Turmalinas en la pegmatita granítica de Li-Cs-Ta del Grupo Namacotche, Mozambique: cristalquímica y origen

The field work, backscattered electron images and detailed microanalyses of three generations of tourmaline from the Namacotche LCT pegmatites allows de distinction between the compositional magmatic and hydrothermal tourmalines. The generation 1 occurs in the outer intermediate zone of the pegmatite. It consists of zoned crystals with an oscillatory inner core of foitite and schorl, an outer core of schorl and an Fe-rich fluor-elbaite rim. Unzoned Fe-rich fluor-elbaite crystals occur in the inner intermediate zone of the pegmatite. All the crystals are derived by fractionation of a (Al, Li, B)-rich pegmatite melt. However, the rim of zoned crystals and some compositions of unzoned crystals show evidence of hydrothermal fluids, as they plot outside the fractionation trends. The zoned fluor-elbaite crystals of the generation 2 are from the inner intermediate zone of the pegmatite. They have a pink core and a green rim. The rim has higher YFe2+, Na, F contents YFe2+/(YFe2++Licalc.) value and lower Si, YAl, Licalc. and X-site vacancy contents, X-vacancy/(Na+X-vacancy) value than the core. Both zones are hydrothermal. The rim is an overgrowth. The fluor-elbaite gemmy crystals of the generation 3 occur in sheared breccia blasts and clasts with a cookeite matrix. They depend mainly on the fluid-rich hydrothermal environment of low temperatures (280-150ºC). Some from the cycle a may result from the dissolution of magmatic tourmaline crystals of the generation 1 from the sheared outer and inner intermediate zones of the pegmatite due to reaction with late fluids in chemical disequilibrium, followed by growth of tourmaline with low temperature hydrothermal fluids. The evolution from the cycle a to the cycle b and to the cycle c of the generation 3 implies that the hydrothermal reacting fluids were undergoing fractionation and becoming richer in Li and poorer in Fe2+ during the late hydrothermal crystallization of the pegmatites.El trabajo de campo, las imágenes de electrones retrodispersados y microanálisis detallados de tres generaciones de turmalina de las pegmatitas LCT de Namacotche permiten distinguir entre las turmalinas magmáticas y las hidrotermales. La generación 1 aparece en la zona intermedia exterior de la pegmatita. Consiste en cristales zonados con un núcleo interno oscilante de foitita y esquisto, un núcleo externo de esquisto y un borde de fluor-elbaita rico en Fe. En la zona intermedia interior de la pegmatita aparecen cristales no zonados de fluor-elbaita ricos en Fe. Todos los cristales derivan del fraccionamiento de un fundido pegmatítico rico en Al, Li y B. Sin embargo, el borde de los cristales zonados y algunas composiciones de cristales no zonados muestran evidencias de fluidos hidrotermales, ya que trazan fuera de las tendencias de fraccionamiento. Los cristales zonados de fluor-elbaita de la generación 2 proceden de la zona intermedia interna de la pegmatita. Tienen un núcleo rosa y un borde verde. El borde tiene mayor contenido en YFe2+, Na, F (YFe2+/(YFe2++Licalc.)) y menor contenido en Si, YAl, Licalc. y vacantes X, vacantes X/(Na+X-vacantes) que el núcleo. Ambas zonas son hidrotermales. El borde es un sobrecrecimiento. Los cristales geminados de fluor-elbaita de la generación 3 aparecen en clastos de brechas cizalladas y en clastos con matriz de cookeita. Dependen principalmente del ambiente hidrotermal rico en fluidos de bajas temperaturas (280-150ºC). Algunos del ciclo a pueden ser el resultado de la disolución de cristales magmáticos de turmalina de la generación 1 de las zonas cizalladas externa e interna intermedia de la pegmatita debido a la reacción con fluidos tardíos en desequilibrio químico, seguida del crecimiento de la turmalina con fluidos hidrotermales de baja temperatura. La evolución del ciclo a al ciclo b y al ciclo c de la generación 3 implica que los fluidos hidrotermales reaccionantes estaban sufriendo fraccionamiento y haciéndose más ricos en Li y más pobres en Fe2+ durante la cristalización hidrotermal tardía de las pegmatitas

Legionella SBT applied directly to respiratory samples as a rapid molecular epidemiological tool

