Determination of Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Fractions in Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Threonine and Methionine

The nomenclature for compounds that are modified with isotopes is growing every day. Compounds can be modified with isotopes either individually, in a functional group or groups, or completely with all atomic centers of the element. This diversity of isotope-modified compounds increases the range of researches that can be studied using them. Compounds modified with isotopes of carbon-13 or nitrogen-15 can be converted into carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and molecular nitrogen. Currently, only the average value of carbon-13 or nitrogen-15 isotopes can be determined. However, by directly determining the atomic share of these isotopes in organic compounds modified with isotopes, information about the isotopic centers of the element can be obtained. The atomic fraction of an element is defined as a single carbon or nitrogen isotope-modified center or centers, or all centers that are isotope-modified with that element at the same time. Carbon-13 or nitrogen-15 isotopes’ atomic fraction can be determined molecularly or with fragment ions of different elemental content, or both. This makes the method self-verifying, increasing the accuracy and reliability of the results obtained. Amino acids, such as asparagine, aspartic acid, methionine, and threonine, are essential for the human body. This proposed method of isotopic analysis will increase the possibilities for scientific research using these compounds.

Feasibility of medical radioisotope production based on the proton beams at China Spallation Neutron Source

The utilization of a proton beam from the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)for producing medical radioisotopes is appealing owing to its high current intensity and high energy.The medical isotope production based on the proton beam at the CSNS is significant for the development of future radiopharmaceuticals,particularly for theα-emitting radiopharmaceu-ticals.The production yield and activity of typical medical isotopes were estimated using the FLUKA simulation.The results indicate that the 300-MeV proton beam with a power of 100 kW at CSNS-II is highly suitable for proof-of-principle studies of most medical radioisotopes.In particular,this proton beam offers tremendous advantages for the large-scale production of alpha radioisotopes,such as 225Ac,whose theoretical production yield can reach approximately 57 Ci/week.Based on these results,we provide perspectives on the use of CSNS proton beams to produce radioisotopes for medical applications.

Variation characteristics of stable isotopes in atmospheric precipitation in Adelaide,Australia

Background,aim,and scope Stable isotope in water could respond sensitively to the variation of environment and be reserved in different geological archives,although they are scarce in the environment.And the methods derived from the stable isotope composition of water have been widely applied in researches on hydrometeorology,weather diagnosis,and paleoclimate reconstruction,which help well for understanding the water-cycle processes in one region.Here,it is aimed to explore the temporal changes of stable isotopes in precipitation from Adelaide,Australia and determine the influencing factors at different timescales.Materials and methods Based on the isotopic data of daily precipitation over four years collected in Adelaide,Australia,the variation characteristics of dailyδD,δ^(18)O,and dexcess in precipitation and its relationship with meteorological elements were analyzed.Results The results demonstrated the local meteoric water line(LMWL)in Adelaide,wasδD=6.38×δ^(18)O+6.68,with a gradient less than 8.There is a significant negative correlation between dailyδ^(18)O and precipitation amount or relative humidity at daily timescales in both the whole year and wither/summerhalf year(p<0.001),but a significant positive correlation between dailyδ^(18)O and temperature in the whole year and the winter half-year(p<0.001).Discussion The correlation coefficients betweenδ^(18)O and daily mean temperature didn’t show a significant positive correlation,which may be attributed to that the precipitation in Adelaide area in January was mainly influenced by strong convective weather,and the stable isotope values in precipitation were significantly negative.Furthermore,this propose was also evidenced by the results from dexcess of precipitation with larger value in the winter half-year than that in the summer half-year,which may be resulted from the precipitation events in winter are mostly influenced by oceanic water vapor,while the sources of water vapor in summer precipitation events are more complicated and influenced by strong convective weather.On the other hand,the slope and intercept of theδ^(18)O—P regression lines in the summer months(-0.41 and 0.50‰)are larger and smaller than those in the winter months(-0.22 and-2.15‰),respectively,indicating that the precipitation stable isotopes have a relatively stronger rainout effect in the summer months than in the winter months.Besides,the measured values ofδ^(18)O in daily precipitation have a good linear relationship with our simulated values ofδ^(18)O,demonstrating the established regression model could provide a reliable simulation for theδ^(18)O values in daily precipitation in Adelaide area.It’s worth noting that the precipitation events with low precipitation amount,low relative humidity and high temperature,usually had relatively small slope and intercept of MWL,implying that raindrops may be strongly affected by sub-cloud secondary evaporation in the falling process.Conclusions The variation ofδ^(18)O in daily precipitation from Adelaide region was controlled by different factors at different timescales.And the water vapor sources and the meteorological conditions of precipitation events(such as the degree of sub-cloud secondary evaporation)also played an important role on the variation ofδ^(18)O.Recommendations and perspectives Stable isotope in daily precipitation can provide more accurate information about water-cycle and atmosphere circulation,it is therefore necessary to continue to collect and analyze daily-scale precipitation data over a longer time span.The results of this study will provide the basis for the fields of hydrometeorology,meteorological diagnosis and paleoclimate reconstruction in Adelaide,Australia.

