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Organic membranes determine the pattern of the columnar prismatic layer of mollusc shells.

ABSTRACT: The degree to which biological control is exercised compared to physical control of the organization of biogenic materials is a central theme in biomineralization. We show that the outlines of biogenic calcite domains with organic membranes are always of simple geometries, while without they are much more complex. Moreover, the mineral prisms enclosed within the organic membranes are frequently polycrystalline. In the prismatic layer of the mollusc shell, organic membranes display a dynamics in accordance with the von Neumann-Mullins and Lewis Laws for two-dimensional foam, emulsion and grain growth. Taken together with the facts that we found instances in which the crystals do not obey such laws, and that the same organic membrane pattern can be found even without the mineral infilling, our work indicates that it is the membranes, not the mineral prisms, that control the pattern, and the mineral enclosed within the organic membranes passively adjusts to the dynamics dictated by the latter.

SUBMITTER: Checa AG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4874705 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Organic membranes determine the pattern of the columnar prismatic layer of mollusc shells.

Checa Antonio G AG Macías-Sánchez Elena E Harper Elizabeth M EM Cartwright Julyan H E JH

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20160501 1830

The degree to which biological control is exercised compared to physical control of the organization of biogenic materials is a central theme in biomineralization. We show that the outlines of biogenic calcite domains with organic membranes are always of simple geometries, while without they are much more complex. Moreover, the mineral prisms enclosed within the organic membranes are frequently polycrystalline. In the prismatic layer of the mollusc shell, organic membranes display a dynamics in ...[more]

PMID: 27147096

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Project description:BackgroundTropical marine molluscs are traded globally. Larger species with slow life histories are under threat from over-exploitation. We report on the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in and from Java and Bali, Indonesia. Since 1987 twelve species of marine molluscs are protected under Indonesian law to shield them from overexploitation. Despite this protection they are traded openly in large volumes.Methodology/principal findingsWe collected data on species composition, origins, volumes and prices at two large open markets (2013), collected data from wholesale traders (2013), and compiled seizure data by the Indonesian authorities (2008-2013). All twelve protected species were observed in trade. Smaller species were traded for <USD1.00 whereas prices of larger species were USD15.00-40.00 with clear price-size relationships. Some shells were collected locally in Java and Bali, but the trade involves networks stretching hundreds of kilometres throughout Indonesia. Wholesale traders offer protected marine mollusc shells for the export market by the container or by the metric ton. Data from 20 confiscated shipments show an on-going trade in these molluscs. Over 42,000 shells were seized over a 5-year period, with a retail value of USD700,000 within Indonesia; horned helmet (Cassis cornuta) (>32,000 shells valued at USD500,000), chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) (>3,000 shells, USD60,000) and giant clams (Tridacna spp.) (>2,000 shells, USD45,000) were traded in largest volumes. Two-thirds of this trade was destined for international markets, including in the USA and Asia-Pacific region.Conclusions/significanceWe demonstrated that the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in Indonesia is not controlled nor monitored, that it involves large volumes, and that networks of shell collectors, traders, middlemen and exporters span the globe. This impedes protection of these species on the ground and calls into question the effectiveness of protected species management in Indonesia; solutions are unlikely to be found only in Indonesia and must involve the cooperation of importing countries.

Project description:Drug delivery carriers are considered an encouraging approach for the localized treatment of disease with minimum effect on the surrounding tissue. Particularly, layer-by-layer releasing particles have gained increasing interest for their ability to develop multifunctional systems able to control the release of one or more therapeutical drugs and biomolecules. Although experimental methods can offer the opportunity to establish cause and effect relationships, the data collection can be excessively expensive or/and time-consuming. For a better understanding of the impact of different design conditions on the drug-kinetics and release profile, properly designed mathematical models can be greatly beneficial. In this work, we develop a continuum-scale mathematical model to evaluate the transport and release of a drug from a microparticle based on an inner core covered by a polymeric shell. The present mathematical model includes the dissolution and diffusion of the drug and accounts for a mechanism that takes into consideration the drug biomolecules entrapped into the polymeric shell. We test a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the influence of changing the model conditions on the total system behavior. To prove the effectiveness of this proposed model, we consider the specific application of antibacterial treatment and calibrate the model against the data of the release profile for an antibiotic drug, metronidazole. The results of the numerical simulation show that ∼85% of the drug is released in 230 h, and its release is characterized by two regimes where the drug dissolves, diffuses, and travels the external shell layer at a shorter time, while the drug is released from the shell to the surrounding medium at a longer time. Within the sensitivity analysis, the outer layer diffusivity is more significant than the value of diffusivity in the core, and the increase of the dissolution parameters causes an initial burst release of the drug. Finally, changing the shape of the particle to an ellipse produces an increased percentage of drugs released with an unchanged release time.

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Organic membranes determine the pattern of the columnar prismatic layer of mollusc shells.

Publications

Organic membranes determine the pattern of the columnar prismatic layer of mollusc shells.

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