Coexisting divergent and convergent plate boundary assemblages indicate plate tectonics in the Neoarchean.

The coexistence of divergent (spreading ridge) and convergent (subduction zone) plate boundaries at which lithosphere is respectively generated and destroyed is the hallmark of plate tectonics. Here, we document temporally- and spatially-associated Neoarchean (2.55-2.51 Ga) rock assemblages with mid-ocean ridge and supra-subduction-zone origins from the Angou Complex, southern North China Craton. These assemblages record seafloor spreading and contemporaneous subduction initiation and mature arc magmatism, respectively, analogous to modern divergent and convergent plate boundary processes. Our results provide direct evidence for lateral plate motions in the late Neoarchean, and arguably the operation of plate tectonics, albeit with warmer than average Phanerozoic subduction geotherms. Further, we surmise that plate tectonic processes played an important role in shaping Earth's surficial environments during the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic.

Alpine-style nappes thrust over ancient North China continental margin demonstrate large Archean horizontal plate motions.

Whether modern-style plate tectonics operated on early Earth is debated due to a paucity of definitive records of large-scale plate convergence, subduction, and collision in the Archean geological record. Archean Alpine-style sub-horizontal fold/thrust nappes in the Precambrian basement of China contain a Mariana-type subduction-initiation sequence of mid-ocean ridge basalt blocks in a 1600-kilometer-long mélange belt, overthrusting picritic-boninitic and island-arc tholeiite bearing nappes, in turn emplaced over a passive margin capping an ancient Archean continental fragment. Picrite-boninite and tholeiite units are 2698 ± 30 million years old marking the age of subduction initiation, with nappes emplaced over the passive margin at 2520 million years ago. Here, we show the life cycle of the subduction zone and ocean spanned circa 178 million years; conservative plate velocities of 2 centimeters per year yield a lateral transport distance of subducted oceanic crust of 3560 kilometers, providing direct positive evidence for horizontal plate tectonics in the Archean.

Oxidative elemental cycling under the low O2 Eoarchean atmosphere.

The Great Oxidation Event signals the first large-scale oxygenation of the atmosphere roughly 2.4 Gyr ago. Geochemical signals diagnostic of oxidative weathering, however, extend as far back as 3.3-2.9 Gyr ago. 3.8-3.7 Gyr old rocks from Isua, Greenland stand as a deep time outpost, recording information on Earth's earliest surface chemistry and the low oxygen primordial biosphere. Here we find fractionated Cr isotopes, relative to the igneous silicate Earth reservoir, in metamorphosed banded iron formations (BIFs) from Isua that indicate oxidative Cr cycling 3.8-3.7 Gyr ago. Elevated U/Th ratios in these BIFs relative to the contemporary crust, also signal oxidative mobilization of U. We suggest that reactive oxygen species were present in the Eoarchean surface environment, under a very low oxygen atmosphere, inducing oxidative elemental cycling during the deposition of the Isua BIFs and possibly supporting early aerobic biology.

Octreotide: a new approach to the management of acute abdominal hypertension.

Acutely increased intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) may lead to abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS), which ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury plays an important role. The main goal of the management of ACS is to lower the intra-abdominal pressure despite reperfusion injury. Octreotide (OCT), a synthetic somatostatin analogue, lowers the splanchnic perfusion. The aim of this study was to investigate whether OCT improves the reperfusion injury after decompression of acute abdominal hypertension.Under anesthesia, a catheter was inserted intraperitoneally and using an aneroid manometer connected to the catheter, IAP was kept at 20 mmHg (ischemia group; I) for 1h. In the I/R group, pressure applied for an hour was decompressed and 1h reperfusion period was allowed. In another group of I/R, OCT was administered (50 microg/kg i.p.) immediately before the decompression of IAP. The results demonstrate that kidney and lung tissues of malondialdehyde (MDA; an end product of lipid peroxidation) levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO; index of tissue neutrophil infiltration) activity were elevated, while glutathione (GSH; a key to antioxidant) levels were reduced in I/R group (P<0.001). Moreover, OCT treatment applied in the I/R group reduced the elevations in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine levels. Our results implicate that IAP causes oxidative organ damage and OCT, by reducing splanchnic perfusion and controlling the reperfusion of abdominal organs, could improve the reperfusion-induced oxidative damage. Therefore, its therapeutic role as a "reperfusion injury-limiting" agent must be further elucidated in IAP-induced abdominal organ injury.

Octreotide improves reperfusion-induced oxidative injury in acute abdominal hypertension in rats.

Ischemia/reperfusion injury plays an important role in the pathogenesis of abdominal compartment syndrome, which is characterized by increased intra-abdominal pressure. The aim of this study was to investigate whether octreotide, a synthetic somatostatin analogue, improves the reperfusion injury after decompression of acute abdominal hypertension. This study was carried out in Wistar albino rats. With the rats under anesthesia, an arterial catheter was inserted intraperioneally and with the use of an aneroid manometer connected to the catheter, intra-abdominal pressure was kept at 20 mm Hg (ischemia group) for 1 hour. In the ischemia/reperfusion group, pressure applied for 1 hour was decompressed and a 1-hour reperfusion period was allowed. In another ischemia/reperfusion group, octreotide was administered (50 microg/kg intraperitoneally) immediately before the decompression of intra-abdominal pressure. At the end of the experiment, liver and intestinal tissues were taken and malondialdehyde (an index of lipid peroxidation) and glutathione (a key to antioxidant) levels and myeloperoxidase (an index of tissue neutrophil infiltration) activity were estimated. The results demonstrated that tissue levels of malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase activity were elevated, whereas glutathione levels were reduced in both the ischemia and ischemia/reperfusion groups. Octreotide treatment reversed these oxidant responses. In conclusion, increased intra-abdominal pressure causes oxidative organ damage and octreotide, by controlling the reperfusion of abdominal organs and inhibiting neutrophil infiltration, could improve the reperfusion-induced oxidative damage. Therefore its therapeutic role as a "reperfusion injury-limiting" agent must be further elucidated in intra-aortic pressure-induced abdominal organ injury.

Partial melting of deeply subducted eclogite from the Sulu orogen in China.

We report partial melting of an ultrahigh pressure eclogite in the Mesozoic Sulu orogen, China. Eclogitic migmatite shows successive stages of initial intragranular and grain boundary melt droplets, which grow into a three-dimensional interconnected intergranular network, then segregate and accumulate in pressure shadow areas and then merge to form melt channels and dikes that transport magma to higher in the lithosphere. Here we show, using zircon U-Pb dating and petrological analyses, that partial melting occurred at 228-219 Myr ago, shortly after peak metamorphism at 230 Myr ago. The melts and residues are complimentarily enriched and depleted in light rare earth element (LREE) compared with the original rock. Partial melting of deeply subducted eclogite is an important process in determining the rheological structure and mechanical behaviour of subducted lithosphere and its rapid exhumation, controlling the flow of deep lithospheric material, and for generation of melts from the upper mantle, potentially contributing to arc magmatism and growth of continental crust.