Cumulate causes for the low contents of sulfide-loving elements in the continental crust

Despite the economic importance of chalcophile (sulfide-loving) and siderophile (metal-loving) elements (CSEs), it is unclear how they become enriched or depleted in the continental crust, compared with the oceanic crust. This is due in part to our limited understanding of the partitioning behaviour of the CSEs. Here I compile compositional data for mid-ocean ridge basalts and subduction-related volcanic rocks. I show that the mantle-derived melts that contribute to oceanic and continental crust formation rarely avoid sulfide saturation during cooling in the crust and, on average, subduction-zone magmas fractionate sulfide at the base of the continental crust prior to ascent. Differentiation of mantle-derived melts enriches lower crustal sulfide- and silicate-bearing cumulates in some CSEs compared with the upper crust. This storage predisposes the cumulate-hosted compatible CSEs (such as Cu and Au) to be recycled back into the mantle during subduction and delamination, resulting in their low contents in the bulk continental crust and potentially contributing to the scarcity of ore deposits in the upper continental crust. By contrast, differentiation causes the upper oceanic and continental crust to become enriched in incompatible CSEs (such as W) compared with the lower oceanic and continental crust. Consequently, incompatible CSEs are predisposed to become enriched in subduction-zone magmas that contribute to continental crust formation and are less susceptible to removal from the continental crust via delamination compared with the compatible CSEs

A novel magnet-based scratch method for standardisation of wound-healing assays

A novel magnetic scratch method achieves repeatability, reproducibility and geometric control greater than pipette scratch assays and closely approximating the precision of cell exclusion assays while inducing the cell injury inherently necessary for wound healing assays. The magnetic scratch is affordable, easily implemented and standardisable and thus may contribute toward better comparability of data generated in different studies and laboratories

Accelerator system for the PRISM based muon to electron conversion experiment

The next generation of lepton flavor violation experiments need high intensity and high quality muon beams. Production of such beams requires sending a short, high intensity proton pulse to the pion production target, capturing pions and collecting the resulting muons in the large acceptance transport system. The substantial increase of beam quality can be obtained by applying the RF phase rotation on the muon beam in the dedicated FFAG ring, which was proposed for the PRISM project.This allows to reduce the momentum spread of the beam and to purify from the unwanted components like pions or secondary protons. A PRISM Task Force is addressing the accelerator and detector issues that need to be solved in order to realize the PRISM experiment. The parameters of the required proton beam, the principles of the PRISM experiment and the baseline FFAG design are introduced. The spectrum of alternative designs for the PRISM FFAG ring are shown. Progress on ring main systems like injection and RF are presented. The current status of the study and its future directions are discussed.Comment: Studies performed within the PRISM Task Force initiativ

Річард Смоллі і знамениті «десять вересневих днів»

У вересні цього року виповнюється 27 років, як було відкрито фулерен — нову сфероподібну форму вуглецю. Ця подія буквально приголомшила вчених, які на той час вважали, що про елементарний вуглець їм відомо практично все. Історія відкриття цієї речовини досить незвичайна. Ще в 1971 р. можливість існування молекули фулерену була передбачена японським ученим Е. Осавою (E. Osawa), за два роки радянські хіміки-теоретики Д.А. Бочвар і О.Г. Гальперн квантово-хімічними розрахунками підтвердили стабільність молекули С60, і лише у 1985 р. Р. Смоллі, Р. Керл та Г. Крото експериментально отримали кластери із 60 атомів вуглецю в стійкій формі, яку вони пояснили структурою молекули у вигляді футбольного м’яча. Натхненнику цього відкриття, видатному вченому, нобелівському лауреату, активному популяризатору нанотехнологій Річарду Смоллі присвячено цей матеріал.В сентябре этого года исполняется 27 лет с момента открытия фуллерена — новой сферообразной формы углерода. Это событие буквально потрясло ученых, которые в то время считали, что об элементарном углероде им известно практически все. История открытия этого вещества довольно необычна. Еще в 1971 г. возможность су ществования молекулы фуллерена была предсказана японским ученым Е. Осавой (E. Osawa), через два года советские химики-теоретики Д.А. Бочвар и Е.Г. Гальперн с помощью квантово-химических расчетов подтвердили стабильность молекулы С60, и только в 1985 г. Р. Смолли, Р. Керл и Г. Крото экспериментально получили кластеры из 60 атомов углерода в устойчивой форме, которую они объяснили структурой молекулы в виде футбольного мяча. Вдохновителю этого открытия, выдающемуся ученому, нобелевскому лауреату, активному популяризатору нанотехнологий Ричарду Смолли посвящен этот материал.27 years since the discovery of fullerene, the new form of carbon, is observed in September of this year. This event has literally shocked scientists, who believed at that time that they know almost everything about the elementary carbon. History of this discovery is rather unusual. Long ago, in 1971 the possibility of the existence of a fullerene molecule was predicted by an young Japanese scientist E. Osawa. Then two Soviet chemists and theorists D.A. Bochvar and E.G. Hal pern confirm the stability of the C60 molecule using quantum chemical calculations, and in 1985 at last R. Smalley, R. Curl and H. Kroto experimentally obtained clusters of 60 carbon atoms in a sustainable form. They explained the structure of this molecule as the structure of a soccer ball. This material is devoted to the inspirer of this discovery, an outstanding scientist, Nobel laureate, active popularizer of nanotechnology — Richard Smalley

