Effects of BPA and DES on longchin goby (Chasmichthys dolichognathus) in vitro during the oocyte maturation

This study was performed in order to assess whether bisphenol (BPA) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) had agonistic or antagonistic effects on oocyte maturation using marine fish. We tested the effects of these chemicals on in vitro maturation, germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), assay using oocytes from the longchin goby, Chasmichthys dolichognathus. During the maturation process, low concentrations of BPA and DES triggered GVBD depending on the stage of oocyte development; BPA at 0.044 nM and DES at 0.037, 0.37, and 3.73 nM induced GVBD in 0.82-0.88 mm diameter oocytes (germinal vesicle located near the center of oocytes). In 0.76-0.80 mm diameter oocytes (fully vitellogenic oocytes), BPA induced GVBD at relatively higher concentrations (4.38, 43.8, and 438 nM). In 0.86-0.90 mm diameter oocytes, BPA and DES had no observable effect on GVBD at the concentrations tested. Oocytes with diameters between 0.82 and 0.88 mm appeared to be more sensitive to these chemicals. Moreover, our results showed that BPA and DES did not inhibit GVBD.     

Consequences of climate change for the soil climate in Central Europe and the central plains of the United States

This study aims to evaluate soil climate quantitatively under present and projected climatic conditions across Central Europe (12.1°–18.9° E and 46.8°–51.1° N) and the U.S. Central Plains (90°–104° W and 37°–49° N), with a special focus on soil temperature, hydric regime, drought risk and potential productivity (assessed as a period suitable for crop growth). The analysis was completed for the baselines (1961–1990 for Europe and 1985–2005 for the U.S.) and time horizons of 2025, 2050 and 2100 based on the outputs of three global circulation models using two levels of climate sensitivity. The results indicate that the soil climate (soil temperature and hydric soil regimes) will change dramatically in both regions, with significant consequences for soil genesis. However, the predicted changes of the pathways are very uncertain because of the range of future climate systems predicted by climate models. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that the risk of unfavourable dry years will increase, resulting in greater risk of soil erosion and lower productivity. The projected increase in the variability of dry and wet events combined with the uncertainty (particularly in the U.S.) poses a challenge for selecting the most appropriate adaptation strategies and for setting adequate policies. The results also suggest that the soil resources are likely be under increased pressure from changes in climate.     

西藏当雄南部约54Ma辉长岩-花岗岩杂岩的岩石成因及意义

近年来在拉萨地块南部识别的多处基性岩浆活动对揭示地幔源区成分和相关动力学问题提供了重要线索.本文对拉萨-当雄一带原认为是早白垩世茶苍卡辉长岩-浦迁花岗岩杂岩中获得了始新世幔源岩浆活动记录.研究区出露的3种岩石类型及其U-Pb锆石年龄分别是正长闪长岩、碱性角闪二长花岗岩(54.0±0.3Ma)和钾玄质碱性辉长岩(53.8±0.4Ma).其中辉长岩锆石εHf(t)值为-6.6～ -4.2、Hf模式年龄t(O)M为0.88 ～0.97Ga;二长花岗岩εHf(t)为-10.2～ -6.5,Hf地壳模式年龄tDMC为1.5 ～ 1.7Ga.三类岩石都具有富碱、富钾特征,它们具相似的稀土和微量元素含量,均显示大离子亲石元素和Pb富集、高场强元素Nb、Ta、Ti和P亏损等特征.闪长岩和花岗岩的Sr和Nd同位素特征相似,87Sr/86 Sr比值为0.711 ～0.712,εNd(t)为-9.1 ～ -7.1;而辉长岩分别是0.708和-4.8～ -4.9.本文与拉萨地块南部和中部已有结果共同表明,新生代岩浆岩的分布与成分显示了与俯冲带极性吻合的规律性变化特征,即从雅鲁藏布缝合带向北,岩石的富集组分逐渐增加,越过洛巴堆-米拉山断裂带进入具有地壳基底的中部拉萨地块后,岩石则明显增加了地壳富集组分,很好显示了基底成分对岩浆作用的控制.拉萨地块南部大约47Ma开始出现的富集组分,很可能是中部拉萨地块富集的古老地壳基底物质参与和控制的结果,而与印度大陆地壳物质的俯冲无关.茶苍卡辉长岩可能来源于受到早期俯冲来源流体交代的富集岩石圈地幔物质的部分熔融,而茶苍卡角闪二长花岗岩主要来源于古老地壳物质的重熔,但是有幔源物质参与.茶苍卡辉长岩不同于典型岛弧玄武岩,而与板内玄武岩或伸展背景下形成的玄武质岩石类似,其成因很可能与大约52Ma的特提斯洋壳板片断离和岩浆大爆发有关.     

