Using otolith weight to predict the age of Pennahia macrocephalus in the mouth of the Beibu Gulf

The relation between otolith weight (OW) and the age of marine fish is studied. A total of 222 individuals of bighead white croaker, Pennahia macrocephalus were sampled seasonally in the mouth of the Beibu Gulf, the South China Sea, in 2007. Since there are no significant differences in sagittal OW between otolith in pairs (Pa parts per thousand yen0.05), the undamaged left sagittal otolith is used for age determination. The highest correlations among standard length, OW and fish ages are confirmed by linear, exponential and multinomial regression. Results show that sagittal OW overlaps only occasionally among age groups, and to individuals with similar standard length, the older and slower-growing fish has a heavier otolith because of the continued otolith material deposition. There are differences in sagittal OW among different age groups and significant positive linear relationship with age (P < 0.05). The age readings can be verified by plotting the sagittal OW versus the standard length for age groups, and the individuals with similar standard length but in different ages can be separated by sagittal OW frequency analysis. Mostly, the predicted ages using the regression between sagittal OW and ages are closed to the observed ages by counting annulus on scale. It indicates that the sagittal OW analysis is a useful technique for validating the accuracy of age determination by annuli counts, especially for individuals of similar size. Furthermore, the technique is applied for Pennahia macrocephalus with discussion in this paper.

ISOTOPIC CHARACTERISTICS AND AGE DATING OF THE PUMICE IN OKINAWA TROUGH

The data on the isotope compositions of rubidium, strontium and oxygen in the pumice of Okinawa Trough are reported for the first time. The ages of the pumice were successfully dated with the method of U-series disequilibrium. Then, the material source, crystallization evolution of magma and activity cycles of volcanos are explored. Isotopic data show that pumice magma was originally from the mantle, but had undergone a full crystallization differentiation and had been contaminated to a fair extent by crust-derived materials before the magma was erupted out of the sea floor. According to the dating results available so far, the earliest volcanic eruption in Okinawa Trough occurred about 70,000 a ago and the latest eruption was about 10,000 a B.P. During this period, there were three volcanic eruption cycles which were respectively corresponding to the middle Late Pleistocene, the late Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene.

THE COMPOUND EYE AS AN INDICATOR OF AGE AND SHRINKAGE IN ANTARCTIC KRILL

Laboratory studies have shown that Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) shrink if maintained in conditions of low food availability. Recent studies have also demonstrated that E. superba individuals may be shrinking in the field during winter. If krill shrink during the winter, conclusions reached by length-frequency analysis may be unreliable because smaller animals may not necessarily be younger animals. In this study, the correlation between the body-length and the crystalline cone number of the compound eye was examined. Samples collected in the late summer show an apparent linear relationship between crystalline cone number and body-length. From a laboratory population, it appears that when krill shrink the crystalline cone number remains relatively unchanged. If crystalline cone number is little affected by shrinking, then the crystalline cone number may be a more reliable indicator of age than body-length alone. The ratio of crystalline cone number to body-length offers a method for detecting the effect of shrinking in natural populations of krill. On the basis of the crystalline cone number count, it appears from a field collection in early spring that E. superba do shrink during winter.

