Scanning Electron Microscopy and Electron Probe Microanalyses of the Crystalline Components of Human and Animal Dental Calculi

A review of the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron probe microanalyses in the study of dental calculus showed that such studies provided confirmatory and supplementary data on the morphological features of human dental calculi but gave only limited information on the identity of the crystalline or inorganic components. This study aimed to explore the potential of combined SEM and microanalyses in the identification of the crystalline components of the human and animal dental calculi. Human and animal calculi were analyzed. Identification of the crystalline components were made based on the combined information of the morphology (SEM) and Ca/P molar ratios of the crystals with the morphology and Ca/P molar ratio of synthetic calcium phosphates (brushite or DCPD; octacalcium phosphate, OCP; Mg-substituted whitlockite, -TCMP; CO3-substituted apatite, (CHA); and calcite. SEM showed similarities in morphological features of human and animal dental calculi but differences in the forms of crystals present. Microanalyses and crystal morphology data suggested the presence of CaCO3 (calcite) and CHA in the animal (cat, dog, tiger) and of OCP, -TCMP and CHA in human dental calculi. X-ray diffraction and infrared (IR) absorption analyses confirmed these results. This exploratory study demonstrated that by taking into consideration what is known about the crystalline components of human and animal dental calculi, combined SEM and microanalyses can provide qualitative identification

Genome wide association mapping of grain arsenic, copper, molybdenum and zinc in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown at four international field sites

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Osteoprotegerin: A Novel Secreted Protein Involved in the Regulation of Bone Density

AbstractA novel secreted glycoprotein that regulates bone resorption has been identified. The protein, termed Osteoprotegerin (OPG), is a novel member of the TNF receptor superfamily. In vivo, hepatic expression of OPG in transgenic mice results in a profound yet nonlethal osteopetrosis, coincident with a decrease in later stages of osteoclast differentiation. These same effects are observed upon administration of recombinant OPG into normal mice. In vitro, osteoclast differentiation from precursor cells is blocked in a dose-dependent manner by recombinant OPG. Furthermore, OPG blocks ovariectomy-associated bone loss in rats. These data show that OPG can act as a soluble factor in the regulation of bone mass and imply a utility for OPG in the treatment of osteoporosis associated with increased osteoclast activity

Visual Lateralization in Wild Striped Dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) in Response to Stimuli with Different Degrees of Familiarity

Background: Apart from findings on both functional and motor asymmetries in captive aquatic mammals, only few studies have focused on lateralized behaviour of these species in the wild. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study we focused on lateralized visual behaviour by presenting wild striped dolphins with objects of different degrees of familiarity (fish, ball, toy). Surveys were conducted in the Gulf of Taranto, the northern Ionian Sea portion delimited by the Italian regions of Calabria, Basilicata and Apulia. After sighting striped dolphins from a research vessel, different stimuli were presented in a random order by a telescopic bar connected to the prow of the boat. The preferential use of the right/left monocular viewing during inspection of the stimuli was analysed. Conclusion: Results clearly showed a monocular viewing preference with respect to the type of the stimulus employed. Due to the complete decussation of the optical nerves in dolphin brain our results reflected a different specialization of brain hemispheres for visual scanning processes confirming that in this species different stimuli evoked different patterns of eye use. A preferential use of the right eye (left hemisphere) during visual inspection of unfamiliar targets was observed supporting the hypothesis that, in dolphins, the organization of the functional neural structures which reflected cerebral asymmetries for visual object recognition could have been subjected to a deviation from the evolutionary line of mos