The Snap Lake hypabyssal kimberlite is a 15 degrees inclined intrusion that intrudes Archaean rocks of the Slave craton. Mapping has identified two main lithofacies within the intrusion, olivine-rich kimberlite (ORK) and olivine-poor kimberlite (OPK). Extensive bulk sampling has demonstrated that diamonds vary in both abundance and size across the intrusion. Since fresh forsteritic olivine and diamond possess similar densities they can be expected to be hydraulically equivalent. This study investigates the local scale variation of olivine grain size and content using image analysis, and whether olivine can be used as a proxy for diamond concentration and size. Direct measurement of diamonds is made difficult by extremely low concentrations of around 0.4 ppm and by the inability of the sampling methodology to sample selectively.Olivines from the two kimberlite varieties possess distinctly different crystal size distributions and this, together with contrasting groundmass textures, mineralogy and phlogopite compositions, indicates that the OPK and ORK represent two distinct batches of kimberlite magma. The general lack of sorting of olivine grains and the presence of decussate phlogopite textures in the ORK indicate that this magma crystallized rapidly, but was probably preceded by the OPK which had a more complex crystallization history as revealed by complex zoning patterns of its phlogopite grains.A methodology for comparing olivine and diamond size distributions has been developed, and a strong correlation between diamond and olivine size distributions is demonstrated. The correlation is used to demonstrate that diamond size distributions can be predicted from the proportions of OPK and ORK that comprise each bulk sample. It can be concluded that the two textural varieties of kimberlite possess distinctly different olivine (and diamond?) populations and that olivines are a good proxy for understanding diamond distributions at a local scale in the Snap Lake intrusion. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In many shallow level intrusions, complex crystal layering structures can be preserved due to pulses of intrusion and magma batches that arrive with a significant crystal payload. In this study, we investigate crystal layering within the Dais intrusion of the Basement Sill, Dry Valley, Antarctica. A single three-dimensional (3D) Rhythmic layer is imaged using X-ray computed tomography (CT) to successfully measure the phase distributions of pyroxene and plagioclase through the rock, and a combination of textural quantification in 2D and the 3D high-resolution data allows the texture to be further broken down into the key components: orthopyroxene (OPX), cumulate OPX, clinopyroxene (CPX), and plagioclase (PLAG). The texture was formed by an initial OPX cumulate framework of 37%-47%. The OPX in the cumulate overgrew by an additional 7%-10%; with the concomitant growth of CPX and PLAG in the interstices, a mixture of fine plagioclase microcrystals and melt were expelled into the upper layer. Textural development in the upper layer was arrested by the rapid growth of OPX and CPX dendrites forming oikiocrysts containing the initial microcrystal population of existing PLAG nuclei, along with plagioclase overgrowths in the areas where the pyroxenes are absent. Calculations of liquid and solidification development at the distance the sample is from the sill contact suggests that the textures in this part of the sill developed over similar to 140 yr or less.

New advances in textural analysis and imaging allow the possibility for the true distribution of mineral phases in a rock to be quantified to high resolution. Also we are able to explore the relations between 2D to 3D datasets more rigorously. In this study the application of 2D and 3D textural analysis to the quantification of olivine populations in kimberlites is investigated. Crystal size distribution studies (CSD) are carried out on two kimberlite samples: 1) one from the Venetia K2 kimberlite pipe, South Africa; and 2) one from the Dutoitspan kimberlite pipe, Kimberley, South Africa. A 3D X-ray CT study is undertaken to investigate the application of this developing technique in kimberlite research and to test the 2D and 3D data sets. CSD profiles show markedly curved upwards profiles synonymous with fragmented CSDs, supporting an initial crystal population which is modified by fragmentation of crystals on ascent. Raw plots of 2D area size frequency provide a powerful first estimate of the population 3D statistics in terms of volume size frequency, allowing a quick analysis of olivine phases during exploration which can be quality controlled using more detailed 3D studies where necessary. The 3D data set provides accurate analysis over a range of 6–~0.5mm, below which the separation of grains becomes very difficult. Additionally the 3D data provides valuable information on crystal shape which can further be used to distinguish different olivine populations. Both 2D and 3D textural studies using state of the art textural analysis techniques have been successfully tested on complex kimberite textures, and will prove useful techniques in the routine quantification of key indicator phases in kimberlite analysis.

