Mineralogy and organic geochemistry of phyllite from the Dewon-Pokrzywna deposit, the Opava Mountains (SW Poland)

Phyllites from the Dewon–Pokrzywna de posit in the Opava Mts., SW Po land, were in ves ti gated by XRD (Rietveld method), XRF, EPMA, SEM, and ATR-FTIR from the per spec tive of their po ten tial us age as a buffer and/or back fill ma te rial in a geo - log i cal re pos i tory of ra dio ac tive waste. Or ganic mat ter dis persed in the phyllite ma trix was ana lysed by GC-MS. Fine-grained Mg-Fe-mus co vite (13 to 29 wt.%), Fe-ripidolite (10 to 25 wt.%), de tri tal quartz (20 to 46 wt.%), and al bite (7 to 28 wt.%) ± microcline, illite or illite/smectite, and kaolinite are ma jor min er als in phyllite sam ples. The chlorite/mus co vite ra tio ranges from 0.65 to 1.1. Mg-annite in her ited from the pre cur sor rock is a mi nor con stit u ent. De tri tal il men ite is a dom i nant ac ces sory min eral. Ancylite-(Ce) oc curs in quartz-cal cite-ripidolite veins. Two types of phyllite have been dis tin guished based on the pro por tion of phyllosilicates to silt frac tion: ar gil la ceous (47 to 55 wt.% phyllosilicates) and silt-rich (28 wt.% phyllosilicates). Ar gil la ceous phyllite shows el e vated con tent of alu mina and mod er ate con cen tra tion of sil ica. It is highly en riched in Fe com - pared to phyllites from other lo cal i ties world wide. The BET spe cific sur face area of ar gil la ceous phyllite ranges from 1.73 to 3.64 m2/g. Whole-rock chem i cal com po si tion, min eral as sem blages, chlorite geothermometry, and the oc cur rence of aliphatic hy dro car bons sug gest that ar gil la ceous phyllite orig i nated from a pe lagic pelite protolith un der low-tem per a ture (260–370°C) greenschist to subgreenschist fa cies con di tions. Per sis tent biomarkers are in dic a tive of bac te rial deg ra da tion of plank tonic or ganic mat ter sus pended in a high wa ter col umn. En rich ment in Fe-rich chlorite and Mg,Fe-mus co vite, low vol - ume of in ter con nected pores with dom i nant mesopores sug gest that ar gil la ceous phyllite from the Dewon–Pokrzywna de - posit is a po ten tial can di date for a buffer and/or back fill ma te rial

Smile dimensions affect self-perceived smile attractiveness.

Facial expressions play a leading role in human interactions because they provide signaling information of emotion and create social perceptions of an individuals' physical and personality traits. Smiling increases socially perceived attractiveness and is considered a signal of trustworthiness and intelligence. Despite the ample information regarding the social importance of an attractive smile, little is known about the association between smile characteristics and self-assessed smile attractiveness. Here we investigate the effect of smile dimensions on ratings of self-perceived smile attractiveness, in a group of 613 young adults using 3D facial imaging. We show a significant effect of proportional smile width (ratio of smile width to facial width) on self-perceived smile attractiveness. In fact, for every 10% increase in proportional smile width, self-perceived attractiveness ratings increased by 10.26%. In the present sample, this association was primarily evident in females. Our results indicate that objective characteristics of the smile influence self-perception of smile attractiveness. The increased strength of the effect in females provides support to the notion that females are overall more aware of their smile and the impact it has on their public image

Thromboelastometric Analysis of Anticancer Cerrena unicolor Subfractions Reveal Their Potential as Fibrin Glue Drug Carrier Enhancers

In this study, the influence of two subfractions (with previously proven anti-cancer properties) isolated from wood rot fungus Cerrena unicolor on the formation of a fibrin clot was investigated in the context of potential use as fibrin glue and sealant enhancers and potential wound healing agents. With the use of ROTEM thromboelastometry, we demonstrated that, in the presence of fibrinogen and thrombin, the S6 fraction accelerated the formation of a fibrin clot, had a positive effect on its elasticity modulus, and enhanced the degree of fibrin cross-linking. The S5 fraction alone showed no influence on the fibrin coagulation process; however, in the presence of fibrin, it exhibited a decrease in anti-proliferative properties against the HT-29 line, while it increased the proliferation of cells in general at a concentration of 100 µg/mL. Both fractions retained their proapoptotic properties to a lesser degree. In combination with the S6 fraction in the ratio of 1:1 and 1:3, the fractions contributed to increased inhibition of the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). This may suggest anti-metastatic activity of the combined fractions. In conclusion, the potential of the fractions isolated from the C. unicolor secretome to be used as a means of improving the wound healing process was presented. The potential for delivering agents with cytostatic properties introduced far from the site of action or exerting a pro-proliferative effect at the wound site with the aid of a fibrin sealant was demonstrated

Molecular Imaging of Human Skeletal Myoblasts (huSKM) in Mouse Post-Infarction Myocardium

Current treatment protocols for myocardial infarction improve the outcome of disease to some extent but do not provide the clue for full regeneration of the heart tissues. An increasing body of evidence has shown that transplantation of cells may lead to some organ recovery. However, the optimal stem cell population has not been yet identified. We would like to propose a novel pro-regenerative treatment for post-infarction heart based on the combination of human skeletal myoblasts (huSkM) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). huSkM native or overexpressing gene coding for Cx43 (huSKMCx43) alone or combined with MSCs were delivered in four cellular therapeutic variants into the healthy and post-infarction heart of mice while using molecular reporter probes. Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography (SPECT/CT) performed right after cell delivery and 24 h later revealed a trend towards an increase in the isotopic uptake in the post-infarction group of animals treated by a combination of huSkMCx43 with MSC. Bioluminescent imaging (BLI) showed the highest increase in firefly luciferase (fluc) signal intensity in post-infarction heart treated with combination of huSkM and MSCs vs. huSkM alone (p < 0.0001). In healthy myocardium, however, nanoluciferase signal (nanoluc) intensity varied markedly between animals treated with stem cell populations either alone or in combinations with the tendency to be simply decreased. Therefore, our observations seem to show that MSCs supported viability, engraftment, and even proliferation of huSkM in the post-infarction heart