Wnt is a family of cysteine-rich secreted glycoproteins, which controls the fate and behavior of the cells in multicellular organisms. In the absence of Drosophila segment polarity gene porcupine (porc), which encodes an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) multispanning transmembrane protein, the N-glycosylation of Wingless (Wg), one of Drosophila Wnt family, is impaired. In contrast, the ectopic expression of porc stimulates the Nglycosylation of both endogenously and exogenously expressed Wg. The N-glycosylation of Wg in the ER occurs posttranslationally, while in the presence of dithiothreitol, it efficiently occurs cotranslationally. Thus, the cotranslational disulfide bond formation of Wg competes with the N-glycosylation by an oligosaccharyl transferase complex. Porc binds the N-terminal 24-amino acid domain (residues 83-106) of Wg, which is highly conserved in the Wnt family and stimulates the N-glycosylation at surrounding sites. Porc is also necessary for the processing of Drosophila Wnt-3/5 in both embryos and cultured cells. Thus, Porc binds the N-terminal specific domain of the Wnt family and stimulates its posttranslational N-glycosylation by anchoring them at the ER membrane possibly through acylation.

The complex subsurface magnetic rope structure of a very flare-active isolated ~5 group (McMath 13043, July 1974) is studied by means of high-resolution evolutionary data from BBSO magnetic and velocity data. This group showed unusually fast evolution accompanied by a number of intense flares occurring on the neutral line of a b spot, and provided an excellent opportunity to study the inherent relation of flare occurrence to changes of the magnetic configuration. We first examine the abnormal evolution of this group started by formation of a large, compact, reversed b spot by squeezing of multipoles. The ~ configuration was deformed by penetration into the opposite polarity umbra and its subsequent disappearance, decaying by rapid shear motions. Strong transverse fields over 4000 G were detected in the penumbrae and some umbral components.Combining these data with the August 1972 region, the evolution of these isolated b groups is shown to decompose into two flare-associated elementary modes: (A) shearing produced by spot growth and (B) reduction of shear as spots disappear. We propose a model of an emerging twisted magnetic knot to explain the two modes and apply realistically to the present evolution. The inferred magnetic topological structure of this region consists of tightly twisted (sheet-like) knots and a long-winding twisted rope with an internally reversed loop and a hooked bottom struture. Their consecutive emergences are suggested to explain the abnormal evolution of this ~ group. This result indicates that the origin of the concentrated flare activity in these isolated b groups may be traced to internal magnetic activity responsible for forming anomalous magnetic ropes.

Abstract. The magnetopause (MP) reconnection is characterized by a density asymmetry across the current sheet. The asymmetry is expected to produce characteristic features in the reconnection layer. Here we present a comparison between the Cluster MP crossing reported by Retinò et al. (2006) and virtual observations in two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation results. The simulation, which includes the density asymmetry but has zero guide field in the initial condition, has reproduced well the observed features as follows: (1) The prominent density dip region is detected at the separatrix region (SR) on the magnetospheric (MSP) side of the MP. (2) The intense electric field normal to the MP is pointing to the center of the MP at the location where the density dip is detected. (3) The ion bulk outflow due to the magnetic reconnection is seen to be biased towards the MSP side. (4) The out-of-plane magnetic field (the Hall magnetic field) has bipolar rather than quadrupolar structure, the latter of which is seen for a density symmetric case. The simulation also showed rich electron dynamics (formation of fieldaligned beams) in the proximity of the separatrices, which was not fully resolved in the observations. Stepping beyond the simulation-observation comparison, we have also analyzed the electron acceleration and the field line structure in the simulation results. It is found that the bipolar Hall magnetic field structure is produced by the substantial drift of the reconnected field lines at the MSP SR due to the enhanced normal electric field. The field-aligned electrons at the same MSP SR are identified as the gun smokes of the electron acceleration in the close proximity of the X-line. We have also analyzed the X-line structure obtained in the simulation to find that the density asymmetry leads to a steep density gradiCorrespondence to: K. G. Tanaka (tkentaro@stp.isas.jaxa.jp) ent in the in-flow region, which may lead to a non-stationary behavior of the X-line when three-dimensional freedom is taken into account.

