Cu-Pd mineralization and exploration geochemistry of the Eastern Gabbro, Coldwell Alkaline Complex, ON, Canada

The Eastern Gabbro forms the northern and eastern margin of the Coldwell Alkaline Complex. It contains three magma series: the barren meta-basalt, the Layered Series, and the Marathon Series which hosts all known PGE mineralization. The Marathon Series can be distinguished from other Series using the combination of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) and benchtop scanning electron microscope (bSEM). Whole-rock Ba, Mg# (molar Mg/(Mg+Fe)*100), Zr and V/Ti values acquired from pXRF, and Mg#s of olivine and clinopyroxene, and anorthite content (molar Ca/(Ca+Na)*100) of plagioclase acquired from bSEM-EDS are key parameters. The Layered Series generally contains higher Ba and lower V/Ti than the Marathon Series and presents relatively smooth normal and reverse differentiation trends, whereas the Marathon Series exhibit strong compositional changes over short distances. Reverse and normal lithogeochemical and mineral chemical evolution are observed for the Layered Series at Four Dams and Area 41. Olivine-clinopyroxene Fe/Mg exchange disequilibrium is also observed, and is interpreted to reflect crystallization in an open dynamic system. Geochemical modeling shows that the Layered Series magma is more evolved than the Coubran basalts, but the former contains lower Pd+Pt contents than the latter. Cu-rich & PGE-poor mineralization is also recognized in the Layered Series at Four Dams. This is interpreted to reflect an early sulfide saturation of the Layered Series. Area 41 is a newly discovered zone of mineralization at the northern edge of the Eastern Gabbro. Three types of mineralization are identified. Type 1 is Cu-rich but PGE-poor mineralization. Type 2 contains PGE mineralization and has mantle-like Cu/Pd ratios, suggesting that it likely formed in a relatively closed system, similar to the Main zone mineralization at the Marathon deposit. Type 3 mineralization is the most PGE-enriched and has low Cu/Pd ratios. This, together with average S/Se ratios of 1200 is evidence of S loss, which suggests that it formed by multi-stage dissolution upgrading, similar to the W-horizon mineralization at the Marathon deposit. 3D modeling of the igneous stratigraphy and mineralization indicate that Area 41 is a magma conduit, similar to the Marathon deposit. Thus, the Coldwell may also contain additional conduit-related mineralizatio

Current Status of the Chinese National Twin Registry

The Chinese National Twin Registry is the first and largest population-based twin registry in China. It was established in 2001. The primary goal of this program is the establishment of a population-based twin registry of 45,000 twin pairs from several regions representing north, south, urban, and rural areas in China. A secondary goal is to study genetic contributions to complex diseases, and to test associations of candidate genes with related phenotypes. Seven thousand, four hundred and twenty-three twin pairs have been enrolled in the registry in which 1613 pairs have undergone detailed questionnaire assessments and physical examination. Based on the baseline registry, a twin cohort was established. Continued research includes studies on intermediate phenotypes of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and psychological studies in adult twins, studies on growth and development in adolescent twins, and so forth. The current state and future plans for the Chinese National Twin Registry will be discussed in this article.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000243216600009&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Genetics & HeredityObstetrics & GynecologySCI(E)PubMed17ARTICLE6747-752

Thermoluminescence (TL) analysis for otoliths of the wild carps (cyprinoid) from Baiyangdian Lake and Miyun Reservoir: Some implications for monitoring water environment

