Effect of Bacillus mucilaginosus on weathering of phosphorite and a preliminary analysis of bacterial proteins

The authors investigated the effect of Bacillus mucilaginosus on weathering of phosphorite. Analysis of different proteins was of significance in exploring the molecular biological mechanism in the bacterial weathering process. The concrete methods are described as follows： Mineral powder was put into liquid culture medium and B. mucilaginosus was incubated in the medium. The control （group） had no mineral powder in the medium. The treatments and controls were cultured simultaneously under the same condition. In a few days, the supernatant was filtrated, the main cations （Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, Na^＋, Mn^2＋, Al^3＋, Fe^3＋, K^＋） were measured by ICP-OES, and the contents of water soluble phosphorus （Pws） and silicon （Siws） were determined by colorimetry. The residual solid was weighed on the filter paper, followed by digestion with concentrated HNO3. The concentrations of the main cations and Pws, Siws in the digest liquid were measured by using the method mentioned above. After the supernatant was centrifuged, the precipitation was used to analyze the protein differences between the treatment groups and the control groups by 2-dimentional gel electrophoresis （2-DE）. The experimental results showed that apatite and quartz were partially weathered, but kaolinite was dissolved completely. The population of bacteria increased when mineral powder was added in the liquid medium. Software analysis and comparison of the 2-DE pictures of bacterial proteins revealed 1134 visible protein spots in the treatment group, and 729 visible protein spots in the control group. To compare the bacterial protein expression contents of the treatment group with those of the control group, there were 496 different protein spots, including 214 protein spots which indicated that the protein contents increased, 75 protein spots were indicative of a decrease, and 207 proteins were newly synthesized. It is proposed that the increased bacterial contents may be related to some protein expression and activation after the     

New Eusauropod Dinosaur from Yuanmou of Yunnan Province, China

1 Introduction Sauropod dinosaurs were group of gigantic quadrupedal herbivores. This group includes the largest terrestrial animals ever to have existed. More than 120 genera have been proposed, however, many of these are now considered to be of dubious validity. Currently, approximately 100 genera are accepted as valid (Upchurch et al., 2004a). The sauropod dinosaur described herein was collected from Jiangyi (Fig. 1), Yuanmou County of Yunnan Province by the Yunnan Provincial Institute…     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112001028

A study on the effect of the solar ultra-violet radiation on the human skin fibroblast cells revealed that the production of matrix metalloproteinase-2 was inhibited by the radiation.A CO2 incubator connected by optical fibers to a reflector telescope for collecting the solar light was built at Syowa station by the 49th Japanese Antarctica Research Expedition.The direction of the telescope was continuously controlled by a sun-tracker to follow the movement of the Sun automatically.The intensity of the collected light was monitored by a portable spectrophotometer housed inside.The human skin fibroblast cells were incubated in the CO2 chamber to investigate the effect of the solar radiation at Syowa station and were compared with those reference experiments at a laboratory in Japan.The results showed cell damage by strong UV radiation.The production of matrix metalloproteinase-2 was prompted by the moderate UV-B,but was inhibited by the strong UV-B radiation,as studied under laboratory conditions in Japan.The effect of strong solar radiation at Syowa station involving the radiation of UV-B region was estimated to be of the same extent of the radiation caused by an artificial UV-B light with the intensity more than 50 mJ/cm2.     

Evolution and diversity of Chondrichthyans

The meeting was organised by the Institute of Geology, University of Warsaw and the Institute of Geological Sciences, Wroclaw University. The first three days of conference （28-30 July） were dedicated to scientific sessions at the Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, and then a group took part in a three-day （31 July-2 August） post-conference field excursion.     

Digital Element Earth

The resources and environmental problems are the two most fundamental issues facing all nations in the world. Everything in and on the Earth – minerals, animals and plants – is made from one, or generally some combination of, chemical elements, which are scientifically listed in the periodic table. Thus it is important to understand the present abundance and spatial distribution of all the elements across the Earth’s surface. Such kinds of data can only be obtained at present and for the foreseeable future by on-earth geochemical mapping at all scales. The 30-year efforts made by Chinese geochemists in carrying out multi-element, multi-media, multi-scale geochemical mapping projects to delineate 39–76 element distribution at home and abroad culminated in a successful case of high-quality geochemical data acquirement. The new idea for a four-level plan for global geochemical mapping was advanced to obtain global data in the foreseeable future and the collection of updated geochemical information. Such information needs to be easily accessible not only by the science community, but also by industry, agriculture, governments, and even individuals, by all who would make an effort to promote sustainable living on our planet. The concept of a Digital Element Earth (DEE) fulfills the aims.     

