Thermochemical purification of talc with ammonium sulphate as chemical additive

This study reports on the thermochemical reactivity of talc with ammonium sulphate, a low-cost, recyclable chemical additive commonly used in the thermochemical extraction of strategic metals from low-grade ores and industrial and mine residues. The talc sample used in this study contained 70% talc, 15% lizardite and 10% kaolinite, following the removal of carbonate minerals by HCl leaching as a pre-concentration step. The solid product obtained by thermochemical treatment followed by aqueous leaching contained high-grade purified talc (>98%) as the principal mineral phase. It was depleted of lizardite and kaolinite, which had reacted with ammonium sulphate to form water-soluble hydrated ammonium metal sulphates. A comparative analysis of the TGA profiles of the concentrated parent sample, the solid product and the solid residue highlighted an identical mass loss between 850 °C and 1000 °C, which is the temperature range at which the dehydroxylation of talc occurs. This indicated minimal, if any, structural denaturation of the talc phase following thermochemical treatment with ammonium sulphate under the experimental condition studied. This process may therefore represent a promising technology for the purification of talc under the right market conditions, provided the mineral co-exists with phases featuring a high degree of reactivity with ammonium sulphate under thermal conditions.The University of Pretoria and the National Research Foundation of South Africa.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/mineng2022-02-19hj2021Chemistr

Thermochemical processing of a South African ultrafine coal fly ash using ammonium sulphate as extracting agent for aluminium extraction

South African coal fly ash represents an untapped secondary resource of aluminium. Continuous research is conducted to develop suitable chemical and/or geometallurgical processes for aluminium extraction, preferably accompanied by minimal silicon extraction. The thermochemical treatment of a South African ultrafine coal fly ash was investigated to test the feasibility of recovering aluminium using ammonium sulphate, a widely available, low-cost, recyclable chemical agent. The optimum processing conditions were determined to be a temperature of 500 °C and a fly ash to ammonium sulphate weight ratio of 2:6 when a reaction time of 1 h was used. Water leaching of the reaction product obtained under these conditions resulted in the selective recovery of 95.0% aluminium from the amorphous phase, with b0.6% Si extracted. Mullite was unlikely to have reacted with the extracting agent. Except for Si, the process was not element-selective, but the extraction of iron could be minimized by increasing the treatment temperature to 600 °C without compromising Al extraction. Thermochemical treatment using ammonium sulphate may therefore represent a promising technology for extracting aluminium from coal fly ash, which could be subsequently converted to value-added products such as alumina.The Council for Geoscience, the University of Pretoria and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF; Grant No. 93641).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/hydromet2017-12-31hb2016Chemistr

Preparation of sodium silicate solutions and silica nanoparticles from South African coal fly ash

Please read abstract in the article.UNISA, University of Pretoria, Council for Geoscience, and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF; Grant No.93641).https://link.springer.com/journal/126492020-06-20hj2020Chemistr

Ammonium sulphate and/or ammonium bisulphate as extracting agents for the recovery of aluminium from ultrafine coal fly ash

We recently showed that the selective extraction of aluminium from the amorphous phase of a South African ultrafine coal fly ash can be achieved via thermochemical treatment with ammonium sulphate for 1 h followed by aqueous dissolution, as an alternative to conventional hydrometallurgical processes. In this study, insight gained from the previous work was applied to investigate and compare total vs selective aluminium extraction efficiencies using ammonium sulphate or ammonium bisulphate either on its own, or as a mixture of the two salts as extracting agents during a 2 h thermal treatment process. The effects of (i) ash-to-extractant mass ratio and (ii) temperature during thermal treatment on extraction efficiency was investigated. While a maximum, but non-selective, recovery of 46.6% total aluminium was achieved using ammonium bisulphate at 400 °C, the most technically appropriate results for selective recovery yielded 37.3% aluminium, with only 0.3% silicon, 0.1% titanium and 3.9% iron having been co-extracted when using ammonium sulphate at a processing temperature of 600°C. Extraction of most of the calcium and magnesium could not be prevented. Using mixtures of ammonium salts as extracting agents during thermochemical treatment may however introduce technical difficulties on large scale. Our results indicate that any of the two ammonium salts could be used on their own during thermochemical treatment. Thermochemical treatment of coal fly ash using ammonium salts may therefore represent a promising technology for extracting aluminium from South African coal fly ash.The Council for Geoscience, the University of Pretoria and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF; Grant No. 93641).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/hydromet2018-08-30hj2017Chemistr

