Preliminary determination of calcium,phosphorus,and the calcium/phosphorus ratio in cortical bone of Chinstrap penguin using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence analysis

Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence （SR-XRF） approach was applied to analyzing of Chinstrap penguin （ Pygoscelis Antarctica） cortical bone. The method enabled the in situ determination of Ca and P concentrations and the Ca/P ratio in cortical bone. The preliminary results show that ： （ 1 ） there is the bone site-related difference for Ca and P concentrations. The mean values for the investigated parameters （ on a dry-weight basis） are： 30.7% （Ca） and 14.9% （P） for the femoral cortical bone, 21.4% （Ca） and 11.5% （P） for wing cortical bone. （2） The variation for the Ca/P ratio in cortical bone is lower than those for Ca and P separately. This is in agreement with the previous report that the specificity of the Ca/P ratio is better than that of Ca and P concentrations and is more reliable for the diagnosis of bone disorders. The authors suggest that further studies be conducted to establish norreal values of Ca, P and Ca/P ratio for polar animals and provide a basis for the diagnosis of bone disorders.

Compositional Distribution and Growth Mode of Garnet Porphyroblasts during Deformation and Metamorphism

Although porphyroblast microstructures play an important role in structural and metamorphic studies, there are still controversies in the interpretation. The focus is how porphyroblasts grow during deformation and metamorphism. In this paper, we introduce a new approach, the Synchrotron Radiation X-Ray Fluorescence, to a hemi-quantitative interpretation of the growth mode of porphyroblasts. The analysis was done at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The specimens were sampled from metapelite of the Baoyintu Group, northern Urad Middle Banner, Inner Mongolia. The new method is successful for determining the microscopic distribution of trace elements in porphybroblasts. The results support the theory of deformation partition, which has been brought forth by Bell and his colleagues, and demonstrate the existence of porphyroblast growth phases and the growth mode of porphyroblasts by hemi-quantitative mineral chemical analysis. The porphyroblast grows stage by stage in the manner of the distribution of a roseleaf and is controlled by deformation. We call the growth stage of porphyroblast a growth phase.

SRXRF Experiments and Analytical Methods of Mineral Individual Fluid Inclusions

This paper focuses on the micro-beam and trace element non-destructive experiment and analytical method of mineral fluid inclusions by synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence （SRXRF） microprobe at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility （BSRF）. The experimental instrument, measurement process and calculating method are introduced. A set of oil- and gas-containing typical mineral fluid inclusions taken from the Tazhong and Lunnan oilfields in the Tarim Basin were analyzed non-destructively. The trace element contents in the fluid inclusions may provide guidance for oil and gas exploration and development.

Sodium and potassium in the bones of penguin and skua revealed by EPR and SR-XRF technique

Penguin and skua in the maritime Antarctic have high salt loadings in the body due to almost exclusive diet consumption of marine invertebrates.However,the storage and turnover of sodium and potassium in these animals are poorly investigated.Here we determined the concentration and microscopic distribution of the two elements in the bones of penguin and skua.The average concentrations of sodium and potassium in penguin bone were comparable with that in skua bone（0.18% and 0.82% for penguin bone;0.19% and 0.76% for skua bone in dry weight）.The ratios of sodium to calcium and potassium to calcium（0.0330 and 0.0075 for penguin,0.0335 and 0.0082 for skua in average by weight） were somewhat higher than the reported ratios for terrestrial animals,indicating these marine animals＇ bone enrichment of salt.The ratios of sodium to potassium in average by weight were 6.75 and 4.65 for penguin and skua,respectively.This value is much lower compared with the bulk sea water ratio of about 27.0,implying that potassium is favorable to reside in the bone rather than sodium.Both sodium and potassium were found to significant correlation with the content of organic materials in bone based upon the intensity of native signal determined by electron paramagnetic resonance（EPR）.It was estimated that almost all of potassium is kept within the organic phases,while about 30% of sodium is stored in organic phases and the other 70% within mineral phase.The microscopic distributions of potassium in the cross-section and/or surface were revealed by synchrotron radiation Xray fluorescence（SR-XRF） technique.The ratio of potassium to calcium based upon the SR-XRF intensity counter varied considerably from the surface to the interior,and on the surface the highest concentration of potassium was observed in the middle section with decreasing amounts toward the edge.This indirectly documented that exchange of potassium between fluid and bone organic phase maybe occur.

Water Quality Monitoring of the Bezerra River （Cascavel, Brazil） Using SR-TXRF Technique

The present study aims to monitor and assess the water quality of the Bezerra River located in the Western Brazilian Parana state. For the monitoring of river waters, six samplings were established per month during one year. As indicators of the water quality, physico-chemical parameters such as water temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and COD （chemical oxygen demand） were chosen, as well as trace and majority element concentrations. It is noteworthy that the mean annual values of conductivity, turbidity and COD have progressively increased along the river with maximum values after the Cascavel western sewage treatment plant. Only 13 elements were found in the six collection points, but the metallic elements Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn have shown concentrations above the maximum limits recommended by Brazilian environmental legislation, suggesting the presence of highly polluting anthropogenic sources. Correlation analyses were used to determine the spatio-variability of water quality variables. The six collection sites were grouped into two clusters, with the element composition in the first cluster （sites 1, 2 and 6） being due to strong anthropogenic activities. The study of the Bezerra River water quality could help to develop municipal environmental policies and help with the management of water conservation in the Bezerra River basin.

Sulfur speciation and bioaccumulation in camphor tree leaves as atmospheric sulfur indicator analyzed by synchrotron radiation XRF and XANES

Analyzing and understanding the effects of ambient pollution on plants is getting more and more attention as a topic of environmental biology.A method based on synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy was established to analyze the sulfur concentration and speciation in mature camphor tree leaves （CTLs）,which were sampled from 5 local fields in Shanghai,China.Annual SO2 concentration,SO42-concentration in atmospheric particulate,SO42-and sulfur concentration in soil were also analyzed to explore the relationship between ambient sulfur sources and the sulfur nutrient cycling in CTLs.Total sulfur concentration in mature camphor tree leaves was 766-1704 mg/kg.The mainly detected sulfur states and their corresponding compounds were ＋6 （sulfate,include inorganic sulfate and organic sulfate）,＋5.2 （sulfonate）,＋2.2 （suloxides）,＋0.6 （thiols and thiothers）,＋0.2 （organic sulfides）.Total sulfur concentration was strongly correlated with sulfate proportion with a linear correlation coefficient up to 0.977,which suggested that sulfur accumulated in CTLs as sulfate form.Reduced sulfur compounds （organic sulfides,thiols,thioethers,sulfoxide and sulfonate） assimilation was sufficed to meet the nutrient requirement for growth at a balanced level around 526 mg/kg.The sulfate accumulation mainly caused by atmospheric sulfur pollution such as SO2 and airborne sulfate particulate instead of soil contamination.From urban to suburb place,sulfate in mature CTLs decreased as the atmospheric sulfur pollution reduced,but a dramatic increase presented near the seashore,where the marine sulfate emission and maritime activity pollution were significant.The sulfur concentration and speciation in mature CTLs effectively represented the long-term biological accumulation of atmospheric sulfur pollution in local environment.