ALBERT

Description: In this study we present dissolved and particulate 230Th and 232Th results, as well as particulate 234Th data, obtained as part of the GEOTRACES central Arctic Ocean sections GN04 (2015) and IPY11 (2007). Samples were analyzed following GEOTRACES methods, and compared to previous results from 1991. We observe significant decreases in 230Th concentrations in the deep waters of the Nansen Basin. We ascribe this non-steady state removal process to a variable release and scavenging of trace metals near an ultra-slow spreading ridge. This finding demonstrates that hydrothermal scavenging in the deep-sea may vary on annual time scales and highlights the importance of repeated GEOTRACES sections

Description: Most lakes in the interior Tibetan Plateau have expanded rapidly since the late 1990s. Because of a lack of observations, lake water balances and their changes are far from well understood. Evaporation is a component of the lake water balance, and this study quantifies its magnitude, decadal change, and its contribution to the water balance changes in Lake Nam Co, one of the largest lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (with an area of approximately 2000 km 2 and a mean depth of approximately 40 m). The lake temperature and the evaporation are simulated by the Flake model. The simulation results are validated against observed lake temperature profile from 2013 and MODIS lake surface temperature data from 2000-2014. The simulated latent heat flux and sensible heat flux are validated against Bowen ratio-derived estimates for 2013. Based on the validated simulation results, the long-term mean annual evaporation is approximately 832 ± 69 mm, and this value is much less than the potential evaporation estimated using the Penman-Monteith equation. The annual evaporation from 1980-2014 displays a complex decadal oscillation, mainly due to the changes in energy-related terms (air temperature and radiation). The mean lake evaporation since the late 1990s is greater than previous periods; thus, this change in evaporation has suppressed the recent expansion of Nam Co.

Description: Abstract Dynamic changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) have become a popular topic in global research on organic carbon as part of the increasing attention being paid to food security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, the semiarid regions of China were selected as a research focus, and SOC data from 1980–2015 were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0 software. SOC in farmland varied according to cultivated land type, mulching material type, and planting method in the studied regions. The SOC content is 10.3–10.8 g/kg in supplementally irrigated land and flat dry land, 7.1–8.7 g/kg in terraced dry land and river beach land, and 6.2–6.4 g/kg in sloping dry land. The SOC content increased to 16.1–17.4 g/kg when crop stalks were used as mulch. The increase was only 11.5‐13.5 g/kg in soils mulched with film or sandstone. The SOC value in wheat, maize, and potatoes sown on single or double ridges was 2.4–3.2%, 35.7–36.4% and 4.4–4.8%, respectively, which are higher than the values for wheat, maize, and potatoes sown using the flat planting method. The SOC sequestering potential also varied according to the previously noted factors and was improved from 224.1–383.8% depending on cultivated land type, from 96.5–182.3% depending on mulching material type, and from 96.1–191.3% depending on planting method. The SOC sequestering potential can be improved by 453.2–757.4% with the integration of the optimal cultivated land type, mulching material type, and planting method. Thus, there is substantial soil carbon sequestration potential in China's semiarid regions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Abstract In this work, we report a lead‐free piezoelectric ceramic of (0.9‐x)NaNbO3‐0.1BaTiO3‐xBaZrO3, and the effects of BaZrO3 on the phase structure, microstructure, electrical properties and temperature stability are investigated. A morphotropic phase boundary‐like region consisting of rhombohedral (R) and tetragonal (T) phases is constructed in the compositions with x = 0.035‐0.04. More importantly, in situ temperature independence of the piezoelectric effect {piezoelectric constant (d33) and strain} can be achieved below the Curie temperature (Tc). Intriguingly, the electric field‐induced strain is still observed at T ≥ Tc due to the combined actions of the electrostrictive effect and the electric field‐induced phase transition. We believe that NaNbO3‐based ceramics of this type have potential for applications in actuators and sensors.