Otolith is a typical biomineral carrier growing on insides of fish skull with prominent zoning structure formed by alternating layers of protein and calcium carbonate growing around the nucleus. Even though thermoluminescence (TL) analysis on biomineral has been widely used to measure the radiation exposure in the recent twenty years, the TL characteristics of the fish otolith have not yet been reported in literature. TL characteristics of otoliths from the wild carps (cyprinoid) living in the Baiyangdian Lake, Hebei Province and Miyun Reservoir, Beijing City was first studied, and the differences of energy gap (E) between the fish otoliths in the two waters have also been discussed in this paper. The experimental results indicated that TL curve parameters: peak temperature (Tp), luminous intensity (I), integrated intensity (S) and middle width (Wm) for the glow curves of the cyprinoid otoliths from Baiyangdian Lake are greater than those from Miyun reservoir, and the stability of the formers’ TL curve parameters value and energy gap (E) was weaker than the latter. In comparison to the Miyun Reservoir, the analysis manifested that the electrons and vacancies trapped in the otoliths from Baiyangdian Lake are more likely to escape. According to the investigation, the contaminative degree and eutrophication in the water of Baiyangdian Lake was heavier than that of Miyun Reservoir. Therefore, the characteristics of TL growth curves of the cyprinoid otoliths is quite sensitive to heavier contaminated and less contaminated water, and this could be regarded as an important typomorphic biomineral for monitoring the contaminative degree and environment change of the water.Keywords: Cyprinoid otoliths, thermoluminescence, water environment, typomorphic minera

Cardiovascular risk burden, dementia risk and brain structural imaging markers:a study from UK Biobank

Background:Cardiovascular risk burden is associated with dementia risk and neurodegeneration-related brain structure, while the role of genetics and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear. Aims:To examine the association of overall cardiovascular risk burden with the risk of major dementia subtypes and volumes of related brain regions in a large sample, and to explore the role of genetics and CVD onset. Methods:A prospective study among 354 654 participants free of CVD and dementia (2006–2010, mean age 56.4 years) was conducted within the UK Biobank, with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurement available for 15 104 participants since 2014. CVD risk burden was evaluated by the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Score (FGCRS). Dementia diagnosis was ascertained from inpatient and death register data. Results:Over a median 12.0-year follow-up, 3998 all-cause dementia cases were identified. Higher FGCRS was associated with increased all-cause dementia risk after adjusting for demographic, major lifestyle, clinical factors and the polygenic risk score (PRS) of Alzheimer’s disease. Comparing the high versus low tertile of FGCRS, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were 1.26 (1.12 to 1.41) for all-cause dementia, 1.67 (1.33 to 2.09) for Alzheimer’s disease and 1.53 (1.07 to 2.16) for vascular dementia (all ptrend&lt;0.05). Incident stroke and coronary heart disease accounted for 14% (95% CI: 9% to 21%) of the association between FGCRS and all-cause dementia. Interactions were not detected for FGCRS and PRS on the risk of any dementia subtype. We observed an 83% (95% CI: 47% to 128%) higher all-cause dementia risk comparing the high–high versus low–low FGCRS–PRS category. For brain volumes, higher FGCRS was associated with greater log-transformed white matter hyperintensities, smaller cortical volume and smaller grey matter volume. Conclusions:Our findings suggest that the positive association of cardiovascular risk burden with dementia risk also applies to major dementia subtypes. The association of cardiovascular risk burden with all-cause dementia is largely independent of CVD onset and genetic predisposition to dementia.</p

Cardiovascular risk burden, dementia risk and brain structural imaging markers:a study from UK Biobank

Background:Cardiovascular risk burden is associated with dementia risk and neurodegeneration-related brain structure, while the role of genetics and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear. Aims:To examine the association of overall cardiovascular risk burden with the risk of major dementia subtypes and volumes of related brain regions in a large sample, and to explore the role of genetics and CVD onset. Methods:A prospective study among 354 654 participants free of CVD and dementia (2006–2010, mean age 56.4 years) was conducted within the UK Biobank, with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurement available for 15 104 participants since 2014. CVD risk burden was evaluated by the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Score (FGCRS). Dementia diagnosis was ascertained from inpatient and death register data. Results:Over a median 12.0-year follow-up, 3998 all-cause dementia cases were identified. Higher FGCRS was associated with increased all-cause dementia risk after adjusting for demographic, major lifestyle, clinical factors and the polygenic risk score (PRS) of Alzheimer’s disease. Comparing the high versus low tertile of FGCRS, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were 1.26 (1.12 to 1.41) for all-cause dementia, 1.67 (1.33 to 2.09) for Alzheimer’s disease and 1.53 (1.07 to 2.16) for vascular dementia (all ptrend&lt;0.05). Incident stroke and coronary heart disease accounted for 14% (95% CI: 9% to 21%) of the association between FGCRS and all-cause dementia. Interactions were not detected for FGCRS and PRS on the risk of any dementia subtype. We observed an 83% (95% CI: 47% to 128%) higher all-cause dementia risk comparing the high–high versus low–low FGCRS–PRS category. For brain volumes, higher FGCRS was associated with greater log-transformed white matter hyperintensities, smaller cortical volume and smaller grey matter volume. Conclusions:Our findings suggest that the positive association of cardiovascular risk burden with dementia risk also applies to major dementia subtypes. The association of cardiovascular risk burden with all-cause dementia is largely independent of CVD onset and genetic predisposition to dementia.</p