Isotopic analysis based on terahertz spectrum

As a new promising detection technology in the terahertz research field,the terahertz time-domain spec-troscopy(THz-TDS)has very broad application potential in many fields because its advantage on the characteristic spectrum,wide spectrum and non-destructive analysis of interested substances.In this paper,the terahertz absorption spectra of gases mixed with 12 CO and 13 CO in the spec-trum range of 0.5–2.5 THz are measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy for the first time.Several isotopo-logues can be clearly distinguished based on the difference in their rotational energies and the consequent terahertz spectrum.The experimental results show that 12 CO and 13 CO have obvious characteristic absorption peaks in the spectrum range of 0.5–2.5 THz due to the difference in rotational energy,and the rotational constant B can be calculated according to the experimental values to distin-guish the two gaseous isotopologues.The frequency posi-tions of the characteristic absorption peak measured by this experiment and the rotation constant B calculated accord-ing to the experimental values are compared with those previous theoretical calculations and experimental results,and they are in good agreement.This result lays a foun-dation for developing more sophisticated terahertz instru-ments to the detection of different isotopologues.

Stable Isotope Dilution Analysis of Gibberellin Residues in Tomato Paste by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

An accurate and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of gibberellic acid（GA3）, gibberellin A4（GA4） and gibberellin A7（GA7） residues in tomato paste was developed by coupling solid phase extraction to high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry（LC-MS/MS） with electrospray ionization based stable isotope dilution analysis（SIDA）. The isotope labeled internal standard can compensate for the losses during the extraction and cleanup steps and for discrimination due to ion suppression. After extraction from methanol, hydrophile lipophilic balance（HLB） solid phase extraction（SPE） column was tested for the capacity of the cleanup of the tomato paste in compared with C18 SPE column which is the common way to the detection of GAs, and the former gained better result. Spiked experiments were performed in the non-contaminated tomato pastes and the recoveries of GA3, GA4 and GA7 were 42.6%―75.0% in external standard method（ESM） and 91.1%―103.8% in internal standard method（ISM） respectively. The validities of this method were investigated and good analytical performance for the three GAs was obtained, including low limits of method detection（2 ng/g for GA3 and GA4, 0.3 ng/g for GA7）, excellent linear dynamic ranges（5―500 ng/g for GA3 and GA4, 1―100 ng/g for GA7） and good relative standard deviation ranges（4.8%―9.4% for the intra-day test and 3.5%―11.9% for the inter-day test）.

