Brain acetylcholinesterase as a marine pesticide biomarker using Brazilian fishes

Brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) of some fishes from the coast of Rio de Janeiro State was studied as a possible pesticide biomarker in marine environmental monitoring. AChE specific activity in brain varied from 145 to 530 U/g of proteins and the Michaelis-Menten constant (K(M)) for acetylthiocholine varied from 104 to 291 microM among the 20 species studied. The enzyme sensitivity to methyl paraoxon, evaluated by the inhibition kinetic constants, shows that some species (Paralonchurus brasiliensis and Genidens genidens) are more sensitive (IC50-30 min=455 and 468 nM, respectively). The less sensitive Merluccius hubbsi and Percophis brasiliensis (IC50-30 min=3339 and 3259 nM, respectively) belong to the super-order Paracanthopterygii, which includes the more ancient species. On the other hand, more susceptible species belong to the super-order Acanthopterygii, which includes more recent species. These results suggest a possible evolutionary linkage for AChE sensitivity to methyl paraoxon. The application of inhibition kinetic constants for fish brain AChE in phylogenetic studies is still being investigated. The results have shown that a fish sentinel species should have the highest brain AChE level among the more sensitive ones.     

The evaluation of volcanic risk in the Vesuvian area

Volcanic Risk has been defined as the product: R = Value × Vulnerability × Hazard, where value is the total amount of lives or properties at risk for a volcani eruption, the vulnerability is the percentage of value at risk for a given volcanic event, and the hazard is the probability that a given area may be affected by a certain volcanic phenomenon.We used this definition to evaluate the Risk of loss of human lives for volcanic eruptions of Vesuvius. Value has been determined based on the total number of inhabitants living in areas that could be affected by an eruption. Vulnerability is based on the relative probability of deaths as a result of different volcanic phenomena (tephra fall, pyroclastic flows, etc.). Hazard is evaluated based on the absolute probability of a given phenomenon in a certain area. This last parameter is the most difficult to evaluate.We subdivided the activity of Vesuvius, that produces risk of loss of human lives, into three classes of eruptions, based on the Volcanic Explosivity Index. We assume that the events of each class are distributed according to a poissonian distribution (this is demonstrated for VEI = 3, and inferred for the other classes), so that we can evaluate the absolute probability of an eruption for each class within a given time span. We use a time window of 10 years and evaluate the probabilities of occurrence of at least one eruption for VEI = 3, 4, 5; the probability is respectively: P₃ = 0.09896, P₄ = 0.01748, P₅ = 0.00298We have made a hazard evaluation for the entire Vesuvian area as well as an evaluation of Volcanic Risk.The obtained map shows that the areas with higher risk are on the southern side of Vesuvius, in the coastal region where each town is characterized by an average Risk of 1000 inhabitants/10 years. The risk regularly decreases with increasing distance from the volcano. The risk is mostly due to the events with VEI = 3 and 4, as the most destructive effects of VEI = 5 are counterbalanced by the lower probability of such events.The map of volcanic risk is not intended to predict the loss of human lives of an eruption, but to give a methodology that permits to identify those areas where it is necessary to operate in order to reduce the risk of an eruption before it occurs.     

High-temperature rapid pyrometamorphism induced by a charcoal pit burning: The case of Ricetto,central Italy

