Palladium, platinum, selenium and tellurium enrichment in the Jiguanzui-Taohuazui Cu-Au Deposit, Edong Ore District: Distribution and comparison with Cu-Mo deposits

The Jiguanzui-Taohuazui Cu-Au deposit is located in the Edong ore district, Middle–Lower Yangtze River metallogenic belt, eastern China. The deposit is palladium, platinum, selenium and tellurium enriched; however, the distribution of these metals is unclear. Three mineral assemblages of ore in the deposit have been identified, namely: a magnetite-bornite-chalcopyrite-(hematite) assemblage (Mt-Bn-Cp-Hm), a chalcopyrite-pyrite assemblage (Cp-Py), and a pyrite-chalcopyrite-(sphalerite) assemblage (Py-Cp-Sph). Forty-eight bulk ore assay results show high concentrations of up to 66.9 ppb for Pd, 5.9 ppb for Pt, 150 ppm for Se and 249 ppm for Te. The high temperature Mt-Bn-Cp-Hm assemblage (530–380 °C) is enriched in Pt and Pd, whereas the Py-Cp-Sph assemblage in the marble-replacement ore (300–220 °C) hosts the major Se and Te mineralization. Palladium, Pt, and Se are mostly hosted in sulfide minerals, whereas Te is hosted in tellurides and Bi-Te-S sulfosalt minerals. Building on previous experimental and thermodynamic calculations, we propose the major controls on the Pd and Pt distribution in the deposit are temperature and salinity, whereas the Se and Te mineralization is promoted by the precipitation of major sulfide phases such as pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite. A comparison of the ores from the Jiguanzui-Taohuazui Cu-Au and Tongshankou Cu-Mo deposits in the Edong ore district shows that the Cu-Au deposit has higher PGE and Te, but similar Se concentrations. This scenario is consistent with the average grades and bulk ore contents of these elements from global (oxidized) porphyry (±skarn) Cu deposits. This suggests that the saturation of magmatic sulfides in the magma chamber as a result of higher proportion of crustal S-rich and/or reduced material contamination can be detrimental for PGE and Te enrichment processes, and thus, Cu-Au porphyry (±skarn) deposits have more potential for higher Pd and Te concentrations than the Cu-Mo deposits

Deep sequencing of small RNA repertoires in mice reveals metabolic disorders-associated hepatic miRNAs.

Obesity and associated metabolic disorders contribute importantly to the metabolic syndrome. On the other hand, microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that repress target gene expression by inducing mRNA degradation and/or translation repression. Dysregulation of specific miRNAs in obesity may influence energy metabolism and cause insulin resistance, which leads to dyslipidemia, steatosis hepatis and type 2 diabetes. In the present study, we comprehensively analyzed and validated dysregulated miRNAs in ob/ob mouse liver, as well as miRNA groups based on miRNA gene cluster and gene family by using deep sequencing miRNA datasets. We found that over 13.8% of the total analyzed miRNAs were dysregulated, of which 37 miRNA species showed significantly differential expression. Further RT-qPCR analysis in some selected miRNAs validated the similar expression patterns observed in deep sequencing. Interestingly, we found that miRNA gene cluster and family always showed consistent dysregulation patterns in ob/ob mouse liver, although they had various enrichment levels. Functional enrichment analysis revealed the versatile physiological roles (over six signal pathways and five human diseases) of these miRNAs. Biological studies indicated that overexpression of miR-126 or inhibition of miR-24 in AML-12 cells attenuated free fatty acids-induced fat accumulation. Taken together, our data strongly suggest that obesity and metabolic disturbance are tightly associated with functional miRNAs. We also identified hepatic miRNA candidates serving as potential biomarkers for the diagnose of the metabolic syndrome

Length distributions of reads.

<p>A: The data of <i>ob/ob</i> mouse liver samples. B: The data of wild-type mouse liver samples.</p

Validation of the differential expression pattern of miRNA species by RT-qPCR analysis.

<p>RT-qPCR analysis was performed to quantify the expression levels of miR-122, 126, 145, 24, 106b, 103, 696 and 15b. </p

Effects of fishery complementary photovoltaic power plant on radiation, energy flux and driving forces under different synoptic conditions

Abstract The underlying surface was the important media of air-lake interaction by transferring energy. The deployment of photovoltaic arrays on the lake has formed a new underlying surface type. But the new underlying surface is different from the natural lake. The impact of fishery complementary photovoltaic (FPV) power plants on the radiation, energy flux, and driving force is unclear. Therefore, the analysis of radiation, energy flux, and driving force by comparing the difference in the two sites under various synoptic conditions. The results indicated that the radiation components are not significantly different in the two sites under diverse synoptic conditions. The downward shortwave radiation (DSR) and net radiation ( $${R}_{n}$$ R n ) were presented with one peak on a sunny day. The daily average DSR and Rn in the two sites were 279.1 W·m−2, 209.3 W·m−2, respectively. The daily average (cloudy day and rainy day) sensible heat flux in the two sites was 39.5 W·m−2 (FPV site), 19.2 W·m−2 (REF site), respectively. The latent heat flux was 53.2 W·m−2 and 75.2 W·m−2 on counterpart. The water body generally absorbs heat from the air (daily average ∆Q was 16.6 W·m−2) in the FPV site on a sunny day. The driving force of sensible heat flux in the FPV site was governed by the temperature of the FPV panel under sunny and cloudy conditions. The latent heat flux was determined by the product between wind speed and water-atmosphere temperature difference

The abundance of miRNAs in <i>ob/ob</i> mouse liver.