Legionnaires' disease (LD) is an atypical pneumonia caused by the inhalation of Legionella. The methods used for the diagnosis of LD are direct culture of respiratory samples and urinary antigen detection. However, the sensitivity of culture is low, and the urinary antigen test is specific only for L. pneumophila sg1. Moreover, as no isolates are obtained, epidemiological studies cannot be performed. The implementation of Nested-sequence-based typing (Nested-SBT) makes it possible to carry out epidemiological studies while also confirming LD, especially in cases caused by non-sg 1. Sixty-two respiratory samples from patients with Legionella clinically confirmed by positive urinary antigen tests were cultured and tested by Nested-SBT, following the European Study Group for Legionella Infections (ESGLI) protocol. Only 2/62 (3.2%) respiratory samples were culture-positive. Amplification and sequencing of Nested-SBT genes were successfully performed in 57/62 samples (91.9%). The seven target genes were characterised in 39/57 (68.4%) respiratory samples, and the complete sequence type (ST) was obtained. The mip gene was the most frequently amplified and sequenced. Nested-SBT is a useful method for epidemiological studies in culture-negative samples, achieving a 28.7-fold improvement over the results of culture studies and reducing the time needed to obtain molecular epidemiological results

Plântulas de soja 'Tracajá' expostas ao ozônio sob condições controladas

The objective of this work was to assess initial growth, biomass production, gas exchange and antioxidative defenses of soybean 'Tracajá' seedlings, cultivated in the Amazonian region, exposed to ozone under controlled conditions. Seeds germinated in pots were placed in two chambers, one with filtered air (AF) and other with filtered air plus 30 ppb of ozone (AF + O 3). At 10 and 20 days after sowing, gas exchange, growth and biomass were measured; at 20 days after sowing, antioxidative defenses (ascorbic acid and superoxide dismutase) were analyzed. Net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, height, leaf area and biomass were 16, 27, 11, 22, 29 and 18% smaller, respectively, in AF + O3 at 10 days after sowing. At 20 days after sowing, besides this parameters, root length, stem diameter and root:shoot ratio were 10, 15 and 12% smaller, respectively, although ascorbic acid concentrations and superoxide dismutase activity increased. Soybean 'Tracajá' seedlings have low tolerance to concentration of 30 ppb of ozone

Assessment of plasma chitotriosidase activity, CCL18/PARC concentration and NP-C suspicion index in the diagnosis of Niemann-Pick disease type C: A prospective observational study

Background: Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a rare, autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in either the NPC1 or NPC2 genes. The diagnosis of NP-C remains challenging due to the non-specific, heterogeneous nature of signs/symptoms. This study assessed the utility of plasma chitotriosidase (ChT) and Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 18 (CCL18)/pulmonary and activation-regulated chemokine (PARC) in conjunction with the NP-C suspicion index (NP-C SI) for guiding confirmatory laboratory testing in patients with suspected NP-C. Methods: In a prospective observational cohort study, incorporating a retrospective determination of NP-C SI scores, two different diagnostic approaches were applied in two separate groups of unrelated patients from 51 Spanish medical centers (n = 118 in both groups). From Jan 2010 to Apr 2012 (Period 1), patients with =2 clinical signs/symptoms of NP-C were considered ''suspected NP-C'' cases, and NPC1/NPC2 sequencing, plasma chitotriosidase (ChT), CCL18/PARC and sphingomyelinase levels were assessed. Based on findings in Period 1, plasma ChT and CCL18/PARC, and NP-C SI prediction scores were determined in a second group of patients between May 2012 and Apr 2014 (Period 2), and NPC1 and NPC2 were sequenced only in those with elevated ChT and/or elevated CCL18/PARC and/or NP-C SI =70. Filipin staining and 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) measurements were performed in all patients with NP-C gene mutations, where possible. Results: In total across Periods 1 and 2, 10/236 (4%) patients had a confirmed diagnosis o NP-C based on gene sequencing (5/118 4.2%] in each Period): all of these patients had two causal NPC1 mutations. Single mutant NPC1 alleles were detected in 8/236 (3%) patients, overall. Positive filipin staining results comprised three classical and five variant biochemical phenotypes. No NPC2 mutations were detected. All patients with NPC1 mutations had high ChT activity, high CCL18/PARC concentrations and/or NP-C SI scores =70. Plasma 7-KC was higher than control cut-off values in all patients with two NPC1 mutations, and in the majority of patients with single mutations. Family studies identified three further NP-C patients. Conclusion: This approach may be very useful for laboratories that do not have mass spectrometry facilities and therefore, they cannot use other NP-C biomarkers for diagnosis