The purpose of this study was to examine the ul trastructural relationships of cholesterol crystals and apatite deposits in human atherosclerotic lesions. Segments of human aortic atherosclerotic lesions were obtained at autopsy , fixed in gl utaraldehyde and dehydrated without using any organic solvents. The aortic segments were coated with carbon and subjected to various scan ning electron mi...

Tens of millions of people in Southeast Asia drink groundwater contaminated with naturally occurring arsenic. How arsenic is released from the sediment into the water remains poorly understood. Here, we show in laboratory experiments that phosphate-limited cells of Burkholderia fungorum mobilize ancillary arsenic from apatite. We hypothesize that arsenic mobilization is a by-product of mineral ...

Zircon and apatite crystals from the western Canadian shield yield (U-Th)/He dates that are the oldest yet reported for terrestrial rocks. Zircon dates from 1.73 to 1.58 Ga are consistent with independent geological and thermochronological constraints, and indicate that the rocks were at temperatures 180 C and crustal depths 7–10 km since ca. 1.7 Ga. Apatite dates from 0.95 to 0.55 Ga suggest r...

Bone is a composite material in which collagen fibrils form a scaffold for a highly organized arrangement of uniaxially oriented apatite crystals. In the periodic 67 nm cross-striated pattern of the collagen fibril, the less dense 40-nm-long gap zone has been implicated as the place where apatite crystals nucleate from an amorphous phase, and subsequently grow. This process is believed to be di...

Zirconium oxide thin films were fabricated on silicon wafers using a filtered cathodic arc system in concert with oxygen plasma. The structure and phase composition of the zirconium oxide thin films were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The bioactivity was assessed b...

The present study investigates the changes in microstructure and microchemistry (particularly Ca/P ratio) during whisker formation on the surface of a monolithic TTCP powder in a basic phosphoric acid solution. The XRD results indicate that when TTCP powder was treated for 10min or less in (NH4)2HPO4 solution, the monolithic TTCP phase remains unchanged. When treated for 30min, apatite whiskers...

Highly crystalline feedstock hydroxyapatite (HA) particles with irregular shapes were spheroidized by plasma spraying them onto the surface of ice blocks or into water. The spherical Ca-P particles thus produced contained various amounts of the amorphous phase which were controlled by the stand-off distance between the spray nozzle and the surface of ice blocks or waiter. The smooth surface mor...

The actin cytoskeleton is essential for osteoclasts main function, bone resorption. Two different organizations of actin have been described in osteoclasts, the podosomes belt corresponding to numerous F-actin columns arranged at the cell periphery, and the sealing zone defined as a unique large band of actin. To compare the role of these two different actin organizations, we imaged osteoclasts...

For the past 40 years, the Moon has been described as nearly devoid of indigenous water; however, evidence for water both on the lunar surface and within the lunar interior have recently emerged, calling into question this long-standing lunar dogma. In the present study, hydroxyl (as well as fluoride and chloride) was analyzed by secondary ion mass spectrometry in apatite [Ca(5)(PO(4))(3)(F,Cl,...

In this work, we have calibrated the infrared (IR) method for determining OH concentrations in apatite with absolute concentrations obtained through elastic recoil detection (ERD) analysis. IR spectra were collected on oriented, single-crystal apatite samples using polarized transmission infrared spectroscopy. The weight percent H2O is 0.001199 ± 0.000029 (the error is given at 1σ level hereaft...