<p>These miRNAs are abundantly expressed in <i>ob/ob</i> mouse liver <i>vs</i>. WT mouse liver (> 13.8% in the total). They are estimated based on the most abundant isomiR and sum of all isomiRs, respectively. A: up-regulated miRNAs, B: down-regulated miRNAs. </p

Molecular Insights into Factors Affecting the Generation Behaviors, Dynamic Properties, and Interfacial Structures of Methane Gas Bubbles

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the effects of temperatures, pressures, and methane mole fractions on the generation behaviors, dynamic properties, and interfacial structures of methane gas bubbles. Methane gas bubbling can be promoted by high temperatures and high mole fractions of methane, which come from the generation of larger methane clusters in solution. Bubbles were found to be highly dynamic, with more methane molecules exchanging between bubbles and the surrounding solution at high pressures and in systems with high mole fractions of methane. The interfacial structures between bubbles and the surrounding solution were rough at a molecular level, and the roughness of the outermost methane and water molecules was high at high temperatures, low pressures, and in systems with high methane mole fractions. The dissolution of methane molecules depended on the interactions between the outermost methane and water molecules, which would become stronger with decreasing temperatures, increasing pressures, and decreasing methane mole fractions. The results obtained can help in understanding both the generation behaviors of bubbles when gas hydrates decompose and the re-nucleation behaviors of gas hydrates in the presence of bubbles

Analysis of the Distribution and Microscopic Characteristics and Disintegration Characteristics of Carbonaceous Rocks: A Case Study of the Middle Devonian Luofu Formation in Western Guangxi of China

Carbonaceous rock is a special soft rock containing TOC organic carbon 6%∼40%. In order to reveal the influence of engineering characteristics of carbonaceous rock on the engineering construction, firstly the stratigraphic distribution of carbonaceous Rocks in Guangxi is investigated, and the genetic mechanism and tectonic environment of carbonaceous rocks are discussed. Secondly, the influence of pore microstructure on the disintegration characteristics of carbonaceous rocks is analyzed. The role of geochemical characteristics of carbonaceous rocks (mineral composition, TOC total organic matter content, and type) on engineering properties is revealed. Finally, combined with the distribution, structure, microstructure, and microscopic characteristics of the previous studies, the disintegration mechanism of carbonaceous rocks in water swelling and heat dehydration is discussed. The results are as follows. (1) Carbonaceous rocks in Guangxi are mainly distributed in Devonian, Carboniferous, and Cambrian systems. It is mainly formed in anoxic and reductive deep water basins, slopes, and relatively confined coastal lagoons and swamps. The carbonaceous rocks in the Devonian Luofu formation are most typical. (2) The pores of carbonaceous rocks are divided into mineral pores, organic matter pores, and microfracture, which are mainly mineral pores. The more developed pores in mineral pores are intragranular dissolved pores. Secondly, mineral intergranular pores and a small amount of intergranular dissolution pores and less inner pores. Organic matter porosity increases with the increase of shale organic carbon content and maturity, but the shale porosity and adsorption capacity decrease when shale maturity reaches more than 2.4%. (3) Clay minerals in carbonaceous shale mainly consist of illite and illite/montmorillonite layer, which have water swelling and heat dehydration. The total average value of TOC (total organic matter content) is more than 1%, which belongs to carbonaceous rocks of medium high grade hydrocarbon source rocks. Organic matter is mainly dominated by type I and II1-II2 type with large hydrocarbon generating potential, which is prone to oxidation-reduction reaction and cause rock disintegration

Whole-exome sequencing identifies somatic mutations and intratumor heterogeneity in inflammatory breast cancer.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive form of breast cancer. Although it is a rare subtype, IBC is responsible for roughly 10% of breast cancer deaths. In order to obtain a better understanding of the genomic landscape and intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) in IBC, we conducted whole-exome sequencing of 16 tissue samples (12 tumor and four normal samples) from six hormone-receptor-positive IBC patients, analyzed somatic mutations and copy number aberrations, and inferred subclonal structures to demonstrate ITH. Our results showed that KMT2C was the most frequently mutated gene (42%, 5/12 samples), followed by HECTD1, LAMA3, FLG2, UGT2B4, STK33, BRCA2, ACP4, PIK3CA, and DNAH8 (all nine genes tied at 33% frequency, 4/12 samples). Our data indicated that PTEN and FBXW7 mutations may be considered driver gene mutations for IBC. We identified various subclonal structures and different levels of ITH between IBC patients, and mutations in the genes EIF4G3, IL12RB2, and PDE4B may potentially generate ITH in IBC