Mineralogical and compositional characteristics of Late Permian coals from an area of high lung cancer rate in Xuan Wei, Yunnan, China: Occurrence and origin of quartz and chamosite

Some townships in Xuan Wei County, Yunnan Province, have one of the highest lung cancer mortality rates in China and the epidemic disease in the area has generally been attributed to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) released from domestic coal burning. However, the cancer-causing culprit is not settled as Tian [Tian, L., 2005. Coal Combustion Emissions and Lung Cancer in Xuan Wei, China. Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Berkeley.] found nanometer quartz in these coals, soot emissions, and lung cancer tissues. We have conducted mineralogical and geochemical studies of the coals from Xuan Wei for the purpose of shedding light on the minerals which may be related to the epidemic lung cancer. In this paper, abundances, modes of occurrence, and origins of minerals and elements in the coals from two mines in Xuan Wei have been studied using optical microscope, low-temperature ashing, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The minerals in the coals are mainly composed of quartz, chamosite, kaolinite, and calcite. The particle size of quartz is rather small, mostly less than 20 μm and it is of authigenic origin. Chamosite occurs mainly as cell-fillings. The occurrence of quartz and chamosite indicates that they were derived from the hydrothermal fluids. Epigenetic calcite is derived from calcic fluids. Kaolinite is derived mainly from sediment source region of Kangdian Oldland to the west of coal basin. The composition of Xuan Wei coal is high in SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, CaO, MnO, V, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn. The high SiO₂ content is attributed to quartz, and the Fe₂O₃ content to chamosite. The high Mn and low Mg contents in the coal indicate the inputs of hydrothermal fluids. CaO occurs mainly in epigenetic calcite. Elements Ti, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and rare earth elements were derived from the basaltic rocks at sediment source region.     

Sediment Facies of a Low-Energy, Meso-Tidal, Fringing Reef, Singapore

Pulau (P.) Semakau comprises a narrow, low-lying island, surrounded by a wide fringing coral reef of late-Holocene age. The modern reef flat comprises a gently sloping surface related to modern mean low water neap tide level. Six sediment facies are recognised below the line of high water of which three, adjacent to the island, are composed of terrigenous minerals and rock fragments and three are autochthonous carbonates sediments developed since local sea-level still stand (c. 6,500 years BP). The fringing reefs of P. Semakau and Singapore differ from many of the reef forms recorded from Peninsular Malaysia waters and the Gulf of Thailand. The Singapore reefs have wide, well-developed intertidal reef flats, lack lagoons and reef crests, and have a very steep reef slope. In contrast to most other fringing reefs of the region, the Singapore reefs have developed in a low wave energy, meso-tidal environment lacking strong environmental gradients.     

气候变化影响下我国农业经济评价问题探讨

年代际的全球变化预测及其区域适应 ,是一个属于自然科学和社会科学相互交叉领域的问题。作者将全球气候变化研究与经济学研究结合起来进行探索性思考 ,提出了气候变化与人类经济活动相互关系的研究领域中 4个有待探讨的问题 ,并重点针对其中气候变化对我国农业的影响 ,及气候变化影响下我国农业经济评价问题进行了探讨 ,同时初步讨论了经济评估的验证问题。     

Acoustic power mapping for active regions from MDI, HLH, and TON data

Based on the HLH and TON ground-based helioseismological projects and the SOHO/MDI spaceborne project, we obtained acoustic power maps of active regions averaged over 1 mHz intervals. These maps allowed the spatial and frequency distributions of acoustic power in an active region and its surroundings to be studied. The time step of the HLH data is 42 s, which makes it possible to investigate the acoustic power up to 11.9 mHz. Data in the Ca II K and Ni I lines, which originate in the middle chromosphere and the photosphere, respectively, give an idea of the height distribution of acoustic oscillation energy in the solar atmosphere. The acoustic halo produced by excess acoustic power around sunspots clearly shows up on acoustic maps in the Ca II K line and, to a lesser degree, in the Doppler Ni I line shifts. Ground-based observations also reveal a large enhancement of acoustic power inside sunspots. Our tests show that this effect results from the combination of a high intensity gradient in the data and atmospheric seeing. The latter was reduced by referencing each image to the sunspot. The spatial distribution of power inside the sunspot due to atmospheric seeing was found to depend on the exposure time of the data used. Excluding the nonsolar effects, a common property of all acoustic maps is the suppression of the solar-oscillation acoustic power in active regions.     

Effects of Dispersion of Wave Packets in the Determination of Lifetimes of High-Degree Solar <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis> Modes from Time – Distance Analysis: MDI Data

The cross-correlation function of solar p modes in a time – distance analysis changes with travel distance (or travel time). The exponential decrease in the amplitude of the cross-correlation function with travel distance has been interpreted as the dissipation of solar p-mode power and used to determine the lifetimes of high-degree p modes. It is found that the width of the cross-correlation function increases with travel distance. We interpret the increase in width as the dispersion of the wave packet in a time – distance analysis. The dispersion would also cause a decrease in amplitude and affect the determination of lifetimes. We include the dispersion effect in the determination of lifetimes of high-degree p modes in a time – distance analysis and find that the derived lifetime increases significantly compared with the previous study for degree less than 400.     

