Petrography and mineral chemistry of wehrlites in contact zone of gabbro intrusions and mantle peridotites of the Naein ophiolite

Introduction Geological background Ophiolites have played a major role in our understanding of Earth’s processes ranging from seafloor spreading, melt evolution and magma transport in oceanic spreading centers, and hydrothermal alteration and mineralization of oceanic crust to collision tectonics, mountain building processes, and orogeny. They provide the essential structural, petrological, geochemical, and geochronological evidence to document the evolutionary history of ancient continental margins and ocean basin. Ophiolites include a peridotitic mantle sequence, generally characterized by high-temperature plastic deformation and residual chemistry, and a comagmatic crustal sequence (gabbros, diabase dikes, and submarine basalts), weakly or not deformed. According to this interpretation, ophiolites were allochthonous with respect to their country rocks. They were assembled during a primary accretion stage at an oceanic spreading center, and later tectonically emplaced on a continental margin or island arc (Dilek, 2003). The indigenous dikes of pyroxenites and gabbros that were injected into a melting peridotite, or intrusive dikes of pyroxenite and gabbro that injected when the peridotite was fresh and well below its solidus, are discussed in different ophiolite papers. Pyroxenite formation and contact of gabbro and mantle peridotite are discussed in different articles (Dilek, 2003). When a gabbro intrude a fresh mantle peridotite could not significantly react with it, but if intrusion occurs during the serpentinization, the gabbro will change to rodingite. Geological setting The Naein ophiolitic melanges comprise the following rock units: mantle peridotites (harzburgite, lherzolite, dunite, with associated chromitite), gabbro, pyroxenite, sheeted and swarm dikes, massive basalts, pillow lava, plagiogranite, radiolarian chert, glaubotruncana limestone, rodingite, listvenite, and metamorphic rocks (foliated amphibolitic dike, amphibolite, skarn, banded meta-chert, and succession of schist and marble) (Davoudzadeh, 1972; Jabbari, 1997; Pirnia Naeini, 2006; Torabi, 2012; Shirdashtzadeh, 2006). In this ophiolite, the leucogabbro intrusions crosscut all other rock units. Materials and Methods Mineralogical analyses were conducted by wavelength-dispersive EPMA (JEOL JXA-8800R) at the Cooperative Centre of Kanazawa University (Japan). The analyses were performed under an accelerating voltage of 15 kV and a beam current of 15 nA. JEOL software using ZAF corrections was employed for data reduction. Natural and synthetic minerals of known composition are used as standards. The Fe3+ content in minerals was estimated by assuming mineral stoichiometry. Results In the contact zone of leucogabbros and mantle peridotites of the Naein ophiolite, wehrlite and olivine clinopyroxenite are formed. Rock-forming minerals of these wehrlites are olivine (chrysolite), clinopyroxene (diopside), Cr-spinel, serpentine, amphibole (tremolite and tremolitic hornblende), epidote and magnetite. Comparison of mineral chemistry of olivine, clinopyroxene and chromian spinel in wehrlites and mantle peridotites indicate that chemical composition of clinopyroxene and olivine in these rocks are different, but chemistry of Cr-spinels in harzburgite and wehrlite are nearly same. Discussion According to the resistance of Cr-spinel against the metamorphism and alteration, it can be concluded that the wehrlites in contact zone of gabbros and mantle peridotites are formed at the expense of harzburgite. Olivine and clinopyroxene of wehrlites are formed by serpentine metamorphism and interaction of serpentine and calcium of gabbro, respectively. Field study of the research area shows that the leucogabbro intrudes the harzburgite. This research shows that after the serpentinization of mantle harzburgite, the gabbro intrusions crosscut the serpentinized peridotites, and wehrlite and olivine clinopyroxenite formed in the contact zone. Acknowledgements The authors thank the University of Isfahan for financial support. References Dilek, Y., 2003. Ophiolite concept and the evolution of geological thought. Geological Society of America Special Paper 373, 504. Davoudzadeh, M., 1972. Geology and Petrography of the area north of Nain, Central Iran. Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Report 14, 92 pp. Jabbari, A., 1997. Geology and petrology of the northen Naein ophiolites. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran, 162 pp. (in Persian) Pirnia Naeini, T., 2006. Petrology of mantle peridotites of the Naein ophiolite. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran, 191 pp. (in Persian with English abstract) Torabi, G., 2012. Central Iran ophiolites. Jahad daneshgahi, Isfahan, 443 pp. (in Persian) Shirdashtzadeh, N., 2006. Petrology of metamorphic rocks in the Naein ophiolite (Isfahan province). M.Sc. Thesis, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. 194 pp. (in Persian with English abstract) <br

Delayed Topographical and Refractive Changes Following Corneal Cross-Linking for Keratoconus

