High-temperature granulites and supercontinents

The formation of continents involves a combination of magmatic and metamorphic processes. These processes become indistinguishable at the crust-mantle interface, where the pressure-temperature（P-T）conditions of（ultra） high-temperature granulites and magmatic rocks are similar. Continents grow laterally, by magmatic activity above oceanic subduction zones（high-pressure metamorphic setting）, and vertically by accumulation of mantle-derived magmas at the base of the crust（high-temperature metamorphic setting）. Both events are separated from each other in time; the vertical accretion postdating lateral growth by several tens of millions of years. Fluid inclusion data indicate that during the high-temperature metamorphic episode the granulite lower crust is invaded by large amounts of low H2O-activity fluids including high-density CO2 and concentrated saline solutions（brines）. These fluids are expelled from the lower crust to higher crustal levels at the end of the high-grade metamorphic event. The final amalgamation of supercontinents corresponds to episodes of ultra-high temperature metamorphism involving large-scale accumulation of these low-water activity fluids in the lower crust.This accumulation causes tectonic instability, which together with the heat input from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, leads to the disruption of supercontinents. Thus, the fragmentation of a supercontinent is already programmed at the time of its amalgamation.

Palynological Analysis of Amber-Bearing Clay from the Lower Cretaceous of Central Lebanon

An amber-bearing lignitic layer of sandy clay from the Lower Cretaceous of Central Lebanon （Mderej-Hammana）yielded a well-preserved,moderately variegated palynoflora,which origin is mixed between land plants and marine microflora.Its detailed analysis led to fulfill its inventory,to propose a paleoenvironmental reconstruction,and to draw the paleoclimate which prevailed over the region：an estuarian area under a rather humid,temperate climate;a variety of ferns grew near the shore-side and in the inward land.A tiny piece of amber containing angiospermous pollen grains of stratigraphical interest allows a precise dating.The marine microflora,poorly diversified,includes chitinous foraminifer linings and dinoflagellate cysts,among which Early Aptian guide taxa are present;their occurrence slightly narrows the stratigraphical range indicated by some palynological taxa which are related to land plants.

From granulite fluids to quartz-carbonate megashear zones:The gold rush

At peak granulite-facies metamorphic conditions, lower continental crust is arguably fluxed by large amounts of two key low water activity fluids： （i） high-density CO2 and/or （ii） concentrated saline so- lutions. These fluids are either internally-derived, generated by mineral reactions or dehydration melting or, notably for CO2, externally-derived, issued from the underlying mantle. Postmetamorphic evolution results in complete disappearance of these fluids, except for minute remnants preserved in minerals as fluid inclusions. Two major processes are involved： （i） at peak conditions, granitoid magmas form, migrate upward, and crystallize as shallow intrusions in the upper crust （mineralized porphyry types or reduced intrusions）; （ii） during the rapid decompression which almost systematically follows a period of post-peak isobaric cooling, especially for ultrahigh-temperature granulites （anticlockwise P-T paths）, quartz-carbonate megashear zones are formed by repeated periods of seismic activity. Seismic activity may continue until all free fluids have disappeared, resulting in the ultramylonites and pseudotachylites that are found in many granulite domes. A great majority of vein-type Au deposits worldwide occur in the above-mentioned settings or nearby. We suggest that the Au has been scavenged by the granulite fluids, then redistributed and concentrated during the formation of veins and related phenomena.

A New Thorny Lacewing (Insecta:Neuroptera:Rhachiberothidae) from the Early Cretaceous Amber of Lebanon

A new genus and species of Rhachiberothidae, Raptorapax terribilissima gen. et sp. nov. from the Cretaceous amber of Lebanon is described. The new genus is assigned to the subfamily Paraberothinae. The new material confirms the great diversity of the group in the Cretaceous age and its decrease in diversity in recent times.

First Psocodean (Psocodea,Empheriidae) from the Cretaceous Amber of New Jersey

Representatives of the extinct psocid family Empheriidae are known from Eocene Baltic amber, Lowermost Eocene French amber （Oise）, and Lower Cretaceous Spanish amber （Alava）. We report herein the first discovery of an empheriid psocid from the Cretaceous amber of New Jersey as Jerseyempheria grimaldii gen. et sp. nov. The fossil is figured and described. The new species is distinguished from related taxa. A discussion and checklist of Empheriidae are provided.

