323 research outputs found
Distinct degassing pulses during magma invasion in the stratified Karoo Basin – New insights from hydrothermal fluid flow modelling
Magma emplacement in organic‐rich sedimentary basins is a main driver of past environmental crises. Using a 2D numerical model, we investigate the process of thermal cracking in contact aureoles of cooling sills and subsequent transport and emission of thermogenic methane by hydrothermal fluids. Our model includes a Mohr‐Coulomb failure criterion to initiate hydrofracturing and a dynamic porosity/permeability. We investigate the Karoo Basin, taking into account host‐rock material properties from borehole data, realistic total organic carbon content, and different sill geometries. Consistent with geological observations, we find that thermal plumes quickly rise at the edges of saucer‐shaped sills, guided along vertically fractured high permeability pathways. Contrastingly, less focused and slower plumes rise from the edges and the central part of flat‐lying sills. Using a novel upscaling method based on sill‐to‐sediment ratio we find that degassing of the Karoo Basin occurred in two distinct phases during magma invasion. Rapid degassing triggered by sills emplaced within the top 1.5 km emitted ~1.6·103 Gt of thermogenic methane, while thermal plumes originating from deeper sills, carrying a 12‐times greater mass of methane, may not reach the surface. We suggest that these large quantities of methane could be re‐mobilized by the heat provided by neighboring sills. We conclude that the Karoo LIP may have emitted as much as ~22.3·103 Gt of thermogenic methane in the half million years of magmatic activity, with emissions up to 3 Gt/year. This quantity of methane and the emission rates can explain the negative δ13C excursion of the Toarcian environmental crisis.
Key Points
Sill geometry and emplacement depth as well as intruded host rock type are the main factors controlling methane mobilization and degassing
Dehydration‐related porosity increase and pore‐pressure‐induced hydrofracturing are important mechanisms for a quick transport of methane from sill to the surface
The Karoo Basin may have degassed ~22.3·103 Gt of thermogenic methane in the half million years of magmatic activit
The bubble snails (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) of Mozambique: an overlooked biodiversity hotspot
This first account, dedicated to the shallow water marine heterobranch gastropods of Mozambique is presented with a focus on the clades Acteonoidea and Cephalaspidea. Specimens were obtained as a result of sporadic sampling and two dedicated field campaigns between the years of 2012 and 2015, conducted along the northern and southern coasts of Mozambique. Specimens were collected by hand in the intertidal and subtidal reefs by snorkelling or SCUBA diving down to a depth of 33 m. Thirty-two species were found, of which 22 are new records to Mozambique and five are new for the Western Indian Ocean. This account raises the total number of shallow water Acteonoidea and Cephalaspidea known in Mozambique to 39 species, which represents approximately 50 % of the Indian Ocean diversity and 83 % of the diversity of these molluscs found in the Red Sea. A gap in sampling was identified in the central swamp/mangrove bio-region of Mozambique, and therefore, we suggest that future research efforts concentrate on or at least consider this region.publishedVersio
Antibody-Mediated Growth Inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum: Relationship to Age and Protection from Parasitemia in Kenyan Children and Adults
BACKGROUND: Antibodies that impair Plasmodium falciparum merozoite invasion and intraerythrocytic development are one of several mechanisms that mediate naturally acquired immunity to malaria. Attempts to correlate anti-malaria antibodies with risk of infection and morbidity have yielded inconsistent results. Growth inhibition assays (GIA) offer a convenient method to quantify functional antibody activity against blood stage malaria.
METHODS: A treatment-time-to-infection study was conducted over 12-weeks in a malaria holoendemic area of Kenya. Plasma collected from healthy individuals (98 children and 99 adults) before artemether-lumefantrine treatment was tested by GIA in three separate laboratories.
