How large are departures from lithostatic pressure? Constraints from host-inclusion elasticity

Minerals trapped as inclusions within other host minerals will develop non-lithostatic pressures during both prograde and retrograde metamorphism because of the differences between the thermo-elastic properties of the host and inclusion phases. There is only a single possible path in P-T space, the entrapment isomeke, along which no residual pressure would be developed in a host/inclusion system; non-lithostatic pressures are developed in inclusions as a result of the external pressure and temperature deviating from the isomeke that passes through the entrapment conditions. With modern equation of state and elasticity data for minerals now available it is possible to perform precise calculations of the isomekes for mineral pairs. These show that isomeke lines are not straight lines in P-T space at metamorphic conditions. We show that silicate inclusions in silicate hosts tend to have flat isomekes, with small values of dP/dT(isomeke), because of the small range of thermal expansion coefficients of silicate minerals. As a consequence, the general behaviour under decompression is for soft silicate inclusions in stiffer hosts to develop excess pressures, whereas a stiff silicate inclusion in a softer matrix will experience lower pressures than lithostatic pressure. The opposite effects occur for compression after entrapment on the prograde path. The excess pressures in inclusions, including allowance for mutual elastic relaxation of the host and inclusion, are most easily calculated by using the isomeke as a basis. Analysis of the simplest possible model of a host-inclusion system indicates that deviations from lithostatic pressure in excess of 1 GPa can be readily produced in quartz inclusions within garnets in metamorphic rocks. For softer host minerals such as feldspars the pressure deviations are smaller, because of greater elastic relaxation of the host. The maximum pressure deviation from lithostatic pressure in the host phase around the inclusion is one-third of the pressure deviation in the inclusion. Routines for performing these calculations have been added to the EosFit7c software package

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor as an immune-based therapy in HIV infection

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to spread despite more than 20 years of significant research and major advances in its treatment. The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy in recent years has significantly improved disease treatment with a dramatic impact in HIV/AIDS associated morbidity and mortality in countries which have access to this therapy. Despite these advances, such therapies are imperfect and other therapeutic modalities, including immune-based therapies, are being actively sought. Potential benefits of immune-based therapies include: 1) the improvement of HIV-specific immunity to enhance control of viral replication, 2) the improvement of other aspects of host immunity in order to prevent or delay the development of opportunistic infections and 3) the potential to purge virus from cellular reservoirs which are sustained despite the effects of potent antiretroviral therapy. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has been studied as one of these immune-based therapies. Several randomized, controlled trials have demonstrated benefits of using GM-CSF as an adjunct to conventional anti-retroviral therapy, although such benefits have not been universally observed. Individual studies have shown that GM-CSF increases CD4+ T cells counts and may be associated with decreased plasma HIV RNA levels. There is limited evidence that GM-CSF may help prevent the emergence of antiretroviral drug resistant viruses and that it may decrease the risk of infection in advanced HIV disease. Despite its high costs and the need to be administered subcutaneously, encouraging results continue to emerge from further studies, suggesting that GM-CSF has the potential to become an effective agent in the treatment of HIV infection

Elasticity of plagioclase feldspars

AbstractElastic properties are reported for eight plagioclase feldspars that span compositions from albite (NaSi3AlO8) to anorthite (CaSi2Al2O8). Surface acoustic wave velocities measured using Impulsive Stimulated Light Scattering and compliance sums from high‐pressure X‐ray compression studies accurately determine all 21 components of the elasticity tensor for these triclinic minerals. The overall pattern of elasticity and the changes in individual elastic components with composition can be rationalized on the basis of the evolution of crystal structures and chemistry across this solid‐solution join. All plagioclase feldspars have high elastic anisotropy; a* (the direction perpendicular to the b and c axes) is the softest direction by a factor of 3 in albite. From albite to anorthite the stiffness of this direction undergoes the greatest change, increasing twofold. Small discontinuities in the elastic components, inferred to occur between the three plagioclase phases with distinct symmetry ( , , and ), appear consistent with the nature of the underlying conformation of the framework‐linked tetrahedra and the associated structural changes. Measured body wave velocities of plagioclase‐rich rocks, reported over the last five decades, are consistent with calculated Hill‐averaged velocities using the current moduli. This confirms long‐standing speculation that previously reported elastic moduli for plagioclase feldspars are systematically in error. The current results provide greater assurance that the seismic structure of the middle and lower crusts can be accurately estimated on the basis of specified mineral modes, chemistry, and fabric