Determination of trophic levels of marine fish in the Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea using nitrogen stable isotope (δ^(15)N) analysis of otoliths

Fish otolithδ^(15) N(δ^(15) N_(oto))is a demonstrated source of information of dietary history for marine fi sh as it is available iN_(oto)lith archives and sedimentary deposits unlike white muscle tissue(WMT).WMT and stomach content data are insufficient for trophic level(TL)data of past fi shes which is important for the changes of marine fi shery resources over long time scales.To determine the correlation betweenδ^(15) N_(oto) and fi sh WMTδ^(15) N(δ^(15) N_(wmt))and the feasibility of usingδ^(15) N_(oto) in characterizing the TLs of marine fi shes,we conducted nitrogen stable isotope analysis(SIA)in the otolith and WMT of 36 marine fi sh species sampled from the Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea in 2011-2014.Bothδ^(15) N_(oto) andδ^(15) N_(wmt) were analyzed using an elemental analyzer coupled with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer(EA-IRMS).Multiple otoliths were combined to make each otolith measurement and were analyzed as-is without a carbonate dissolution pre-processing step.δ^(15) N_(oto) andδ^(15) N_(wmt) comparisons for species in the Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea are currently lacking and would be helpful for both regional studies and for increasing the number of species for whichδ^(15) N_(oto) andδ^(15) N_(wmt) have been compared.Additionally,to determine the relative accuracy of trophic level calculated usingδ^(15) N_(oto),we compared TL calculated fromδ^(15) N_(oto) to traditional trophic level metrics calculated usingδ^(15) N_(wmt).The results showed a positive and highly signifi cant correlation(R=0.780,P<0.001)betweenδ^(15) N_(oto) andδ^(15) N_(wmt).Trophic level estimation using WMT(TL wmt)and otolith(TL oto)showed congruence in our study,which is not entirely surprising given thatδ^(15) N_(oto) was regressed againstδ^(15) N_(wmt) and the resulting regression coefficient was used to convertδ^(15) N_(oto) toδ^(15) N_(wmt) prior to calculating TL oto.This conversion was required in order to be consistent with previousδ^(15) N_(wmt)-based calculations of TL for comparison.TL oto calculations resulted in TL values that were largely within 5%-10%of TL values calculated withδ^(15) N_(wmt).Our fi ndings show thatδ^(15) N_(oto) is a feasible technique for characterizing the TLs of marine fi sh and can also assist in food web and marine ecosystem studies.

Determination of Inorganic Antimony Species Conversions during Its Speciation Analysis in Soil Using Isotope Dilution Techniques

A new method was developed in this work to account for inorganic Sb species interconversion during soil sample preparation and subsequent separation steps. The Sb(III) and Sb(V) concentrations at each investigated step in the analytical procedure were determined using species specific spikes (121Sb(III) with 81.18% and 123Sb(V) with 74.04% enrichment). The spiking of these enriched isotopes species solutions was done separately before soil sample extraction and before HPLC separation. Simply by subtracting the final concentration of each species done by on-line isotope dilution (ID) from its concentration at different stages of the analytical procedure done by species specific ID, the influence of each step on species transformation can be estimated. After optimization, the extraction procedure for inorganic Sb species 6% Sb(III) (1.3 RSD, n = 3) and 43.2% Sb(V) (2.9% RSD, n = 3) as percent of total Sb were detected in the examined soil sample using online ID. Using the above described methodology we found that there was no reduction of Sb(V) to Sb(III) during sample preparation or species separation. While about 9.3% of extractable Sb (4.6% of total) was converted from Sb(III) to Sb(V) during the extraction step, no conversion during HPLC separation step was observed. By compensating for Sb(III) transformation during the sample preparation step;the extractable Sb(III) and Sb(V) as percent of total Sb yielded 10.6% and 38.7%, respectively.

