Successful organ transplantation between species is now possible, using genetic modifications. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the differences and similarities in kidney ...function between humans, primates, and pigs, in preparation for pig‐allograft to human xenotransplantation. The kidney, as the principal defender of body homeostasis, acts as a sensor, effector, and regulator of physiologic feedback systems. Considerations are made for anticipated effects on each system when a pig kidney is placed into a human recipient. Discussion topics include anatomy, global kidney function, sodium and water handling, kidney hormone production and response to circulating hormones, acid–base balance, and calcium and phosphorus handling. Based on available data, pig kidneys are anticipated to be compatible with human physiology, despite a few barriers.
Context. The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) was designed to measure the composition of the gas in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the target of the ...European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission. In addition to the volatiles, ROSINA measured refractories sputtered off the comet by the interaction of solar wind protons with the surface of the comet. Aims. The origin of different solar system materials is still heavily debated. Isotopic ratios can be used to distinguish between different reservoirs and investigate processes occurring during the formation of the solar system. Methods. ROSINA consisted of two mass spectrometers and a pressure sensor. In the ROSINA Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer (DFMS), the neutral gas of cometary origin was ionized and then deflected in an electric and a magnetic field that separated the ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio. The DFMS had a high mass resolution, dynamic range, and sensitivity that allowed detection of rare species and the known major volatiles. Results. We measured the relative abundance of all three stable silicon isotopes with the ROSINA instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft. Furthermore, we measured 13C/12C in C2H4, C2H5, and CO. The DFMS in situ measurements indicate that the average silicon isotopic composition shows depletion in the heavy isotopes 29Si and 30Si with respect to 28Si and solar abundances, while 13C to 12C is analytically indistinguishable from bulk planetary and meteorite compositions. Although the origin of the deficiency of the heavy silicon isotopes cannot be explained unambiguously, we discuss mechanisms that could have contributed to the measured depletion of the isotopes 29Si and 30Si.
We measured the stopping of energetic protons in an isochorically heated solid-density Be plasma with an electron temperature of ∼32 eV, corresponding to moderately coupled ...(e^{2}/a)/(k_{B}T_{e}+E_{F})∼0.3 and moderately degenerate k_{B}T_{e}/E_{F}∼2 "warm-dense matter" (WDM) conditions. We present the first high-accuracy measurements of charged-particle energy loss through dense plasma, which shows an increased loss relative to cold matter, consistent with a reduced mean ionization potential. The data agree with stopping models based on an ad hoc treatment of free and bound electrons, as well as the average-atom local-density approximation; this work is the first test of these theories in WDM plasma.
Abstract
We present the ion composition in the coma of comet 67P with newly detected ion species over the 28–37 u mass range, probed by Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis ...(ROSINA)/Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer (DFMS). In summer 2015, the nucleus reached its highest outgassing rate and ion-neutral reactions started to take place at low cometocentric distances. Minor neutrals can efficiently capture protons from the ion population, making the protonated version of these neutrals a major ion species. So far, only $\mathrm{NH_4^+}$ has been reported at comet 67P. However, there are additional neutral species with proton affinities higher than that of water (besides NH3) that have been detected in the coma of comet 67P: CH3OH, HCN, H2CO and H2S. Their protonated versions have all been detected. Statistics showing the number of detections with respect to the number of scans are presented. The effect of the negative spacecraft potential probed by the Rosetta Plasma Consortium/LAngmuir Probe on ion detection is assessed. An ionospheric model has been developed to assess the different ion density profiles and compare them to the ROSINA/DFMS measurements. It is also used to interpret the ROSINA/DFMS observations when different ion species have similar masses, and their respective densities are not high enough to disentangle them using the ROSINA/DFMS high-resolution mode. The different ion species that have been reported in the coma of 67P are summarized and compared with the ions detected at comet 1P/Halley during the Giotto mission.
The origin of cometary matter and the potential contribution of comets to inner-planet atmospheres are long-standing problems. During a series of dedicated low-altitude orbits, the Rosetta Orbiter ...Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) on the Rosetta spacecraft analyzed the isotopes of xenon in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The xenon isotopic composition shows deficits in heavy xenon isotopes and matches that of a primordial atmospheric component. The present-day Earth atmosphere contains 22 ± 5% cometary xenon, in addition to chondritic (or solar) xenon.
