Megacrysts in the Cenozoic basalt of the Tuoyun Basin,Southwest Tianshan

Abundant megacrysts of clinopyroxene, amphibole, anorthoclase, and phlogopite are found together with deep-seated xenoliths in the Cenozoic basalt of the Tuoyun Basin, Southwest Tianshan. The megacrysts are mainly in the cone sheet formed at the early stage of the volcanic activity. Clinopyrox-ene megacrysts are located in the lower part of the profile, with amphibole and phlogopite megacrysts in the middle part and anorthoclase megacrysts in the upper part. The crystal integrity, absence of de-formation fabric and their relation to the host basalt suggest that they were crystallized from the host magma and quickly transported to the surface. The mineralogical studies imply that the clinopyroxene megacrysts are of Al-augite with higher Al2O3 (>9%). Amphibole megacrysts are kaersutite rich in TiO2 (>4.5%). Sulfide inclusions such as pyrrhotite occur in some clinopyroxene and amphibole megacrysts. Thermodynamic calculations reveal that pyroxene megacrysts formed under the temperature of 1185.85―1199.85℃ and the pressure between 1.53 and 1.64 GPa comparable to the crust-mantle boundary and amphibole megacrysts crystallized under the pressure of around 0.85 GPa, temperature about 1000℃ comparable to the depth of 30 km. Anorthoclase megacrysts crystallized under the pressure between 0.8―1 GPa,temperature about 900℃.The absence of Ti-rich inclusions such as rutile can be considered as an evidence of quick magma ascending. The P-T conditions estimated via py-roxene megacrysts and phenocrysts compose a P-T path with a steep slope. It can be considered as another evidence of quick magma ascending. However, the estimated temperatures for amphibole megacrysts are markedly lower than those for pyroxene megacrysts given the same pressure. It probably shows that the amphiboles have crystallized at the vanguard of magma and under the vola-tile-rich condition. Thus, we can conclude that the Cenozoic basalts are produced in an extensional tectonic setting and the processes governing crystallization and ascending of the megacrysts are very complex.     

Geochemistry and mineralogy of the Late Permian coals from the Songzao Coalfield, Chongqing, southwestern China

Mineralogy and geochemistry of the four main workable coal seams (No.6, No.7, No.8, and No.11) of Late Permian age from the Songzao Coalfield, Chongqing, Southwest China, were examined using in- ductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), cold-vapor absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS), ion-selective electrode (ISE), scanning electron mi- croscopy equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDX), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The results showed that the main workable No.8 Coal that accounts for about 60% of the total coal reserves in the Songzao Coalfield was not enriched in hazardous trace elements. The No.11 Coal has high concentrations of alkaline elements, Be (9.14 μg/g), Sc (12.9 μg/g), Ti (9508 μg/g), Mn (397 μg/g), Co (23.7 μg/g), Cu (108 μg/g), Zn (123 μg/g), Ga (32 μg/g), Zr (1304 μg/g), Nb (169 μg/g), Hf (32.7 μg/g), Ta (11.4 μg/g), W (24.8 μg/g), Hg (0.28 μg/g), Pb (28.1 μg/g), Th (24.1 μg/g), and rare earth elements (509.62 μg/g). The concentration of Nb and Ta in the No. 11 Coal is higher than the industrial grade, and their potential utilization should be further studied. Besides pyrite, quartz, calcite, and clay minerals, trace minerals including chalcopyrite, marcasite, siderite, albite, mixed-layer clay minerals of illite and smectite, monazite, apatite, anatase, chlorite, and gypsum were found in the No.11 Coal. It should be noted that alabandite of hydrothermal origin and anatase occurring as cement were identi- fied in coal. In addition, the clayey microbands derived from alkaline volcanic ashes were identified in the coal. The dominant compositions of these clayey microbands were mixed-layer clay minerals of illite and smectite, which were interlayered with organic bands. The modes of occurrence of alkaline volcanic ash bands indicate that the volcanic activities were characterized by the multiple eruptions, short time interval and small scale for each eruption during peat accumulation. The alkaline volcanic ashes were the dominant factors for the enrichment of alkaline elements, Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, and rare earth elements, and the sulfide minerals are the main carriers of Ga, Cu, and Hg in the No. 11 Coal.     

