Celestine and other minerals from Azaila

The presence of large flint nodules in the Tertiary lands on the border between the provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza has been well known since the 19th century (Cortázar, 1885). These rocky blocks, with sizes of up to 50 cm, have been accumulated on the periphery of cultivated fields in some areas.

Within these flint blocks, we could find cavities that are covered by nice quartz crystals, sometimes of amethyst or smoky varieties, along with some other interesting mineral species. The hardness of these blocks makes searching for minerals an arduous and even dangerous task when flint shards are projected out when hammered, which can cause cuts and serious eye damage if protective equipment is not worn.

Fig. 1 - Source: Google Maps (modified) – Inst. Cartográfico Nacional de España.

The most common mineral we could find, as we have already said, is amethyst quartz. Brilliant crystals covering rock cavities. But the most attractive species for mineral collectors is surely the celestine. This species was already cited in other localities in this area such as Lécera (Zaragoza) by Calvo (1988) and, the same author indicates the Azaila (Teruel) outcrops in later works (Calvo et al., 1998; Calvo, 2018).

Fig. 2 - Quartz, amethyst variety. FOV 4 mm. MOTIC PlanApo ELWD 5x with stacking. Los Pedreñales, Azaila.

Fig. 3 - Flint cavity layered by quartz (var. amethyst) crystals. Size: 8 x 6.5 x 5 cm. Los Pedreñales, Azaila. Collection Joan Rosell.

The Azaila and Lécera deposits are found in a wide Miocene formation formed by gypsum strata, together with other detrital-type materials. These materials were deposited after the evaporation of inland sea waters that occupied the so-called Ebro Tertiary Depression and which was filled, from the beginning of the Cenozoic to the end of the Miocene, by Tertiary continental sediments. The specimens that we present were collected years ago in the area called “Los Pedreñales”, near Azaila, and belonging to the Belchite-Híjar evaporitic zone.

Fig. 4 - Flint with cavities layered by quartz and some celestine crystals. FOV 6 cm. Los Pedreñales, Azaila.
Collection Joan Rosell.

Fig. 5- Rich faceted crystal of celestine on quartz. Interesting growth planes. FOV 4 mm. MOTIC PlanApo ELWD 5x with stacking. Los Pedreñales, Azaila.

Crystals of celestite, strontium sulphate SrSO₄, are found within the cavities of the flint. Sometimes, these cavities are filled by gypsum (selenite), which is very transparent, and allows us to see if there are celestine crystals included. The usual technique consists of leaving the sample in warm water for days until the gypsum dissolves, a very slow process due to its low water solubility. In other cavities, crystals appear without gypsum. Azaila celestine crystals present a remarkable richness of facets, with a transparency, brilliance, and honeyed colour that make them very attractive to mineral collectors. Crystals of up to 20 mm have been found, but usually, they do not exceed 5 mm (Calvo, 2018).

Fig. 6 - Complex crystal of celestine on quartz. FOV 3 mm. MOTIC PlanApo ELWD 5x with stacking. Los Pedreñales, Azaila.

In addition to gypsum, quartz (hyaline, amethyst, and sometimes smoky), and celestite, other minerals can be found in these cavities. Other species are: jasper and chalcedony (cryptocrystalline varieties of quartz); tyuyamunite Ca(UO₂)₂VO₄)₂·5-8H₂, an ore with uranium, very rare in the deposit; sepiolite Mg₄(Si₆O₁₅)(OH)₂·6H₂O, as an alteration product of flint and clays.

We can also find malachite Cu₂(CO₃)(OH)₂, usually as compact green aggregates filling fissures, rarely crystalline, accompanied by minor azurite Cu₂(CO₃)(OH)₂. The origin of these secondary copper carbonates must be related to some black masses, which also fill fissures and accompany them, whose analysis indicates that it is a copper sulphide: covellite (CuS). In the attached photograph we can see a very small sphere of this species.

