We identified and quantified a variety of mineral elements in 18 tobacco samples purchased from a Tunisian market. In total, 25 mineral elements have been measured in cigarettes, water pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy following microwave-assisted digestion. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSSTM, version 18.0. The lowes...

Radial Basis Function Neural Networks (RBFNNs) are well known because, among other applications, they present a good performance when approximating functions. The function approximation problem arises in the construction of a control system to optimize the process of the mineral reduction. In order to regulate the temperature of the ovens and other parameters, it is necessary a module to predic...

This article reviews the analytical methods for crystalline silica polymorphs and summarizes promising techniques for compliance with health-related regulations. X-ray diffraction analysis appears to be the most promising method of determining quartz and cristobalite content at this threshold in many bulk mineral and chemical systems. Other analytical techniques can be used in some mineral and ...

X-ray microtomography is a miniaturized version of computerized axial tomography with a resolution of the order of micrometres. In the biomedical field it is particularly useful in the study of hard tissue because of its ability to accurately measure the linear attenuation coefficient. From this, the mineral concentration can be computed, which is one measure of bone quality. Using microtomogra...

Liposome encapsulation technology has been used to entrap aqueous calcium salts within dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine lipid vesicles, which were then used to form calcium phosphate minerals. The calcium encapsulation efficiency was found to depend upon a number of factors that included calcium salt concentration, vesicle size, lipid concentration, and method of vesicle preparation. Removal of u...

An improved instrument for the fluorescence excitation measurement of concentrations of lead in bone has been developed. This is based on a large area high purity germanium detector and a point source of 109Cd. The source is positioned in a tungsten shield at the centre of the detector face such that 88keV photons cannot enter the detector directly. In vivo measurements are calibrated with plas...

Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures ◭ ◮ ◭ ◮ Back Close Full Screen / Esc Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures ◭ ◮ ◭ ◮ Back Close Full Screen / Esc Printer-friendly Version Interactive Discussion EGU Abstract There have been numerous recent publications showing that mineral dust might be a good absorber for solar radiation in addition to its capability as cl...

The biochemical components and factors like protein and enzyme components of follicular fluid like lipase, amylase and creatinine phosphokinase concentration show an increasing trend as the follicles mature, while some other components like Alpha-fetoprotein, Acid Phosphatase and Alkaline Phosphatase concentration decreases with increase in follicular size. Moreover, presence of amylase, lipase...

We investigated the effects of dietary iron deficiency on bone metabolism by measuring markers of bone turnover in rats. Twelve 3-week-old male Wistar-strain rats were fed a control diet or an iron-deficient diet for 4 weeks. Dietary iron deficiency decreased hemoglobin concentration and increased heart weight. Serum osteocalcin concentration, bone mineral content, bone mineral density, and mec...

The reflectance model developed by Kubelka and Munk was evaluated for agreement in color prediction of thick pigmented samples and for linearity of optical absorption and scattering coefficients with concentration of colorant in maxillofacial elastomer. The colorants tested were generic opacifiers, dry mineral earth pigments, and fibrous colorants. Significant linear relationships were commonly...