Acclimatization and screening of a chloramphenicol-degrading strain

Chloramphenicol （CAP） is an antibiotic commonly used in aquaculture as a prophylactic or disinfectant to prevent diseases, or as a chemotherapeutic agent to control diseases. This antibiotic is either spread directly in the aquatic environment or administered through medicated feeds. It may be directly exposed to or enter the environment by leaching from uneaten feeds or from the aquatic animals＇ excrements. The antibiotic also directly enters the environment through pharmaceutical wastewater. Toxicity of CAP to human bone marrow has been linked to fatal aplastic anemia. Antimicrobial residues enter the environment, which may also establish a selective pressure in favour of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The residues of antibiotics may pose potential risk to public health or increase the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the aquatic environment. Due to these perceived risk, treatment of CAP in farm animals intended for human consumption has been restricted. However, residue of CAP in the environment is still a concern. There have been some reports on the residual effects of CAP on aquaculture and on microbial resistance to CAP in certain environments. The biotransformation of CAP in aquaculture pond sediments has been reported, which indicated that salinity is one of the many environmental factors that affect the degradation of CAP. However, acclimatization and screening of dominant bacteria for biodegrading CAP have been rarely studied. This paper studied the microbial degradation of CAP. In order to screen the dominant bacteria for degrading, the source of bacteria was sampled from the aquaculture pond sediments of Baiyun Borough, Guangzhou, China. 60 mg/L CAP was used as a sole carbon source to screen CAP-degrading bacteria and the dominant bacteria were acclimated after 2 months.     

Two New“Notostracans”,Chenops gen.nov.and Jeholops gen.nov. (Crustacea:Branchiopoda:?Notostraca) from the Yixian Formation,Northeastern China

<正>The Early Cretaceous Jehol biota of northeastern China contains a diverse group of notostracans, including two genera,Chenops and Jeholops,described here.Chenops is characterized by a combination of an ovate carapace,narrow anal plate,equant distal endites and endopod on the anterior thoracic limbs.In addition to the new species,Chenops yixianensis,the genus also provisionally includes Prolepidurus oblongus Oleynikov, 1968.Jeholops,however,is monotypic,represented by the new species Jeholops hongi.It is characterized by a combination of kazacharthran and notostracan features unique to this taxon.Both new genera are provisionally placed in the taxon Notostraca.More detailed work exploring the morphology of exceptionally-preserved branchiopod crustaceans is needed.The difficulties in placing fossil notostracans into a phylogenetic framework are discussed.     

Core value of the Chengjiang fauna: formation of the animal kingdom and the birth of basic human organs

Well known for its abundant and extraordinary soft-tissue fossils, the Chengjiang fauna has witnessed the main phase of the Cambrian explosion and the first great congress of the ancestors of nearly all major phyla of animals on Earth. The large-scale survey and exploration of the fauna by Chinese paleontologists, partly in collaboration with international scientists, over the past 30 years can be broadly divided into three stages. In the first decade since 1984 (1984-1994), a large number of invertebrates, including basal animals and the protostomes of the early animal tree were discovered, but the subkingdom Deuterostomia was completely unknown. Then in the second decade (1995-2005), the great discoveries of various deuterostomes led to the construction of the basic framework of the Deuterostomia and then to the formation of the tripartite phylogenetic trees of early animals (TPTEA, including basal animals, protostomes and deuterostomes), for the first time. In the third decade (after 2005), the academic community began to think about the internal relationships between the formation of TPTEA and the multi-episode Cambrian explosion, leading to the new hypothesis of the three-episode Cambrian explosion. The Chengjiang fauna is important for deciphering the fauna structure, paleoecological environment, and so on. However, its core academic values mainly rest on two aspects. Firstly, The Chengjiang fauna, as the main phase witness of the Cambrian explosion, has created a nearly complete phylogenetic framework of the TPTEA on Earth for the first time. The three-phase radiation hypothesis reveals the essential connotation of the Cambrian explosion: a step-wise divergent evolution of animals, from basal to highly advanced groups, lasting about 40 million years. In the first phase, it gave birth to a bulk of basal animals (including some now extinct “animal” groups) in the latest Ediacaran, probably including some pioneer protostomes. The second phase took place in the first epoch of the Cambrian period (Terreneuvian), giving rise to the main invertebrate protostomes with a persistent prosperity of basal animals. The third phase proceeded in Cambrian Epoch 2 (represented by the Chengjiang fauna), which not only maintained the prosperity of basal animals and protostomes, but also, more importantly, gave birth to all the main phyla of the subkingdom Deuterostomia. Thus, the rudimental framework of the whole TPTEA has been shaped, with the termination of the major innovation events of the Cambrian explosion. Here, we discussed the evolutionary properties of Ediacaran biota, small shelly fossils and the Chengjiang fauna in the Cambrian explosion with emphasis on the biological properties of several important animal groups. The order Myllokunmingiida is the only known oldest vertebrate, while Yunnanozoon and Haikouella are neither vertebrates nor stem-group chordates but a special group of basal deuterostomes; Cheungkongella is a credible ancestor of the urochordate and it supports the classical hypothesis on the origin of the urochordates; and the gill slits were first invented in the members of the phylum Vetulicolia to provide key information on the origin of the deuterostomes. The second core value of the Chengjiang fauna is of profound humanistic and philosophical significance: the discoveries of the ‘first gill openings’, ‘first brain’, ‘first vertebrae’ and ‘first heart’ provide the pivotal evidence for solving the unsolved mystery of the origin of the main basic human organs as described in Darwin’s “The Descent of Man”. In addition, the morphological and anatomical information of the Chengjiang fauna can provide important clues for a better understanding of most components of Ediacaran and Cambrian metazoans.     

