Comparison of the antioxidant defense system in Crassostrea rhizophorae and Crassostrea gigas exposed to domestic sewage discharges

Oysters Crassostrea rhizophorae and Crassostrea gigas were kept for fourteen days at four sites in S?o José, SC, Brazil, chosen according to a sewage discharge contamination gradient. Enzymatic activities of CAT, GST, G6PDH and GR were evaluated in gills and digestive glands. Higher CAT activity was observed in tissues of C. rhizophorae in response to sewage contamination possibly indicating peroxisome proliferation induction. C. gigas showed elevated G6PDH activity in digestive gland, and GR in gills, after domestic sewage exposure. In conclusion, C. rhizophorae and C. gigas showed different biochemical responses after in situ exposure to domestic sewage. However, C. rhizophorae showed more significant changes in CAT suggesting that this organism could be a better monitor to this kind of effluent.     

Geochronology and excess Ar geochemistry of the Lhotse Nup leucogranite, Nepal Himalaya

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating experiments on several coexisting minerals from two close-by leucogranite outcrops near Lhotse Nup glacier (Nepal Himalaya) reveal a complex behaviour. Four biotite and muscovite ages cluster around 15.5 Ma, a lower value than literature Rb/Sr ages on splits of the same four micas, suggesting a discrepancy with the ideal cooling age sequence observed in the Alps.A strongly discordant Ar-Ar spectrum on tourmaline does not allow a chronological interpretation.A potassium feldspar shows a slow-cooling staircase spectrum with a superimposed saddle diagnostic of excess Ar. HF leaching removed excess Ar but caused great perturbations to the minimum step ages, isochron plots, and the release of reactor-produced Ar isotopes. The present data require that the currently fashionable interpretations of feldspar systematics be radically changed.The main chronological conclusions rely on the eight mica ages. Their decrease from 18.2 to 15.3 Ma dates the cooling of the Lhotse Nup leucogranite.     

Strontium-90 in surface and groundwater of the reclamation systems at the Chernobyl exclusion zone

The left bank of the Pripiat' river, opposite of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) is covered with a developed network of drainage canals, built for the reclamation of the swampy floodplain. This area is highly contaminated after the disaster in 1986. Concentrations of the most mobile radionuclide, ⁹⁰Sr, are comparable with ¹³⁷Cs, and reach many MBq m^-2. Their ratio in the upper 10 cm of soil is about 1. The high surface contamination as well as precipitation and flooding have been responsible for the water pollution in this area. Some specifics of ⁹⁰Sr behaviour in surface and groundwater, controlled by the hydrological regime, are described.     

39Ar−40Ar dating of multiply zoned amphibole generations (Malenco, Italian Alps)

Mafic rocks of a Permian crust to mantle section in Val Malenco (Italy) display a multi-stage evolution: pre-Alpine exhumation to the ocean floor, followed by burial and re-exhumation during Alpine convergence. Four prominent generations of amphiboles were formed during these stages. On the basis of microstructural investigations combined with electron microprobe analyses two amphibole generations can be assigned to the pre-Alpine decompression and two to the Alpine metamorphic P–T evolution. The different amphiboles have distinct Na^M4, Ca, K and Cl contents according to different P–T conditions and fluid chemistry. Analysing these mixed amphiboles by the ³⁹Ar−⁴⁰Ar stepwise heating technique yielded very complex age spectra. However, by correlating amphibole compositions directly obtained from the electron microprobe with the components deduced from the release of Ar isotopes during stepwise heating, obtained ages were consistent with the geological history deduced from field and petrological studies. The two generations of pre-Alpine amphiboles gave distinguishable Triassic to Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous ages (≈225 and 130–140 Ma respectively). High-Na^M4 amphiboles have higher isotopic ages than low-Na^M4 ones, in agreement with their decompressional evolution. The exhumation of the Permian crust to mantle section is represented by the former age. The latter age concerns Cl-dominated amphibole related to an Early Cretaceous oceanic stage. For the early Alpine, pressure-dominated metamorphism we obtained a Late Cretaceous age (83–91 Ma). The later, temperature-dominated overprint is significantly younger, as indicated by ³⁹Ar−⁴⁰Ar ages of 67–73 Ma. These Late Cretaceous ages favour an Adriatic origin for the Malenco unit. Our data show that ³⁹Ar−⁴⁰Ar dating combined with detailed microprobe analysis can exploit the potential to relate conditions of amphibole formation to their respective ages. Received: 1 March 1999 / Accepted: 18 August 2000     