▶ The relationships between specific comminution energy consumption and resulting particle physical properties were determined for the second bioenergy crops including Miscanthus, switchgrass, ...willows and energy cane. ▶ The paper investigated the impacts of biomass moisture and mill machine variables on energy efficiency of size reduction. ▶ The paper discussed the trade-off between costs of mechanical size reduction and optimal particle size and shape for the bio-conversion to optimize the biomass supply logistics. ▶ The paper analyzed the applicability and improvements of two widely used ASAE standards in biomass mechanical processing and particle analysis.
The energy requirement for biomass comminution and the resulting particle physical properties are important factors to study logistic components, select equipment, and assess the overall efficiency of feedstock supply–conversion chain. In this study, mechanical size reduction of Miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), willow (Salix babylonica), and energy cane (Saccharum spp.) was carried out using a commercial-scale hammer mill, a bench-scale Retsch SM2000 knife mill and a Retsch SK100 hammer mill. The results showed that the specific energy consumption of biomass comminution and the aperture sizes of the milling screens were related in power-law forms. Biomass moisture significantly influenced comminution energy consumption, especially for finer size reduction. Given a specific milling screen, the Retsch SK100 hammer mill was found more energy efficient than the SM2000 knife mill. This was mainly attributed to the higher motor speed and axial feeding mechanism of the hammer mill. The particle sizes after comminution were found inversely proportional to the bulk densities of all four energy crops used in experiments. In addition, the comminution ratio, being the ratio of the final mean particle size and the original mean particle size, was proportional to energy consumption for all four energy crops. The bulk densities for 4-mm and smaller Miscanthus and switchgrass particles were higher than those of the original bale. Particle size and surface area estimates using commonly used ANSI/ASAE Standards S424.1 and 319.4 were highly sensitive to particle size distributions and shapes. Further studies on standardization of particle size and surface area estimates are needed.
Comets contain the best-preserved material from the beginning of our planetary system. Their nuclei and comae composition reveal clues about physical and chemical conditions during the early solar ...system when comets formed. ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) onboard the Rosetta spacecraft has measured the coma composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with well-sampled time resolution per rotation. Measurements were made over many comet rotation periods and a wide range of latitudes. These measurements show large fluctuations in composition in a heterogeneous coma that has diurnal and possibly seasonal variations in the major outgassing species: water, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. These results indicate a complex coma-nucleus relationship where seasonal variations may be driven by temperature differences just below the comet surface.
Circadian misalignment, such as in shift work, has been associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, direct effects of circadian misalignment on skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and the ...muscle molecular circadian clock have never been studied in humans. Here, we investigated insulin sensitivity and muscle metabolism in 14 healthy young lean men age 22.4 ± 2.8 years; body mass index (BMI) 22.3 ± 2.1 kg/m2 (mean ± SD) after a 3-d control protocol and a 3.5-d misalignment protocol induced by a 12-h rapid shift of the behavioral cycle. We show that short-term circadian misalignment results in a significant decrease in muscle insulin sensitivity due to a reduced skeletal muscle nonoxidative glucose disposal (rate of disappearance: 23.7 ± 2.4 vs. 18.4 ± 1.4 mg/kg per minute; control vs. misalignment; P = 0.024). Fasting glucose and free fatty acid levels as well as sleeping metabolic rate were higher during circadian misalignment. Molecular analysis of skeletal muscle biopsies revealed that the molecular circadian clock was not aligned to the inverted behavioral cycle, and transcriptome analysis revealed the human PPAR pathway as a key player in the disturbed energy metabolism upon circadian misalignment. Our findings may provide a mechanism underlying the increased risk of type 2 diabetes among shift workers.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data set obtained over two campaigns in 2007 is used to determine the long‐term variability of the different components of Jupiter's auroras. Three regions on the ...planet's disc are defined: the main oval, the low‐latitude auroras, and the high‐latitude auroras. The UV auroral power emitted from these regions is extracted and compared to estimated solar wind conditions projected to Jupiter's orbit from Earth. In the first campaign the emitted power originated mainly from the main oval and the high‐latitude regions, and in the second campaign the high‐latitude and main oval auroras were dimmer and less variable, while the low‐latitude region exhibited bright, patchy emission. We show that, apart from during specific enhancement events, the power emitted from the poleward auroras is generally uncorrelated with that of the main oval. The exception events are dawn storms and compression region enhancements. It is shown that the former events, typically associated with intense dawnside main oval auroras, also result in the brightening of the high‐latitude auroras. The latter events associated with compression regions exhibit a particular auroral morphology; that is, where it is narrow and well defined, the main oval is bright and located ∼1° poleward of its previous location, and elsewhere it is faint. Instead there is bright emission in the poleward region in the postnoon sector where distinct, bright, sometimes multiple arcs form.
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