Engineered osteoclasts as living treatment materials for heterotopic ossification therapy

Osteoclasts (OCs), the only cells capable of remodeling bone, can demineralize calcium minerals biologically. Naive OCs have limitations for the removal of ectopic calcification, such as in heterotopic ossification (HO), due to their restricted activity, migration and poor adhesion to sites of ectopic calcification. HO is the formation of pathological mature bone within extraskeletal soft tissues, and there are currently no reliable methods for removing these unexpected calcified plaques. In the present study, we develop a chemical approach to modify OCs with tetracycline (TC) to produce engineered OCs (TC-OCs) with an enhanced capacity for targeting and adhering to ectopic calcified tissue due to a broad affinity for calcium minerals. Unlike naive OCs, TC-OCs are able to effectively remove HO both in vitro and in vivo. This achievement indicates that HO can be reversed using modified OCs and holds promise for engineering cells as “living treatment agents” for cell therapy.

Somatometri Tulang Ekstremitas Ayam Jantan Setelah Pemberian Tepung Daun Kelor (Moringa oleifera) Sebagai Pakan Tambahan

Daun kelor (Moringa oleifera) merupakan bagian tanaman yang mengandung nutrisi pendukung pertumbuhan tulang ekstremitas ayam jantan, meliputi protein dan mineral kalsium. Atas dasar potensi tersebut, dilakukan penelitian yang bertujuan untuk menganalisis pakan tambahan tepung daun kelor pada pertumbuhan tulang ekstremitas ayam jantan. Parameter uji penelitian ini meliputi panjang sayap, panjang tibiotarsus, panjang tarsometatarsus, panjang badan, dan panjang paruh. Penelitian menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) yang terdiri atas 5 perlakuan meliputi P0 (pakan standar 100%), P1, P2, P3 dan P4 berturut-turut mendapat tambahan tepung daun kelor 1%, 2%, 3%, dan 4% dengan pakan standar 99%, 98, 97%, dan 96%, tiap perlakuan diulang 3 kali. Data dianalisis menggunakan Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) dan uji lanjut Duncan Multi Range Test(DMRT) (P<0,05). Hasil penelitian didapatkan bahwa pemberian tepung daun kelor berpengaruh signifikan terhadap pertumbuhan panjang sayap dan panjang tarsometararsus, namun tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap pertumbuhan panjang tibiotarsus, panjang badan, dan panjang paruh. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah penambahan tepung daun kelor pada pakan berpotensi meningkatkan panjang tulang sayap dan tulang tarsometatarsus yang merupakan bagian dari tulang ekstremitas ayam jantan Moringa leaf (Moringa oleifera) is part of plant that contains nutrients that support rooster extremity bone growth, including protein and calcium minerals. Base on this potential, doing research to analyzing effect of supplemented Moringa meal on growth of rooster extremity bones. The test parameters of this study include wing length, tibiotarsus length, tarsometatarsus length, body length, and beak length. The research used completely randomized design (CRD) which consisted of 5 treatments including P0 (standard feed 100%), P1, P2, P3, and P4, respectively, received moringa leaf additions of 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4% with standard feed of 99%, 98, 97%, and 96%, each treatment was repeated 3 times. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Duncan Multi Range Test (DMRT) advanced test (P <0.05). The results showed that supplementation of Moringa meal was significantly different (P<0.05) of the wing and tarsometatarsal length. However, it was not significantly different (P>0.05) in tibiotarsal length, body length, and beak length. Supplementation of Moringa leaf meal on the diet of rooster did not increase extremity bones at grower phase. The conclusion was addition of Moringa leaf meal in diet potentially increase wing and tarsometatarsal bone length which are part of rooster extremity bones.

