An overview on structure, mineralogy and resources of Licungo pegmatites (Mozambique)

"I Congresso Internacional de Geociências na CPLP"A mineralogia e a distribuição dos recursos base e reservas do Campo Pegmatítico do Licungo está condicionada, principalmente, a alguns lineamentos estruturais de 1ª ordem, de orientação NNE-SSW e NNW-SSE. Estas mega-estruturas acolheram a instalação, no norte, de corpos pegmatíticos de grandes dimensões (> 3 m de possança e > 30 m de extensão), onde a fracionação permitiu a individualização de unidades primárias internas e texturas gráficas na bordadura. Em contrapartida, as estruturas de cisalhamento, provavelmente tardias, no sul, induziram a abertura de menores caixas filoneanas e a instalação de corpos pegmatíticos de pequenas dimensões (0,25 a 1,20 m de possança e 10-30 m de extensão), com zonas internas menos volumosas mas maior apetência para a ocorrência de berilos da variedade água-marinha, graças à maior capacidade de troca de constituintes entre as rochas encaixantes meta-ultramáficas e os pequenos corpos pegmatíticos.Mineralogy and distribution of base resources and potential reserves in Licungo Pegmatite Field is mainly related to the position of 1st order structural alignments NNE-SSW and NNW-SSE. These mega-structures allowed the intrusion of major pegmatite bodies (> 3 m in thickness and > 30 m in length) at the northern sector. Here, paragenetic fractionation was favourable to the individualization of inner primary units and graphic pegmatite at the border. At the southern sector shear-related dilations were probably responsible for the appearance of small pegmatite bodies (0.25-1.20 m in thickness and 10-30 m in length) containing thinner primary zones, but with higher content of aquamarine beryl, which might be explained by ion exchanges between meta-ultramafic country rocks and small pegmatite bodies, during early emplacement

Conditions for generation and persistence of gem-beryl in Licungo pegmatites (Zambezia, Mozambique)"

No Campo Pegmatítico do Licungo ocorrem berilos azuis que atingem qualidade gemológica como cristais euédricos pequenos (c 2 g) no interior de gigacristais no Domínio Estrutural Norte (Ígaro e Vila Maior). Em ambos os casos, trata-se de águas-marinhas primárias, com altos teores de Fe transferido a partir de rochas meta-ultramáficas encaixantes e altos teores de álcalis preservados perante eventos deformacionais e hidrotermais ulteriores.At the Licungo Pegmatitic Field, blue beryl gemstones occur as small euedric crystals (c 2 g) inside large beryl crystals in the Northern Structural Domain. In both domains, the crystals are primary aquamarines with high Fe content transferred from meta-ultramafic country rocks and high alkali content. The contents of Fe and alkali were preserved even during the deformation and hydrothermal fluids interaction

Emplacement and affiliation of Licungo pegmatites – Zambezia, Mozambique

A instalação dos conjuntos pegmatíticos no Licungo é controlada por lineamentos NNE-SSW e NNW-SSE e a dimensão e morfologia dos pegmatitos é influenciada por carreamentos que também induziram nas rochas encaixantes uma foliação subhorizontal. Os corpos maiores terão sido acolhidos por volumes transtensivos. A deformação subsequente modificou atitudes, mas as paragéneses e as estruturas são pouco variáveis ao nível do campo pegmatítico: predomina a feição NYF. Isto sugere uma afinidade genética com granitos de tipo alcalino que afloram a Este na região de Ethabo.The emplacement of Licungo pegmatites is controlled by NNE-SSW and NNW-SSE lineaments, and the dimension and morphology of single bodies are influenced by the same obduction that is responsible for the most penetrative sub-horizontal foliation at the host-rocks. Major pegmatites are located in tangential pull-a-part volumes. In most internal structures and paragenesis NYF character is dominant. This suggests a genetic affiliation to alkaline granite stocks outcropping to the east in Ethabo region

