Cosmogenic nuclide dating of Australopithecus at Sterkfontein, South Africa

Grain fabric of experimental gravity flow deposits

Kinematics of the thoracic spine in trunk lateral bending: in vivo three-dimensional analysis

This study investigates the reservoir properties of the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic shallow marine carbonate Sarki Formation outcrop, specifically in the Zarwan section of northeastern Iraqi Kurdistan. The lithology of the studied section comprises dolomite, dolomitic limestone, recrystallized breccia and thin beds of marls, with a formation thickness of approximately 115 m. Various techniques, including microscopic study, core plug analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to assess reservoir properties. The Sarki Formation consists of diverse pore types, including vuggy, moldic, intraparticle, interparticle, fracture, intercrystalline, stylolitic and microporosity. Identified diagenetic processes include early dolomitization, compaction (physical and chemical), cementation (granular, blocky, and drusy cements), micritization, dissolution, silicification, neomorphism, late dolomitization, and fracturing. Petrographic analysis indicated a porosity average of 2% in the lower part of the formation and 6% and 9.5% in the middle and upper parts, respectively. A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study confirmed similar porosity values with micropore sizes in the studied section. Core plug analysis results were roughly aligned with optical assessments, revealing porosity values of 2%, 6%, and 10% for the lower, middle, and upper parts, respectively. Overall, the Sarki Formation exhibited negligible to fair porosity ranges. Permeability measurements values averaged 0.01 md, 0.02 md, and 0.13 md for the lower, middle, and upper parts respectively, indicating a poor to fair permeability range. The upper part of the formation was deemed to have fair reservoir quality due to fewer observed diagenetic processes than the middle and lower parts, although permeability may be relatively low. In contrast, the lower and middle parts displayed poor reservoir characteristics, suggesting limited potential in the context of the petroleum reservoir.

This paper establishes an evaluation metric system (EMS) for low-carbon economic gain efficiency (LCEGE) containing the carbon sink element, and measures the LCEGEs in the 11 provincial administrative regions in the Yangtze River Economic Corridor (YREC) of 2000-2017 with the directional distance function (DDF) model. Furthermore, the Tobit model was selected for the empirical analysis on the influence of financial development on LCEGE. The results show that: the provinces in YREC had certain disparities in LCEGE. Most provinces achieved desirable LCEGEs, but a few provinces failed to do so. The LCEGE in the lower part changed little in the target period, while that in the middle part and upper part varied in two phases. Besides, there are obvious differences in the mean LCEGE between the lower part, middle part, and upper part. In the target period, the three parts of the YREC can be ranked as lower part, middle part, and upper part by LCEGE. The results of Tobit model reveal that the LCEGE in the YREC can be greatly promoted by financial scale, and clearly suppressed by financial structure. Among the control variables, foreign direct investment significantly promotes LCEGE; technical innovation, and energy structure significantly suppresses LCEGE; industrial structure and environmental regulation have an insignificant influence on LCEGE.

(1) Study was made on weight of dry matter and ratio of leaves and stems, by dividing top of the plant into four parts, i. e., upper, middle and lower parts, and lateral branch. Chemical analysis was also conducted on leaves and stems. (2) The highest leaf-stem ratio was found in upper part (3.15). The ratio in middle part (1.00) ranked next, and reduction was seen in lateral branch (0.77) and lower part (0.08). The average ratio was 0.68. (3) As compared with stems, leaves contained more moisture content, protein, ether extract, and crude ash, and less crude fiber and nitrogen free extract. Remarkably higher T.P./C.P. was observed in leaves than in stems. (4) As compared with lower part of leaves, upper part of leaves contained more moisture, protein, ether extract and crude fiber, and less crude ash and nitrogen free extract. Upper part of stems contained more moisture, protein, ether extract and crude ash than lower part of stems, and less crude fiber and nitrogen free extract. High T.P./C.P. was observed in upper part of leaves and also in lower part of stems. (5) Ratio of carbohydrate against nitrogen free extract was high in stems, and low in leaves. Furthermore, the said ratio in both leaves and stems was high in lower part, and low in upper part, respectively. (6) Nutrient componentes in lateral branch and also in middle part of plant was about the middle of those in upper part and lower part. (7) The largest quantity of protein N was found in upper part of both leaves and stems, respectively, and least in lower part. In leaves, more protein N was found in middle part than in lateral branch, but in stems this relation was reverse. (8) As regards with various kinds of water soluble protein N contained in upper and middle part of leaves and of lateral branch, hot NaOH C2 H5 OH soluble nitrogen was most abundant, and water soluble nitrogen ranked next. In lower part, hot NaOH, C2 H5 OH was the largest, and NaOH soluble nitrogen followed next.

