Lithium-isotope evidence for enhanced silicate weathering during OAE 1a (Early Aptian Selli event)

An abrupt rise in temperature, forced by a massive input of CO2 into the atmosphere, is commonly invoked as the main trigger for Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs). Global warming initiated a cascade of palaeoenvironmental perturbations starting with increased continental weathering and an accelerated hydrological cycle that delivered higher loads of nutrients to coastal areas, stimulating biological productivity. The end-result was widespread anoxia and deposition of black shales: the hallmarks of OAEs. In order to assess the role of weathering as both an OAE initiator and terminator (via CO2 sequestration) during the Early Aptian OAE 1a (Selli Event, ∼120 Ma) the isotopic ratio of lithium isotopes was analysed in three sections of shallow-marine carbonates from the Pacific and Tethyan realms and one basinal pelagic section from the Tethyan domain. Because the isotopic composition of lithium in seawater is largely controlled by continental silicate weathering and high- and low-temperature alteration of basaltic material, a shift to lighter δ7Li values is expected to characterize OAEs. The studied sections illustrate this phenomenon: δ7Li values decrease to a minimum coincident with the negative carbon-isotope excursion that effectively records the onset of OAE 1a. A second negative δ7Li excursion occurs coeval with the minimum in strontium isotopes after the event. The striking similarity to the strontium-isotope record argues for a common driver. The formation and destruction (weathering) of an oceanic LIP could account for the parallel trend in both isotope systems. The double-spike in lithium isotopes is probably related to a change in weathering congruencies. Such a chemostratigraphy is consistent with the hypothesis that an increase in silicate weathering, in conjunction with organic-carbon burial, led to drawdown of atmospheric CO2 during the early Aptian OAE 1a

Assessing bulk carbonates as archives for seawater Li isotope ratios

Silicate weathering is a primary control on the carbon cycle and therefore long-term climate. Tracing silicate weathering in the geological record has been a challenge for decades, with a number of proxies proposed and their limits determined. Recently lithium isotopes in marine carbonates have emerged as a potential tracer. Bulk carbonates are increasingly being used as a Li isotope archive, though with limited tests thus far of the robustness of this approach in the modern ocean. As the bulk composition of marine pelagic carbonates has changed through time and geographically, assessing the fidelity of bulk carbonate as proxy carrier is fundamental. To address the impact of compositional variability in bulk carbonate on Li isotopes, we examine 27 Bahamian aragonitic bulk carbonates and 16 Atlantic largely calcitic core-top sediment samples. Two core-tops only have trace (<10 %) carbonate, and are analysed to test whether carbonates in such sections are still a viable archive. We selectively extract the exchangeable and carbonate fractions from the core-top samples. The exchangeable fraction contains ∼2 % of the total Li and has a fairly constant offset from seawater of 16.5 ± 0.8‰. When leaching silicate-containing carbonates, acetic acid buffered with sodium acetate appears a more robust method of solely attacking carbonates compared to dilute HCl, which may also liberate some silicate-bound Li. Carbonates from samples that do not contain aragonite have the isotopic fractionation of seawater of Δ7Liseawater-calcite = 6.1 ± 1.3‰ (2sd), which is not affected by latitude or the water depth the sample was deposited at. The pure aragonite bulk carbonates from the Bahamas have a fractionation of Δ7Liseawater-aragonite = 9.6 ± 0.6‰. A sediment sample from the Galician coast that mostly consists of quartz is highly offset from seawater by ∼20‰ and also has relatively high Li/Ca ratios. These high values are not due to leaching of silicate material directly (Al/Ca ratios are low). We interpret this addition via cation exchange of Li from silicate during recrystallisation. Overall bulk carbonates from the open ocean are a reliable archive of seawater δ7Li, but care must be taken with carbonate mineralogy and low-carbonate samples. Overall, therefore, any examination of the palaeo-seawater δ7Li record must be reproduced in different global settings (e.g. multiple global cores) before it can be considered robust

Partial diagenetic overprint of Late Jurassic belemnites from New Zealand: implications for the preservation potential of δ7Li values in calcite fossils

The preservation potential and trends of alteration of many isotopic systems (e.g. Li, Mg, Ca) that are measured in fossil carbonates are little explored, yet extensive paleoenvironmental interpretations have been made on the basis of these records. Here we present a geochemical dataset for a Late Jurassic (∼153 Ma) belemnite (Belemnopsis sp.) from New Zealand that has been partially overprinted by alteration. We report the physical pathways and settings of alteration, the resulting elemental and isotopic trends including δ7Li values and Li/Ca ratios, and assess whether remnants of the primary shell composition have been preserved or can be extrapolated from the measured values. The δ18O and δ13C values as well as Sr/Ca and Mn/Ca ratios were analysed along two profiles. In addition, 6 samples were analysed for 87Sr/86Sr, Sr/Ca and Mn/Ca ratios. Five samples from the same specimen and 2 from the surrounding sediment were analysed for δ7Li values, Li/Ca, Sr/Ca and Mn/Ca ratios and are compared to results for 6 other Late Jurassic belemnite rostra (Belemnopsis sp. andHibolithes sp.) from the same region. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios are lower (less radiogenic) in the most altered part of the rostrum, whereas δ7Li values become more positive with progressive alteration. The direction and magnitude of the trends in the geochemical record indicate that one main phase of alteration that occurred in the Late Cretaceous caused most of the diagenetic signature in the calcite. Despite relatively deep burial, down to 4 km, and thus elevated temperatures, this diagenetic signature has subsequently been preserved even for the highly mobile element lithium, suggesting that primary lithium-isotope values can be maintained over geological timescales, at least in thick macrofossil shells. Our best δ7Li estimate for pristine Late Jurassic (∼155–148 Ma) belemnites is +27 ± 1‰, which points to a Late Jurassic seawater δ7Li of ∼29–32‰, compatible with the modern value of 31‰