霓长岩岩石学特征及其地质意义评述

本文以几个典型实例,综合评述了与碱性岩和碳酸岩有关的碱质交代蚀变岩－霓长岩的岩石学特征。按照在霓长岩化作用过程中形成的新生矿物组合、结构构造、化学成分、空间分布及物质来源等特征,霓长岩可以分为低级、中级、高级、接触和脉状等５种类型。控制霓长岩化作用５的主要因素包括：（１）碳酸岩或者碱性岩的岩石学特征和侵位条件;（２）流体的来源、性质和成分;（３）围岩的矿物组合、结构构造和化学成分;（４）霓长岩化作     

乙醇对锯缘青蟹碱性磷酸酶活力与构象的影响

应用荧光光谱、紫外吸收光谱研究锯缘青蟹碱性磷酸乙醇微扰后的分子构象变化情况。乙醇对酶分子构象有显著的影响,酶的内源荧光强度随乙醇浓度增大而增加,荧光发射峰逐渐发生红移,说明酷氨酸、色氨酸残基的微环境发生明显的变化;紫外吸收光谱在278nm吸收峰随乙醇浓度增大而增强。这些结果表明,酶蛋白分子中的生色基因残 基的微环境发生变化;酶的剩余活力随着乙醇浓度增大而迅速下降,经乙醇失活的酶在正常的测活体系中监测酶活力,发现酶活力可以回升到92％以上,说明酶的乙醇失活是可逆的,可以通过稀释复活。测定乙醇对酶的抑制动力学,表明乙醇对青蟹碱性磷酸酶的抑制作用是反竞争性机制,其抑制常数Ki为11．8％。     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000681

We present the disaster-forced biological evolution model as a general framework that includes Darwinian "phylogenic gradualism",Eldredge-Gould's "punctuated equilibrium",mass extinctions,and allopatric.parapatric,and sympatric speciation.It describes how reproductive isolation of organisms is established through global disasters due to supernova encounters and local disasters due to radioactive volcanic ash fall-outs by continental alkaline volcanism.Our new evolution model uniquely highlights three major factors of disaster-forced speciation:enhanced mutation rate by higher natural radiation level,smaller population size,and shrunken habitat size(i.e.,isolation among the individual populations).We developed a mathematical model describing speciation of a half-isolated group from a parental group,taking into account the population size(N_e),immigration rate(m),and mutation rate(μ).The model gives a quantitative estimate of the speciation,which is consistent with the observations of speciation speed.For example,the speciation takes at least 10~5 generations,if mutation rate is less than10~(-3) per generation per individual.This result is consistent with the previous studies,in which μ is assumed to be 10~(-3)-10~(-5).On the other hand,the speciation is much faster(less than 10~5 generations)for the case that μ is as large as 0.1 in parapatric conditions(m μ).Even a sympatric(m ~ 1) speciation can occur within 10~3 generations,if mutation rate is very high(μ~1 mutation per individual per generation),and if N_e 20-30.Such a high mutation rate is possible during global disasters due to supernova encounters and local disasters due to radioactive ash fall-outs.They raise natural radiation level by a factor of 100-1000.Such rapid speciation events can also contribute to macro-evolution during mass extinction events,such as observed during the Cambrian explosion of biodiversity.A similar rapid speciation(though in a much smaller scale) also has been undergoing in cichlid fishes and great African apes in the last several tens of thousand years in the current African rift valley,including the origin of humankind due to the radioactive ash fall-outs by continental alkaline volcanism.     

一种新的海洋微藻病毒丝氨酸蛋白酶基因的克隆表达及其活性分析

从海洋球石藻Emiliania huxleyi病毒EhV99B1的基因组中克隆了丝氨酸蛋白酶(Sp)基因(GenBank登录号:KC161207),对该基因的开放阅读框(ORF)进行系统的生物信息学分析,并在大肠杆菌中融合表达,通过亲和层析法获得了纯化的重组Sp。结果表明:EhV99B1-Sp基因的ORF为1 110bp,编码368个氨基酸,蛋白相对分子质量为39.5kDa;该基因片段与GenBank中EhV86-Sp的同源性很高,核苷酸及其对应的氨基酸序列同源性分别为95%和97%,而与其他物种Sp序列的同源性仅为28%~32%,说明其可能是丝氨酸蛋白酶家族中的一个新成员;预测的二级结构特征显示EhV99B1-Sp的蛋白结构域中具有典型的LTAGHC(组氨酸活性位点区域)和AICNGDSGGPLF(丝氨酸活性位点区域)两个丝氨酸蛋白酶催化活性位点的氨基酸基序,是一个两次跨膜蛋白;将该基因在大肠杆菌中进行低温诱导表达,得到分子量为60kDa的重组蛋白,经鲤鱼肌肉丝氨酸蛋白酶(MBSP)抗体检测证实为Sp,且重组蛋白在大肠杆菌细胞中具有明显的生物学活性。本研究结果为进一步探讨EhV99B1-Sp在病毒与宿主相互作用过程中的调节作用及其功能与应用奠定基础。     

