Can starvation influence cellular and biochemical parameters in the crab Carcinus aestuarii?

Crustacea experience periods of starvation during moulting or when limited food availability occurs. The effects of starvation on Crustacea physiological responses have been demonstrated, whereas the effects of starvation on Crustacea immune parameters remain to be more fully studied. In the present study the effects of starvation on immune parameters and antioxidant enzyme activities of the crab Carcinus aestuarii were evaluated for the first time. Treated crabs were starved for 7 days, whereas control crabs were fed daily with mussels. Total haemocyte count (THC), haemocyte diameter and volume, haemocyte proliferation, cell-free haemolymph (CFH) glucose and total protein levels, and phenoloxidase (PO) activity in both haemocyte lysate (HL) and CFH were measured in crabs. In addition, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were evaluated in both gills and digestive gland from crabs, in order to evaluate whether starvation induced oxidative stress in C. aestuarii. THC increased significantly in starved crabs, with respect to controls, whereas no significant variations were observed in haemocyte diameter, volume and proliferation. In CFH of starved animals glucose concentration significantly increased, whereas total protein concentration significantly reduced. A significantly higher PO activity was recorded in HL from starved crabs, than in control crabs. Conversely, PO activity did not vary significantly in CFH. Starvation did not cause significant alterations in antioxidant enzyme activities in both gills and digestive gland. Results obtained demonstrated that starvation influenced crab immune parameters, but did not induce oxidative stress. Results also indicated that C. aestuarii can modulate its cellular and biochemical parameters in order to cope with starvation.     

Role of the backstop-to-cover thickness ratio on vergence partitioning in experimental thrust wedges

The ratio between the thickness of the sedimentary sequences offscraped from the subducting plate ( H _c) and the average thickness of the backstop ( H _b) is expected to significantly influence vergence partitioning in thrust wedges. A series of simple sandbox experiments was performed to study the role of the H _c/ H _b ratio in model thrust wedges. The results obtained show that thrust wedges with H _c/ H _b values lower than 1 are essentially pro-ward verging, with minor retro-ward faulting; H _c/ H _b values greater than 1 imply an increase of vergence partitioning. When a threshold value is exceeded, fully partitioned, doubly vergent thrust wedges develop. Comparison with natural submarine thrust wedges suggests that these experimental results may provide useful insights on the evolution of structural architecture at convergent margins.     

Exposure of the clam Tapes philippinarum to 4-nonylphenol: changes in anti-oxidant enzyme activities and re-burrowing capability

The effects of 4-nonylphenol on anti-oxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase and catalase) activity in both gills and digestive gland and re-burrowing capability of the clam Tapes philippinarum were investigated after 7 days' exposure to various sublethal concentrations of nonylphenol (NP). NP caused a significant decrease in superoxide dismutase activity in both tissues from the lowest concentration tested, whereas no significant alteration with respect to controls was observed in catalase activity. NP effects on re-burrowing of clams were evaluated in two experiments. In the first, clams exposed to the highest NP concentrations showed a marked delay in re-burrowing 48 h after the end of exposure. Modifications in normal burrowing behaviour were also observed, suggesting that NP acts via narcosis and/or neurotoxic mechanisms. In the second experiment, the elapsed time for 50% of the exposed clams to re-burrow into the sediment (RT(50)) was also calculated in a 24-h re-burrowing response test. At the highest NP concentrations, it was not possible to estimate RT(50) values, as the percentage of clams showing complete burial was less than 50%. The present study demonstrates that NP causes oxidative stress by inhibiting superoxide dismutase activity and greatly affects the re-burrowing capability of T. philippinarum, even at environmentally realistic concentrations.     

A Tribute to Nicolai Pavlovich Yushkin, one of the discoverers of chernovite. Chernovite-(Y) and other arsenic minerals in rare-metal granites and greisens of the Far East

An assemblage of chernovite-(Y), As-bearing thorite, rooseveltite, and Cu and Fe arsenates has been revealed in Li-F granites, ongonites, and greisens of the Far East. The formation sequence of the above minerals is described in this paper. Chernovite-(Y) is a product of autometasomatic alteration of Li-F granite and ongonite, whereas other arsenates and As-thorite are products of greisenization.     

Diagnosing Non-Meteorically Induced Variations in the Chemistry of Saline Springs of the Vrancea Seismic Area (Romania)

A monitoring operation conducted over more than seven years has been addressing chemical fluctuations displayed by several cool, low-discharge springs located close to the highly seismic Vrancea area (Romania). Those outflows compositions proved to be strongly controlled by binary, essentially isochemical mixing between a deep-origin brine and meteoric freshwater. By taking advantage of this particular setting, there have been constructed diagrams aimed at investigating how the groundwater-discharges Na–K–Mg geothermometric parameters fluctuated as a function of the chloride content (taken to be an estimator of the freshwater-induced dilution). We made use of the reciprocal algebraic relationships existing between the equations describing the Na–K–Mg geothermometric parameters “Na–K temperature” and “K–Mg temperature” on the one hand, and the so-called “maturity index” (MI) on the other. In an accordingly derived plot of MI against the logarithm of the chloride concentration, a series of data-points being quite uniformly off-set from the MI dilution-curve constructed for an apparently “regular” period, suggested that, episodically, all concerned springwaters were simultaneously subject to some similar changes in the controlling geochemical processes. One such modification intervened 3–4 months before the occurrence of the strongest earthquake ( \(M_{\text{w}} = 5.8\) ) of the hydrochemical monitoring period. The consequently derived interpretation was that then, the numerical values of certain geothermometric coefficients were likely altered: such a process could be consistent with changes in the alkali feldspars solubility relationships, possibly in response to episodic Al–Si complexing which might develop within a hypothesised, still active, exhumation-channel.     

Paleoarchean U–Pb (SIMS SHRIMP-II) Age of Mafic Granulites from the Bug Complex,Ukrainian Shield

Doklady Earth Sciences - Data on the U–Pb (SIMS SHRIMP-II) age (3628 ± 38 and 2845 ± 65 Ma) of zircon from the inclusion of mafic granulite in gneiss–enderbites of the Bug...