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Abstract: The in-situ formation of lead-sulfur inorganic compounds in historical oil paintings can have a strong detrimental effect on an artwork’s physical and visual integrity. In this paper, paint micro-samples collected from several paintings from the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) and Mauritshuis (The Hague) collections were probed at the micro-scale using a combination of synchrotron micro-XRD and XRD-CT. This permitted to precisely identify the chemical nature of the in-situ formed crystalline compounds as well as to chart their distribution within paint layers at the microscopic level. This provided new information on the origin of the ions involved in the crystallization of the various newly formed mineral lead-sulfur products. The formation of palmierite K2Pb(SO4)2, anglesite PbSO4 and lanarkite Pb2(SO4)O in historical samples can thus be connected to paint stratigraphic build-up, environmental conditions and potential past restoration treatments.

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Abstract: In this work, we present the results from multi-length-scale studies of a Mn-Na-W/SiO2 and a La-promoted Mn-Na-W/SiO2 catalyst during the oxidative coupling of methane reaction. The catalysts were investigated from the reactor level (mm scale) down to the single catalyst particle level (μm scale) with different synchrotron X-ray chemical computed tomography techniques (multi-modal chemical CT experiments). These operando spatially-resolved studies performed with XRD-CT (catalytic reactor) and multi-modal μ-XRF/XRD/absorption CT (single catalyst particle) revealed the multiple roles of the La promoter and how it provides the enhancement in catalyst performance. It is also shown that non-crystalline Mn species are part of the active catalyst component rather than crystalline Mn2O3/Mn7SiO12 or MnWO4.

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Abstract: Magmatic systems are dominated by five volatiles, namely H2O, CO2, F, Cl, and S (the igneous quintet). Multiple studies have measured partitioning of four out of these five volatiles (H2O, CO2, F, and Cl) between nominally volatile-free minerals and melts, whereas the partitioning of sulfur is poorly known. To better constrain the behavior of sulfur in igneous systems we measured the partitioning of sulfur between clinopyroxene and silicate melts over a range of pressure, temperature, and melt composition from 0.8 to 1.2 GPa, 1000 to 1240 °C, and 49 to 66 wt% SiO2 (13 measurements). Additionally, we determined the crystal-melt partitioning of sulfur for plagioclase (6 measurements), orthopyroxene (2 measurements), amphibole (2 measurements), and olivine (1 measurement) in some of these same run products. Experiments were performed at high and low oxygen fugacities, where sulfur in the melt is expected to be dominantly present as an S6+ or an S2– species, respectively. When the partition coefficient is calculated as the total sulfur in the crystal divided by the total sulfur in the melt, the partition coefficient varies from 0.017 to 0.075 for clinopyroxene, from 0.036 to 0.229 for plagioclase, and is a maximum of 0.001 for olivine and of 0.003 for orthopyroxene. The variation in the total sulfur partition coefficient positively correlates with cation-oxygen bond lengths in the crystals; the measured partition coefficients increase in the order: olivine < orthopyroxene < clinopyroxene ≤ amphibole and plagioclase. At high oxygen fugacities in hydrous experiments, the clinopyroxene/melt partition coefficients for total sulfur are only approximately one-third of those measured in low oxygen fugacity, anhydrous experiments. However when the partition coefficient is calculated as total sulfur in the crystal divided by S2– in the melt, the clinopyroxene/melt partition coefficients for experiments with melts between ~51 and 66 wt% SiO2 can be described by a single mean value of 0.063 ± 0.010 (1σ standard deviation about the mean). These two observations support the hypothesis that sulfur, as S2–, replaces oxygen in the crystal structure. The results of hydrous experiments at low oxygen fugacity and anhydrous experiments at high oxygen fugacity suggest that oxygen fugacity has a greater effect on sulfur partitioning than water. Although the total sulfur clinopyroxene-melt partition coefficients are affected by the Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratio of the crystal, partition coefficients calculated using S2– in the melt display no clear dependence upon the Mg# of the clinopyroxene. Both the bulk and the S 2– partition coefficients appear unaffected by IVAl in the clinopyroxene structure. No effect of anorthite content nor of iron concentration in the crystal was seen in the data for plagioclase-melt partitioning. The data obtained for orthopyroxene and olivine were too few to establish any trends. The partition coefficients of total sulfur and S 2– between the crystals studied and silicate melts are typically lower than those of fluorine, higher than those of carbon, and similar to those of chlorine and hydrogen. These sulfur partition coefficients can be combined with analyses of volatiles in nominally volatile-free minerals and previously published partition coefficients of H2O, C, F, and Cl to constrain the concentration of the igneous quintet, the five major volatiles in magmatic systems.

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Abstract: Dopaminergic neuronal cell death, associated with intracellular α-synuclein (α-syn)–rich protein aggregates [termed “Lewy bodies” (LBs)], is a well-established characteristic of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Much evidence, accumulated from multiple experimental models, has suggested that α-syn plays a role in PD pathogenesis, not only as a trigger of pathology but also as a mediator of disease progression through pathological spreading. Here, we have used a machine learning–based approach to identify unique signatures of neurodegeneration in monkeys induced by distinct α-syn pathogenic structures derived from patients with PD. Unexpectedly, our results show that, in nonhuman primates, a small amount of singular α-syn aggregates is as toxic as larger amyloid fibrils present in the LBs, thus reinforcing the need for preclinical research in this species. Furthermore, our results provide evidence supporting the true multifactorial nature of PD, as multiple causes can induce a similar outcome regarding dopaminergic neurodegeneration.

Open Access

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Abstract: Understanding the long-term fate, stability, and bioavailability of uranium (U) in the environment is important for the management of nuclear legacy sites and radioactive wastes. Analysis of U behavior at natural analogue sites permits evaluation of U biogeochemistry under conditions more representative of long-term equilibrium. Here, we have used bulk geochemical and microbial community analysis of soils, coupled with X-ray absorption spectroscopy and μ-focus X-ray fluorescence mapping, to gain a mechanistic understanding of the fate of U transported into an organic-rich soil from a pitchblende vein at the UK Needle's Eye Natural Analogue site. U is highly enriched in the Needle's Eye soils (∼1600 mg kg−1). We show that this enrichment is largely controlled by U(VI) complexation with soil organic matter and not U(VI) bioreduction. Instead, organic-associated U(VI) seems to remain stable under microbially-mediated Fe(III)-reducing conditions. U(IV) (as non-crystalline U(IV)) was only observed at greater depths at the site (>25 cm); the soil here was comparatively mineral-rich, organic-poor, and sulfate-reducing/methanogenic. Furthermore, nanocrystalline UO2, an alternative product of U(VI) reduction in soils, was not observed at the site, and U did not appear to be associated with Fe-bearing minerals. Organic-rich soils appear to have the potential to impede U groundwater transport, irrespective of ambient redox conditions.