Science and Honour： The 11th International Geological Congress in Stockholm 1910

In the late 19th and the early 20th century, with expanding industrialism and urbanisation, the idea of the nation state grew strong in Sweden. In this nationalistic environment, nature and the natural sciences assumed an important unifying role. The search for natural resources and sources of energy inspired political support and research. The exploitation of nature was looked upon as a prerequisite for the modernization of the country, and indeed was to become the basis for Sweden‘s welfare. It was under these circumstances that, in 1906, the 11th IGC was invited to Stockholm in 1910. A request for a Government grant focused on the international development of science but also stressed the national importance. Sweden had, it was said, its ranking position among nations to defend, to uphold its position among civilized nations, and to maintain its distinguished tradition in the spheres of natural sciences and mining operations. The main topics of the Congress were iron ore resources, post-glacial climate change, glacial erosion, the Cambrian fauna, geology of the Precambrian, and geology of the polar regions. Three exhibitions and 24 excursions were arranged, and 41 guidebooks printed. The number of members present was 625, from 37 countries and six continents. The final cost for arranging the 11th IGC was SEK 125,000 (approximately ∈540,000 today). A novel experience in the tradition of the IGCs was the world-wide inquiries about the resources of iron ore and about climate change. Such thematic, worldwide investigations subsequently came to attract the attention of many IGCs. A proposition to establish a commission for the publication of an international stratigraphic dictionary was approved by the Congress, and a subcommission was set up with commissioners from ten countries, but it was not until 1956 that the first volumes of Lexique Stratigraphique International appeared. From a Swedish point of view, the Congress compelled Swedish geologists to carry out an inventory of the results of Swedish geological research of about half a century. The Congress was, in other words, an incentive to finish ongoing projects and bring together summaries of the major research areas. In the history of Swedish geosciences there is thus reason to speak about a pre- and a post-1910.     

TL dating of loess in China

TL ages of 56 loess samples collected from Xinjiang and the middle reaches of the Yellow River were determined by using fine-grained quartz and man-made light source bleaching techniques.The results indicate that :1.The well-preserved loess sections in Xinjiang began depositing 400000 a ago.The loess/paleosol series may be comparable with that observed in the middle reaches of the Yellow River but the depositing time was probably delayed by 30000-50000a.2.The bottom boundary age of the Malan loess varies from one place to another.The TL dates can be divided into two group:70000-130000 a and 30000-50000 a.The TL data are con-sistent with the appearance of two warmer climate periods since the Pleistocene,indicating obvious regional differences in stratigraphic development of loess,i.e.,paleosol occurred in the warm climate period in the same location,but loess was deposited in other locations.The initial age of loess deposition tends to become older from west to east and from south to north .In contrast ,the cold cli-matic belt showed an opposite trend.The TL ages of loess provide strong evidence for the Quaternary stratigraphy throughout geological times and the shift tendency of climatic belt.3.The depositing rate of the Malan loess along the middle reaches of the Yellow River varies from place to place but the TL age shows a linear relationship with the depositing thickness.The de-positing rate of loess in the north is higher than that in the south,suggesting that loess materials are derived from desert areas of northern China.     