Description: Background: Liver is an important metabolic organ that plays a critical role in lipid synthesis, degradation, and transport; however, the molecular regulatory mechanisms of lipid metabolism remain unclear in chicken. In this study, RNA-Seq technology was used to investigate differences in expression profiles of hepatic lipid metabolism-related genes and associated pathways between juvenile and laying hens. The study aimed to broaden the understanding of liver lipid metabolism in chicken, and thereby to help improve laying performance in the poultry industry. Results: RNA-Seq analysis was carried out on total RNA harvested from the liver of juvenile (n = 3) and laying (n = 3) hens. Compared with juvenile hens, 2567 differentially expressed genes (1082 up-regulated and 1485 down-regulated) with P ≤ 0.05 were obtained in laying hens, and 960 of these genes were significantly differentially expressed (SDE) at a false discovery rate (FDR) of ≤0.05 and fold-change ≥2 or ≤0.5. In addition, most of the 198 SDE novel genes (91 up-regulated and 107 down-regulated) were discovered highly expressed, and 332 SDE isoforms were identified. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis showed that the SDE genes were most enrichment in steroid biosynthesis, PPAR signaling pathway, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, glycerophospholipid metabolism, three amino acid pathways, and pyruvate metabolism (P ≤ 0.05). The top significantly enriched GO terms among the SDE genes included lipid biosynthesis, cholesterol and sterol metabolic, and oxidation reduction, indicating that principal lipogenesis occurred in the liver of laying hens. Conclusions: This study suggests that the majority of changes at the transcriptome level in laying hen liver were closely related to fat metabolism. Some of the SDE uncharacterized novel genes and alternative splicing isoforms that were detected might also take part in lipid metabolism, although this needs further investigation. This study provides valuable information about the expression profiles of mRNAs from chicken liver, and in-depth functional investigations of these mRNAs could provide new insights into the molecular networks of lipid metabolism in chicken liver.

Description: Independent measurements of the volumetric and elastic properties of Columbia River basalt glass were made up to 5.5 GPa by high-pressure X-ray microtomography and GHz-ultrasonic interferometry, respectively. The Columbia River basalt displays P- and S-wave velocity minima at 4.5 and 5 GPa, respectively, violating Birch's Law. These data constrain the pressure dependence of the density and elastic moduli at high pressure, which cannot be modeled through usual equations of state nor determined by step-wise integrating the bulk sound velocity as is common practice. We propose a systematic variation in compression behavior of silicate glasses that is dependent on the degree of polymerization and arises from the flexibility of the aluminosilicate network. This behavior likely persists into the liquid state for basaltic melts resulting in weak pressure dependence for P-wave velocities perhaps to depths of the transition zone. Modeling the effect of partial melt on P-wave velocity reductions suggest that melt fraction determined by seismic velocity variations may be significantly overestimated in the crust and upper mantle.

Description: Ultrasonic interferometry measurements in conjunction with in situ X-ray techniques have been used to measure compressional and shear wave velocities and densities of MgSiO3 perovskite (Mg-Pv) and Mg0.95Fe0.042+Fe0.013+SiO3 perovskite ((Mg, Fe)-Pv) in the multianvil at pressures up to 25 GPa and temperatures to 1200 K. Data for Mg-Pv are consistent with previous studies and the (Mg, Fe)-Pv sample has almost identical shear properties to Mg-Pv. The adiabatic bulk modulus, Ks, for (Mg, Fe)-Pv, however, is found to be substantially lower than Mg-Pv, with a refined value of 236 GPa and a pressure derivative of 4.7. It is proposed that this low KS value result from a change in the elasticity of Fe-bearing perovskite at low pressures