Fig. 7 - Covellite spherical aggregate on quartz. FOV 1 mm (cropped image). MOTIC 10x. Los Pedreñales, Azaila.

Fig. 8 - Flint fragment with quartz, malachite (green) and black covellite. FOV 3 cm. Los Pedreñales, Azaila.

NOTES

Cortázar, D. (1885): Bosquejo fĭsico-geoloǵico y minero de la provincia de Teruel. Boletín de la Comisión del mapa geológico de España. Impr. M. Tello, Madrid. 345 pp. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009218027 [on-line, 3/2022].

Calvo, M., Besteiro, J., Sevillano, E., Pocovi, A. (1988): Minerales de Aragón. En col. Temas, Geología. Mira Editores, Zaragoza. 152 pp.

Calvo, M., Gascón, F., Sevillano, E. (1998): “Cristalls de celestina i minerals associats a Azaila (Terol)”. Mineralogistes de Catalunya, vol. 7, núm. 2, pp. 71-78 (Catalan). Revista de Minerales, 1999, vol. 1, núm. 7, pp. 199-206 (Spanish).  http://milksci.unizar.es/miner/remetallica/celestina.pdf [on-line, 3/2022].

Calvo, M. (2018): Minerales de Aragón. Ed. Prames, Zaragoza. 463 pp.

Mastocytoma - It has been a ride!

In our previous posts, we got to know a little bit more about cancer that is originated from our immune system. Truth to be told… there are bizillion cancer entities (mantle cell lymphoma, diffuse large B cell lymphoma, plasma cell myeloma, Burkitt lymphoma, extanodal marginal zone lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, etc.,) but that would be another story(telling)! For those who are interested please check the WHO Classification of Tumours. 

For our last post, we will talk about a rare entity that affects mostly our beloved four-legs buddies, mastocytoma!

From the myeloid lineage mast, cells are formed. They mainly respond to tissue trauma and their cell granules contain histamine which they release and are associated with allergic reactions.

Sometimes, they can form a nodule structure in the skin, and come to form what we know as mastocytoma or a mast cell tumor. 

We would love to know your opinion of this series! Let us know in the comments! 

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Fluorescence a useful phenomenon II

A Texas Red and a FITC filter set have been used for taking these fluorescence photographs. The sample, a cross-section of a Convallaria rhizome, is colored with Fast Green and Safranin. It is good to see that with different excitation wavelengths, different structures light up, depending on the filter sets and the fluorochromes used.

It should be noted that structures on a nanoscale, e.g. in living cells, can now be viewed with very advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques. The resolution that is partly achieved with the help of complicated calculation programs and fast computers, is much more than the resolution of conventional light microscopes, which is about 0.2 microns. In 2014 a Nobel Prize was awarded for the development of this super-resolution fluorescence microscopy technique.

Prepared slide by Lieder www.lieder.com

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Do we remember?

What do Lous Braille, Eleanor Roosevelt, Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell), Anton Chekhov, Vivien Leigh, Franz Kafka, John Keats, Frédéric Chopin, Emily Brontë have in common on a day like this?

On the 24th of March, we commemorate World Tuberculosis (TB) day. It’s a day to remember the importance of science, medicine, creativity, innovation…! And the human will overcome any obstacle. 

Fig 1. Grunwald Sanatorium, Poland.

In 1863, the first tuberculosis sanatorium was opened for the treatment of tuberculosis.

In 1882, Dr. Robert Koch announced the discovery of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a genus of mycobacteria responsible for the disease.

In 1943 Albert Schatz, a Ph.D. student, isolated streptomycin, the first antibiotic cure for tuberculosis.

After 7 years of the discovery, by the 1950s, the sanatoriums began finally to close.

In 2022 "Invest to End TB. Save Lives!" it’s the theme of World’s TB day...

Fig 2. Tuberculosis nodules (“tubercles”) in the lungs. 

