Many minerals are effective absorbers of microwave energy, whereas in general gangue materials are not. This suggests applying microwave heating to mineral processing to effect selective heating of minerai phases. Many mineral processing applications have been tested only on a laboratory scale; the engineering realities of large-scale operations have largely been overlooked. Of particular conce...

A significant number and variety of disorders cause extraskeletal deposition of calcium and phosphate (Table 1). In some, mineral is precipitated as amorphous calcium phosphate or as crystals of hydroxyapatite; in others, osseous tissue is formed. The pathogenesis of ectopic mineralization is generally attributed to one of three mechanisms (Table 1). First, a supranormal “calcium-phosphate solu...

The recently developed Zurich Ice Nucleation Chamber (ZINC) was used to explore ice nucleation of size-selected mineral dust particles at temperatures between −20C and −55C. Four different mineral dust species have been tested: montmorillonite, kaolinite, illite and Arizona test dust (ATD). The selected particle diameters are 100 nm, 200 nm, 400 nm and 800 nm. Relative humidities with respect t...

Lack of prolyl 3-hydroxylase 1 (P3H1) due to mutations in P3H1 results in severe forms of recessive osteogenesis imperfecta. In the present study, we investigated the bone tissue characteristics of P3H1 null mice. Histomorphometric analyses of cancellous bone in the proximal tibia and lumbar vertebra in 1-month and 3-month old mice demonstrated that P3H1 deficient mice had low trabecular bone v...

Osteoporosis causes significant health care and economic burden to society, leading to a relentless search for effective preventive agents. Tocotrienol, a member of the vitamin E family, has demonstrated promising potential as an osteoporosis-preventing agent. This review summarizes evidence on the effects of tocotrienol on bone in animal models. Techniques used to examine the effects of tocotr...

Dystrophic or ectopic mineral deposition occurs in many pathologic conditions, including atherosclerosis. Calcium mineral deposits that frequently accompany atherosclerosis are readily quantifiable radiographically, serve as a surrogate marker for the disease, and predict a higher risk of myocardial infarction and death. Accelerating research interest has been propelled by a clear need to under...

Little is known about how stony corals build their calcareous skeletons. There are two prevailing hypotheses: that it is a physicochemically dominated process and that it is a biologically mediated one. Using a combination of ultrahigh-resolution three-dimensional imaging and two-dimensional solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, we show that mineral deposition is biological...

Previous studies on pre-molt gastroliths have shown a typical onion-like morphology of layers of amorphous mineral (mostly calcium carbonate) and chitin, resulting from the continuous deposition and densification of amorphous mineral spheres on a chitin-matrix during time. To investigate the consequences of this layered growth on the local structure and composition of the gastrolith, we perform...

The complex metabolism of rabbit lung fibroblast cultures maintained over 24 days in vitro and their interaction with the fibrogenic group of asbestos minerals is reviewed. The differential effects of nine dusts given as a single dose to 3-day-old fibroblast cultures which were then analyzed for DNA, protein and cell mat hydroxyproline after 3 weeks are discussed. A comparison is made of the ab...

This study examined changes in elastic modulus, mineral density and ultrastructure of resin-infiltrated dentin after biomimetic remineralization. Sixty demineralized dentin beams were infiltrated with Clearfil Tri-S Bond, One-Step or Prime&Bond NT. They were immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 1 week to maximize water sorption before determining the baseline elastic moduli. For each adhe...