荣成基底片麻岩原岩岩石成因及其构造意义

Extensive high to ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks are outcropped in the the Dabie-Sulu UHP orogenic belt. Disputes still exist about for protolith nature of metamorphic rocks, petrogenesis, tectonic setting, and influence on upper mantle during the Triassic deep subduction. In this study, a combined study of petrology, geochemistry, isotope geochemistry and zircon chronology was accomplished for high-grade gneisses in the basement of the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic Rongcheng terrane to reveal protolith nature and petrogenesis of the gneisses and to disucss the magmatic succession along the northern margin of the Yangtze block in Neoproterozoic. Gneisses in the Rongcheng terrane are characterized by negative Nb, Ta, P and Ti anomalies, relatively low Sr/Y ratios and relatively high Ba/La, Ba/Nb and Ba/Zr ratios, mostly displaying geochemical affinity to Phanerozoic volcanic arc. Neoproterozoic protolith ages (0.7 ~ 0.8 Ga) and Paleoproterozoic average crustal residence time (1.92 ~ 2.21 Ga) favour a Yangtze affinity. The gneisses mostly display characteristics of enrichment of LREE, flat heavy rare earth elements (REE) patterns, moderately fractionation between LREE and HREE and slight negative or positive Eu anomalies, probably reflecting that melting took place in the middle to low crust (26 ~ 33 km), where amphibole fractionated from the melts and/or inherited from source material as major mineral phases in the source area. Sr-Nd isotopic composition of the gneisses supports this conclusion. According to εNd(t) and εHf(t) values, the gneisses can be divided into three groups. Gneisses of group I have the highest εNd(t) and εHf(t) values, corresponding to the range of -6 ~ -3 and -2.9 ~ 13.4, respectively. This suggests obvious influx of depleted mantle or juvenile crust in the formation of protoliths. Gneisses of group II have medium εNd(t) (-9 ~ -7) and εHf(t) values (-15.8 ~ -1.4), corresponding to relatively high TDM2(Nd) (1.99 ~ 2.31 Ga) and TDM2(Hf) (1.76 ~ 2.67 Ga) , respectively. This suggests these gneisses were formed by partial melting of Paleoproterozoic crust. Gneisses of group III have the lowest εNd(t) (-15 ~ -10) and εHf(t) values (-15.8 ~ -1.4), corresponding to the largest TDM2(Nd) (1.99 ~ 2.31 Ga) and TDM2(Hf) ( 1.76 ~ 2.67 Ga), respectively. This indicates that gneisses of group III were formed by remelting of Archean crustal material and further demonstrates existence of an Archean basement probably of the Yangtze affinity beneath the Rongcheng terrane. Gneisses of three groups have also certain different geochemical characteristics. Contents of REEs and trace elements reduce gradually from group I to group III. Zirconium saturation temperatures also show similar tendency. Compared to gneisses of group II and group III, gneisses of group I display geochemical feature similar to extensional tectonic setting, having relatively little influence by the source area. Therefore, geochemical characteristics for gneisses of group I can indictate that the protoliths of the Rongcheng gneisses formed in an extensional rifting tectonic setting. This conclusion is supported by the results of eclogites and gabbros previously reported in the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. Statistical results of the protolith ages of the Rongcheng gneisses show two age peaks around ~728 Ma and ~783 Ma with an about 50 Ma gap. Extensive magatism in abou 750 Ma along the northern margin of the Yangtze block can hardly be observed in the Rongcheng terrane. This phenomenon likely suggests discontinuous Neoproterozoic magmatism along the northern margin of the Yangtze block.

