The exploration of Sr isotopic analysis applied to Chinese glazes: part one

Ash glaze and limestone glaze are two major glaze types in southern Chinese ceramic technology. In this study strontium isotope compositions were determined in ash glaze samples from the Yue kiln dated to between the 10th and 12th centuries AD, limestone glaze samples from Jingdezhen dated to between the 15th and 18th centuries AD and ceramic raw materials from Jingdezhen. The Sr isotopic characteristics of limestone glaze and ash glaze are completely different. The Sr isotope characteristics of limestone glaze is characterised by low Sr concentrations, large 87Sr/86Sr variation, and a two component mixing line. On the other hand the strontium isotope characteristic of ash glaze samples is characterised by a consistent 87Sr/86Sr signature and high Sr concentrations with a large variation. The different Sr isotope compositions for the two types of glazes are a reflection of the various raw materials involved in making them. The Sr isotopic composition has been altered by the refinement process that the raw material was subjected to. It was found that the mineralogical changes caused by the alteration are reflected in the Sr isotope results. The potential of Sr isotopic analysis of Chinese glazes is evaluated according to the results produced by this, the first such stud

The c-terminal extension of a hybrid immunoglobulin A/G heavy chain is responsible for its Golgi-mediated sorting to the vacuole

We have assessed the ability of the plant secretory pathway to handle the expression of complex heterologous proteins by investigating the fate of a hybrid immunoglobulin A/G in tobacco cells. Although plant cells can express large amounts of the antibody, a relevant proportion is normally lost to vacuolar sorting and degradation. Here we show that the synthesis of high amounts of IgA/G does not impose stress on the plant secretory pathway. Plant cells can assemble antibody chains with high efficiency and vacuolar transport occurs only after the assembled immunoglobulins have traveled through the Golgi complex. We prove that vacuolar delivery of IgA/G depends on the presence of a cryptic sorting signal in the tailpiece of the IgA/G heavy chain. We also show that unassembled light chains are efficiently secreted as monomers by the plant secretory pathway

Protect the giant ibis through the pandemic

The giant ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea), Cambodia’s national bird, is edging toward extinction. The ibis’s historical range stretched across Southeast Asia, but only 194 critically endangered individuals remain, constrained to the northeastern region of Cambodia. The small population suffers from habitat loss and disturbance caused by human activities, and tensions between humans and wildlife have escalated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In April, 3 giant ibises and more than 100 other birds were poached in Cambodia’s Chhep Wildlife Sanctuary. To save the giant ibis, conservation efforts must continue, even during the pandemic

Waste management, informal recycling, environmental pollution and public health

With rapid population growth, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, the generation of waste is increasing at an unprecedented rate. For example, annual global waste arising from waste electrical and electronic equipment alone will have increased from 33.8 to 49.8 million tonnes between 2010 and 2018. Despite incineration and other waste treatment techniques, landfill still dominates waste disposal in low-income and middle-income countries. There is usually insufficient funding for adequate waste management in these countries and uptake of more advanced waste treatment technologies is poor. Without proper management, many landfills represent serious hazards as typified by the landslide in Shenzhen, China on 20 December 2015. In addition to formal waste recycling systems, approximately 15 million people around the world are involved in informal waste recycling, mainly for plastics, metals, glass and paper. This review examines emerging public health challenges, in particular within low-income and middle-income countries, associated with the informal sector. While informal recyclers contribute to waste recycling and reuse, the relatively primitive techniques they employ, combined with improper management of secondary pollutants, exacerbate environmental pollution of air, soil and water. Even worse, insufficient occupational health measures expose informal waste workers to a range of pollutants, injuries, respiratory and dermatological problems, infections and other serious health issues that contribute to low life expectancy. Integration of the informal sector with its formal counterparts could improve waste management while addressing these serious health and livelihood issues. Progress in this direction has already been made notably in several Latin American countries where integrating the informal and formal sectors has had a positive influence on both waste management and poverty alleviation

Polymorphisms in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, intakes of folate and related B vitamins and colorectal cancer : a case-control study in a population with relatively low folate intake

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

DTA/TGA/DSC and densification data for iron phosphate glasses having natural UO2.67 or surrogate Bi2O3 added

A new set of iron-uranium phosphate glasses containing (1–20) UO2.67. (10–20) Fe2O3. (55–68) P2O5 (mass/%) were melted adequately. They were tested for glassy matrices to immobilize hazardous wastes such as radioactive ones. Likewise, new compositions had uranium oxide replaced with Bi2O3. Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and dilatometry measurements allowed us to study the thermal properties. TGA runs on phosphate glasses containing Fe and U oxides indicated that on heating the glasses, up to TS (dilatometric softening point), the Fe2+ ions oxidized irreversibly to Fe3+ ions which can increase the thermal stability of the glasses by delaying (or even avoiding) crystallization. The densification behavior, applied to pressed powder pellets of ground glasses, from controlled heating rate (CHR) runs (Δl/lo versus T/K), shows relative sample length change versus temperature during heating, provided further thermal data like densification details as well as definition of ranges of creep stability. Various DTA, DSC methods allowed estimating the activation energy for crystallization of these kind of glasses. In addition, separate crystallization treatments for a particular composition provided samples suitable to study the shape and content of crystals with the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)/Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) technique. Thus, a new family of iron-phosphate glasses having Na2O, Al2O3 added (RR6—RR62—RR63) is presented and discussed here and compared to various glasses (like PFeOx and PFeUOx) previously developed at the Bariloche Atomic Center, Argentina (CAB) for radioactive waste immobilization. Activation energies depicted roughly similar values for viscous flow densification of glasses melted with controlled amounts of UO2 for the earlier compositions as well as for the new formulations.Fil: Arboleda Zuluaga, Paula Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Rincón, Jesús Ma.. No especifíca;Fil: Gonzalez Oliver, Carlos Julian R.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentin

Frequent expansion of Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein in Ethiopia and its epidemiological significance.

Plasmodium vivax invasion of human erythrocytes depends on the Duffy Binding Protein (PvDBP) which interacts with the Duffy antigen. PvDBP copy number has been recently shown to vary between P. vivax isolates in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the extent of PvDBP copy number variation, the type of PvDBP multiplications, as well as its significance across broad samples are still unclear. We determined the prevalence and type of PvDBP duplications, as well as PvDBP copy number variation among 178 Ethiopian P. vivax isolates using a PCR-based diagnostic method, a novel quantitative real-time PCR assay and whole genome sequencing. For the 145 symptomatic samples, PvDBP duplications were detected in 95 isolates, of which 81 had the Cambodian and 14 Malagasy-type PvDBP duplications. PvDBP varied from 1 to >4 copies. Isolates with multiple PvDBP copies were found to be higher in symptomatic than asymptomatic infections. For the 33 asymptomatic samples, PvDBP was detected with two copies in two of the isolates, and both were the Cambodian-type PvDBP duplication. PvDBP copy number in Duffy-negative heterozygotes was not significantly different from that in Duffy-positives, providing no support for the hypothesis that increased copy number is a specific association with Duffy-negativity, although the number of Duffy-negatives was small and further sampling is required to test this association thoroughly