Mesozoic Evaniidae (Insecta:Hymenoptera) in Spanish Amber:Reanalysis of the Phylogeny of the Evanioidea

One new genus and five new species of the family Evaniidae are described from the Early Cretaceous （Albian） Spanish amber of Pefiacerrada-I （Province of Burgos）, San Just and Arroyo de la Pascueta （both in the Province of Teruel）： Cretevania alonsoi sp. nov., C. montoyai sp. nov., C. alcalai sp. nov., C. rubusensis sp. nov., and lberoevania roblesi gen. and sp. nov. Taxonomic changes include Cretevania pristina （Zhang and Zhang, 2000） comb. nov., C. exquisita （Zhang, Rasnitsyn, Wang and Zhang, 2007） comb. nov., C. vesca （Zhang, Rasnltsyn, Wang and Zhang, 2007） comb. nov., and C. cyrtocerca （Deans, 2004） comb. nov., as a result of the reinterpretation of the genera Procretevania and Eovernevania. The new well preserved specimens of the genus Cretevania, together with the characters shown by the type specimens of the synonymized genera, give new information about their anatomical characters of taxonomical importance, and the genus Cretevania Rasnitsyn, 1975 is re-diagnosed. The holotypes of the Russian species in amber have been revised. A cladistic analysis of fossil and extant groups of the superfamily Evanioidea is included. Cretevania had a wide palaeogeographic distribution, with the highest diversity known from Spain. The 13 known Cretevania species show a high interspecific variation mainly in wing characteristics, and a wide range of body and wing size.

Validation of Sea Level Data in the East Asian Marginal Seas: Comparison between TOPEX/POSEIDON Altimeter and In-Situ Tide Gauges

In an effort to assess the reliability of satellite altimeter systems, the authors conduct a comparative analysis of sea level data that were collected from the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimeter and 10 tide gauges (TG) near the satellite passing ground tracks. The analysis is made using datasets collected from marginal sea regions surrounding the Korean Peninsula at T/P cycles of 2 to 230, which correspond to October 1992 to December 1998. Proper treatment of tidal errors is a very critical step in data processing because the study area has very strong tide. When the T/P data are processed, the procedures of Park and Gamberoni (1995) are adapted to reduce errors associated with the tide. When the T/P data are processed in this way, the alias periods of M2, S2, and K1 constituents are found to be 62.1, 58.7, and 173 days repectively. The compatibility of the T/P and TG datasets are examined at various filtering periods. The results indicate that the low-frequency signals of the T/P data can be interpreted more safely with longer filtering periods (such as up to the maximum selected value of 200 days). When RMS errors for the 200-day low-pass filter period are compared with all 10 tidal stations, the values span the range of 2.8 to 6.7 cm. The results of a correlation analysis for this filtering period also show a strong agreement between the T/P and TG datasets across all stations investigated (e.g.,p- values consistently less than 0.001). Hence according to the analysis, the conclusion is made that the analysis of surface sea level using satellite altimeter data can be made safely with reasonably extended filtering periods such as 200 days.

Geofluids:Developments in Microthermometry,Spectroscopy,Thermodynamics and Stable Isotopes

Fluid （and melt） inclusion studies have shown a marked devel- opment in the last decades, as indicated by the increasing number of papers and as covered under major themes in specialized meetings （e.g. ECROFI in Europe, PACROFI in America, ACROFI in Asia）. However, a basic text book is lacking in current literature, available information being either somewhat outdated （e,g. Roedder, 1984） or scattered in multi-author ＂short course＂, mainly organized by the Mineralogical Societies of Canada, America or Europe. A result is that basic features of fluid inclusion studies, notably its key technique, microthermometry, and recently supplemented by micro Raman of infrared spectroscopy, is rarely taught in most universities, leaving the student alone to discover a field of study which has grown to the dimensions of a major science.

Fluid-rock interaction in retrograde granulites of the Southern Marginal Zone,Limpopo high grade terrain,South Africa