Health should always be a priority to invest in. Those abandoned tuberculosis sanatoriums around the world remember us from this infectious deadly disease, and after 79 years from the streptomycin discovery, we could think of TB as an invisible threat from our past, a disease that has been defeated after haunting us for centuries. 

That’s far from the truth. Still in 2022 TB remains one of the most worldwide infectious killers, and around 4100 people lose their lives each day. Those unknown ghosts could certainly include poets greater than Keats, inventors greater than Braille. 

Motic, it’s more than microscopy. Health is our concern, and we play our part in raising awareness of it. We would like to acknowledge and thank all the pathology community, especially the ones who work in infectious diseases, for work made on improving the lives of those who suffer from them.

We do remember: Invest to End TB. Save L I V E S!

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Lymphoma – The enemy lies within us

Lymphocytes are odd, special, and an amazing kind of cell. 

They have their pathways in our bodies - the lymphatic vessels -  where they casually travel with all accommodation to their specific organs.

Why are they so seldom, you say? Here is a list of a few things about them:

1. They travel to their specific organs: timus (primary lymphoid organ), spleen, lymph nodes, and MALT - mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (secondary lymphoid organs).

2. They have their pathway in our bodies: the lymphatic vessels from the lymphatic system.

3. They do have an intense life. Their lifespan is only for a few weeks or months, appearing in the heat of a long-term immunologic battle, just to save the day.

4. Some selected group of the victorious lymphocytes remains in our bodies for years, in our version of “Valhalla” as we keep them as memory cells for further battles to come if we are facing the same antigens.

Our body is awesome.

Fig. 1 – Megakaryocyte of the bone marrow. Some plasma cells and other blastic cells can be seen around it. Moticam X3.

As we can infer from our previous posts though, we know that these also have a dark side. It’s called “lymphoma”.

Lymphoma is lymphocyte-related cancer and, like myeloma, it results in our own body fighting itself.

There are many types of lymphoma, usually simplified on the categories of “Hodgkin lymphoma” and “non-Hodgkin lymphoma”.

Leaves protected by a woolly jacket

The Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus) is a very striking plant. It is high and clearly gray-woolly. Even without his yellow flowers, you can recognize him. The Mullein and related types were extensively used for all kinds of purposes: as medicine for stubborn cough, soothing oil for face pain, dyes, etc. The most curious use is to catch fish with it. Bruised blades were thrown into the water. That had to be still water. In the leaves, there is a substance that hinders the gill effect of fish, so that they come to the surface.

Fig. 1 - Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus) leaf hair examined under a BA410 microscope with Plan Achro 40X, image taken with a Moticam 5 with polarization light and lambda filter.  

The genus name ‘Verbascum’ is a corruption of ‘barbascum’ which means ‘bearded’. That refers to the felty hair on the leaves of the plant. The ‘Thapsus’ species designation comes from the island of ‘Thapsos’ where a paint plant was found to dye fabrics yellow. The Mullein was also given that name because yellow dyestuff was also extracted from it.

Energy transfer measurements were carried out for normal and hairless leaves or Verbascum thapsus, in a wind tunnel. Leaves with the dense hair present were warmer than hairless leaves. This was shown to be due to a thicker boundary layer then that of normal leaves. Boundary layer resistance to heat and water vapor loss was higher for normal than for hairless leaves, resulting in lower convection and transpiration from the normal hair-covered leaves. Differences in transpiration resistance were correctly predicted by heat transfer theory. The hairs had little effect on radiation absorption by the leaves.

In the past, the soft, fine hairs on the leaves were used to make tinders for lighting the fire.

Prepared slide by Lieder www.lieder.com

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Difflugia Alhadiqa: the surprise of a jewel in a treasure

The biofilms that upholster and cover the walls of some caves can be inhabited by a wide variety of microorganisms, although green algae and cyanobacteria generally abound in these communities.

