Increasing Activity (increasing + activity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Alteration Patterns Related to Hydrothermal Gold Mineralizaition in Meta-andesites at Dungash Area, Eastern Desert, Egypt

RESOURCE GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2001
Hossam A. Helba
Abstract: The hydrothermal alteration patterns associating with the gold prospect hosted by metavolcanics in the Dungash area, Eastern Desert of Egypt, were investigated in order to assign their relationship to mineralization. The metavolcanics of andesitic composition are generated by regional metamorphism of greenschist facies superimposed by hydrothermal activity. Epidote and chlorite are metamorphic minerals, whereas sericite, carbonates, and chlorite are hydrothermal alteration minerals. The auriferous quartz vein is of NEE-SWW trend and cuts mainly the andesitic metavolcanics, but sometimes extends to the neighbouring metapyroclastics and metasediments. Quartz-sericite, sericite, carbonate-sericite, and chlorite-sericite constitute four distinctive alteration zones which extend outwards from the mineralized quartz vein. The quartz-sericite and sericite zones are characterized by high contents of SiO2, K2O, Rb, and As, the carbonate-sericite zone is by high contents of CaO, Au, Cu, Cr, Ni, and Y, and the chlorite-sericite zone is by high contents of MgO, Na2O, Zn, Ba, and Co. Gold and sulphide minerals are relatively more abundant in the carbonate-sericite zone followed by the sericite one. The geochemistry of the alteration system was investigated using volume-composition and mass balance calculations. The volume factors obtained for the different alteration zones, mentioned above (being 1.64, 1.19, 1.17, and 1.07, respectively), indicate that replacement had taken place with a volume gain. The mass balance calculations revealed addition of SiO2, K2O, As, Cu, Rb, Ba, Ni, and Y to the system as a whole and subtraction of Fe2O3 from the system. Initial high aK+ and aH+ for the invading fluids is suggested. As the fluids migrated into wallrocks, they became more concentrated in Mg, Ca, and Na with increasing activities of CO2 and S. The calculated loss-gain data are in agreement with the microscopic observations. Breakdown of ferromagnesian minerals and feldspars in the quartz-sericite, sericite, and chlorite-sericite zones accompanied by loss in Mg, Fe, Ca, and Na under acidic conditions and low CO2/H2O ratio may obstruct the formation of carbonates and sulphides, and the precipitation of gold in these zones. The role of metamorphic fluids in the area is expected to be restricted to the liberation of Au and some associated elements from their hosts. [source]


Characterization and mode of action of an exopolygalacturonase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 21 2005
Leon D. Kluskens
An intracellular pectinolytic enzyme, PelB (TM0437), from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima was functionally produced in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. PelB belongs to family 28 of the glycoside hydrolases, consisting of pectin-hydrolysing enzymes. As one of the few bacterial exopolygalacturonases, it is able to remove monogalacturonate units from the nonreducing end of polygalacturonate. Detailed characterization of the enzyme showed that PelB is highly thermo-active and thermostable, with a melting temperature of 105 °C and a temperature optimum of 80 °C, the highest described to date for hydrolytic pectinases. PelB showed increasing activity on oligosaccharides with an increasing degree of polymerization. The highest activity was found on the pentamer (1000 U·mg,1). In addition, the affinity increased in conjunction with the length of the oligoGalpA chain. PelB displayed specificity for saturated oligoGalpA and was unable to degrade unsaturated or methyl-esterified oligoGalpA. Analogous to the exopolygalacturonase from Aspergillus tubingensis, it showed low activity with xylogalacturonan. Calculations on the subsite affinity revealed the presence of four subsites and a high affinity for GalpA at subsite +1, which is typical of exo-active enzymes. The physiological role of PelB and the previously characterized exopectate lyase PelA is discussed. [source]


Automated separation of cord blood units in top and bottom bags using the Compomat G4

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LABORATORY HEMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
P. SOLVES
Summary Cord blood (CB) has become a real alternative source of haematopoietic stem cells for bone marrow reconstitution in a variety of malignant disorders. As a response to this increasing activity, CB banks have been developed to guarantee the quality of processed CB units. Volume reduction of CB units maximizes storage space and also has other advantages. The aim of this study was to develop a program for the volume reduction of CB in the Compomat G4 device. We also compared two different top and bottom systems for CB fractionation (Compomat G4 and Optipress II). We empirically designed three different programs for volume reduction of CB with Compomat G4: two for final BC volume of 41 ml (CB1 and CB2) and the other one for buffy coat (BC) volume of 25 ml (CB3). Significantly worse recoveries were achieved for CB processed with program CB3. A RBC depletion of ,50%, ,60% and ,70% were achieved for 67%, 39% and 9% of all units respectively. When comparing Compomat G4 and Optipress II, total nucleated cell recovery was similar for both methods, while lymphocytes recovery was significantly better for Optipress II. [source]


Lactate efflux and the neuroenergetic basis of brain function

NMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 7-8 2001
Robert G. Shulman
Abstract In the unstimulated brain energy is primarily supplied by the oxidation of glucose. However the oxygen-to-glucose index (OGI), which is the ratio of metabolic rates of oxygen to glucose, CMRO2/CMRglc, diverges from the theoretical value of 6 as activity is increased. In vivo measurements of brain lactate show its concentration to increase with stimulation. The decreasing OGI with stimulation had led to the suggestion that activation, unlike resting activity, is supported by anaerobic glycolysis. To date a unifying concept that accommodates glucose oxidation at rest with lactate generation and OGI decrease during stimulation of brain is lacking. Furthermore, energetics that change with increasing activity are not consistent with a neuroenergetic model that has been proposed from 1- 13C-glucose MRS experiments. That model, based upon in vivo MRS measurements and cellular studies by Pellerin and Magistretti, showed that glutamate neurotransmitter cycling was coupled to glucose oxidation over a wide range of brain activities from rest down to deep anesthesia. Here we reconcile these paradoxical observations by suggesting that anaerobic glucose consumption (which can provide energy rapidly) increases with activation to meet the power requirements of millisecond neuronal firing. It is proposed, in accord with our neuroenergetic model, that the extra glucose mobilized rapidly for glial clearance of glutamate, is not needed for the oxidative processes that are responsible for neuronal firing and glutamate release, and consequently it is effluxed as lactate. A stoichiometric relation between OGI and lactate concentration is derived from the neuroenergetic model, showing that the enhanced glucose uptake during activation is consistent with neuronal activity being energetically supported by glucose oxidation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Generalized linear modelling in periglacial studies: terrain parameters and patterned ground

PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, Issue 4 2004
Miska Luoto
Abstract Generalized linear models (GLM) are mathematical extensions of linear models. GLM models are more flexible and better suited for analysing relationships of spatial data, which can often be poorly represented by classical Gaussian distributions such as least-square-regression techniques. This paper demonstrates GLM model-building procedures step-by-step for the distribution and abundance of active patterned ground in northern Finland. The exercise is based on data from an area of 200,km2 (800 modelling squares of 0.25,km2). Both the distribution and abundance models clearly indicate an increasing activity of patterned ground with (1) increasing soil moisture and (2) proportion of concave topography. Activity decreases with increasing altitude. We conclude that GLM techniques combined with a geographic information system can play an important role in analysing and modelling periglacial data sets. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]