Determination of naphthenic acids in crude oil by chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Naphthenic acids in petroleum are considered a class of biological markers. Their potential use in source correlation and as an indicator of biodegradation was reported in the past ( Dzidic et al. ,1988 ; Behar and Albrecht, 1984). Due to their highly complicated properties, detailed characterization of the acids is difficult. A method based on positive ion CI (chemical ionization) mass spectrometry using isobutane reagent gas to produce ( M 15)^ ions was applied to the analysis of naphthenic acid esters. Since the complex mixture of naphthenic acids cannot be separated into individual components, only the determination of relative distribution of acids classified in terms of hydrogen deficiency was possible. The identities and relative distribution of fatty and mono-, di-, tri-, and higher polycyclic acids were obtained from the intensities of the ( M 15 )^ ions according to z-series formula CπH2π 2 O2 of naphthenic acids. The components are characterized on the basis of group type and carbon number distributions. A comparison of the FAB and CI results showed that the group type distributions obtained bv both methods agree surprisingly well.The results indicated this method is simple, rapid and easy to operate. The geochemical implication of naphthenic acids was investigated by using a set of well-characterized crude oil samples. It is found that the naphthenic acid distribution can be used as a fingerprint for oil-oil and oil-source correlations.     

A New Fortunian Scyphozoa and its Development

正Objective The Cambrian fossil embryos of radial animals are represented by taxa of Olivooides, Pseudooides, Carinachites, hexangulaconulariids (including Hexaconularia and Arthrochites) and Quadrapyrgites. Liu Yunhuan established a new genus: Qinscyphus Liu 2017 and reconstructed the general morphology of its hatched stages in 2017; this genus has only one species Qinscyphus necopinus. It was interpreted to be a member of Olivooidae Steiner 2014, and was placed besides crown     

我国铂族元素矿物的电子探针研究

Summarized in this paper is authors work on electron microprobe studies of platinum group minerals in China since 1964. Of the studied minerals, quite a number are new platinum group minerals discovered for the first time in the world. Those discovered for the first time in China fall into seven broad groups, including 253 varieties as revealed by electron microprobe analysis. L.S. Birks‘s method was adopted in electron probe quantitative analysis and correction.The authors suggest that it is appropriate to use the correction coefficients compiled by L.S.Birks in 1963 to quantitatively correct electron microprobe data on platinum group minerals.     

A New Genus and Species of Sapeornithidae from Lower Cretaceous in Western Liaoning, China

Sapeornithidae is a basal pygostylian family of Early Cretaceous primitive birds, in which only one genus and species, Sapeornis chaoyangensis, was reported before. This paper deals with a new genus and species of this family, Didactylornis jii gen. et sp. nov., which was unearthed from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in western Liaoning. According to our phylogenetic analyses, both Didactylornis gen. nov. and Sapeornis form a sister group, which is basal to the clade formed by Confuciusornis and all the more derived birds, and more closely related to the short-tailed pygostylian birds than to the long-tailed avialian birds. The early history of pygostylian birds is poorly documented except for the studies of Confuciusornis and Sapeornis. The discovery ofDidactylornisjii gen. et sp. nov. adds the new material for the study on the early evolution of birds.     

Mineralogical and Petrological Characteristics of the Neoproterozoic Orthoamphibolite and Orthogneisses in the Mutki Area, the Bitlis Massif, Southeast Turkey

<正>The rocks form as amphibolite±garnet±epidote and orthogneisses in the Pan-African basement of the Bitlis Massif.The petrochemical data of the studied metamorphic rocks suggest different igneous protoliths ranging from calcalkaline basalt to andesite in composition. Petrochemically,the rocks can be classified as group 1(low Zr and La) and group 2(high Zr and La), all showing various enrichments in large ion lithophiles and light rare earth elements,and a depletion in high-field strength elements,suggestive of a destructive plate margin setting.The protoliths of the all samples might have formed mostly by the partial melting of an enriched source,possibly coupled with the fractional crystallization of plagioclase,apatite,and titaniferous magnetite±olivine±clinopyroxene±amphibole in relation with subduction-related magmatism neighboring the Andeantype active margins of Gondwana.The group 2 samples could,however,be generated by a relatively lower degree of the partial melting of an inhomogeneous source with a preponderance of a high-level, fractional crystallization process in comparison to group 1.The protoliths of the samples were metamorphosed up to amphibolite facies conditions,which destroys original igneous texture and mineral assemblages.Geothermobarometric calculations show that the metamorphic rocks are finally equilibrated between 540 and 610℃and～5 kbars,following a clockwise P-T-t path.     