In the surroundings of the "Ares Station", an operations center of the company Astroland Agency, located in the “Cueva del Escalón”, Valle de Asón (Cantabria, Spain), part of astrobiological research work is carried out that has as its objective the study of the biofilms found in their environment.

The facilities of the "Ares Station" fundamentally serve as support for sampling activities and preliminary studies of microscopic research in situ.

They test different protocols related to microbiological research, the appearance of life on our planet, or the search for signs of life on Mars.

The facilities that make up the "Ares Station" are respectful of the environment in which they are located and try to protect the biodiversity of biofilms through different monitoring and study actions.

In the surroundings of the "Ares Station", these biofilms have proved to be a treasure trove of microbial biodiversity. They are mostly made up of a complex and varied tapestry of cyanobacteria, many of which are little known, and which are currently being investigated in several projects, but also host other microorganisms of great interest, including tested amoebas such as Difflugia alhadiqa, the subject of today's article, discovered and described for the first time by colleagues Carmen Soler-Zamora, Miguel González-Miguéns, and Enrique Lara, very recently, in the Cueva del Hundidero, Montejaque (Málaga, Spain).

Discovering this species in Cueva del Escalón is like finding a jewel among the treasure of biofilms that inhabit its damp walls.

Fig.1 - Difflugia alhadiqa from a fresh sample of cyanobacterial biofilm. Photographs taken at 400x magnification with the epifluorescence technique, FLED module, and the Motic 40X/0.65/S (WD 0.6mm) dry objective. Equipment used: Motic Panthera CC trinocular. In the upper left part and under the theca of the amoeba - in greenish color and in which the xenosomes that cover it can be seen - the cells of some colonies of Gloeobacter violaceus stained with an intense yellow color can be observed.

This is the first time that Difflugia alhadiqa has been photographed for science, using the epifluorescence technique, which makes it possible to observe some details that are very difficult to appreciate with other microscopic observation techniques, in this case using a Motic Panthera CC trinocular equipment, equipped with the Motic FLED fluorescence module.

The one photographed and described here is very likely the second record of this species in the Iberian Peninsula and the first time it has been reported from the north of the peninsula.

Fig.2 - The same previous sample of Difflugia alhadiqa photographed in brightfield technique with the Motic 40X/0.65/S (WD 0.6mm) dry objective. Equipment used: Motic Panthera CC trinocular. In the upper left part and under the theca of the amoeba, the colonies of Gloebacter violaceus are not well appreciated, which with the Motic FLED module are stained with intense yellow color. The xenosomes are not very well differentiated either, although they can be seen in the previous image, due to the use of a different lighting technique.

Amoebae of the genus Difflugia represent the oldest and most extensive group of shelled amoebae known. Although now subject to revisions, fundamentally based on genomic sequencing studies which try to establish how many taxa it includes, it is estimated that it encompasses a number close to 300 species, all of them characterized by the presence of a theca built on a thin membrane from of the small mineral fragments that these amoebas find and collect in their environment, and with which they make, like the expert architects and potters that they are, the house that shelters them.

Fig.3 - Difflugia alhadiqa from a fresh sample. Photograph taken at 400x magnification with the epifluorescence technique, FLED module, and the Motic 40X/0.65/S (WD 0.6mm) dry objective. Equipment used: Motic Panthera CC trinocular. It is shown the contours in its middle section and some isolated cyanobacteria of Gloeobacter violaceus in yellow.

The shape of this stone house that covers it, made of uncarved blocks, has served to establish a very elementary taxonomy of the group, and not very precise, since on many occasions it is insufficient to be able to accurately determine each species, given that the grains of quartz that generally make up this shell, are opaque and do not allow to recognize other internal characters that may be important when it comes to knowing it.

Difflugia theca is formed by an agglutinated and cemented layer of mineral particles, quartz fragments, or diatom frustules that are generically called xenosomes.

