball-1 magnetopause crossings. In the study we verify if antiparallel merging is the main source of HLBL formation when the IMF is nearly horizontal. To provide such a study we designed a new coordinate system which allowed us to analyze HLBL under varied interplanetary conditions. This coordinate system floats over the dayside magnetopause following the changes in the instant location of the reconnection site. Despite very different interplanetary conditions, the observed HLBL plasma regimes manifest systematic behavior in the “reconnection” frame of reference. We explain the observed pattern in terms of sporadic patchy reconnection in the high magnetic shear region of the magnetopause.     

On the structure and dynamics of the thermosphere

Thermospheric temperature, composition and wind measurements from the Dynamics Explorer satellite (DE-2) are interpreted using a three dimensional, multiconstituent spectral model. The analysis accounts for tides driven by the absorbed solar radiation as well as energy and momentum coupling involving the magnetosphere and lower atmosphere. We discuss phenomena associated with the annual tide, polar circulation, magnetic storms and substorms.     

On the shape of rapidly rotating asteroids

By means of a statistical analysis of the rotational properties of asteroids, we define a class of large amplitude and short period objects (LASPA). A possible interpretation of their collisional evolution and present physical status, in terms of ellipsoidal figures of equilibrium, is proposed.     

On the real-height profiles of the F2-layer

Since modern digital ionosondes and minicomputers are now generally accessible there is no justification any more for using inversion schemes in which the influence of the magnetic field is ignored or a monotonous profile is assumed so that the regular presence of valleys is neglected. Therefore inversion schemes like POLAN and ARTIST should at least be applied.

We propose a new global and analytical representation of the F2-layer profiles which is found to be helpful for specific ionospheric situations.     

On the motions of RHESSI flare footpoints

The footpoint motions of flare hard X-ray (HXR) sources are directly related to the reconnection scenario of a solar flare. In this work, we tried to extract the information of footpoint motions for a number of flares observed with RHESSI. We found that the RHESSI flare results of the footpoint motions strongly support the classification proposed from the observations of YOHKOH/HXT. Furthermore, it is found that a flare can consist of two types of footpoint motions. We discussed the connections of the footpoint motions with the two-dimensional reconnection models.     

On the ionization ratio of the local interstellar medium

The abundance ratio of neutral hydrogen to neutral helium, as deduced from interplanetary observations of Lyman-alpha and He 584 A radiation by Mariner 10, is significantly lower than the cosmic abundance ratio of these elements, thus showing that the local interstellar medium (LISM) is partly ionized. It is shown that an important source of ionization of the LISM can be thermal collisions, yielding an ionization degree of about 50% for the hydrogen component.     

On the mechanisms of cooling of the nightside thermosphere of venus

The plausible mechanisms of cooling of the nightside Venus' thermosphere are analysed with the aid of the model of the atmospheric heat budget that incorporates, in addition to thermal conduction and IR radiation in the 15 μ band of CO₂, heating and cooling due to global scale winds, eddy turbulence, and IR radiation in the rotational bands of H₂O and CO, as well as the 63 μ line of atomic oxygen. The H₂O mixing ratio and parameters of turbulence required for cooling of the thermosphere down to the observed low temperatures are evaluated.     

频率标准在中国的发展

简单介绍了原子钟研究在中国的发展历史,着重叙述了近年来所取得的成就。包括在中国计量院开发与保存的国家时间频率基准:铯原子束基准和冷原子喷泉基准,后者的频率准确度达到了3.10-15。叙述了氢原子钟,包括主动激射器频标和被动型氢钟两种类型的研究工作进展;说明了光抽运铷原子钟的研制与生产情况以及性能指标。强调了中国光抽运铯原子束频标经过长期连续工作所取得的优秀成果。简述了中国在微波与光频离子储存原子钟以及在光频测量和光钟上所取得的进展。     

On the effects of electron-cyclotron masers during flares

First recognized by Wu and Lee (Ap. J. 230, 621, 1979), electron-cyclotron masers can be activated under very mild conditions. Large growth rates can occur even for relatively mild anisotropies in the electron velocity distribution, e.g., the one-sided loss cones that commonly occur when electrons with small pitch angles precipitate into high density regions at the footpoints of flaring loops while others are reflected in the converging field in the corona. Maser action can plausibly occur at the second harmonic of the local gyrofrequency and so explain certain very bright (? 10¹⁰ K) microwave bursts from the sun and other stars. However, the preponderance of the energy is at the first harmonic.We suggest that masers operating at the local gyrofrequency in a flaring loop generate radiation at decimeter wavelengths that is a significant fraction of the total energy of the flare, in fact (and not coincidentally) comparable with the energy in electrons associated with hard X-ray bursts. Essentially all of the radio energy is trapped in the corona and serves to produce localized heating in a volume large compared with the energy release region. Thus it can transfer energy by radiation from one magnetic loop to another, possibly inducing further instabilities, and spreading the course of the flare. Eventually the energy probably escapes the corona as soft X-rays. The electron-cyclotron maser saturates by extracting the perpendicular energy of the electrons, thereby diffusing them into the loss cone at the maximum possible rate; the enhanced precipitation into the footpoints can produce bright emission in hard X-rays, EUV and Hα and remove any necessity for directive acceleration in the energy release region.Details of the proposed mechanism and effects are contained in two papers by Melrose and Dulk (Ap. J. 259, 1982).This work was sponsored by NASA under grants NAGW-91 and NSG-7287 to the University of Colorado.     

