A New Albite Microanalytical Reference Material from Piz Beverin for Na, Al and Si Determination, and the Potential for New K-Feldspar Reference Materials

Determination of alkali elements is important to Earth scientists, yet suitable and reliable microanalytical reference materials are lacking. This paper proposes a new albite reference material and evaluates the potential for future K-feldspar reference materials. The proposed Piz Beverin albite reference material from Switzerland yields a homogeneous composition at the centimetre- to micrometre-scale for Si, Al and Na with \u3c 2000 μg g-1 total trace elements (mostly heterogeneously distributed Ca, K and Sr). EPMA and LA-ICP-MS measurements confirm a composition of 99.5(2)% albite component, which is supported further by bulk XRF measurements. A round robin evaluation involving nine independent EPMA laboratories confirms its composition and homogeneity for Si, Al and Na. In addition, a set of five distinct clear K-feldspar samples was evaluated as possible reference materials. The first two crystals of adular and orthoclase yield unacceptable inhomogeneities with \u3e 2% relative local variations of Na, K and Ba contents. The three other investigated sets of K-feldspar crystals are yellow sanidine crystals from Itrongay (Madagascar). Despite distinct compositions, EPMA confirms they are each homogeneous at the centimetre to micrometre scale for Si, Al and K and have no apparent inclusions; further investigation to find larger amounts of these materials is therefore justified

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Bacterial community structures of an alpine apatite deposit

Apatite represents an important source of inorganic P for natural ecosystems and may favour the establishment of microbial communities able to exploit it. We investigated if microbial community composition in a natural alpine apatite deposit (Piatto della Miniera, canton of Ticino, Switzerland) would differ from the surroundings. Soils were sampled from 3 transects across the apatite deposit and divided in apatite (AP) and non-apatite (NAP) samples. The presence of apatite in the AP samples was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses. Bacterial community structures were assessed by 16S rRNA gene-based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (t-RFLP) and clone libraries. Generally, the AP samples were characterised by higher water-extractable P (e.g. up to 3.1 mg P (g soil dry wt)− 1), and higher concentrations of organic acids than the NAP samples. t-RFLP analysis showed different bacterial community structures in the AP and NAP samples. The 16S rRNA gene clone libraries of the AP samples were dominated by Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, Rhizobiales and Firmicutes (relative abundance > 10%), while the NAP samples had a higher relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Chloroflexi (relative abundance > 20%). The number of different phylotypes related to the dominant groups of the AP clone libraries (11–13) was lower than those in the NAP libraries (17–32). Libshuff analysis of the obtained sequences indicated that the communities developing on the AP are a subpopulation of the flanking NAP sites. Our results suggest that under natural conditions, the presence of rock phosphate may not be the main driving force for bacterial community structures