IoT Based Patient Health Monitoring using ESP8266 and Arduino

Internet of Things is a technological paradigm which can be incorporated in real time patient monitoring system. The review and implementation of real time monitoring of patients using biomedical sensors and microcontroller is presented where physiological parameters like heart-rate, body temperature is measured. This IoT prototype could read the pulse rate and measure the body temperature updates them to things peak an IoT platform

Jamming during the discharge of granular matter from a silo

In this work we present an experimental study of the jamming that stops the free flow of grains from a silo discharging by gravity. When the outlet size is not much bigger than the beads, granular material jams the outlet of the container due to the formation of an arch. Statistical data from the number of grains fallen between consecutive jams are presented. The information that they provide can help to understand the jamming phenomenon. As the ratio between the size of the orifice and the size of the beads is increased, the probability that an arch blocks the outlet decreases. We show here that there is a power law divergence of the mean avalanche size for a finite critical radius. Beyond this critical radius no jamming can occur and the flow is never stopped. The dependence of the arch formation on the shape and the material of the grains has been explored. It has been found that the material properties of the grains do not affect the arch formation probability. On the contrary, the shape of the grains deeply influences it. A simple model to interpret the results is also discussed.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Spt4 facilitates the movement of RNA polymerase II through the +2 nucleosomal barrier

We thank Frank Holstege for providing the S.cerevisiae Anchor Away strains, Lidia Vasilieva for Rpb9 FLAG-tagged S.pombe strain, Sabrina Liberatori and Shabaz Mohammed for proteomics, and Micron Oxford for imaging support.Peer reviewe

Condensation and Magnetization of the Relativistic Bose Gas

We present a simple proof of the absence of Bose--Einstein condensation of a relativistic boson gas, in any finite local magnetic field in less than five dimensions. We show that the relativistic charged boson gas exhibit a genuine Meissner--Ochsenfeld effect of the Schafroth form at fixed supercritical density. As in the well--known non--relativistic case, this total expulsion of a magnetic field is caused by the condensation of the Bose gas at vanishing magnetic field. The result is discussed in the context of kaon condensation in neutron stars.Comment: 8 pages, Late

Di-μ-acetato-κ3 O,O′:O;κ3 O:O,O′-bis­[(acetato-κ2 O,O′)(1,10-phenan­throline-κ2 N,N′)cadmium(II)]

The title compound, [Cd2(C2H3O2)4(C12H8N2)2], consists of dimeric units built up around a crystallographic symmetry centre. Each cadmium(II) unit is chelated by a 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) group and two acetate ligands, one of which also acts as a bridge, linking both seven-coordinated cadmium(II) centres. The crystal structure is governed by a single π–π inter­action between stacked phen groups [centroid–centroid distance 3.5209 (11) Å], leading to a planar structure parallel to (010)

Structural Differences Observed in Arboviruses of the Alphavirus and Flavivirus Genera

Arthropod borne viruses have developed a complex life cycle adapted to alternate between insect and vertebrate hosts. These arthropod-borne viruses belong mainly to the families Togaviridae, Flaviviridae, and Bunyaviridae. This group of viruses contains many pathogens that cause febrile, hemorrhagic, and encephalitic disease or arthritic symptoms which can be persistent. It has been appreciated for many years that these viruses were evolutionarily adapted to function in the highly divergent cellular environments of both insect and mammalian phyla. These viruses are hybrid in nature, containing viral-encoded RNA and proteins which are glycosylated by the host and encapsulate viral nucleocapsids in the context of a host-derived membrane. From a structural perspective, these virus particles are macromolecular machines adapted in design to assemble into a packaging and delivery system for the virus genome and, only when associated with the conditions appropriate for a productive infection, to disassemble and deliver the RNA cargo. It was initially assumed that the structures of the virus from both hosts were equivalent. New evidence that alphaviruses and flaviviruses can exist in more than one conformation postenvelopment will be discussed in this review. The data are limited but should refocus the field of structural biology on the metastable nature of these viruses