Garnierite mineralization from a serpentinite-derived lateritic regolith, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia: Mineralogy, geochemistry and link to hydrologic flow regime

Garnierite represents a significant nickel ore in many lateritic Ni deposits worldwide. To gain a better understanding of its nature and origin, a well-developed garnierite-hosting transect from the Kolonodale area of East Sulawesi, Indonesia, has been investigated using field geology, mineralogy and geochemical data. Garnierite occurs mainly in veins in the lower saprolite of a serpentinite-derived regolith. Mineralogically, it can be determined as an intimate mixture of Ni-rich serpentine-like (lizardite-Nepouite) and talc-like (kerolite-pimelite) phases. Results of EMP analyses indicate that Ni is preferentially enriched in the talc-like phases rather than the serpentine-like phases. A sequential precipitation of mineral phases progressively enriched in Ni and Si to form garnierite during weathering is suggested. The Ni-lizardite (2.63-8.49 wt% Ni) with elevated Fe (4.02-6.44 wt %) may have been inherited from saprolite in a first instance and enriched in Ni by cation exchange processes. Newly precipitated minerals are kerolite-pimelite (7.84-23.54 wt% Ni) and then followed by Ni-free quartz. Minor amount of Nepouite (23.47-28.51 wt% Ni) occur in laths along shrinkage cracks of previously formed minerals, indicating a late stage paragenetic sequence. With emphasis on a hydrologic consideration, indicators of a preferential flow regime are identified in the garnierite-hosting regolith, including: (i) non-uniform pattern of the garnierite field occurrence, (ii) syn-weathering active nature of the garnierite-hosting structures, (iii) close relationship between the garnierite occurrence and vertical FeeMn oxides pipes as well as FeeMn oxides patched areas, and (iv) specific physico-chemical property of the garnierite location with higher organic matter concentrations but lower pH values compared to surroundings. It is proposed that the origin of garnierite is closely linked to a preferential flow of oversaturated solutions through accessible conduits in the regolith. Garnierite features as colloidal nature, high organic matter and low pH are key-parameters in metal transport and deposition

Atrial-selective block of sodium channels by acehytisine in rabbit myocardium

AbstractAcehytisine, a multi-ion channel blocker, can markedly inhibit INa, ICa, IKur, If at various concentrations and effectively terminate and prevent atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients and animal models, but the molecular mechanism underlying its blockage remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the effects of acehytisine on action potentials and sodium channels of atrial and ventricular myocytes isolated from rabbit, using whole-cell recording system. We found that acehytisine exerted stronger blocking effects on sodium channels in atria than in ventricles, especially at depolarization (IC50: 48.48 ± 7.75 μmol/L in atria vs. 560.17 ± 63.98 μmol/L in ventricles). It also significantly shifted steady state inactivation curves toward negative potentials in atrial myocytes, without affecting the recovery kinetics from inactivation of sodium channels in the same cells. In addition, acehytisine inhibited INa in a use-dependent manner and regulated slow inactivation kinetics by different gating configurations. These findings indicate that acehytisine selectively blocks atrial sodium channels and possesses affinity to sodium channel in certain states, which provides additional evidence for the anti-AF of acehytisine

Two-dimensional monolayer salt nanostructures can spontaneously aggregate rather than dissolve in dilute aqueous solutions

It is well known that NaCl salt crystals can easily dissolve in dilute aqueous solutions at room temperature. Herein, we reported the first computational evidence of a novel salt nucleation behavior at room temperature, i.e., the spontaneous formation of two-dimensional (2D) alkali chloride crystalline/non-crystalline nanostructures in dilute aqueous solution under nanoscale confinement. Microsecond-scale classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations showed that NaCl or LiCl, initially fully dissolved in confined water, can spontaneously nucleate into 2D monolayer nanostructures with either ordered or disordered morphologies. Notably, the NaCl nanostructures exhibited a 2D crystalline square-unit pattern, whereas the LiCl nanostructures adopted non-crystalline 2D hexagonal ring and/or zigzag chain patterns. These structural patterns appeared to be quite generic, regardless of the water and ion models used in the MD simulations. The generic patterns formed by 2D monolayer NaCl and LiCl nanostructures were also confirmed by ab initio MD simulations. The formation of 2D salt structures in dilute aqueous solution at room temperature is counterintuitive. Free energy calculations indicated that the unexpected spontaneous salt nucleation behavior can be attributed to the nanoscale confinement and strongly compressed hydration shells of ions. Supplementary files, including 6 movies, attached below

H2AK121ub in Arabidopsis associates with a less accessible chromatin state at transcriptional regulation hotspots

