Stable (H, O, C) and noble-gas (He and Ar) isotopic compositions from calcite and fluorite in the Speewah Dome, Kimberley Region, Western Australia: implications for the conditions of crystallization and evidence for the influence of crustal-mantle fluid mixing

In this study, the C-O-isotopic data from calcite at Yungul and Wilmott (Speewah. Western-Australia) are integrated with microthermometry, H2O-, CO2-content and H-He-Ar-isotopic data from fluid inclusions in genetically related calcite and fluorite to map the origin and crystallization paths of the fluids. In addition to the hydrogen isotopic compositions of fluid inclusions in fluorite, oxygen isotopic compositions were also determined by cavity ring-down spectroscopy. The geochemical data suggest mixing of a CO2-dominated mantle fluid and a H2O-domintated crustal brine. The fluid produced by this mixing is characterized by radiogenic (crustal-like) He-3/He-4 ratios, crustal-like dD values, relatively high salinity (19-24wt.% NaCl eq.), moderate homogenization temperatures (150-450 degrees C) and mantle-like CO2/He-3 ratios. Moreover, the large isotopic and elemental variations found in calcite indicate that its formation was accompanied by an extensive degassing (open system) leading to a decrease in dD and an increase in the CO2/He-3 values relative to the starting fluid composition. This degassing is consistent with the fluidal- and breccia-like texture of calcite observed in the field. In contrast, the fluorite which has coarse-grained banded to vughy textures formed in a passive aqueous system. Apparently the fluid that formed the fluorite has the same origin as the calcite, but the higher water content and the more radiogenic He-3/He-4 ratios reflect a greater involvement of crustal fluids. The historical description of the calcite-fluorite system in the Speewah area as "carbonatite" is now considered inappropriate because there is no evidence that crystallization is dominated by magmatic processes

Stable (H, O, C) and noble-gas (He and Ar) isotopic compositions from calcite and fluorite in the Speewah Dome, Kimberley Region, Western Australia: implications for the conditions of crystallization and evidence for the influence of crustal-mantle fluid mixing

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Investigating the role of protein folding and assembly in cell-type dependent expression of alpha7 nicotinic receptors using a green fluorescent protein chimera

To test the hypothesis that cell-dependent expression of α7 receptors is due to differences in protein folding or assembly, we constructed a chimeric rat α7 subunit with green fluorescent protein (GFP) at the receptor C-terminal. Expression of α7-GFP in Xenopus oocytes resulted in currents that were indistinguishable from wild type receptors but were only 33% of control. 125I-α-bungarotoxin (αBGT) binding at the oocyte surface was reduced to 23% of wild type. Transfection of α7-GFP into GH4C1 cells produced fluorescence that was less intense than GFP alone, but showed significant α-BGT binding compared to transfection with GFP. In contrast, α7-GFP transfection in SH-EP1, HEK293 and CHO-CAR cells produced fluorescence without αBGT binding. Flow cytometry of cells transfected with α7-GFP indicated fluorescence in both SH-EP1 and GH4C1 cells, but surface toxin binding sites and sites immunoprecipitated using anti-GFP antibodies were undetectable in SH-EP1 cells, suggesting a problem in folding/assembly rather than trafficking. Surprisingly, integrated fluorescence intensities in GH4C1 cells transfected with α7-GFP did not correlate with amounts of cell surface or immunoprecipitable αBGT binding. Therefore, GFP folding at the C-terminal of the α7-GFP chimera is cell-line independent, but toxin binding is highly cell-line dependent, suggesting that if altered protein folding is involved in the cell-type dependence of α7 receptor expression, the phenomenon is restricted to specific protein domains. Further, C-terminal GFP-labeled α7 receptors decreased the efficiency of folding/assembly not only of chimeric subunits, but also wild-type subunits, suggesting that the C-terminal is an important domain for α7 receptor assembly.Supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain and FEDER (SAF2005-00534 and SAF2005-02045), by NIH NS22472, and by an RSDF grant from Northeastern University.Peer Reviewe

The Yungul carbonatite dykes associated with the epithermal fluorite deposit at Speewah, Kimberley, Australia: carbon and oxygen isotope constraints on their origin

The Yungul carbonatite dykes at Speewah in the Kimberley region of Western Australia were emplaced along a north-trending splay from the northeast-trending Greenvale Fault located at the western boundary of the Halls Creek Orogen. The Yungul carbonatite dykes intrude a thick composite sill of the Palaeoproterozoic Hart Dolerite (~1,790 Ma), consisting of tholeiitic dolerite and gabbro with its felsic differentiates that form the Yilingbun granophyres and associated granites. The carbonatite dykes consist of massive, calcite carbonatite that host very coarse, pegmatitic veins and pods of calcite, and have largely replaced (carbonatitized) and fenitized the country rock Hart Dolerite suite in a zone up to 150 m wide. Dykes of red-brown siliceous fluidized-breccia and epithermal-textured veins consisting of bladed quartz, adularia and fluorite are closely associated with the carbonatite dykes. The Yungul carbonatites are closely associated with fluorite occurrences with resources currently reported as 6.7 Mt at 24.6% CaF2. The precise age of the Yungul carbonatite is not known, although it is believed to be post early Cambrian. The total REE content of the Yungul carbonatite is low (174.0–492.8 ppm; La/Yb 2.28–10.74) and thus atypical for calciocarbonatite. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns for the carbonatite are relatively flat compared to average calciocarbonatite, and show small negative Eu anomalies. These unusual geochemical features may have been acquired from the Hart Dolerite suite during emplacement of the carbonatite, a process that involved extensive replacement and fenitization of country rocks. Carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of massive calcite carbonatite and the coarse calcite veins and pods from the carbonatite suggest a deep-seated origin. The C and O isotope compositions show an overall positive correlation that can be attributed to both magmatic and magmatic-hydrothermal processes in their evolution. The magmatic δ13C-δ18O trend is also indicative of crustal contamination and/or low-temperature water/rock exchange. The carbon isotopic compositions have δ13C values that range from about −5.2‰ to −6.3‰ that support a mantle-derived origin for the Yungul carbonatites and are consistent with earlier conclusions based on whole-rock geochemistry and radiogenic isotopes studies