Bonelike apatite formation on niobium metal treated in aqueous NaOH

The essential condition for a biomaterial to bond to the living bone is the formation of a biologically active bonelike apatite on its surface. In the present work, it has been demonstrated that chemical treatment can be used to create a calcium phosphate (CaP) surface layer, which might provide the alkali treated Nb metal with bone-bonding capability. Soaking Nb samples in 0.5 M NaOH, at 25 degrees C for 24 h produced a nano-porous approximately 40 nm thick amorphous sodium niobate hydrogel layer on their surface. Immersion in a simulated body fluid (SBF) lead to the deposition of an amorphous calcium phosphate layer on the alkali treated Nb. The formation of calcium phosphate is assumed to be a result of the local pH increase caused by the cathodic reaction of oxygen reduction on the finely porous surface of the alkali-treated metal. The local rise in pH increased the ionic activity product of hydroxyapatite and lead to the precipitation of CaP from SBF that was already supersaturated with respect to the apatite. The formation of a similar CaP layer upon implantation of alkali treated Nb into the human body should promote the bonding of the implant to the surrounding bone. This bone bonding capability could make Nb metal an attractive material for hard tissue replacements.     

Trans boundary transport of pollutants by atmospheric mineral dust

The transport of anthropogenic pollution by desert dust in the Eastern Mediterranean region was studied by analyzing major and trace element composition, organic species, and Pb isotope ratios in suspended dust samples collected in Jerusalem, Israel. Dust storms in this region are associated with four distinct synoptic conditions (Red Sea Trough (RS), Eastern High (EH), Sharav Cyclone (SC), and Cold Depression (Cyprus low, CD)) that carry dust mostly from North African (SC, CD, EH) and Arabian and Syrian (RS, EH) deserts. Substantial contamination of dust particles by Pb, Cu, Zn, and Ni is observed, while other elements (Na, Ca, Mg, Mn, Sr, Rb, REE, U, and Th) display natural concentrations. Sequential extraction of the abovementioned elements from the dust samples shows that the carbonate and sorbed fractions contain most of the pollution, yet the Al-silicate fraction is also contaminated, implying that soils and sediments in the source terrains of the dust are already polluted. We identified the pollutant sources by using Pb isotopes. It appears that before the beginning of the dust storm, the pollutants in the collected samples are dominated by local sources but with the arrival of dust from North Africa, the proportion of foreign pollutants increases. Organic pollutants exhibit behavior similar and complementary to that of the inorganic tracers, attesting to the importance of anthropogenic-pollutant addition en route of the dust from its remote sources. Pollution of suspended dust is observed under all synoptic conditions, yet it appears that easterly winds carry higher proportions of local pollution and westerly winds carry pollution emitted in the Cairo basin. Therefore, pollution transport by mineral dust should be accounted for in environmental models and in assessing the health-related effects of mineral dust.     

On the misperception of variability.

It has long been claimed that people perceive the world as less variable and more regular than it actually is. Such misperception, if shown to exist, could explain some perplexing behaviors. However, evidence supporting the claim is indirect, and there is no explanation of its cause. As a possible cause, the authors suggest that people use sample variability as an estimate of population variability. This is so because the sampling distribution of sample variance is downward attenuated, the attenuation being substantial for sample sizes that people consider. Results of 5 experiments show that people use sample variability, uncorrected for sample size, in tasks in which a correction is normatively called for, and indeed perceive variability as smaller than it is. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)