Growth histories and residence times of crystals in magmatic systems can be revealed by studying crystal sizes, size distributions and shapes. In this contribution, serial sectioning has been employed on a sample of porphyritic rhyolite from a Permo-Carboniferous laccolith from the Halle Volcanic Complex, Germany, to reconstruct the distribution of felsic phenocrysts in three dimensions in order to determine their true shapes, sizes and three-dimensional size distributions. A model of all three phenocryst phases (quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar) with 217 crystals, and a larger model containing 1599 K-feldspar crystals was reconstructed in three dimensions. The first model revealed a non-touching framework of crystals in three dimensions, suggesting that individual crystals grew freely in the melt prior to quenching of the texture. However, crystal shapes are complex and show large variation on a Zingg diagram (intermediate over long axis plotted against short over intermediate axis). They often do not resemble the crystallographic shapes expected for phenocrysts growing unhindered from a melt, indicating complex growth histories. In contrast, the three-dimensional size distribution is a simple straight line with a negative slope. Stereologically corrected size distributions from individual sections compare well with stereologically corrected size distributions obtained previously from the same sample. However, crystal size distribution (CSD) data from individual sections scatter considerably. It is shown that CSDs can be robustly reproduced with a sampling size of greater than similar to 200 crystals. The kind of shape assumed in stereological correction of CSDs, however, has a large influence on the calculation and estimation of crystal residence times.

Quantitative petrographic investigations of felsic phenocrysts (K-feldspar, plagioclase, quartz; modal abundance mostly from 20 to 30%) of voluminous rhyolitic laccoliths of the Permocarboniferous Halle Volcanic Complex in Germany yielded well defined, straight crystal size distributions (characteristic lengths 3.4 to 36 nun) and spatial distribution patterns with R-values from 1.34 to 0.78 (random distribution, no touching frameworks). Complicated phenocryst shapes seem to contradict simple growth histories. Phenocryst populations formed on a time-scale of up to a couple of 1,000 years prior to emplacement. Simple models for filling and cooling of laccoliths suggest time-scales from several hundred to 20,000 years. Laccoliths intruded by distinct magma batches and are more numerous than previously recognised. Dimensions of laccoliths follow a selfsimilar trend of magmatic intrusions. Different phenocryst populations led to a contrast in density (similar to 1%) and viscosity and, thus, level of emplacement of laccoliths. They developed between an upper crustal magma chamber and final emplacement. Contacts of laccoliths appear frequently brecciated with some peperitic textures and, in places, show intercalation of magma and host sediment under conditions of ductile deformation on a cm-scale.

