Crookesite, Cu7TlSe4, from Littleham Cove, Devon: the first mineral containing essential thallium from the British Isles

The rare thallium copper selenide crookesite occurs as dark grey metallic needles in at least two cavities in a nodule collected from cliffs at Littleham Cove, Budleigh Salterton, Devon. This is the first report of a thallium mineral from the British Isles. The small crystal size, confusion in the mineralogical literature and the need to preserve as much of the specimen as possible for future study, made the identification particularly challenging. Thallium minerals have a very limited worldwide distribution. They are almost entirely restricted to unusual low temperature epithermal deposits. The discovery of crookesite in nodules in a Permian red bed environment is, therefore of significant interest. Thallium minerals do not appear to have been reported in this geological setting before.The Russell Society have made this journal freely available to increase the worldwide accessibility and usage of the papers published in the Journal

Children with Reading Disability Show Brain Differences in Effective Connectivity for Visual, but Not Auditory Word Comprehension

Background: Previous literature suggests that those with reading disability (RD) have more pronounced deficits during semantic processing in reading as compared to listening comprehension. This discrepancy has been supported by recent neuroimaging studies showing abnormal activity in RD during semantic processing in the visual but not in the auditory modality. Whether effective connectivity between brain regions in RD could also show this pattern of discrepancy has not been investigated. Methodology/Principal Findings: Children (8- to 14-year-olds) were given a semantic task in the visual and auditory modality that required an association judgment as to whether two sequentially presented words were associated. Effective connectivity was investigated using Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Bayesian Model Selection (BMS) was used separately for each modality to find a winning family of DCM models separately for typically developing (TD) and RD children. BMS yielded the same winning family with modulatory effects on bottom-up connections from the input regions to middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and inferior frontal gyrus(IFG) with inconclusive evidence regarding top-down modulations. Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) was thus conducted across models in this winning family and compared across groups. The bottom-up effect from the fusiform gyrus (FG) to MTG rather than the top-down effect from IFG to MTG was stronger in TD compared to RD for the visual modality. The stronge

Atypical Balance between Occipital and Fronto-Parietal Activation for Visual Shape Extraction in Dyslexia

Reading requires the extraction of letter shapes from a complex background of text, and an impairment in visual shape extraction would cause difficulty in reading. To investigate the neural mechanisms of visual shape extraction in dyslexia, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activation while adults with or without dyslexia responded to the change of an arrow’s direction in a complex, relative to a simple, visual background. In comparison to adults with typical reading ability, adults with dyslexia exhibited opposite patterns of atypical activation: decreased activation in occipital visual areas associated with visual perception, and increased activation in frontal and parietal regions associated with visual attention. These findings indicate that dyslexia involves atypical brain organization for fundamental processes of visual shape extraction even when reading is not involved. Overengagement in higher-order association cortices, required to compensate for underengagment in lower-order visual cortices, may result in competition for top-down attentional resources helpful for fluent reading.Ellison Medical FoundationMartin Richmond Memorial FundNational Institutes of Health (U.S.). (Grant UL1RR025758)National Institutes of Health (U.S.). (Grant F32EY014750-01)MIT Class of 1976 (Funds for Dyslexia Research

The benefit of directly comparing autism and schizophrenia for revealing mechanisms of social cognitive impairment

Autism and schizophrenia share a history of diagnostic conflation that was not definitively resolved until the publication of the DSM-III in 1980. Though now recognized as heterogeneous disorders with distinct developmental trajectories and dissociative features, much of the early nosological confusion stemmed from apparent overlap in certain areas of social dysfunction. In more recent years, separate but substantial literatures have accumulated for autism and schizophrenia demonstrating that abnormalities in social cognition directly contribute to the characteristic social deficits of both disorders. The current paper argues that direct comparison of social cognitive impairment can highlight shared and divergent mechanisms underlying pathways to social dysfunction, a process that can provide significant clinical benefit by informing the development of tailored treatment efforts. Thus, while the history of diagnostic conflation between autism and schizophrenia may have originated in similarities in social dysfunction, the goal of direct comparisons is not to conflate them once again but rather to reveal distinctions that illuminate disorder-specific mechanisms and pathways that contribute to social cognitive impairment

Developmental malformation of the corpus callosum: a review of typical callosal development and examples of developmental disorders with callosal involvement