Eddy current studies from the undulator-based positron source target wheel prototype

The ef­fi­cien­cy of fu­ture positron sources for the next gen­er­a­tion of high-en­er­gy par­ti­cle col­lid­ers (e.g. ILC, CLIC, LHeC) can be im­proved if the positron-pro­duc­tion tar­get is im­mersed in the mag­net­ic field of ad­ja­cent cap­ture op­tics. If the tar­get is also ro­tat­ing due to heat de­po­si­tion con­sid­er­a­tions then eddy cur­rents may be in­duced and lead to ad­di­tion­al heat­ing and stress­es. In this paper we pre­sent data from a ro­tat­ing tar­get wheel pro­to­type for the base­line ILC positron source. The wheel has been op­er­at­ed at rev­o­lu­tion rates up to 1800rpm in fields of the order of 1 Tesla. Com­par­isons are made be­tween torque data ob­tained from a trans­duc­er on the tar­get drive shaft and the re­sults of fi­nite-el­e­ment sim­u­la­tions. Ro­tor­dy­nam­ics is­sues are pre­sent­ed and fu­ture ex­per­i­ments on other as­pects of the positron source tar­get sta­tion are con­sid­ered

IUCF High Intensity Polarized Ion Source

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY-931478

Iberian late-Variscan granitoids: Some considerations on crustal sources and the significance of “mantle extraction ages

A suite of post-tectonic granitoids (mostly peraluminous, broadly I-type granodiorites and monzogranites) and mafic rocks from NWIberia with crystallization ages between ca. 309 and 290 Ma has been investigated for Sm–Nd isotopes and inherited zircon content in order to constrain the nature of their source rocks. εNd values (at 300 Ma) vary from −0.2 to −5.9 and TDM values range from 1.01 to 1.58 Ga. Inherited (xenocrystic) zircons yielded ages ranging from 458 to 676 Ma, with 90% of data between 490 and 646 Ma, corresponding to Neoproterozoic(mostly Ediacaran), Cambrian andOrdovician ages. Only three highlydiscordant analyses yielded ages older than 650 Ma. Based on the data reported herein and relevant data fromthe literaturewe contend that post-tectonic granitoids of the Iberian Variscan Belt (with exception of the scarce anatectic S-type granitoids) were derived mostly from metaigneous lower crustal sources which in turn were ultimately derived from a subcontinental lithospheric mantle enriched between ca. 0.9 and 1.1 Ga. I-type granitoids and mantle-derived mafic rocks both underwent varying degrees of contamination by ametasedimentary lower crust depleted in pre-650 Ma zircon (through previousmelting episodes) with a time-integrated Sm–Nd evolution different to that of the metaigneous lower crust. Participation of this metasedimentary crust in the genesis of these granitoids may account for Nd isotopic variability and Nd model ages well in excess of 1.2 Ga

Laboratory Development

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY 87-1440

Monoclonal Antibodies Opsonize <i>Burkholderia</i> spp. and Reduce Intracellular Actin Tail Formation in a Macrophage Infection Assay

Melioidosis is difficult to treat successfully due to the causal bacterium being resistant to many classes of antibiotics, therefore limiting available therapeutic options. New and improved therapies are urgently required to treat this disease.</jats:p

Apple pollination: demand depends on variety and supply depends on pollinator identity

Insect pollination underpins apple production but the extent to which different pollinator guilds supply this service, particularly across different apple varieties, is unknown. Such information is essential if appropriate orchard management practices are to be targeted and proportional to the potential benefits pollinator species may provide. Here we use a novel combination of pollinator effectiveness assays (floral visit effectiveness), orchard field surveys (flower visitation rate) and pollinator dependence manipulations (pollinator exclusion experiments) to quantify the supply of pollination services provided by four different pollinator guilds to the production of four commercial varieties of apple. We show that not all pollinators are equally effective at pollinating apples, with hoverflies being less effective than solitary bees and bumblebees, and the relative abundance of different pollinator guilds visiting apple flowers of different varieties varies significantly. Based on this, the taxa specific economic benefits to UK apple production have been established. The contribution of insect pollinators to the economic output in all varieties was estimated to be £92.1M across the UK, with contributions varying widely across taxa: solitary bees (£51.4M), honeybees (£21.4M), bumblebees (£18.6M) and hoverflies (£0.7M). This research highlights the differences in the economic benefits of four insect pollinator guilds to four major apple varieties in the UK. This information is essential to underpin appropriate investment in pollination services management and provides a model that can be used in other entomolophilous crops to improve our understanding of crop pollination ecology