This paper discusses the geometrical properties of a radiolarian skeletal structure, namely, that of genus Didymocyrtis. We characterized the evolution of skeletal structures and analyzed the ...structures using geometry. We defined two ratios in order to quantify the geometrical properties of Didymocyrtis and verified that the two ratios changed with their phylogenic evolution. We also used the 3D skeletal data of a specimen of species D. tetrathalamus, which was obtained through micro X-ray CT. The cortical shell obtained in the 3D data was projected onto a spherical surface, and we determined the centers of the pores. Our analysis revealed that the number of pores is approximately 200 and their distribution is not regular. We also determined that the column-like parts of the skeleton, which connect the inner and upper parts of the specimen, do not lie on a plane and their intervals are not equal.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Yarlung–Tsangpo Suture Zone (YTSZ), as the southernmost and youngest among the sutures that subdivides the Tibetan Plateau into several east–west trending blocks, marks where the Neo‐Tethys was ...consumed as the Indian continent moved northward and collided against the Eurasian continent. Mélanges in the YTSZ represent the remnants of the oceanic plate through subduction and collision. Mélanges are characterized by a highly sheared volcanoclastic or siliceous mudstone matrix including blocks of chert, claystone, and basalt. Detailed radiolarian analyses are conducted on the mélange near Zhongba County. Macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic observations are combined in order to elucidate the relationships among age, lithology, and structure of blocks in the mélange. Reconstructed ocean plate stratigraphy includes Lower Jurassic limestone within the chert sequence accumulated at a depth near the CCD (Unit 2), Upper Jurassic thin‐bedded chert interbedded with claystone deposited in the wide ocean basin (Unit 3), and Lower Cretaceous chert with siliceous mudstone (Units 4 and 5), representing the middle parts of ocean plate stratigraphy. The results highlight the fabric of brecciated chert on mesoscopic scale, which is thought to be due to localized overpressure. The formation of mesoscopic and microscopic block‐in‐matrix fabrics in the mélange is proposed for the chert and siliceous mudstone bearing different extents of consolidation and competence during the progressive deformation of accreted sediments at shallow‐level subduction.
Macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic observations are combined in order to elucidate the relationships among age, lithology, and structure of blocks in the mélange. Reconstructed ocean plate stratigraphy includes Lower Jurassic limestone within the chert sequence accumulated at a depth near the CCD, Upper Jurassic thin‐bedded chert interbedded with claystone deposited in the wide ocean basin, and Lower Cretaceous chert with siliceous mudstone, representing the middle parts of ocean plate stratigraphy. The results highlight the fabric of brecciated chert on mesoscopic scale, which is thought to be due to localized overpressure.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
In response to global warming, the Arctic is undergoing rapid and unprecedented changes that alter the land-to-sea forcing in large Arctic rivers. Improving our knowledge of terrestrial dissolved ...organic carbon (tDOC) flux to the coastal Arctic Ocean (AO) is thus critical and timely as these changes strongly alter the biogeochemical cycles on AO shelves. In this study, we merged riverine
in situ
tDOC concentrations with satellite ocean-color estimates retrieved at the land-marine interface of the Mackenzie Delta to make a first assessment of the tDOC export from its main outlets to the shelf. We combined tDOC and river discharge data to develop a regression model that simulated tDOC concentrations and fluxes from daily to interannual (2003–2017) time scales. We then compared the simulated satellite-derived estimates to those simulated by the model constrained by
in situ
tDOC data only. As the satellite tDOC estimates reflect the delta effect in terms of tDOC enrichment and removal, our results inform us of how much tDOC can potentially leave the delta to reach the ocean (1.44 ± 0.14 TgC.yr
−1
). The chemodynamic relationships and the model suggest contrasting patterns between Shallow Bay and the two easternmost delta outlets, which can be explained by the variability in their geomorphological settings. At the seasonal scale and for all outlets, the satellite-derived tDOC export departs from the estimate based on
in situ
tDOC data only. During the river freshet in May, the satellite-derived tDOC export is, on average, ∼15% (Shallow Bay) to ∼20% (Beluga Bay) lower than the in situ-derived estimate. This difference was the highest (−60%) in 2005 and exceeds 30% over most of the last decade, and can be explained by qualitative and quantitative differences between the tDOC
in situ
and tDOC
sat
datasets in a period when the freshet is highly variable. In contrast, in summer and fall, the satellite-derived tDOC export is higher than the in situ-derived estimate. The temporal difference between the satellite and in situ-derived export estimates suggests that predicting seasonal tDOC concentrations and fluxes from remote Arctic deltas to the coastal AO remains a challenge for assessing their impact on already changing carbon fluxes.