Wave characteristic distributions for Gaussian waves—Wave-length, amplitude and steepness

In as tationary stochastic process the wave-length and amplitude are defined as the difference in time and height between a crest and the following trough. The distributions of these quantities are of great practical importance, but no closed form expressions are known at present. In previous papers we have presented an approximation which gives correct upper and lower bounds, regardless of the covariance structure under Gaussian assumptions. In this paper the suggested approximations are compared to two simpler approximations, one due to Cavanié et al. (1976) based on a cosine process and a new one, derived by replacing the model process by its regression curve.     

Reflections on frequency dependence in earthquake-source inversions

The corner frequency of the spectrum of particle acceleration in a seismic wave radiated by an earthquake source marks the transition between the low-frequency band, in which the spectrum rises as frequency squared, and the high-frequency band, in which the spectrum is flat. These two distinct bands are controlled by different characteristics of faulting. The low-frequency range is governed by the value of slip alone, while the high-frequency range is controlled by both the total slip and slip velocity. This distinction explains why inversions of geodetic and shorter-period seismic data sense different characteristics of source process and are not generally comparable. Neglect of the sensitivity of seismic data to both slip and its rate may lead to false images of the inverted slip on the fault, as these characteristics trade off with each other. A recent example of the 2011 M _w 9.0 Tohoku-oki, Japan, earthquake demonstrates that the observed “frequency-dependent” variations in the rupture process over the fault plane should not be considered unique to this particular event but rather a natural consequence of the frequency-dependent inversion.     

Shock wave phenomena in collisions between a current loop and a plasmoid

We present the results of 3-D MHD simulations of collisions between an equilibrium current and a plasmoid. Three typical equilibrium configurations were analyzed. Our simulation results show that when a plasmoid approaches a current loop, an active region is created in front of the plasmoid bounded on the front side by a bow shock wave and on the back side by a reverse shock wave. The collision process modifies the current system and a strong electric field is also induced in the active region. An additional magnetic field generated by the induced current upsets the initial equilibrium condition. As a result, the whole loop is compressed and heated. We found that when the plasmoid approaches the loop, before reaching it the induced electric field amounts to its maximum value. The current loop is curved under the collision. The core of the plasmoid can not drive into the loop, it is sprung back by a magnetic counterpressure. This collision process between a plasmoid and a current loop may be responsible for the triggering of a solar flare observed by Yohkoh.     

Testing polymineral post-IR IRSL and quartz SAR-OSL protocols on Middle to Late Pleistocene loess at Batajnica,Serbia

The loess–palaeosol sequence of Batajnica (Vojvodina region, Serbia) is considered as one of the most complete and thickest terrestrial palaeoclimate archives for the Middle and Late Pleistocene. In order to achieve a numerical chronology for this profile, four sets of ages were obtained on 18 individual samples. Equivalent doses were determined using the SAR protocol on fine (4–11 μm) and coarse (63–90 μm) quartz fractions, as well as on polymineral fine grains by using two elevated temperature infrared stimulation methods, pIRIR₂₉₀ and pIRIR₂₂₅. We show that the upper age limit of coarse quartz OSL and polymineral pIRIR₂₉₀ and pIRIR₂₂₅ techniques is restricted to the Last Glacial/Interglacial cycle due to the field saturation of the natural signals. Luminescence ages on coarse quartz, pIRIR₂₂₅ and pIRIR₂₉₀ polymineral fine grains are in general agreement. Fine quartz ages are systematically lower than the coarse quartz and pIRIR ages, the degree of underestimation increasing with age. Comparison between natural and laboratory dose response curves indicate the age range over which each protocol provides reliable ages. For fine and coarse quartz, the natural and laboratory dose response curves overlap up to ~150 and ~250 Gy, respectively, suggesting that the SAR protocol provides reliable ages up to c. 50 ka on fine quartz and c. 100 ka on coarse quartz. Using the pIRIR₂₂₅ and pIRIR₂₉₀ protocols, equivalent doses up to ~400 Gy can be determined, beyond which in the case of the former the natural dose response curve slightly overestimates the laboratory dose response curve. Our results suggest that the choice of the mineral and luminescence technique to be used for dating loess sediments should take into consideration the reported limited reliability.