scholarly journals A study on Chinese ancient jades with mercury alteration unearthed from Lizhou’ao Tomb

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Bao ◽  
Changqing Xu ◽  
Qinwen Zhu ◽  
Yuesheng Li
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluids ◽  
Jiangxi Province ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Structural Hierarchy ◽  
Spring And Autumn Period

Abstract“Alteration” geologically refers to chemical composition and/or structural changes of minerals under the influences of hydrothermal fluids, surface water, seawater, or other environmental conditions. In this paper, we use the word “alteration” to refer to chemical component and structural changes in jade artifacts caused by human activity and natural weathering, which is different from the term in geology. “Mercury alteration”, a kind of black alteration related to Hg, is unique among the several types of alteration that occur in Chinese ancient jades. Mercury alteration often appears on ancient jade artifacts unearthed from high-grade tombs of the pre-Qin period (before 221 B.C.). Therefore, ancient jades with mercury alteration have attracted substantial attention from Chinese archaeologists. This paper reports the use of materials analytic techniques to study such ancient jade fragments. The studied jade samples date to the middle and late periods of the Spring and Autumn Period (~500 B.C.) and were unearthed from Lizhou’ao Tomb in Jiangxi Province, China. Structural analyses revealed the internal microstructure of the ancient jade fragments and the microdistribution of the mercury alteration. The jade fragments exhibit typical characteristics of round holes and structural hierarchy, which imply that the jades were heated before burial. The black alteration on these jade samples was found to be rich in Hg. The results of this study will be widely useful in the study of ancient jade artifacts and jade culture in Chinese archeology.

scholarly journals Spatial Differences in the Chemical Composition of Surface Water in the Hornsund Fjord Area: A Statistical Analysis with A Focus on Local Pollution Sources

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 496
Author(s):  
Krystyna Koziol ◽  
Marek Ruman ◽  
Filip Pawlak ◽  
Stanisław Chmiel ◽  
Żaneta Polkowska
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Pollution Transport ◽  
Local Pollution ◽  
Water Composition ◽  
Spatial Differences

Surface catchments in Svalbard are sensitive to external pollution, and yet what is frequently considered external contamination may originate from local sources and natural processes. In this work, we analyze the chemical composition of surface waters in the catchments surrounding the Polish Polar Station in Svalbard, Hornsund fjord area. We have pooled unpublished and already published data describing surface water composition in 2010, related to its pH, electrical conductivity (EC), metals and metalloids, total organic carbon (TOC) and selected organic compound concentrations, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and surfactants. These data were statistically analyzed for spatial differences, using Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA and principal component analysis (PCA), with distance from the station in the PCA approximating local human activity impact. The geological composition of the substratum was found to be a strong determinant of metal and metalloid concentrations, sufficient to explain significant differences between the studied water bodies, except for the concentration of Cr. The past and present human activity in the area may have contributed also to some of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), although only in the case of naphthalene can such an effect be confirmed by an inverse correlation with distance from the station. Other likely factors contributing to the chemical concentrations in the local waters are marine influence, long-range pollution transport and release from past deposition in the environment.

Natural radionuclides 238U, 226RA, AND 222RN in the surface water of the ELKONSKY uranium-ore district (South Yakutiya)

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 613-620
Author(s):  
A. P. Chevychelov ◽  
P. I. Sobakin ◽  
L. I. Kuznetsova
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Radioactive Contamination ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Natural Radionuclides ◽  
Water Migration ◽  
Uranium Ore ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Ore District

Chemical composition of the surface water and the contents of the radionuclides 238U, 226Ra, and 222Rn in water was examined within the natural and man-made landscapes of South Yakutiya. It was demonstrated that intense water migration of these radionuclides from radioactive dump pits of the man-made landscapes of the Elkonsky uranium-ore district, which were created during the process of wide-scale exploration surveys for radioactive raw materials conducted during the last third of the 20th century, had occurred. Currently, the areas of water dissipation of 238U and 226Ra are detected at a distances of 2 km and greater from the source of the radioactive contamination along the outflow vector.

scholarly journals Variability in chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Rosa × damascena Herrm. from mountainous regions of Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansureh Ghavam ◽  
Afsaneh Afzali ◽  
Maria Manconi ◽  
Gianluigi Bacchetta ◽  
Maria Letizia Manca
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Essential Oil ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Rosa Damascena ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Aspergillus Brasiliensis ◽  
Suitable Area

Abstract Background Essential oil of Rosa × damascena Herrm. is one of the most valuable and important raw materials for the flavor and fragrance industry. The cultivation of this plant has ancient origins, and Kashan was one of the first mountainous regions of Iran dealing with the cultivation of R. × damascena. In this study, both chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of different rose essential oils obtained from five mountainous areas of Kashan region (Maragh, Qamsar, Sadeh, Javinan, and Kamoo) has been investigated along with the influence of the environmental conditions on these properties. Results Results showed that yield and chemical composition of essential oils obtained from Rosa × damascena were significantly affected by the collection area. In particular, the yield of oils varied from ~0.08 to ~0.132% and citronellol (36.70-9.18%), geraniol (12.82-0.47%), nonadecane (22.73-10.36%), heneicosane (31.7-11.43%), and 1-nonadecene (6.03-3.93%) have been detected as main compounds in all the plants collected, but at different concentrations depending on the collection area. The best fragrance and the highest yield were found in the oil from Kamoo area. Similarly to the chemical composition, the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was affected by their origin, and essential oil obtained from plants collected from Kamoo area disclosed the highest antibacterial and antifungal efficacy. Its inhibition halos were 17.33±0.58 mm against Aspergillus brasiliensis, 15.67±0.58 mm against Staphylococcus aureus, and 12.33±0. 58 mm against Streptococcus pyogenes. Essential oils of R. damascena were also effective against Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and they had a MIC value of 62.50 μg/mL irrespective of the collection area (except the oil from Javinan area). On the contrary, the highest antifungal power against Candida albicans yeast was reached using the essential oil obtained from plants collected in Javinan region (MIC and MBC ~62.50 μg/mL). Conclusions Overall results underline the influence of environmental conditions of the different areas of Kashan region, on the chemical composition of and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Rosa × damascena. In addition, results disclosed that Kamoo seemed to be the most suitable area for the competitive cultivation of R. × damascena to the intensive production of aromatic flower oil and natural antimicrobial essential oils.