Mesozoic radiolarian biochronologic scales have been developed since the 1970s and most of them reached their present day status in the 1990s. The degree of temporal resolution, on average, ...corresponds to substage level and is sufficient to provide a meaningful framework for general geological studies. The great majority of zonal schemes were elaborated in low-latitude sections but are applicable in high latitudes as well because an adequate number of species occur worldwide. This paper presents a short historical review and a synthesis of currently used zonations developed in North America, Europe and Asia. The advantages and the shortcomings of the existing zonations are discussed. As a general rule, the zonations including a high number of taxa in each zone have a much greater applicability for global correlations than those defined exclusively with marker taxa. In the forthcoming years, particular studies will focus on zonal division of under-explored time intervals and on improved calibration to chronostratigraphy. Two joint objectives for future research are briefly introduced. The first objective, achievable in a relatively short time, is to compile a composite Mesozoic zonation that would provide a single reference standard for radiolarian dating at a global scale. The second objective is to refine the radiolarian zonal schemes, which, in certain intervals, have already attained the resolution comparable to that of the standard ammonite zones. To increase the degree of precision and accuracy to this level through the entire Mesozoic is a long-term goal that requires additional high-resolution sampling and emphasis on detailed documentation of evolutionary first and last appearances in different phylogenetic lineages.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
An upper Paleocene radiolarian-bearing succession (ZN1) located in the southern part of the north subzone of the Tethyan Himalaya is composed of siliceous siltstones and claystones. In this paper, 23 ...species belonging to 13 genera are reported. Three new species, Lychnocanium? pyramis Li and Matsuoka sp. nov., Lychnocanium? stypticum Li and Matsuoka sp. nov., and Pterocyrtidium sinense Li and Matsuoka sp. nov., are described. Radiolarian assemblages from this succession can be compared with the Bekoma campechensis Zone (RP6), indicating a time interval of 61.5–58.23 Ma, i.e., late Paleocene. The radiolarian assemblages from the Yamdrok mélange, the Zheba section, and the Jiazhu section indicate that they are of the same age as those from the Zhinadibu 1 section. The lack of calcareous and coarse-grained terrestrial materials in the ZN1 section proves that the strata of this section were deposited in a relatively deep marine environment below the calcium carbonate compensation depth (CCD) and more distal to the continents during the late Paleocene. Coeval deepwater sediments near Saga were accumulated near the CCD.
Objective This study was performed to confirm the efficacy of long-interval cytapheresis on steroid-dependent ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods To discontinue steroids in patients with ...steroid-dependent UC, we previously designed a novel regimen of cytapheresis (CAP), which we termed "long-interval cytapheresis (LI-CAP)", in which CAP was performed as one session every two or three weeks and continued during the whole period of tapering steroid dosage. In this study, we performed LI-CAP therapy 20 times (11 male and 9 female; mean age 41.8 years) between April 2010 and April 2015 for 14 patients with steroid-dependent UC. We evaluated the effectiveness of LI-CAP by examining the improvement in Lichtiger's clinical activity index (CAI), the rate of clinical remission, and the rate of steroid discontinuation. We further examined the rate of sustained steroid-free clinical remission at 6 and 12 months after LI-CAP in patients who successfully discontinued steroid-use after LI-CAP. The primary endpoint was the rate of discontinuation of steroids after LI-CAP. Results The mean CAI score before LI-CAP (7.550) significantly decreased to 1.65 after LI-CAP (p<0.0001). The rate of clinical remission after LI-CAP was 80%. The rate of steroid discontinuation after LI-CAP was 60.0%. The mean dose of daily prednisolone was significantly decreased after LI-CAP (2.30 mg) compared with that before therapy (17.30 mg) (p=0.0003). The rate of sustained steroid-free clinical remission after LI-CAP was 66.7% at 6 months and 66.7% at 12 months. Conclusion We confirmed that LI-CAP has therapeutic effects on reducing the dosage and discontinuing steroids in patients with steroid-dependent UC.