Pulsar radiation belts and transient radio emission

It is proposed that radiation belts similar to the ones in the planetary magnetosphere can exist for a pulsar with a relatively long period and a strong magnetic field. In the belts located in the closed field line region near the light cylinder relativistic pairs are trapped and maintained at a density substantially higher than the local Goldreich–Julian corotation density. The trapped plasma can be supplied and replenished by either direct injection of relativistic pairs from acceleration of externally supplied particles in a dormant outer gap or in situ ionization of the accreted neutral material in the trapping region. The radiation belts can be disrupted by waves that are excited in the region as the result of plasma instabilities or emitted from the surface due to starquakes or stellar oscillations. The disruption can cause an intermittent particle precipitation towards the star producing radio bursts. It is suggested that such bursts may be seen as rotating radio transients.     

Cratonic mantle roots, remnants of a more chondritic Archean mantle?

The Earth's continents are cored by Archean cratons underlain by seismically fast mantle roots descending to depths of 200⁺ km that appear to be both more refractory and colder than the surrounding asthenospheric mantle. Low-temperature mantle xenoliths from kimberlite pipes indicate that the shallow parts of these cratonic mantle roots are dominated by refractory harzburgites that are very old (3⁺ Ga). A fundamental mass balance problem arises, however, when attempts are made to relate Archean high-Mg lavas to a refractory restite equivalent to the refractory lithospheric mantle roots beneath Archean cratons. The majority of high-Mg Archean magmas are too low in Al and high in Si to leave behind a refractory residue with the composition of the harzburgite xenoliths that constitute the Archean mantle roots beneath continental cratons, if a Pyrolitic primitive mantle source is assumed. The problem is particularly acute for 3⁺ Ga Al-depleted komatiites and the Si-rich harzburgites of the Kaapvaal and Slave cratons, but remains for cratonic harzburgites that are not anomalously rich in orthopyroxene and many Al-undepleted komatiites. This problem would disappear if fertile Archean mantle was richer in Fe and Si, more similar in composition to chondritic meteorites than the present Pyrolitic upper mantle of the Earth. Accepting the possibility that the Earth's convecting upper mantle has become poorer in Fe and Si over geologic time not only provides a simpler way of relating Archean high-Mg lavas to the lithospheric mantle roots that underlie Archean cratons, but could lead to new models for the nature Archean magmatism and the lower mantle sources of modern hot-spot volcanism.     

Source model of the 11th July 2004 Zhongba earthquake revealed from the joint inversion of InSAR and seismological data

We use interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and broadband seismic waveform data to estimate a source model of the 11th July, 2004 M W 6.2 Zhongba earthquake, Tibet of China. This event occurred within the seismically active zone of southwestern Tibetan Plateau where the east-west extension of the upper crust is observed. Because of limitations in one pair of InSAR data available, there are trade-offs among centroid depth, rupture area and amount of slip. Available seismic data tightly constrain ...     

Sewers as a Source and Sink of Chlorinated‐Solvent Groundwater Contamination,Marine Corps Recruit Depot,Parris Island,South Carolina

Groundwater contamination by tetrachloroethene and its dechlorination products is present in two partially intermingled plumes in the surficial aquifer near a former dry‐cleaning facility at Site 45, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. The northern plume originates from the vicinity of former above‐ground storage tanks. Free‐phase tetrachloroethene from activities in this area entered the groundwater. The southern plume originates at a nearby, new dry‐cleaning facility, but probably was the result of contamination released to the aquifer from a leaking sanitary sewer line from the former dry‐cleaning facility. Discharge of dissolved groundwater contamination is primarily to leaking storm sewers below the water table. The strong influence of sanitary sewers on source distribution and of storm sewers on plume orientation and discharge at this site indicates that groundwater‐contamination investigators should consider the potential influence of sewer systems at their sites.     

Magnitude and rupture duration from high frequency teleseismic P wave with projected landweber deconvolution

Earthquake magnitude and rupture duration are among the most important parameters characterizing an earthquake for the purpose of early tsunami warning. While they can be routinely determined from broadband P waveforms with iterative inver- sion procedures, the inversion procedures may fail when the rupture either lasts longer than the interval between P and later arrivals or requires too much time or human intervention. Little contaminated by later arrivals, high frequency P waves are useful for modeling earthquake source processes, though the envelope waveform is affected by strong scattering in lithosphere. With high frequency envelopes from aftershocks as Empirical Green’s Function (EGF), the coda effects can be removed and more accurate relative source time function (RSTF) of the main shock can be obtained. Assuming that RSTFs cannot be negative, we use the projected Landweber deconvolution method (PLD) to obtain high frequency RSTFs because PLD method has the advantage of non-negativity, causality, and compactness (finite duration). We are able to determine rupture durations of four large earthquakes: the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, the 2005 Nias event, the 2006 Java event, and the 2011 Tokuko earthquake. The rupture durations of the Sumatra-Andaman, Nias, and Tohuko events are found to be around 550, 110, and 120 s respectively, consistent with previous studies. The rupture duration of the Java event is about 130 s, supporting that the Java event is a tsunami earthquake. The magnitudes of these earthquakes are found to depend on both the amplitude and the duration of the deconvolved waveforms, and can be approximated by integrating these waveforms.