A ca. 2.2Ga Acidic Magmatic Event at the Northern Margin of the Yangtze Craton: Evidence from U-Pb Dating and Hf Isotope Analysis of Zircons from the Kongling Complex

Objective The Yangtze craton collisional orogeny at ca. extensional events at ca. 1 experienced Paleoproterozoic 1.95-2.0 Ga and post-orogenic 85 Ga related to amalgamation of the Columbia （Nuna） supercontinent （Zhao and Cawood, 2012）. A ca. 2.15 Ga suprasubduction zone ophiolitic melange was recongized in the Archean- Paleoproterozoic Kongling Complex of the northern Yangtze craton （Han et al., 2017）. However, the tectonic evolution in early Paleoproterozoic from 2.4 Ga to 2.2 Ga remains unclear. We report here the presence of a suite of Paleoproterozoic （2.2 Ga） granites in the Huangling dome, northern Yangtze craton, which may provide important insights into crustal growth processes in the craton prior to the assembly of Columbia.

Compound-specific isotopes of fatty acids as indicators of trophic interactions in the East China Sea ecosystem

The composition and compound-specific isotopes of fatty acids were studied within food webs in the East China Sea.Lipid-normalized stable carbon isotopes of total organic carbon had a good correlation with trophic level.Variations in fatty acid compositions among different species were observed but were unclear.Different dietary structures could be traced from molecular isotopes of selected fatty acids in the Shiba shrimp(Matapenaeus joyneri),the coastal mud shrimp(Solenocera crassicomis) and the northern Maoxia shrimp(Acetes chinensis).Both M.joyneri and S.crassicomis are mainly benthos feeders,while A.chinensis is a pelagic species,although they have a similar fatty acid composition.There was a good correlation for isotopes of arachidonic acid(C20:4n6;ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid(C22:6n3;DHA)among pelagic species from higher trophic levels.The isotopic compositions of DHA in benthic species were more negative than those of pelagic species at the same trophic level.The fact that the diet of benthic species contains more degraded items,the carbon isotopes of which are derived from a large biochemical fraction,may be the reason for this variation.A comparative study of benthic and pelagic species demonstrated the different carbon sources in potential food items and the presence of a more complex system at the watersediment interface.

UHAS-MIDA Software Package: Mass Isotopomer Distribution Analysis-Applying the Inverse Matrix for the Determination of Stable Isotopes of Chromium Distribution during Red Blood Cell Labelling

Clinical assessment of fluid volume status in children during malaria can be taxing and often inaccurate. During malaria, changes in fluid volume are rather multifarious and estimating this parameter, especially in sick children is very challenging for clinicians who frequently rely on indices such as long capillary refill times, tachycardia, central venous pressure and decreased urine volume as guides. Here, we present the UHAS-MIDA, an open-source software tool that calculates the red blood cell (RBC) concentration and blood volume during malaria in children determined using a stable isotope of chromium (53Cr as the label) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selective ion monitoring (GC/MS-SIM) analysis. A key component involves the determination of the compositions of the most abundant naturally occurring isotopes of Cr (50Cr, 52Cr, 53Cr), and converting the proportions into a 3 × 3 matrix. To estimate unknown proportions of chromium isotopic mixtures from the measured abundances of three ions, an inverse matrix was calculated. The inverse together with several inputs is then used to calculate the corrected MS ion abundances. Thus, we constructed the software tool UHAS- MIDA using HTML, CSS/Bootstrap, JavaScript, and PHP scripting languages. The tool enables the user to efficiently determine RBC concentration and fluid volume. The source code, binary packages and associated materials for UHAS-MIDA are freely available at https://github.com/bentil078/Abaye-et-al_UHASmida

Time series analysis of mantle cycles Part Ⅰ:Periodicities and correlations among seven global isotopic databases