黄海冷水团海域浮游植物磷胁迫的季节变动

The Yellow Sea is located between the China Mainland and the Korean Peninsula, representing a typical shallow epicontinental sea. The Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass（YSCWM） is one of the most important physical features in the Yellow Sea. The characteristics of vertical profiles and seasonal variations of biogenic elements in the YSCWM may lead the variations of nutrient availability（e.g., phosphorus） and phosphorus stress of phytoplankton. In this study, the authors surveyed the seasonal variations of phytoplankton phosphorus stress with emphasis on the effect of the YSCWM during the four cruises in April and October 2006, March and August 2007. Using both bulk and single-cell alkaline phosphatase activity（APA） assays, this study evaluated phosphorus status of phytoplankton community, succession of phytoplankton community and ecophysiological responses of phytoplankton to phosphorus in the typical region of the YSCWM. With the occurrence of the YSCWM, especially the variations of concentration of dissolved inorganic phosphorus（DIP）, the results of bulk APA appeared corresponding seasonal variations. Along Transects A and B, the mean APA in August was the highest, and that in March was the lowest. According to the ELF-labeled assay＇s results, seasonal variations of the ELF-labeled percentages within dominant species indicated that diatoms were dominant in March, April and October, while dinoflagellates were dominant in August. During the four cruises, the ELF-labeled percentages of diatoms except Paralia sulcata showed that diatoms were not phosphorus deficient in April 2006 at all, but suffered from severe phosphorus stress in August 2007. In comparison, the ELF-labeled percentages of dinoflagellates were all above 50% during the four time series, which meant dinoflagellates such as Alexandrium and Scrippsiella, sustained perennial phosphorus stress.     

酶解糙刺参内脏团蛋白制备抗氧化肽的工艺研究

为了能够有效利用糙刺参内脏蛋白,以水解度为主要指标,对酶解蛋白酶进行了筛选,并系统研究了酶解温度、p H、加酶量和水解时间等单因素对水解度的影响。在此基础上,利用响应面中心组合设计实验,对酶解工艺进行了优化,得到以温度、p H、加酶量及水解时间为因子的二次方程,通过方差分析和验证性实验得出,此二次方程能较好反应海参内脏团蛋白水解度的变化规律,得到最佳水解条件为:温度52.66℃,p H 6.71,加酶量2.5%(质量分数),酶解时间10 h,预测最高水解度为49.58%。最佳酶解条件下所得多肽74%以上分子质量小于500 Da。利用DPPH法测定最佳条件酶解所得多肽的抗氧化活性,3 g/L的抗氧化率达到了24.8%,利用ABTS法测定最佳条件酶解所得多肽的抗氧化活性,3 g/L的抗氧化率达到了0.255μmol/g。为海参内脏蛋白的利用提供了参考。     

Tectonomagmatic origin of some volcanic and sub-volcanic rocks from the Lower Benue rift, Nigeria

Petrological and geochemical studies on some volcanic and sub-volcanic rocks from the Lower Benue rift indicate that they are basalts, basaltic and doleritic sills, trachybasalt and trachyte which generally belong to the alkali basalt series. The alkaline affinity is clearly evident in both their normative and modal mineral compositions, as well as their chemical compositions. The generally high fractionation indices [(La/Yb)N] are 7.06 to 17.65 for the basaltic rocks and 23.59 to 135. 35 for the trachytic ...     

Significance of biofilm proteins in modulating cyprid metamorphosis of Balanus amphitrite (Cirripedia: Thoracica)

The role of biofilm proteins in modulating cyprid metamorphosis is not well understood. In the present investigation this possibility was explored by disrupting biofilm proteins using commercially available protease. The influence of natural biofilm and artificial biofilms of Aeromonas salmonicida salmonicida and Bacillus brevis and their culture supernatants and exopolysaccharides obtained under different nutritional conditions was evaluated. Natural biofilm facilitated cyprid metamorphosis in Balanus amphitrite, whereas monospecies biofilms did not. The treatment of biofilms with protease resulted in a decline in metamorphosis, except in B. brevis, where although metamorphosis was negated initially, it increased with the protease concentration and observation days. As the response of cyprids to exopolysaccharides produced by A. salmonicida salmonicida was dependent on protein concentration, protease treatment resulted in a decrease in metamorphosis, whereas in case of B. brevis biofilms, protease hydrolysis products could be important in providing settlement cues. Thus, biofilm bacterial components play an important role in the cyprid metamorphosis of Balanus amphitrite.