Fluid infiltration into retrograde granulites of the Southern Marginal Zone （Limpopo high grade terrain） is exemplified by hydration reactions, shear zone hosted metasomatism, and lode gold mineralisation. Hydration reactions include the breakdown of cordierite and orthopyroxene to gedrite ＋ kyanite, and anthophyllite, respectively. Metamorphic petrology, fluid inclusions, and field data indicate that a low H2O-activity carbon-saturated CO2-rich and a saline aqueous fluid infiltrated the Southern Marginal Zone during exhumation. The formation of anthophyllite after orthopyroxene established a regional retrograde anthophyllite-in isograd and occurred at P-Tconditions of -6 kbar and 610 ℃, which fixes the minimum mole fraction of H20 in the CO2-rich fluid phase at ~ 0.1. The maximum H20 mole fraction is fixed by the lower temperature limit （~800 ℃） for partial melting at -0.3. C-O-H fluid calculations show that the CO2-rich fluid had an oxygen fugacity that was 0.6 log10 units higher than that of the fayalite-magnetite- quartz buffer and that the CO2/（CO2＋CH4） mole ratio of this fluid was 1. The presence of dominantly relatively low density CO2-rich fluid inclusions in the hydrated granulites indicates that the fluid pressure was less than the lithostatic pressure. This can be explained by strike slip faulting and/or an increase of the rock permeability caused by hydration reactions.

Jurassic Amber in Lebanon

Reports of amber predating the Lower Cretaceous are unusual and scarce; they mostly refer to amber pieces of millimetric dimension. In the present study, we report the discovery of 10 new outcrops of Jurassic amber in Lebanon. Some of these had large centimetric-sized pieces of amber. The new localities are described, amber is characterized, and its infrared spectra given. Although the new Jurassic amber yielded to date no more than fungal inclusions, this material is significant and promising. The discovery, of several Jurassic outcrops provides crucial information on the prevailing paleoenvironment of that time.

How everything started:A retrospective

Recalling some of the most important events and persons during his education and career, the author sketches his growth from a young engineer, educated in the sanctuary of solid state reactions, to an involved fully devoted scientific career for the study of fluids in the deep Earth. Most important in this respect was the discovery of C02 inclusions in granulites, which triggered years of discussion on fluid- absent or fluid-assisted granulite metamorphism. To some extent, this debate is a continuation of the former granite controversy, but it shows also how the famous battle of ＂soaks against pontiffs＂ could have been easily avoided.

Combined forest and soil management after a catastrophic event

At the end of October 2018,a storm of unprecedented strength severely damaged the forests of the eastern sector of the Italian Alps.The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha.The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the University of Padua.After eight months of discussion,the authors of this article wrote a consensus text.The sometimes asper debate brought to light some crucial aspects:1)even experienced specialists may have various opinions based on scientific knowledge that lead to conflicting proposals for action.For some of them there is evidence that to restore a destroyed natural environment it is more judicious to do nothing;2)the soil corresponds to a living structure and every ecosystem’s management should be based on it;3)faced with a catastrophe,people and politicians find themselves unarmed,also because they rarely have the scientific background to understand natural processes.Yet politicians are the only persons who make the key decisions that drive the economy in play and therefore determine the near future of our planet.This article is an attempt to respond directly to the governor of a region who formally and prudently asked a university department called"Land,Environment,Agriculture and Forestry"for help before taking decisions;4)the authors also propose an artistic interpretation of facts(uncontrolled storm)and conclusions(listen to the soil).Briefly,the authors identify the soil as an indispensable source for the renewal of the destroyed forest,give indications on how to prepare a map of the soils of the damaged region,and suggest to anchor on this soil map a series of silvicultural and soil management actions that will promote the soil conservation and the faster recovery of the natural dynamic stability and resilience.

华南早更新世巨猿动物群的ESR／U-系年代

华南的第四纪喀斯特洞穴堆积含有丰富的哺乳动物群化石，其中以步氏巨猿（Gigantopithecus blacki）为代表的巨猿动物群化石一直备受学术界关注。为建立巨猿动物群演化的绝对年代框架，本文采用牙化石ESR/U-系结合测年法测定重庆龙骨坡、广西田东吹风洞和么会洞以及广西崇左三合大洞动物群的地质年代。牙化石ESR/U-系结合测年法是将牙化石样品的ESR分析（古剂量和年剂量）与U-系分析（U-Th同位素）相结合用来模拟牙齿各个组织在地质时期的U-吸附过程，以计算牙组织中的U对古剂量的贡献，因此ESR/U-系年代比常规ESR年代更准确。本文测定了28个大型哺乳动物牙化石的ESR/U-系年代，结果表明龙骨坡动物群的地质年代为上新世晚期至早更新世早期，可限定为2.86~1.95Ma；吹风洞和么会洞动物群的地质年代在误差范围内一致，为1.97~1.38Ma；三合大洞动物群的地质年代为早更新世晚期至中更新世之初，约910~600ka。

