Kinetic processes of mantle minerals

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution September 1999This dissertation discusses the experimental results designed to constrain the processes of MORB generation. The main focus of this study is to investigate the location and the related processes of the transformation boundary from spinel to garnet peridotite facies at subsolidus conditions, because the presence of garnet in melting residues has significant influence to the conclusion drawn from geochemical/geophysical observations. Using an approach that monitors the rate of reaction progresses, the experimental results confirmed the presence of a region that garnet and spinel coexist in peridotite compositions. The trace element distribution among the product phases (opx and cpx) subsequent to the garnet breakdown reaction is in disequilibrium, due to the differences of diffusivity between major and trace elements. The presence of disequilibrium distribution in nature may be used to infer time scales of geodynamic processes. Diffusion coefficients of A1 in diopside are experimentally determined, and used for modeling the equilibration of major elements in pyroxene during MORB genesis. In summary, this dissertation contributes two major inferences: the location of the transformation boundaries of the gamet-spinel peridotite; the presence of disequilibrium trace elements distribution with equilibrium major elements distribution in mantle pyroxenes

Contrasting partition behavior of F and Cl during hydrous mantle melting: implications for Cl/F signature in arc magmas

International audienceWe present the results of five experiments on F and Cl partitioning during hydrous mantle melting under conditions relevant to subduction zone magmatism (1.2–2.5 GPa, 1,180°C–1,430°C). For each experiment, we determined the F and Cl partition coefficients between lherzolitic mineral phases (olivine, orthopyroxene (opx), clinopyroxene (cpx), and garnet), amphibole, and hydrous basaltic melts (0.2–5.9 wt.% dissolved H2O). At constant pressure, View MathML show contrasting response to the combined effects of decreasing temperature from 1,310°C to 1,180°C and increasing H2O content in the melt from 0.2 to 5.9 wt.%: View MathML. decreases from 0.123 ± 0.004 to 0.021 ± 0.014 while View MathML increases from 0.0021 ± 0.0031 to 0.07 ± 0.01. Similar results are observed for clinopyroxene: View MathML decreases from 0.153 ± 0.004 to 0.083 ± 0.004 while View MathML increases from 0.009 ± 0.0005 to 0.015 ± 0.0008. Experimentally determined F and Cl partition coefficients were used in a hydrous melting model of a lherzolitic mantle metasomatized by slab fluid. In this model, we vary the amount of metasomatic slab fluid added into the mantle while its composition is kept constant. Increasing the amount of fluid results in an increase of both the degree of melting (due to the effect of H2O addition) and the F and Cl input in the mantle wedge. Because of the change of F and Cl partition coefficients with the increase of H2O, the observed variation in the F and Cl contents of the modeled melts is produced not only by F and Cl input from the fluid, but also by the changes in F and Cl fractionation during hydrous melting. Overall, the model predicts that the Cl/F ratio of modeled melts increases with increasing fluid fraction. Therefore, a variation in the amount of fluid added to the mantle wedge can contribute to the variability in Cl/F ratios observed in arc melt inclusions

Kinetic processes of mantle minerals

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), February 2000."September 1999."Includes bibliographical references.This dissertation discusses the experimental results designed to constrain the processes of MORB generation. The main focus of this study is to investigate the location and the related processes of the transformation boundary from spinel to garnet peridotite facies at subsolidus conditions, because the presence of garnet in melting residues has significant influence to the conclusion drawn from geochemical/geophysical observations. Using an approach that monitors the rate of reaction progresses, the experimental results confirmed the presence of a region that garnet and spinel coexist in peridotite compositions. The trace element distribution among the product phases (opx and cpx) subsequent to the garnet breakdown reaction is in disequilibrium, due to the differences of diffusivity between major and trace elements. The presence of disequilibrium distribution in nature may be used to infer time scales of geodynamic processes. Diffusion coefficients of Al in diopside are experimentally determined, and used for modeling the equilibration of major elements in pyroxene during MORB genesis. In summary, this dissertation contributes two major inferences: the location of the transformation boundaries of the garnet-spinel peridotite; the presence of disequilibrium trace elements distribution with equilibrium major elements distribution in mantle pyroxenes.by Kenneth Tadao Koga.Ph.D

CO_{2}-Undersaturated Melt Inclusions From the South West Indian Ridge Record Surprisingly Uniform Redox Conditions

The behavior of Fe3+ during mantle partial melting strongly influences the oxidation state of the resulting magmas, with implications for the evolution of the atmosphere's oxidation state. Here, we challenge a prevailing view that low-degree partial melts are more oxidized due to the incompatible behavior of Fe3+. Our study is based on measurements of Fe3+/∑Fe along with major, minor, trace and volatile elements in olivine- and plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions of CO2 undersaturated mantle melts in South West Indian Ridge lava. These inclusions record minimum entrapment pressures equivalent to depths up to 10 km below the seafloor, record magma ascent rates of 0.03–0.19 m/s, and display exceptionally high CO2/Ba, CO2/Rb, and CO2/Nb ratios, indicative of a CO2-rich mantle source. Accounting for fractional crystallization, we find a uniform melt oxidation state (with an Fe3+/ΣFe at 0.140 ± 0.005 at MgO = 10 wt.%) that displays no systematic variation with major, minor, volatile or trace element contents, thus providing no evidence for a relationship between the degree of partial melting and Fe3+/ΣFe. This can be explained by efficient buffering of Fe3+/∑Fe and fO2 of mid-ocean ridge basalt melts by their surrounding mantle and/or a decrease in the bulk peridotite-melt Fe2O3 partition coefficient with increasing partial melting. We conclude that changes in the Earth's upper mantle temperature over geological time need not have affected the oxidation state of volcanic products or of the atmosphere

