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Liaoceratops is a small basal neoceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of western Liaoning, China. Because its postcranial skeleton is lacking, its behaviour and palaeoecology remain poorly understood. By using computed tomography (CT), we reconstructed the cranial endocast and endosseous labyrinths of an adult individual of Liaoceratops yanzigouensis (PMoL-AD00097). Analysis and comparisons indicate that the brain, olfactory bulb and inner ear of adult Liaoceratops more closely resemble those observed in adult specimens of the basal ceratopsian Psittacosaurus than those in more derived ceratopsians. The relatively large olfactory bulb, discernible floccular lobes, and relatively long semicircular canals suggest that the adult Liaoceratops had a keen sense of smell, a well-developed sensory input for the reflexive stabilisation of gaze and posture, and a nearly horizontal head posture. Based on its relatively short cochlear ducts, adult Liaoceratops likely vocalised at and heard more efficiently to relatively high frequencies than the derived ceratopsian Pachyrhinosaurus and Triceratops. The relatively well-developed semicircular canals suggest that adult Liaoceratops was agile biped and had a similar locomoter mode with adult Psittacosaurus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adakitic dikes with zircon ages of ~120–118 Ma are identified in the Xiejiagou gold deposit, Jiaobei terrain. The Early Cretaceous intermediate-acidic dikes include monzonite, quartz monzonite, and monzogranite, which have SiO2, Al2O3, K2O, Na2O contents ranging from 61.01 to 74.72 wt. %, 14.42 to 17.28 wt.%, 2.55 to 4.45 wt.%, and 3.09 to 4.64 wt.%, respectively. The dikes are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) (e.g., Rb, Sr, and Ba) and light rare earth elements (LREEs), but are depleted in high field strength elements (HFSEs) (e.g., Nb, Ta) and heavy rare earth elements (HREEs). They are also characterized by continental crust-like isotopic compositions: whole-rock δ18O = 7.6–9.9‰, (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.70893–0.71036, and εNd(t) = −13.16 to −17.06. Assimilation and fractional crystallization are limited, and partial melting of source rock is the main mechanism in controlling the compositional variation. The high Sr/Y (41.51–93.25) and (La/Yb)N (22.9–44.7) ratios imply that the dikes have affinities similar to adakitic rocks. The regional geological setting, coupled with the geochemical and isotopic data, indicate that the adakitic dikes were unlikely produced by partial melting of a subducted oceanic slab or a thickened/delaminated lower crust, or AFC processes of mantle-derived magmas. We conclude that the adakitic dikes are generated by partial melting of lower crust which was triggered and modified by underplating of the lithospheric mantle. We also propose that the eastern part of the North China Craton experienced severe thinning in the Early Cretaceous (~135–120 Ma), and the lithospheric thinning is related to delamination of the lower crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The particle interaction behavior is important in flotation process, and the interaction energy calculation is helpful for evaluating this behavior. This study investigates and compares the floatability of magnesite, dolomite, and quartz in single mineral flotation and artificial mixture flotation with dodecylamine (DDA) as collector. The results showed that while the pH, dissolved ions, and competitive adsorption had a minor influence on their floatability, fine magnesite and dolomite largely decreased the recovery of quartz. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis on the flotation products demonstrated severe masking of fine particles on the surface of quartz. The extended-DLVO (Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek) theory was applied to calculate the interaction energy between the mineral particles, and the results showed that the interaction force between magnesite and quartz and between dolomite and quartz was attractive; therefore, fine magnesite and dolomite particles were easily masked on the surface of quartz. The calculation results agree with the experiment results and explain the mechanism of particles’ interaction and the reasons for the differences in single mineral flotation and artificially mixed minerals flotation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]