On the radiosensitivity of man in space.

Astronauts' radiation exposure limits are based on experimental and epidemiological data obtained on Earth. It is assumed that radiation sensitivity remains the same in the extraterrestrial space. However, human radiosensitivity is dependent upon the response of the hematopoietic tissue to the radiation insult. It is well known that the immune system is affected by microgravity. We have developed a mathematical model of radiation-induced myelopoiesis which includes the effect of microgravity on bone marrow kinetics. It is assumed that cellular radiosensitivity is not modified by the space environment, but repopulation rates of stem and stromal cells are reduced as a function of time in weightlessness. A realistic model of the space radiation environment, including the HZE component, is used to simulate the radiation damage. A dedicated computer code was written and applied to solar particle events and to the mission to Mars. The results suggest that altered myelopoiesis and lymphopoiesis in microgravity might increase human radiosensitivity in space.     

On the transport of cosmic rays in the distant heliosheath

This paper discusses the transport of energetic charged particles through a sectored magnetic field in distant regions of the inner heliosheath. As the plasma flow slows down on approach to the stagnation point on the heliopause, the distance between the folds of the current sheet decreases to the point where it becomes comparable to the cyclotron radius of a cosmic ray particle. Under these conditions a particle can effectively drift across the stack of magnetic sectors with a speed comparable with the particle’s velocity. For a random distribution of current sheet separation distances, a diffusive transport across the stack of sectors occurs instead. The proposed mechanism could have contributed to unusually high intensities of galactic cosmic rays measured by Voyager 1 in the heliosheath during 2009–2010.     

On the source region of flux transfer events

We have examined the region of occurrence of flux transfer events for three distinct orientations of the interplanetary magnetic field: nearly horizontal in the solar magnetospheric equator, diagonally southward at 45° to the magnetospheric equator and nearly due south. For horizontal IMF conditions the FTE's occur in a horizontal band about ± 6 R_E wide. For diagonally southward IMF conditions, the FTE's occur in a diagonal swath about ± 6 R_E wide passing through the subsolar point. For duskward but nearly due southward IMF conditions, our observations reveal FTE's throughout the northern morning quadrant. These observations are consistent with a near equatorial source for flux transfer events and hence with component merging and not anti-parallel merging. These observations also help understand the energetic ion anisotropies seen in these events.     

On the Stark broadening of the Re II spectral lines

Stark broadening parameters - full widths at half maximum (FWHM) and shifts for 11 Re II lines have been calculated. The plasma parameters used were electron density of ${10}^{17}$ cm^?3 and temperature from 5 000 K to 80 000 K. Calculations were performed using the simplified modified semiempirical (SMSE) approach and compared with calculations by Cowley’s approximative Stark broadening formula at 10000 K, usefull in spectrum synthesis. The results have also been considered in the atmosphere model of A type star and for DB white dwarfs.     

On the evolution of dust in the solar vicinity.

The analysis of interplanetary dust shows that the majority of particles in out-of-ecliptic regions comes from comets and also that near solar dust, in the ecliptic regions, results most probably largely from comets. The intense radiation flux in the solar vicinity is expected to cause strong modifications in the material composition and surface structure of interplanetary dust particles and hence the analysis of near solar dust provides interesting insights into the evolution of meteoritic, especially cometary materials. Because of the lack of in-situ measurements our present knowledge concerning these processes derives from remote sensing, i.e. observations of the solar F-corona. In particular these are observations of albedo, polarization and colour temperature given in terms of average particle properties. For example the analysis of near infra-red F-corona data points to the existence of a strong component of irregularly structured silicate particles, most probably of cometary origin. The data may indicate a subsequent sublimation of different particles or different constituents of the particles. Here we compare particle properties derived from F-corona observations with model calculations of single particle properties and discuss perspectives of future analysis of cometary dust in the interplanetary cloud.     

恐龙灭绝——渐变论与剧变论的PK

恐龙灭绝的原因历来众说纷纭,计有小行星或陨星撞击说、气候变迁说、板块漂移说、地磁变化说、酸雨说、物种斗争说、食物中毒说、造山运动说、火山爆发说、大气成分变化说等等,此外还有一些很新奇的说法如传染病说、宇宙射线说、超新星爆炸说、太阳系震动说等.