Gene expression evidence for off-target effects caused by RNA interference-mediated gene silencing of Ubiquitin-63E in the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus

Knowledge of cattle tick (Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus; Acari: Ixodidae) molecular and cellular pathways has been hampered by the lack of an annotated genome. In addition, most of the tick expressed sequence tags (ESTs) available to date consist of not, vert, similar50% unassigned sequences without predicted functions. The most common approach to address this has been the application of RNA interference (RNAi) methods to investigate genes and their pathways. This approach has been widely adopted in tick research despite minimal knowledge of the tick RNAi pathway and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) uptake mechanisms. A strong knockdown phenotype of adult female ticks had previously been observed using a 594 bp dsRNA targeting the cattle tick homologue for the Drosophila Ubiquitin-63E gene leading to nil or deformed eggs. A NimbleGen cattle tick custom microarray based on the BmiGI.V2 database of R. microplus ESTs was used to evaluate the expression of mRNAs harvested from ticks treated with the tick Ubiquitin-63E 594 bp dsRNA compared with controls. A total of 144 ESTs including TC6372 (Ubiquitin-63E) were down-regulated with 136 ESTs up-regulated following treatment. The results obtained substantiated the knockdown phenotype with ESTs identified as being associated with ubiquitin proteolysis as well as oogenesis, embryogenesis, fatty acid synthesis and stress responses. A bioinformatics analysis was undertaken to predict off-target effects (OTE) resulting from the in silico dicing of the 594 bp Ubiquitin-63E dsRNA which identified 10 down-regulated ESTs (including TC6372) within the list of differentially expressed probes on the microarrays. Subsequent knockdown experiments utilising 196 and 109 bp dsRNAs, and a cocktail of short hairpin RNAs (shRNA) targeting Ubiquitin-63E, demonstrated similar phenotypes for the dsRNAs but nil effect following shRNA treatment. Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR analysis confirmed differential expression of TC6372 and selected ESTs. Our study demonstrated the minimisation of predicted OTEs in the shorter dsRNA treatments (not, vert, similar100–200 bp) and the usefulness of microarrays to study knockdown phenotypes

Measurement of the neutron-induced capture-to-fission cross section ratio in <math><mmultiscripts><mi mathvariant="normal">U</mi><mprescripts/><none/><mn>233</mn></mmultiscripts></math> at LANSCE

International audienceThe neutron-induced capture-to-fission cross section ratio of U233 has been measured at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the energy range from 0.7 eV to 250 keV. The detector setup combines the Detector for Advanced Neutron Capture Experiments (DANCE) to measure γ rays generated from both capture and fission reactions, and the neutron detector array at DANCE to measure fission neutrons. This is the first measurement of the capture-to-fission ratio between 2 and 30 keV. The evaluations are in good agreement with the results in the resolved resonance region. In both the unresolved resonance region and the fast neutron region, a lower capture-to-fission ratio is obtained in this work from 10 to 150 keV compared to current evaluations, while good agreement with the experimental data and the evaluations is found above 150 keV. Statistical model calculations were performed to compare with the experimental data. Significantly reduced 〈Γγ〉 was required to reproduce the measured data

Late Prompt Fission Gamma Rays from 235U(n,f) and 252Cf(sf)

Two measurements of fission γ rays were performed with the DANCE and NEUANCE arrays using the reactions 235 U(n, f) and 252 Cf(sf). Utilizing the fast time response of the detectors and a method for estimating the accidental background, we obtained the energy spectrum of the late prompt fission γ rays as a function of the time since fission. The experimental results are compared with predictions of the code CGMF folded with GEANT4 simulations of the detector response

Late Prompt Fission Gamma Rays from

Two measurements of fission γ rays were performed with the DANCE and NEUANCE arrays using the reactions 235 U(n, f) and 252 Cf(sf). Utilizing the fast time response of the detectors and a method for estimating the accidental background, we obtained the energy spectrum of the late prompt fission γ rays as a function of the time since fission. The experimental results are compared with predictions of the code CGMF folded with GEANT4 simulations of the detector response

Corporate social performance and ethnicity: A comparison between Malay and Chinese chief executives in Malaysia

The call for corporate social responsibility is steadily escalating in the corporate agenda. Previous studies on the determinants of Corporate Social Performance (CSP) point to factors including the size of firms and the nature of industries, as well as the commitment of the leadership. This study explores how attributes of chief executives in Malaysia may affect the formulation and implementation of socially responsible policies and programmes of organizations. The suggestion is that companies with Malay chief executives demonstrate higher corporate social performance levels than companies with Chinese chief executives; and that the age of chief executives is a significant predictor of the CSP level. However, the education background of the chief executives has no noticeable effect on the level of CSP