Coal Fires: An Environmental Disaster

Coal Fires are an environmental disaster

A Stratabound Zinc-Lead Deposit in Meguma Group Metasediments at Eastville, Nova Scotia

The Eastville zinc-lead deposit, discovered by soil sampling in 1976, occurs near the contact of the Goldenvllle and Halifax Formations, the two divisions of the Cambro-Ordovician Meguma Group. The stratigraphic succession in the contact zone comprises an assemblage of quartz metawacke, calcareous quartz metawacke and slate. Quartz metawacke is predominant in the Goldenvllle Formation and slate is the dominant lithology in the overlying Halifax Formation. These rocks are interpreted as the middle to outer fan and basin plain deposits of a submarine fan complex. Pyrrhotite and pyrite, the predominant Bulphide minerals in all lithologles in the contact zone, were deposited by reduction of iron in the sediments, independent of the mineralizing process. Sphalerite and galena occur in rocks over a 10 km strike length in elongate blebs, 2 to 5 mm long, distributed parallel to bedding and in cross-cutting fractures. The deposit is stratabound and generally occurs in black slate beds near the Goldenvllle-Halifax contact. Geochemical analyses of the rocks have indicated a concentration of Mn in the calcareous quartzite member, the upper unit of the Goldenville Formation. A relationship between the Mn enrichment and the abundance of sphalerite and galena in the section has not been established. The sulphide mineralogy, laterally continuous stratigraphy and lack of metal zonation and underlying feeder structures indicate the sphalerite and galena were syngenetically deposited from metal-rich brines at a site distant from where the brines entered the basin of deposition- RÉSUMÉ Le dépôt de plomb at de zinc de Eastville, qui a été découvert par des prises d'échantillons de terre en 1976, est situé pré du contact des formations Goldenville et Halifax (les deux unités du groupe Meguma). La succession stratigraphique dans la zone de contact est constitué d'un assemblage de métagrauwacke de quartz, de métagrauvacke calcaire de quartz, et d'ardoise. Le métagrauwacke de quartz est prédominant dans la formation Goldenville et l'ardoise est la lithologie dominate de la formation de Halifax, qui est superposé sur la première. Ces roches sont expllquées comme étant le cône central ou extérieur et des dépôts de la plaine d'un basin d'un compiexe de cône. La pyrrhotite et la pyrite, les minéraux sulfides principalis dans toutes les lithologles de la zone de contact, ont été déposés par une réduction de fer dans les sédiments, indépendement des processus de minéralisation. La sphalérite et la galène se trouvent dans les roches sur une longueur de 10 kilomètres le long de la couche en temps que soufflures de 2 à 5 mm de longueur, réparties paralèllement à la couche et dans les fractures à trafers banc. Le dépôt est limite aux strates et se crouve en général dans de l'ardoise noire près du contact Goldenville-Halifax. Des analyses géochimiques des roches ont indiqué une concentration de Mn dans les quartzites calcaires, l'unité la plus é1evé de la formation Goldenville. Un rapport entre l'enrichiasement en Mn et l'abondance de la sphalerite et de la galène dans la section, n'a pas été établie. La minéralogie des sulfides, la stratigraphie laterale continue, et le manque de zonation de métaux et de structures de conduite d'alimentation, indique que la sphalerite et la galène ont été déposées sygénétiquement à partir de saumures riches en métaux dans un site éloigné de l'endroit où les saumures pénétrent le basin de dépôt. [Traduit par le journal

Plasma density gradients at the edge of polar ionospheric holes: the presence and absence of phase scintillation

Polar holes were observed in the high-latitude ionosphere during a series of multi-instrument case studies close to the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice in 2014 and 2015. These holes were observed during geomagnetically quiet conditions and under a range of solar activities using the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) Svalbard Radar (ESR) and measurements from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. Steep electron density gradients have been associated with phase scintillation in previous studies; however, no enhanced scintillation was detected within the electron density gradients at these boundaries. It is suggested that the lack of phase scintillation may be due to low plasma density levels and a lack of intense particle precipitation. It is concluded that both significant electron density gradients and plasma density levels above a certain threshold are required for scintillation to occur

Turnip mosaic potyvirus probably first spread to Eurasian brassica crops from wild orchids about 1000 years ago

Turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV) is probably the most widespread and damaging virus that infects cultivated brassicas worldwide. Previous work has indicated that the virus originated in western Eurasia, with all of its closest relatives being viruses of monocotyledonous plants. Here we report that we have identified a sister lineage of TuMV-like potyviruses (TuMV-OM) from European orchids. The isolates of TuMV-OM form a monophyletic sister lineage to the brassica-infecting TuMVs (TuMV-BIs), and are nested within a clade of monocotyledon-infecting viruses. Extensive host-range tests showed that all of the TuMV-OMs are biologically similar to, but distinct from, TuMV-BIs and do not readily infect brassicas. We conclude that it is more likely that TuMV evolved from a TuMV-OM-like ancestor than the reverse. We did Bayesian coalescent analyses using a combination of novel and published sequence data from four TuMV genes [helper component-proteinase protein (HC-Pro), protein 3(P3), nuclear inclusion b protein (NIb), and coat protein (CP)]. Three genes (HC-Pro, P3, and NIb), but not the CP gene, gave results indicating that the TuMV-BI viruses diverged from TuMV-OMs around 1000 years ago. Only 150 years later, the four lineages of the present global population of TuMV-BIs diverged from one another. These dates are congruent with historical records of the spread of agriculture in Western Europe. From about 1200 years ago, there was a warming of the climate, and agriculture and the human population of the region greatly increased. Farming replaced woodlands, fostering viruses and aphid vectors that could invade the crops, which included several brassica cultivars and weeds. Later, starting 500 years ago, inter-continental maritime trade probably spread the TuMV-BIs to the remainder of the world

Accelerator system for the PRISM based muon to electron conversion experiment

The next generation of lepton flavor violation experiments need high intensity and high quality muon beams. Production of such beams requires sending a short, high intensity proton pulse to the pion production target, capturing pions and collecting the resulting muons in the large acceptance transport system. The substantial increase of beam quality can be obtained by applying the RF phase rotation on the muon beam in the dedicated FFAG ring, which was proposed for the PRISM project.This allows to reduce the momentum spread of the beam and to purify from the unwanted components like pions or secondary protons. A PRISM Task Force is addressing the accelerator and detector issues that need to be solved in order to realize the PRISM experiment. The parameters of the required proton beam, the principles of the PRISM experiment and the baseline FFAG design are introduced. The spectrum of alternative designs for the PRISM FFAG ring are shown. Progress on ring main systems like injection and RF are presented. The current status of the study and its future directions are discussed.Comment: Studies performed within the PRISM Task Force initiativ

Genetic variants alter T-bet binding and gene expression in mucosal inflammatory disease

The polarization of CD4+ T cells into distinct T helper cell lineages is essential for protective immunity against infection, but aberrant T cell polarization can cause autoimmunity. The transcription factor T-bet (TBX21) specifies the Th1 lineage and represses alternative T cell fates. Genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that may be causative for autoimmune diseases. The majority of these polymorphisms are located within non-coding distal regulatory elements. It is considered that these genetic variants contribute to disease by altering the binding of regulatory proteins and thus gene expression, but whether these variants alter the binding of lineage-specifying transcription factors has not been determined. Here, we show that SNPs associated with the mucosal inflammatory diseases Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (UC) and celiac disease, but not rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis, are enriched at T-bet binding sites. Furthermore, we identify disease-associated variants that alter T-bet binding in vitro and in vivo. ChIP-seq for T-bet in individuals heterozygous for the celiac disease-associated SNPs rs1465321 and rs2058622 and the IBD-associated SNPs rs1551398 and rs1551399, reveals decreased binding to the minor disease-associated alleles. Furthermore, we show that rs1465321 is an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) for the neighboring gene IL18RAP, with decreased T-bet binding associated with decreased expression of this gene. These results suggest that genetic polymorphisms may predispose individuals to mucosal autoimmune disease through alterations in T-bet binding. Other disease-associated variants may similarly act by modulating the binding of lineage-specifying transcription factors in a tissue-selective and disease-specific manner

Idiotypic DNA vaccination for the treatment of multiple myeloma: safety and immunogenicity in a phase I clinical study

We report on the safety and immunogenicity of idiotypic DNA vaccination in a phase I, non-randomised, open-label study in patients with multiple myeloma. The study used DNA fusion gene vaccines encoding patient-specific single chain variable fragment, or idiotype (Id), linked to fragment C (FrC) of tetanus toxin. Patients in complete or partial response following high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant were vaccinated intramuscularly with 1 mg DNA on six occasions, beginning at least 6 months post-transplant; follow-up was to week 52. Fourteen patients were enrolled on study and completed vaccinations. Idiotypic DNA vaccines were well tolerated with vaccine-related adverse events limited to low-grade constitutional symptoms. FrC- and Id-specific T-cell responses were detected by ex vivo ELISPOT in 9/14 and 3/14 patients, respectively. A boost of pre-existing anti-FrC antibody (Ab) was detected by ELISA in 8/14 patients, whilst anti-Id Ab was generated in 1/13 patients. Overall, four patients (29 %) made an immune response to FrC and Id, with six patients (43 %) responding to FrC alone. Over the 52-week study period, serum paraprotein was undetectable, decreased or remained stable for ten patients (71 %), whilst ongoing CR/PR was maintained for 11 patients (79 %). The median time to progression was 38.0 months for 13/14 patients. Overall survival was 64 % after a median follow-up of 85.6 months