Brazilian coal mining residues and sulphide oxidation by Fenton's reaction: An accelerated weathering procedure to evaluate possible environmental impact

AbstractFenton's reaction is proposed as an accelerated weathering test for sulphides associated with Brazilian Coal Mining Residues (CMR), that are exposed to oxygen and water during the mining of coal. TEM and SEM/EDX were used to evaluate the nature, occurrence and distribution of minerals in remaining coals and other lithological units, before and after applying the test. Oxidation of CMRs was examined by analyzing soluble sulphur (sulphate) and dissolved metals by ICP-MS or ICP OES. As dissolved sulphate increases, dissolved Zn, Cd, Cu and Co concentrations increase, leading to undetectable amounts in the remaining solid phases; dissolved Ni and Mn also increase with the mobilized sulphur, but the remainder in the solids is the most important fraction; Fe and Pb are not mobilized due to precipitation as jarosite or hematite in the case of Fe or as sulphate in the case of Pb. Agreement between the observed results and the predictions by geochemical modelling is discussed

Deciphering the Non-Equivalence of Serine and Threonine O-Glycosylation Points: Implications for Molecular Recognition of the Tn Antigen by an anti-MUC1 Antibody

© 2015 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. The structural features of MUC1-like glycopeptides bearing the Tn antigen (α-O-GalNAc-Ser/Thr) in complex with an anti MUC-1 antibody are reported at atomic resolution. For the α-O-GalNAc-Ser derivative, the glycosidic linkage adopts a high-energy conformation, barely populated in the free state. This unusual structure (also observed in an α-S-GalNAc-Cys mimic) is stabilized by hydrogen bonds between the peptidic fragment and the sugar. The selection of a particular peptide structure by the antibody is thus propagated to the carbohydrate through carbohydrate/peptide contacts, which force a change in the orientation of the sugar moiety. This seems to be unfeasible in the α-O-GalNAc-Thr glycopeptide owing to the more limited flexibility of the side chain imposed by the methyl group. Our data demonstrate the non-equivalence of Ser and Thr O-glycosylation points in molecular recognition processes. These features provide insight into the occurrence in nature of the APDTRP epitope for anti-MUC1 antibodies.Peer Reviewe

Overview of the techniques used for the study of non-terrestrial bodies: Proposition of novel non-destructive methodology

Meteorites and impact glasses have been largely analysed using different techniques, but most studies have been focused on their geologicalemineralogical characterization and isotopic ratios, mainly of a destructive nature. However, much more information can be gained by applying novel non-destructive analytical procedures and techniques that have been scarcely used to analyse these materials. This overview presents some new methodologies to study these materials and compares these new approaches with the commonly used ones. Techniques such as X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), for elemental characterization, the hyphenated Raman spectroscopy- SEM/EDS and the combination of them, allow extracting simultaneous information from elemental, molecular and structural data of the studied sample; furthermore, the spectroscopic image capabilities of such techniques allow a better understanding of the mineralogical distribution. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (project ESP2014-56138-C3-2-R

Caracterización multianalítica de meteorito marciano NWA2975 mediante CF-LIBS, fluorescencia de rayos X y espectroscopía Raman

La caracterización isotópica y elemental de los meteoritos de Marte ha permitido determinar la cronología de los procesos de formación del planeta y avanzar en la comprensión de su evolución biogeoquímica e hidrológica. Los meteoritos más abundantes son las rocas de origen ígneo, como las shergottitas. Los estudios petrológicos y geoquímicos previos del meteorito Northwest Africa 2975 (NWA 2975), revelaron que se trata de una roca volcánica de grano medio, entre subofítica y granular, compuesta predominantemente por piroxenos (57,3 vol.%) y plagioclasa (38,3 vol. %) completamente enmascarados con fases opacas (2,7 vol.%) y fosfatos (1,7 vol.%) [1]. El instrumento SuperCam a bordo del rover Perseverance (misión MARS 2020 de la NASA) está equipado con técnicas atómicas y moleculares (incluyendo LIBS y Raman) para la detección y análisis a distancia de muestras geológicas en la superficie del Planeta Rojo. La capacidad de estas técnicas se ha demostrado ampliamente en la caracterización de rocas, minerales y suelos en varias misiones espaciales. En el presente trabajo, se analizó un fragmento del meteorito NWA 2975 mediante un sistema de micro-LIBS con el objetivo de revelar su composición química elemental. Debido a la heterogeneidad intrínseca de la muestra, se analizaron diferentes posiciones de su superficie. El análisis cuantitativo de los elementos principales (Si, Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca y O) y de otros elementos menores se llevó a cabo utilizando la metodología Calibration-Free [2]. Los resultados sugieren la presencia de piroxenos como principal componente mineral en las posiciones inspeccionadas, aunque también se pueden encontrar otras fases minerales como la plagioclasa. La información extraída del análisis LIBS se ha comparado con la de fluorescencia de rayos X (XRF) y la espectroscopia Raman. El uso combinado de diferentes técnicas espectroscópicas ha permitido obtener una mejor interpretación de los resultados composicionales.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