Although it is well established that the Polycomb Group (PcG) complexes maintain gene repression through the incorporation of H2AK121ub and H3K27me3, little is known about the effect of these modifications on chromatin accessibility, which is fundamental to understand PcG function. Here, by integrating chromatin accessibility, histone marks and expression analyses in different Arabidopsis PcG mutants, we show that PcG function regulates chromatin accessibility. We find that H2AK121ub is associated with a less accessible but still permissive chromatin at transcriptional regulation hotspots. Accessibility is further reduced by EMF1 acting in collaboration with PRC2 activity. Consequently, H2AK121ub/H3K27me3 marks are linked to inaccessible although responsive chromatin. In contrast, only-H3K27me3-marked chromatin is less responsive, indicating that H2AK121ub-marked hotspots are required for transcriptional responses. Nevertheless, despite the loss of PcG activities leads to increased chromatin accessibility, this is not necessarily accompanied by transcriptional activation, indicating that accessible chromatin is not always predictive of gene expression.National Natural Science Foundation of China 31970532Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación BIO2016-76457-P, PID2019-106664GB-I00, BIO2017-84066-

Case report: Fully endoscopic microvascular decompression for glossopharyngeal neuralgia

With the advances in endoscopic technology, endoscopy is widely used in many neurosurgical procedures, such as microvascular decompression, which is an effective method to treat glossopharyngeal neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and facial spasm. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of fully endoscopic microvascular decompression in the treatment of glossopharyngeal neuralgia. We managed a patient with glossopharyngeal neuralgia in our department, whose main clinical manifestation was recurrent left ear and facial pain for 3 years. The patient underwent a fully endoscopic microvascular decompression. The pain in the left ear and face was significantly relieved postoperatively, and there was no recurrence at the 6-month follow-up evaluation. We describe a case of glossopharyngeal neuralgia that was successfully treated by fully endoscopic microvascular decompression, which showed that endoscopy has advantages in microvascular decompression, and fully endoscopic microvascular decompression is an effective method for glossopharyngeal neuralgia

Implanting MnO2 into Hexagonal Boron Nitride as Nanoadditives for Enhancing Tribological Performance

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNs) show great potential in the field of tribology due to their typical two-dimensional layered structure and are essential for replacing conventional sulfur/phosphate-containing additives. However, the large particle size and poor dispersion of h-BNs seriously restrict their green lubrication application. In this paper, MnO2@h-BNNs nanocomposites were successfully prepared by ultrasonically exfoliating a hydrothermal method. The tribological properties of MnO2@h-BNNs nanocomposites as lubricant additives in poly-alpha-olefin oil (PAO) were investigated. The results show the oil dispersed with 0.25 wt% MnO2@h-BNNs had the best friction reduction and antiwear effect with 42% and 11.2% reduction, respectively, compared with the plain oil. Through further wear surface analyzing, we verified the antiwear mechanism of additives in filling the micropits and grooves on the wear surface and forming a friction protection film including Fe2O3, MnO2, and BN on the wear surface, avoiding direct contact between the friction subsets. This can provide ideas for other lubricating oil additives

Study on the mechanism of tunable ferromagnetic composites with different rare earth ions

Size-controlled Fe3O4 nanoparticles doped with rare earth (RE) ions (La3+, Ce3+, and Dy3+) varying from 15 nm to 30 nm were successful synthesized by a hydrothermal method for potential applications in the fields of biomedicine, environmental protection and magnetic memory devices. They possessed good dispersibility, adjustable particle size and nearly spherical shape. The particle grain size was uniformly distributed and showed a low degree of agglomeration in comparison with undoped Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The FTIR results showed that the RE elements partially replaced Fe2+, occupied the octahedral position, and enhanced the vibration of the Fe–O bond. The XPS study further revealed that the valence states of La, Ce, and Dy are both positive trivalent. The XPS Fe 2p valence band spectra observed a shift in the peak position toward higher binding energy after RE doping, confirming the existence of RE ions in the octahedral position. This paper explains the mechanism of rare earth doping with Fe3O4, and clarifies the influence of the doping of different RE ions on its magnetic properties. The detailed analysis of RE-doped ferrite materials can open a new perspective in designing biomedical and spintronics materials with tailored properties by choosing suitable cation substitution

Biochar-based fertilizer: Supercharging root membrane potential and biomass yield of rice

Biochar-based compound fertilizers (BCF) and amendments have proven to enhance crop yields and modify soil properties (pH, nutrients, organic matter, structure etc.) and are now in commercial production in China. While there is a good understanding of the changes in soil properties following biochar addition, the interactions within the rhizosphere remain largely unstudied, with benefits to yield observed beyond the changes in soil properties alone. We investigated the rhizosphere interactions following the addition of an activated wheat straw BCF at an application rates of 0.25% (g·g−1 soil), which could potentially explain the increase of plant biomass (by 67%), herbage N (by 40%) and P (by 46%) uptake in the rice plants grown in the BCF-treated soil, compared to the rice plants grown in the soil with conventional fertilizer alone. Examination of the roots revealed that micron and submicron-sized biochar were embedded in the plaque layer. BCF increased soil Eh by 85 mV and increased the potential difference between the rhizosphere soil and the root membrane by 65 mV. This increased potential difference lowered the free energy required for root nutrient accumulation, potentially explaining greater plant nutrient content and biomass. We also demonstrate an increased abundance of plant-growth promoting bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere. We suggest that the redox properties of the biochar cause major changes in electron status of rhizosphere soils that drive the observed agronomic benefits