X-ray diffraction and infrared absorption spectra show that the spicules of the common tropical ascidian, Herdmania momus, are mineralized with vaterite. These are the first strictly marine organisms known to normally precipitate vaterite. The biomineralization of vaterite may constitute another link between the urochordates and vertebrates. The vaterite of ascidian spicules immersed in natural seawater remains mineralogically unchanged for 1 year, which indicates that vaterite may be preserved transiently in marine sediments.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1118730 | DOI Listing |
Int J Surg
December 2024
Department of Urology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Background: Kidney stone disease is a common surgical disease and significant public health issue, may be influenced by environmental factors such as domestic water hardness and its related minerals. Previous studies have shown inconsistent and controversial results regarding the impact of domestic water hardness on kidney stone formation.
Methods: This prospective cohort study analyzed data from 288,041 participants in the UK Biobank with no prior history of kidney stones from 2006-2024.
Clin Kidney J
January 2025
MP3CV Laboratory, Jules Verne University of Picardie, Amiens, France.
Background: The serum calcification propensity test (or T50 test) might become a standard tool for the assessment of vascular calcification risk and T50 might be a valuable biomarker in clinical trials of treatments intended to slow the progression of vascular calcification. Literature data suggest that non-calcium-containing phosphate binders can influence T50 in chronic dialysed patients. However, it is not clear whether similar interventions are effective in patients at earlier stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
January 2025
Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.
Supercritical (sc) CO in geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) can chemically and mechanically deteriorate wellbore cement, raising concerns for long-term operations. In contrast to the conventional view of "sulfate attack" on cement, we found that adding 0.15 M sulfate to the acidic brine can significantly reduce the impact of scCO attack on Portland cement, resulting in stronger cement than that found in a sulfate-free system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Ethnopharmacol
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Harbin, 150040, China. Electronic address:
Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Cuttlebone (CB), also known as SEPIAE ENDOCONCHA, is the inner shell of cuttlefish and has been employed in traditional medicine in numerous countries since antiquity. Despite its significant medicinal value, CB is often underestimated and discarded on the beach as debris in some countries, which considerably impacts the environment and economy.
The Aim Of The Review: This study aims to elucidate the value of CB, particularly in the context of its medicinal properties, to promote its rational utilization.
ISME J
January 2025
Université Aix-Marseille, CNRS, CEA, UMR7265 Institut de Biosciences and Biotechnologies d'Aix-Marseille, CEA Cadarache, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France.
Intracellular calcium carbonate formation has long been associated with a single genus of giant Gammaproteobacteria, Achromatium. However, this biomineralization has recently received increasing attention after being observed in photosynthetic Cyanobacteriota and in two families of magnetotactic bacteria affiliated with the Alphaproteobacteria. In the latter group, bacteria form not only intracellular amorphous calcium carbonates into large inclusions that are refringent under the light microscope, but also intracellular ferrimagnetic crystals into organelles called magnetosomes.
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