In this study,seven isotopic databases are presented and analyzed to identify mantle and crustal episodes on a global scale by focusing on periodicity ranging from 70 to 200 million years(Myr).The databases are the largest,or among the largest,compiled for each type of data-with an objective of finding some samples from every region of every continent,to make each database as global as conceivably possible.The databases contain zircon Lu/Hf isotopic data,whole-rock Sm/Nd isotopic data,U/Pb detrital zircon ages,U/Pb igneous zircon ages,U/Pb non-zircon ages,whole-rock Re/Os isotopic data,and large igneous province ages.Part I of this study focuses on the periodicities of age histograms and geochemical averages developed from the seven databases,via spectral and cross-correlation analyses.Natural physical cycles often propagate in exact integer multiples of a fundamental cycle,referred to as harmonics.The tests show that harmonic geological cycles of^93.5 and^187 Myr have persisted throughout terrestrial history,and the cyclicities are statistically significant for U/Pb igneous zircon ages,U/Pb detrital zircon ages,U/Pb zircon-rim ages,large igneous province ages,meanεHf(t)for all samples,meanεHf(t)values for igneous-only samples,and relative abundance of mafic rocks.Equally important,cross-correlation analyses show these seven time-series are nearly synchronous(±7 Myr)with a model consisting of periodicities of 93.5 and 187 Myr.Additionally,the similarities between peaks in the 93.5 and 187 Myr mantle cycles and terminal ages of established and suspected superchrons provide a framework for predicting and testing superchron periodicity.

Using radium isotopes to evaluate the uncertainty of submarine groundwater discharge in the northeast and entirety of Daya Bay

Submarine groundwater discharge(SGD),which can be traced using naturally occurring radium isotopes,has been recognized as a significant nutrient source and land-ocean interaction passage for the coastal waters of the Daya Bay,China.However,uncertainties in assessing SGD fluxes must still be discussed in detail.In this study,we attempted to utilize the Monte Carlo method to evaluate the uncertainties of radium-derived SGD flux in the northeast and entirety of the Daya Bay.The results show that the uncertainties of the SGD estimate in the northeast bay are very sensitive to variations in excess radium inventories as well as radium inputs from bottom sediments,while the uncertainties of the SGD estimate for the entire bay are strongly affected by fluctuations in radium inputs from bottom sediments and radium end-members of SGD.This study will help to distinguish the key factors controlling the accuracy of SGD estimates in similar coastal waters.

Isotopic analysis of the snow cover at an alpine glacier as an indicator of local climatic variations and isotopic homogenization processes

Stratigraphic variations of 18 O/ 16 O ratios of winter accumulated snow at an alpine temperate glacier correspond to temporal patterns of local climatic variations. Although the snow is influenced by percolation and homogenization processes, the isotope stratigraphy in the glacier's accumulation area is not destroyed during the first part of summer. Below the equilibrium line altitude, rapid melting results in isotopic homogenization. Variation of δ 18 O values in the firn are relatively small.

Geochemical characteristics of Sr isotopes in the LS33 drill core from the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea, and their response to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau

Making full use of modern analytical and testing techniques to explore and establish new indexes or methods for extracting paleoseawater geochemical information from sediments will help to reconstruct the sedimentary paleoenvironment in different research areas.The connection between the subsidence of the South China Sea basin and the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau has been a scientific concern in recent decades.To explore the information on the sedimentary paleoenvironment,provenance changes and uplift of Tibetan Plateau contained in core sediments(debris),we selected core samples from Well LS33 in the Qiongdongnan Basin,South China Sea,and analyzed the contents of typical elements(Al,Th,and rare earth elements)that can indicate changes in provenance and the Sr isotopic compositions,which can reveal the geochemical characteristics of the paleoseawater depending on the type of material(authigenic carbonate and terrigenous detritus).The results show the following:(1)during the late Miocene,the Red River transported a large amount of detrital sediments from the ancient continental block(South China)to the Qiongdongnan Basin.(2)The authigenic carbonates accurately record changes in the 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the South China Sea since the Oligocene.These ratios reflect the semi-closed marginal sea environment of the South China Sea(relative to the ocean)and the sedimentary paleoenvironment evolution process of the deep-water area of the Qiongdongnan Basin from continental to transitional and then to bathyal.(3)Since the Neogene,the variations in the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in the authigenic carbonates have been consistent with the variations in the uplift rate of the Tibetan Plateau and the sediment accumulation rate in the Qiongdongnan Basin.These consistent changes indicate the complex geological process of the change in the rock weathering intensity and terrigenous Sr flux caused by changes in the uplift rate of the Tibetan Plateau,which influence the Sr isotope composition of seawater.