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term topographic and refractive outcomes of corneal cross-linking (CXL) in keratoconus. Methods: We used a retrospective observational study of patients with keratoconus who underwent CXL with a minimum follow-up of 5 years. Patients’ refractive and topography data (corrected distance visual acuity, sphere, cylinder, average and maximum keratometry, and corneal aberrations) were collected. Results: A total of 112 patients/150 eyes (mean age: 33.2 ± 10.7 years; range: 13–61) were included. The mean follow-up was 5.87 ± 1.35 years (range: 5–10). At the last follow-up visit, an improvement in CDVA, spherical and cylindrical refraction, average and steepest keratometry, and corneal aberrations were observed (p < 0.05), with the exception of trefoil. At the last visit, 49 (34.8%) and 31 (22.0%) eyes had an improvement beyond 1D in their spherical and cylindrical power, respectively, and 43 (28.7%) eyes had a flattening of their steepest keratometry. Progressive improvement over time was observed for spherical refraction; max and mean-K; as well as corneal RMS, total, high, coma, and spherical aberrations (p < 0.05). More severe disease at the baseline correlated with an improvement in corneal aberrations over time. Conclusions: In addition to a progressive improvement in refractive and keratometric indices, corneal aberrations also demonstrate a steady decline with long-term follow-up after CXL, which was more pronounced in more severe patients.Medicine, Faculty ofOphthalmology and Visual Sciences, Department ofReviewedFacultyGraduat

Gene editing treatment strategies for retinitis pigmentosa assessed in Xenopus laevis carrying a mutant Rhodopsin allele

Aim: To examine the utility of gene editing therapies for retinitis pigmentosa using Xenopus laevis carrying a mutation in Rhodopsin.Methods: Xenopus laevis were genetically modified using CRISPR-Cas9 based methods and characterized by Sanger sequencing, dot blot, electroretinography, and confocal microscopy.Results: We identified genetically modified Xenopus laevis carrying a net 12 base pair deletion in the Rho.L gene. These animals have a retinal degeneration that is apparent by 14 days, with abnormal or missing rod outer segments, and a reduced electroretinogram signal. We prevented the majority of this retinal degeneration via a treatment strategy using a single sgRNA to neutralize the mutant allele via non-homologous end joining, yielding long-term improvements in histology and the electroretinogram. A second strategy using two sgRNAs to generate large deletions in the mutant allele was also successful, but did not significantly improve outcomes relative to the single-guide strategy as it was less efficient. We found limited evidence of success with a third strategy dependent on homology-directed repair; this treatment was also too inefficient to generate an outcome superior to the single-guide strategy.Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the utility of this new Xenopus laevis model for rapidly assessing and comparing multiple gene-editing based treatment strategies. We conclude that it would be technically difficult to improve on the simple single-guide based strategy, as strategies requiring multiple successive events (such as cleavage followed by homology-directed repair) are likely to be less efficient

The impact of endurance training and table soccer on brain metabolites in schizophrenia

Higher glutamate and glutamine (together: Glx) and lower N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) levels were reported in schizophrenia. Endurance training normalizes NAA in the hippocampus, but its effects on other metabolites in the brain and the relationship of metabolites to clinical symptoms remain unknown. For 12 weeks, 20 schizophrenia inpatients (14 men, 6 women) and 23 healthy controls (16 men, 7 women) performed endurance training and a control group of 21 schizophrenia inpatients (15 men, 6 women) played table soccer. A computer-assisted cognitive performance training program was introduced after 6 weeks. We assessed cognitive performance, psychopathological symptoms, and everyday functioning at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks and performed single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the hippocampus, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and thalamus. We quantified NAA, Glx, total creatine (tCr), calculated NAA/tCr and Glx/tCr and correlated these ratios with physical fitness, clinical and neurocognitive scores, and everyday functioning. At baseline, in both schizophrenia groups NAA/tCr was lower in the left DLPFC and left hippocampus and Glx/tCr was lower in the hippocampus than in the healthy controls. After 6 weeks, NAA/tCr increased in the left DLPFC in both schizophrenia groups. Brain metabolites did not change significantly in the hippocampus or thalamus, but the correlation between NAA/tCr and Glx/tCr normalized in the left DLPFC. Global Assessment of Functioning improvements correlated with NAA/tCr changes in the left DLPFC. In our study, endurance training and table soccer induced normalization of brain metabolite ratios in the brain circuitry associated with neuronal and synaptic elements, including metabolites of the glutamatergic system

Predicting response to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with schizophrenia using structural magnetic resonance imaging: a multisite machine learning analysis

Background: The variability of responses to plasticity-inducing repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) challenges its successful application in psychiatric care. No objective means currently exists to individually predict the patients' response to rTMS. Methods: We used machine learning to develop and validate such tools using the pre-treatment structural Magnetic Resonance Images (sMRI) of 92 patients with schizophrenia enrolled in the multisite RESIS trial (http://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00783120): patients were randomized to either active (N = 45) or sham (N = 47) 10-Hz rTMS applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex 5 days per week for 21 days. The prediction target was nonresponse vs response defined by a >= 20% pre-post Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) negative score reduction. Results: Our models predicted this endpoint with a cross-validated balanced accuracy (BAC) of 85% (nonresponse/response: 79%/90%) in patients receiving active rTMS, but only with 51% (48%/55%) in the sham-treated sample. Leave-site-out cross-validation demonstrated cross-site generalizability of the active rTMS predictor despite smaller training samples (BAC: 71%). The predictive pre-treatment pattern involved gray matter density reductions in prefrontal, insular, medio-temporal, and cerebellar cortices, and increments in parietal and thalamic structures. The low BAC of 58% produced by the active rTMS predictor in sham-treated patients, as well as its poor performance in predicting positive symptom courses supported the therapeutic specificity of this brain pattern. Conclusions: Individual responses to active rTMS in patients with predominant negative schizophrenia may be accurately predicted using structural neuromarkers. Further multisite studies are needed to externally validate the proposed treatment stratifier and develop more personalized and biologically informed rTMS interventions