This review provides an overview of the involvement of the corpus callosum (CC) in a variety of developmental disorders that are currently defined exclusively by genetics, developmental insult, and/or behavior. I begin with a general review of CC development, connectivity, and function, followed by discussion of the research methods typically utilized to study the callosum. The bulk of the review concentrates on specific developmental disorders, beginning with agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC)—the only condition diagnosed exclusively by callosal anatomy. This is followed by a review of several genetic disorders that commonly result in social impairments and/or psychopathology similar to AgCC (neurofibromatosis-1, Turner syndrome, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, Williams yndrome, and fragile X) and two forms of prenatal injury (premature birth, fetal alcohol syndrome) known to impact callosal development. Finally, I examine callosal involvement in several common developmental disorders defined exclusively by behavioral patterns (developmental language delay, dyslexia, attention-deficit hyperactive disorder, autism spectrum disorders, and Tourette syndrome)

The crystal chemistry of elsmoreite from the Hemerdon (Drakelands) mine, UK: hydrokenoelsmoreite-3C and hydrokenoelsmoreite-6R

A crystallographic and chemical study of two 'elsmoreite' samples (previously described as 'ferritungstite') from the Hemerdon mine (now known as the Drakelands mine), Devon, United Kingdom has shown them to be two different polytypes of hydrokenoelsmoreite. Hydrokenoelsmoreite-3C(HKE-3C) crystallizes in space group , with the unit-cell parameter a = 10.3065(3) Å. Hydrokenoelsmoreite-6R (HKE-6R) crystallizes in space group , with the unit-cell parameters a = 7.2882(2) Å and c = 35.7056(14)Å. Chemical analyses showed that both polytypes have Na and Fe/Al substitution giving the formulae: (Na0.28Ca0.04K0.02(H2O)0.20⁏1.46)∑2.00(W1.47Fe3+ 0.32Al0.21As5+ 0.01)∑2.00[O4.79(OH)1.21]∑6.00·(H2O)(3C) and (Na0.24Ca0.04K0.03(H2O)0.63⁏1.06)∑2.00(W1.42Fe3+ 0.49Al0.08As5+ 0.01)∑2.00[O4.65(OH)1.35]∑6.00·(H2O)(6R). The doubling of the unit cell in the 6R phase is due to ordering of Na and ( ,H2O) in the A site; no long-range ordering is observed between W and Fe/Al in the B site.© The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2017. The attached document is the authors’ preproof accepted version of the journal article, which is made available under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it

Siidraite, Pb 2 Cu(OH) 2 I 3 , from Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia: the third halocuprate(I) mineral

Siidraite, Pb2Cu(OH)2I3, is a new mineral from the Broken Hill deposit in New South Wales, Australia. It occurs as an extremely rare secondary phase alongside marshite, other lead and copper secondaries and supergene cuprite on a single specimen, BM 84642 preserved in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. Siidraite is yellow and occurs in crystalline grainy aggregates up to 0.3 mm around relict galena. The mineral is translucent with a vitreous lustre and yellow streak, no cleavages or forms have yet been observed. It is non-fluorescent in mixed-wavelength UV light. The calculated density is 6.505 g cm−3. Siidraite is orthorhombic, space group Fddd, a = 16.7082(9) Å, b = 20.846(1) Å, c = 21.016(1) Å, V = 7320.0(8) Å3 and Z = 32. The empirical formula derived from a combination of electron-microprobe analysis and structure determination is Pb2.06Cu0.89(OH)2I2.97, the ideal formula has (in wt%) 8.01 Cu2O, 50.01 PbO, 42.65 I and 2.02 H2O. The five strongest lines in the calculated X-ray powder diffraction pattern are [(h k l), d obs (Å), I/I max (%)]: [(2 4 6), 2.746, 100], [(4 0 4), 3.270, 81], [(2 6 4), 2.738, 77], [(3 1 5), 3.312, 76], [(3 5 1), 3.296, 69]. The crystal used for structure determination had minor pseudomerohedral twinning on [ 0   1 ‾   1 ] and the structure was refined taking this into account to R 1 = 0.037, wR 2 = 0.052, GooF = 1.016, based upon 1368 unique reflections having I > 2σ(I). The structure of siidraite is a framework comprising an alternation of two structural elements, a cubane-like [Pb4(OH)4]4+ group and a [Cu2I6]4− dimer of edge-sharing CuI4 tetrahedra with non-equivalent Cu. Six halocuprate groups surround each [Pb4(OH)4]4+ nucleus, and each halocuprate group is shared between six adjacent [Pb4(OH)4]4+ groups, five long Pb–I bonds are required to complete the co-ordination of each Pb atom. The resulting Pb(OH)3I5 polyhedra are centred on a tetrahedron of O atoms to form a Pb4(OH)4I16 cluster. Siidraite has a unique composition and structure. It is the third naturally occurring halocuprate(I) after marshite and nantokite. A compositionally similar synthetic compound Pb2Cu2(OH)2I2Br has been described that has cubane and CuI4 groups, but a very different structural topology from that of siidraite. Bideauxite, Pb2Ag(OH)FCl3, which has the [Pb4(OH)4]4+ group, shares some topological features with siidraite.This article is available on open access repositories published under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. The attached file is the published version of the article