Isotopic characteristics and source analysis of atmospheric ammonia during agricultural periods in the Xichuan area of the Danjiangkou Reservoir

Nitrogen deposition is an important means of exogenous nitrogen input in reservoir water.Agricultural activities around the reservoir lead to a sharp increase in the concentration of ammonia in the atmosphere,which poses a threat to the reservoir water body.Clarifying the contribution of agricultural ammonia release to atmospheric NH_(x)(gaseous NH_(3)and particulate NH_(4)^(+)),in the reservoir area can provide a theoretical foundation for local reactive nitrogen control.We collected atmospheric NH_(3)and NH_(4)^(+)samples during the agricultural periods and analyzed the isotopic characteristics of atmospheric NH_(x)and the contribution rates of different ammonia sources in the Xichuan area of the Danjiangkou Reservoir.The results showed that the initialδ~(15)N values of NH_(3)(-30.0‰to–7.2‰)and particulate NH_(4)^(+)(–33‰to+4.9‰for finer and coarser particles,respectively)are different,and their contribution ratios from dissimilar ammonia sources are also different,among which NH_(4)^(+)is more susceptible to meteorological factors.However,since the atmospheric NH_(x)in the Xichuan area is mainly gaseous NH_(3),the final sources of atmospheric ammonia nitrogen source depend on gaseous NH_(3).Agricultural sources(59%-74%)were the main NH_(3)sources in this area.Among them,the fertilizer use emission was dominant;it had the highest contribution rate in summer during the agricultural period and a more prominent impact in areas with less human interference.Reasonable regulation of the application of high-ammonia releasing fertilizer,especially during the agricultural period in summer,is an effective way to reduce the threat of atmospheric ammonia to water health.

HDPairFinder:A data processing platform for hydrogen/deuterium isotopic labeling-based nontargeted analysis of trace-level amino-containing chemicals in environmental water

The combination of hydrogen/deuterium(H/D)formaldehyde-based isotopic methyl labeling with solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry(HPLC-HRMS)is a powerful analytical solution for nontargeted analysis of trace-level amino-containing chemicals in water samples.Given the huge amount of chemical information generated in HPLC-HRMS analysis,identifying all possible H/Dlabeled amino chemicals presents a significant challenge in data processing.To address this,we designed a streamlined data processing pipeline that can automatically extract H/D-labeled amino chemicals from the raw HPLC-HRMS data with high accuracy and efficiency.First,we developed a cross-correlation algorithm to correct the retention time shift resulting from deuterium isotopic effects,which enables reliable pairing of H-and D-labeled peaks.Second,we implemented several bioinformatic solutions to remove false chemical features generated by in-source fragmentation,salt adduction,and natural13C isotopes.Third,we used a data mining strategy to construct the AMINES library that consists of over 38,000 structure-disjointed primary and secondary amines to facilitate putative compound annotation.Finally,we integrated these modules into a freely available R program,HDPairFinder.R.The rationale of each module was justified and its performance tested using experimental H/D-labeled chemical standards and authentic water samples.We further demonstrated the application of HDPairFinder to effectively extract N-containing contaminants,thus enabling the monitoring of changes of primary and secondary N-compounds in authentic water samples.HDPairFinder is a reliable bioinformatic tool for rapid processing of H/D isotopic methyl labeling-based nontargeted analysis of water samples,and will facilitate a better understanding of N-containing chemical compounds in water.