Fig.4 - The same previous sample of Difflugia alhadiqa, but in a different shot, showing another more superficial layer of its theca, photographed in brightfield with the Motic 40X / 0.65 / S (WD 0.6mm) dry objective. Equipment used: Motic Panthera CC trinocular. In the upper left part and under the theca of the amoeba, the colonies of Gloebacter violaceus are not well appreciated, which with the module with the Motic FLED module are stained with intense yellow color. The xenosomes are not very well differentiated either, although they can be seen in the previous image, due to the use of a different lighting technique.

Today the amoeba Difflugia alhadiqa has retracted its thick arms of soft branches, its pseudopods, inside the theca. But when they come out of it, they spread out like slow rivers, imitating the ramifications of some of the cyanobacteria among which they live, bringing their bodies closer to the light. He has nothing to fear, his stone house is a wandering cave, within another cave.

Fig.5 - The appearance of the cyanobacterial masses inhabited by this amoeba in the surroundings of the Ares station. The greenish and yellowish masses correspond to Stigonema informe and the pink ones to Gloebacter violaceus.
Photography by Jesus Rocandio.

Difflugia frequently select and organize these xenosomes according to their size and shape to build a shell with a unique morphology for each particular species. This shell always has a terminal opening through which Difflugia alhadiqa sticks out its broad hands and feet. Its pseudopods are always oval, round, or lobed, but never slit-shaped or with an internal diaphragm as in other closely related genera.

The nucleus is generally oval, but it may be vesicular in larger species. Some species are multinucleate, and often the largest freshwater species can establish symbiosis with green algae that will end up living inside them.

Difflugia alhadiqa is a very little known taxon and with this publication, the knowledge of it spreads. Its outlines are rough and its silhouette more or less pear-shaped, with a shell composed of angular quartz fragments of very different sizes, joined together by an organic cement.

With dimensions ranging from 25–35 µm wide and 45–60 µm long, 13–25 µm aperture diameter, this circular section in D. alhadiqa is very different from the trilobed one in D. baculosa. D. alhadiqa resembles D. glans, but the dimensions of the former are notably smaller; furthermore, the necklace of small particles surrounding the opening is not as conspicuous as that of D. glans. Difflugia hiraethogii is much larger and its theca has a very well differentiated neck that is not well appreciated in D. alhadiqa.

Despite its rough appearance, Difflugia alhadiqa is a real gem, like an unpolished diamond, which will shine with further study.

All the photographs have been taken at a magnification of 400, with bright field and epifluorescence techniques, with a Motic Panthera CC trinocular equipment and come from the samples collected inside the Escalón cave, in the Ares Station environment, in a very dimly lit area where the Astroland Agency is developing an approach to learning about Mars in its astrobiological project.

Fig.6 - Observing Difflugia alhadiqa samples with the FLED module and the Motic 40X/0.65/S (WD 0.6mm) dry objective. Students of 1º of Baccalaureate of the subject Scientific Culture in the “IES Escultor Daniel" (Logroño, Spain)

Today this amoeba is shown for the readers of this publication, and for the 1st year Baccalaureate students of the “Escultor  Daniel” High School in Logroño (Spain), who have participated in these observations handling the Motic equipment, learning to handle this equipment both with field lighting conventional light, as with the FLED epifluorescence module, essential to identify and see the mineral particles that form the theca of this amoeba.

Multiple Myeloma - Our immune system against us

Let’s recapitulate and remember what we learned so far…

1. Sometimes, some cells escape the normal mechanisms of our bodies. We call this cancer.
2. White cells have their origin in our bones (bone marrow) and from there, they travel to our blood system.
3. We know the word “Leukaemia” which is an umbrella term for blood cancer-related cells.

Now, have you ever heard of myeloma? Or multiple myeloma?

Myeloma does not have the typical image of cancer. It does not form a lumpy tissue occupying some cavity. It is cancer that originated in our bones (ribs, vertebrae, sternum, and bones of the pelvis) plasma cells.