Climate warming is accelerating erosion along permafrost-dominated Arctic coasts. This results in the additional supply of organic matter (OM) and nutrients into the coastal zone. In this study we ...investigate the impact of coastal erosion on the marine microbial community composition and growth rates in the coastal Beaufort Sea. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) derived from three representative glacial deposit types (fluvial, lacustrine, and moraine) along the Yukon coastal plain, Canada, were used as substrate to cultivate marine bacteria using a chemostat setup. Our results show that DOM composition (inferred from UV-Visible spectroscopy) and biodegradability (inferred from DOC concentration, bacterial production and respiration) significantly differ between the three glacial deposit types. DOM derived from fluvial and moraine types show clear terrestrial characteristics with low aromaticity (
S
r
: 0.63 ± 0.02 and SUVA
254
: 1.65 ± 0.06 L mg C
−1
m
−1
&
S
r
: 0.68 ± 0.01 and SUVA
254
: 1.17 ± 0.06 L mg C
−1
m
−1
, respectively) compared to the lacustrine soil type (
S
r
: 0.71 ± 0.02 and SUVA
254
: 2.15 ± 0.05 L mg C
−1
m
−1
). The difference in composition of DOM leads to the development of three different microbial communities. Whereas
Alphaproteobacteria
dominate in fluvial and lacustrine deposit types (67 and 87% relative abundance, respectively),
Gammaproteobacteria
is the most abundant class for moraine deposit type (88% relative abundance). Bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) is 66% for DOM from moraine deposit type, while 13 and 28% for DOM from fluvial and lacustrine deposit types, respectively. The three microbial communities therefore differ strongly in their net effect on DOM utilization depending on the eroded landscape type. The high BGE value for moraine-derived DOM is probably caused by a larger proportion of labile colorless DOM. These results indicate that the substrate controls marine microbial community composition and activities in coastal waters. This suggests that biogeochemical changes in the Arctic coastal zone will depend on the DOM character of adjacent deposit types, which determine the speed and extent of DOM mineralization and thereby carbon channeling into the microbial food web. We conclude that marine microbes strongly respond to the input of terrestrial DOM released by coastal erosion and that the landscape type differently influence marine microbes.
Experimental culture studies of living radiolarians experience many difficulties because radiolarians are too sensitive to be maintained alive in artificial conditions. We here developed an improved ...experimental protocol in order to detect newly-formed parts of the polycystine radiolarian skeletons after they were labeled with fluorescent markers. Living samples were collected from surface seawater of the Kuroshio Current offshore from Kashiwajima Island, Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan. The taxonomic composition of the Kashiwajima radiolarian samples varied markedly across the seasons and sampling sites. Spumellaria were usually abundant in samples collected near Kashiwajima, and had high diversity in shell morphology. Here, we performed experimental studies on living spumellarian radiolarians to clarify their siliceous skeletogenesis. Our culture-based research on spumellarians provided the following results.
(A) The pattern of silica deposition on the skeleton of Spongaster tetras tetras varies depending on the growth stage. Three ontogenetic stages were identified: (1) young, (2) progressively-growing and (3) fully-grown. Furthermore, novel varied types of skeletal growth modes were determined as follows: (i) rapid growth on the outermost shell with enlargement of shell size and (ii) internal deposition on skeletal components without change in shell size. From measurements of the growth rate of cultured radiolarians, it is assumed that S. tetras tetras cell has at least a month-long life cycle.
(B) Spherical spumellarians have their own shell-forming strategy that permits additional silicogenesis while maintaining the taxonomically-specific shape of their shell; the meshwork of their shell surface consists of polygonal-shaped pore-frames formed by heterogeneous patterns of added silica.
Our direct observation with fluorescence markers detected a skeletogenesis process of Haliommilla capillacea possessing a fragile spherical shell. We thus confirm the bridge-growth hypothesis for morphogenesis of the polygonal frame as proposed in previous studies. Spongosphaera streptacantha, having extremely long spines, exhibited a special growth pattern of spine elongation in a centrifugal direction, without a change in width. This was achieved by a particular temporal pattern of silicification characterized by an alternating pattern of patchy addition of new silica on the entire part of each blade from the base to the tip. Moreover, a thin layer of new silica was added by a flowing deposition along the edge of the spine. Based on these culture-based studies using living radiolarians, we conclude that Spumellaria control and maintain a particular shell shape by regulating where silicification takes place on the skeleton, particularly depending on the growth stage.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The Yoshii Group of the Akiyoshi terrane is distributed over the Otakeyama area, Okayama Prefecture, southwest Japan. The Yoshii Group is composed of siliceous rocks and clastics, comprising ...chert-clastic sequences. The Yoshii Group is divided into four structural units (Units Ot 1, Ot 2, Ot 3, and Ot 4) in structurally ascending order. Lithological similarities and radiolarian age suggest that these units exhibit almost identical ocean plate stratigraphy. These units are structurally-repeated to form an imbricate structure. This structure was possibly formed by off-scrape accretion at a toe of an accretionary complex. Additionally, a review of previous studies indicates that an imbricate structure is common in the Akiyoshi terrane. The presence of an imbricate structure in the Akiyoshi terrane, Permian accretionary complex, indicates the possibility that a specific horizon of Permian pelagic sequences acted as a décollement zone.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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