Determination of basal bone mineral density in the femur bones of male and female Wistar rats.

Changes in bone mineral content of calcium (Ca), phosphorous (P), magnesium and potassium for male and female Wistar rats during their development from 3 weeks old to adulthood (27 weeks old) were measured. Bone mineral content was related to areal bone mineral density (BMD) which was measured in vivo at the femoral neck using a calibrated X-ray transmission system to obtain basal curves as a function of the age of the specimen. Diagnostic curves were built to determine low BMD (osteopaenia) and osteoporosis in female rats fed a Ca-depleted diet (50%) based on the obtained data and the criteria established by the World Health Organization. Bone mineral content is directly related to sex and age, but P did not change throughout the experimental period. P content did not exhibit significant changes with growing, while Ca was greatest in male rats, producing significant differences in the Ca:P ratio. Male rats reach the Ca:P ratio peak before female rats. However, areal BMD does not follow the same trend. On the other hand, osteoporosis produced a 45% decrease in this parameter for young and mature adults. These results make Z-score values available to diagnose bone-mass losses and hence the possibility of improving the conditions of non-contact measurement of BMD in vivo. This technique can be used for future experiments with Wistar rats.

Chemical analysis of nutritional content of prickly pads (Opuntia ficus indica) at varied ages in an organic harvest.

Opuntia ficus indica, also known as prickly pads, are an important part of the human diet and are also used as forage for livestock. This is an interesting vegetable due the environmental conditions in which it grows and its resistance to climatic extremes; however, little is known about its nutritional properties, especially in the later stages of maturity. The objective of this study was to determine the composition of organic prickly pads (Opuntia ficus indica) at differing stages of growth maturity. Chemical proximate analysis and mineral constituent analysis at different maturation stages were carried out in this investigation. As a result, older prickly pads were found to be an important source of nutritional components such as calcium.

Single x-ray transmission system for bone mineral density determination.

Bones are the support of the body. They are composed of many inorganic compounds and other organic materials that all together can be used to determine the mineral density of the bones. The bone mineral density is a measure index that is widely used as an indicator of the health of the bone. A typical manner to evaluate the quality of the bone is a densitometry study; a dual x-ray absorptiometry system based study that has been widely used to assess the mineral density of some animals' bones. However, despite the success stories of utilizing these systems in many different applications, it is a very expensive method that requires frequent calibration processes to work properly. Moreover, its usage in small species applications (e.g., rodents) has not been quite demonstrated yet. Following this argument, it is suggested that there is a need for an instrument that would perform such a task in a more reliable and economical manner. Therefore, in this paper we explore the possibility to develop a new, affordable, and reliable single x-ray absorptiometry system. The method consists of utilizing a single x-ray source, an x-ray image sensor, and a computer platform that all together, as a whole, will allow us to calculate the mineral density of the bone. Utilizing an x-ray transmission theory modified through a version of the Lambert-Beer law equation, a law that expresses the relationship among the energy absorbed, the thickness, and the absorption coefficient of the sample at the x-rays wavelength to calculate the mineral density of the bone can be advantageous. Having determined the parameter equation that defines the ratio of the pixels in radiographies and the bone mineral density [measured in mass per unit of area (g/cm(2))], we demonstrated the utility of our novel methodology by calculating the mineral density of Wistar rats' femur bones.