Meta-analysis reveals that reproductive strategies are associated with sexual differences in oxidative balance across vertebrates

Oxidative stress is a key physiological mechanism underlying life-history tradeoffs. Here, I use meta-analytic techniques to test whether sexual differences in oxidative balance are common in vertebrates and to identify which factors are associated with such differences. The dataset included 732 effect size estimates from 100 articles （82 species）. Larger unsigned effect size （meaning larger sexual differences in a given marker） occurred in： reptiles and fish; those species that do not pro- vide parental care; and oviparous species. Estimates of signed effect size （positive values meaning higher oxidative stress in males） indicated that females were less resistant to oxidative stress than males in： reptiles while males and females were similar in fish, birds, and mammals; those species that do not provide parental care; and oviparous species. There was no evidence for a significant sexual differentiation in oxidative balance in fish, birds, and mammals. Effect size was not associ- ated with： the number of offspring; whether the experimental animals were reproducing or not; biomarker （oxidative damage, non-enzymatic, or enzymatic antioxidant）, the species body mass; the strain （wild vs. domestic）; or the study environment （wild vs. captivity）. Oxidative stress tended to be higher in females than males across most of the tissues analyzed. Levels of residual heterogeneity were high in all models tested. The findings of this meta-analysis indicate that diversification of reproductive strategies might be associated with sexual differences in oxidative balance. This explorative meta-analysis offers a starting platform for future research to investigate the rela-tionship between sex and oxidative balance further.

Community responses to extreme climatic conditions

Species assemblages and natural communities are increasingly impacted by changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events. Here we propose a brief overview of expected and demonstrated direct and indirect impacts of extreme events on animal communities. We show that differential impacts on basic biological parameters of individual species can lead to strong changes in community composition and structure with the potential to considerably modify the functional traits of the community. Sudden disequilibria have even been shown to induce irreversible shifts in marine ecosystems, while cascade effects on various taxonomic groups have been highlighted in Mediterranean forests. Indirect effects of extreme climatic events are expected when event-induced habitat changes （e.g. soil stability, vegetation composition, water flows altered by droughts, floods or hurricanes） have differential consequences on species assembled within the communities. Moreover, in increasing the amplitude of trophic mismatches, extreme events are likely to turn many systems into ecological traps under climate change. Finally, we propose a focus on the potential impacts of an extreme heat wave on local assemblages as an empirical case study, analysing monitoring data on breeding birds collected in France. In this example, we show that despite specific populations were differently affected by local temperature anomalies, communities seem to be unaffected by a sudden heat wave. These results suggest that communities are tracking climate change at the highest possible rate [Current Zoology 57 （3）： 406-413, 2011].

Palcernuine, the first [5/6/6/6]-cernuane-type alkaloid from Palhinhaea cernua f.sikkimensis

One novel（named palcernuine, 1） and five known cernuane-type（2–6） alkaloids were isolated from the whole plant of Palhinhaea cernua f. sikkimensis. The structure of 1, possessing an unprecedented [5/6/6/6]-tetracyclic ring system containing two nitrogen atoms, was established on the basis of spectroscopic methods, and its absolute configuration was determined by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism（ECD） spectra. A plausible biosynthetic pathway to 1 is proposed.

Sex-specific effects of inbreeding and early ife conditions on the adult oxidative balance

Inbreeding negatively affects various life-history traits, with inbred individuals typically having lower fit- ness than outbred individuals （=inbreeding depression）. Inbreeding depression is often emphasized under environmental stress, but the underlying mechanisms and potential long-lasting consequences of such inbreeding-environment interactions remain poorly understood. Here, we hypothesize that inbreeding-environment interactions that occur early in life have long-term physiological effects, in partic- ular on the adult oxidative balance. We applied a unique experimental design to manipulate early life conditions of inbred and outbred songbirds （Serinus canaria） that allowed us to separate prenatal and postnatal components of early life conditions and their respective importance in inbreeding-environment interactions. We measured a wide variety of markers of oxidative status in adulthood, resulting in a com- prehensive account for oxidative balance. Using a Bayesian approach with Markov chain Monte Carlo, we found clear sex-specific effects and we also found only in females small yet significant long-term effects of inbreeding-environment interactions on adult oxidative balance. Postnatal components of early life conditions were most persuasively reflected on adult oxidative balance, with inbred females that experienced disadvantageous postnatal conditions upregulating enzymatic antioxidants in adulthood. Our study provides some evidence that adult oxidative balance can reflect inbreeding-environment inter- actions early in life, but given the rather small effects that were limited to females, we conclude that oxida- tive stress miaht have a limited role as mechanism underlvina inhre.e.dina-envirnnme.nt inte.raetinn.q_