Expression of the H- and L-subunits of ferritin in bone marrow macrophages of patients with osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a disease characterized by an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in afflicted joints. Excess iron, due to its role in the production of ROS and crystal deposition in the joints, is implicated in the disease progression of osteoarthritis. Ferritin is a major regulator of the bioavailability of iron, and its functions are determined largely by the combination of H- and L-subunits present in its outer protein shell. The purpose of the study was to investigate the expression of the H- and L-subunits of ferritin in bone marrow macrophages of osteoarthritis patients. The cytokine profiles were assessed as cytokines play an important role in the expression of the ferritin subunits. The H-subunit of ferritin in the bone marrow macrophages was significantly higher (P value = 0.035) in the osteoarthritis patients compared with the controls (107.84; 69.25–167.94 counts/μm2; n= 7 versus 71.07; 58.56–86.26 counts/μm2; n= 19). A marginally significant increase (P value = 0.059) was shown for the expression of the L-subunit in the osteoarthritis patients compared with the controls (133.03; 104.04–170.10 counts/μm2; n= 7 versus 104.23; 91.53–118.70 counts/μm2; n= 19). The osteoarthritis and control groups had comparable C-reactive protein, as well as proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine concentrations. The major exception was for transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), which was higher (P value = 0.014) in the plasma of the osteoarthritis patients (16.69; 13.09–21.28 ng/mL; n= 7 versus 8.60; 6.34–11.67 ng/mL; n= 19). Up-regulation of the ferritin subunits decreases the levels of bioavailable iron and provides protection against the unwarranted production of ROS and crystal deposition. A role for TGF-β in the up-regulation of the expression of the H-subunit, and possibly the L-subunit, of ferritin is postulated in osteoarthritis.The Skye foundation and the University of Pretoria’s Postgraduate Mentor Bursary Programme.http://ebm.sagepub.comhb2017Physiolog

Downregulation of pyrophosphate: d-fructose-6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase activity in sugarcane culms enhances sucrose accumulation due to elevated hexose-phosphate levels

Analyses of transgenic sugarcane clones with 45–95% reduced cytosolic pyrophosphate: d-fructose-6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase (PFP, EC 2.7.1.90) activity displayed no visual phenotypical change, but significant changes were evident in in vivo metabolite levels and fluxes during internode development. In three independent transgenic lines, sucrose concentrations increased between three- and sixfold in immature internodes, compared to the levels in the wildtype control. There was an eightfold increase in the hexose-phosphate:triose-phosphate ratio in immature internodes, a significant restriction in the triose phosphate to hexose phosphate cycle and significant increase in sucrose cycling as monitored by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance. This suggests that an increase in the hexose-phosphate concentrations resulting from a restriction in the conversion of hexose phosphates to triose phosphates drive sucrose synthesis in the young internodes. These effects became less pronounced as the tissue matured. Decreased expression of PFP also resulted in an increase of the ATP/ADP and UTP/UDP ratios, and an increase of the total uridine nucleotide and, at a later stage, the total adenine nucleotide pool, revealing strong interactions between PPi metabolism and general energy metabolism. Finally, decreased PFP leads to a reduction of PPi levels in older internodes indicating that in these developmental stages PFP acts in the gluconeogenic direction. The lowered PPi levels might also contribute to the absence of increases in sucrose contents in the more mature tissues of transgenic sugarcane with reduced PFP activity

Woody vegetation change over more than 30 years in the interior duneveld of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park