内蒙古中部道郎和都格铜多金属矿的地质特征矿床类型及找矿模式研究

Daolangheduge copper polymetallic deposit is located on east edge of Ondor Sum-Bainaimiao metallogenic belt, which is a prospective area of porphyry copper deposit, in Xianghuangqi of central Inner Mongolia. Geotectonically, it occurred in the continental margin accretion belt along the north margin of North China Plate, south of the suture zone between North China Plate and Siberian Plate. The intrusive rocks in this area mainly consist of intermediate-acid magmatic rocks, and the quartz veins, tourmaline veins and the transitional phase are comparatively developed. According to our research, the ore-bearing rock body is mainly quartz diorite while the surrounding rock is mainly biotite granite. Besides, the wall rock alteration are mainly propylitization, pyritization and silicification, which consist of epidotization, actinolitization, chloritzation and so on. The metallic minerals are mainly chalcopyrite and pyrite. In addition, the primary ore is mainly of quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite type. Above all, Daolangheduge copper polymetallic deposit is suggested to be categorized in the porphyry copper type. With isotopic dating and geochemical research on quartz diorite of ore-bearing rock body, the zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of two samples yields an age of 266±2 Ma, falling into the range of late Permian Epoch. It is the first accurate age data in Xianghuangqi area, so it should play a key role in the research of deposit and magmatic rocks in this area. With the major elements and trace elements analysis of 14 samples, the quartz diorite should be among the calc-alkaline series, the geochemical characteristics show higher large-ion lithophile elements of Rb, Sr and LREE, low high-field strength elements of Nb, Ta and high transition elements of Cu, Cr . Also, the REE patterns have negative Eu anomalies. With the same analysis of 4 sample for the biotite granite, the geochemical characteristics show higher Rb, Th,, Zr, Hf and LREE, low Nb, Sm and HREE and Eu has no anomaly. It should be among the calc-alkaline series, over aluminum quality and has characteristics of Adakites. According to isotopic dating and geochemical characteristics of ore-bearing rock body, it is suggested that its materials mainly derived from upper mantle that had fractional crystallization and its magma source region may be affected by fluid metasomatism of paleo-asian ocean. It should be an extensional process of post-orogeny according to regional tectonic evolution. Consequently, because of the decrease of temperature and pressure, the ore forming fluid was raised to surface and mineralized accompanied by magmatic activity which might occur in south of the suture zone. By geological survey, further geophysical and geochemical work is needed. In this area, we have accomplished high precision magnetic prospecting, high density electrical survey, gravity prospecting, soil geochemical prospecting, X-ray fluorescence analyzer prospecting and so on. According to geophysical and geochemical abnormal and surface occurrence, 11 drills are arranged to verification. The type of ores are mainly quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite ores within 3 drills by drill core logging. Although the grade as well as the scale of already-found Cu deposits are insufficient for industrial exploitation, the mineralization prospect in this region is supposed to be great and the potential in mineral exploration at depth is excellent.