scholarly journals Orange opals from Buriti dos Montes, Piauí: solid inclusions as genetic guides

2015 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisele Tavares Marques ◽  
Marcondes Lima da Costa ◽  
Érico Rodrigues Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Aqueous Solutions ◽  
High Stability ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluids ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Quartz Crystals ◽  
Hydrothermal Processes ◽  
Hydrothermal Environment

Orange opals from Buriti dos Montes (Piauí, northeastern Brazil) have gemological properties that favor their use as jewelry; these characteristics include their colors, transparency, relatively high stability and hardness. The exotic content of solid inclusions provides greater beauty to the opals of this region. These opals originated from hydrothermal processes and are found mainly as veinlets and veins in the sandstones of the Serra Grande Group, sectioned by diabase dikes and sills of the Sardinha Formation. Solid inclusions, such as bubbles, botryoidal aggregates, dendrites, and nodules, among others, consist mainly of kaolinite, hematite/goethite and quartz and influence the chemical composition of opals. Intense zoning of quartz crystals and high values of Ba and Fe suggest that opal deposits were formed in a hydrothermal environment. Diabase dykes could have been responsible for heating the hydrothermal fluids. Sandstones, rich in aqueous solutions, also contributed to the available silica for the saturation of these solutions, and fractures enabled the migration and entrapment of hydrothermal fluids, resulting in the mineralized veins.

scholarly journals Pathological transitions in myelin membranes driven by environmental and multiple sclerosis conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (44) ◽  
pp. 11156-11161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rona Shaharabani ◽  
Maor Ram-On ◽  
Yeshayahu Talmon ◽  
Roy Beck
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Phase Transition ◽  
Lipid Composition ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Hexagonal Phase ◽  
Structural Phase ◽  
Structural Modifications ◽  
Transition Points

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease, leading to the destruction of the myelin sheaths, the protective layers surrounding the axons. The etiology of the disease is unknown, although there are several postulated environmental factors that may contribute to it. Recently, myelin damage was correlated to structural phase transition from a healthy stack of lamellas to a diseased inverted hexagonal phase as a result of the altered lipid stoichiometry and low myelin basic protein (MBP) content. In this work, we show that environmental conditions, such as buffer salinity and temperature, induce the same pathological phase transition as in the case of the lipid composition in the absence of MBP. These phase transitions have different transition points, which depend on the lipid’s compositions, and are ion specific. In extreme environmental conditions, we find an additional dense lamellar phase and that the native lipid composition results in similar pathology as the diseased composition. These findings demonstrate that several local environmental changes can trigger pathological structural changes. We postulate that these structural modifications result in myelin membrane vulnerability to the immune system attacks and thus can help explain MS etiology.

scholarly journals Environmental aspects of relief transformation (Silesian Upland, Southern Poland)

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Pełka-Gościniak
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Biological Aspects ◽  
New Habitats

Abstract The geological structure and the occurrence of mineral resources in the Silesian Upland in a significant way influenced the development of industry and caused transformation of every landscape element, among others changes in relief and therefore the formation of anthropogenic landforms. The paper focuses on environmental aspects of relief transformation in the Silesian Upland. The author described aesthetic, geomorphological, hydrological, climatological, pedological and biological aspects on the base of representatives of two groups of landforms–consciously created by human being and being an unintentional effect of human activity (of secondary character). All analysed landforms are new elements in relief, in majority of cases being in disharmony with their neighbourhood. They are alien to the landscape and disturb the equilibrium in the nature. It was proved that they strongly influence water and climatological conditions and soil cover. But sometimes the anthropogenic landforms can be perceived as advantageous for the nature, especially in case of subsidence depressions because of development of aquatic and hydrophilous species and in case of spoil tips due to spontaneous development of vegetation cover. The nature easily adapts to new environmental conditions (process of natural succession and independent introduction of species for new habitats). In these terrains the increase in biodiversity was observed.

scholarly journals The influence of feed quality from peat soils on the productivity of cattle

2021 ◽  
Vol 901 (1) ◽  
pp. 012017
Author(s):  
A N Ulanov ◽  
V N Kovshova ◽  
O G Mokrushina ◽  
A V Smirnova ◽  
A L Glubokovskih ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Feed Additives ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Resource Saving ◽  
Peat Soils ◽  
Genetic Potential ◽  
Mineral Soils ◽  
Livestock Products

Abstract In the context of the implementation of environmental, resource-saving systems of agriculture, research in the system of biogeocenosis is very relevant: soil – plant-feed-animal-livestock products. Peatlands and developed peat soils are a kind of environment for human activity in this system. As a result of many years of research, it was found that perennial grasses grown on peat soils have differences in chemical composition compared to plants grown on mineral soils. They contain more organic matter and raw protein. However, their digestibility of nutrients is lower than in herbs grown on mineral soils. Therefore, for a full-fledged balanced feeding of cows, the realization of the genetic potential of animal productivity, and the preservation of their health, scientifically-based diets are necessary, developed on the basis of bulky feeds obtained from peat and developed soils, with the introduction of appropriate feed additives in them.

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