Evaluation of right ventricular function by regional wall motion analysis in patients after correction of tetralogy of Fallot

Measurements of perturbations in the atmospheric potential gradient around volcanic plumes at multiple (from two to five) sites, and measurements of the charge–mass ratio of ash particles falling from volcanic plumes, were carried out at Sakurajima Volcano, Japan. Results from 28 and 29 October 1995, show that the nature of the perturbations depends on the intensity of plume activity. Although plume activity was vigorous on 28 October, negative perturbations were predominant. As plume activity peaked, the magnitude of negative perturbations decreased just below the plume and increased at an off-axis site. During the peak period, positively charged ash particles fell out from the plume. This suggests that the active plume dominantly contained negatively charged materials, and that positively and negatively charged materials were added to the lower and upper parts of the plume, respectively, during the peak period. On the other hand, as plume activity became less vigorous on 29 October, the perturbations were characterized by a positive anomaly followed by a negative anomaly. Because wind velocity increased with altitude that day, we infer that positive and negative charges were distributed in the upper and lower parts of the plume, respectively. The differences in perturbations observed on 28 and 29 October suggest that volcanic plumes are generally composed of three parts: an upper part with positively charged gas and aerosol, a middle part with negatively charged fine ash particles, and a lower part with positively charged coarse ash particles. The compilation of present and previous results from Sakurajima and other volcanoes indicates that the effect of the negative charge in the middle part was predominant in most cases, although positive perturbations caused by the upper part were observed around some weak plumes. The effect of positively charged particles in the lower part was observable only when plume activity was sufficiently strong because positively charged coarse particles tended to fall out near the vent.

This study investigates reservoir quality for the Middle–Late Eocene Pila Spi Formation in Shaqlawa (Sarkand) and Gulley Keer (Shekhan) areas in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Lithologically, the Pila Spi Formation in the studied sections is composed of limestone, dolomite, dolomitic limestone, chalky limestone, and marl. The thickness of the formation is about 102m and 200m in Sarkand and Gully Keer sections respectively. In order to evaluate the reservoir characterization of the studied formation, different techniques such as a microscopic study and core plug analysis were used. The Pila Spi Formation is characterized by several pore's types namely; vugs, moldics, channels, interparticles, fractures, boring, fenestral, and intragranulars. Several diagenetic processes were also recognized such as dolomitization, pressure solution, stylolization and dissolution. Based on the petrographic study, the lower part of the formation in Sarkand section has a porosity average of 8%, while it has an average of 21% and 17% in middle and upper parts. In Gulley Keer section, the porosity values of the formation are about 9%, 17, and 19%, in the lower, middle and upper part, respectively. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) study shows almost the same porosity values, and the pore's sizes are between micropore to mesopore for the studied sections. Furthermore, the results of the core plugs analysis are roughly in agreement with optical assessments since the measured porosity values from Sarkand section are 8%, 18.5%, and 18% for lower, middle and upper parts, respectively. The porosity values of Gulley Keer section for lower, middle and upper parts of the studied section are 2.5%, 17.25%, and 22.5%, respectively. Consequently, the results revealed that the Pila Spi Formation has a good porosity except the lower part. In regards with permeability, the measured values of permeability displayed an avenge of 0.109md and 0.6698md for Sarkand and Gulley Keer respectively in which suggested fair to good permeability.