中-新元古代海洋的硫和碳同位素的演化

Data on seawater carbon isotope in the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic is abundant. However, the sulfur isotopic age curve of seawater sulfates determined through the analysis of sulfur isotopic composition of marine evaporite is uncertain in the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic since evaporites are generally rare in Precambrian. The Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic Carbonate Formations preserve not only the carbon isotopic records, but also the sulfur isotopic records of coeval seawater in the Huabei Platform and the Yangtze Platform, China. Sulfur isotopic composition can be determined by the extraction of trace sulfate from carbonate samples. Successive measurements of sulfur and carbon isotopic compositions of carbonate samples from the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic strata in the Huabei Platform and the Yangtze Platform was accomplished through the extracting of trace sulfate from carbonates. Sulfur and carbon isotopic compositions of coeval seawater were obtained from analytical results of sulfur and carbon isotopes of the same sample without diagenetic alteration. The high-resolution age curve of sulfur isotope given in this paper may reflect the trend of variations in sulfur isotope composition of seawater sulfates during the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic. It can be correlated with the characteristics of variation in age curve of carbon isotope of coeval seawater carbonates. The δ34S values of seawater varied from +10.3-37.0‰ during the Mesoproterozoic, which took on oscillated variation on the whole. The δ34S values took on high values in the Mesoproterozoic Chuanlinggou stage, Tuanshanzi stage Tieling stage and in Neoproterozoic Jing'eryu stage. The average of those was about +30‰. The sulfates have low δ34S values in the Mesoproterozoic Yangzhuang stage and Hongshuizhuang stage, The average of those was all lower than +20‰. There occured large-amplitude changs in δ34S values of seawater during the Mesoproterozoic. Large-amplitude oscillate of 534S values occured in the intervals of 1600~1400Ma and 1300~1200Ma. The δ13C values of seawater are mostly negative in Changcheng stage of late Paleoproterozoic, -0 ± 1‰ range in Jixian stage of Mesoproterozoic , and the positive 2±2‰ commonly in early Neoproterozoic Jing'eryu stage. From 1000 Ma to 900 Ma, about 108 years interval of oceanic 513C record is shortage. At the end of Paleoproterozoic (1700 - 1600 Ma), the oceanic 813C values change from -3‰ to 0‰, but strongly oscillate near 1600 Ma. Two larger variations of seawater 513C values occur in the Mesoproterozoic: one is a cycle of about 4%o happens at ca. 1400 Ma; another is rise from >2‰ to>5‰ at ca. 1250 Ma and then become stable at the near 1000 Ma. There appears a large positive excursion over +20‰ in 534S value of ancient seawater sulfates in the early Doushantuo stage. Simultaneously, 8 C values of ancient seawater occur a positive excursion reaching 10‰. These allow δ4S values and 513C values to reach high values of+51.7‰ and +6.9‰, respectively. The range of variation in 834S values of seawater is relatively narrow and 513C values are quite high in the middle Doushantuo stage. Then, δ34S values of seawater become oscillating, the same happens in δ13C values. Negative excursions in 834S values and 813C values occur simultaneously at the end of the Doushantuo stage, and the minimum of δ34S values and δ13C values dropped to -11.3‰ and -5.7‰, respectively. The ancient seawater in the Dengying stage has high δS values and δ13C values. Most of the δ34S values of the trace sulfate samples varied between +23.6‰ and +37.9‰ except two boundaries of the Dengying Formation, and the S13C values of the carbonate samples of the Dengying Formation varied between +0.5‰ and +5.0‰. There appeared large negative excursion in 834S values and δ13C values of ancient seawater at the bounder of Precambrian-Cambrian. The isotopic characteristics of sulfur and carbon implicated that the organic productivity and isotopic fractionation caused by biology were low and the palaeoceanic environment was quite unstable during the Mesoproterozoic. The increase and subsequent oscillation of seawater δ13C value occurred from 1700 to 1600 Ma and near 1300 Ma may be responsible to the two global tectonic events happened at coeval time. The characteristics of variation in sulfur and carbon isotopes of ancient seawater imply strong changes in oceanic environment, which became beneficial to inhabitation and propagation of organism. The organic production and the burial rate of organic carbon once reached a quite high level during the Doushantuo stage. However, the state of environment became unstable that means the global climate and the environment possibly were fluctuating and reiterating after the global glaciation. The negative excursions of S34S values and δ13C values occurring at the end of the Doushantuo stage represent a global event, which might be relative to the oxidation of deep seawater. The isotopic characteristics of sulfur and carbon implicated that there were a high organic productivity and a high burial rate of organic carbon in the Dengying stage. It is obvious that the palaeoceanic environment in Dengying stage was stable corresponding and beneficial for biology to inhabit and propagate except for the two boundaries. The tendency of sulfur and carbon isotopic variations maybe resulted from the gradual oxygenation of ocean environment during the Dengying stage. It has been reported that the secular variations of the sulfur isotopic compositions in seawater was negative correlated with that of carbon isotopic compositions. However, our results show that it is not the case. They were negatively correlated in some intervals and positively in some other intervals of the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic. The difference in correlation may be associated with the changes in conditions of redox in oceanic environment, e.g. sharp change of the oxidation-reduction interface. The strong changes in global environment may induce the abnormality to occur in the biogeo chemical S and C cycles in the ocean and accordingly sharp Variations in isotopic composition of seawater sulfur and carbon during the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic. Simultaneously, the global tectonism caused large changes of 87Sr/86Sr ratios. The leading factor that causes the variation in isotopic composition is different in the different intervals of the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic. Thus, there may exist different models of the biogeochemical S and C cycles in the ocean during the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic.

