Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study of early repair of alveolar sockets after the extraction of molars from alendronate‐treated rats

The aim of the present research was to analyze ultrastructural and immunohistochemical aspects of the alveolar repair after the extraction of molars of alendronate (ALN)‐treated rats. Wistar rats received 2.5mg/kg body wt/day of ALN during 14 days previously and 7, 14 and 21 days after the extraction of the second mandibular molar. Specimens were fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde + 2.5% formaldehyde under microwave irradiation, decalcified in 4.13% EDTA and paraffin embedded for TRAP histochemistry and immunohistochemistry for OPN, BSP and endoglin, or embedded in Spurr epoxy resin for TEM analysis. Additional specimens had their soft tissues removed and were processed for scanning electron microscopy. The ALN group presented latent TRAP‐positive osteoclasts and nonresorbed alveolar crests with bacterial infection. Mild bone necrosis signs were observed at all time points studied. Ultrastructurally, empty osteocyte lacunae were observed and bone trabeculae surface presented hyalinized aspect. A significant delay in alveolar repair occurred, as well as decreased angiogenesis. ALN treatment provoked mild signs of bone necrosis, despite the high dose employed. The present findings add new information about the ultrastructural aspect of the early repair of rats under ALN treatment and highlight for giving attention when oral surgeries are performed in patients using this drug. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:633–640, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

C-Nitrosothioformamide: A Donor Template for Dual Release of HNO and H2S

C-Nitrosothioformamide was demonstrated to be a donor template for dual release of HNO and COS triggered by a retro-Diels-Alder reaction. COS is an H₂S precursor in the presence of carbonic anhydrase. This process produces HNO and H₂S in a slow but steady manner. As such, the direct reaction between HNO and H₂S under this situation appears to be minor. This may provide a useful tool for studying the synergistic effects of HNO and H₂S.     

莱驰：实验室里的“研斗士”——访德国RETSCH（莱驰）中国区经理董亮

2009年,被称为金融海啸冲击后的”后成长时代”。众多企业刚在诸侯混战的局面中得到喘息,可也有企业维持着高速成长和快速扩张。作为实验室仪器行业的百年老店之一——德国RETSCH（莱驰）就是这样一个鲜活的案例。那么,莱驰对未来市场的驱动力到底是什么呢？     

Scattering of light from metamaterial gratings with finite length

Using an integral equation approach based on the Rayleigh hypothesis, we investigate the scattering of a plane wave at the rough surface of a metamaterial with a finite number of sinusoidal grooves. To show the adequacy of the model, we present results that are in agreement with the predictions of physical optics and that quantitatively reproduce the polarization and angular dependences predicted by the C-formalism for metamaterial gratings with an infinite number of grooves.     

The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus; Squamata: Varanidae) as a sentinel species for lead and cadmium contamination in sub-Saharan wetlands

Wetland pollution is a matter of concern in sub-Saharan Africa. Though regularly exploited, the Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus), a large amphibious lizard, is not threatened. This work aims at assessing the value of this varanid as a sentinel species in surveys of environmental contamination by metals. Lead and cadmium quantifications were performed by graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectrophotometry in bone, intestine, kidney, liver and muscle in 71 monitors from three unevenly polluted sites in Mali and Niger, plus a reference site. The effects of sex, size and fat reserves as well as factors related to the sampling strategy (tissue sampled, sampling site) were studied with a mixed linear model. Metal contamination is moderate at the four sites but clear differences nevertheless occur. Lead levels are generally maximal in bone, with a gender-independent median value 320 ng.g⁻¹. Median cadmium concentrations never exceed 70.2 ng.g⁻¹ in females (kidney) and 57.5 ng.g⁻¹ in males (intestine). Such levels should have no detrimental effects on the monitors. Lead and cadmium levels in muscles are generally below 200 and 20 ng.g⁻¹, respectively, and should provoke no health hazard to occasional consumers of monitor meat. Metal organotropisms are consistent with those observed in other studies about Squamates: for lead: bone > [kidney, intestine, liver] > muscle in males and [bone, kidney] > [intestine, liver] > muscle in females; for cadmium: [liver, intestine, kidney] > [bone, muscle] for both genders. Females are more contaminated, especially in their kidneys. In this tissue, median values in ng.g⁻¹ are 129.7 and 344.0 for lead and 43.0 and 70.2 for cadmium, for males and females, respectively. Nile monitors can reveal subtle differences in local pollution by metals; moreover, the spatial resolution of the pollution indication that they give seems to be very sharp. The practical relevance of this new tool is thus validated.     

Tracers of sewage sludge in the marine environment: a review

A review of the available and potential tracers of the movement and distribution of sewage sludge ('sludge') in and on marine sediments is presented. A brief review of 'active' sludge tracers is followed by a more extensive review of 'passive' sludge tracers. These can be broken down into five categories: Natural organic components of sludge--organic carbon, faecal steroids, carbohydrate/TOC ratio, tomato seeds. Synthetic organic compounds--silicones, chlorinated hydrocarbons, non-ionic surfactants and their degradation products, linear alkylbenzenes. Stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and sulphur. Inorganic substances and their properties--minerals, paint pigments, trace elements, magnetic properties. Biological/Microbiological--faecal bacteria, Clostridium welchii spores, amoebae, viruses, nitrogen-fixing enterobacteriaceae. A wide variety of sludge tracers are available with the choice of suitable tracers in an individual situation governed by the available equipment and expertise, cost considerations, ease of sampling requirements and determination, and the nature of other pollutant inputs in the vicinity of the input of interest. Ideally, the sludge tracers chosen should be unique to the input of interest, but this will rarely be achievable in practice. In areas of gross sludge contamination, a marine geophysical survey technique can be used to delineate the area affected and this provides a rapid cost-effective method for large areas.     

Evaluating an accessibility intervention based on persona cards with diverse needs to teach accessibility to undergraduate students

Universal Access in the Information Society - This paper presents the development and evaluation of an in-class intervention based on persona cards, an accessibility kit created to introduce users...