BackgroundFetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are a collection of disorders resulting from fetal ethanol exposure, which causes a wide range of physical, neurological and behavioral deficits including heightened susceptibility for alcoholism and addictive disorders. While a number of mechanisms have been proposed for how ethanol exposure disrupts brain development, with selective groups of neurons undergoing reduced proliferation, dysfunction and death, the induction of a new neurotransmitter phenotype by ethanol exposure has not yet been reported.Principal FindingsThe effects of embryonic and larval ethanol exposure on brain development were visually monitored using transgenic zebrafish expressing cell-specific green fluorescent protein (GFP) marker genes. Specific subsets of GFP-expressing neurons were highly sensitive to ethanol exposure, but only during defined developmental windows. In the med12 mutant, which affects the Mediator co-activator complex component Med12, exposure to lower concentrations of ethanol was sufficient to reduce GFP expression in transgenic embryos. In transgenic embryos and larva containing GFP driven by an oxytocin-like (oxtl) promoter, ethanol exposure dramatically up-regulated GFP expression in a small group of hindbrain neurons, while having no effect on expression in the neuroendocrine preoptic area.ConclusionsAlcohol exposure during limited embryonic periods impedes the development of specific, identifiable groups of neurons, and the med12 mutation sensitizes these neurons to the deleterious effects of ethanol. In contrast, ethanol exposure induces oxtl expression in the hindbrain, a finding with profound implications for understanding alcoholism and other addictive disorders.

In recent works on the determination of graphitization of carbonaceous materials (CM) within the principal slip zone (PSZ) of the Longmenshan fault (China), we demonstrated that the formation of graphite, resulted from strain and frictional heating, could be evidence of past seismic slip. Here we utilize Raman Spectroscopy of CM (RSCM) on the CM-bearing gouges in the fault zone of the Longmenshan fault belt, at the borehole depth of 760 m (FZ760) from the Wenchuan earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling project-1 (WFSD-1), to quantitatively characterize CM and further retrieve ancient fault deformation information in the active fault. RSCM shows that graphitization of CM is intense in the fault core with respect to the damage zone, with the graphitized carbon resembling those observed on experimentally formed graphite that was frictionally generated. Importantly, compared to the recognized active fault zone of the Longmenshan fault, the RSCM of measured CM-rich gouge shows a higher degree of graphitization, likely derived from high-temperature-perturbation faulting events. It implies that FZ760 accommodated numerous single-event displacement and/or at higher normal stresses and/or in the absence of pore fluid and/or along a more localized slip surface(s). Because graphite is a well-known lubricant, we surmise that the presence of the higher degree graphitized CM within FZ760 will reduce the fault strength and inefficiently accumulate tectonic stress during the seismic cycle at the current depth, and further infer a plausible mechanism for fault propagation at the borehole depth of 590 m during the Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake.

This paper presents the results of measuring the Rayleigh wave as well as longitudinal wave velocities in a concrete specimen using transient elastic waves. The Rayleigh surface wave generated by a steel ball impact on a concrete material is studied in detail and then a method for the determination of Rayleigh surface wave velocity based on the cross-correlation method is proposed. The longitudinal wave velocity of a concrete specimen is determined by measuring the wavefront arrival of a longitudinal wave. A special triggering device for the accurate determination of the impact time origin is utilized. The measured velocities of both the Rayleigh wave and the longitudinal wave in the concrete specimen are in good agreement with those measured by utilizing the conventional ultrasonic method. It is noted that with the Rayleigh wave and the longitudinal wave velocities measured, the Young’s modulus as well as the shear modulus of a concrete specimen can be obtained in a straightforward way.

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Archaeological malachites, represented by the malachites found on the ancient Chinese and Vietnamese copper/bronze coins, may also incorporate those on other archaeological objects. The Raman spectra with Ar laser of these malachites differ slightly from those of the natural malachites found in mines. In this study, 120 measurements of the malachites on 40 coins identified 26 bands, while only around 18 of them are frequently observed. The wavenumbers (cm À1 ), shifts (AE)and relative intensities (in parentheses) of the 18 common bands read, respectively: 153AE4 (0-vs), 179AE7 (m-vs), 217AE8 (m-vs), 274AE7 (0-vs), 355AE5 (0-m), 431AE4 (0-vs), 514AE3 (0-m), 533AE5 (0-s), 566AE3 (0-m), 599AE2 (0-m), 718AE6 (0-m), 754AE2 (0-m), 1061AE7 (0-m), 1093AE10 (0-m), 1365AE9 (0-m), 1491AE7 (0-vs), 3321AE11 (0-vs) and 3380AE7 (0-vs).In comparison with those of the 105 measurements on the natural malachites in five mines, the Raman spectra of the archaeological malachites tend to show less bands, higher backgrounds and greater shifts in the wavenumber position. The weakening or loss of bands is in the order of the OH stretch (3300 cm À1 ) (most severe), CO 3 (600-1500 cm À1 ) and CuO (<600 cm À1 ) (less severe) groups, indicating successive stages of corrosion. The malachites on the coins from three climate zones show their own characteristics. Several coins may have experienced two or more climatic or geologic episodes and show complex Raman spectra different from those of the natural malachites.