127,030 research outputs found
Comments on “Ochratoxin A: In utero Exposure in Mice Induces Adducts in Testicular DNA. Toxins 2010, 2, 1428–1444”—Mis-Citation of Rat Literature to Justify a Hypothetical Role for Ochratoxin A in Testicular Cancer
A manuscript in the journal recently cited experimental rat data from two manuscripts to support plausibility of a thesis that ochratoxin A might be a cause of human testicular cancer. I believe that there is no experimental evidence that ochratoxin A produces testicular cancer in rats or mice
Effect of core--mantle and tidal torques on Mercury's spin axis orientation
The rotational evolution of Mercury's mantle and its core under conservative
and dissipative torques is important for understanding the planet's spin state.
Dissipation results from tides and viscous, magnetic and topographic
core--mantle interactions. The dissipative core--mantle torques take the system
to an equilibrium state wherein both spins are fixed in the frame precessing
with the orbit, and in which the mantle and core are differentially rotating.
This equilibrium exhibits a mantle spin axis that is offset from the Cassini
state by larger amounts for weaker core--mantle coupling for all three
dissipative core--mantle coupling mechanisms, and the spin axis of the core is
separated farther from that of the mantle, leading to larger differential
rotation. The relatively strong core--mantle coupling necessary to bring the
mantle spin axis to its observed position close to the Cassini state is not
obtained by any of the three dissipative core--mantle coupling mechanisms. For
a hydrostatic ellipsoidal core--mantle boundary, pressure coupling dominates
the dissipative effects on the mantle and core positions, and dissipation
together with pressure coupling brings the mantle spin solidly to the Cassini
state. The core spin goes to a position displaced from that of the mantle by
about 3.55 arcmin nearly in the plane containing the Cassini state. With the
maximum viscosity considered of if the coupling is
by the circulation through an Ekman boundary layer or for purely viscous coupling, the core spin lags the
precessing Cassini plane by 23 arcsec, whereas the mantle spin lags by only
0.055 arcsec. Larger, non hydrostatic values of the CMB ellipticity also result
in the mantle spin at the Cassini state, but the core spin is moved closer to
the mantle spin.Comment: 35 pages, 7 figure
Mid-mantle deformation inferred from seismic anisotropy
With time, convective processes in the Earth's mantle will tend to align crystals, grains and inclusions. This mantle fabric is detectable seismologically, as it produces an anisotropy in material properties—in particular, a directional dependence in seismic-wave velocity. This alignment is enhanced at the boundaries of the mantle where there are rapid changes in the direction and magnitude of mantle flow, and therefore most observations of anisotropy are confined to the uppermost mantle or lithosphere and the lowermost-mantle analogue of the lithosphere, the D" region. Here we present evidence from shear-wave splitting measurements for mid-mantle anisotropy in the vicinity of the 660-km discontinuity, the boundary between the upper and lower mantle. Deep-focus earthquakes in the Tonga–Kermadec and New Hebrides subduction zones recorded at Australian seismograph stations record some of the largest values of shear-wave splitting hitherto reported. The results suggest that, at least locally, there may exist a mid-mantle boundary layer, which could indicate the impediment of flow between the upper and lower mantle in this region
Geo-neutrinos and Earth Models
We present the current status of geo-neutrino measurements and their
implications for radiogenic heating in the mantle. Earth models predict
different levels of radiogenic heating and, therefore, different geo-neutrino
fluxes from the mantle. Seismic tomography reveals features in the deep mantle
possibly correlated with radiogenic heating and causing spatial variations in
the mantle geo-neutrino flux at the Earth surface. An ocean-based observatory
offers the greatest sensitivity to the mantle flux and potential for resolving
Earth models and mantle features. Refinements to estimates of the geo-neutrino
flux from continental crust reduce uncertainty in measurements of the mantle
flux, especially measurements from land-based observatories. These refinements
enable the resolution of Earth models using the combined measurements from
multiple continental observatories.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; Contributed paper TAUP 201
Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope results from ODP Leg 187: Evidence for mantle dynamics of the Australian-Antarctic Discordance and origin of the Indian MORB source
New high precision PIMMS Hf and Pb isotope data for 14–28 Ma basalts recovered during ODP Leg 187 are compared with zero-age dredge samples from the Australian-Antarctic Discordance (AAD). These new data show that combined Nd-Hf isotope systematics can be used as an effective discriminant between Indian and Pacific MORB source mantle domains. In particular, Indian mantle is displaced to lower εNd and higher εHf ratios compared to Pacific mantle. As with Pb isotope plots, there is almost no overlap between the two mantle types in Nd-Hf isotope space. On the basis of our new Nd-Hf isotope data, we demonstrate that Pacific MORB-source mantle was present near the eastern margin of the AAD from as early as 28 Ma, its boundary with Indian MORB-source mantle coinciding with the eastern edge of a basin-wide arcuate depth anomaly that is centered on the AAD. This observation rules out models requiring rapid migration of Pacific MORB mantle into the Indian Ocean basin since separation of Australia from Antarctica. Although temporal variations in isotopic composition can be discerned relative to the fracture zone boundary of the modern AAD at 127°E, the distribution of different compositional groups appears to have remained much the same relative to the position of the residual depth anomaly for the past 30 m.y. Thus significant lateral flow of mantle along the ridge axis toward the interface appears unlikely. Instead, the dynamics that maintain both the residual depth anomaly and the isotopic boundary between Indian and Pacific mantle are due to eastward migration of the Australian and Antarctic plates over a stagnated, but slowly upwelling, slab oriented roughly orthogonal to the ridge axis. Temporal and spatial variations in the compositions of Indian MORB basalts within the AAD can be explained by progressive displacement of shallower Indian MORB-source mantle by deeper mantle having a higher εHf composition ascending ahead of the upwelling slab. Models for the origin of the distinctive composition of the Indian MORB-source based on recycling of a heterogeneous enriched component that consist of ancient altered ocean crust plus<10% pelagic sediment are inconsistent with Nd-Hf isotope systematics. Instead, the data can be explained by a model in which Indian mantle includes a significant proportion of material that was processed in the mantle wedge above a subduction zone and was subsequently mixed back into unprocessed upper mantle
Triple oxygen isotopic composition of the high-<sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He mantle
Measurements of Xe isotope ratios in ocean island basalts (OIB) suggest that Earth’s mantle accreted heterogeneously, and that compositional remnants of accretion are sampled by modern, high-3He/4He OIB associated with the Icelandic and Samoan plumes. If so, the high-3He/4He source may also have a distinct oxygen isotopic composition from the rest of the mantle. Here, we test if the major elements of the high-3He/4He source preserve any evidence of heterogeneous accretion using measurements of three oxygen isotopes on olivine from a variety of high-3He/4He OIB locations. To high precision, the Δ17O value of high-3He/4He olivines from Hawaii, Pitcairn, Baffin Island and Samoa, are indistinguishable from bulk mantle olivine (Δ17OBulk Mantle − Δ17OHigh 3He/4He olivine = −0.002 ± 0.004 (2 × SEM)‰). Thus, there is no resolvable oxygen isotope evidence for heterogeneous accretion in the high-3He/4He source. Modelling of mixing processes indicates that if an early-forming, oxygen-isotope distinct mantle did exist, either the anomaly was extremely small, or the anomaly was homogenised away by later mantle convection.
The δ18O values of olivine with the highest 3He/4He ratios from a variety of OIB locations have a relatively uniform composition (∼5‰). This composition is intermediate to values associated with the depleted MORB mantle and the average mantle. Similarly, δ18O values of olivine from high-3He/4He OIB correlate with radiogenic isotope ratios of He, Sr, and Nd. Combined, this suggests that magmatic oxygen is sourced from the same mantle as other, more incompatible elements and that the intermediate δ18O value is a feature of the high-3He/4He mantle source. The processes responsible for the δ18O signature of high-3He/4He mantle are not certain, but δ18O–87Sr/86Sr correlations indicate that it may be connected to a predominance of a HIMU-like (high U/Pb) component or other moderate δ18O components recycled into the high-3He/4He source
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