Study on Oxygen Isotope Fractionation in RE Oxide Minerals

ＳｔｕｄｙｏｎＯｘｙｇｅｎＩｓｏｔｏｐｅＦｒａｃｔｉｏｎａｔｉｏｎｉｎＲＥＯｘｉｄｅＭｉｎｅｒａｌｓＦａｎｇＴａｏ（方涛），ＱｉｕＹｕｚｈｕｏ（裘愉卓）（ＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＧｅｏｃｈｅｍｉｓｔｒｙ，ＡｃａｄｅｍｉａＳｉｎｉｃａ，Ｇｕｉｙａｎｇ５...     

Geochemical characteristics of the Yufuin outflow plume, Beppu hydrothermal system, Japan

Thermal water at Yufuin (Kyushu Island, Japan) is tapped through about 820 shallow wells and used mainly for hot-spring bathing purposes. Chemical and isotopic data for fluids from wells and fumaroles in Yufuin and Beppu indicate that the thermal activity at Yufuin represents a dilute, westward-flowing hydrothermal outflow plume from the Beppu hydrothermal system. Two other (eastward-flowing) outflow plumes have long been recognized at Beppu, but the Yufuin outflow plume is first recognized here. The Yufuin outflow plume is apparently a mixture of two end-member fluids: (1) deep high-temperature (250–300°C) fluid from the Beppu system having high chloride concentration (1400–1600 mg/L) and a δ¹⁸O value near −6.0%, and (2) meteoric water having low chloride concentration (≤7 mg/L) and a δ¹⁸O value near −9.2%.A permeable conduit for the vertical and lateral transport of deep fluid from the Beppu system is provided by the Yufuin Fault zone, which extends westward from the southern flank of Mt. Tsurumi volcano to the town of Yufuin. Stable isotope ratios and chloride concentrations for shallow groundwaters near the eastern end of the fault, at an elevation near 700 m, are consistent with those required for the low-chloride meteoric end-member of the Yufuin thermal waters. Recharge of this meteoric water, as well as mixing with the Beppu deep fluid, may occur along the Yufuin Fault. Enthalpy-chloride relations indicate additional conductive heating of the Yufuin waters, in the amount of 350–500 kJ/kg beyond that which can be accounted for by mixing between Beppu deep fluid and meteoric water. This could be a result of conductive heating with convection to a depth of 1–2 km. Estimates of the magnitude of the heat source for the Beppu hydrothermal system should take into account the heat being discharged at Yufuin.     

Rapid degradation of the mycotoxin patulin in man quantified by stable isotope dilution assays

The absorption and degradation of the mycotoxin patulin in man was quantified by using a recently developed stable isotope dilution assay. Application of this currently most sensitive method revealed a patulin content less than 200 ng l -1 in the blood serum of five consumers of apple juice. Likewise, no patulin was found in the serum of a volunteer, whose blood was drawn shortly after consumption of a juice containing a maximum tolerable amount of patulin. In further in vitro experiments, the degradation of patulin by reacting it with whole blood was investigated. After addition of 100 μg patulin to 9 ml blood, only 6.1% of the mycotoxin was detected after 2 min. It was concluded, therefore, that even high naturally occurring concentrations of patulin in foods are quickly degraded before reaching other tissues than the gastrointestinal tract.     

Finding nondegenerate Hopf bifurcation points for four-dimensional two-parametric systems

We establish a numerically feasible algorithm to find a simplicial approximation A to a certain part of the boundary of the set of stable (or Hurwitz) polynomials of degree 4. Moreover, we have that . Using this, we build an algorithm to find a piecewise-linear approximation to the intersection curve of a given surface contained in ⁴ with . We have also devised an efficient computer program to perform all these operations. The main motivation is to find the curve of nondegenerate bifurcation points in parameter space for a given 2-parametric Hopf bifurcation problem of dimension 4.     

The use of the stable isotope 44Ca in studies of calcium incorporation into dentin

The incorporation into rat incisor dentin of two calcium isotopes, the stable ⁴⁴Ca and the radioactive ⁴⁵Ca, was studied using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) stepscanning and imaging, and autoradiography, respectively. The results demonstrated a time-dependent incorporation of the calcium isotopes into the mineral phase of dentin. With the SIMS step-scanning, detecting ⁴⁴Ca, the ion yield was high in the odontoblasts 2 min after intravenous injection. After 10 min a marked increase in signal intensity was found at the dentin mineralization front. This result was consistent with those obtained by ⁴⁵Ca autoradiography; a peak of incorporation occurred 10 min after injection of the isotope. Likewise, localization of ⁴⁴Ca to the mineralization front could be demonstrated 10 min after injection by SIMS imaging. In images obtained at earlier intervals, no such increase in ion yield could be detected. The results show that the nonradioactive, stable isotope ⁴⁴Ca can be used as a marker for biomineralization in a similar way to radioactive ⁴⁵Ca.     