• Plasma cells’ normal function is to produce antibodies to recognize and attack specific germs
• Abnormal plasma cells produce abnormal proteins, which can cause some complications

Fig. 1 - Myeloma of the bone marrow. Some plasma cells (P) can be seen around other hematopoietic formed cells. Motic BA410E 100X o.i., Moticam S12. Image credit: Willem Cramer

These abnormal plasma cells grow and proliferate out of control, and they do it fast, weakening our immune system since our bones are no longer producing the same amount of the other white and red cells. Also, since the normal function of the bone it’s disturbed, it also compromises its structure and multiple fractures are common. 

If the myeloma it’s located in one bone it is called a solitary plasmacytoma. When there are multiple plasmacytomas, then the name of multiple myeloma arose.
Also, it can be called “myelomatosis”, “medullary plasmacytoma” or “Kahler’s disease.

Fig. 2 - Low power magnification of multiple myeloma of the bone marrow. Motic BA410E 20X, MoticamS S12.
Image credit: Willem Cramer

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Barnacles

Barnacles are among the crustaceans, although they do not resemble crabs or lobsters at all. The animals live in shallow seawater where they are found in many places where the water goes up and down. It has a shell that consists of fused lime plates, the opening is closed by two movable lime plates. When there is water, the two movable plates are standing open and the feathery long cirri stick out. A barnacle is a filterer, the cirri take care of a water flow through which food is filtered out of the water. By moving the cirri back and forth, the food comes to them. That is mainly plankton. If there is no water then the plates are closed. 

The animals attach themselves to wood, rocks, stones, shells, and even the skin of whales or sea turtles. They look like stone and have the shape of a cone. If they sit together with many, they can form tall columns. If there are many barnacles together, they can all get the water moving and bring more food to them. Barnacle larvae do not yet have a shell and swim freely in the water.

In the photo, we see the shells of dead barnacles without the movable plates. 

Fig. 1 - Barnacles from Cuba, empty seen through a Motic SMZ-171 and Moticam 1080 BMH stack 

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How to get noticed or not under water

Many fish that live in coral reefs light up in blue, green, red, or orange colors. They fluoresce. Many fish species do that. Such fish do not light themselves, but take up blue light and radiate it at a lower wavelength, usually as red or green light. Blue light is the only light that penetrates into deeper water.

It is not yet exactly known what all the fluorescence is for, but there are several ideas. It appears that some fish that seem well camouflaged in daylight also wear fluorescent body decorations, such as belly marks and stains. These fish often have yellow filters for their eye lens, with which they can also detect fluorescence. In this way, they are camouflaged for predators and visible to other species.

Fluorescent signals may help find the right partner. Other fish do not seem to use their fluorescence to get noticed; but to hide themselves. Some species of red-fluorescent scorpion fish can nest between tufts of algae with the same fluorescence.

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Origin of “white cells"

Just to briefly understand them better, let’s talk about where the “white cells'' are formed. These cells are born and specialize inside the bone marrow (from long bones, like the femur) in a process called haemopoiesis. 

From one multipotential hematopoietic stem cell in our bone marrow (from long bones; like the femur) the other “white cells” are differentiated, and they start to specialize. We call the two main lineages “myeloid” and “lymphoid''.

Fig 1 - Haemopoiesis. Myeloid lineage (left) and lymphoid lineage (right)

Each lineage follows a specific path of specialization when they enter the blood system.

From the myeloid lineage basophiles, neutrophils (the most common “white cell”), eosinophils and macrophagues are formed.

From the lymphoid lineage, they travel to the tissues/organs of our immune system (lymphatic nodes, timus, spleen and MALT - mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue).

Fig. 2 - Rabbit lymph node follicles. 
HE | 4X | MoticEasyScan 

Fig 3 - Polymorphous lymphoid lineage cells in a lymphatic node.
HE | 40X | MoticEasyScan 

In the next posts, we will explore what can happen to these cells if they become their “malignant” variant (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma…).

Let’s get ready for more next week!