The crystal structure of cesbronite, Cu 3 TeO 4 (OH) 4 : a novel sheet tellurate topology

The crystal structure of cesbronite has been determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction and supported by electron-microprobe analysis, powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Cesbronite is orthorhombic, space group Cmcm, with a = 2.93172 (16), b = 11.8414 (6), c = 8.6047 (4) Å and V = 298.72 (3) Å3. The chemical formula of cesbronite has been revised to CuII3TeVIO4(OH)4 from CuII5(TeIVO3)2(OH)6·2H2O. This change has been accepted by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association, Proposal 17-C. The previously reported oxidation state of tellurium has been shown to be incorrect; the crystal structure, bond valence studies and charge balance clearly show tellurium to be hexavalent. The crystal structure of cesbronite is formed from corrugated sheets of edge-sharing CuO6 and (Cu0.5Te0.5)O6 octahedra. The structure determined here is an average structure that has underlying ordering of Cu and Te at one of the two metal sites, designated as M, which has an occupancy Cu0.5Te0.5. This averaging probably arises from an absence of correlation between adjacent polyhedral sheets, as there are two different hydrogen-bonding configurations linking sheets that are related by a ½a offset. Randomised stacking of these two configurations results in the superposition of Cu and Te and leads to the Cu0.5Te0.5 occupancy of the M site in the average structure. Bond-valence analysis is used to choose the most probable Cu/Te ordering scheme and also to identify protonation sites (OH). The chosen ordering scheme and its associated OH sites are shown to be consistent with the revised chemical formula.© 2018 International Union of Crystallography. This document is the author’s final accepted version of the journal article. You are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it. Further supporting information can be found at the article DOI https://doi.org/10.1107/S205252061701647

Yeomanite, Pb2O(OH)Cl, a new chain-structured Pb oxychloride from Merehead Quarry, Somerset, England

Copyright is owned by the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This document is the author's final accepted version of the journal article. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it

Functional analysis of human intrafusal fiber innervation by human γ-motoneurons

Abstract Investigation of neuromuscular deficits and diseases such as SMA, as well as for next generation prosthetics, utilizing in vitro phenotypic models would benefit from the development of a functional neuromuscular reflex arc. The neuromuscular reflex arc is the system that integrates the proprioceptive information for muscle length and activity (sensory afferent), to modify motoneuron output to achieve graded muscle contraction (actuation efferent). The sensory portion of the arc is composed of proprioceptive sensory neurons and the muscle spindle, which is embedded in the muscle tissue and composed of intrafusal fibers. The gamma motoneurons (γ-MNs) that innervate these fibers regulate the intrafusal fiber’s stretch so that they retain proper tension and sensitivity during muscle contraction or relaxation. This mechanism is in place to maintain the sensitivity of proprioception during dynamic muscle activity and to prevent muscular damage. In this study, a co-culture system was developed for innervation of intrafusal fibers by human γ-MNs and demonstrated by morphological and immunocytochemical analysis, then validated by functional electrophysiological evaluation. This human-based fusimotor model and its incorporation into the reflex arc allows for a more accurate recapitulation of neuromuscular function for applications in disease investigations, drug discovery, prosthetic design and neuropathic pain investigations