Limited evidence of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) consumption by freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) in Lake Winnipeg

Freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) may be a predator of the invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), which established in Lake Winnipeg in 2013. In this study, the diets, trophic position, and growth of 51 freshwater drum collected in 2019 (six years post-zebra mussel invasion) were compared to 64 freshwater drum sampled in 2000. Benthic insect larvae were the dominant food items in both years. Although mollusks occur in high densities in Lake Winnipeg, they were only consumed by a few freshwater drum in either sample year. Zebra mussels were not a frequent prey item in 2019 as they were only consumed by four of the sampled freshwater drum. Stable isotope analysis of white muscle tissue yielded similar δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in both years and were consistent with a benthic, insectivorous diet. Length-at-age data derived from otoliths revealed that the 2019 population had at least an equal growth rate to the 2000 population. Weight-at-length data suggested that fish condition was greater in 2019 than in 2000, which coincided with increased benthic macroinvertebrate density in Lake Winnipeg. Based on these findings, Lake Winnipeg freshwater drum continue to feed predominantly on insect larvae and not zebra mussels.     

多孔β-TCP陶瓷药物载体的制备与体外释药速率的研究

本文用注浆成形的方法制备了以β-TCP为主晶相的多孔药物载体，体外测定了利福平的释药速率。实验结果表明，利福平在模拟体液中能够达到稳定的释放，可以作为骨结核手术后的辅助治疗。多孔β-TCP药物载体有望成为一种理想的药物缓释载体。     

Chemical and Isotopic Tracer Evaluation of Water Mixing and Evaporation in a Dammed Texas River During Drought

The interaction between drought and river regulation is monitored to better understand river flow mixing, evaporation and surface‐groundwater exchange in changing regional climates and in increasingly regulated waterways. This study compared Brazos River stable isotope (δ¹⁸O and δD) and electrical conductivity values with reservoir, creek and aquifer samples in the Brazos watershed, the largest watershed in Texas. The combination of tributaries, rainfall and the Brazos River Alluvium Aquifer, on the one hand, and the Lake Whitney reservoir, on the other hand, represent endmembers of dilute run‐off water and evaporated saline water, respectively. A simple isotope mixing model that uses monthly river discharge, Lake Whitney discharge, historical monthly precipitation δ¹⁸O and pan evaporation accurately reconstructs river δ¹⁸O (±0.5‰ on average). Data and isotope balance modelling support continued evaporation of ¹⁸O‐enriched Lake Whitney water as it flows downstream, although the most evaporation took place in Lake Whitney. The difference between river and precipitation δ¹⁸O, or Δ¹⁸O_RIV‐_PPT, here a measurement of degree of evaporation, ranged from ?0.1‰ for a small creek, to 1.7‰ for the Brazos River, to at least 2.7‰ in Lake Whitney. This study indicates that drought in regulated rivers may enhance reservoir discharge dominance in river flows during peak drought conditions when combined run‐off and baseflow dominance would be expected in a similar undammed river. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and Characterization of 17O-Enriched Alumina for Nuclear Fusion Damage Experiments

Alumina enriched in ¹⁷O was successfully fabricated from aluminum isopropoxide and water containing the ¹⁷O isotope. This material was necessary for an experiment to study the radiation damage expected in alumina exposed to a nuclear fusion reactor environment. The enrichment levels of specimens subjected to different preparation schedules were measured using a nuclear reaction analysis technique. Replacement of the ¹⁷O isotope in the ceramic by atmospheric oxygen occurred readily. Therefore, successful fabrication of suitably enriched alumina specimens required that all processing steps be performed under vacuum or inertgas environments. The optimum fabrication procedure produced enriched alumina specimens of >99.5% of theoretical density, ∽10-μm grain size, and a flexural strength of 280 MPa.     

渭北西部中奥陶统碳酸盐岩地球化学特征及古环境恢复

通过对渭北西部中奥陶统马家沟组碳酸盐岩C、O同位素和微量元素的测试分析和对C、O同位素原始性的评估与校正,分析该地区马家沟期的古环境。对古沉积环境的盐度、温度、气候及氧化还原性进行了定性与定量分析。分别采用公式法与最小二乘法对古温度与古气候进行了定量分析,并比较其差异,研究认为综合这2种算法可有效反映古环境的气候与温度等信息。