17 research outputs found
Sulfur isotope measurement of sulfate and sulfide by high-resolution MC-ICP-MS
Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V. , 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Chemical Geology 253 (2008): 102-113, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2008.04.017.We have developed a technique for the accurate and precise determination of 34S/32S isotope
ratios (δ34S) in sulfur-bearing minerals using solution and laser ablation multiple-collector
inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). We have examined and
determined rigorous corrections for analytical difficulties such as instrumental mass bias,
unresolved isobaric interferences, blanks, and laser ablation- and matrix-induced isotopic
fractionation. Use of high resolution sector-field mass spectrometry removes major isobaric
interferences from O2+. Standard–sample bracketing is used to correct for the instrumental mass
bias of unknown samples. Blanks on sulfur masses arising from memory effects and residual
oxygen-tailing are typically minor (< 0.2‰, within analytical error), and are mathematically
removed by on-peak zero subtraction and by bracketing of samples with standards determined at
the same signal intensity (within 20%). Matrix effects are significant (up to 0.7‰) for matrix
compositions relevant to many natural sulfur-bearing minerals. For solution analysis, sulfur
isotope compositions are best determined using purified (matrix-clean) sulfur standards and
sample solutions using the chemical purification protocol we present. For in situ analysis, where
the complex matrix cannot be removed prior to analysis, appropriately matrix-matching
standards and samples removes matrix artifacts and yields sulfur isotope ratios consistent with
conventional techniques using matrix-clean analytes. Our method enables solid samples to be
calibrated against aqueous standards; a consideration that is important when certified,
isotopically-homogeneous and appropriately matrix-matched solid standards do not exist.
Further, bulk and in situ analyses can be performed interchangeably in a single analytical session
because the instrumental setup is identical for both. We validated the robustness of our analytical
method through multiple isotope analyses of a range of reference materials and have compared
these with isotope ratios determined using independent techniques. Long-term reproducibility of
S isotope compositions is typically 0.20‰ and 0.45‰ (2σ) for solution and laser analysis,
respectively. Our method affords the opportunity to make accurate and relatively precise S
isotope measurement for a wide range of sulfur-bearing materials, and is particularly appropriate
for geologic samples with complex matrix and for which high-resolution in situ analysis is
critical.Support was provided by National Science Foundations grants OCE-0327448 to P.R.C. and
W.B. and OCE-0622982 to O.J.R. Support for L.A.B. was provided by the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution Plasma Facility Development Grant (NSF-EAR/IF-0318137)
Effects of Gender, Age, and Nutrition on Circadian Locomotor Activity Rhythms in the Flesh Fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis
We have examined potential influences of gender, age, and nutrition on the expression of circadian locomotor activity rhythms in the flesh fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis. We found no significant differences in endogenous circadian period under constant dark conditions resulting from gender, nutrition, or age. Male and female flesh flies were predominantly diurnal under light-dark cycles, but their entrainment patterns differed. Females displayed higher activity levels and increasing activity with age, unlike males. Moreover, females exhibited an extraordinary, but transient, departure from diurnality which we characterize as “extended dark activity” (EDA), a continuous bout of locomotor activity extending three hours, or longer, into the dark phase at twice the median of the individual’s overall locomotor activity. EDA occurred as an age-dependent response to liver consumption. Our results suggest a linkage between physiological events associated with egg provisioning and locomotor activity as well as multiple influences on the expression of circadian clock-regulated behavior
Effects of Gender, Age, and Nutrition on Circadian Locomotor Activity Rhythms in the Flesh Fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis
In many animal species, circadian rhythms of behavior are not constant throughout the lifetime of the individual but rather exhibit at least some degree of plasticity. In the present study, we have examined the potential influences of gender, age, and nutrition (presence or absence of liver) on the expression of circadian locomotor activity rhythms in the flesh fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis. We found no significant differences in endogenous circadian period under constant dark conditions with respect to gender, nutrition, or age for the duration of our experiments. On the other hand, both male and female flesh flies, as expected, were predominantly diurnal under light-dark cycles, but the pattern of entrainment differed between the sexes. Females also displayed higher activity levels than males. Also, in contrast with males, female activity levels increased with age. Moreover, females exhibited an extraordinary, but transient (one to three days), departure from diurnality which we characterize as “extended dark activity” (EDA). This phenomenon appeared as a continuous bout of locomotor activity that extended at least three hours into the early half of the dark phase at levels at least twice the median of the overall locomotor activity for the individual fly. EDA occurred as an age-dependent response to liver consumption, never appearing prior to day 4 post-eclosion but, thereafter, transpiring within one or two days after a 48-h exposure to liver. These results suggest a linkage between physiological events associated with egg provisioning and locomotor activity in the anautogenous flesh fly. Furthermore, our findings identify the existence of multiple influences on the expression of circadian clock-regulated behavior