On the symmetry properties of the incommensurate phase in thiourea

The symmetry analysis of the incommensurate modulated phase of thiourea reported in [J. Physique 46 (1985) 2187-2195] is revised. Some of its conclusions overstating the relevance of secondary modes for describing the symmetry properties of the modulation are corrected.L'analyse de la symétrie de la phase modulée incommensurable de la thiourée, proposé dans le J. Physique 46 (1985) 2187-2195, est révisée. On corrige certaines des conclusions qui surestimaient l'importance des modes secondaires pour les propriétés de symétrie de la modulation

Brazilian coal mining residues and sulphide oxidation by Fenton's reaction: An accelerated weathering procedure to evaluate possible environmental impact

Fenton's reaction is proposed as an accelerated weathering test for sulphides associated with Brazilian Coal Mining Residues (CMR), that are exposed to oxygen and water during the mining of coal. TEM and SEM/EDX were used to evaluate the nature, occurrence and distribution of minerals in remaining coals and other lithological units, before and after applying the test. Oxidation of CMRs was examined by analyzing soluble sulphur (sulphate) and dissolved metals by ICP-MS or ICP OES. As dissolved sulphate increases, dissolved Zn, Cd, Cu and Co concentrations increase, leading to undetectable amounts in the remaining solid phases; dissolved Ni and Mn also increase with the mobilized sulphur, but the remainder in the solids is the most important fraction; Fe and Pb are not mobilized due to precipitation as jarosite or hematite in the case of Fe or as sulphate in the case of Pb. Agreement between the observed results and the predictions by geochemical modelling is discussed. © 2010 Elsevier B.V

High-Order Diffraction Satellites and Temperature Variation of the Modulation in the Incommensurate Phase of Rb2\mathsf{_2}ZnCl4\mathsf{_4}

The intensity of a set of main reflections and satellites up to seventh order has been measured as a function of temperature within the incommensurate phase of Rb$_2$ZnCl$_4$. The observed temperature dependence of the diffraction peaks can be explained by a variation of the static structural modulation through the changes in 3 parameters: the amplitude of the primary mode, the soliton density that describes its anharmonicity, and the amplitude of a third harmonic modulation. The eigenvectors of the primary mode and the third harmonic used for the static modulation have been derived from previously published structural data on the incommensurate and the ferroelectric structure. The soliton density behaviour, determined for the first time from X-ray diffraction data, agrees with results derived from other techniques

Association between self-reported pain, cognition, and neuropathology in older adults admitted to an outpatient memory clinic: A cross-sectional study

Cognitive impairment has been linked to reduced self-reporting of pain. However, it is unclear whether the various cognitive functions are similarly and/or independently associated with such pain report measures. In the present study, we explored how executive functioning (EF), memory, and global cognition relate to self-reported pain and investigated whether underlying neuropathology partially accounts for these results. We used Lasso categorical regression to analyze data from 179 individuals visiting a memory clinic. The data included the self-reported pain occurrence, intensity, severity and frequency, clinical diagnoses, neuropsychological scores, white matter hyperintensities, medial temporal lobe atrophy, depressive symptoms, and demographics. Our results showed that worse memory and EF performance predicted a lower pain occurrence. In those individuals who did report pain, worse memory predicted lower pain intensity, severity, and frequency levels, but for EF reversed effects were found, with worse EF predicting higher pain scores. These relationships were only partially explained by reductions in white matter and medial temporal lobe integrity. Similar effects were found for depressive symptoms. Our findings highlight the distinct associations of EF and memory with self-reported pain. A similar pattern of relationships found for both self-reported pain and depressive symptoms may reflect shared latent affective components