The distribution of parenchyma, follicles, and lymphocyte subsets in thymus of patients with myasthenia gravis, with special reference to remission after thymectomy

To develop the technology for cultivation of high-density seaweed, sea tangle was cultured from varying depths(0.5 m, 3 m) of seawater at Gijang and Wando area. Proximate composition, component sugar, total amino acid, fatty acid composition, and element composition of different parts of sea tangle (Saccharina japonica) have been examined. Significant differences were found in the amount of crude protein and ash content in lower, middle, and upper parts of algal blades. The upper parts of the sea tangle was rich in crude protein, while lower parts was rich in crude ash. Crude lipid content was higher in the middle parts than those of the other parts. The component sugars were not significantly different from all parts of algal blades. The highest content of most of the amino acids were found in the upper parts of the blades. The amount of saturated fatty acids concentrated mostly in lower parts of blades, while the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids concentrated in the upper parts. The highest N element contents were found in upper part of algal blades. However, the contents of those chemical component were not affected by the depths of seawater.

Three-year (2023–2025) studies on typical medium-loamy chernozem at “Mriya” LLC in Bila Tserkva district of Kyiv region, within a three-field crop rotation, have established that the structural condition of the arable layer of typical chernozem under ploughdisk, disk, and no-till treatments did not differ significantly between tillage options. Under disk and no-till treatments a clear differentiation (heterogeneity) of the arable layer was observed in terms of structural condition across its different parts (0–10, 10–20, 20–30 cm). The content of water-resistant aggregates in the upper part of the arable layer (0–10 cm) was significantly higher under plough-disk tillage, while in the lower part (20–30 cm) it was higher under direct seeding. The absolute difference in the structural condition of the upper (1–10 cm) and lower (20–30 cm) parts of the arable layer during the tillering and full ripeness stages of winter wheat amounted to 2.5 and 2.3 %, respectively, under plow-disk tillage; 9.3 and 7.2 % under disk tillage; and 11.0 and 9.7 % under direct sowing. The bulk density of the arable layer was significantly higher, and total porosity was significantly lower under disk and no-till tillage; however, these values did not exceed critical thresholds – 1.30 g/cm³ and 50 %, respectively. The bulk density exceeded the critical value only in the lower part of the arable layer (20–30 cm) under disk and zero tillage at the time of crop harvesting in the crop rotation. The total porosity of the upper part of the arable layer did not undergo significant changes, while in the middle and lower parts it decreased under disk and no-till tillage. Capillary porosity of the arable layer was practically at the same level in tillage variants at sowing date, but was significantly higher under disk tillage and direct seeding at harvest time. In the middle and lower parts of the arable layer, this indicator significantly increased under disk and zero-tillage. A decrease in non-capillary porosity of the soil was recorded under disking and direct sowing in the 0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 0–30 cm layers. Crop yield did not significantly change depending on the treatment option, indicating the possibility of direct sowing into uncultivated soil. On average over three years, the typical yield for shelf-disc, disk, and zero tillage of typical chernozem amounted to 6.23, 6.11, and 6.07 t/ha for winter wheat; 3.50, 3.50, and 3.56 t/ha for soybean; and 3.27, 3.18, and 3.20 t/ha for sunflower, with НІР0,05 values of 0.31, 0.26, and 0.22 t/ha, respectively. Key words: typical chernozem, crop rotation, tillage, structure, structural density, porosity, yield.