Trophic Ecology of Sharks in the Mid-East Pacific Ocean Inferred from Stable Isotopes

As apex predators, sharks are of ecological and conservation importance in marine ecosystems. In this study, trophic positions of sharks were estimated using stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen for five representative species caught by the Chinese longline fleet in the mid-east Pacific, i.e., the blue shark （Prionace glauca）, the bigeye thresher shark （Alopias superciliosus）, the silky shark （Carcharhinus falciformis）, the scalloped hammerhead （Sphyrna lewini）, and the oceanic whitetip shark （Car-charhinus longimanus）. Of these species, oceanic whitetip shark has the lowest trophic level and mean 815N value （3.9 and 14.93%o± 0.84%o）, whereas bigeye thresher shark has the highest level/values （4.5 and 17.02%o±1.21%o, respectively）. The bigeye thresher shark has significantly higher 515N value than other shark species, indicating its higher trophic position. The blue shark and oceanic whitetip shark has significantly higher 813C values than bigeye thresher shark, silky shark and scalloped hammerhead, possibly due to different diets and/or living habitats. The stable isotope data and stomach content data are highly consistent, suggesting that sta-ble isotope analysis supplements traditional feeding ecology study of sharks, and thus contributes to understanding their trophic linkage.

Trophic ecology of small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis Bleeker): stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence

The trophic ecology of the small yellow croaker （Larimichthys polyactis） was studied using stable isotope analyses. Samples were collected from July to September 2009 and 34 individuals from eight sites were examined for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Stable carbon isotope ratios （~3C） ranged from -20.67 to -15.43, while stable nitrogen isotope ratios （~SN） ranged 9.18-12.23. The relationship between fi^3C and ~SN suggested high resource partitioning in the sampling area. Significant differences in stable isotope values among the eight sampling sites may be linked to environmental diversities involving various physical processes （such as ocean current, wind and tide） and different carbon sources. Furthermore, the stable isotope ratios may also explain the ontogenetic variability in diet and feeding, because δ13C and δ15N varied significantly with increasing body size. The findings are consistent with other studies on diet analyses in small yellow croaker. It was also demonstrated that stable isotope analysis could be used to estimate the trophic characters of small yellow croaker in feeding patterns and migrating habits.

Effects of pretreatment procedures on fatty acid composition and stable carbon isotopes in the marine microalga Isochrysis zhanjiangenisis

This study aims to quantify the effects of different pretreatment methods on the stable carbon isotope values of fatty acids in marine microalgae（Isochrysis zhanjiangenisis）.To identify the effects of sample preparation on theδ^（13）C value and the fatty acid composition,we examined eight types of pretreatment methods including：（a） drying the sample followed by direct methyl esterification using HCl-CH3OH;（b） drying the sample followed by direct methyl esterification using H2SO4-CH3OH;（c） drying the sample by ultrasonic extraction and methylesterification using HCl-CH3OH;（d） drying the sample by ultrasonic extraction and methyl-esterification using H2SO4-CH3OH;（e） fresh sample followed by direct methyl-esterification using HCl-CH3OH;（f） fresh sample followed by direct methyl-esterification using H2SO4-CH3OH;（g） fresh sample with ultrasonic extraction followed by methyl-esterification using HCl-CH3OH,and（h） fresh sample with ultrasonic extraction followed by methylesterification using H2SO4-CH3 OH.The results show that the δ^（13）C values from Groups a-e,g and h fluctuated within 0.3‰,and the δ^（13）C values of Group f were approximately 0.7‰ lower than the other seven groups.Therefore,the different sample pretreatment methods used towards the extraction of fatty acids from marine microalgae may result in different results regarding the stable carbon isotope ratios,and if necessary a correction should be applied.

Functional Spectral Analysis of Paleoclimatic Evolution in Lanzhou Area over the Last 15 ka

In this paper, we make use of the functional spectral analysis to infer the periodicity of paleoclimate in the Hongzuisi section since about 15 ka. Through combined analysis of organic carbon isotope and CaCO\-3 content, the law of paleoclimatic evolution of the Hongzuisi section is obtained. There were climatic changes from 10 ka to about 0.1 ka over the last 15 ka. Among these cycles, the cycle of several ka is most remarkable. The result indicates that functional spectral analysis is helpful for paleoclimatic study, which can provide useful information about paleoclimatic reconstruction and future forecast.