Amino acid analyses of Antarctic CM2 meteorites using liquid chromatography‐time of flight‐mass spectrometry

Abstract— Amino acid analyses of the Antarctic CM2 chondrites Allan Hills (ALH) 83100 and Lewis Cliff (LEW) 90500 using liquid chromatography‐time of flight‐mass spectrometry (LC‐ToF‐MS) coupled with UV fluorescence detection revealed that these carbonaceous meteorites contain a suite of indigenous amino acids not present in Antarctic ice. Several amino acids were detected in ALH 83100, including glycine, alanine, β‐alanine, γ‐amino‐n‐butyric acid (γ‐ABA), and α‐aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) with concentrations ranging from 250 to 340 parts per billion (ppb). In contrast to ALH 83100, the CM2 meteorites LEW 90500 and Murchison had a much higher total abundance of these amino acids (440–3200 ppb). In addition, ALH 83100 was found to have lower abundances of the α‐dialkyl amino acids AIB and isovaline than LEW 90500 and Murchison. There are three possible explanations for the depleted amino acid content in ALH 83100: 1) amino acid leaching from ALH 83100 during exposure to Antarctic ice meltwater, 2) a higher degree of aqueous alteration on the ALH 83100 parent body, or 3) ALH 83100 originated on a chemically distinct parent body from the other two CM2 meteorites. The high relative abundance of ?‐amino‐n‐caproic acid (EACA) in the ALH 83100 meteorite as well as the Antarctic ice indicates that Nylon‐6 contamination from the Antarctic sample storage bags may have occurred during collection.     

The grain-size characteristics of Quaternary deposits at Xingshan near Siping in Jilin province, China

This research paper analyses the grain-size characteristics of the Quaternary deposits at Xingshan near Siping, Jilin province in China by employing graphic measures to study the grain size distribution and its mode of transport and deposition. The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan lie unconformable on Cretaceous rocks made of siltstone, mudstone and sandstone. The average grain size is between 8.06 to 8.55Φ (0.002 6 ～0.003 7 mm). The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan mainly compose of very fine silt to clay. The compositions of the grade are clay 63% and silt 37%. The clay size components are weathered debris transported and deposited by flowing water from the SE highlands or hills to the low lying NW Xingshan plains whereas the silty components accumulated by aoelian process. The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan accumulated in the middle and late Pleistocene interglacial periods from (459.12～39.03) ka to (88.92～7.56) ka. The standard deviation ranged from 0.96 to 1.36Φ, indicating that the sediments are moderately to poorly sorted, Coefficient of skewness ranged from 0.16～0.31 with an average skewness of 0.218, (Positively skewed towards fine). Kurtosis values (0.84～1.05) from the grain size distribution and visual inspection of the frequency curves indicate platykurtic to mesokurtic curves and unimodal to bimodal grain-size distribution. The type of deposit formation is sand dune and the source is at a distal from its provenance.     

MASS FLUX OF ASTEROIDAL ORIGIN METEOROIDS ON PERIODIC COMET NUCLEI

We examine the potential contamination of cometary nuclei through impacts from asteroidal origin meteoroids. The paper uses a simple model and has the goal of determining whether asteroidal contamination is potentially significant. We assume a meteoroid power law mass distribution with index values in the range from s=1.83 to s=2.09. We used maximum and minimum models which we believe will bracket the true meteoroid mass distribution. We identify those comets which are expected to be most significantly contaminated, and find values of up to 3.6 kg of asteroidal meteoroid impact per square meter of the cometary surface per orbital revolution. This is less than the expected mass loss per perihelion passage for most comets. Therefore any remnant effects of the contamination will depend on the penetration depth of the meteoroids in the cometary nucleus, and possibly on the distribution of active and inactive areas on cometary nuclei. We present a simple model which suggests that even small meteoroids will embed relatively deeply into a cometary nucleus.     

应用ATA的对数周期馈源方案于FAST的可能性探讨

介绍应用于美国凤凰计划的Allen望远镜阵(ATA)的对数周期馈源(LPA)概况，初步给出此种馈源的基本参数及性能，仿真估算了其驻波比和方向图，并结合正在进行中的我国500m孔径球面射电望远镜(FAST)计划，探讨了应用这种宽带馈源的可能性及其限制。     

On the Nature of the Object HD 209458b: Conclusions Drawn from Comparison of Experimental and Theoretical Data

The experimental data obtained in transit observations of the extrasolar planet HD 209458b and their comparison with theoretical inferences have led to the conclusions that HD 209458b (and other similar hot jupiters) is of a (mainly) hydrogen nature and that these objects probably possess strong magnetic fields. The results of the studies of HD 209458b and prospects for searches for the transits of other extrasolar planets are considered in detail.     

SIMULATION AND PREDICTION OF DEBRIS FLOW USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK

Debris flow is one of the most destructive phenomena of natural hazards. Recently, major natural haz-ard, claiming human lives and assets, is due to debris flow in the world. Several practical methods for forecasting de-bris flow have been proposed, however, the accuracy of these methods is not high enough for practical use because of the stochastic and non-linear characteristics of debris flow. Artificial neural network has proven to be feasible and use-fill in developing models for nonlinear systems. On the other hand, predicting the future behavior based on a time se-ries of collected historical data is also an important tool in many scientific applications. In this study we present a three-layer feed-forward neural network model to forecast surge of debris flow according to the time series data collect-ed in the Jiangjia Ravine, situated in north part of Yunnan Province of China. The simulation and prediction of debris flow using the proposed approach shows this model is feasible, however, further studies are needed.     

Jets in AGN as seen with an ultimate angular resolution

Jets and cores in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) constitute the dominant radio structural pattern in a broad range of angular scales from hundreds of arc seconds down to sub-milliarcseconds. This brief review desribes some recent results in studying the most compact `core-jet' morphologies in AGN using Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) technique. They include measurements of the cross-section brightness distribution in pc-scale radio jets and attempts to investigate the most compact cores with brightness temperatures in excess of 10¹³ K.