Three gravity cores (LZK1, ZKA4, and CSJA6) from the incised Yangtze paleo-valley comprise a thick sequence of the post-glacial deposit. Nineteen genera (26 species) of the benthic foraminifers are described from these cores, with detailed down-core foraminiferal variations to investigate their paleoenvironmental implications. Three foraminiferal assemblages are recognized for the lower, middle, and upper parts of the cores respectively. The lower part is dominated byAmmonia beccariivar. andFlorilus decoruswith lower abundance and diversity. In the middle part, the foraminifers are abundant and diverse, dominated by bothAmmonia beccariivar. andElphidium advenum.Cavarotalia annectens,Pararotalia nipponica, and porcellaneous benthic foraminiferal forms are always present, sometimes abundant. The upper part is characterized by theAmmonia beccarii-Elphidium magellanicumassemblage, except for the Core ZKA4, which is barren of foraminifers in this interval. AMS14C dates and foraminiferal assemblages both confirm that the transgression-regression sequence in these cores belongs to the “Ammoniatransgression” during the Holocene. In addition to documenting the post-glacial sea-level fluctuations, the benthic foraminifers also reflect a warmer climate during the early–middle Holocene. The foraminiferal differences among the three cores can be used to interpret the influence of seawater during the post-glacial sea-level fluctuations. The area in the vicinity of Core ZKA4 was affected by marine water only during the middle Holocene, which was much shorter than the areas of the other cores.

Permian shallow marine strata are widely distributed in the Southern Kitakami Massif, Northeast Japan. They yield many marine fossils and have been well studied both stratigraphically and biostratigraphically. However, the geological age of the upper part of the Permian in the Tassobe district, located in the northern part of the Southern Kitakami Massif (Fig. 1), is still an unsettled question. The Permian is divided into the lower Tassobe and upper Sotokawame Formations (Okuyama, 1980; Yoshida et al., 1992). Early Permian (Sakmarian–Artinskian) fusulinoideans have been known from the middle to lower-upper part of the Tassobe Formation (Hirokawa and Yoshida, 1956; Saito, 1968; Yoshida et al., 1992), whereas no age-diagnostic fossils have been found from the overlying Sotokawame Formation. In the course of the geologic survey of the Permian, we collected two ammonoid fossils from the lower part of the Sotokawame Formation, which can provide us a basis for stratigraphic correlation. This paper describes these ammonoids and discusses their stratigraphic and biogeographic significance. Figure 1 —Location map of the study area The Carboniferous Okawame and Permian Tassobe and Sotokawame formations occupy the Tassobe district (Fig. 2). The Tassobe Formation, unconformably covering the Lower-Middle Carboniferous Okawame Formation, is divided into three lithologic units: the lower, middle, and upper parts. The lower part is 300– 350 m thick and consists of sandstone and mudstone, with minor amounts of conglomerate (Fig. 3). The middle part, 450–550 m in thickness, is composed mostly of limestone with intercalated mudstone. The upper part consists mainly of mudstone associated with lenticular limestones and its total thickness reaches 450 m. From the limestone of the middle part, fusulinoidean fossils such as Robustoschwagerina shellwieni (Hanzawa, 1938); Pseudofusulina kraffti (Shellwien and Dyhrenfurth, 1909); P. paramotohashii Morikawa, 1960; Charaloschwagerina vulgaris (Shellwien and Dyhrenfurth, 1909); and Parafusulina chihsiaensis (Lee, 1931 …

The most important issue in the dating of the long Baikal core (600 m) is whether the segment between the base of C3An.2n and the top of C3Bn (267.67–375.48 m) is distorted. Changes in γ-ray intensity (H. Tsukahara et al., personal communication), which reflects the structure of the cores, indicate that this part is different from the rest (strictly speaking, the upper and lower shifting points seem to be at around 262 m and 362 m, respectively, from the fluctuation). To investigate this difference, we carried out spectral analyses of the upper section of the core (163–261 m), and of the middle (263–361 m) and lower (363–673 m) parts. Prevailing periods for each part are different, particularly in the middle one. There is a distinct common prevailing period of around 4.5–4.9 m in the upper and lower parts, whereas a period of 18 m prevails in the middle part, suggesting that the structure of the middle is different from the upper and lower parts of the core.

Three-dimensional structure of involutions formed in a late Pleistocene tephra layer, northeastern Japan