By comparing felsic laccolith complexes prominent in the Late Palaeozoic Ilfeld-, Saar-Nahe-, and Saale basins in Germany, a characteristic pattern related to transtensional tectonics is revealed. In contrast to the central magma feeding systems recognized so far for laccolith complexes, individual units of the Late Palaeozoic Central European complexes apparently were fed synchronously by numerous feeder systems arranged laterally in a systematic pattern.The Ilfeld Basin is a small strike-slip pull-apart basin in the SE of the Hartz Mountains cogenetic with a neighbouring rhomb horst - the Kyffhauser. The Ilfeld Basin represents a 'frozen-in' early stage of laccolith complex evolution, with small isolated intrusions and domes emplaced within a common level at the intersections of intra-basinal Riedel shears. In the Saar-Nahe basin, numerous medium-sized felsic subvolcanic to subaerial complexes emplaced at a common level have been recognized (Donnersberg-type laccolith complex). The magmatic evolution of the Halle Volcanic Complex in the Saale Basin culminated in the more or less synchronous emplacement of voluminous porphyritic laccoliths within different levels of a thick pile of Late Carboniferous sediments (Halle-type laccolith complex). Laccoliths in the Halle area might consist of several laccoliths typical of the Saar-Nahe Basin according to outcrop pattern and host sediment distribution.The above-mentioned three post-Variscan Central European basins are characterized by a dextral transtensional tectonic regime, leading to a model for laccolith-complex evolution:1 Initial lithosphere-wide faulting forms pathways for magma ascent. 2 Supracrustal pull-apart leads to the formation of a transtensional basin. 3 Continued transtension gives way to decompressional melting of the mantle lithosphere, especially if fertilized by previous magmatic activity, as in the Variscan orogen. The mantle melts rise into the lower crust to differentiate, mingle or cause anatexis. 4 The melts homogenize and start crystallizing in a mid- to upper-crustal magma chamber tapped during tectonic episodes. 5 The resulting SiO(2)-rich magmas ascend along major transtensional faults into thick sedimentary basin fill.The amount of transtension and the amount of melt rising from the lithospheric mantle have a major influence on the type and size of the laccolith complex to be formed. Additionally, the presence of a mid- to upper crustal magma chamber is a prerequisite for the formation of the Donnerberg and Halle type laccolith complexes.

In qualitatively homogeneous magmatic bodies, quantitative textural analysis-such as crystal size distribution, modal abundance, and spatial distribution pattern analyses-allows their internal heterogeneity to be measured and interpreted. In this study, these methods are applied to samples from a 300 m drill core through one of the porphyritic rlyolitic laccoliths (Petersberg unit) of the similar to300 Ma Halle Volcanic Complex, Germany. Qualitatively, the geochemically homogeneous Petersberg unit does not show much textural variation. Quantitatively, however, the crystal size distributions of the three most common phenocryst phases (orthoclase, plagioclase and quartz) suggest continuous crystal growth during magma ascent and emplacement, but different growth histories of the phenocryst phases throughout the genesis of the laccolith. In situ cooling did not affect the phenocryst population. Size distributions of the phenocrysts vary on a centimetre to decimetre scale, but are similar on the scale of the laccolith. The modal abundance of the phenocryst phases is very similar throughout the drill core. Quantification of the spatial distribution of phenocrysts, however, reveals a trend for clustering towards the interior or upper part of the laccolith, which is attributed to flow and shear processes during emplacement and discontinuities in the interior relating to the intrusion of different magma pulses. Circular statistics of the orientation of long axes of crystals reveal a weak alignment of the orthoclase and plagioclase phenocrysts on the sample scale as a result of flow in the magma in spite of little acicularity. In general, laccoliths can be fed by several pulses of magma without major cooling between batches.

Glycosidases modify, degrade and regulate glycoconjugates and are possibly involved in nutrition as well as in inflammation and humoral defense reactions in invertebrates. In this study, hemolymph from the freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata has been analyzed for its content of serum glycosidases by photometric assays and after protein separation by native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isolectric focusing. Activity of β-d-fucosidase, β-d-galactosidase, β-d-glucosidase, β-d-mannosidase, β-d-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-β-d-galactosaminidase, N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase and lysozyme was detected. Highest enzyme activity corresponds to β-d-fucosidase followed by β-d-glucosidase > β-d-galactosidase > β-d-mannosidase > lysozyme > glucuronidase > hexosaminidase(s). Enzymes are active in the range of pH values between 3.5 and 7.5. The pH optima of the enzymes are between pH 3.5 and 6.5 (β-d-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-β-d-hexosaminidase(s):pH 3.5; lysozyme: pH 5.0; β-d-mannosidase: pH 5.5; β-d-fucosidase, β-d-galactosidase, β-d-glucosidase: pH 5.5–6.5). Molecular weights of native enzymes are between 90 and 460 kDa (β-d-glucuronidase, 430–460 kDa; β-d-fucosidase, β-d-galactosidase, α/β-d-glucosidase, 290–320 and 330–380 kDa; N-acetyl-β-d-hexosaminidase(s), 220–280 kDa; β-d-mannosidase, 185–290 kDa; α-d-mannosidase; 90–100 kDa).

