Search Results (3)

Peloids are mixtures of clays, sediments, or peat with mineral–medicinal water or seawater, or salt-lake water used in spa therapy for different treatments, including dermatological ones. The origin of peloids can be natural; that is, they are formed in situ at the place where the thermal water emerges or on the shores of the sea or salt lake, or they are prepared ad hoc from high-quality materials, such as clays or peat. Peloids are also used as cosmeceuticals in skin care to treat different skin disorders and/or conditions, such as psoriasis, eczema, and other scaly disorders, sensitive skin, and acne. This review reports all available scientific data concerning the effects and specific activities of peloids in skin care and cosmeceuticals, providing a better understanding of the clinical and cosmetic benefits. Finally, the safety and regulation of peloids are also discussed. Full article

Scaly clays are structurally complex clay formations found throughout the world. Their typical fissured structure, the low shear strength and the high swelling potential often make them unsuitable for earthworks in road and railway infrastructure. This research has attempted to extend the possibilities of using this geomaterial in this field after appropriate lime treatment. A laboratory test programme was carried out to evaluate the response of the treated geomaterial to typical loads acting on road infrastructures. Unconfined and confined compression tests as well as cyclic triaxial tests, in undrained conditions, were carried out to investigate the static and dynamic mechanical behaviour. The results show that lime treatment induces significant improvements in the geomechanical properties and limits the swelling behaviour upon saturation of the geomaterial. Dynamic tests showed that, after only 28 days of curing, the treated scaly clay became insensitive to the damaging cyclic loading caused by vehicular traffic. The collected results show that the scaly clay can be properly used as a subgrade and embankment layer in road and railway construction with limited economic and environmental costs, after accurate treatment with lime. These results are significant for researchers and practitioners to increase sustainability in the construction of linear infrastructures involving excavations in scaly clays and to avoid landfill, which in some cases represented the only option. Full article

Geochemical characteristics of rocks in fault zones have been extensively studied, while there are limited studies on coal occurring in fault zones of underground coal mine. In this study, five coal samples were carefully collected from a reverse fault zone in Qi’nan colliery. Systematical detection methods were employed to analyze the different chemical and physical characteristics of fault-related coal samples. Through comparative analysis, the following insights are obtained. Three subdivided fault zones were classified according to the deformation characteristics of coal samples. Frictional heat and strong ductile deformation generated by fault motion led to the dissociation of phenol and carboxyl groups in coal molecules, which sharply decreased the concentrations of elements Co and Mo bound to these functional groups in zone I. The modified pore-cleat system in zone I with higher pore volume and lower permeability allowed solutions containing enriched trace elements to migrate through zone I locally. Concentrations of HREE, MREE and related elements associated with the invasive solutions showed significant positive anomalies in zone I. Precipitation and smearing of clay minerals in zone I led to poorer connectivity. Disruption and delamination of laminar clay minerals by strong compression-shear stress significantly increased the adsorption sites for related elements, especially the HREE and MREE. Nano-scale clay minerals resulting from stress-induced scaly exfoliation also enhanced the retention capability of REE in zone I. Full article