Bulk chemistry and mineralogy of the peculiar rock of Ricetto (Carseolani Mts., Central Apennines, Italy) was studied to resolve its controversial origin: igneous dyke or anthropic product. This hybrid rock consists of a colorless, felsic component made up of glass plus quartz, and a brown, femic component made up of fans and spherulites of diopside, calcic plagioclase, wollastonite, and melilite. Textural relationships indicate very rapid cooling and immiscibility phenomena. The bulk chemistry of the rock is the same as that of the surrounding siliciclastic sandstone. The ¹⁴C analysis of a coal fragment from bottom of the body yields the conventional age of 227(±50) years. The Ricetto occurrence is an example of pyrometamorphism of a siliceous limestone induced by a charcoal pit burning. The small size of the heat source at Ricetto caused an intense but short-lived melting of the country rock. Prograde metamorphism caused a temperature increase up to 1,000–1,100 °C when melilite crystallization conditions were reached at appreciable P(CO₂) and high f(O₂). Melting occurred in a close system represented by the simplified equation: 3Cal+16.5Qtz+Ms+BtMel+Melt+2H₂O+3CO₂+0.5O₂. Diopside+calcic plagioclase+wollastonite formed by melilite breakdown during rapid cooling, through the reaction: 6Mel+6Qtz+0.5O₂3Di+2An+7Wo. Liquid immiscibility caused the separation between the felsic melt component and the femic melilite-bearing component. Immiscibility was characterized by different fractionation of alumina and alkalies between these two phases. Differences in bulk, glass, and mineral chemistry between the Ricetto and other melilite-bearing pyrometamorphic rocks can be attributed mainly to different protoliths.An erratum to this article can be found at     

The record of historic earthquakes in lake sediments of Central Switzerland

Deformation structures in lake sediments in Central Switzerland can be attributed to strong historic earthquakes. The type and spatial distribution of the deformation structures reflect the historically documented macroseismic intensities thus providing a useful calibration tool for paleoseismic investigations in prehistoric lake sediments.The Swiss historical earthquake catalogue shows four moderate to strong earthquakes with moment magnitudes of M_w=5.7 to M_w=6.9 and epicentral intensities of I₀=VII to I₀=IX that affected the area of Central Switzerland during the last 1000 years. These are the 1964 Alpnach, 1774 Altdorf, 1601 Unterwalden, and 1356 Basel earthquakes. In order to understand the effect of these earthquakes on lacustrine sediments, four lakes in Central Switzerland (Sarner See, Lungerer See, Baldegger See, and Seelisberg Seeli) were investigated using high-resolution seismic data and sediment cores. The sediments consist of organic- and carbonate-rich clayey to sandy silts that display fine bedding on the centimeter to millimeter scale. The sediments are dated by historic climate and environmental records, ¹³⁷Cs activity, and radiocarbon ages. Deformation structures occur within distinct zones and include large-scale slumps and rockfalls, as well as small-scale features like disturbed and contorted lamination and liquefaction structures. These deformations are attributed to three of the abovementioned earthquakes. The spatial distribution of deformation structures in the different lakes clearly reflects the historical macroseismic dataset: Lake sediments are only affected if they are situated within an area that underwent groundshaking not smaller than intensity VI to VII. We estimate earthquake size by relating the epicentral distance of the farthest liquefaction structure to earthquake magnitude. This relationship is in agreement with earthquake size estimations based on the historical dataset.     

Tomographic joint inversion of first arrivals in a real case fromSaudi Arabia

A joint inversion of both first and refracted arrivals is applied on a seismic line, acquired onshore, in order to obtain a well‐resolved velocity field for the computation of static corrections. The use of different arrivals in the inversion involves exploiting the information derived from the different raypaths associated with each wave type, thus enhancing the reliability of the inversion. The data was gathered by Saudi Aramco in an area of the Arabian Peninsula characterized by strong lateral variations, both in topography and shallow velocity, and where therefore a well‐defined near‐surface velocity field is important. In addition to velocity, the depth distribution of the quality factor Q is computed from the tomographic inversion of the seismic‐signal frequency shift. Thus, the Q‐factor field is used to perform an inverse Q‐data filtering and improve the resolution of the final stacked section.     

A two-dimensional MHD global coronal model: Steady-state streamers

We describe a two-dimensional time-dependent, numerical, magnetohydrodynamic model for the determination of the physical properties of coronal streamers from the top of the transition zone (R = 1) to 15R. Four examples are given: for dipole, quadrupole, and hexapole initial field topologies. The computed parameters are density, temperature, velocity, and magnetic field. In addition to the properties of the solutions, their accuracy is discussed. We use the model as the basis for a general discussion of the way boundary conditions are specified in this and similar simulations.