Biological and mechanical evaluation of mineralized-hydrogel scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

Chitosan and gelatin have been extensively used in tissue engineering for a wide range of different applications, such as wound healing or bone regeneration, due to their advantages: excellent biocompatibility (promoting cell adhesion and proliferation), low price and biodegradability. Nonetheless, their main drawback is that they have poor mechanical properties, consequently restricting their use in bone tissue engineering. In previous studies, both materials were cross-linked, with added calcium minerals, which led to an improvement in both mechanical and biological properties. Therefore, this study carries out a mechanical and biological characterization of mineral-hydrogel scaffolds in order to find the best compositions. Different proportions of calcium compounds (CaCO3 and CaHPO4) are used to make up between 20% and 30% of the minerals used in a mineral-hydrogel mix. This addition of minerals enhances not only the mechanical properties, but also the biological ones. On the one hand, the higher the amount of minerals added to the composition, the better the mechanical properties obtained. Additionally, as the proportion of CaCO3 in comparison with CaHPO4 rises, the mechanical properties improve. On the other hand, both cell proliferation and mineralization are improved with the addition of calcium minerals.

Raman spectroscopy on microcalcifications reveals peculiar differences between male and female breast cancer

Microcalcifications (MCs) are important disease markers for breast cancer. Many studies were conducted on their characterization in female breast cancer (FBC), but no information is available on their composition in male breast cancer (MBC). Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a molecular spectroscopy technique that can explore the biochemical composition of MCs rapidly and without requiring any staining protocol. We here compared, by Raman spectroscopy, the MCs identified on breast cancer pieces from male and female patients. In this study, we used Raman spectroscopy to analyse 41 microcalcifications from 5 invasive MBC patients and 149 MCs from 14 invasive FBC patients. Our findings show that hydroxyapatite is the most abundant type of calcium both in MBC and FBC. However, some differences in the amount and distribution of calcium minerals are present between the two groups. Besides, we observed that MCs in MBC have a higher amount of organic material (collagen) than FBC.This study provides the first overview of the composition of microcalcifications present in MBC and suggests that they have several specific features. Our result support the need for studies specifically designed to the understanding of MBC.

The Effect of AUDI Technology with Improvement Ration on Productivity of Arab's Hen 2nd Phase

This study used the AUDI’s technology application with repair rations, aimed at increasing the productivity of Arab’s hens in the 2 nd phase. The repair ration is focused on the addition of calcium minerals. AUDI technology is a combination of water filtering technology with extract beluntas (Pluchea indica L.). The research used seventy two Arab’s hen with homogenous body weight. The study used a completely randomized design with 3 treatments, 6 replications, each replication consisting of 3 chickens. The research was conducted in 6 weeks of treatment. The parameters measured in this study were ration consumption, calcium consumption, hen day production (HDP), eggshell weight, and thickness. The results showed that the use of AUDI technology on rations significantly improved (p <0.05) affected ration consumption, calcium consumption, and increased hen day production (HDP), but did not affect weight, and thickness of an eggshell. Feed intake and calcium consumption significantly influenced by differences in calcium and crude protein in the rations. Based on these results, it was found that the use of AUDI technology was able to shorten the clutch cycle in laying hens so that production still reached 60-70% equivalent with phase I. Weight and thickness of eggshells were not affected by the use of AUDI technology and improved rations because the hens used as subject had reached peak production.

Colmatation of reservair rocks in the operation of oil fields as a result of cation exchange

By analyzing the changes in seawater pumped to maintain reservoir pressure (FPD), the anhydrous granitoid reservoir of the White Tiger deposit, in which the cracks are partially filled with calcium minerals (calcite and lomontite), shows that these minerals interact with the injected seawater. Hydrogeochemical modeling of this process showed that cations of seawater are first sodium and then magnesium displace calcium from the lomonite exchange complex, which leads to precipitation of anhydrite and a small amount of calcite. The incoming water dissolves the anhydrite and precipitates it downstream, forming a gradually expanding annular region with a constant increase in the amount of precipitated anhydrite. As a result, there is a decrease in the permeability of the fracture medium due to the filling of the cracks with anhydrite. A large amount of calcium in the associated waters when they rise to the surface causes the precipitation of calcite in the production wells and surface equipment. The transition of drilling to ever greater depths, where the rocks contain lomontite almost everywhere, requires taking into account the phenomena of cation exchange between the injected water and the rock in the predictions of scaling.