心算年老化的认知心理机制及功能磁共振成像研究

Mechanisms underlying cognitive psychology and cerebral physiological of mental arithmetic with increasing are were studied by using behavioral methods and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). I. Studies on mechanism underlying cognitive psychology of mental arithmetic with increasing age These studies were accomplished in 172 normal subjects ranging from 20 to 79 years of age with above 12 years of education (Mean = 1.51, SD = 1.5). Five mental arithmetic tasks, "1000-1", "1000-3", "1000-7", "1000-13", "1000-17", were designed with a serial calculation in which subjects sequentially subtracted the same prime number (1, 3, 7, 13, 17) from another number 1000. The variables studied were mental arithmetic, age, working memory, and sensory-motor speed, and four studies were conducted: (1) Aging process of mental arithmetic with different difficulties, (2) mechanism of aging of mental arithmetic processing. (3) effects of working memory and sensory-motor speed on aging process of mental arithmetic, (4) model of cognitive aging of mental arithmetic, with statistical methods such as MANOVA, hierarchical multiple regression, stepwise regression analysis, structural equation modelling (SEM). The results were indicated as following: Study 1: There was an obvious interaction between age and mental arithmetic, in which reaction time (RT) increased with advancing age and more difficult mental arithmetic, and mental arithmetic efficiency (the ratio of accuracy to RT) deceased with advancing age and more difficult mental arithmetic; Mental arithmetic efficiency with different difficulties decreased in power function: Study 2: There were two mediators (latent variables) in aging process of mental arithmetic, and age had an effect on mental arithmetic with different difficulties through the two mediators; Study 3: There were obvious interactions between age and working memory, working memory and mental arithmetic; Working memory and sensory-motor speed had effects on aging process of mental arithmetic, in which the effect of working memory on aging process of mental arithmetic was about 30-50%, and the effect of sensory-motor speed on aging process of mental arithmetic was above 35%. Study 4: Age, working memory, and sensory-motor speed had effects on two latent variables (factor 1 and factor 2), then had effects on mental arithmetic with different difficulties through factor 1 which was relative to memory component, and factor 2 which relative to speed component and had an effect on factor 1 significantly. II. Functional magnetic resonance imaging study on metal arithmetic with increasing age This study was accomplished in 14 normal right-handed subjects ranging from 20 to 29 (7 subjects) and 60 to 69 (7 subjects) years of age by using functional magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, a superconductive Signa Horizon 1.5T MRI system. Two mental arithmetic tasks, "1000-3" and "1000-17", were designed with a serial calculation in which subjects sequentially subtracted the same prime number (3 or 17) from another number 1000 silently, and controlling task, "1000-0", in which subjects continually rehearsed number 1000 silently, was regarded as baseline, based on current "baseline-task" OFF-ON subtraction pattern. Original data collected by fMRI apparatus, were analyzed off-line in SUN SPARC working station by using current STIMULATE software. The analytical steps were composed of within-subject analysis, in which brain activated images about mental arithmetic with two difficulties were obtained by using t-test, and between-subject analysis, in which features of brain activation about mental arithmetic with two difficulties, the relationship between left and right hemisphere during mental arithmetic, and age differences of brain activation in young and elderly adults were examined by using non-parameter Wilcoxon test. The results were as following:

Age-dependence of urinary normal and modified nucleosides in childhood as determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Modified nucleosides have been characterized as tumor markers for a number of malignant diseases. In order to use these markers in children, the age-dependence of the nucleoside levels in healthy children has to be established and taken into account in diagnostic decisions. In this study, the levels of 12 normal and modified nucleosides in urine of 166 healthy children and adolescents with an age between 1 day and 19 years are determined by reversed-phase HPLC, and age-dependent reference ranges are defined. The urinary nucleoside concentrations are related to the creatinine concentrations, which allows the use of randomly collected urine samples. All nucleoside levels in urine of children decrease with age, most pronounced during the first 4 years of life, and the age-dependence of the reference values of the individual nucleosides can be approximated by a mathematical function y = b(0) + b(1) (1/x) with the regression coefficients b(0) and b(1), the nucleoside levels y and the age x between 1 year and 19 years. In the very young children, the shifts in the nucleoside concentrations are more differentiated. Starting with low levels on the first day of life, the concentrations of all studied nucleosides rise up to an age of 1-2 months, when they reach their absolute maximum for all age periods, and then decrease. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.