1. A lectin was isolated from an extract of Branchiostoma lanceolatum by affinity chromatography using an asialo-A-peptone-cellulose column. 2 The lectin is a glycoprotein with a carbohydrate content of 2.7%. The mol. wt is 392,000 +/- 28,000. Two subunits of identical size (183,000 +/- 3000) are linked by non-covalent bonds. 3. The lectin agglutinates a variety of erythrocytes including human A, B, O red blood cells as well as human lymphocytes. 4. Hemagglutination activity is inhibited best by N,N',N"-triacetylchitotriose, followed by N,N'-diacetylchitobiose, which is half as inhibitory. 5. Lectin activity is constant between pH 5 and 10. Divalent cations are not required for binding reactions. Activity is totally destroyed by heating to 60 degrees C for 30 min. 6. The lectin is precipitated from the extract by 30-40% ammonium sulfate saturation.

Stress induced by social conflict in rainbow trout is known to result in physiological and haematological alterations as well as immune suppression. Based on these findings we sought to determine whether structure and function of the phagocytes in subordinate fish respond to the stressful situation. Phagocytes are essentially involved in the immune defence of teleosts. Histological and ultrastructural studies of haemopoietic pronephros tissue have shown that under stress, potential phagocytes (histiocytes, reticulum cells, endothelial cells, and neutrophils) become activated. They show marked hypertrophy, increased pseudopod formation and enhanced autophagocytosis. Erythrophagocytosis is particularly conspicuous suggesting some impairment of the red blood cell vitality. In vivo and in vitro tests using yeast cells also indicate an average increase in the phagocytosis rate in the subordinate fish. However, a considerable percentage of the phagocytes show signs of degeneration. They disintegrate, thereby forming necrotic tissue areas.

Blood lysozyme activity was determined in rainbow trout that were stressed by handling and transport, or suffered from acute ammonia poisoning. To optimize the lysoplate assay, the pH dependence of the lysozyme activity was studied. For serum and kidney lysozyme, the pH optimum was 5.5 to 6.0. Ventilation frequency and plasma glucoseconcentration of the fish were used as stress indicators. Less severely stressful situations, such as 30 min of handling, brought about either a stimulation or a suppression of the lysozyme activity. Strong stressors, such as transport lasting 2 h or acute water pollution, reduced the lysozyme level significantly. The decrease of lysozyme activity due to handling and transport persisted for 24 h, but the activity returned to normal within 2 weeks following confrontation with the stressor.

The existence of phagocytes in the Amphioxus is a matter of debate since early studies of Metchnikoff, who could not induce inflammation in this animal. To reinvestigate this important phenomenon, we sectioned the distal portion of the animal and analyzed, by morphological methods, the presence of phagocytes in the wound. The analysis of the wound by optical and electron microscopy did not detect cells with morphological characteristics of phagocytes in it. The wound is completely covered by the external cuticle of the animal 24 hr after the lesion was made. A second section of the animal leads to abnormal healing of the lesion. The insertion of a surgical silk thread in the muscle of the animals results—after 13 days—in a collection of cells surrounding the foreign body. The ultrastructural analysis of these cells showed they are endothelial cells rather than specialized phagocytes. Yet, the Amphioxus is able to mount an allograph rejection when the animals are tied together by suture. This intriguing capacity of the Amphioxus to cope with tissue healing, infection, and other pathologies without phagocytes is discussed.