Mobility affects copulation and oviposition dynamics in Pieris brassicae in seminatural cages

When, how often and for how long organisms mate can have strong consequences for individual fitness and are crucial aspects of evolutionary ecology. Such determinants are likely to be of even greater importance in monandrous species and species with short adult life stages. Previous work suggests that mobility, a key dispersal? related trait, may affect the dynamics of copulations, but few studies have investigated the impact of individual mobility on mating latency, copulation duration and oviposition latency simultaneously. In this paper, we monitored the copulation dynamics of 40 males and 40 females, as well as the oviposition dynamics of the females of the Large White butterfly Pieris brassicae, a facultative long-distance disperser butterfly. Individuals from a breeding were selected to create a uniform distribution of mobility and we recorded the timing, number and duration of all copulations in a semiexperimental system. We showed that mobility, measured as the time spent in flight under stressful conditions (a proxy of dispersal tendency), correlates with all aspects of copulation dynamics: mobile males and females mated earlier and for shorter periods than less mobile individuals. In turn, late mating females increased the time between copulation and oviposition. These results feed the previously described mobility syndrome of R brassicae, involving morphological and physiological characters, with life-history traits. We suggest that the reduction of mating latency and copulation duration has an adaptive value in dispersing individuals, as their life expectancy might be shorter than that of sedentary individuals.

Genome Editing with CRISPR-Cas9:Can It Get Any Better?

The CRISPR-Cas revolution is taking place in virtually all fields of life sciences.Harnessing DNA cleavage with the CRISPR-Cas9 system of Streptococcus pyogenes has proven to be extraordinarily simple and efficient,relying only on the design of a synthetic single guide RNA（sgRNA） and its co-expression with Cas9.Here,we review the progress in the design of sgRNA from the original dual RNA guide for S.pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus Cas9（SpCas9 and SaCas9）.New assays for genome-wide identification of offtargets have provided important insights into the issue of cleavage specificity in vivo.At the same time,the on-target activity of thousands of guides has been determined.These data have led to numerous online tools that facilitate the selection of guide RNAs in target sequences.It appears that for most basic research applications,cleavage activity can be maximized and off-targets minimized by carefully choosing guide RNAs based on computational predictions.Moreover,recent studies of Cas proteins have further improved the flexibility and precision of the CRISPR-Cas toolkit for genome editing.Inspired by the crystal structure of the complex of sgRNA-SpCas9 bound to target DNA,several variants of SpCas9 have recently been engineered,either with novel protospacer adjacent motifs（PAMs） or with drastically reduced off-targets.Novel Cas9 and Cas9-like proteins called Cpf 1 have also been characterized from other bacteria and will benefit from die insights obtained from SpCas9.Genome editing with CRISPR-Cas9 may also progress with better understanding and control of cellular DNA repair pathways activated after Cas9-induced DNA cleavage.

Species and endosymbiont diversity of Bemisia tabaci （Homoptera： Aleyrodidae） on vegetable crops in Senegal

Bemisia tabaci-transmitted geminiviruses are one of the major threats on cassava and vegetable crops in Africa. However, to date, few studies are available on the diversity orB. tabaci and their associated endosymbionts in Africa. More than 28 species have been described in the complex ofB. tabaci cryptic species; among them, 2 are invasive pests worldwide： MED and MEAM1. In order to assess the species diversity orB. tabaci in vegetable crops in Senegal, several samplings in different localities, hosts and seasons were collected and analyzed with nuclear （microsatellite） and mitochondrial （COI） markers. The bacterial endosymbiont community was also studied for each sample. Two species were detected： MED Q1 and MEAM1 B. Patterns of MED Q1 （dominance on most of the samples and sites, highest nuclear and mitochondrial diversity and broader secondary endosymbiont community： Hamiltonella, Cardinium, Wolbachia and Rickettsia）, point toward a predominant resident begomovirus vector group for MED Q 1 on market gardening crops. Furthermore, the lower prevalence of the second species MEAM1 B, its lower nuclear and mitochondrial diversity and a narrower secondary endosymbiont community （Hamiltonella/Rickettsia）, indicate that this genetic group is exotic and results from a recent invasion in this area.