Ginseng-Angelica-Sansheng-Pulvis Boosts Neurogenesis Against Focal Cerebral Ischemia-Induced Neurological Deficiency

BackgroundThe traditional Chinese medicine Ginseng-Angelica-Shanseng-Pulvis (GASP) has been used to treat stroke for 300 years. This present study investigated if it can induce increases in neurogenesis following cerebral ischemic injury.MethodsRats following middle cerebral artery occlusion were orally treated with high, medium, and low doses of a standardized GASP extract.ResultsAfter 14 days, treatment with GASP improved regional blood flow and infarction volume by magnetic resonance imaging scanning, enhanced Ki67+ expression in the subventricular zone, increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) secretion, Nestin, and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 2/4 expressions in the hippocampus in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, low-dose treatment with GASP downregulated doublecortin and Notch1 expressions in the hippocampus, as well as upregulated glial fibrillary acidic protein expression in the subgranular zone and hairy and enhancer of split (Hes) 5 expression in the hippocampus, while treatment with middle and high doses of GASP reversed these results. Meanwhile, the consumed time was shortened in the basket test and the adhesive removal test and the spending time on exploring novel objects was prolonged by GASP treatment whose effects were more obvious at day 14 post-ischemia.ConclusionOur study demonstrates that treatment with GASP increases neurogenesis and ameliorates sensorimotor functions and recognition memory. We hypothesize that these effects are thought be mediated by an effect on the BMP2/4 pathway and Notch1/Hes5 signal. Due to its beneficial efficacy, GASP can be recognized as an alternative therapeutic agent for ischemic stroke

The Phosphate Fast-Responsive Genes <i>PECP1</i> and <i>PPsPase1</i> Affect Phosphocholine and Phosphoethanolamine Content

International audiencePhosphate starvation-mediated induction of the HAD-type phosphatases PPsPase1 (AT1G73010) and PECP1 (AT1G17710) has been reported in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). However, little is known about their in vivo function or impact on plant responses to nutrient deficiency. The preferences of PPsPase1 and PECP1 for different substrates have been studied in vitro but require confirmation in planta. Here, we examined the in vivo function of both enzymes using a reverse genetics approach. We demonstrated that PPsPase1 and PECP1 affect plant phosphocholine and phosphoethanolamine content, but not the pyrophosphate-related phenotypes. These observations suggest that the enzymes play a similar role in planta related to the recycling of polar heads from membrane lipids that is triggered during phosphate starvation. Altering the expression of the genes encoding these enzymes had no effect on lipid composition, possibly due to compensation by other lipid recycling pathways triggered during phosphate starvation. Furthermore, our results indicated that PPsPase1 and PECP1 do not influence phosphate homeostasis, since the inactivation of these genes had no effect on phosphate content or on the induction of molecular markers related to phosphate starvation. A combination of transcriptomics and imaging analyses revealed that PPsPase1 and PECP1 display a highly dynamic expression pattern that closely mirrors the phosphate status. This temporal dynamism, combined with the wide range of induction levels, broad expression, and lack of a direct effect on Pi content and regulation, makes PPsPase1 and PECP1 useful molecular markers of the phosphate starvation response