BACKGROUND AND OBJECIVES: Long-term studies of woody plants in South Africa are scarce. This study, initiated in the late 1970s, therefore aids understanding of vegetation dynamics in the southern Kalahari by investigating woody vegetation change at and away from a watering point. METHODS: At three sites, all woody individuals were counted by species in plots 0.5 or 1 ha in size. Seedlings were noted separately from the >0.2 m group of individuals. RESULTS: Vachellia erioloba and shrub density decreased over time whereas dwarf shrub species’ numbers fluctuated markedly. Additionally, no increase in density of known bush encroaching species (e.g. Grewia flava, Rhigozum trichotomum and Senegalia mellifera) was found in this large conservation area. DISCUSION AND CONCLUSION: The changes in density of the woody species seem to point to the importance of particular rainfall patterns or sequences of events over different years that are responsible for these changes in the southern Kalahari, and the evident lack of bush encroachment in this conservation area supports the notion that bush encroachment in arid savannas is driven primarily by land-use practices and not by elevated carbon dioxide levels that are sometimes provided as cause for encroachment.https://www.abcjournal.org/index.php/BothaliaABCpm2020Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Decreased Mitochondrial Activities of Malate Dehydrogenase and Fumarase in Tomato Lead to Altered Root Growth and Architecture via Diverse Mechanisms1[W][OA]

Transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants in which either mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase or fumarase was antisense inhibited have previously been characterized to exhibit altered photosynthetic metabolism. Here, we demonstrate that these manipulations also resulted in differences in root growth, with both transgenics being characterized by a dramatic reduction of root dry matter deposition and respiratory activity but opposite changes with respect to root area. A range of physiological, molecular, and biochemical experiments were carried out in order to determine whether changes in root morphology were due to altered metabolism within the root itself, alterations in the nature of the transformants' root exudation, consequences of alteration in the efficiency of photoassimilate delivery to the root, or a combination of these factors. Grafting experiments in which the transformants were reciprocally grafted to wild-type controls suggested that root length and area were determined by the aerial part of the plant but that biomass was not. Despite the transgenic roots displaying alteration in the expression of phytohormone-associated genes, evaluation of the levels of the hormones themselves revealed that, with the exception of gibberellins, they were largely unaltered. When taken together, these combined experiments suggest that root biomass and growth are retarded by root-specific alterations in metabolism and gibberellin contents. These data are discussed in the context of current models of root growth and biomass partitioning

Expression of the H-subunit and L-subunit of ferritin in bone marrow macrophages and cells of the erythron during cellular immune activation

BACKGROUND: The expression of the two types of ferritin subunits, the H-subunit and L-subunit, has been shown to be differentially regulated by cytokines. The primary aim of the present study was to quantitatively measure the expression of the H-subunit and L-subunit of ferritin in bone marrow macrophages and cells of the erythron in patients with chronic T-helper cell type-1 immune stimulation. METHODS: The expression of the H-subunit and L-subunit of ferritin in bone marrow macrophages and cells of the erythron was quantitatively evaluated by post-embedding immunolocalisation with immunogold transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: The present study showed up-regulation of the H-subunit of ferritin in the bone marrow macrophage in patients with pronounced cellular immune activation (94.7 ± 37.3 counts/μm2; n = 31 vs 72.4 ± 34.0 counts/μm2; n = 13, p-value = 0.037). CONCLUSION: This supports a possible role for H-subunit rich ferritins in the hypoferraemia of chronic disease

Virus-Induced Gene Silencing of Plastidial Soluble Inorganic Pyrophosphatase Impairs Essential Leaf Anabolic Pathways and Reduces Drought Stress Tolerance in Nicotiana benthamiana1[W][OA]

The role of pyrophosphate in primary metabolism is poorly understood. Here, we report on the transient down-regulation of plastid-targeted soluble inorganic pyrophosphatase in Nicotiana benthamiana source leaves. Physiological and metabolic perturbations were particularly evident in chloroplastic central metabolism, which is reliant on fast and efficient pyrophosphate dissipation. Plants lacking plastidial soluble inorganic pyrophosphatase (psPPase) were characterized by increased pyrophosphate levels, decreased starch content, and alterations in chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis, while constituents like amino acids (except for histidine, serine, and tryptophan) and soluble sugars and organic acids (except for malate and citrate) remained invariable from the control. Furthermore, translation of Rubisco was significantly affected, as observed for the amounts of the respective subunits as well as total soluble protein content. These changes were concurrent with the fact that plants with reduced psPPase were unable to assimilate carbon to the same extent as the controls. Furthermore, plants with lowered psPPase exposed to mild drought stress showed a moderate wilting phenotype and reduced vitality, which could be correlated to reduced abscisic acid levels limiting stomatal closure. Taken together, the results suggest that plastidial pyrophosphate dissipation through psPPase is indispensable for vital plant processes