BetaBayes—A Bayesian Approach for Comparing Ecological Communities

Ecological communities change because of both natural and human factors. Distinguishing between the two is critical to ecology and conservation science. One of the most common approaches for modelling species composition changes is calculating beta diversity indices and then relating index changes to environmental changes. The main difficulty with these analyses is that beta diversity indices are paired comparisons, which means indices calculated with the same community are not independent. Mantel tests and generalised dissimilarity modelling (GDM) are two of the most commonly used statistical procedures for analysing such data, employing randomisation tests to consider the data’s dependence. Here, we introduce a Bayesian model-based approach called BetaBayes that explicitly incorporates the data dependence. This approach is based on the Bradley– Terry model, which is a widely used approach for modelling paired comparisons that involves building a standard regression model containing two varying intercepts, one for each community involved in the beta diversity index, that capture their respective contributions. We used BetaBayes to analyse a famous dataset collected in Panama that contains information on multiple 1 ha plots from the rain forests of Panama. We calculated the Bray–Curtis index between all pairs of plots, analysed the relationship between the index and two covariates (geographic distance and elevation), and compared the results of BetaBayes with those from the Mantel test and GDM. BetaBayes has two distinctive features. The first is its flexibility, which allows the user to quickly change it to fit the data structure; namely, by adding varying effects, incorporating spatial autocorrelation, and modelling complex nonlinear relationships. The second is that it provides a clear path for performing model validation and model improvement. BetaBayes avoids hypothesis testing, instead focusing on recreating the data generating process and quantifying all the model configurations that are consistent with the observed datainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microbial consortium increases maize productivity and reduces grain phosphorus concentration under field conditions

Background:The use of microbes that improve plant phosphorus (P) use efficiency is an avenue to boostcrop yields while alleviating environmental impacts. We tested three microbial inoculants (Rhizoglomusirregularealone – designated AMF;Pseudomonas putidaalone – designated PSB; andR. irregulareandP. putidain consortium – designated AMF+PSB), combined with chemical fertilizers, in an intensive maizeagricultural system.Results:As hypothesized: (i) despite the native soil microbial community and the application of P fertil-izer, the microbial inoculants enhanced plant P uptake from the soil by 14–60%, and consequentlyimproved P acquisition efficiency; (ii) PSB and AMF+PSB plants produced ±50% more biomass per unitof P taken up, and consequently enhanced plant internal P use efficiency (i.e. the biomass producedper unit of P); and (iii) the combined inoculation of AMF and PSB provided the best results in terms ofproductivity and P use efficiency. Further, the microbial inoculants altered P allocation within the plant,reducing grain P concentration.Conclusion:By testing the microbial inoculants under field conditions, our study clearly shows that themicrobial consortium (AMF+PSB) increased maize productivity, and at the same time improved P use effi-ciency. Further, the use of these microbial inoculants was shown to be compatible with conventionalagricultural management practices.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Magnetic carbon composites as recycling electron shuttles on anaerobic biotransformations

Book of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017[Excerpt] The unique properties of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP), such as high surface area, magnetic, sorption and catalytic characteristics, make them very versatile for many applications in different areas including environmental remediation, as catalysts, adsorbents, immobilising agents for microorganisms and enzymes, and as supports for biofilm growth and water disinfectants. In order to improve their stability and to introduce additional surface properties and functionalities, MNP can be coated with carbon materials (CM) due to their chemical stability, biocompatibility and possibility of tailoring their textural and surface chemical properties for specific applications [1]. We have previously proved that various CM, including activated carbon, carbon xerogels and carbon nanotubes (CNT), can be used as redox mediators (RM) in anaerobic biotransformation, accelerating the electron transfer and, consequently, the reduction rates of organic compounds [1,2]. The combination of CM with MNP offers the possibility of creating magnetic carbon composites with synergistic properties: the adsorptive and catalytic properties of both and the magnetic character of MNP, improving the material performance and rendering it easier to be retained and recovered, by applying a magnetic field. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of biofunctional textiles by the application of resveratrol to cotton, bamboo and silk