RESULTS: Median GIA levels varied with P. falciparum line (D10, 8.8%; 3D7, 34.9%; FVO, 51.4% inhibition). The magnitude of growth inhibition decreased with age in all P. falciparum lines tested with the highest median levels among children \u3c4 years compared to adults (e.g. 3D7, 45.4% vs. 30.0% respectively, p = 0.0003). Time-to-infection measured by weekly blood smears was significantly associated with level of GIA controlling for age. Upper quartile inhibition activity was associated with less risk of infection compared to individuals with lower levels (e.g. 3D7, hazard ratio = 1.535, 95% CI = 1.012-2.329; p = 0.0438). Various GIA methodologies had little effect on measured parasite growth inhibition.
CONCLUSION: Plasma antibody-mediated growth inhibition of blood stage P. falciparum decreases with age in residents of a malaria holoendemic area. Growth inhibition assay may be a useful surrogate of protection against infection when outcome is controlled for age
The Supply Side Determinants of Territory and Conflict
What determines the geographic extent of territory? We microfound and extend Boulding’s “Loss of Strength Gradient” to predict the extensive and intensive margins of conflict across space. We show how economies of scale in the production of violence and varying costs of projecting violence at a distance combine to affect the geographic distribution of conflict and territory. We test and probe the boundaries of this model in an experiment varying the fixed costs of conflict entry. As predicted, higher fixed costs increase the probability of exclusive territories; median behavior closely tracks equilibrium predictions in all treatments
A Golden Standard Type Ia Supernova SN 2005cf: Observations from the Ultraviolet to the Near-Infrared Wavebands
We present extensive photometry at ultraviolet (UV), optical, and
near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths, as well as dense sampling of optical spectra,
for the normal type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2005cf. From the well-sampled light
curves, we find that SN 2005cf reached a B-band maximum at 13.63+/-0.02 mag,
with an observed luminosity decline rate dm_15(B) = 1.05+/-0.03 mag. The
correlations between the decline rate and various color indexes, recalibrated
on the basis of an expanded SN Ia sample, yielded E(B-V)_host=0.09+/-0.03 mag
for SN2005cf. The UV photometry was obtained with the HST and the Swift
Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope, and the results match each other to within
0.1-0.2 mag. The UV light curves show similar evolution to the broadband U,
with an exception in the 2000-2500 Angstrom spectral range (corresponding to
the F220W/uvm2 filters), where the light curve appears broader and much fainter
than that on either side (likely owing to the intrinsic spectral evolution).
Combining the UV data with the ground-based optical and NIR data, we establish
the generic UV-optical-NIR bolometric light curve for SN 2005cf and derive the
bolometric corrections in the absence of UV and/or NIR data. The overall
spectral evolution of SN 2005cf is similar to that of a normal SN Ia, but with
variety in the strength and profile of the main feature lines. The spectra at
early times displayed strong, detached high-velocity (HV) features in the Ca II
H&K doublet and NIR triplet. Similar HV features may exist in the SiII 6355
absorption line which evolved rapidly from a flat-bottomed feature in the
earliest phase to a triangular shape one week before maximum, and may be common
in other normal SNe Ia. The possible origin of the HV absorption features is
briefly discussed (abridged).Comment: 31 pages, 24 figures, 13 tables, emulateapj; submitted to Ap
Balancing repair and tolerance of DNA damage caused by alkylating agents
Alkylating agents constitute a major class of frontline chemotherapeutic drugs that inflict cytotoxic DNA damage as their main mode of action, in addition to collateral mutagenic damage. Numerous cellular pathways, including direct DNA damage reversal, base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR), respond to alkylation damage to defend against alkylation-induced cell death or mutation. However, maintaining a proper balance of activity both within and between these pathways is crucial for a favourable response of an organism to alkylating agents. Furthermore, the response of an individual to alkylating agents can vary considerably from tissue to tissue and from person to person, pointing to genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that modulate alkylating agent toxicity
Search for Eccentric Black Hole Coalescences during the Third Observing Run of LIGO and Virgo
Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences
observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these
binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers
of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains
challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that
include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a
waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences,
covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We
identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already
identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the
sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass ) binaries
covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to
compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed
quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for
the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities at Gpc yr at 90\% confidence level.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure
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