Evidence for divergent plate-boundary characteristics and crustal spreading on venus

Detailed examination of the topography and morphology of western Aphrodite Terra reveals numerous features that are similar to terrestrial divergent plate-boundary characteristics. Individual domains between fracturezone-like discontinuities contain a variety of bilaterally symmetrical topographic elements that suggest that topographic features have been created at rise crests, rifted and separated, and moved laterally to their present symmetrical positions. The topographic and morphologic similarities, together with strikingly similar mirror-image map patterns on both sides of the rise axis, suggest that western Aphrodite Terra shares the characteristics of oceanic divergent plate boundaries, and is the site of crustal spreading on Venus. Topographic profiles are consistent with spreading rates of the order of several centimeters per year.     

Martian meteorite launch: high-speed ejecta from small craters

We performed high-resolution computer simulations of impacts into homogeneous and layered martian terrain analogs to try to account for the ages and characteristics of the martian meteorite collection found on Earth. We found that craters as small as approximately 3 kilometers can eject approximately 10(7) decimeter-sized fragments from Mars, which is enough to expect those fragments to appear in the terrestrial collection. This minimum crater diameter is at least four times smaller than previous estimates and depends on the physical composition of the target material. Terrain covered by a weak layer such as an impact-generated regolith requires larger, therefore rarer, impacts to eject meteorites. Because older terrain is more likely to be mantled with such material, we estimate that the martian meteorites will be biased toward younger ages, which is consistent with the meteorite collection.     

Monitoring Cry1Ab susceptibility in Asian corn borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on Bt corn in the Philippines

Between 2002 and 2004, collections of egg masses of Asian corn borer (ACB), Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée) were made from corn-planting sites on the major Philippine islands of Luzon (Laguna, Pangasinan, Camarines Sur and Isabela provinces) and Mindanao (Bukidnon and South Cotabato provinces). The resulting neonates were bioassayed for susceptibility to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1Ab protein. The median lethal concentrations (LC₅₀s) for the different collections ranged from 0.42 to 2.37 ng/cm². The bioassay results suggest that Philippine corn borer populations were highly susceptible to Cry1Ab protein prior to the widespread deployment of Bt corn. The upper limit of the estimated LC₉₉ (104 ng/cm²) from the pooled bioassay data was selected as a candidate diagnostic concentration and subsequently tested on eleven ACB populations. Results of the validation assays showed that the mortality response of all the tested ACB populations was higher than the expected mortality (99%). Therefore, the concentration of 104 ng/cm² was used to monitor susceptibility in ACB populations in the Philippines. Monitoring of field populations during 2009 in areas where Bt corn had been grown for 3 years found some enhanced survival of neonates at the diagnostic concentration but progeny of the diagnostic-concentration survivors did not survive on Bt corn, indicating that ACB populations in the Philippines remain susceptible to Cry1Ab-containing Bt corn hybrids.     

Regulation of cardiac function in the horn shark by changes in pericardial fluid volume mediated through the pericardioperitoneal canal

The California horn shark (Heterodontus francisci), instrumented with a pericardial catheter and a ventral-aortic flow probe, was studied to determine the effect of complete pericardial chamber evacuation on the time course for restitution of pericardial fluid-volume and pressure, and the effects of both fluid removal and its restitution on cardiac output. Prior to evacuation, pericardial pressure was –0.02±0.02 kPa, and cardiac output was 18±2 ml min^–1 kg^–1. Evacuation reduced pericardial pressure to –0.73±0.14 kPa, and increased cardiac output to 23±4 ml min^–1 kg^–1. The time course for restoration of post-evacuation pressure is described by a non-linear asymptotic function. A large percentage of the pericardial pressure and volume recovery occurred within the first hour, while, complete restoration of pre-withdrawal conditions required about 11 h. Pericardial pressure-volume relationships, determined by incremental infusion of small volumes of elasmobranch saline into the pericardium, confirm previous findings that the operating pericardial pressure in the horn shark is at or near ambient pressure and that both pericardial fluid volume and cardiac stroke volume influence horn shark pericardial pressure.     

Nerve insensitivity resistance to pyrethroids in Heliothine Lepidoptera

A neurophysiological assay developed previously was used to assess the incidence of nerve insensitivity resistance to synthetic pyrethroids in field strains of Helicoverpa armigera. Almost 70% of individuals from a sample of a highly pyrethroid-resistant population from Jiangsu Province, China were nerve-insensitive. Subsequent selection resulted in a strain homogeneous for expression of this mechanism. Likewise, over 95% of a sample from a strain of the insects from Andhra Pradesh, India were nerve-insensitive and a homogeneous strain was developed. Development of a nerve-insensitive laboratory strain of Heliothis virescens was undertaken but homozygosity could not be obtained. It is suggested that high fitness costs may be associated with this mechanism. The incidence of nerve insensitivity in Heliothine pests is reviewed and the role of phenotypic expression assays in molecular studies highlighted. ©1997 SCI     

Galileo encounter with 951 gaspra: first pictures of an asteroid

Galileo images of Gaspra reveal it to be an irregularly shaped object (19 by 12 by 11 kilometers) that appears to have been created by a catastrophic collisional disruption of a precursor parent body. The cratering age of the surface is about 200 million years. Subtle albedo and color variations appear to correlate with morphological features: Brighter materials are associated with craters especially along the crests of ridges, have a stronger 1-micrometer absorption, and may represent freshly excavated mafic materials; darker materials exhibiting a significantly weaker 1-micrometer absorption appear concentrated in interridge areas. One explanation of these patterns is that Gaspra is covered with a thin regolith and that some of this material has migrated downslope in some areas.     

Galileo at Io: results from high-resolution imaging

During late 1999/early 2000, the solid state imaging experiment on the Galileo spacecraft returned more than 100 high-resolution (5 to 500 meters per pixel) images of volcanically active Io. We observed an active lava lake, an active curtain of lava, active lava flows, calderas, mountains, plateaus, and plains. Several of the sulfur dioxide-rich plumes are erupting from distal flows, rather than from the source of silicate lava (caldera or fissure, often with red pyroclastic deposits). Most of the active flows in equatorial regions are being emplaced slowly beneath insulated crust, but rapidly emplaced channelized flows are also found at all latitudes. There is no evidence for high-viscosity lava, but some bright flows may consist of sulfur rather than mafic silicates. The mountains, plateaus, and calderas are strongly influenced by tectonics and gravitational collapse. Sapping channels and scarps suggest that many portions of the upper approximately 1 kilometer are rich in volatiles.