Description: [1]  Phase relations in harzburgite have been determined between 14 and 24 GPa and 1473 and 1673 K. At 1673 K, harzburgite transformed to wadsleyite + garnet + clinopyroxene below 19 GPa and decomposed into an assemblage of ringwoodite + garnet + stishovite above 20 GPa. Certain amounts of akimotoite were produced at still higher pressures (22–23 GPa). Finally perovskite and magnesiowüstite were found to coexist with garnet at 24.2 GPa. Compositions of all the phases were analyzed and elemental partitioning coefficients were determined among co-existing phases. Combining our experimental data with available thermoelastic properties of major minerals in the earth's mantle, we modeled the velocity and density signatures of the stagnated oceanic slabs in the mantle transition zone (MTZ) under eastern China, based on kinematic slab thermal structure analysis. We examined two end-member slab models: a conventional straight slab with deformation thickening, and an undulated slab with an oscillating wavelength of 200 km. We found that an undulated (buckled) slab model yields velocity anomalies (about 1–2% for Vp) that are consistent with seismic tomography models, taking into account of low-pass filtering effects in seismic tomography studies. On the other hand, straight slab models yield velocity anomalies that are too high comparing with seismic tomography models. Our models provide important constraints on the thermal structure, mineralogy, composition, density, and velocities of slab materials in the MTZ.

Description: Background: Large amounts of mammalian protein-protein interaction (PPI) data have been generated and are available for public use. From a systems biology perspective, protein/gene interactions encode the key mechanisms distinguishing disease and health, and such mechanisms can be uncovered through network analysis. An effective network analysis tool should integrate different content-specific PPI databases into a comprehensive network format with a user-friendly platform to identify key functional modules/pathways and the underlying mechanisms of disease and toxicity. Results: atBioNet integrates seven publicly available PPI databases into a network-specific knowledge base. Knowledge expansion is achieved by expanding a user supplied protein/gene list with interactions from its integrated PPI network. The statistically significant functional modules are determined by applying a fast network-clustering algorithm (SCAN: a Structural Clustering Algorithm for Networks). The functional modules can be visualized either separately or together in the context of the whole network. Integration of pathway information enables enrichment analysis and assessment of the biological function of modules. Three case studies are presented using publicly available disease gene signatures as a basis to discover new biomarkers for acute leukemia, systemic lupus erythematosus, and breast cancer. The results demonstrated that atBioNet can not only identify functional modules and pathways related to the studied diseases, but this information can also be used to hypothesize novel biomarkers for future analysis. Conclusion: atBioNet is a free web-based network analysis tool that provides a systematic insight into protein/gene interactions through examining significant functional modules. The identified functional modules are useful for determining underlying mechanisms of disease and biomarker discovery. It can be accessed at: http://www.fda.gov/ScienceResearch/BioinformaticsTools/ucm285284.htm

Description: We use receiver functions calculated for data collected by the INDEPTH-IV seismic array to image the three-dimensional geometry of the crustal and upper mantle velocity discontinuities beneath northeastern Tibet. Our results indicate an average crustal thickness of 65 to 70 km in northern Tibet. In addition, we observe a 20 km Moho offset beneath the northern margin of the Kunlun Mountains, a 10 km Moho offset across the Jinsha River Suture and gently northward dipping Moho beneath the Qaidam Basin. A region in the central Qiangtang Terrane with higher than normal crustal Vp/Vs ratio of ∼1.83 can be the result of the Eocene magmatic event. In the Qiangtang Terrane, we observe a significant lithospheric mantle discontinuity beneath the Bangong-Nujiang Suture at 80 km depth which dips ∼10° to the north, reaching ∼120 km depth. We interpret this feature as either a piece of Lhasa Terrane or remnant oceanic slab underthrust below northern Tibet. We detect a ∼20 km depression of the 660-km discontinuity in the mantle transition zone beneath the northern Lhasa Terrane in central Tibet, which suggests this phase transition has been influenced by a dense and/or cold oceanic slab. A modest ∼10 km depression of the 410-km discontinuity located beneath the northern Qiangtang Terrane may be the result of localized warm upwelling associated with small-scale convection induced by the penetration of the sinking Indian continental lithosphere into the transition zone beneath the central Tibetan Plateau.