Compositional evidence regarding the influx of interplanetary materials onto the lunar surface

Siderophilic element/Ir ratios are higher in mature lunar soils from highlands sites than in those from mare sites. We infer that the population of materials responsible for the early intense bombardment of the Moon had high ratios, and that the population responsible for the essentially constant flux has low ratios. No group of chondrites has siderophile/Ir ratios identical to those in the mare or highlands soils; CM chondrites are the most similar, and CM-like materials may account for a major fraction of Earth-crossing materials during the past 3.7 b.y.Siderophile/Ir ratios may be used to determine the amount of highlands regolith in soils or breccias from the mare-highlands interface areas (Apollo 15 and 17), and to infer the time of formation of highlands breccias whose sideropbiles originated in mature soils. Arguments are summarized against the viewpoint that the siderophiles in most highlands breccias originated in basin-forming projectiles. Differences in mature soil siderophile concentrations at Apollo 14 and 16 indicate a substantially greater concentration at the latter site immediately following the Imbrium event.Siderophile concentrations are used to estimate mean regolith depths at the landing sites; as relative values these are more precise than estimates based on seismic or crater observations. The longlived flux is calculated to be 2.9 g cm^–2 b.y.^–1 averaged over the past 3.7 b.y. A consideration of the relationship between mass fluence and time indicates that the mass flux decreased with a half-life of about 40 m.y. immediately following the Imbrium event.     

Uncertainty of the Numerical Solution of a Nonlinear System‘s Long-term Behavior and Global Convergence of the Numerical Pattern

1. Introduction The partial di?erential equations for atmosphericmovement are often nonlinear and often very complex;we usually cannot obtain an analytic solution but must?nd a numerical solution. The general method is ?rstto discretize the space varia…     

Extralunar materials in Cone-Crater soil 14141

Radiochemical neutron activation analysis has been used to determine Ni, Zn, Ga, Ge, Cd, In, Ir and Au in duplicate samples of lunar soil 14141 and one additional replicate each of soils 14163 and 14259. The concentrations of extralunar trace elements Ni, Ge, Ir and Au in 14141 and 14163 are, respectively, about 69 and 82 per cent as high as those in 14259. Although most of the mass of 14141 appears to be ejecta from Cone Crater, a sizable contamination by mature Fra Mauro soil such as 14259 is also present. The siderophilic-element concentrations of the subregolith Fra Mauro materials are estimated to be 25 ± 25 per cent of those observed in 14259.     

Evaluating performance of post‐tensioned steel connections with strands and reduced flange plates

The seismic performance of post‐tensioned steel connections for moment‐resisting frames was examined experimentally and analytically. Cyclic tests were conducted on three full‐scale subassemblies, which had two steel beams post‐tensioned to a concrete‐filled tube (CFT) column with high‐strength strands to provide recentring response. Reduced flange plates (RFPs) welded to the column and bolted to the beam flange were used to increase the dissipation of energy. Test results indicated that (1) the proposed buckling‐restrained RFP could dissipate energy in axial tension and compression, (2) the subassemblies could reach an interstorey drift of 4% without strength degradation, and (3) buckling of the beam occurred towards an interstorey drift of 5%, causing a loss of the strand force, the recentring response, and the moment capacity. A general‐purpose non‐linear finite element analysis program (ABAQUS) was used to perform a correlation study. The behaviour of the steel beam under both post‐tensioning and flexural loadings was compared to the test results and predictions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The proton-proton reaction and related reactions in an intense magnetic field

The reaction rates for the proton-proton reaction and the related electron capture reaction in a strongly magnetized relativistic electron gas of arbitrary degree of degeneracy are computed. The proton-proton reaction rates are unaffected by the presence of the magnetic field for field strengths up to the critical valueH _q =m ² c ³/e=4.414×10¹³G. For fields greater thanH _q , the proton-proton reaction rates are enhanced linearly with (=H/H _q ).The PeP reaction is investigated in detail for a wide range of temperatures, densities and magnetic field strengths that are of interest. The main results are as follows: In the non-degenerate regime the reaction rates are significantly reduced for high temperatures (T ₉5) and low fields (1). For instance, _pep(H)=0.04 _pep(O) at =10^–3,T ₉=10. For relatively high fields (>1) and low temperatures (T ₉2), the reaction rates are enhanced approximately linearly with . In the complete degenerate regime the reaction rates are reduced up to one-third of the field-free value for moderate densities (₆/_e10). At high densities (₆/_e10) the reaction rates are unaffected by the magnetic field.