Element geochemistry of Cherokee Group coals (Middle Pennsylanian) from south-central and southeastern Iowa

Middle Pennsylvanian Cherokee Group coals from south-central and southeastern Iowa are typical high-sulfur, high-ash coals. These coals have an arithmetic mean sulfur content of 5.8 percent and a mean ash content of 15.9 percent. Apparent rank for most samples is high-volatile C bituminous coal. The relatively high contents of sulfur and 23 other elements in Iowa Cherokee Group coals are related to near neutral pH conditions (6-8) in the depositional and early diagenetic environments, and to post-depositional epigenetic sphalerite/calcite/pyrite/ kaolinite/barite mineralization. Changes from an aluminosilicate- to a sulfide-element association for U, Mo, Cr, and V, and an increase in element content for U, Mo, Cr, V, Na, Mg, and K in stratigraphically higher coals are thought to be related to differences in depositional environments of the coal-associated rocks, which change from predominantly terrestrial in the Lower Cherokee Group, to predominantly marine in the upper part of the Upper Cherokee Group. Coals overlain by marine, phosphatic, black shale lithologies have the highest content of U, Mo, Ag, Sb, Se, and V

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Fossil peat of the Illinois basin : a guide to the study of coal balls of Pennsylvanian age

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Fossil peat of the Illinois basin : a guide to the study of coal balls of Pennsylvanian age /

Illinois State Geological Survey Education Serie