Radiotherapy using a laser proton accelerator

Laser acceleration promises innovation in particle beam therapy of cancer where an ultra-compact accelerator system for cancer beam therapy can become affordable to a broad range of patients. This is not feasible without the introduction of a technology that is radically different from the conventional accelerator-based approach. The laser acceleration method provides many enhanced capabilities for the radiation oncologist. It reduces the overall system size and weight by more than one order of magnitude. The characteristics of the particle beams (protons) make them suitable for a class of therapy that might not be possible with the conventional accelerator, such as the ease for changing pulse intensity, the focus spread, the pinpointedness, and the dose delivery in general. A compact, uncluttered system allows a PET device to be located in the vicinity of the patient in concert with the compact gantry. The radiation oncologist may be able to irradiate a localized tumor by scanning with a pencil-like particle beam while ascertaining the actual dosage in the patient with an improved in-beam PET verification of auto-radioactivation induced by the beam therapy. This should yield an unprecedented flexibility in the feedback radiotherapy by the radiation oncologist. Laser accelerated radiotherapy has a unique niche in a current world of high energy accelerator using synchrotron or cyclotron.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, 69 references. International Symposium on Laser-Driven Relativistic Plasmas Applied for Science, Industry and Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, 17-20 September (2007

Tcap gene mutations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy

ObjectivesWe sought to explore the relationship between a Tcap gene (TCAP)abnormality and cardiomyopathy.BackgroundHypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cause severe heart failure and sudden death. Recent genetic investigations have revealed that mutations of genes encoding Z-disc components, including titin and muscle LIM protein (MLP), are the primary cause of both HCM and DCM. The Z-disc plays a role in establishing the mechanical coupling of sarcomeric contraction and stretching, with the titin/Tcap/MLP complex serving as a mechanical stretch sensor. Tcap interacts with the calsarcin, which tethers the calcineurin to the Z-disc.MethodsThe TCAPwas analyzed in 346 patients with HCM (236 familial and 110 sporadic cases) and 136 patients with DCM (34 familial and 102 sporadic cases). Two different in vitro qualitative assays—yeast two-hybrid and glutathion S-transferase pull-down competition—were performed in order to investigate functional changes in Tcap's interaction with MLP, titin, and calsarcin-1 caused by the identified mutations and a reported DCM-associated mutation, R87Q.ResultsTwo TCAPmutations, T137I and R153H, were found in patients with HCM, and another TCAPmutation, E132Q, was identified in a patient with DCM. It was demonstrated by the qualitative assays that the HCM-associated mutations augment the ability of Tcap to interact with titin and calsarcin-1, whereas the DCM-associated mutations impair the interaction of Tcap with MLP, titin, and calsarcin-1.ConclusionsThese observations suggest that the difference in clinical phenotype (HCM or DCM) may be correlated with the property of altered binding among the Z-disc components

Relativistic double-zeta, triple-zeta, and quadruple-zeta basis sets for the lanthanides La–Lu

Relativistic basis sets of double-zeta, triple-zeta, and quadruple-zeta quality have been optimized for the lanthanide elements La-Lu. The basis sets include SCF exponents for the occupied spinors and for the 6p shell, exponents of correlating functions for the valence shells (4f, 5d and 6s) and the outer core shells (4d, 5s and 5p), and diffuse functions, including functions for dipole polarization of the 4f shell. A finite nuclear size was used in all optimizations. The basis sets are illustrated by calculations on YbF. Prescriptions are given for constructing contracted basis sets. The basis sets are available as an internet archive and from the Dirac program web site, http://dirac. chem. sdu. dk. © 2010 The Author(s)

Estrogen/Estrogen Receptor Alpha Signaling in Mouse Posterofrontal Cranial Suture Fusion

BACKGROUND: While premature suture fusion, or craniosynostosis, is a relatively common condition, the cause is often unknown. Estrogens are associated with growth plate fusion of endochondral bones. In the following study, we explore the previously unknown significance of estrogen/estrogen receptor signaling in cranial suture biology. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Firstly, estrogen receptor (ER) expression was examined in physiologically fusing (posterofrontal) and patent (sagittal) mouse cranial sutures by quantitative RT-PCR. Next, the cranial suture phenotype of ER alpha and ER beta knockout (alphaERKO, betaERKO) mice was studied. Subsequently, mouse suture-derived mesenchymal cells (SMCs) were isolated; the effects of 17-beta estradiol or the estrogen antagonist Fulvestrant on gene expression, osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation were examined in vitro. Finally, in vivo experiments were performed in which Fulvestrant was administered subcutaneously to the mouse calvaria. Results showed that increased ERalpha but not ERbeta transcript abundance temporally coincided with posterofrontal suture fusion. The alphaERKO but not betaERKO mouse exhibited delayed posterofrontal suture fusion. In vitro, addition of 17-beta estradiol enhanced both osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation in suture-derived mesenchymal cells, effects reversible by Fulvestrant. Finally, in vivo application of Fulvestrant significantly diminished calvarial osteogenesis, inhibiting suture fusion. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Estrogen signaling through ERalpha but not ERbeta is associated with and necessary for normal mouse posterofrontal suture fusion. In vitro studies suggest that estrogens may play a role in osteoblast and/or chondrocyte differentiation within the cranial suture complex