The goal of this work was to create a new generation of greener fabrics made of natural materials. For that, resveratrol (Res), obtained from Polygonum cuspidatum extract and known to have antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory activity, was applied by an exhaustion method to cotton, bamboo, and silk knit fabrics. The fabrics adsorption behavior was tested and the amount of Res adsorbed was determined by its decrease on the immersion solutions with time and measured by spectrophotometry at 350 nm. The maximum adsorption capacity was observed for silk and it was independent of pH conditions used (50.5 % at pH=7 and 58.3 % at pH=5 of the initial Res concentration). At acidic pH conditions, cotton adsorbed 51.2 % of Res and Bamboo adsorbed only 28.1 % in 15 min. However, neither cotton nor bamboo adsorbed Res at pH=7. The release behavior was also analyzed and the highest Res release was observed for cotton in alkaline sweat and urine mimic solutions. The lowest release was achieved by cotton in water (1.0 ng/ml). Moreover, no relation was found between the amounts of Res adsorbed or released and cell viability. In conclusion, this work shows that it is possible to obtain cotton, bamboo, and silk functionalized with resveratrol. The incorporating process here described is simple and silk-Res can be presented as a good combination

Apolipoprotein E epsilon-4 polymorphism is associated with younger age at referral to a lipidology clinic and a poorer response to lipid-lowering therapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) is related to environmental factors and genetic variants. Apolipoprotein E (apoE) polymorphisms are heritable determinants of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, with some authors suggesting an association between the ε4 allele and CHD. We investigated the relationship between apoE genotype and age at referral to a specialized lipid clinic by the primary care physician and whether the benefits of treatment with statin differed between genotypes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We assessed individual apoE genotypes and lipid blood profile in a total of 463 patients followed at a specialized lipid clinic due to dyslipidemia, with a 3-year median follow-up time. The primary care physician at the time of the referral had no access to the apoE genotyping results. Carriers of apoE ε4/ε2 genotype were excluded.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The frequencies of ε2, ε3 and ε4 alleles were 7.8, 78.9 and 13.3%, respectively. There were no significant differences between genders. Although with similar lipid profiles and antidyslipidemic drug usage at baseline, ε4-carriers were referred to the clinic at a younger age (44.2 ± 14.7 years) compared with non-ε4 carriers (50.6 ± 13.8 years) (p < 0.001), with a substantially younger age of referral for homozygous E4/4 and for all genotypes with at least one copy of the ε4 allele (p < 0.001 for trend). Although both ε4 and non-ε4 carriers achieved significant reductions in total cholesterol during follow-up (p < 0.001 vs. baseline), the mean relative decrease in total cholesterol levels was higher in non-ε4 carriers (-19.9 ± 2.3%) compared with ε4 carriers (-11.8 ± 2.3%), p = 0.003.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings support the concept that there is a reduced response to anti-dyslipidemic treatment in ε4 carriers; this can be a contributing factor for the earlier referral of these patients to our specialized lipid clinic and reinforces the usefulness of apoE genotyping in predicting patients response to lipid lowering therapies.</p

Bioanalytical tools for the quantification of in-process and final product samples of a rotavirus vaccine

Rotavirus A infection is a global leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis associated with most of life-threatening diarrhoea episodes in infants and young children. However, the disease burden is being reduced namely due to wider access to rotavirus vaccines and their inclusion into National Immunization Programs of several countries. Besides being live-saving, rotavirus vaccination has an important economic impact, being cost-effective or even cost-saving in some countries. Nevertheless, vaccines are not yet routinely available in all countries. There is a demand to expand the rotavirus vaccination programs and improved analytical tools for high-throughput in-process product quality control and vaccine manufacturing will be important in this context. Moreover, this can be also useful for current marketed vaccines to support their life cycle. In this work, we present the development of two analytical tools for the quantification of rotavirus particles contained in a licensed vaccine. In-process and drug product samples were evaluated using biolayer interferometry analysis, applied on an Octet platform, and flow cytometry, respectively. Please click Download on the upper right corner to see the full abstract