We present the analysis of observations of the August flares at Big Bear and Tel Aviv, involving monochromatic movies, magnetograms and spectra. In each flare the observations fit a model of particle acceleration in the chromosphere with emission produced by impact and by heating by the energetic electrons and protons. The region showed inverted polarity and high gradients from birth, and flares appear due to strong magnetic shears and gradients across the neutral line produced by sunspot motions. Post flare loops show a strong change from sheared, force-free fields parallel to potential-field-like loops, perpendicular to the neutral line above the surface.We detected fast (5 s duration) small (1'I) flashes in 23835 at the footpoints of flux loops in the August 2 impulsive flare at 18:38 UT, which may be explained by dumping of > 50 keV electrons accelerated in individual flux loops. The flashes show excellent time and intensity agreement with > 45 keV X-rays. In the less impulsive 20:00 UT flare a less impulsive wave of emission in 23835 moved with the separating footpoints. The thick target model of X-rayproduction gives a consistent model for X-ray, 23835 and microwave emission in the 18:38 UT event.Spectra of the August 7 flare show emission 12 ~ FWHM in flare kernels, but only 1 to 2 ~, wide in the rest of the flare. The kernels thus produce most of the Hc~ emission. The total emission in Hc~ in the August 4 and August 7 flares was about 2 • 10 a~ erg. We belive this dependable value more accurate than previous larger estimates for great flares. The time dependence of total Hc~ emission agrees with radio and X-ray data much better than area measurements which depend on the weaker halo.Absorption line spectra show a large (6 km/s -1) photospheric velocity discontinuity across the neutral line, corresponding to sheared flow across that line.

The Drosophila segment polarity gene product Porcupine (Porc) was first identified as being necessary for processing Wingless (Wg), a Drosophila Wnt (Wnt) family member. Mouse and Xenopus homologs of porc (Mporc and Xporc) were identified and found to encode endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteins with multiple transmembrane domains. In contrast with porc, four different types of Mporc and Xporc mRNA (A-D) are generated from a single gene by alternative splicing. Mporc mRNA is differentially expressed during embryogenesis and in various adult tissues, demonstrating that the alternative splicing is regulated to synthesize the specific types of Mporc. In transfected mammalian cells, all Mporc types affect the processing of mouse Wnt 1, 3A, 4, 6, and 7B but not 5A. Furthermore, all Mporc types are co-immunoprecipitated with various Wnt proteins. These results suggest that Mporc may function as a chaperone-like molecule for Wnt. Interestingly, all Mporc types can substitute for Porc, as they are able to rescue the phenotypes of Drosophila porc embryos. Consistent with this observation, Mporc, like Porc, modifies the processing of Wg expressed in mammalian cells. These results demonstrate that the porc gene family encodes the multitransmembrane ER proteins, which are evolutionarily well conserved and involved in processing the Wnt family.

The Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) is one of the instruments which makes up the scientific payload &the SOLAR-A mission. The spectrometer employs four bent germanium crystals, views the whole Sun and observes the resonance line complexes of H-like FexxvI and He-like Fexxv, CaxIx, and S xv in four narrow wavelength ranges with a resolving power ()o/A,t) of between 3000 and 6000. The spectrometer has approaching ten times better sensitivity than that of previous instruments thus permitting a time resolution of better than 1 s to be achieved. The principal aim is the measurement of the properties of the 10 to 50 million K plasma created in solar flares with special emphasis on the heating and dynamics of the plasma during the impulsive phase, This paper summarizes the scientific objectives of the BCS and describes the design, characteristics, and performance of the spectrometers.

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