First Record of Petalodus Owen, 1840(Chondrichthyes,Petalodontidae) in the Lower Permian(Cisuralian) of China

The Petalodontiformes are a small intriguing group of Permo–Carboniferous chondrichthyans. Petalodus is the longest known petalodont genus generally considered representative of the order. The first definite fossil record of seven well-preserved Petalodus teeth has been found in the Qianshi limestone in the Lower Permian(Cisuralian) middle–upper Taiyuan Formation in Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, North China. The specimens are characterized by petal-shaped teeth with a spade-like crown, and a long, tongue-shaped root; the crown is circled with a band or cingulum composed of imbricated ridges at the base. All seven teeth are assigned to the species P. ohioenesis because of their vertically narrow cingulum and much longer root. Petalodus is a worldwide genus, with fossil localities mainly concentrated in the Laurussia supercontinent. The occurrence of Petalodus teeth in Yangquan not only is the first fossil record in China, but also only the second record in Asia. The Yangquan fossil site was part of the paleoequatorial North China Craton during the Early Permian, and was isolated from Laurusia and East Gondwana by the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. The successful dispersal of Petalodus from Laurusia to the North China Block along Paleo-Tethys may support the possibility that Petalodus taxa were active free-swimmers rather than bottom dwellers. The new finding increases the petalodont diversity in eastern Asia, and also sheds new light on the distribution and stratigraphic range.     

非晶态金属-磷酸铝催化正庚醛和苯甲醛羟醛缩合制茉莉醛(英文)

Amorphous aluminophosphate(AlP) and metal-aluminophosphates(MAlPs, where M = 2.5 mol%Cu, Zn, Cr, Fe, Ce, or Zr) were prepared by coprecipitation method. Their surface properties and catalytic activity for the synthesis of jasminaldehyde through the aldol condensation of nheptanal and benzaldehyde were investigated. The nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms showed that the microporosity exhibited by the aluminophosphate was changed to a mesoporous and macroporous structure which depended on the metal incorporated, with a concomitant change in the surface area. Temperature-programmed desorption of NHand COrevealed that the materials possessed both acidic and basic sites. The acidic strength of the material was either increased or decreased depending on the nature of the metal. The basicity was increased compared to AlP. All the materials were X-ray amorphous and powder X-ray diffraction studies indicated the absence of metal oxide phases. The Fourier transform infrared analysis confirmed the presence of phosphate groups and also the absence of any M-O moieties in the materials. The selected organic reaction occurred only in the presence of the AlP and MAlPs. The selectivity for the jasminaldehyde product was up to 75% with a yield of 65%. The best conversion of nheptanal with a high selectivity to jasminaldehyde was obtained with FeAlP as the catalyst, and this material was characterized to have less weak acid sites and more basic sites.     

Advanced prediction of tunnel boring machine performance based on big data

Predicting the performance of a tunneling boring machine is vitally important to avoid any possible accidents during tunneling boring.The prediction is not straightforward due to the uncertain geological conditions and the complex rock-machine interactions.Based on the big data obtained from the 72.1 km long tunnel in the Yin-Song Diversion Project in China,this study developed a machine learning model to predict the TBM performance in a real-time manner.The total thrust and the cutterhead torque during a stable period in a boring cycle was predicted in advance by using the machine-returned parameters in the rising period.A long short-term memory model was developed and its accuracy was evaluated.The results show that the variation in the total thrust and cutterhead torque with various geological conditions can be well reflected by the proposed model.This real-time predication shows superior performance than the classical theoretical model in which only a single value can be obtained based on the single measurement of the rock properties.To improve the accuracy of the model a filtering process was proposed.Results indicate that filtering the unnecessary parameters can enhance both the accuracy and the computational efficiency.Finally,the data deficiency was discussed by assuming a parameter was missing.It is found that the missing of a key parameter can significantly reduce the accuracy of the model,while the supplement of a parameter that highly-correlated with the missing one can improve the prediction.     

Composition of Kerogen in Kupferschiefer from Southwest Poland

Thirty-seven Kupferschiefer samples from southwestern Poland were analyzed by microscopy, Rock-Eval approach and instrumental neutron activation analysis to understand the geochemical and morphological characteristics of kerogen present in the samples. The analytical results indicate that there are two different types of kerogens. One type was only subjected to thermal alteration processes, and the other was further oxidized after deposition of the sediment.In the oxidized samples migrabitumen was transformed into pyrobitumen. Rock-Eval analyses show a significant decrease in HI values in the oxidized samples and an increase in OI values in relation to the samples that were not influenced by oxidation. Variations in S2 versus Corg contents indicate a change in kerogen from Type II to Type III with progressing oxidation. The presence of pyrobitumen and the depletion of hydrogen in the altered kerogen allow one to conclude that the kerogen was used as hydrogen donor for thermochemical sulfate reduction(TSR).     

Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting

正 Morning Session of Saturday,April 1. President Y. C. SUN, in the chair. The Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of China was called to order by the President at 9 a.m. in the Science Building at Kueiyang, The President expressed his satisfaction to see a large number of members and guests