Search results for "minerals"
showing 10 items of 247 documents
The shell matrix of the european thorny oyster, Spondylus gaederopus: microstructural and molecular characterization.
2020
17 pages; International audience; Molluscs, the largest marine phylum, display extraordinary shell diversity and sophisticated biomineral architectures. However, mineral-associated biomolecules involved in biomineralization are still poorly characterised.We report the first comprehensive structural and biomolecular study of Spondylus gaederopus, a pectinoid bivalve with a peculiar shell texture. Used since prehistoric times, this is the best-known shell of Europe’s cultural heritage. We find that Spondylus microstructure is very poor in mineral-bound organics, which are mostly intercrystalline and concentrated at the interface between structural layers.Using high-resolution liquid chromatog…
Shell proteome of rhynchonelliform brachiopods.
2015
7 pages; International audience; Brachiopods are a phylum of marine invertebrates that have an external bivalved shell to protect their living tissues. With few exceptions, this biomineralized structure is composed of calcite, mixed together with a minor organic fraction, comprising secreted proteins that become occluded in the shell structure, once formed. This organic matrix is thought to display several functions, in particular, to control mineral deposition and to regulate crystallite shapes. Thus, identifying the primary structure of matrix proteins is a prerequisite for generating bioinspired materials with tailored properties. In this study, we employed a proteomic approach to identi…
Potentials for critical raw materials recovery from Mediterranean saltworks bitterns
2022
Minerals extraction from seawater brines is currently regarded as the most practical approach to reduce European dependency from the import of many Critical Raw Materials. The technical feasibility of such approach has been widely demonstrated in several different research and development projects but the economic sustainability has always been found to depend on the local demand for sodium chloride, which is always the most abundant product of the extraction. Starting from this crucial node, the SEArcularMINE project has investigated the possibility to use the residual brines originated by sea-salt extraction in traditional saltworks, regarded as an already well-established marketplace. Th…
Impact on Glucose Homeostasis: Is Food Biofortified with Molybdenum a Workable Solution? A Two-Arm Study
2022
Diabetes is expected to increase up to 700 million people worldwide with type 2 diabetes being the most frequent. The use of nutritional interventions is one of the most natural approaches for managing the disease. Minerals are of paramount importance in order to preserve and obtain good health and among them molybdenum is an essential component. There are no studies about the consumption of biofortified food with molybdenum on glucose homeostasis but recent studies in humans suggest that molybdenum could exert hypoglycemic effects. The present study aims to assess if consumption of lettuce biofortified with molybdenum influences glucose homeostasis and whether the effects would be due to c…
Sedimentology and isotope geochemistry of Carnian deep-water marl/limestone deposits from the Sicani Mountains, Sicily: Environmental implications an…
1995
Abstract The upper Triassic Halobia-bearing marl/limestone deposits from the Sicani Mountains (Sicily) record the sedimentary evolution of the Sicanian Basin through the middle and late Carnian time. Dark marls and interbedded grey calcilutites of Julian age are characterized by abundant pyrite, sparse bioturbation and negative carbonate carbon δ13C values. They accumulated in a basin with dominantly anoxic to dysaerobic bottom waters. Lower Tuvalian dark-grey pyritic marls and calcilutites, which contain carbonate minerals with relatively high Mn contents and widely fluctuating δ13C signatures, were deposited under dysaerobic conditions. Middle and upper Tuvalian cherty limestones show int…
The influence of natural trace element distribution on the mobility of radionuclides. The exemple of nickel in a clay-rock
2015
International audience; The natural distribution of nickel (Ni) in the Callovian–Oxfordian clay-rich rock of Bure (France) was investigated, together with that of cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb). The most Ni-enriched phases are pyrite (∼400 × 10−6 g g−1 Ni), sphalerite (∼300 × 10−6 g g−1), chlorite (∼285 × 10−6 g g−1), organic matter (∼300 × 10−6 g g−1), muscovite (100–200 × 10−6 g g−1) and possibly carbonate minerals (mainly calcite and minor dolomite, ∼10 × 10−6 g g−1). Despite their high abundance (up to ∼80% in the upper part of the formation), carbonate minerals are quantitatively a minor Ni reservoir; most of the Ni is borne by chlorite and pyrite, which are minor mineral phases.…
A new simple approach to evaluate pedogenic clay transformation in a Vertic Calcisol
2006
The aim of this study is to characterize the pedogenic clay minerals by using simple approach: Mixing mineralogical and geochemical findings. The fine clay fractions (< 0.1 μm) of a Vertic Cambisol profile were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Qualitative and quantitative mineralogical compositions of the clay mixture were determined. Moreover, chemical equilibria and thermodynamic stabilities of minerals (calcite, gypsum, kaolinite, smectites and illites) were studied using results of ionic activities obtained from total concentration of various aqueous species in water extracts from soil-saturated pastes. XRD ana…
Zirconium and hafnium fractionation and distribution of Rare Earth Elements in neutral–alkaline waters: Case study of Lake Van hydrothermal system, T…
2021
International audience; We investigated the distribution of Zr, Hf, and rare earth elements (REE) as the sum of lanthanides plus Y in the hydrothermal system in the Lake Van area of south-eastern Turkey. This system is characterised by water with variable pH in alkaline conditions resulting from hydrothermal CO2 upraise and neoformation of calcite minerals in near equilibrium with the interacting waters. Zr, Hf, and REE determinations were carried out for aqueous phases and suspended solids in lake water and surrounding thermal springs. We found that dissolved Hf is partitioned relative to Zr during calcite formation and that such fractionation is a function of the Ca2+ activity in warm wat…
Influence of humic acid on neptunium(V) sorption and diffusion in Opalinus Clay
2013
SummaryThe influence of14C-labeled M42 humic acid (HA) on the interaction between neptunium(V) and natural clay rock (Opalinus Clay (OPA), Switzerland) has been investigated in batch sorption and diffusion experiments under ambient air conditions. The effect of 10 mg/L HA on the diffusion of 8 μM Np(V) in OPA has been investigated in synthetic OPA pore water (pH 7.6, I = 0.4M) for the first time. Batch sorption experiments as a function of solid-to-liquid ratio (4-20 g/L) were performed under same experimental conditions to compare distribution coefficients obtained from both diffusion and sorption experiments. These experiments showed only a slight influence of HA on Np(V) uptake by OPA in…
Dissolution and precipitation of gypsum and carbonate minerals in soils on evaporite deposits, central Sicily: isotope geochemistry and microfabric a…
1993
Abstract Soil profiles developed from carbonate- and sulphate-rich deposits of the Gessoso-Solfifera Formation (Miocene) were sampled in central Sicily (544 mm annual precipitation and a strongly seasonal rainfall regime). Carbon and oxygen isotope data supported by mineralogical and thin section investigations indicate that meteoric waters and groundwaters dissolve and repricipitate carbonates and gypsum in the soil profiles. The boundary between the C horizon and the overlying one is the formation site of 18O depleted carbonates (calcite and/or dolomite) presumably precipitated from percolating waters during wet periods. Greater δ18O values of carbonates in the shallower horizons suggest …